I attended the Small Craft Skills Academy seminar in Mackinaw City, MI last week and I spent much of the prior two weeks getting Karen Ann, my Goat Island Skiff, ready for that event. The Academy is a great four-day seminar combining classroom lessons with on-the-water drills and practice. It was a great refresher for old skills; great instruction for new skills; a great resource for new (to me) ideas for preparing Gardens for adventure sailing; and a wonderful opportunity to make new friends.
Here are a few photos taken during the SCSA in Mackinaw City:
Karen Ann on the beach at Mackinaw City:
Engineless docking drills in the marina:
A Michalak "Mike's Boat"
The Mike's Boat shown above is similar (albeit a much different hull shape) to the Pathfinder in terms of length, beam and weight - and it carries a balance lug yawl rig. One take-away for me from the Academy is the confirmation that I want a balance lug yawl rig for Gardens. I'll contact John Welsford to discuss this sailplan for my Pathfinder.
Work will resume on Gardens while I continue needed maintenance work and minor modifications on Karen Ann before taking her north to Les Cheneaux Islands next month for a week of sailing.
So, we won't be seeing you at the Sucia Rendezvous. Maybe when you've finished your new boat?
ReplyDeleteSaga is the first boat I've had that used a balanced lug and I'm very impressed. It's a powerful sail with a lot of trim options. The fact that it's not attached to the mast helps - you never get flat spots on the leading edge. She's sluggish in a tack, but that could be a lot of things.
This year's calendar is pretty full into late October so my next West Coast trip will have to wait until next year. That gives me time to finish Gardens of Fenwick and sort out her rig.
ReplyDeleteYes, the balance lug is a simple, powerful rig with a lot of trim options. Sluggish through tacks could be a lot of things. How much down-haul do you use to keep the luff taut? Of course, there are many other factors involved but that is one.