L.W. Baxter
07-07-2005, 11:21 PM
I cartopped the new boat (a Canadian Light Batteau from Gardner's The Dory Book ) to Idaho this past weekend. High winds blowing up the Columbia Gorge kept me on edge, but it was mostly a tailwind. You might say the maiden voyage was under sail power!
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid176/p700ab4b2a77553dcaf7622f55b78012d/f35c4b38.jpg
From the moment the boat hit the water it was a raging success. Here, I'm rowing solo against the current.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid176/p062c41c1cf8b33d8b0db4b3f0b7321d0/f35c4b3d.jpg
I had been skeptical, but it rows and maneuvers very well, even with the stubby 6'9" oars I made. In fact, for river drifting, I don't think I would want them any longer.
Speaking of drifting, the batteau is an excellent fishing platform. It can be "hovered" very easily in fast water for multiple casts, and is also stable enough for the fisherman to stand in on flat water. Here, my brother provides guide service to an uncle.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid176/p9cb8d40eae2dd13eeb653bf3171b7871/f35c4b3a.jpg
With two adults, the batteau draws about 5". You can see that freeboard is low, but on the mild rapids tried so far we didn't ship any water.
One unexpected aspect of the design in terms of rowing is that the relative heights of the thwarts and the gunnels mean that the oar looms tend to end up in your lap on the return stroke when rowing vigorously. Rowing-wise, the design would benefit from either lower thwarts, or some sort of raised oarlock.
Also, seeing how much fun it is under oar power, I wish now that I had built the oarlocks more sturdily. I reduced the scantlings of the gunnels and used flush mounted oarlocks which required drilling out a good chunk, and I didn't add much reinforcement.
I didn't beef things up because I wanted to keep things light and sleek and figured it would be mostly paddled anyway. Now I wish I had done it differently. I'm concerned that an oar jammed against a rock could crack a gunnel.
Well, the boat is out of my hands now, as it went home with my brother and family. Time will tell.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid176/p700ab4b2a77553dcaf7622f55b78012d/f35c4b38.jpg
From the moment the boat hit the water it was a raging success. Here, I'm rowing solo against the current.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid176/p062c41c1cf8b33d8b0db4b3f0b7321d0/f35c4b3d.jpg
I had been skeptical, but it rows and maneuvers very well, even with the stubby 6'9" oars I made. In fact, for river drifting, I don't think I would want them any longer.
Speaking of drifting, the batteau is an excellent fishing platform. It can be "hovered" very easily in fast water for multiple casts, and is also stable enough for the fisherman to stand in on flat water. Here, my brother provides guide service to an uncle.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid176/p9cb8d40eae2dd13eeb653bf3171b7871/f35c4b3a.jpg
With two adults, the batteau draws about 5". You can see that freeboard is low, but on the mild rapids tried so far we didn't ship any water.
One unexpected aspect of the design in terms of rowing is that the relative heights of the thwarts and the gunnels mean that the oar looms tend to end up in your lap on the return stroke when rowing vigorously. Rowing-wise, the design would benefit from either lower thwarts, or some sort of raised oarlock.
Also, seeing how much fun it is under oar power, I wish now that I had built the oarlocks more sturdily. I reduced the scantlings of the gunnels and used flush mounted oarlocks which required drilling out a good chunk, and I didn't add much reinforcement.
I didn't beef things up because I wanted to keep things light and sleek and figured it would be mostly paddled anyway. Now I wish I had done it differently. I'm concerned that an oar jammed against a rock could crack a gunnel.
Well, the boat is out of my hands now, as it went home with my brother and family. Time will tell.