Re: Launching
Sounds Great!
Well, I finally got her in the water. Alas, no pictures yet. The
boat in question is a very very modified Cartopper, which I launched
Wednesday afternoon on Cass Lake in northern Minnesota. It has the
following major changes, and a bunch of minor ones:
- Rounded plywood-lapstrake sides (like PCB did with the Chebacco
variants). This seems a pretty radical change, but I don't much like
taped-seam construction anymore, too much sanding, and I figured that
since Cartopper's really a dory skiff anyway, I was just bringing her
back to her roots. I used BS1088 Meranti plywood, because glued
lapstrake won't really tolerate other than the good stuff.
- Centerboard shape changed so that a rowing thwart could go where
the original board was. I wanted to be able to row with one person
or two, and the original design won't let you do that. The
underwater shape is just about the same.
- Permanent side benches for sailing and an after thwart for a
passenger when rowing. No bottom platform
- A removable rowing thwart for rowing with one person
- Round birdsmouth mast. If anyone is thinking about making a hollow
spar, I'd highly recommend it. It's more rigid and much lighter than
the original. It's great to be able to step the mast with one hand.
With all the changes, I didn't even know whether she'd float right
side up, but it all seems to work. Nothing broke, she goes where
she's pointed, and none of the modifications were disastrous. The
side benches don't work as well as I had hoped because one needs to
sit close to the middle of the boat in light air (I'm used to larger
boats that aren't as sensitive to crew position), but they're great
once it starts to blow. We sailed around Star Island, about 10 miles,
in 18-20 knots of wind, and had a wonderful, if wet time. I'm quite
pleased. Pictures will follow.
Keith Wilson
boat in question is a very very modified Cartopper, which I launched
Wednesday afternoon on Cass Lake in northern Minnesota. It has the
following major changes, and a bunch of minor ones:
- Rounded plywood-lapstrake sides (like PCB did with the Chebacco
variants). This seems a pretty radical change, but I don't much like
taped-seam construction anymore, too much sanding, and I figured that
since Cartopper's really a dory skiff anyway, I was just bringing her
back to her roots. I used BS1088 Meranti plywood, because glued
lapstrake won't really tolerate other than the good stuff.
- Centerboard shape changed so that a rowing thwart could go where
the original board was. I wanted to be able to row with one person
or two, and the original design won't let you do that. The
underwater shape is just about the same.
- Permanent side benches for sailing and an after thwart for a
passenger when rowing. No bottom platform
- A removable rowing thwart for rowing with one person
- Round birdsmouth mast. If anyone is thinking about making a hollow
spar, I'd highly recommend it. It's more rigid and much lighter than
the original. It's great to be able to step the mast with one hand.
With all the changes, I didn't even know whether she'd float right
side up, but it all seems to work. Nothing broke, she goes where
she's pointed, and none of the modifications were disastrous. The
side benches don't work as well as I had hoped because one needs to
sit close to the middle of the boat in light air (I'm used to larger
boats that aren't as sensitive to crew position), but they're great
once it starts to blow. We sailed around Star Island, about 10 miles,
in 18-20 knots of wind, and had a wonderful, if wet time. I'm quite
pleased. Pictures will follow.
Keith Wilson