Rick:
I have a hard-shell sit-into kayak now that I use for a dingy. It
paddles great and tows well, but, as you said, getting into and out
of it from and to my M17 is tricky. So far so good, but I'm pretty
sure your adage is right; I'll dump it or me sooner or later.
--Gary
On Dec 4, 2007, at 5:49 PM, Rick Langer wrote:
Gary,
The 10' oars seem to be the right length, but the height of the
handles requires that I raise the bridge deck seat by about 10
inches. I used a small six-pack cooler to sit on.
Very astute observation concerning the bow wave of the Nymph. It
has definitely been a problem, but at least, it has always been a
good excuse for me being the last one to the anchorage. Your
suggestion might work, but I think the rocker on the Nymph is so
extreme that lowering the eye won't change the upturned bottom from
plowing through the water. The dink tracks well and probably
wouldn't create a noticeable drag on a bigger boat, but being half
the length of the M15 the drag is significant.
Over the last couple of years most of the east coast M cruisers
have converted to inflatable kayaks. They store in a small
suitcase, inflate in a couple of minutes with a battery operated
air pump, paddle surprisingly well and are very seaworthy. Some of
us have even towed them. I flipped mind towing it in about 15
knots on the beam in the North Channel. I think the solution is to
bring it up close to the stern or even lift the bow of the kayak up
unto the stern. One slight downside is that there's a learning
curve when it comes to getting in and out of the kayak from the
mother ship. The saying goes something like this, "If you haven't
made a fool of yourself getting into or out of your kayak, your
about to". Eventually a workable system in mastered.
Now the Nymph is easy to get into and out of, but that hasn't
always been the case. There was this one particular cruise on the
Chesapeake and I ain't naming names, but all the guys who were
there are probably already laughing. Anyway in the midst of most
us taking cockpit showers, just after anchoring, this one
particular fellow lost his shirt in the wind. Did I say particular
or peculiar? Well the shirt was moving away fast. The peculiar
guy says, "Rick go get my shirt" and I, not having a stitch of
clothes on says, "I can't you take my dink". He rushes across two
or three boats and then steps into the bow of the Nymph. Well as
you can see in that picture, by the time the bow got to the water
it had momentum on it's side and the boat did a nose dive with the
peculiar guy looking scared still standing in the bow. Not only
was the shirt getting further away, but the water was filled with
jellyfish (the stinging kind). That peculiar guy had perseverance
though. Once we pulled him out of the drink he hop into that half
swamped Nymph and retrieved his shirt. He was much more graceful
getting out of the Nymph.
Rick
M15 #337 Bluebird
Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2007 19:04:02 -0800
From: Gary M Hyde <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: M_Boats: Rowing an M15
To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats
<[email protected]>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
Rick:
Nice web site! Was 10 feet about the right length for the oars, or
would longer or shorter be better?
I wonder if putting a towing eye down near the waterline on the bow
of you dingy would reduce the bow wave and make it tow better.
--Gary Hyde
2005 M17 sailboat #637 'Hydeaway 2'
We can't change the wind, but we can trim our sails.
On Dec 2, 2007, at 12:40 PM, Rick Langer wrote:
I made a pair of 10' oars that mount on oarlock cleats located on
top of the coaming at about mid cockpit. The reason for the
oarlock/cleat is that there were cleats already in that position
when I got the boat.
I rowed the boat for seven miles one totally windless day, one way
with the current and the other way with no current half the way and
a little push the rest of the way (Hudson River).. It was OK, but
without the current it was no fun. I figure the boat is just too
fat to row. I intended to carry the oars on the boat (for
something to due when the wind dies), but between getting in the
way and poor rowing quality, I leave them home most of the time.
There's a picture of the setup on my website.
http://www.sporadicfanatic.com/
Hey Frank, it's really cold here too and snowy. This is the
earliest winter we've had in twenty years.
Rick
M15 #337 Bluebird
_______________________________________________
http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
_______________________________________________
http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
