Completion and 'sea trials'

Well, it's been a while since I posted on this blog, but I am happy to say I am now enjoying my little boat.
I finished painting the rowing version of the boat between Christmas and New Year, and we took it down to Picnic Point boat ramp for 'sea trials'. I must have done something right, for she didn't sink (or even leak) and proved quite light and responsive on the water. It holds two adults and a child!
But it would row better with a keel!

Given that fortuitous event (returning us all to dry land) I then proceeded to fashion the sailing version:
- added a cherry wood keel
- dagger board box
 - Meranti mast (fashioned from three planks epoxied together)
- sails (fashioned from $15 blue tarp and $30 of #M double sided tape)
- spar and boom (I cheated here and simply bought 1/2" Tassie Oak dowelling
- plywood rudder and cherry wood tiller

Mast made of three pieces of Meranti epoxied together, then cut and shaped.
Note- use good quality greaseproof/baking paper - the epoxy leaks through the cheap stuff!

Gluing up the daggerboard 'casing' -
Note - when sitting in the boat, water *under pressure* will find every little crack, crevice and unfilled drill hole - tres embarrassing!

Rounding over the cherrywood tiller - that is a beltsander medium grit belt cut open and screwed between pieces of wood for handles. Works a treat - makes a hell of a mess - do outdoors!

Dinghy now with keel, daggerboard and rudder added. I later cut the tiller back about a foot - it was much too long! (and that's my woodworking shed in the background, a proud addition to the small garden in between my last two jobs)

The mast was cut and shaped the same way, and is easily stepped into a base block screwed onto the floor underneath the front seat.

 The holes for the mast through the seat and into the base block are slightly elliptical, and heavily beveled to mate with the tapered and canted mast. Little finesse here, just rough marking by eye, and lots of work with files!!
I made a rough template from plywood to size the base block, but as the dinghy itself is full of weird rounded cambers and not symmetrical anyway, I finished the block with iterative hand planing.

After getting $500-$1000 prices for custom sails, I found 'Polytarp.com' on the internet and spent:
   tarp $15
   3M outdoor double sided tape $35
   4mm dacron rope $5
   stitching NIL!!

This sail has withstood 35knot winds (with a capsize) - that adhesive tape is good.

I also purchased a small trailer (from Mangrove Jack in WA), because putting the dinghy up onto the Kia roof without a proper roof rack wasn't that much fun.

First attempts at rigging before further 'sea trials'

 Long term storage for a dinghy this light is as simple as installing a few eyebolts, a pulley, and lashing it to the shed.

Letting everything dry out after a sail, and a wash under the hose. I know its been a good day when the yard looks like this!

Rowing and sailing

Well, I've now been rowing and sailing this little boat for a few months (when the weather is good)

Rowing at Oatley Bay in Sydney. Nice little boatramp and beach.

 There's plenty of boats moored in the river, so plenty of incentive to learn how to tack!

As I'm really learning how to sail in this little boat, I bought myself a Garmin Vivoactive sportswatch with the tracking GPS in mind. There is no setting for sailing/rowing, but I just set it to 'walking' so it tracks and then go out.

I also tried making a new sail (sprit sail) with the idea being that a sprit sail, additional bowsprit and job sail would allow me more control and better sailing close into the wind.

Unfortunately, my first attempt with just a loose-footed (boomless) sprit sail was less than awesome....I just drifted around....so it was back on with the lug sail, and an instant smile on my face as the boat took off across the bay!

Below is 40 odd minutes of sailing in Oatley Bay from yesterday, with a fairly constant and strong breeze. Tacking into the wind (from S-SW) on the way out, then plain sailing with the wind behind me on the way back. there must be a bit of offset with the app mapping, as I certainly didn't run aground that often!

Below is my boat beached again - I've used double sided tape to fix two 10litre plastic petrol containers (from Mitre10) to the underside of the middle seat, in the hope that the boat can be bailed out next time I capsize it!!

 (The yellow box is a water proof safe, lashed to the front seat, for my iphone and carkeys - it paid for itself within 24 hours during my first capsize here a few weeks ago!)

My method now is to mount the amst and sail (bom lashed up), push off and row far enough from shore to put in the dagger board (custom made 300mm longer than the original), and rudder, stow and tie the oars as shown, then drop the boom and start sailing. If I hit a lack of wind, I just lash up the boom again, loosely lash the tiller, drop out the oars and get going! It is surprisingly good for rowing.

Back down to Oatley Bay on the Queens Birthday weekend, and the conditions were very gusty.
I managed to short-sheet the sail, and was able to potter around the Bay happily without capsizing!