maiden voyage prep
West Haven Boat Ramp
Sunday, March 20, 2011
The Asymmetric Ama
I decided to build the Ama to have an asymmetric cross section profile. Essentially its higher on the kayak facing side and lower on the open sea facing side. This gives the wind and waves a little less to swat at and so possibly better upwind capability. The ten foot ama is steep now with the extra volume I added to the MKII design and rivals the actual depth or height of the kayak itself. Diving this underwater as some folks have done with other multihull variations would now seem substantially harder. Too, its quite a bit heavier now. The asymmetric ama DOES look a little weird. With its deck slanting off to the starboard of this starboard riding hull, it looks good at one angle and peculiar at another. Adding to this is the beam that is enhanced on one side only and seen from the bow or stern, a curved profile is apparent. Ive never seen this before anywhere else. I know once the deck is on it'll look terrific but the curved ama profile is unsettling. Not something Im used to seeing on any hull.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Outrigger Revisions Underway
Well its good to be underway finally in modifying the outrigger system. Currently the ama is being retrofitted with panels along its sides that would deepen its hull and increase its buoyancy as well as add weight for greater stability. When its done the added panels for greater volume will be seamless. This is so needed as the stock size amas meant for a trimaran configuration just aren't up to the task in anything but moderate lake conditions and winds in the single outrigger mode in which Ive redesigned the structure. Following this will be the akas which will increase the beam from 5.5 feet to a full 8 feet. Somewhere along the way a reclining backrest for the cockpit is a definite must. I'm still undecided about ever cutting a forward hatch. I want the bow to err in the light side.
It is satisfying to be getting this underway.
It is satisfying to be getting this underway.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Maiden Voyage 9/6/10
The Kayak first...
Ive been kayaking since the Fall of 1998. The craft is a modified West River 180 from Chesapeake Lightcraft at www.clcboats.com. I built the craft from plans using Okoume marine grade plywood. It's a racing hull from the get-go. Initial stability is caffeinated with the multi-chined hull approximating a round hull since I decided to drop the keel line a little bit to make this so. to that end, this craft IS paddle-able but in chop beyond 1 foot regular paddle strokes become sacrificed for corrective strokes. About a foot and a half is max before the corrective strokes become excessive and the stability begins to falter. This craft is virtually rockerless so it was a bear to turn with sweep strokes, BUT - it does well with the balanced rudder I designed and executed. The bottom line here is that this is a racing hull optimized for straight-line speed. Its flat out fast.
The Outrigger Assembly...
The outrigger assembly, like the kayak was built from plans, again from www.clcboats.com. The original plans call for a full trimaran sail rig the company so named the MKII Sail Rig. The original MKI [though not called that] was good, efficient and quite fast, however the MKII had amas that were less wave piercing, higher rocker, and more sophisticated in overall hull design and shape. They are both fast designs however.
My divergence from the MKII was in losing the Trimaran design by cutting it in half and using a single ama making my kayak then a tacking proa. This was a bit of a gutsy move as a fair amount of money and time is spent on epoxy and materials to say nothing of the time involved in producing it. My nightmare was to produce a hopelessly lopsided sailrig that was good for but on direction across the wind - period. I'm happy to say I was totally wrong. It sails on all points. Modifications will be coming naturally this is a beta version after all, but it really did quite well.
The Sail...
Real quick - this is a Balogh Sail Design, 32 square foot "Sport" sail. Its of batwing-full batten design and
as such describes about as perfect a sail foil as you can get. I have doubts one could build as stiff a sail on
a huge scale - say... 100 sq. ft. for example. These sails are SO good in fact, it seems like theres a cult following among kayakers and light craft sailors for this brand. The 32 sq. ft. is a common size among kayak-multihull sailrigs, followed by the 36' and then the 38'. I believe a 50 is in the works. I cant encourage
a person enough to at least consider these fantastic sails by visiting www.baloghsaildesigns.com.
Alas the Maiden Voyage...
Winds: 5 to 10knots SW
75F, low tide, variable chop average 12"
I launched out of West Haven Connecticut's boat ramp at 5PM. If you can imagine it, the harbor of New Haven is shaped somewhat like an upside down wine glass or funnel with one side a little different than the other. Below the funnel are the break waters protecting the harbor from the "fun" wave action of Long Island Sound proper. I say "fun" with a wry smile as it can be known for calmness one moment then immediately broken up and tossed with wind and spray another. The transition can be deceptively seamless.
Ill skip the hour or more I spent assembling it and even drilling last minute holes and such. Some things you cant know how they "fit" until you have it all floating in water.
So I'm in the cockpit now. All is assembled, my bow is toward the shore where my wife and daughter happily [if not a little humorously doubtingly] watch on. I keep the stern end farther out as it reaches 14" BELOW the hull that already sits about 4" deep on its own. I carefully paddle backward and then via sweep strokes I point my bow with a starboard swing out toward the open harbor. After aligning myself in this direction with a pier platform 10' to my left, I jostle the tiller as bit and for the first time I see the damned craft actually turn effectively. Push forward on the tiller handle and I go right. Pull back and the b ow swings left. The word "swing" wasn't a word I'd use often to describe its turning abilities. But turn, it was now doing with seemingly little regard for the rockerless hull.
At this point I took hold of the sheet and let the wind filling it show me what it wanted to do. With the water all around me near glassy flat with little micro ripples maybe 4" tall, I set sail on a broad reach and awaited for magic to happen. To my left all this time is a long peninsula jutting out into the harbor for maybe a quarter mile topped with dune grass and, well, dunes. Low dunes, but there none the less. To my left was the distant and far more open vista of the mainland with the tall buildings of New Haven at 11 o'clock.
The kayak began to move the moment the sheet tightened in my hand. You'd be surprised what speed can be had on utterly flat water with only about 5 to 7 knots felt now and again on the cheek of your face. With out really giving it thought, the wind was coming from the ama side which isn't the most inherently stable configuration to sail this craft and the batwing sail which can be reefed down to 20 sq. ft. was left a full 32. The wind was that calm. I wasn't thinking it was needed and just enjoyed the ride. As I began to move, I kept an eye pealed on my GPS the whole time... first blowing by 2.5mph I feel the satisfaction that we are underway at all in such light air. Moving away from the ramp however on this broad reach the air strengthened behind me and kept my craft accelerating due east. Soon, I blew by 3.5 knots - a satisfactory distance making speed but nothing to write home about. Then looking around me I took in the extra sense of speed that it was moving with now and felt like it was really quite good - 4.2 mph. I began to feel a little relaxed as much as I was still anxious for this "test flight" . So long as it could hit 4.2mph I could be happy covering ground. It wasn't stellar but it was real progress. The gurgling of my rudder [needs refinement] was now heard. As the rig picked up speed even further still the new sensation of speed was had in my peripheral vision. Sustained speed over 5mph was elating. Now I was grinning ear to ear. At 5mph I was totally relaxed and in a rested posture. That was new. When I saw the GPS hit 6mph - and saw the waves moving quickly past me, I had all I needed with regard to satisfaction. I didn't care what it did after this point - I stopped monitoring the GPS and just sailed, enjoying the show. My highest speed reached was 6.9mph. All this within a couple hundred yards from a boat ramp that had plate flat mill pond water. Who knew?
Steady advancing progress was made along the peninsula out toward its tip which then suddenly swings due north. I adjusted tiller to accommodate this northerly sandy swath and was delighted to see the kayak respond - all the while not giving up speed doing so. Coming away from the tip now and leaving it behind me from starboard to stern, I encounter the REAL harbor chop. I forgot the peninsula was acting as its own breakwall to me. No mill pond out here. The chop was about 2 feet at worst but very steep and chaotic. I never felt so many different opposing shoves and such in that cockpit. The ama was transferring its chop effects to the main hull which already had its own chop effects. It was a new feeling. My rockerless kayak with little [read: about none] initial stability would probably have been flipped. self righting by an Eskimo roll would have been futile. The kayak would have kept rolling over after it was righted. In the outrigger configuration though its initial stability was of a different order all together. I swung due north to keep the chop at my back and made the decision to get in behind the peninsula again.
The water at this hour of the nearly ended summer is inky black. Add to that the natural silt content anyway and its lack of fresh ocean water circulation and it just made for an extra unappealing idea of being capsized.
Soon the sun would be down and Id be in darkness and probably still upside down. I made my way outracing the chop, but still feeling its confused affects then I worked my way due west. In time, I was back in the lake-like conditions and kept my bow on the setting sun.
I felt by this point I fairly well fleshed out its performance and now began the short jaunt back to the ramp though , in the face of the wind now. The ramp was due SW and so was the wind. An unexpected experience now in tacking back to my starting point. I brought my leeboard down significantly to aid windward. The overwhelming tendency here was to aim the bow to where I WANTED to go, not to where a proper windward heading would be best. I'd point toward the setting sun and speed would pick up nicely, then slowly Id veer south sand pinch the wind leaving me making 0.5mph!! It was fun to weave in and out of a good tack observing the affects on speed. On a decent tack I was doing 3.5 to 4 mph. A little closer and it hit 2.5mph. Closer than that and it just plummeted. At one point I came to a dead-stop. Irons at last. My tacks the whole way back were a variation on this weaving in and out of the envelope and it was fun. After the playing was done however, I headed on a strong due southerly heading with my sail close hauled and flat.
It was on this flat sail tack that I saw the ama raise out of the water completely. Depowering the sail and leaning starboard I was careful to keep it IN the water even if it meant giving up half a mile and hour.
Having headed due south long enough [and weaving in and out of the "pinch zone" ] I went on a strong windward tack straight for the ramp where my wife and daughter stepped out of the car to greet me. I was elated with the entire trip, they were glad that I was glad and that everything worked out safely.
Dusk was setting fast and by the time it was car topped and all was put away, it was dark. I drove home with the following thoughts...
1. 32 sq. ft. is faster than i thought in light to moderate air.
2. I need to revise the OTHER ama I have to be more buoyant and hold more ballast than this one which really wasn't meant for a single ama task.
3. It sailed upwind beautifully. I had doubts here because my design was a little unorthodox. Id estimate my tacking angle at 50 degrees into the wind with good passage.
4.Rudder was phenomenally balanced but needs some refining. Too loose as well.
5. Leeboard was stellar. No humming or resonances at speed.
6. New akas to be built this fall/winter need to be put amas about a foot and half farther out. I need more beam for stability. That plus a higher volume ama will make for a better ride.
7. paddling this thing is a beast. I think a good paddling speed is 2mph. Maybe it'll improve with the tiller out of the way. it was a distraction.
8. ama needs to be redirected so it is more bow-UP and stern-DOWN. Too much diving. Modestly so but I m concerned about steeper water.
Thanks for reading,
Pete
Overall, this trip was an A+. I couldnt ask for better maiden voyage conditions, nor a better location.
Ive been kayaking since the Fall of 1998. The craft is a modified West River 180 from Chesapeake Lightcraft at www.clcboats.com. I built the craft from plans using Okoume marine grade plywood. It's a racing hull from the get-go. Initial stability is caffeinated with the multi-chined hull approximating a round hull since I decided to drop the keel line a little bit to make this so. to that end, this craft IS paddle-able but in chop beyond 1 foot regular paddle strokes become sacrificed for corrective strokes. About a foot and a half is max before the corrective strokes become excessive and the stability begins to falter. This craft is virtually rockerless so it was a bear to turn with sweep strokes, BUT - it does well with the balanced rudder I designed and executed. The bottom line here is that this is a racing hull optimized for straight-line speed. Its flat out fast.
The Outrigger Assembly...
The outrigger assembly, like the kayak was built from plans, again from www.clcboats.com. The original plans call for a full trimaran sail rig the company so named the MKII Sail Rig. The original MKI [though not called that] was good, efficient and quite fast, however the MKII had amas that were less wave piercing, higher rocker, and more sophisticated in overall hull design and shape. They are both fast designs however.
My divergence from the MKII was in losing the Trimaran design by cutting it in half and using a single ama making my kayak then a tacking proa. This was a bit of a gutsy move as a fair amount of money and time is spent on epoxy and materials to say nothing of the time involved in producing it. My nightmare was to produce a hopelessly lopsided sailrig that was good for but on direction across the wind - period. I'm happy to say I was totally wrong. It sails on all points. Modifications will be coming naturally this is a beta version after all, but it really did quite well.
The Sail...
Real quick - this is a Balogh Sail Design, 32 square foot "Sport" sail. Its of batwing-full batten design and
as such describes about as perfect a sail foil as you can get. I have doubts one could build as stiff a sail on
a huge scale - say... 100 sq. ft. for example. These sails are SO good in fact, it seems like theres a cult following among kayakers and light craft sailors for this brand. The 32 sq. ft. is a common size among kayak-multihull sailrigs, followed by the 36' and then the 38'. I believe a 50 is in the works. I cant encourage
a person enough to at least consider these fantastic sails by visiting www.baloghsaildesigns.com.
Alas the Maiden Voyage...
Winds: 5 to 10knots SW
75F, low tide, variable chop average 12"
I launched out of West Haven Connecticut's boat ramp at 5PM. If you can imagine it, the harbor of New Haven is shaped somewhat like an upside down wine glass or funnel with one side a little different than the other. Below the funnel are the break waters protecting the harbor from the "fun" wave action of Long Island Sound proper. I say "fun" with a wry smile as it can be known for calmness one moment then immediately broken up and tossed with wind and spray another. The transition can be deceptively seamless.
Ill skip the hour or more I spent assembling it and even drilling last minute holes and such. Some things you cant know how they "fit" until you have it all floating in water.
So I'm in the cockpit now. All is assembled, my bow is toward the shore where my wife and daughter happily [if not a little humorously doubtingly] watch on. I keep the stern end farther out as it reaches 14" BELOW the hull that already sits about 4" deep on its own. I carefully paddle backward and then via sweep strokes I point my bow with a starboard swing out toward the open harbor. After aligning myself in this direction with a pier platform 10' to my left, I jostle the tiller as bit and for the first time I see the damned craft actually turn effectively. Push forward on the tiller handle and I go right. Pull back and the b ow swings left. The word "swing" wasn't a word I'd use often to describe its turning abilities. But turn, it was now doing with seemingly little regard for the rockerless hull.
At this point I took hold of the sheet and let the wind filling it show me what it wanted to do. With the water all around me near glassy flat with little micro ripples maybe 4" tall, I set sail on a broad reach and awaited for magic to happen. To my left all this time is a long peninsula jutting out into the harbor for maybe a quarter mile topped with dune grass and, well, dunes. Low dunes, but there none the less. To my left was the distant and far more open vista of the mainland with the tall buildings of New Haven at 11 o'clock.
The kayak began to move the moment the sheet tightened in my hand. You'd be surprised what speed can be had on utterly flat water with only about 5 to 7 knots felt now and again on the cheek of your face. With out really giving it thought, the wind was coming from the ama side which isn't the most inherently stable configuration to sail this craft and the batwing sail which can be reefed down to 20 sq. ft. was left a full 32. The wind was that calm. I wasn't thinking it was needed and just enjoyed the ride. As I began to move, I kept an eye pealed on my GPS the whole time... first blowing by 2.5mph I feel the satisfaction that we are underway at all in such light air. Moving away from the ramp however on this broad reach the air strengthened behind me and kept my craft accelerating due east. Soon, I blew by 3.5 knots - a satisfactory distance making speed but nothing to write home about. Then looking around me I took in the extra sense of speed that it was moving with now and felt like it was really quite good - 4.2 mph. I began to feel a little relaxed as much as I was still anxious for this "test flight" . So long as it could hit 4.2mph I could be happy covering ground. It wasn't stellar but it was real progress. The gurgling of my rudder [needs refinement] was now heard. As the rig picked up speed even further still the new sensation of speed was had in my peripheral vision. Sustained speed over 5mph was elating. Now I was grinning ear to ear. At 5mph I was totally relaxed and in a rested posture. That was new. When I saw the GPS hit 6mph - and saw the waves moving quickly past me, I had all I needed with regard to satisfaction. I didn't care what it did after this point - I stopped monitoring the GPS and just sailed, enjoying the show. My highest speed reached was 6.9mph. All this within a couple hundred yards from a boat ramp that had plate flat mill pond water. Who knew?
Steady advancing progress was made along the peninsula out toward its tip which then suddenly swings due north. I adjusted tiller to accommodate this northerly sandy swath and was delighted to see the kayak respond - all the while not giving up speed doing so. Coming away from the tip now and leaving it behind me from starboard to stern, I encounter the REAL harbor chop. I forgot the peninsula was acting as its own breakwall to me. No mill pond out here. The chop was about 2 feet at worst but very steep and chaotic. I never felt so many different opposing shoves and such in that cockpit. The ama was transferring its chop effects to the main hull which already had its own chop effects. It was a new feeling. My rockerless kayak with little [read: about none] initial stability would probably have been flipped. self righting by an Eskimo roll would have been futile. The kayak would have kept rolling over after it was righted. In the outrigger configuration though its initial stability was of a different order all together. I swung due north to keep the chop at my back and made the decision to get in behind the peninsula again.
The water at this hour of the nearly ended summer is inky black. Add to that the natural silt content anyway and its lack of fresh ocean water circulation and it just made for an extra unappealing idea of being capsized.
Soon the sun would be down and Id be in darkness and probably still upside down. I made my way outracing the chop, but still feeling its confused affects then I worked my way due west. In time, I was back in the lake-like conditions and kept my bow on the setting sun.
I felt by this point I fairly well fleshed out its performance and now began the short jaunt back to the ramp though , in the face of the wind now. The ramp was due SW and so was the wind. An unexpected experience now in tacking back to my starting point. I brought my leeboard down significantly to aid windward. The overwhelming tendency here was to aim the bow to where I WANTED to go, not to where a proper windward heading would be best. I'd point toward the setting sun and speed would pick up nicely, then slowly Id veer south sand pinch the wind leaving me making 0.5mph!! It was fun to weave in and out of a good tack observing the affects on speed. On a decent tack I was doing 3.5 to 4 mph. A little closer and it hit 2.5mph. Closer than that and it just plummeted. At one point I came to a dead-stop. Irons at last. My tacks the whole way back were a variation on this weaving in and out of the envelope and it was fun. After the playing was done however, I headed on a strong due southerly heading with my sail close hauled and flat.
It was on this flat sail tack that I saw the ama raise out of the water completely. Depowering the sail and leaning starboard I was careful to keep it IN the water even if it meant giving up half a mile and hour.
Having headed due south long enough [and weaving in and out of the "pinch zone" ] I went on a strong windward tack straight for the ramp where my wife and daughter stepped out of the car to greet me. I was elated with the entire trip, they were glad that I was glad and that everything worked out safely.
Dusk was setting fast and by the time it was car topped and all was put away, it was dark. I drove home with the following thoughts...
1. 32 sq. ft. is faster than i thought in light to moderate air.
2. I need to revise the OTHER ama I have to be more buoyant and hold more ballast than this one which really wasn't meant for a single ama task.
3. It sailed upwind beautifully. I had doubts here because my design was a little unorthodox. Id estimate my tacking angle at 50 degrees into the wind with good passage.
4.Rudder was phenomenally balanced but needs some refining. Too loose as well.
5. Leeboard was stellar. No humming or resonances at speed.
6. New akas to be built this fall/winter need to be put amas about a foot and half farther out. I need more beam for stability. That plus a higher volume ama will make for a better ride.
7. paddling this thing is a beast. I think a good paddling speed is 2mph. Maybe it'll improve with the tiller out of the way. it was a distraction.
8. ama needs to be redirected so it is more bow-UP and stern-DOWN. Too much diving. Modestly so but I m concerned about steeper water.
Thanks for reading,
Pete
Overall, this trip was an A+. I couldnt ask for better maiden voyage conditions, nor a better location.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Second Outting - West Haven, CT
As the title implys, this was my second outing with the outrigger kayak and sail. You'd think the second time set-up would move along briskly, but it still took unusually long. Like before, a drill was handy for last minute adjustments on the beta-tested akas and ama...
Today the weather was postcard perfect. A near cloudless blue sky, light wind and beaming sun. The water here at the ramp was actually slightly white capped and choppy. however, by the time the craft was actually launched, it had dissipated and more pleasant lake-like water was present. Reflecting on my last time here I wrongly assumed that this would provide those stronger winds once I ventured a hundred yards out. As it turns out the northerly winds were quite the disappointment. The upside is that the weather was so beautiful it buffered some of the frustration of being near stalled or crawling. It's not over till its over however and I hadn't yet begun, so entering the craft I situated myself and back paddled rudder facing away from the shore and began my jaunt.
As I swung around, the water was seen to be noticeably clearer than usual. The bottom sand and silt was seen to be speckled with an assortment of broken white clam shells and other similar type debris. Going into a little deeper water where the shallows disappeared a kind of sandy colored pea-green color was had. I could easily see the bottom of my ama and the leeboard in the down position was clearly seen as well. This isn't bad for New Haven Harbor. I held on the sheet and let the northerly winds fill my sail...
Along side the peninsula by about 150 yards I creepingly traced its coastline at a patience enduring 2.5mph.
I looked out at the people looking out at me and the time just moved along at a grass growing rate. I was where I wanted to be however and again, the weather aside from this was spot-on perfect. Occasionally I had some brief accelerations to over 4 mph. My hope rose and soon died with the dwindling wind. This wasnt despair but it was a little patience wearing. Through it all, it was enjoyable to watch the sandy peninsula unfold.
Cresting the peninsulas far eastern point and northerly sweeping appendage, I set a course just north of Light House Point that brought me from a reach to nearly a full run . Like before the 2.5mph cruise was abbreviated with moments of 5 mph or more. The to-be-refined rudder gurgled, the water sluiced around the ama and leeboard and headway was made. Then it hit 2.5mph again. I would have been doing no less than 3mph I imagine had I not reefed to 28 sq. ft. but the this trip was longer than last and headed fro more open water so I err'd on the side of caution. It proved wise as I learned later on. A curiosity the whole while out and back was on the eastern shore of the harbor that looked like a miniature Palisades on the Hudson of sheer rock face dropping off into water. Again it was miniature but quite captivating. I wanted to sail along it but the wind was costing so much time, it didn't make my budget. Beautiful sheer rusty brown glacial rock straight down into the harbor... maybe a hundred feet? Seventy five?
Finally passing Lighthouse Point was a pleasure - wind picked up a little bit out here too. Insects off this point were an odd swarm of over a dozen huge dragonfly. I mean fat bodied and the heck all over the place. It was a fast moving swarm. Along with them in the middle was a Monarch Butterfly and so many flys. I was 400 feet off shore and I can only guess the wind off the point possibly sent them out here much to their peril.
A rocky conglomeration of rust brown rocks at the point had a home in stone of similar colored rocks that made for a classy looking place. One of the nice out here. Other homes were typical beach-fare with the not-ready-for-prime-time-Newport-wannabe's interspersed. You could say the brown stone house was of that camp.
I actually had dreams of seeing the distant "lumps" of the Thimble Islands once I rounded the point about 500' out. Never happened. If it did, I couldn't tell, neither could my binoculars. I have a way of condensing distances when the mileage isn't known in hopes of making destinations that much more reachable - to my subconscious anyway.
I kept going east till I came to a long stretch of open sandy non public beach. Aircraft flew over head on the 36 heading I imagine - making sense with the northerly wind that brought me here. I let the craft come to a rather slow crawl - even below 2.5mph and just wondered what I would do now that I could not see the Thimbles. I began to turn around.
Heading back the most interesting thing happened. The wind followed with me causing a flying jibe in the process. I read the forecast that it would begin to blow from the east later in the day but this was great timing.
I made progress back now - and in excess of 2.5mph. In fact it was no less than 3.5 with frequent forays into the 5mph zone and above. I entertained thoughts of visiting the lighthouse on the breakwater but upcoming events made me so glad I did not...
Swinging around the lighthouse, the wind really picked up and soon was blowing up from the south - I was on a classic sail run - and again another flying jibe to accentuate its presence. I slowed down again now and then but the overall speed rating significantly climbed. As did that, so did the wave height. I never paddled or surfed in anything but steep 18" waves - now they were a good 30" or 2 1/2'. They were confused, odd shaped at times and arriving sometimes with a depth and peak that was a little mysterious as though a huge boat passed but hadn't. That's the freedom of the open Long Island sound whose fetch is fairly huge and changeable with that as well. I leaned out over my ama trying to keep it from lifting but when the wind snapped the other direction then it was a matter of keeping it from submarining. Indeed my amas bow buried up to the point that my akas attachment was acting as a breaking force to the overflowing water. I hated that and I pictured the ama burying too deep causing it to bury uncontrollably cartwheeling me around . It never happened but it was un-nerving.
Then the aka lashing came loose...
Port side forward of me the aka is winging up and down a few inches all on its own going with the flow of the water the ama sped over. I immediately headed due east/north for landfall and like magic a good wind sent me 5mph to cover the 800 feet or so to this land. along the way I began ratcheting the nylon lashing and very thank fully , it tightened up again - though it was in my thoughts the rest of the trip. I headed back out west into the steep confused chop blowing up from the south east. This was a trip I just wanted over with me on land or at least behind the peninsula to ease the burden on the lashing. As it turns out it was good all the way to the dock. That isn't to say I wasn't glad the moment I rounded the peninsula. I was too far north of it by mistake, but its effects were well felt and welcomed.
From there I did a slight beat to the ramp where other kayakers were exiting and getting ready to take their kayak with them. I decided to break off the landing momentarily and tacked around moored boats a thousand feet out till they were gone. I just didn't want the small talk. Today I had it at the hardware store with three different folks, at the landing with two more and one annoyingly so. I just wanted to land with out twenty dumb questions. I got that.
This was a profitable trip despite crawling wind almost the entire time out. Some things that need to be addressed are the following....
1. make a more secure aka lashing.
2. fix the rudder which has far too much play in it. When the water gets steep its just too much
non control to have it bobbing and slapping around needlessly.
3. Remember that in reefing a BSD sail there are buckles to flatten the reefed portion of sail that today
just hung and blew in the wind excessively. Id bet I lost a mph due to it.
4. Get something atop my mast to give me wind direction.
5. Make revised ama 5" deeper.
6. Put in a backrest that attaches tio the rear aka. the coaming is just pure pain after a while. I like to recline.
Its unnecessary and even awkward to lean forward as if paddling when sailing. I want a comfortable recline cushion.
This was enjoyable and rewarding even if the wind basically "snailed" at times.
Total mileage: 9.12miles
Peak Speed: 6.2mph
Average Speed: 3.5mph
Sunny with winds 4-8 knots and highly variable. Seas 1 to 2 1/2 feet. 75F.
Today the weather was postcard perfect. A near cloudless blue sky, light wind and beaming sun. The water here at the ramp was actually slightly white capped and choppy. however, by the time the craft was actually launched, it had dissipated and more pleasant lake-like water was present. Reflecting on my last time here I wrongly assumed that this would provide those stronger winds once I ventured a hundred yards out. As it turns out the northerly winds were quite the disappointment. The upside is that the weather was so beautiful it buffered some of the frustration of being near stalled or crawling. It's not over till its over however and I hadn't yet begun, so entering the craft I situated myself and back paddled rudder facing away from the shore and began my jaunt.
As I swung around, the water was seen to be noticeably clearer than usual. The bottom sand and silt was seen to be speckled with an assortment of broken white clam shells and other similar type debris. Going into a little deeper water where the shallows disappeared a kind of sandy colored pea-green color was had. I could easily see the bottom of my ama and the leeboard in the down position was clearly seen as well. This isn't bad for New Haven Harbor. I held on the sheet and let the northerly winds fill my sail...
Along side the peninsula by about 150 yards I creepingly traced its coastline at a patience enduring 2.5mph.
I looked out at the people looking out at me and the time just moved along at a grass growing rate. I was where I wanted to be however and again, the weather aside from this was spot-on perfect. Occasionally I had some brief accelerations to over 4 mph. My hope rose and soon died with the dwindling wind. This wasnt despair but it was a little patience wearing. Through it all, it was enjoyable to watch the sandy peninsula unfold.
Cresting the peninsulas far eastern point and northerly sweeping appendage, I set a course just north of Light House Point that brought me from a reach to nearly a full run . Like before the 2.5mph cruise was abbreviated with moments of 5 mph or more. The to-be-refined rudder gurgled, the water sluiced around the ama and leeboard and headway was made. Then it hit 2.5mph again. I would have been doing no less than 3mph I imagine had I not reefed to 28 sq. ft. but the this trip was longer than last and headed fro more open water so I err'd on the side of caution. It proved wise as I learned later on. A curiosity the whole while out and back was on the eastern shore of the harbor that looked like a miniature Palisades on the Hudson of sheer rock face dropping off into water. Again it was miniature but quite captivating. I wanted to sail along it but the wind was costing so much time, it didn't make my budget. Beautiful sheer rusty brown glacial rock straight down into the harbor... maybe a hundred feet? Seventy five?
Finally passing Lighthouse Point was a pleasure - wind picked up a little bit out here too. Insects off this point were an odd swarm of over a dozen huge dragonfly. I mean fat bodied and the heck all over the place. It was a fast moving swarm. Along with them in the middle was a Monarch Butterfly and so many flys. I was 400 feet off shore and I can only guess the wind off the point possibly sent them out here much to their peril.
A rocky conglomeration of rust brown rocks at the point had a home in stone of similar colored rocks that made for a classy looking place. One of the nice out here. Other homes were typical beach-fare with the not-ready-for-prime-time-Newport-wannabe's interspersed. You could say the brown stone house was of that camp.
I actually had dreams of seeing the distant "lumps" of the Thimble Islands once I rounded the point about 500' out. Never happened. If it did, I couldn't tell, neither could my binoculars. I have a way of condensing distances when the mileage isn't known in hopes of making destinations that much more reachable - to my subconscious anyway.
I kept going east till I came to a long stretch of open sandy non public beach. Aircraft flew over head on the 36 heading I imagine - making sense with the northerly wind that brought me here. I let the craft come to a rather slow crawl - even below 2.5mph and just wondered what I would do now that I could not see the Thimbles. I began to turn around.
Heading back the most interesting thing happened. The wind followed with me causing a flying jibe in the process. I read the forecast that it would begin to blow from the east later in the day but this was great timing.
I made progress back now - and in excess of 2.5mph. In fact it was no less than 3.5 with frequent forays into the 5mph zone and above. I entertained thoughts of visiting the lighthouse on the breakwater but upcoming events made me so glad I did not...
Swinging around the lighthouse, the wind really picked up and soon was blowing up from the south - I was on a classic sail run - and again another flying jibe to accentuate its presence. I slowed down again now and then but the overall speed rating significantly climbed. As did that, so did the wave height. I never paddled or surfed in anything but steep 18" waves - now they were a good 30" or 2 1/2'. They were confused, odd shaped at times and arriving sometimes with a depth and peak that was a little mysterious as though a huge boat passed but hadn't. That's the freedom of the open Long Island sound whose fetch is fairly huge and changeable with that as well. I leaned out over my ama trying to keep it from lifting but when the wind snapped the other direction then it was a matter of keeping it from submarining. Indeed my amas bow buried up to the point that my akas attachment was acting as a breaking force to the overflowing water. I hated that and I pictured the ama burying too deep causing it to bury uncontrollably cartwheeling me around . It never happened but it was un-nerving.
Then the aka lashing came loose...
Port side forward of me the aka is winging up and down a few inches all on its own going with the flow of the water the ama sped over. I immediately headed due east/north for landfall and like magic a good wind sent me 5mph to cover the 800 feet or so to this land. along the way I began ratcheting the nylon lashing and very thank fully , it tightened up again - though it was in my thoughts the rest of the trip. I headed back out west into the steep confused chop blowing up from the south east. This was a trip I just wanted over with me on land or at least behind the peninsula to ease the burden on the lashing. As it turns out it was good all the way to the dock. That isn't to say I wasn't glad the moment I rounded the peninsula. I was too far north of it by mistake, but its effects were well felt and welcomed.
From there I did a slight beat to the ramp where other kayakers were exiting and getting ready to take their kayak with them. I decided to break off the landing momentarily and tacked around moored boats a thousand feet out till they were gone. I just didn't want the small talk. Today I had it at the hardware store with three different folks, at the landing with two more and one annoyingly so. I just wanted to land with out twenty dumb questions. I got that.
This was a profitable trip despite crawling wind almost the entire time out. Some things that need to be addressed are the following....
1. make a more secure aka lashing.
2. fix the rudder which has far too much play in it. When the water gets steep its just too much
non control to have it bobbing and slapping around needlessly.
3. Remember that in reefing a BSD sail there are buckles to flatten the reefed portion of sail that today
just hung and blew in the wind excessively. Id bet I lost a mph due to it.
4. Get something atop my mast to give me wind direction.
5. Make revised ama 5" deeper.
6. Put in a backrest that attaches tio the rear aka. the coaming is just pure pain after a while. I like to recline.
Its unnecessary and even awkward to lean forward as if paddling when sailing. I want a comfortable recline cushion.
This was enjoyable and rewarding even if the wind basically "snailed" at times.
Total mileage: 9.12miles
Peak Speed: 6.2mph
Average Speed: 3.5mph
Sunny with winds 4-8 knots and highly variable. Seas 1 to 2 1/2 feet. 75F.
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