A Good Day Out

Got to try the oars yesterday and I'm pleased to say the Frenchtown Skiff makes a fine rowboat. Pull easily and tracks straight. Even got some sailing done as well. It was most east coast out! It had been spitting rain all day but it had stopped by the time we arrived. I had brought the GPS for time and distance measuring and was looking forward for some empirical data on how well the boat performed. A dock launch was performed and I shipped oars and got underway.

Rowing for the wind.

Once in position I turned around, a rather ungainly procedure, and hauled in the mainsheet. The spirit began drawing and I was off across the pond. The biggest performance yardstick for this craft that I can think of is upwind performance. Without that ability I have half a sailing boat. So I put her nose upwind and with the new rudder and tiller arrangement made decent headway. It was in reality very, very slow, but it worked. The wind on the pond comes across at about a forty five degree angle to the length of the pond. This makes for interesting upwind maneuvering as starboard tack will get you about fifteen feet up the pond, while port tack will do about five. IF one wanted to I figure you could get the Skiff from the dock to the west end of the pond in about an hour with a five to seven knot breeze. Not bad for a quarter mile!
Then it was The Typesetters turn and in a fit of brilliance he sailed backward. Now why didn't I think of that?

Looking appropriately nautical.

Everything worked! Average speed recorded was  1.3kts with a maximum speed of 1.6kts. Not eye blistering but steady and sedate. It was a great day to go sailing and I'm hoping to do it again soon.

With all of this sailing going on I've been thinking of doing a new boat. The true Frenchtown Skiff. So far this has been an eye opener for small pond boats and I think I can make a two sheet boat that will combine my first two builds with the strengths of each. The higher freeboard or the Harley with the simple sail plan of the Cygnet. In the end it will take two sheets to get it done but I'm not worried about that. The conditions of Frenchtown Pond and the idea of it going to a child or a first time boater make the higher freeboard a good idea. Also the slight change in the placement of the frame adds to the shape and makes a very attractive boat. This will be a boat for impulse sailing, easily cartopable and with capability to row or sail. The place to do it will be a pond. A small pond, such as the one I've spent my last few days on. I'll keep you updated as I work on the prototype and draw up my plans.