The most awesome open boat cruising adventures in Maine and beyond! Sea Pearl 21 SCOUT camp cruises and gunkholes up and down the New England seascape leaving absurdity in her wake. Some duckpunting, too! Quickly, fellow sailors-- to the Sea!
I,AZP/Goat Island Skiff specific posts run from May 2009 to May 2014
Since the Goat Island Skiff is laid up until next season, I nosed around the garage for a bit putting together a little somethingsomething that would get me out on the water. The Goat is great, I love it, but something that could easily get onto the Merrimack River, which is close by, would be great. Nothing like a little late fall paddle up a river with a float back down, right? Right.
Enter: 3 sheets of Sureply vinyl floor underlayment from Lowes for 20 bucks a sheet.
Enter: Miscellaneous wood left-over from the Goat.
Enter: A few quarts of Rustoleum (latex exterior house paint would've worked too) for 40 bucks.
A new design, less than a year old, and already many have been built all over the world. Some are experimenting with sailing rigs. Others made skinnier prototype versions. It comes with solid, fast, inexpensive boatbuilding technique. Yes, you could probably get on the water for less than 200 bucks. What in the name of Poseidon are you waiting for!?!?
Well intrepid reader, it is time to close out this season. It's getting cold, the days are getting shorter, and the fresh water is about to become hard. I needed to have a definite end date to this sailing season, mostly because if I didn't, I'd keep sailing into the early reaches of winter, and I'm sure something would happen that I would regret. Additionally, the Goat Island Skiff needs some attention, she deserves a de-salting and a rest while the temperatures are still above freezing.
Saturday was the last day, in Portland, in conjunction with Clint Chase Boatbuilder's annual boat-talk and small messabout at the East End. I am relying on others who took pictures and the video. All the pictures below can be seen or accessed through this thread at the Wooden Boat Forum. There are pictures of other boats too, dories, a Pea Pod, and the like. I took several people for rides, all of whom I think enjoyed it. I am always happy to share my boat, sailing is awesome, sailing with others is even better! Many thanks to Jonathan, Gareth, Milo, Dan, Shane, and Clint for cruising with me this afternoon.
You'll notice that I stand a lot sailing this boat. There is a reason for it. First, the boat is very spacious in the cockpit and it's large floor is ideal for standing. Second, my ruptured discs in my back don't like it when I sit for long periods of time. With this configuration, I get back relief and get to go sailing! So awesome, and an unintended bonus of the design. The boat is very comfortable for sitting too, so it's kind of a shame. But sitting on the floor with legs propped on the opposite side as well as the gunwale is all very comfortable.
To the pictures, and some video:
Goat Island Skiff with a Beach Pea
With GISAmateur fan, Jon! Yes, I have a fan!
Tight Maneuvering around the dock makes for fun sailing!
Heading out with Dan Noyes of Beachcomber-Alpha fame. I am humbled.
Clint Chase Boatbuilder holds court while I demonstrate the impressive stability of his Deblois Street Dory.
VICTORY For I AM ZINEA, PTERODACTYLUS!
So it was quite the season! Some 30+ days of sailing, 8 of those were spent overnight cruising, several day-cruises to islands in Casco Bay and beyond, and lots of lake sailing in beautiful New Hampshire to boot! My back injury hampered certain adventures that were supposed to happen, but I had other adventures instead. It was a good season, and I am a happier man for it!
The intrepid reader will be advised to keep an eye on this blog, as I will soon be unveiling another Storer design, as well as addressing end-of-season mechanical issues with the Goat Island Skiff. There is a laundry list of repairs, cosmetics, and maybe even wholesale additions to the boat. The season is over, but the passion of boating is not!
This weekend I shot up to Casco Bay with Al from Brooklyn who has built a stunning Goat Island Skiff in his shop. He launches it into an East River tributary by unceremoniously dropping it off the sea wall into the water. The original plan was hopefully for two boats, but Al wasn't able to get the trailer finished in time, so we took mine, which is just as well since Saturday was hot on the heels of a decent sized Nor'Easter we had up here in New England last week. We got a late start on Saturday, and in confused seas we set out for Little Cheabeague-- not too far away, but with a beautiful sandy beach. Far enough.
The ride out was exciting, we shipped a lot of water over the bow in the steep seas, and the last half of the journey was characterized by a fast reach to the island. The ride was wet, and Al did his fare share of bailing. One tack, all the way. In all the excitement I left my trusty camera in the one of the watertight buckets that turned out to be... not so watertight. My camera took a salt bath...
Thankfully, on the return journey we ran into Talisman, a 24' Ostkust. You can see pictures and read about TalismanHere and Here.
The skipper of Talisman took some pics of us returning to South Portland that afternoon, and, video!
Goat Island Skiff Homeward Bound
Fort Gorges in the Background
Here is I am Zinea, Pterodactylus in all her youtubes glory!
My seafaring matey JAYRUM has posted a blog about our manly-man sailing adventure in Casco Bay last month. I invite the intrepid reader to peruse his text and wonderful photographs about our trip at his blog.
As many of you know, Mik Storer is the designer of my Goat Island Skiff. As popular and as awesome as the Goat is, Mik has also designed other boats as well, all of them excellent. Obviously my mind wanders to boat building as the days get shorter and water colder. While I am Zinea, Pterodactylus and I will sail well into the cold season, I'm getting a hankering to trying some new boats, if only to demonstrate my new hard won building skills.
For instance, I have had a real hankering recently to get a canoe so I can do some paddling on the local ponds and rivers, freeing me from the 1hr. car ride I have to make everytime I want to go sailing. It's my water fix, and I need it. Since I'm not working now due to my two ruptured discs in my spine (I'm fortunately mobile, but I cannot sit for any appreciable amount of time-- this is why the Goat is so awesome, I can easily stand and sail), I'd love a canoe, but it needs to be a cheap canoe.
Voila, el answero: The Quick Canoe. Goes together quick and dirty and cheap for fun on the water. Of course, one could also make it nice. Csaba in Hungary just put one together, and put together this video for it.
I mean, how much more fun do you want, in 5 hours and a couple of hundred bucks later? Already I've seen sailing versions, narrow versions, white-water paddling, a motor-QC conversion, amongst numerous other builds, some really spanky nice, some really cheap. Get on the water!
Mik sells this plan with the caveat that you are going to capsize, get wet, go fast, and then capsize again, but boy! She pulls at my heartstrings she does. She may not be the best boat for my back right now, but she's on my hit list. No kidding.
In the meantime, my good friend and adventuring buddy is working on his own Storer design, the elegant and multipurpose Eureka canoe. Stay tuned to see this boat in person, vicariously through me.
Another boat perhaps on the Storer drawing table is the fabled "Son of Goat," a smaller yet just as capable version of the Goat Island Skiff, except mainly tuned to one person and the occasion passenger. A thread here, describes the concept.
