Rowing and Sailing a Chesapeake Light Craft Northeaster Dory

The first ten days of December have been delightfully warm, and we have put our new Chesapeake Light Craft Northeaster Dory in the water a number of times. Here is the track of our course as Sue and I did a 6-mile tandem row on the lake:

Our fastest sustained pace was about 3.9 mph, but I'm sure we were often going much faster. On a previous solo row/sail I was able to sustain 4.1 mph and I know that tandem rowing is easier and faster:

The zigzag lines out into the center of the lake and across the cove are tracks of my route under sail, but the day was close to being a drifter, and I really didn't feel that I had gotten a feel for how the Dory would work under sail.

Yesterday my chance to test the boat under sail came. By 2 in the afternoon there were sustained winds of 15 mph and gusts into the 20's. The open water was showing small whitecaps. It was not, in fact, wise weather for a December sail in an open boat, but the cove is fairly small and the temperature was over 60. I decided that I could give the boat a good test sail within the cove and would always be close to shore if I were knocked down. 

The boat sails very well -- both stable and speedy. I zipped back and forth across the cove, both close-hauled and on reaches. The only difficulty I had was in bringing the boat about. It is so light that it's easily brought to a halt and pushed into irons as one heads into the wind. I came about successfully about half the time and went into irons about the same amount. I'll be able to master the trick of sustaining forward momentum, but yesterday was just too windy (and hence risky) to practice for long. Before hauling out, however, I did try several broad reaches and jibes. I was pleased with the boat speed and really delighted with its stability as one jibed.

This is going to be one great boat for rowing and sailing!

Astronomy Day

We are blessed with very dark skies in this part of the Ozarks, but my own acreage has grown up with trees and I've been too lazy to find a perfect site for observational astronomy. As a result my telescopes have languished with only light use in the past few years, but day before yesterday I resolved to begin changing all that.

For one thing there was a rare daytime occultation of Venus by the thin crescent Moon. I set up my 4-inch refractor in the yard and struggled for a good, long time with the challenge of trying to find the dim crescent in the bright daytime sky. But eventually I was crowned with success and snapped the following photos with my cell phone held up to the lens of the telescope.

Later that night my friend Gordon came over for a crash course in basic observational astronomy. We set up my 8-inch reflector in a nearby field and struggled a bit with navigation through the night sky. (I'm sadly out-of-practice and I also need to spend a couple of hours improving the set-up and aim of the 50 mm finder scope). By late evening, however, Orion was well up in the sky and yielded spectacular views of its famous nebula and its showy double stars. And just as we were packing up Gemini was rising and the meteors of the up-coming shower peak were sporadically streaking overhead. 

One rarely gets such warm temperatures with such clear skies in December.

Chesapeake Light Craft Northeaster Dory -- Launching the "Susan Lee"

Today was the big day, the first launch of our CLC Northeaster Dory, the "Susan Lee." Everything went extremely well. The boat rows like a dream; it coasts along almost effortlessly at 3 - 3.5 mph. As a tandem rowboat, it is no trouble at all to get it up to 4.5 mph.

Sue was a little nervous about sailing it in December, but I was pretty confident and was delighted at the ease with which I could step the mast while out on the water. The light breeze was just what I wanted for a first sail. The boat moves well and points well. Coming about was a bit of a challenge in the light wind, but I quickly got the hang of that, too.

I still have a fair amount of finishing work to do on the boat, but it will only become more beautiful as I sand it even smoother and apply the varnish. The varnishing must wait for warmer weather, so in the meantime I intend to enjoy my gorgeous boat just the way it is!

Easily launched without even getting the wheel hubs wet!

Nautical me

Skimming the water

Standing and Stepping

Sailing Reflections