Re: Nymph (long post)
staehp (or somthing like that) wrote:
inboard end already. Wrapping with lead roof flashing would certainly
be easy, but you should cover it up so toxic lead doesn't rub off on
you or on things. If the diameter is sufficient and you have a way to
drill the ends, you could put it inside, but that wouldn't be easy.
I don't know just where oars should balance.
Certainly just removing extra bulk from the blades and shaft would
help.
>This was my suggestion for you, my oars are pretty hefty at the
> How do you plan to ballast the inboard ends? I could see just
> wrapping lead around them to form a collar.
>
> Any suggestion of how to determine where they should ballance?
inboard end already. Wrapping with lead roof flashing would certainly
be easy, but you should cover it up so toxic lead doesn't rub off on
you or on things. If the diameter is sufficient and you have a way to
drill the ends, you could put it inside, but that wouldn't be easy.
I don't know just where oars should balance.
Certainly just removing extra bulk from the blades and shaft would
help.
--- In bolger@y..., "Lincoln Ross" <lincolnr@m...> wrote:
would have to measure to be sure. I will check it when I get home
and consider adding to it, especially if it is undersize. It
wouldn't be bad to have some harder wood on the bottom of the skeg
anyway.
Have to mull that around a while.
unlikely to use the old ones much once I do, but considering the
minimal effort that lightening the blades would require, I might do
at least that much.
How do you plan to ballast the inboard ends? I could see just
wrapping lead around them to form a collar.
Any suggestion of how to determine where they should ballance?
> see belowsnip
> --- In bolger@y..., staehpj1@h... wrote:
> Did you make the skeg exactly as big as Bolger specified?It may have a tad less skeg than called for, but it is close. I
> I made mine slightly undersized and the boat tended to spin.
> When I added just a bit more to the skeg (maybe 1/4" or 1/2"
> deeper than Bolger's design and 3/4" or 1" deeper than it
> had been), it settled down quite a bit.
would have to measure to be sure. I will check it when I get home
and consider adding to it, especially if it is undersize. It
wouldn't be bad to have some harder wood on the bottom of the skeg
anyway.
> > The fore and aft thwart seat works well, but I had onesnip
> > problem with it. The dog tends to fall off of the seat.
> > I think maybe I will try adding some semi-dry storage or
> > flotation to fill the space that she falls into
> How about using heavy cloth or detachable panels?I was considering detatchable panels, but hadn't thought of cloth.
Have to mull that around a while.
> > I will have to make some oars ...snip
> Suggest lightening the blades by removing some wood andProbably a good idea. I kind of want to build a set anyway and am
> ballasting the inboard ends. THinking of doing that to
> ours. Of course it's always good to have a second pair.
> snip
unlikely to use the old ones much once I do, but considering the
minimal effort that lightening the blades would require, I might do
at least that much.
How do you plan to ballast the inboard ends? I could see just
wrapping lead around them to form a collar.
Any suggestion of how to determine where they should ballance?
see below
--- In bolger@y..., staehpj1@h... wrote:
snip
> Nymph it a little "twitchy" to row if you are used to a boat that
> tracks well. It doesn't take long to adjust to that and it allows
> tight maneauvering.
Did you make the skeg exactly as big as Bolger specified? I made mine
slightly undersized and the boat tended to spin. When I added just a
bit more to the skeg (maybe 1/4" or 1/2" deeper than Bolger's design
and 3/4" or 1" deeper than it had been), it settled down quite a bit.
Of course you still don't want to use your oars one at a time.
>
snip
>
> The fore and aft thwart seat works well, but I had one problem with
> it. The dog tends to fall off of the seat. I think maybe I will
try
> adding some semi-dry storage or flotation to fill the space that she
> falls into (only in the aft-most section where it won't bother human
> passengers). The problem I forsee is that it will allow her to sit
> more off center. Maybe if I slope it sharply uphill from the bench
> to the sides she will stay where she belongs. I hope I can keep the
> additional weight way down, since my back isn't that healthy these
> days. I guess a a couple 1/4" plywood panels would only add a pound
> or two at most.
How about using heavy cloth or detachable panels?
> I will have to make some oars because the store-bought ones I have
> are pretty lousy. The shafts don't taper (they are thin right up to
> the handle portion) so the balance is off. It isn't a major
> hardship, but it would be nice to have some better balanced ones.
>
Suggest lightening the blades by removing some wood and ballasting the
inboard ends. THinking of doing that to ours. Of course it's always
good to have a second pair.
snip
> Pete
I tried to send some of this a while ago and the connection to Yahoo
puked :) losing my message in the process. So I will type it and try
again. Sorry if it shows up twice. I think I got some of the
details wrong the first time anyway.
I finally got a chance to use my Nymph this weekend with some cargo
and passengers, so I wanted to give a report on how it has worked
out. We towed her behind my C22 and she did an admirable job of
shuttling people, gear, and dogs to shore.
I had complained about how sensitive she is to fore and aft weight
distribution and how this complicates boarding from a mother ship.
Well it isn't as bad as I had thought for a few reasons. Most of you
may know this, but I needed to learn it.
If you think about where the weight needs to be *before* stepping on
or off it is not as big of a deal. Just a little experience and you
know how she will react. As she gets more weight on board she
settles in and is way less fussy. Passengers will be fine if you
tell them where to step and what to expect. It is simple, but don't
assume they will just know. It isn't completely fool proof; I don't
think I could get my 85 y.o. mother on board, but I would be cautious
about her boarding the C22 from the dock too.
Nymph needs a second set of oarlock sockets forward of the ones shown
on the plan (IMO). Dynamite says that you sit aft and row facing
forward when you have a passenger, but that isn't my cup of tea. I
located the second set about 13-14" forward of the others. I am not
sure of the measurement but they wound up being a maybe 2-3" ahead of
the rib (measuring to the center of the oarlock pivot).
The following are some of the configurations we tried (weights are
approximate and don't include boat, oars, pfd's etc.):
Me alone, 245 lbs, normal oar position.
Me and Cookie (dog), 295 lbs, normal oar position.
Erica and I, 370 lbs, forward oar position.
Erica and I with some supplies, 390 lbs, forward oar position.
Erica, Samantha, Cookie, and I, 520 lbs, forward oar position.
She worked well in all configurations. In all cases the oarsman was
forward with all passengers aft of him. Trim was fine tuned by
moving people and things fore and aft as required. The oarlock
position may have been a little less than optimum for some of these
configurations, but was adequate for all. I think it was a good
compromise.
Even with 520 lbs of passengers, she seemed as if she could take more
weight and or handle some chop in reasonable comfort. Makes me
wonder how much anyone has hauled on one of these little boats.
Nymph it a little "twitchy" to row if you are used to a boat that
tracks well. It doesn't take long to adjust to that and it allows
tight maneauvering.
Lateral stability was quite adequate. No problem here unless to have
passengers that think they can step on the rail while boarding or
*really* big and hyperactive dog. I even let Cookie jump off twice
and it wasn't a big deal if I was expecting it (I was).
Nymph will move along at a good clip with little effort (faster than
walking and less effort). It is a very pleasant pass-time for the
early riser while the crew sleeps. Cookie needs to go ashore early
anyway and I love to row around and watch the sun rise.
Nymph very tows well. I hardly knew she was there. She never seems
to take on a drop of water, even when being tossed around in pretty
good chop.
The fore and aft thwart seat works well, but I had one problem with
it. The dog tends to fall off of the seat. I think maybe I will try
adding some semi-dry storage or flotation to fill the space that she
falls into (only in the aft-most section where it won't bother human
passengers). The problem I forsee is that it will allow her to sit
more off center. Maybe if I slope it sharply uphill from the bench
to the sides she will stay where she belongs. I hope I can keep the
additional weight way down, since my back isn't that healthy these
days. I guess a a couple 1/4" plywood panels would only add a pound
or two at most.
I will have to make some oars because the store-bought ones I have
are pretty lousy. The shafts don't taper (they are thin right up to
the handle portion) so the balance is off. It isn't a major
hardship, but it would be nice to have some better balanced ones.
My satisfaction with Nymph so far makes me more interested in
building the sail rig. After some discussion here I am thinking
sprit sail, possibly with a sprit boom so the spars could be stored
aboard.
BTW: I bought epoxy and glass for the Teal I am planning to build
(still might change my mind a build surf). I don't have the plywood
yet. The A/C that they have at the local Home Depot right now looked
awful and the laun was that stuff with one thick center ply and thin
face plys. I should probably just buy some good plywood and be done
with it. I am not making any progress because the sailing weather
has been so good. I'd rather sail than build any way.
Pete
puked :) losing my message in the process. So I will type it and try
again. Sorry if it shows up twice. I think I got some of the
details wrong the first time anyway.
I finally got a chance to use my Nymph this weekend with some cargo
and passengers, so I wanted to give a report on how it has worked
out. We towed her behind my C22 and she did an admirable job of
shuttling people, gear, and dogs to shore.
I had complained about how sensitive she is to fore and aft weight
distribution and how this complicates boarding from a mother ship.
Well it isn't as bad as I had thought for a few reasons. Most of you
may know this, but I needed to learn it.
If you think about where the weight needs to be *before* stepping on
or off it is not as big of a deal. Just a little experience and you
know how she will react. As she gets more weight on board she
settles in and is way less fussy. Passengers will be fine if you
tell them where to step and what to expect. It is simple, but don't
assume they will just know. It isn't completely fool proof; I don't
think I could get my 85 y.o. mother on board, but I would be cautious
about her boarding the C22 from the dock too.
Nymph needs a second set of oarlock sockets forward of the ones shown
on the plan (IMO). Dynamite says that you sit aft and row facing
forward when you have a passenger, but that isn't my cup of tea. I
located the second set about 13-14" forward of the others. I am not
sure of the measurement but they wound up being a maybe 2-3" ahead of
the rib (measuring to the center of the oarlock pivot).
The following are some of the configurations we tried (weights are
approximate and don't include boat, oars, pfd's etc.):
Me alone, 245 lbs, normal oar position.
Me and Cookie (dog), 295 lbs, normal oar position.
Erica and I, 370 lbs, forward oar position.
Erica and I with some supplies, 390 lbs, forward oar position.
Erica, Samantha, Cookie, and I, 520 lbs, forward oar position.
She worked well in all configurations. In all cases the oarsman was
forward with all passengers aft of him. Trim was fine tuned by
moving people and things fore and aft as required. The oarlock
position may have been a little less than optimum for some of these
configurations, but was adequate for all. I think it was a good
compromise.
Even with 520 lbs of passengers, she seemed as if she could take more
weight and or handle some chop in reasonable comfort. Makes me
wonder how much anyone has hauled on one of these little boats.
Nymph it a little "twitchy" to row if you are used to a boat that
tracks well. It doesn't take long to adjust to that and it allows
tight maneauvering.
Lateral stability was quite adequate. No problem here unless to have
passengers that think they can step on the rail while boarding or
*really* big and hyperactive dog. I even let Cookie jump off twice
and it wasn't a big deal if I was expecting it (I was).
Nymph will move along at a good clip with little effort (faster than
walking and less effort). It is a very pleasant pass-time for the
early riser while the crew sleeps. Cookie needs to go ashore early
anyway and I love to row around and watch the sun rise.
Nymph very tows well. I hardly knew she was there. She never seems
to take on a drop of water, even when being tossed around in pretty
good chop.
The fore and aft thwart seat works well, but I had one problem with
it. The dog tends to fall off of the seat. I think maybe I will try
adding some semi-dry storage or flotation to fill the space that she
falls into (only in the aft-most section where it won't bother human
passengers). The problem I forsee is that it will allow her to sit
more off center. Maybe if I slope it sharply uphill from the bench
to the sides she will stay where she belongs. I hope I can keep the
additional weight way down, since my back isn't that healthy these
days. I guess a a couple 1/4" plywood panels would only add a pound
or two at most.
I will have to make some oars because the store-bought ones I have
are pretty lousy. The shafts don't taper (they are thin right up to
the handle portion) so the balance is off. It isn't a major
hardship, but it would be nice to have some better balanced ones.
My satisfaction with Nymph so far makes me more interested in
building the sail rig. After some discussion here I am thinking
sprit sail, possibly with a sprit boom so the spars could be stored
aboard.
BTW: I bought epoxy and glass for the Teal I am planning to build
(still might change my mind a build surf). I don't have the plywood
yet. The A/C that they have at the local Home Depot right now looked
awful and the laun was that stuff with one thick center ply and thin
face plys. I should probably just buy some good plywood and be done
with it. I am not making any progress because the sailing weather
has been so good. I'd rather sail than build any way.
Pete