Continuing the series ‘Photographs of Boats I have owned’
here are a few more from 1998 when I joined the Dinghy Cruising Association until I left in 2008. During that time I participated in several
rallies and meetings - all but one of them at venues on the South Coast between
the Solent and Falmouth. The exception
was at Holy Island, Northumbria, which necessitated a long journey there and
back by road. That nearly put paid to the engine of my old Ford Sierra because
of the hammering it took while towing ‘Micro’. I built the little boat from a Swallow
Boats Storm Petrel kit, but I modified her by adding decking and fitting her
with keel boards instead of a daggerboard. Equipped with a boom tent and
portable galley she was a super micro-sailboat eminently suitable for semi-protected
waters.
'Harriott'
Before joining the DCA I discovered that the Roamer dinghy had
been specifically designed for cruising, and that several of them were owned by
members. From the Association’s quarterly Bulletin I learned that one by the
name of ‘Harriott’ was for sale. I didn’t hesitate in contacting the owner and
within a couple of days she was mine. I
made a few changes to her. The most
useful was the addition of a multi-block tackle for raising and lowering the
mast.
'Caleb'
Realizing the advantages of small boat cruising - the trailer
sailer type of vessel - I looked around for a more portable boat that could be
transported on the roof rack of my car. I asked Paul Fisher to design me a
50/50 canoe similar to the type Hugh Horton was experimenting with in the US,
but cheaper and easier to build. Paul more or less got it right, but she was a
little too heavy and a trifle too beamy. Apart from not being able to paddle
her as efficiently as I had hoped, on account of her beam, I was pretty pleased
with her. I could sleep aboard when she was secure at a protected anchorage,
and likewise she was sturdy enough for me to have a night’s kip when she was hauled up on
the beach.
Links
‘Harriott’ - Roamer Interlude – 1999
‘Micro’ - 2001
Caleb - 2003
No comments:
Post a Comment