Day 13, Skin-on-frame rower-sailer. Build time: 4 hrs
Hauled the boat outside for some backyard row testing. I’m trying to set the mast partners so they will do dual duty as a backrest. It’s tricky because you don’t want to be whacking into them in normal row mode but you do want it to be available to slump against when you’re exhausted. I know we aren’t supposed to need back rests while rowing, but I’ve finished many a 10 hour salmon trolling day with less than ideal posture. It’s nice to have the option.
I’m putting a small partners at both ends at the natural backrest position behind the seats. This will give me two different locations I can step the mast, and that combined with the the ability to rig the sail as a standing or a balanced lug, also to move the flip over leeboard, and finally the ability to move the passengers means that it’s likely that some combination will balance the boat correctly, which is pretty important when you’re not planning on using a rudder.
I’m making the partners with a little gated jaw so the mast can tip into place. This is something you don’t see very often on small boats that should probably be on all of them because it avoids the one thing that is more likely than anything else to put you in the water, standing up in the boat to step or unstep the mast. A couple years ago we found ourselves in a scary situation with the wind gusting to 30 and a brailed up sprit sail driving us out to sea with rapidly increasing chop. Thank god I had a mast stepping box installed or it would have been a disaster. Even so, I barely got the rig down in time, and vowed thereafter that all Cape Falcon boats will have gated jaws.
Started working out my weights, costs, and materials list. This will make the next boat twice as fast to build. Bare hull is 40, w/seats and floorboards 55. Rig is about as light as it can be. Oars are killing me at 9 lbs but I just love the feel of ash guide boat oars. Next one I’ll probably go 7ft instead of 7’6” and use cherry to get them down to 6 lbs. .
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