Friday, January 8, 2016
............... IF IT CAN FLOAT ITS BOUND TO BE A WHOLE LOT OF FUN ...............
I first saw this utube video on this interesting Blog that I follow: http://intheboatshed.net/
What is not to like about these little compact packets of fun? Powered by a small sail on an unstayed mast and steered by an oar over the gunwale they are simplicity itself and they look lightweight enough for even an aging old sailor like myself to lift onto the roof rack of a car.
They don't seem to have any centerboard, the oar and the chine doing the job of lateral resistance ( although there may be a small skeg on the keel line ).
Obviously not designed for open water they seem ideal for cruising around very shoal areas of creeks, lakes and harbours. The only change I think I would make would be to build in a watertight compartment in the bow and stern........ not just to make things easier if you were to capsize ....... but because all sailors in their 60s have the crucial task of playing at Pirates, Explorers and Swallows and Amazons which requires a dry place to store the best kind of bo'suns stores (Food and drink).
They look like one hell of a lot of fun! ..... and fun is good.
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6 comments:
Sailing a simple, shoal draft boat with auxilliary power supplied by muscles is an attractive option to me. A cheap and simple way to do that is by adding sailing rigs to kayaks. I've got a really simple downwind rig that's basically a fancy umbrella which is what I use most of the time.
I also have a rig capable of sailing to weather. It's a lot more complicated, but also a whole lot of fun. There's a video of my exact configuration here: https://youtu.be/Ry8E8iElkss
Following the link to the in the boat shed blog took me to the SCAMP sailboat website and videos. Seeing the SCAMP gave me an acute case of sailboat fever. Till I saw the price. A new fiberglass one costs $13,000 US without a trailer.
I need to take a COLD shower.
Dan, It's called 'Sea Fever', John Masefield even wrote a poem about it. The cure is not to fight the fever - just give in to its enticing imperatives! LOL.
John Wellsfords 'Scamp' is enjoying huge popularity at the moment - it's a great little boat combining a huge amount in a very small package. US$13,000 is a price I would not be prepared to pay considering you can build it for about a third, or less of that price.
I went for a kayak yesterday around our local 'Limestone' Island in a big wind (ended up towing my brother for half the journey in his preposterous inflatable double paddle kayak that wouldn't paddle against the wind and tide with only one paddler in the stern - but that's another story entirely!)....... When going downwind I thought about a Kayak sail, I will use your link and take a look.
Hi Alden I'm a big Duck Punt fan and will build one.....some day, not the heavy John Milgate original, but this one http://flo-mo.weebly.com/light-weight-stitch-and-tape-conversion-of-the-west-mersea-duck-punt.html.
It's in my genes as I hail from the area in Essex where duck punts were common in my fathers boyhood.
Cheers
Paul
Thanks for that Paul - I have added your suggested link to the posting. I guess if this is a 'Duck Punt' (I didn't know that) then this makes these little boats distant cousins of the Barnaget Bay Sneak Boxes which were developed in North America for the same purpose. I think the Essex duck punt looks like a more lively sailer.
Yesterday I was looking around a demolition builders site at piles of 'cheap as' plywood sheet 'seconds' - It would probably only take a couple of sheets of 6mm ply to build one of these AND I happen to have part of an old tan coloured sail that would be just the ticket - I can tell you am sorely tempted.
Now why did I make that New Years resolution to build all the boats on my Bucket List of boat builds! ? (We both know why).
Now there's another nice project !!
Yes Ben, and these little boats are about as simple as it gets to build! - I've put one of these on my 'to do' list!
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