Wooden Boat Plans Australia | The i550 and the Chesapeake Challenge

Wooden Boat Plans Australia

Last May I ventured over the Bay Bridge to Kent Island to look at Chesapeake Light Crafts OcoumeFest and also to look at some of the competitors in the inaugural WaterTribes Chesapeake Challenge long-distance along-shore marathon (an offshoot of their Everglades Challenge). They were starting that Sunday morning of the OcoumeFest.

Of particular interest was the 17-foot i550 sport boat specifically built by the Gougeon brothers for these type of events. The race poses several challenges that a modern small sailboat is not normally designed for; low bridges, traversing very shallow water, human propulsion when the wind quits and for those endurance types, the ability to keep going on little-to-no-sleep. It is a race where it is tough for a sailboat to keep up with those machine-like kayakers who maintain a steady, grueling pace.

Bob Ames, John Z and I had an interesting conversation with the two sailors who were piloting the Gougeon i550 sport boat Hot Canary; Joe Frohock, the creator of the Mothmaran, being one of the team.

Click here for the Gougeon article on building the i550 Hot Canary.

Some photos:

The sleeping arrangements - just simple camp-mats laid on the floor under the cuddy cabin.

This is Joe Frohocks life-jacket. The following live on his life jacket during the race. A very sharp serrated knife, electrical tape, a whistle, a mirror, a high-pitched rescue whistle, a waterproof flashlight (and several other items Ive forgotten -I think he also had an EPIRB).

A mast tabernacle so the mast can be quickly pivoted down to get under bridges. It turns out this wasnt quite enough, the freeboard on Hot Canary too high for one of the bridges in the race. They were stuck in front of one low bridge for several hours until the tide went out.

A rudder cassette allows the rudder to be pulled up or "reefed" for shallow water steerage. The mulit-part shock cord assemblage allows the aft part of the cassette to bounce back in case of a hard grounding.

The sideview of the i550 sport boat. The i550 is specifically designed for home-building in plywood and has a flat bottom panel.

The rowing station was a simple carbon plank that sat on the side decks, just behind the lifting daggerboard trunk. Rowing the i550 was not one of the designs strong points. The flare to the i550 sides can be seen at the transom.

Joe Frohock, Bob Ames, John Zseleczky

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Boat Plans Aluminium | Cape Canaveral

Boat Plans Aluminium

last updated Thursday 15th at 10:15am?

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Any comparisons of the Mosquito to the space shuttle are imaginary

Blast Off

This morning at 7:20 am Wednesday,  the Mosquito blasted off from Sebastian Inlet State Park heading north toward the Canaveral National Seashore.  Team B&B spent most of the day sailing on the ICW at 5-11 knots.

SandyBottom and SOS decided to take the inshore ICW route after scouting Sebastian inlet which was full of shoals and breaking waves. It was a difficult choice, they said, between getting through that inlet (possibly requiring a wait for higher tide and considerations of bridge clearance) or staying on the ICW route. Another consideration was that while the chop offshore makes for a wet ride,  the E-to-NE winds in the forecast made the ICW look like a good option. Tough choice, they said.

Sebastian Inlet and State Park  --on a nice day

So far, the choice doesnt seem to have hurt them any as they sailed at a good speed as comfortable as one can be when sailing a trimaran.  SB said tacking, pulling lines, and rolling from one ama to the other all day is no piece of cake, even if it might be easier than some of the alternatives.

Mosquito pre-launch

Round aft hatch,  tiller, main sheet,  trampolines,  large hatch into the grand cabin / main cockpit

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Questions with Answers

When they called home this morning, I caught up on a few outstanding questions:

(1)  What sails were up during the offshore ride?    "Full mainsail and full jib."

(2)  Hows the repair on the drysuit by SOS holding up?   "Its doing just fine, holding well.  Scaremans drysuit is still safely stored away as a backup."

(3)  How do you like having the SPOT mounted on the tiller?  "Early on we moved it to the boom and we like it very much there."

(4)  How was sleeping on the trampolines last night at anchor off Sebastian boat ramp?  "Good except the dew dampened our bivys and sleeping bags.  We need to dry them in the sun when the sun is higher.  A tarp would have been helpful."

(5)  Hows that pesky pinhole leak?   "Better.  Only having to pump the bilge 2-3 times a day.  Its better when the waterstays tend to stay above the waterline."   (image of water stays shown below)

(6)  How does the Mosquito surf waves?   "It surfs really great.  Long skinny hulls and all..."

Waterstays connecting into main hull prevent the akas from folding up

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Leaving Sebastian  

At 7:30 am this morning the wind was N or NE but soon changed to the prevailing E or NE.

Launching from the Sebastian stage point:  This is the start  of  Stage3

Scotty,  More Speed!

They made fast time sailing up the Indian River...

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Sailing on the ICW

SandyBottom and SOS reported that "we were passing everyone; motorboats, sailboats, everyone".

They said one of the most difficult times of the day were when they needed to pass one of the numerous snowbird recreational live-aboard trawlers moving at 8kts with huge stern waves. Going 10kts, they would catch the trawler but then have a difficult time getting past the secondary stern wave (think of a standing wave) that was up to 2 tall. With a gust and burst of speed they would go up and over and surf down that one only to find themselves bracketed in between the primary stern wave ahead and the secondary stern wave behind. Trapped. Getting clear meant again climbing over that next wave. Or, if they slowed down they would slide up and back and down to the starting point behind the trawler. They said getting past one trawler required six tries.



Bridges

SOS reported that the scariest moment yet was passing under the Bennett Causeways double bascule bridge.

Bennet Causeways On-Demand Bascule Bridges

Unlike other draw bridges, there was no delay between the traffic fences coming down and the lifting of the spans.  The crew had expected to have another minute to tack into position.  The bridge operator said "hey captain youre going the wrong way, you need to go north, not east."   Under pressure the crew short-changed their positioning slightly and ended up frighteningly close to pilings on the far side.  Plus the jib back-winded under the second span.  They had to paddle as hard as possible to clear the second bridge.  And they realized the operator had already closed the first span behind them while they were still under the second span. 

They collapsed in a heap after clearing the bridges.  SOS said, "But it did feel good to lie down for a minute."   



Haulover

As they sailed up Indian River,  I was wondering how they would fare farther up the ICW at Haulover Canal which often has strong unfavorable currents. This end of the Indian River and the Mosquito Lagoon is an extremely popular for recreational kayaking.   It is also a well-traveled path on the ICW.  But the canal is narrow, runs NE, and can have fast currents running one way or the other for hours.   Would the Mosquito and crew be able to thread this needle?  Which direction would the current be flowing? 

By 6:30 pm Team B&B would be approaching the Haulover Canal and its on-demand bascule bridge.

Haulover Canal between the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon

MicroTom found this chart that shows that the flow can be in one direction (or the other) for several hours at a time.

Flow rates in alternating directions

?? As they approached Haulover,  the SPOT tracker showed their progress... sailing at 6 kts, then 4 kts, then 2.5 kts, .... 

Paddling under the bascule bridge at Haulover Canal

They called home to say that they tied up by some sticks to lower the mast, then paddled under the bridge at 2.5 kts into an unfavorable 2.0 kt current  --so they moved forward at 0.5 kts. 

On the other side they pulled over to stop for raising the mast, having dinner, and putting on night-time warmer dry clothes.  Their day clothes were a little sweaty.   A fisherman had previously told them that the current would change direction at 7:30 pm (to the favorable direction).  

Their plan, they said, was to sail a few more miles up Mosquito Lagoon before camping for the night. 

By 8:30pm they were on the move again through Mosquito Lagoon.



Beware the Manatee

Mosquito Lagoon is the location in which at 2:00am in 2006 a formerly sleeping manatee exploded under SandyBottoms Kruger Dreamcatcher flipping her upside down in an instant.  At the time she was paddling her first 1200 mile Ultimate Florida Challenge.  All of her drybags were attached to the boat with beaners with strings; so she did not lose any gear.  The water was shallow and warm.  She reorganized on a nearby spoil island and was soon on her way.

The Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon is full of wildlife and is a popular area for kayaking and boating.

Team B&B wants to make the most of Mosquito while they can.  When they reach Ft. Clinch, theyll be switching to a Kruger Cruiser canoe and thell be competing paddle-to-paddle with the competition coming up from behind.


Update

Wednesday night (14th) night SandyBottom and SOS had to weave their way through wall-to-wall fishing boats clogging the ICW.  They were little boats of every imaginable size and shape with least 3 people on every boat partying and fishing.  Most had bright lights in the water underneath the boat.  SB and SOS ran aground a few times because of all the boats that perfered to anchor in the middle of the channel.

Update

SandyBottom and SOS reached the northern extent of the Canaveral National Seashore (CNS) at 11:45 pm Wednesday night and stopped there to camp for the night at anchor on the edge of the ICW.   When they will begin sailing again on the ICW in the morning (Thursday) they will leave the CNS and enter the New Smyrna Beach metropolitan area and soon reach its inlet.  Will they go offshore?  Or will they continue up the ICW?

Meanwhile

Meanwhile back at Sebastian stage point.....   Mosquito Magnet has rested and launched north,  while Whale and RiverSlayer arrived at about 6pm to rest there.

Meanwhile back at the starting line at Ft. DeSoto .....  careful preparations are underway at the finish line.

Ft. DeSoto is the starting line and the finish line

Meanwhile back at the ranch.....

Some are not extremely concerned about how its going for Team B&B Yacht Designs

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Wood Boat Plans And Kits | Outside Looking In

Wood Boat Plans And Kits

Its always fun to listen in when someone outside the sport of dinghy racing puts their two cents in. An English photographer, a landlubber if we go by his commentary, was drafted to shoot the Princess Sofia Olympic Regatta. He puts together this video where he airs his views of this strange sport.



Trofeo Princesa Sofía IBEROSTAR from Sailing Energy on Vimeo.



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Boat Plans Arch Davis | Header Photo Sabre Dinghy and the Return of the Retro Singlehanders

Boat Plans Arch Davis

The previous header photo is of Aussie Matt Kiely sailing the Australian singlehander Sabre class dinghy. The photo was lifted from the South Gippsland Y.C.Facebook page.

Probably the major trend in dinghy racing over the last 30 or so years has been the growth of singlehanded racing at the expense of doublehanded or triplehanded classes. And the trend since the millenium has been the explosive comeback of  what I call the retro hiking singlehanders; those other singlehanded classes designed before, or around the date of the introduction of the Laser (1969). For the most part, these classes are not international (excepting the OK Dinghy and Europe Dinghy); they are popular country-by-country or region, and they attract fleets of thirty, forty or more boats at major championships. They have a builder or two turning out modern hulls, some have carbon masts, many have aluminum. They seem to fill a need in the marketplace that the Laser does not.

I have compiled a list of retro singlehanders. I have excluded the Olympic Finn - 1949 (which has a huge Masters scene) and singlehanders with hiking assists (trapeze, sliding seat). Feel free to add your thoughts about this list in the comments section. (Before the Sunfish sailors jump all over me for excluding the Sunfish from the list - let me state the Sunfish has maintained high levels of popularity in parts of North America and parts of South America for many, many years - I dont see a comeback in popularity - they just maintained it.):

• Solo (U.K.) - 1956 - aluminum mast, stayed rig, full battens
• OK Dinghy (Den.) - 1957 - carbon mast, unstayed rig, short battens
• Streaker (U,K.) - 1975 - aluminum mast, stayed rig, short battens
• Phantom (U.K.) - 1971 - carbon mast, stayed rig, short battens
• Lightning 368 (U.K.) - 1977 - carbon mast, unstayed rig, short battens
• Sabre (Aus.) - 1974 - aluminum mast, stayed rig, full battens
• Impulse (Aus.) -1975 - aluminum mast, stayed rig, full battens
• O-Jolle (Ger.) - 1933 - aluminum mast, stayed rig, short battens
• Larken-Klasse (Ned.,Ger.) - 1920s - wood mast, stayed rig, full battens 
• Europe Dinghy (Moth) - 1960 - carbon mast, unstayed rig, short battens
• Zephyr (NZ) - 1956 - aluminum mast, stayed, full battens

Despite the recent introduction of the "modern" RS Aero, or Devoti D-Zero, with lightweight hulls, mylar sails (correction - the Aero has dacron sails), carbon rigs, it seems the singlehanded market is marching in the other direction. (I must admit the North American market is an anomaly here with not a lot of singlehanded classes under the Laser - still king by a long-shot-, and the Sunfish - a solid runner-up, The other singlehanded classes in North America - like my Classic Moth - are mustering small numbers...Oops! I forgot about the MC scow, now very popular in the U.S.)

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Boat Plans Aluminium Australia | Mosquito Set Free for a Ride on the Outside

Boat Plans Aluminium Australia

Team B&B Yacht Designs left their anchorage at at Peanut Island at 6:30am (DST)  --an hour before sunrise-- to tack out through Palm Beach Inlet (a.k.a. the Lake Worth Inlet). 

SandyBottom said the swells were huge in the inlet and it was a bit scary tacking out.  She said on the outside the swells were large and it was a wet ride as they sailed offshore from the Lake Worth inlet to the Ft. Pierce inlet.  Their typical speed was near 12 kts.  Will have to ask later what sails they had up.

They are now back inside on the ICW headed toward Sebastian Inlet State Park. They have one on-demand bridge to pass and a few other tall fixed bridges. They should be at Sebastian in a few hours. They might have stayed outside all the way to Sebastian Inlet, but that inlet is infamous for its sometimes you-dont-want-to-be-there washing-machine conditions. There was no need to gamble all-or-nothing on Sebastian being calm later today;  they are making very fast time, roughtly 9.5 kts, going up the ICW.

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SPOT track of a fast wet ride sailing offshore

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The website marinas.com provided the following views and descriptions of these inlets.
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Going out the Palm Beach Inlet  a.k.a. Lake Worth Inlet 
(Marinas.com)

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And then coming in the Ft. Pierce Inlet
(Marinas.com)

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