Re: [bolger] Bolger Bobcat mast and rowing questions

Yep, that's me!

Is this your Bobcat, Jay?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkohnen/4102888268/

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:25:56 -0800, Jay B wrote:

> I have a second-hand Bobcat. What a nice little boat!
> ...
> If you are ever in Port Townsend, WA, USA, look me up & we'll talk
> Bobcats.

--
John (jkohnen@...)
The infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to
moralists-- that is why they invented Hell. (Bertrand Russell)

Stepping/unstepping on the trailer can also be hazardous if you neglect to check for overhea wires.

Jay Bazuzi wrote:

If you do climb around on the deck of the boat while it's on your trailer, keep it strapped down securely. It's a small enough boat that you can create trouble with your weight, otherwise.

_

I have a second-hand Bobcat. What a nice little boat!

A cat boat presents a little difficulty when lowering a mast but there is a way. Remove the boom first and then rig it up as a temporary bow sprit. Building something to hold it will be required but now you can use it to lower the mast with a restraint line fed out as it comes down to the stren of the boat. On a sloop riged boat the guy line to the bow is used for this purpose.

--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "stjohnsrivercruiser" <rugscrub@...> wrote:
>
> I am getting ready to launch a newly aquired Bobcat. In my driveway sea trials I have found stepping the mast by myself,to be do-able but unstepping is a another issue entirely. I would appreciate any suggestions for avoiding crash landings when gravity takes over in the lowering process. I really hope that adding a hinged section isn't the only way. Also has anyone used oars as secondary propulsion as opposed to a motor? If so, is there a recommended length? I am also curious if anyone has used the Scull-Matix from duckworks as their power source. This is my first experience with a catboat, and I sense a learning curve ahead! thanks, Stan
>

for rowing you don't want the oarlocks more than 4' apart unless you will have two rowers. the distance from the seat to the oarlocks should be 14" or so. oar length on a sailboat will depend on storage space, 7-9' oars are a good length for rowing in real rowboats.

--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "stjohnsrivercruiser" <rugscrub@...> wrote:
>
> I am getting ready to launch a newly aquired Bobcat. In my driveway sea trials I have found stepping the mast by myself,to be do-able but unstepping is a another issue entirely. I would appreciate any suggestions for avoiding crash landings when gravity takes over in the lowering process. I really hope that adding a hinged section isn't the only way. Also has anyone used oars as secondary propulsion as opposed to a motor? If so, is there a recommended length? I am also curious if anyone has used the Scull-Matix from duckworks as their power source. This is my first experience with a catboat, and I sense a learning curve ahead! thanks, Stan
>

Consider using a yuloh oar, probably easier to learn to use than a scull and likely more powerful as well.
http://www.simplicityboats.com/yulohpage.html
has gathered a lot of information. More than the last time I looked at his site. Though he has done it for you you may want to search the web as well. More people with experience should publish there experiences building and using yulohs. They were used to move small boats and also large boats with the yuloh powered by several men at a time.
Eric

--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "stjohnsrivercruiser" <rugscrub@...> wrote:
>
> I am getting ready to launch a newly aquired Bobcat. In my driveway sea trials I have found stepping the mast by myself,to be do-able but unstepping is a another issue entirely. I would appreciate any suggestions for avoiding crash landings when gravity takes over in the lowering process. I really hope that adding a hinged section isn't the only way. Also has anyone used oars as secondary propulsion as opposed to a motor? If so, is there a recommended length? I am also curious if anyone has used the Scull-Matix from duckworks as their power source. This is my first experience with a catboat, and I sense a learning curve ahead! thanks, Stan
>

While the Bobcat hull looks decent for rowing, there are a couple of problems. One is the relatively low freeboard of the boat. You would have to nearly sit on the bottom to be at the proper height. The other is the side decks. With oarlocks at the outside deck edges, you won't be able to raise the oars vary far out of the water before the looms hit the inside deck edge. The blades will frequently hit passing waves, or the water if the boat heels at all. The solution to that is to use extension oarlocks that stick up several inches (which Bolger specified for his Cartoon 40 catboat), or mount regular oarlocks on blocks that are several inches high. I see only two rowing possibilities. Sit on the foredeck, with your legs straddling the centerboard case (you have to do something about the cleats that will be under your butt!) with substantially raised oarlocks so you don't have to row hunched over. Or sitting just aft of the centerboard, facing forward, perhaps on a stool, and again straddling the centerboard case and with not-quite-so-much raised oarlocks. Forward facing rowing will be slower, but at least you can see where you're going . . . .

As for the Scullmatix, I saw Chuck of Duckworks using one on his Ladybug, which I think has the same beam as the Bobcat, but is a couple feet longer. It was only the third or so time Chuck has used it, but he was moving the boat easilty. Probably not as fast as rowing, but certainly satisfactorily. The Bobcat has a substantial skeg, which is very good for sculling; it keeps the "tail from wagging the dog" as Bolger put it once.

Gary

--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "stjohnsrivercruiser" <rugscrub@...> wrote:
>
> I am getting ready to launch a newly aquired Bobcat. In my driveway sea trials I have found stepping the mast by myself,to be do-able but unstepping is a another issue entirely. I would appreciate any suggestions for avoiding crash landings when gravity takes over in the lowering process. I really hope that adding a hinged section isn't the only way. Also has anyone used oars as secondary propulsion as opposed to a motor? If so, is there a recommended length? I am also curious if anyone has used the Scull-Matix from duckworks as their power source. This is my first experience with a catboat, and I sense a learning curve ahead! thanks, Stan
>

I had a Bobcat and you are right, getting the mast up is fairly easy but bringing it doen can be a challenge. The way I worked it out was to have the mast resting against my shoulder as I pulled the mast up out of the deck. Once the mast was clear I angled the foot out away from the boat and allowed it slide down until the mast center of gravity was on my shoulder. You now had control of the mastand could handle it easier. The trick was to keep it under control until then.
I am 49 years old and sailed this boat for the past 3 years, I never had a real problem getting it down.

Met an elderly gent with a Bobcat on one of our local lakes. He had built it himself with a Phil-drawn tabernacle, to make mast-raising easier. Might try asking PB&F if drawing still exists.

Only other recommendation I have, for mast raising, is a home-built device that a friend invented. It's based on a large PVC elbow that guides the foot of the mast into the hole. I can get photos if interested; ask offline.

--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "stjohnsrivercruiser" <rugscrub@...> wrote:
>
> I am getting ready to launch a newly aquired Bobcat. In my driveway sea trials I have found stepping the mast by myself,to be do-able but unstepping is a another issue entirely. I would appreciate any suggestions for avoiding crash landings when gravity takes over in the lowering process. I really hope that adding a hinged section isn't the only way. Also has anyone used oars as secondary propulsion as opposed to a motor? If so, is there a recommended length? I am also curious if anyone has used the Scull-Matix from duckworks as their power source. This is my first experience with a catboat, and I sense a learning curve ahead! thanks, Stan
>

I am getting ready to launch a newly aquired Bobcat. In my driveway sea trials I have found stepping the mast by myself,to be do-able but unstepping is a another issue entirely. I would appreciate any suggestions for avoiding crash landings when gravity takes over in the lowering process. I really hope that adding a hinged section isn't the only way. Also has anyone used oars as secondary propulsion as opposed to a motor? If so, is there a recommended length? I am also curious if anyone has used the Scull-Matix from duckworks as their power source. This is my first experience with a catboat, and I sense a learning curve ahead! thanks, Stan