Why pets and boats dont mix

14.15 in and, Boat Plans, boats, brain, dont, from, lame, mix, pets, poppycock, port, question, starboard, tricky, why

A young couple readying their boat for long-distance cruising want to know what kind of pet would be best to take along on their 35-foot sloop. Well, I have definite ideas about pets on boats, and I couldn’t do better than refer them to a column I wrote several years ago. It went like this:

EVERY SUMMER EVENING, toward sunset, quiet anchorages all over America suddenly become busy as dinghies begin ferrying dogs ashore from yachts. The dogs, cooped up all day on small yachts, almost always stand in the dinghy bows, ears pointed forward, tongues flapping in the breeze, panting with eagerness to get on dry land and empty their bladders.

It’s the poop parade and it’s not pretty. It starts with the dreadful, awkward business of trying to get a dog down into a dinghy in the first place, and ends with the equally dreadful, awkward business of trying to get it up, out of the dinghy and back on deck.

Sailing with dogs is such a lot of bother that you have to wonder why anybody would do it. I love animals as much as the next guy, perhaps more than most, but when I’m cruising I don’t want my choice of destinations and times of sailing to be dictated by an animal whose only ambition is to lift his leg on the nearest beach.

Dogs don’t enjoy sailing. They don’t care if you’re doing two knots or 10. They don’t mind if you hoist the spinnaker or not. They don’t even know what a spinnaker is. People take dogs sailing because they’re lonely for their dogs, not because their dogs are lonely for them.

If you can afford a boat, you can afford to put the dog in a good kennel while you cruise, or to hire a dog sitter. If you really love your animal, you will do what’s best for the dog, not for you. Don’t kid yourself that the dog can’t live without you. Dogs are pack animals and like to follow a leader but believe me, any leader will do. And if a dog’s going to be cooped up with nowhere to go, it surely would prefer to be cooped up on dry land that stays level and doesn’t make it seasick.

In the main, dogs won’t use a sandbox on board, or even a piece of Astroturf on the foredeck or in the cockpit. They’ll hold in a pee until their bladders almost burst. They’ll hang on to a poo until their eyes change color. They only want to go ashore, find a neatly tended marina lawn, or someone’s pretty flower garden, decorate it with their internal debris, and scratch the hell out of it. That’s doggy heaven; and the whole process is repeated again at dawn the next day.

If you must have an animal on board then a parrot makes more sense than anything else. The pirates knew what they were doing. Did you ever hear of a pirate with a dachshund, for goodness’ sake?

And if not a parrot, then a cat. Cats are more compact. They don’t need exercise. You can ignore them and they’ll ignore you right back, with no hurt feelings. And, best of all, you don’t have to take them ashore. They’ll use a litter box. In fact, some will go one step better, and use the head.

I once met one called Pepe who had sailed around the world on a boat called Aqua Viva. His owner, a lawyer, had trained him to sit on the toilet seat by first placing his sandbox there. Pepe never did learn to open the seacock and flush the loo, but nobody was complaining about that.

The trouble with ocean-going cats is that they almost always seem to fall overboard and drown, or else, if they’re females, they run away with some local riff-raff tomcat as soon as they get to port. So, if you have a cat you should try not to get too attached to it because sooner or later you’re going to learn that sailboats and household pets are a very poor mix.

Today’s Thought

America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair.

 —Arnold Toynbee, News summaries, July 14, 1954.

Tailpiece

I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance

Were it not for making a living, which is rather a nouciance.

—Ogden Nash.

(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)

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A thing of beauty is a job forever

13.25 in a, beauty, Boat Plans, dishes, excuses, for, forever, horror, is, job, not, of, rife, sometimes, thing, washing, why

WHEN I LIVED in South Africa I once owned a 30-foot boat that had bulwarks, a caprail, and a rubrail made of beautiful hardwood. I couldn’t help myself, I varnished it. And varnished it. And varnished it.  That hot sub-tropical sun burned through the varnish as if it were melting butter. Every six months I rubbed it all down and put on another two coats of varnish. But, man, it looked beautiful. People walking past in the marina used to come to a sudden halt and stare at it in awe.

Eventually, though, the inevitable happened. I got sick and tired of varnishing. I was also intending to sail that boat to America and I had plenty of other preparations to attend to. I had just about decided to paint all that nice wood a suitable buff color that looked almost like varnish from 20 feet away when I noticed the brightwork on another similar boat a few berths away. It was a lovely shade of honey teak, a transparent matte finish that always looked as if it had just been applied.

I saw the owner on board one day and asked him what kind of varnish he used.

“It’s not varnish, it’s Deks Olje,” he said. “It’s Norwegian magic. You just wipe it on with a rag. Rub it well in, all over, and you’re done. Just let it soak into the wood and dry. You don’t have to bother with fancy brushes and there’s no trouble with wind or dust.”

I couldn’t get to the boat store fast enough. I bought a large can of Deks Olje, which, lacking any knowledge of Norwegian,  I confidently translated as Deck Oil. The instructions claimed it was the “easiest maintenance system afloat,” a protective traditional wood oil, an alkyd-urethane resin. I was thrilled to have discovered it. 

I spent a week removing all the old varnish from my woodwork and sanded it smooth. It was a lot of work. I then applied three coats of Deks Olje with a clean rag. Nothing could have been simpler. Sure enough, it looked magnificent. It wasn’t shiny like the old varnish, but it had a deep, warm luster that enhanced the color and grain of the wood.

We went sailing offshore on day trials shortly afterward, and within two weeks the combined efforts of hot sun and warm salt water had devastated my Deks Olje. It looked terrible. Half of it appeared simply to have been washed away, leaving bare wood already going grey. Much of the rest had turned white, as if it were encrusted with some kind of chemical salt.  Needless to say, I was spitting mad.

I went back to the owner of the boat down the way. “My Deks Olje is a disaster,” I said. “How does yours stay so nice?”

“Oh, my Zulu house servant does it,” he said. “He comes down once a week and just applies a fresh coat. It’s the simplest thing. Takes him half an hour.”

”Once a week?” I said. “You mean, every week?”

“Yes,” he said. “Surely you have a servant?”

We sailed for the USA shortly afterward. I gritted my teeth and let the sun and waves remove the rest of the Deks Olje, which they did with remarkable efficiency. The brightwork weathered to a dignified silver grey and needed no attention at all.

Six months later I bought a can of good old-fashioned tung-oil varnish when we got to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and treated the wood to the old familiar routine. Once again, it looked magnificent and I sold the boat a few weeks later. I didn’t tell the new owner how soon he would have to re-varnish. I figured he was just lucky I hadn’t slapped on another few coats of Deks Olje.

Today’s Thought

 I cannot pretend to be impartial about the colors. I rejoice with the brilliant ones, and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns.

— Winston Churchill, Painting as a Pleasure

Tailpiece

“Your wife tells me she found out you dated an eye doctor in Alaska.”

“No, no, that was no eye doctor. She was an optical Aleutian.”

(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)

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All about roaches

22.03 in about, all, Boat Plans, roaches, sail, sea, the, we, why

SOMEONE CALLED BAYTRIPPER is in need of help. He or she needs advice on “how to stabilize an unstable roach in a roller-furling mainsail, especially in high winds.”

I have no idea what’s happening to this particular roach. It could be flopping off to leeward, or it might be curling back to windward, which is just as bad. I don’t know whether it’s a mainsail that tucks itself away inside the mast, or whether it rolls up on a free-standing stay running down outside the aft side of the mast.

But, despite my profound ignorance, I know of three ways in which sailmakers tackle the problem of making the mainsail roach follow the natural curve of the sail without collapsing to leeward or curling to windward.

The most usual way is to cut the mainsail with a hollow leech and thus do away with the roach altogether. That’s how jibs are cut. On a normal mainsail with a modest roach, horizontal battens are used to stiffen the sail in the area of the roach; but you’ll notice that foresails don’t usually have battens because their leeches are hollow-cut and there is no roach to worry about. The only drawback of a mainsail with a hollow leech is that you lose some sail area, but if the boat is designed to have a hollow leech in the first place, you can compensate with a slightly taller mast that accommodates all the desired sail area.

If you insist on having a regular roach on a furling mainsail, your sailmaker will probably resort to stiffening the roach with battens. You can have short battens or long battens, but both run up and down, parallel to the mast, and both bring their own problems. They have to be parallel to the mast so that they can roll up inside the sailcloth when the sail is furled, but they add bulk to the sail and can jamb in the mainsail slot if it isn’t wide enough.

I like best the idea of a roachless mainsail because it has few drawbacks and many benefits, not the least of which is freedom from the wear and tear on batten pockets, a constant and very comforting source of income for sailmakers.

I guess there will be some of you who are still wondering what a roach is, apart from an obnoxious tropical insect. Well, a roach is the curve in the side or foot of a sail. Square sails have a hollow roach in their foot to keep them clear of the mast stays when the yards on which they are set are braced up, and this is known as the foot roach. When sails are roached on their sides, as in the leech of a gaff mainsail, they are known as leech roaches.

On a Bermuda-rigged mainsail we often refer to the roach as being the area outboard of a straight line drawn from the head of the sail to the clew.  And just in case you haven’t had enough of roaches by now, Baytripper, here are a couple of links to the sites of sailmakers who know what they’re talking about:

Ø http://www.kempsails.com/yacht-sails/main-sails/in-mast-furling-mainsails.html

Ø http://www.quantumsails.com/news/index.php/2015/04/the-truth-about-in-mast-furling-mainsails


Today’s Thought

One ship drives east and another drives west by the same winds that blow.

It’s the set of the sails and not the gales that determines the way they go.

— Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Tailpiece

“What’s Angela’s last name again?”

“Angela who?”

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Scientific Anglers Wavelength Titan Prepare for Launch

07.44 in anglers, Boat Plans, burkheimer, for, i, launch, love, my, prepare, scientific, titan, wavelength, why

When you hear the word "Titan" do you think about fly lines? Or Saturns largest moon Titan, Or the Titan Missile that was in use for more than 45 years that included early manned space flights known as project Gemini, Or the Greek Mythology were the Titans are giant deities of incredible strength who ruled the legendary Golden Age. The common denominator of the word Titan is clearly defined by size, strength and power. Can a fly line really be compared to such greatness!

Wavelength Titan

Wavelength replaces the Textured series. A short history...first came Sharkskin than Textured. Textured was a softened up version of Sharkskin. In 2014 Sharkskin was refined into Sharkwave. For 2016 Textured gets refined into Wavelength. Within the Wavelength Series you will find MPX, Titan, Trout, Nymph/indicator, Grand Slam and Tarpon. For the purpose of this article I am just going to focus on the Wavelength Titan and Sonar Titan sinking lines.

Wavelength Titan

Titan

Titan came out a few years back after all the hype of the Sharkskin/Textured lines had come and gone. I said it as soon as I fished with the Titan that this was probably the best ever of the textured lines that I have ever fished (and Ive fished them all) but unfortunately no one will be willing to try it after so many mixed reviews regarding Sharkskin. I liked the Textured Titan and continued to use it despite the hazing I took for fishing with a textured line. After a couple years it gradually grew a steady following. In that period I found several other dedicated users with similar opinions about the line. S/A noticed and decided to lock in this taper and expand on it. Look today and you will find this specific "Titan" taper in the Wavelength, Mastery and Sonar Series of lines. I think that says something for it. Its here to stay. What makes this particular taper successful is while in general it is a bumped up shooting head type of line that provides easy turnover of large flies it also incorporates enough rear taper to make it far more friendly and versatile than other shooting head lines. More versatile in the way of easier mending, more flexible pickup / cast positions, better shoot-ability with its textured surface and just more friendly fish-ability.

Conquered with Titan

In general most shooting lines are very straight forward, you strip in to the head, make your cast, strip back in to head and repeat. This is great when all youre doing is bombing distance cast. But the problem with this is what happens when you get that surface strike and go to set the hook...Swing and a miss! You want to get that fly back on the target as quick as possible but your standard shooting head line has you scrambling to strip back to the head to make another cast. Your traditional shooting head line is in the thin running line section and cannot transfer the energy properly to get the fly back to where the strike occurred. You struck out! Titan gives you that little added benefit of getting your fly back and getting the hit with a little bit of added rear taper that allows for a more flexible pick up point. Titan also requires less energy to lift off the water due to its reduced friction from the textured surface allowing you to utilize that energy into the backcast for increased rod load enabling an easier long forward re-cast back to the specific target. I have witnessed and done this time and time again and the benefit is clearly evident especially when you are target specific fishing.

The best uses I have found for this line is predator fishing such as bass, pike and musky. It can be a good carp line if your bugs are on the big or weighted side such as in the picture above. That is a great lakes carp caught with a weighted craw pattern. Titan was perfect for that catch. It can also be a great trout streamer line both from a boat or wading. Easily handles nymph/indi fishing from a boat too. Im sure you could find other uses as well. Tell us what you use it for in our comments.

In my words Titan is a modern powerful big fly, easy turnover taper that excels at shooting distance and yet retains some handling properties of a bumped up general purpose fly line.

Specific Textured Characteristics - The Good, Bad and Myth!
Titan is a textured line and while texturing has some great characteristics it has also has some bad rap mostly originating from the original Sharkskin Series of lines. Let me address the good, bad and mostly myth about these lines.

Tamed with Titan!

They will cut your hands! While the original sharkskin was very roughly textured the Wavelength lines are no were near as sharply textured as sharkskin was. Is the textured surface noticeable, sure! My take on this is you are going to be handling and stripping line all day than you really need to wear some stripping gloves no matter what line you fish with whether it smooth or textured. If you cant stand gloves than get some Stripping Guards by Buff. The payoff of gloves or stripping guards with any fly line is better strips and no line burns.

Noisy in the guides! Again nothing compared to the original sharkskin lines. Do they make a little noise, yes! Is it a problem, No! Its actually a benefit that I will explain next.

Less friction! Textured lines strip easier, haul easier and lift off the water easier. I would question anybody who wants to make an argument about this! I very much appreciate less friction after long days of repeated target casting.

Higher floating! Not only is this a great feature in itself but also contributes to easier lift from the water.

Shoots farther! I want to mention that not only it this noticeable with a new line right out of a package but textured lines continue to shoot great day after day and year after year. My original Textured Titan line is 5 plus years old with countless hours of use and still shoots and performs great!

Heat resistant! Im dont know if this has anything to do with the textured surface but I noticed this past summer in mid day high temps when a couple of my OTHER lines where reaching melting point and NOT behaving well while wilting in the mid day heat but my Titan continued on shooting with no trouble at all. Likewise I have fished it right down to freezing temps and still handles good.

The sinking Sonar Titans have arrived!

New for 2016 for Scientific Anglers is Sonar Series. Sonar Series indicates any premium S/A lines that sink!
Three Titan options here that I want to spend some time on. First understand that all Sonar Titan lines have a textured surface. This alone clearly separates them from the other Sonar Series lines which have a smooth surface. Personally I think the next 3 lines I describe have a significant place in the future of sinking lines due to the popular taper design and the benefit of the textured surface.


Sonar Titan Clear Tip
Think powerful clear streamer tip!

Sonar Titan Clear Tip is a weight bumped, powerful taper for easy turnover of big flies, three color for easy length determination, textured for easy pick up and long distance shooting ability and formulated to suit most temperate environments.

Sonar Titan Intermediate

Many Streamer Anglers are discovering the benefit of going all in with full intermediate lines. Getting the running line under the surface improves your connection to the fly and allows for truer swimming action of streamers.

Sonar Titan Int/Sink 3/Sink 5
Triple Density Sinking fly line! I am already hearing major buzz following this line. Its starts with an intermediate running line section that seamlessly transforms into a type 3 sinking mid section that flows into a type 5 sinking Titan tapered head section of line. Triple Density, full sinking, powerful Titan taper, braided core, made for temperate environments and textured for reduced friction allowing for easier pickups and longer cast. Streamer anglers even if youre not a textured line fan you might ought pay attention to this one. We could easily be looking at a game changer!

Triple Density

From the very first Sharkskin I realized that there was some benefits to textured lines. It just took a few years to bring out those qualities. I continue to use and test new lines all the time and in the past couple of years I find myself comparing lines to the Titan. That says a lot. Titan is not a line for every purpose or everyone but mark my words, "Textured lines like Titan are here to stay!"

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Silent Fan Club paradox

23.42 in and, Boat Plans, boats, club, dont, fan, his, mix, paradox, pets, sad, sailor, salopettes, silent, soils, why

A LETTER FROM Ivor Tungin-Cheaque, Chairman of Vigor’s Silent Fan Club, says:

Honorable Sir,

A dilemma of considerable proportions has raised itself in regard to membership of your Silent Fan Club. As you well know, members are forbidden to contact you or praise in any way your unmatched wisdom and unrivalled literary skills. Because membership is automatic from birth, you have the biggest fan club the world has ever known.

But a recent newspaper article has given me cause for concern about the exploding world population. The article said that the Real Madrid soccer club is claiming to have 45 million fans. This is nothing compared with Vigor’s Silent Fan Club, which numbers its fans in the billions — but the implications are alarming

Since enrolment in your honor’s club is automatic, there have never been never been more members of Vigor’s Silent Fan Club. Nor has there been so great a demand on our administrative services. Never before have we struggled so valiantly to  keep track of new members and expel those few who break their vows of silence.

It is obvious, however, that the more the world population grows, the greater the chance that some members will break their vows of silence by reading your columns and publicly praising you. They will then have to be expelled.

This means that as the club grows, so its numbers will decline. This is a vexing paradox.

My humble suggestion is that you should immediately start toning down the the cleverness of your columns and the skill with which you wield the editorial pen. If your fans find less to admire in your writing, the less likely they will be to give in to their instinct to burst into ill-considered praise.

I shall, of course, keep you informed of developments.

I close with admiration for your sage-like utterances, your ready wit and charm, the subtle thrust and parry of your sparkling repartee, and the wisdom, Solomon-like, that graces your princely brow.

Yours Humbly and Obediently,

IVOR TUNGIN-CHEAQUE (Chairman, Vigor’s Silent Fan Club)

PS:  I hope this makes sense. They’re replacing the padding in my cell and it’s very distracting.

Today’s Thought

To communicate through silence is a link between the thoughts of man.

— Marcel Marceau, US News & World Report, 23 Feb 87

Tailpiece

“My husband is so careless about his appearance. He just can’t seem to keep buttons on his clothes.”

“Maybe the buttons weren’t sewn on properly in the first place.”

“Oh, you may have a point there. He’s terribly careless with his sewing, too.”

(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)

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Why horror is sometimes rife

20.30 in beautiful, Boat Plans, dealing, heavy, horror, in, is, of, overhangs, praise, rife, sometimes, weather, why, with

IT OCCURS TO ME now and then that I’ve written and repeated just about everything I know about boats and the sea, and that my readers must be getting just a tad bored with it all. But then I remember that new generations keep coming along, generations that have to learn all the same old things all over again, because humans don’t seem to be able to pass on the seeds of experience to the fruit of their loins.

So I console myself by catering to the newbies, the neophytes who are anxious to learn how not to kill themselves at sea, the ones who have not yet been bored by my ravings. And interesting things happen at sea, believe me.

So, in this vein of dispensing help for the unwitting, I ask: Do you know why boats so often broach, roll broadside on, and capsize when they’re running before the wind in large waves? It’s because when a wave breaks under your stern you have practically no steering power to keep her running straight. The rudder is suspended in foam, not water, and it can’t do its job. If you’ve ever been dumped by a big breaker while body surfing you’ll know the awful feeling of not being able to float high enough to get your head above water.

And if your boat heels to 45 degrees, you don’t have much steering ability, in any case. Think about it. The rudder is trying to lift the stern toward the sky as much as it is trying to turn the stern sideways. And, of course, if you do a 90-degree capsize you can’t steer at all. If the rudder isn’t totally out of the water, as it would be on a tubby light-displacement boat, it will be horizontal and unable to turn the stern either way.

Stability at sea is always a fascinating subject for sailors, whether they actually get away from the sight of land or not, and one of the very basic facts about boats is that stability comes as a cube of the length, other things being more or less equal. This means that a 30-footer is 72 percent more stable than a 25-footer, which explains why a 30-footer can stand up to its canvas so much better. It also explains why a 30-footer costs so much more than a 25-footer. But that’s another subject for neophytes to learn about. Some other day, perhaps. Class dismissed.

Today’s Thought

It hath been an opinion that the French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are; but howsoever it be between nations, certainly it is so between man and man.

—Bacon, Essays

Tailpiece

Golfer: “You must be the worst caddie in the world.”

Caddie: “Oh come now — that would be far too much of a coincidence.”

(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)

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Sailing science advances slowly

04.08 in across, advances, and, Boat Plans, boats, dont, europe, mix, pets, sailing, science, slowly, why

IT TOOK MANKIND a long time to figure out how to represent the shape of a boat on paper. Indeed it is quite an achievement to be able to “see” the three-dimensional shape of a hull in the mind’s eye just by looking at a set of lines drawn on a flat surface. It took centuries before waterlines, buttock lines, and stations became the everyday tools of naval architects.

In fact, before the sixteenth century little was known of the science of ship design, according to Steve Killing, author of Yacht Design Explained: “It was experience rather than theory that taught the shipbuilder (who was often the designer) what was fast and what was seaworthy.”

In those days, experimentation was the only way to make a new ship better than the last, and sometimes progress wasn’t progress at all, Killing says. “In 1697 Paul Hoste, a French Jesuit priest and professor mathematics, was beginning to explore the new science that Newton’s example had inspired.”

Hoste wrote: “It cannot be denied that the art of constructing ships . . . is the least perfect of all the arts . . . . The best constructors build the two principal parts of the ship, viz. the bow and the stern, almost entirely by eye, whence it happens that the same constructor, building at the same time two ships after the same model, most frequently makes them so unequal that they have quite opposite qualities.”

Progress in the early days was very slow, and we might be forgiven for presuming that science is making much greater strides in this modern age. But we are forced to think again when accidents happen such as the sinking of OneAustraliaduring the 1995 America’s Cup Challengers’ Series. That catastrophe came about because of simple structural failure.

So much for computer-aided design. “Even with the latest scientific know-how on hand, we’re still learning things the hard way,” notes Killing.

Today’s Thought

There is a period of life when we go back as we advance.

— Rousseau, Émile

Tailpiece

“How much is a bottle of brandy? It’s my nephew’s birthday and he likes brandy.”

“Well, madam, it depends on the age. Seven-year-old is quite reasonably priced. Ten-year-old costs a bit more. Twelve-year-old can be quite expensive.”

“Gee, that’s terrible. My nephew is 25.”

(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)

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Why I use rosin paper

16.56 in a, Boat Plans, i, paper, remember, rosin, to, use, voyage, why

I recently read an article concerning conversion of developable surfaces into flat sheet patterns.  In previous posts, I really havent discussed how to do that using a mathematical approach.  It can be done; I used this approach when I built a 20 1/2 foot sharpie design many years ago.  The only reason I havent expanded on the subject is that, once I have a hull framework constructed, it is easier to simply make a stiff rosin paper pattern by laying a roll of paper over the framework and tracing the edges.  But, for those who do not want to construct a full hull framework, being able to go directly to laying out patterns for sheathing may be worthwhile.

The method utilizes what may be best called external triangulation.  It is external because we are not calculating distances just between points within the design surface but instead are using our conic apex, located at some distance from the surface borders, as a reference point for many measurements.  Using the coordinates of the apex in conic development and the coordinates of consecutive points along the chine of the hull, we can calculate the length of radiating (ruling) lines emanating from that apex.  The chine of the hull is created using a mathematical equation; thus, by integrating this equation (the power of calculus) we can find an equation [it is a long but standard equation] to calculate the distance along the curve between any two designated points on the chine.  Those points along the chine provide the third distance in creating a series of triangles which, when plotted in sequence, will give us the shape of the developed surface.  However, part of the chine curvature may be contained within the outline of the surface itself; thus the sequential points of the chine are best first plotted along a fair batten which is then laid in place and connected to the ruling lines from the apex.  For parallel projections, instead of an apex, we would be plotting parallel ruling lines.  If you calculate the distance between two sets of coordinates in a developed surface NOT connected by a ruling (straight) line by using simply the formula square root of (x squared plus y squared plus z squared), the distance will be distorted by lack of consideration for the curvature present.

In conclusion, yes, I can create flat surface patterns for sheathing.  But is it really worth the effort when a roll of rosin paper will give me the same thing?   

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An appeal for bow rollers

11.59 in an, appeal, be, Boat Plans, bow, can, for, horror, how, is, rife, rollers, seaworthy, sometimes, they, why

WHEN I WALK AROUND our local marina I can hardly believe how many boats lack anchor rollers. What were the manufacturers thinking? Thirty footers and bigger, without any proper means of retrieving the anchor and its rode. Did they imagine their boats would never ever anchor, from choice or necessity?

In my humble opinion, no boat over 20 feet in length should be allowed to leave the factory without a proper anchor roller at the bow.

Anyone who has ever tried to weigh anchor by hand in a boat without a bow roller knows how awkward and difficult it is. Consequently, you’ll notice that all sorts of after-market rollers get bolted on by boat owners seeking to ease the pain of retrieving the anchor. Some of them look far too flimsy for the job. Some stick out from behind the forestay at an odd angle. Others have to be bolted on top of a bed of teak to bring them to the correct level. And they’re not cheap, either. A reasonably sized one that will house the anchor costs in the region of $200 with shipping. And then you have all the fun of fitting it yourself.

I was lucky enough to own a boat that was designed from the beginning to have an anchor roller. It was part of a simple bronze fitting that incorporated the bow chainplate, a bow roller, and the stemhead fitting to which the forestay attached. I blessed its little heart every time I weighed anchor, which I was able to do sitting down on deck behind it and bracing my feet in the anchor well.

In the days of my youth I used to be able to raise that way a 35-pound CQR on an all-chain 5/16-inch rode in 90 feet of water. But when I later bought a 27-foot Cape Dory with a built-in roller, my anchor weighed only 25 pounds and there was only 30 feet of 1/4-inch chain; the rest was nylon line. So I had it a lot easier and I was very grateful.

I can only imagine that unscrupulous boat manufacturers deliberately omit a bow roller in an effort to keep the selling price down a few bucks. It’s a wicked practice, like selling a new car without a horn, or without a spare tire. If I were in charge of the boat-manufacturing industry I would make it a federal crime to sell a boat without an anchor roller. But since they’re never likely to elect me to that position, the situation is unlikely to change unless we all start complaining to our representatives in Congress.

Never mind Obamacare for the moment. Never mind Trump and Isis and Iran and North Korea. Forget all that for now. Surprise your elected U.S. representative. Ask him or her to sponsor legislation about bow rollers. You never know. It might be such a refreshing change from the same-old, same-old, that Washington DC could catch fire with enthusiasm for compulsory bow rollers. And if that means some boat manufacturers will end up behind bars, so be it. They deserve it.

Today’s Thought

The law is the last result of human wisdom acting upon human experience for the benefit of the public.

—Samuel Johnson, Miscellanies

Tailpiece

“Did you know old Joe survived mustard gas and pepper spray?”

“No. How’s he doing?”

“Oh he’s a seasoned veteran now.”

(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)

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Outcast Commander vs Outcast Pac800

12.27 in Boat Plans, commander, fish, fly, hatch, i, outcast, pac800, reels, vs, why

Outcast OSG Commander

Frame-less vs. Frame! Do I need a frameless boat?

With the recent resurgence of frameless personal watercraft like the Outcast Commander, Stealth Pro and Fish Cat Scout, many anglers are wondering what the advantages are of a frameless boat compared to a more traditional framed pontoon boat like the Outcast PAC 800. I recently took a trip down the river with an old friend so we could test out the capabilities of each type of boat.

Outcast OSG Commander:

I spent the day rowing and fishing in the Commander. I took it down a small, technical river and then later kicked around a local lake. Why Frameless? I chose the Commander with a specific purpose in mind. There are a couple of rivers that a motivated angler could get a boat into some great water without having to commit to using a traditional boat ramp… I can think of three of four places where dragging a boat in would give me a nice option for a short float that people with drift boats wouldn’t consider going. At 35 pounds, the Commander is easy to manage and handles technical whitewater well.

Got to be motivated to get here!

What I like about the Commander:

It’s quick and easy to set up. It takes about ten minutes to get it from packed in an Outcast Kayak Bag to completely ready to go. I like that I can keep a small collapsible cooler, small dry bag with extra clothing and my fishing gear all behind the seat. There are convenient webbing loops along the seam where the floor meets the tube to tie your gear down. Remember to always “rig to flip” and tie all your gear in.

The boat handles really well. It is very easy to get moving and can handle very technical water with ease. It has a low, narrow profile which makes it easy to get through little chutes and between rocks. I don’t want to mess with class IV whitewater in general, but feel confident that my boat will get through the class II water that we have around here with ease, especially in the summer when the water is low.

One reason I like these frameless boats is that an angler can pull onto a gravel bar and just stand up and fish. The boat does not get away from you as you are standing within it. It is light enough that it does not pull on you much when you are working your way through a spot with the boat holding in the current against your legs. This makes it easy to quickly fish small buckets ad move on to the next spot.

The ability to mount accessories is wonderful. The Stealth Pro and Commander both have two pads that can hold a cargo pocket or a rod holder. It is an easy way to keep your rod and fishing supplies available for quick and easy access.

The ugly:

Effective but different than standard oar lock systems

There are a few things that I don’t like about the frameless boats, all very minor. The first is that the oars and oarlocks. You cannot ship them (pull them in) or feather them (twist the blades as you stroke). As someone who has rowed thousands of miles, my rowing habits (good and bad) are already formed and I don’t like having to change my stroke just for this boat. All of the frameless boats on the market have the same features, and I don’t see them changing it at all. It is really just a minor inconvenience, but it is something I wish were different. I do understand that it would significantly raise the price of the boats to develop a new system.

Another feature that I dislike is the pocket; more specifically, the placement of the “frameless cargo pocket”. There are two pads that are glued onto the boat that accessories (like the pocket or rod holders) can be mounted to. The Stealth Pro comes with one pocket, while it is an accessory for the Scout and the Commander. The pocket is long enough that it gets in the way of the oar on the Commander, but only when you are trying to stow the oar.

The Stealth Pro has the ability to move the pad into three positions. After talking with Greg about his Stealth Pro, he told me that the pocket only gets in the way when the pad is moved into the “forward” position. I have not spent any time in the Scout, but I would imagine that it is a concern also because it is in a fixed position similar to the Commander.

PAC 800

This is a more of a traditional single man pontoon boat. The pontoons are beefy 16” diameter and they have a good rocker. The rocker is the curve on the bottom boat. A bigger rocker reduces the amount of surface area on the water and makes it move faster along with easier navigation. The urethane bladders are a superior material that provides peace of mind (more on that shortly).

Get to places previously unreachable

What I like:

This is a solid boat that is easy to navigate along with sturdy construction that is unlikely to fail. The storage capacity is great. I would feel comfortable with enough gear for a light overnight float. The platform on the back is great for latching and securing gear. It is easy to navigate and sits high in the water. A bigger profile means that it draws less water than smaller boats. More surface area is harder makes it easier to float.

Another benefit is that you sit higher in the water, so your butt is less likely to constantly be wet. This few inches can give you a better vantage point for scouting rapids and spotting fish too.

There is far more versatility with rigging options on a pontoon boat. An anchor is no big deal on a framed boat, while it is possible, but not as convenient on a frameless boat. There are more surfaces and bars to attach straps and gear to, so taking more gear down the river is easier to rig and easier to secure. I would feel comfortable taking enough gear for an over-night excursion on a PAC 800.

The Ugly:

Framed boats are heavier than frameless boats (Stealth Pro and Commander - 35#, PAC 800 - 52#). That is why frameless boats were developed in the first place. There is also more weight to get moving, so you are using more energy for rowing in the first place.

Outcast Wheel System

Another point is that you have slightly less accessibility with a pontoon boat. An angler is more limited where he can take it. Even with the Outcast Wheel System there are places that the PAC 800 would be difficult to get to that would be easy for a frameless boat. The Commander can squeeze through tighter slots and rapids than the PAC800. Chris and I are both extremely accomplished oarsmen and he got the PAC 800 stuck in the middle of a rapid where my Commander fit through just fine.

A boat that sits higher in the water is also more susceptible to being blown around in the wind. The PAC 800 is no exception; windy conditions make it more difficult to row. I once took a pontoon boat out on a lake without the oars (just fins) and ended up having to leave it on the other side of the lake and walk way too far when the wind started blowing so hard I could not kick against it any longer. I had to come back and get it early the next morning.

So do I need a frameless boat?

Storage solution - Outcast Boat Hoist

Well that is up to you. A PAC 800 or PAC 900 are both solid choices, as well as either the Stealth Pro and Commander. I choose these four boats because they have urethane bladders. There are tons of choices out there, but a urethane bladder is the key to a high quality boat. Urethane is much more puncture and tear resistant than Vinyl (as seen in many alternative boats). Urethane also lasts longer and can take a higher psi. Someone asked me if the single bladder on the outer part of the Commander is an issue. Absolutely not! There is only one bladder because the chances of it failing are so poor that it is not an issue. Cheaper alternatives have multiple bladders because there is a greater chance of a failure.

Who is a frameless boat better for?

• Anglers that use questionable or non-traditional access points.
• Anglers that want quick set-up if they have to break down the boat
• Anglers that bring minimal gear
• Anglers looking for a low-profile, lightweight boat

Who is a pontoon boat better for?

• Anglers that tend to use more traditional access points. 
• Anglers that carry a lot of gear
• Anglers that do overnight or multiple-day floats. 
• Anglers with a truck/ or a trailer to leave the boat rigged up OR
• Anglers that can take a few extra minutes to set up and take down

A boat is a big purchase for any angler. It opens up so much more water and opportunity, plus it is just darn fun to run a river. Rowing and navigating is another skill to master that increases your fishing prowess. Learning how the currents come together and being able to float over fish and structure can only give you insight on how to be a better angler.

We are always happy to help you make tough decisions with your precious fishing gear. Please give us a call if you ever have any questions.

Andrew Perrault
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

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"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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At Flaming Gorge Utah

10.52 in at, Boat Plans, flaming, gorge, i, paper, rosin, use, utah, why

A planned trip to Pueblo Reservoir had to be cut short because of an electrical short in the power tilt/trim switch.  Diagnosis was difficult; installing a new switch was simple.  There was a crack in the rubber cover for this switch which, after a period of use, allowed moisture intrusion to complete the circuit.  This past week we went to Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah for some real boating.  The lake extends into Wyoming for 75-100 miles filling a deep and scenic gorge.  We explored the lake for 30-40 miles and encountered some wind and waves.  It is a light boat with little draft so, when maneuvering into the dock with a wind present, we lower the bimini top to cut windage.  Also, when cornering while planed out, the hull will skid; when cornering while accelerating onto a plane, the hull will bank well and turn sharply.  There is almost no bow rise when accelerating, and the hull rides smoothly and cuts through moderate waves with no fuss.  I switched to a 15" pitch prop for this trip.  We were operating at 6000 altitude, and the engine achieved 4700 rpm, easily exceeding the 35 mph maximum speed of the speedometer dial.  The "sweet spot" for this engine is supposed to be 5000-5200 rpm and our next outing is at Grand lake, over 9000 elevation, so I have ordered a new 13" pitch stainless steel propeller which, hopefully, will be perfect for these circumstances.  I have to think that, if we were near sea level, this boat would easily exceed 40 mph or, alternately, I could have installed a somewhat less powerful engine.

I havent yet mentioned that this new boat fits our trailer perfectly, much better than the previous boat.  We trailed it 400+ miles to the lake; other than a decrease in acceleration, you couldnt notice that we were towing.  Although I cant find anything design-wise to improve on this boat, I am always evaluating what could be made better/ more esthetically pleasing on a next boat.  This is a 12 degree deadrise hull; I wonder what a 14 degree deadrise would do to performance?  I have an idea for a more modern-looking runabout which I hope to publish here in the near future.  I already have all the offsets and need to make up some drawings.  Then perhaps construct a model.

    

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Why I Love my Burkheimer

05.41 in 14th, Boat Plans, burkheimer, columbia, december, fishing, gorge, i, love, my, report, why

C.F. Burkheimer 7134-4

Spey fishing is a craft. It is alive and evolving, just as art, music and even yoga. 

Like many North-westerners, I started out fly fishing for trout and rather quickly evolved from single hand casting to spey casting. As the progression moves on, we evolve from learning to cast to learning to cast effortlessly. At the same time, we strive to find the best rod, reel and line to fit our personal casting style. Many of us go from fast rods to slower rods, cheap rods to expensive rods, many rods to just a few cherished rods. I feel that if this evolution happens over a long enough time frame that many steelheaders will land with a Burkheimer as the centerpiece of their collection. Some guys just pick a rod and then use it forever, but I am a gear junky, and my current position at a fly shop allows me to push it to the limit if I choose. I am constantly striving to improve; improve my cast, my rods, reels, lines, flies, presentations, gear, attitude and the quality of my fishing time.

This past summer, I began to feel that I had been spey fishing long enough that it I could finally get a Burkheimer. I wouldn’t say that I deserved a Burkheimer or that I had earned a Burkheimer, but the time has come for me to get one. I have now, over thirteen years of spey fishing, owned, or at least fished rods from every rod manufacturer out there. It now occurs to me that they were all just practice rods, learning tools so that when the time came, I could wield the Burkie with the respect that it deserves. I mean, you don’t just give a teenager a new car. Not only does the teen have to learn to drive it properly, he needs to learn how to care for, maintain, and most importantly, respect it before being given the keys.

My friend E bought his first Burkie last winter. I got to cast it just for one run and was absolutely in love with it. The 7119-4 is a beautiful switch rod, perfect for the Hood River in the winter. E fished it for a few months and then one day I noticed he was fishing his Echo again. I asked why he would sell the nicest rod he had ever cast and he said that it was partly because he was afraid that he would break it, but mostly that the rod was too nice for him. He felt that he was not worthy of having such a beautiful stick. At least he recognized it early on, and the time will come for him to buy another some day.

C.F. Burkheimer makes many different models to choose from. I chose the 7134-4. The 13’4” 7wt is a great year-round stick that has a deeper load than the 7127-4 (my second choice). This rod is perfect for Skagit casting and winter steelhead. Not that the 7127-4 isn’t great, but I prefer the deeper load and slower action of this rod compared to the quicker action of the 7127-4. I fished a few different Scandi style lines on the Deschutes, including an Airflo Rage Comapact 450, a RIO Scandi Versitip #7 and a Scientific Anglers UST Scandi 480. All of those lines were a good match to the rod and made casting nearly effortless.

While I thoroughly enjoyed fishing the Scandi lines, I am ready for the winter chrome. My rod is now loaded up with the new Airflo Skagit Compact G2, 540 grain Skagit Head and it is money! Nice, easy, steady strokes result in long, tight loops with minimal effort. Matching this line and rod makes this one of the nicest casting setups I have ever touched.

One of the nicest you ask? I thought that the Burkheimer was the end-all be-all rod, the one rod to rule them all? Well, the Sage ONE 7136-4 is an amazing rod that casts like a dream, so are the Winston BIII TH 7133-4 and the G. Loomis NRX 13’ 7/8. There is a lot of power loaded into this Burkheimer, but it takes a slow, steady stroke to unleash it, and I am still months from pushing the rod to its limits to find the perfect stroke, and then reigning in that cast to perfection. While I would give the edge in pure ease of casting to the ONE (it’s also lighter in weight), the Burkie wins in my book as the best overall rod. It’s the attention to detail, the finish work, the paint job, the hardware, and of course, the mystique that all push the Burkie into a solid first place finish.

The Burkheimer 7134-4 has a similar cast and load to the Winston BIII-TH 7133-4 in my opinion. It has a deep load that responds quickly when power is applied to the forward stroke. While the rod is very forgiving, it still lets you know when you’ve done it right. I believe this rod has a little more flex in the bottom end and has more power in the forward stroke, but it’s pretty darn similar in my opinion. The ONE and the NRX are both faster and a little bit lighter, but the overall weight is not noticeable to me when standing knee deep in the river.

The one place that I really do notice a difference is in the cork. I like a thin grip that is comfortable in hand and beautiful to look at. Burkies have the nicest cork on the market, both in the quality of the cork and the shape of the handle. This goes a long ways for me, as holding onto a rod for 8 hours a day is uncomfortable with some cork handles on the market. This one is easy to hold and helps to create a very relaxed grip. A relaxed grip leads to a relaxed cast, which is what I am searching for in a good rod.

Am I putting my Burkheimer up on a pedestal? It is just a fishing rod. It’s probably much like any other rod from an outsider’s perspective. I know this, but I feel that if any piece of gear in the fly fishing world should be put on a pedestal, it should be a Burkheimer spey rod.

About buying a Burkheimer: C.F. Burkheimer Fly Rods. Build your custom rod in our store

We forward order and Stock a few select Burkheimers: Check for in-stock Burkheimers





Andrew Perrault
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Why we sail the sea

23.53 in Boat Plans, dont, forget, plankton, sail, sea, the, we, why

HILAIRE BELLOC was many things in his lifetime, but I like to remember him as a sailor.  He lived from 1870 to 1953 and held dual British/French nationality. He was one of the most prolific writers in England in the early 20th century, and among his best pieces, in my view, was his description of what makes a person sail the sea:

“To sail the sea is an occupation at once repulsive and attractive. It is repulsive because it is dangerous, horribly uncomfortable, cramped and unnatural: for man is a land animal.

“It is attractive because it brings adventure and novelty at every moment, and because, looking back upon it, a man feels a certain pride both in danger overcome and in experience. But it is also attractive in another and much more powerful fashion. It is attractive by a sort of appetite.

“A man having sailed the sea and the habit having bitten into him, he will always return to it: why, he cannot tell you. It is what modern people call a ‘lure’ or a ‘call.’ He has got it in him and it will not let him rest.”

Today’s Thought

Cruising is more than a sport. The mood of it comes over you at times, and you can neither work nor rest nor heed another call until you have a deck beneath your feet and point a bowsprit out to sea.

— Arthur Sturges Hildebrand.

Tailpiece

Paddy was crossing the fairway when a ball smacked him on the back of the head.

A golfer came up and said: “Why didn’t you get out of the way?”

“An’ why should I?” said Paddy angrily.

“Because I said ‘Fore!’ and that’s a sign to get out of the way.”

“Oh and is it now?” cried Paddy. “Well I’ve got news for you. When I say ‘Foive’ it’s a sign you’re going to be hit on the jaw. Foive!”

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Why I fish Hatch Fly Reels

21.06 in 8th, Boat Plans, columbia, fish, fishing, fly, gorge, hatch, i, june, reels, reports, why

Hatch Finatic 9+

There are few investments made by steelhead anglers more critical to their success than a good reel. A good reel can make or break your trip and will definitely increase your hook-up to landed ratio.

I read a review or “shoot out” the other day that had 19 criteria points for what a good reel is. Overall a good review, too good if you ask me. I don’t need a dissertation on the merits of a good fishing reel, I just need to know one thing, does it work? Can I stop a big fish with it? Will it hold up under every day use year over year? I’m willing to pay for quality but I expect a little bling to go with it, ie, it’s got to be pretty. I’ve fished a lot of reels over the years and my favorite are made in the USA by Hatch Outdoors.

My first Hatch Fly Reel

I ran into my first Hatch at a fly fishing show, it was love at first sight. As a young angler I couldn’t get past price but I had a different set of priorities as a twenty five year old. Fast forward another five years and I finally get my first Hatch, it’s a 9+ Pulse. This is still my go to reel and easily the most used of the many I have in service.

Today I’m 44 years old and a full time fishing guide. I make it a policy to only provide the best equipment for my clients and you will find Hatch Reels available in my boat every day. Before the guys at Hatch were “Hatch”, they wanted to build a better reel based on drag, durability and design. They nailed it.

Finatic

Let’s start with the drag, after all this is a reel we’re talking about. I could go on and on about the sealed drag, the stacked discs, resistant to heat issues, pound for pound fish stopping power, or the low start up inertia. I don’t care about the technical stuff although it does sound awesome, it’s just words. For me a drag’s about smooth reliable resistance. I recently fought a seal lice infested Spring Chinook in 200,000 cfs of Columbia river, and believe me my old Hatch Pulse put the wood to him! Lots of reels claim smooth fish stopping power and out of the box maybe they’re telling the truth. Over time things wear out, need maintenance, fail. The big fails for me are surging, free spooling/loss of drag, and total lock up.



That leads us to durability. Hatch reels require no maintenance, that’s right, NO MAINTENANCE! I’m not going to lie to you, after fishing reels every single day over a number of years and tough conditions even all reels may need a little warranty work. My favorite thing about Hatch reels is that I have never had one fail. I have sent reels back because they were no longer working as well as I expect them to. The good news is I can send them in for repair at my leisure because they still function.

Oregon Steel

Let’s talk about customer service. For the record, I’ve sent lots of reels back to their respective manufacturers over the years. The service I’ve received has been a deal breaker for several otherwise decent reels. Sending your high dollar stuff back to the manufacturer is never a good time. What I don’t want to hear is something along the lines of “never seen that happen before”, or “we’re pretty backed up right now but we’ll do the best we can”. Here’s what you get from Hatch, “send it in, we’ll fix it and overnight it back to you”. Yeah, that’s it…I’m good with that. No excuses just fix it and be quick about it.

Design. Like I said, I’m not a real technical guy but I have pretty high standards. The current version of the Hatch reel is the Finatic, prior to that it was the Monsoon, and before that the Pulse. It’s the same reel inside but it’s gotten lighter and prettier. The spools and reels are all interchangeable and there are two spool options, large and mid. As a Spey guy I will note one thing that’s pretty relevant regarding design and Hatch; Hatch reels are consistently heavier than most of their competition. While on the surface this may sound like a disadvantage, it’s not. Fishing a Spey Rod requires a heavy reel, it acts like a counterweight in both casting and holding the rod it the swing position. The other silent advantage is the precise machining of the Hatch reels. Thin diameter running lines are en vogue and for good reason and aside from a fully caged reel none of the competition can keep the running line inside the reel; that’s a problem.

For me it’s easy to be Hatch guy. Without lots of words, form, fit and function or as the Hatch guys say “drag, durability and design”. Nailed it!

Sam Sickles | Steelhead Outfitters
www.steelheadoutfitters.com
541.400.0855

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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