Re: [bolger] Re: Tortoise Question
To Vince and all;
I had noted before that in a strong wind, the boat must be balanced not
only by moving your weight to the windward side, but also fore-and-aft as
well. It is possible to take some solid water over te bow if crew weight is
not moved back. However this only seems to be an issue in strong winds with
an unreefed sail.
Warren
In a message dated 5/4/2001 8:56:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
vachew@...writes:
<< One thing I learned the hard way is NOT to step from the dock to the
Tortoise forward of midship. It is quite easy to depress a corner of the
bow below the surface and ship a few gallons of water before you have
time to scramble aft.
Vince Chew >>
I had noted before that in a strong wind, the boat must be balanced not
only by moving your weight to the windward side, but also fore-and-aft as
well. It is possible to take some solid water over te bow if crew weight is
not moved back. However this only seems to be an issue in strong winds with
an unreefed sail.
Warren
In a message dated 5/4/2001 8:56:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
vachew@...writes:
<< One thing I learned the hard way is NOT to step from the dock to the
Tortoise forward of midship. It is quite easy to depress a corner of the
bow below the surface and ship a few gallons of water before you have
time to scramble aft.
Vince Chew >>
Andrew,
I also enjoy my Tortoise. I don't have a sail for it yet, but on the
other hand I do sometimes run it with my 2 HP Johnson outboard. I have a
bolt-on motor bracket. When motoring, I sit on the after deck and my
wife sits near the bow. I can steer the boat hands off by leaning. We
only motor our Tortoise on small inland lakes.
As for rowing, it rows stern first very well when solo. Then, after you
get tired of not seeing where you are going, you spin around and push
row for a while. I believe that if you locate the oarlocks to pull
facing aft while solo, they have to be far enough forward for your hands
to clear the after deck. This might put your weight too far forward. The
other issue is rowing with a passenger -- where would he or she sit? As
it is designed, the passenger can sit on the after deck to balance the
rower who now sits in the bow and rows facing the stern. It works very
well for my spouse and me. We keep a sailboat on a mooring, and use the
Tortoise to get out to it.
One thing I learned the hard way is NOT to step from the dock to the
Tortoise forward of midship. It is quite easy to depress a corner of the
bow below the surface and ship a few gallons of water before you have
time to scramble aft.
Vince Chew
I also enjoy my Tortoise. I don't have a sail for it yet, but on the
other hand I do sometimes run it with my 2 HP Johnson outboard. I have a
bolt-on motor bracket. When motoring, I sit on the after deck and my
wife sits near the bow. I can steer the boat hands off by leaning. We
only motor our Tortoise on small inland lakes.
As for rowing, it rows stern first very well when solo. Then, after you
get tired of not seeing where you are going, you spin around and push
row for a while. I believe that if you locate the oarlocks to pull
facing aft while solo, they have to be far enough forward for your hands
to clear the after deck. This might put your weight too far forward. The
other issue is rowing with a passenger -- where would he or she sit? As
it is designed, the passenger can sit on the after deck to balance the
rower who now sits in the bow and rows facing the stern. It works very
well for my spouse and me. We keep a sailboat on a mooring, and use the
Tortoise to get out to it.
One thing I learned the hard way is NOT to step from the dock to the
Tortoise forward of midship. It is quite easy to depress a corner of the
bow below the surface and ship a few gallons of water before you have
time to scramble aft.
Vince Chew
Payson is known for rowing facing forward, which is supposed to be some sort of Maine tradition. Perhaps Bolger designed it this way for Payson.
I just took a look at the drawings in "Build the New Instant Boats", and it looks to me like Bolger doesn't want to mount the oarlocks in the daggerboard trunk. As the oarlocks are shown, I bet you could row backwards (i.e. stern first while facing bow) when solo, and forwards (bow first, facing stern) with two people on board. Perhaps this is what Bolger intended. I know that on the Brick he expects you to put an engine, if used, on the bow transom and go backwards. The Brick is a very similar, though slightly larger boat.
I just took a look at the drawings in "Build the New Instant Boats", and it looks to me like Bolger doesn't want to mount the oarlocks in the daggerboard trunk. As the oarlocks are shown, I bet you could row backwards (i.e. stern first while facing bow) when solo, and forwards (bow first, facing stern) with two people on board. Perhaps this is what Bolger intended. I know that on the Brick he expects you to put an engine, if used, on the bow transom and go backwards. The Brick is a very similar, though slightly larger boat.
--- In bolger@y..., aquillma@m... wrote:
> Hello Group,
>
> My name is Andrew Quillmann and not only am I new to this group but
> I'm also new to boat building and boating in general. I built
> Tortoise late last fall and I haven't been the same since. Since the
> boat was built late in the fall I only had one chance to actually
> sail the boat but the wind was practically non-existant and the sail
> never really got a chance to fill. So my first sailing experience
> was less than spectacular. I finally had an opportunity to sail
> Tortoise this year for the first time. The winds were about 8 mph so
> it was perfect for me. It was an absolute joy! What a rush! Also, I
> didn't spill myself in the water so I considered the outing a
> complete success. I now know I am completely hooked on sailing and
> boat building! After building Tortoise I bought plans for Diablo
> from Mr. Payson. But after sailing Tortoise I have decided to put
> Diablo off for a while and build Gypsy or cartopper. I know this
> group will be an invaluable resource when I start construction.
>
> I do have a quick question about Tortoise. The design calls for the
> oar locks to be mounted such that the operator faces forward
> and "pushes" the oars to row forward. Does anyone see a reason why I
> couldn't mount the oar locks more toward the stern and set it up to
> row the boat with my back facing the bow and row the boat in the more
> traditional fashion of bow first?
>
> Thanks,
> Drew Q.
Hello Group,
My name is Andrew Quillmann and not only am I new to this group but
I'm also new to boat building and boating in general. I built
Tortoise late last fall and I haven't been the same since. Since the
boat was built late in the fall I only had one chance to actually
sail the boat but the wind was practically non-existant and the sail
never really got a chance to fill. So my first sailing experience
was less than spectacular. I finally had an opportunity to sail
Tortoise this year for the first time. The winds were about 8 mph so
it was perfect for me. It was an absolute joy! What a rush! Also, I
didn't spill myself in the water so I considered the outing a
complete success. I now know I am completely hooked on sailing and
boat building! After building Tortoise I bought plans for Diablo
from Mr. Payson. But after sailing Tortoise I have decided to put
Diablo off for a while and build Gypsy or cartopper. I know this
group will be an invaluable resource when I start construction.
I do have a quick question about Tortoise. The design calls for the
oar locks to be mounted such that the operator faces forward
and "pushes" the oars to row forward. Does anyone see a reason why I
couldn't mount the oar locks more toward the stern and set it up to
row the boat with my back facing the bow and row the boat in the more
traditional fashion of bow first?
Thanks,
Drew Q.
My name is Andrew Quillmann and not only am I new to this group but
I'm also new to boat building and boating in general. I built
Tortoise late last fall and I haven't been the same since. Since the
boat was built late in the fall I only had one chance to actually
sail the boat but the wind was practically non-existant and the sail
never really got a chance to fill. So my first sailing experience
was less than spectacular. I finally had an opportunity to sail
Tortoise this year for the first time. The winds were about 8 mph so
it was perfect for me. It was an absolute joy! What a rush! Also, I
didn't spill myself in the water so I considered the outing a
complete success. I now know I am completely hooked on sailing and
boat building! After building Tortoise I bought plans for Diablo
from Mr. Payson. But after sailing Tortoise I have decided to put
Diablo off for a while and build Gypsy or cartopper. I know this
group will be an invaluable resource when I start construction.
I do have a quick question about Tortoise. The design calls for the
oar locks to be mounted such that the operator faces forward
and "pushes" the oars to row forward. Does anyone see a reason why I
couldn't mount the oar locks more toward the stern and set it up to
row the boat with my back facing the bow and row the boat in the more
traditional fashion of bow first?
Thanks,
Drew Q.