12 ft isn't very big

Well, I did it! I took the boat out for it's first trial. I'm scared to try the sail until I get used to the boat itself. So, a friend and I took the boat down and rowed it about. It handled very nicely, and took the weight of both of us (probably 500lbs) admirably. There's really not much more to say except to share the pictures.

To the left is a picture of the boat tied to the dock near the launch ramp. You can tell it was a beautiful afternoon.

The next step is to practice rigging the sail a couple more times and then do a trial sail. My main concerns are handling stronger winds, gusts of winds, and knockdowns. I really want to avoid tipping the boat. In these cold waters, a person can die of hypothermia within 30 minutes.


To the right is a picture of me rowing it away from the dock for the first time. We were rowing canoe style because I hadn't mounted the oarlocks yet. One of the purposes of this rowing expedition was to determine a good position for the oarlocks. I think I was successfull. We'll see.