About our article Scowt: A Safe and Comfortable 12' 10" (3.9m) Cruiser-Sailboat for the Aging Singlehanded Skipper reader Rick Pratt writes:
Barely visible shades of Bolger. I must agree it is ugly, and I am quite fond of scows. Last one we built was 48' on deck.
I wonder about the righting moment when healed. Likely to go quickly from hard on the wind to flat on the water. A teeny bit of flare works wonders on sea kindliness and ease of access.
And really, it’s not hard to make a boat pretty without giving up good capacity and performance. Ease of construction is an understandable goal as well, but my above comments apply there too.
Regarding our article, This is Not a Vacation, reader David Bower writes:
Great story, but Superior is a mighty big lake to take-on in a Spindrift daysailer. I know I wouldn't have that much nerve. Probably would have done it in our old Privateer 26, but no pulling up to shore, and sunkers would have been an even bigger concern.
Glad they made it on time and OK.
About our feature, Is it Varnish or is it Vanish? designer Dudley Dix writes:
In another life, back in South Africa, I had my 38ft plywood boat Black Cat in a classic and wooden boat weekend festival. One of the judging categories was brightwork. When the judges came aboard, they asked to see my brightwork. I handed them a hammer with varnished handle and also had a barometer mounted in a varnished ship’s wheel on the saloon bulkhead. That was all that I could offer them. At the prizegiving they called me up to receive a trophy for a new category that they invented. They called it the “Varnish Preservation Trophy” for not wasting this valuable resource.
Ahh... the imaginative technicolor world of AI!
I have been windsurfing for 47 years. The windsurfer rig, sometimes called wishbone Rig would work on any sailing craft, multihull or monohull. When the rig is attached to the hull with universal joint, then you steer using the sail (moving the center of effort forward to fall off the wind and aft to turn closer to the wind, no rudder is needed. The rudder is like a brake unless it is in aligned with the center line of the boat. One more interesting thing about the wishbone rig is the foot of the sail act like a boom vang, preventing too much twist in the top of the sail.