| Author | Post |
|---|
a sloth
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 11 |
| Mana: |    |
|
Posted: Wed Aug 30th, 2006 01:45 am |
|
This forum seem to be the best place to ask my beginners question:
I’m new to boating and the San Juan and Southern Gulf Islands. My wife and I want to explore around these islands and camp where possible and legal. Maybe even get a license to catch fish.
We have years of backpacking/camping experience on land, and are slowly gaining knowledge of a suitable boat and how to use it in these waters. It seems that a good beginning boat would be 12' to 16’, small outboard powered for cruising, and seaworthy for these waters.
Besides Duroboat, Smokercraft, Gregor, and Lund, what other boats and their features are important to look for in my selection process???
Thanks to all of you for sharing your knowledge and experiences.
a sloth
|
Thom V
Administrator
|
Posted: Thu Aug 31st, 2006 06:46 pm |
|
Hello a sloth,
Well... Unfortunately there are not as many of the handy small outboard cruising/camping boats as there should be. Those that we like are hard to find second hand, or would have to be built (maybe hire one of the boat building schools...?).
Ready Made: The STUR-DEE BOAT CO builds a nice 14 foot and 16 foot open fiberglass boat called the Amesbury Dory Skiff that would work nicely. The 16 footer will plane with as little as a 10 hp. A bit more power would be desirable when loaded up for a weeks cruise.
Kit Boat: Arrowhead Custom Boats & Canoes has a 17 foot LAKER boat kit based loosely on a Chestnut Freighter Canoe that will build-out as a camper/cruiser. A 10 hp. will move this boat quite smartly due to it's light ply construction.
From Scratch: Weston Farmer designed a really nice strip-built 15+ footer called Dolly Varden (DN Goodchild #5081). This could be built-out today using epoxy and glass inside and out and most, if not all, of the ribs could be eliminated. If one built light an 8 hp. Yamaha 2-cycle at 60 lbs. would move this boat somewhere around 16 mph at cruise with a nice 'soft' ride.
Perhaps the biggest concermn in the selection process for cruising the San Juans and Gulf Islands in a small boat is to have a fairly light boat. Reason? The tides can be steep and either you have an anchor out system OR you drag the boat up on the beach.
Hope this helps, let us know what you find!
Anybody else got an idea?
smallboatangst ~Thom V
Last edited on Thu Aug 31st, 2006 06:50 pm by Thom V |
a sloth
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 11 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Fri Sep 1st, 2006 01:31 am |
|
*****
Perhaps the biggest concermn in the selection process for cruising the San Juans and Gulf Islands in a small boat is to have a fairly light boat. Reason? The tides can be steep and either you have an anchor out system OR you drag the boat up on the beach.
Hope this helps, let us know what you find!
********
Hi Thom, thanks for your suggestions, and I'll be checking them out. Good idea about lightness, as I plan to haul whatever boat on shore for exploring and camping anyway.
As a beginner it seem best to go small (not tiny), light, and proceed with caution. I'm even considering a small inflatable as a possibility. Again for a start at boat handling, chart reading, tide tables, campsite finding, gear hauling, and occasional fish feasting.
Thanks for the boat building suggestion, as I love to build and maybe a small cruising boat would be a next winters project.
I'll be up in PNW next week for a month or so, to look around, research boats, hike/explore/camp and enjoy your Fall.
a sloth
|
femmpaws
Member
|
Posted: Tue Sep 5th, 2006 05:31 am |
|
I have looked around the web a bit and Phil Bolger has a few designs that would work for playing around up here in the San Juans. As for moving it three or four large round fenders that are half soft will move a 17 foot 1200 lb skiff around with out to much work. I know it works I've had to do it when a sand bar moved over a weekend.
But the idea of being able to move everything by hand is not a bad idea for when the tide goes out.
I'm from SE Alaska and the weather can change from mild to wild in less then half an hour. And it can change here a lot in about the same time as well. I live and work on San Juan Island so I have seen the changes happen.
Some years ago there was a boat built called a Hi-laker and they were a well liked boat in SE Alaska for the reason it was a good sea boat and would get up and scoot with not a lot of power. If you look around you can find then around the Sound for not a lot of cash.
Blessings paws
|
a sloth
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 11 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Sep 7th, 2006 01:40 am |
|
paws,
great idea to use fenders as rollers. and I'll look at Phil's designs for what might fit. I've seen Hilakers for sale on Craig's lists in PNW, lots of freeboard. talked w/ a long time PNW sailor yesterday, he suggested for my needs a 14'-15' Valco/Gregor/Western/Klamath as they're welded. Not the most beautiful, but very practical.
I'm sidelined for awhile due to another eye operation, but hope to travel up in a couple weeks, before weather changes on Oct. 12.
pardon the one eye typeing
a sloth
|
a sloth
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 11 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Sep 7th, 2006 02:02 am |
|
paws,
here's a link to a Hi Laker for sale in Port Angles, Do you know if they were welded?
http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/boa/201466675.html
a sloth
******
just found out Hi Lakers are fiberglass, my apologies.
the link still works.
a slothLast edited on Fri Sep 8th, 2006 04:59 am by a sloth |
Red Sky
Member
|
Posted: Fri Sep 29th, 2006 10:20 pm |
|
We have the exact same mission, although our lifestyle boils down to stalling around to the last minute, throw all the camping gear in the boat, trailer up from Seattle to Anacortes, launch and head out to an island.
We are happy with our aluminum 18 Lund Alaskan / 40 hp Johnson two-stroke. This boat is too heavy to drag onto the beach so I use the "clothesline" system to pull the boat out after unloading. First time (at Clark) drained the bay at low tide to where the anchor was set. Not a problem since our plans readily allowed waiting for the high tide to leave.
We chose the 18 foot model for the two of us + gear out of concern for rough weather handling. So far the worst waves have been 4' chop from opposing wind and tide. The boat rides very dry except for spray blown over the gunwales by a cross-wind. We minimize exposure by cruising at 25 - 30 mph.
|
a sloth
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 11 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Wed Oct 4th, 2006 11:50 pm |
|
Red Sky,
While checking many government docks over past 2 weeks on Salt Spring and Pender Islands, I see many Lund's. They seem to hold up well over many years of use.
I've narrowed my camping boat choices down to either aluminum or blowup and am leaning towards a OB powered 9 to 11 foot blowup w/ wood floor due to ease of portability. Likely if I upgrade in a year or two, it would be to an aluminum and Lund would be one to look at, besides Klamath and Gregor.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and type of boat you use for boat camping.
a sloth
|
a sloth
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 11 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Mon Oct 30th, 2006 01:38 am |
|
finally, a decision on a camping/cruising boat for Southern Gulf and San Juan islands. I've bought a 15' West Wight Potter build in 2003 w/ a 2 hp/ 4 stroke Honda OB. Seller had trailered it to Powell River this past September for a group sail, so it trailers well. He and I sailed it locally three times for me to get some experience, and I soloed last week. It seems like a solid boat to get between island camping spots.
My plans are to learn to sail it locally in Monterey Bay, then trailer it to PNW next May for a few months of gunk holing/cruising/camping/ and exploring. An exciting direction change for me.
Now to figure out a small, very light weight dinghy for this fifteen footer. Any suggestions?Last edited on Tue Apr 17th, 2007 05:59 am by a sloth |
Red Sky
Member
|
Posted: Tue Jan 2nd, 2007 04:46 pm |
|
Hi again!
We started boating with a 1970 Cal 21 (trunk cabin with reasonable V-berth in front of a 4 foot "galley" and storage aft under the cockpit seats). We used a "doughnut" style 8' inflatable that stored in the cockpit footwell under homemade removable decking. This made the cockpit deck a flat surface, which turned out to not be uncomfortable and easy to walk around. Our boat was missing the special "door" that is supposed to fair over the slot for the retracted keel. This meant that the footwell would pick up an inch or two of water sloshed up while underway so it was not so nice to put your feet down there anyway.
This set-up worked fine to get the inflatable out of the way when not needed and not hard to deploy. I would put the inflatable over the side to inflate since it was big enough to fill up the cockpit otherwise.
We only rowed the inflatable since we only needed it for getting to shore and exploring the bay. Oh, yes, and the time we actually ketched the anchor in order to move the mothership to deeper water to avoid grounding as the tide was about to go far-out. Our 4hp aux had died from overheating and it proved tough to paddle the big boat against the prevailing wind.
cheers, hugh
|
a sloth
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 11 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Apr 17th, 2007 04:40 am |
|
Quite: Now to figure out a small, very light weight dinghy for this fifteen footer. Any suggestions?
To fulfill above need for small dinghy, I've built a 6' folding boat using Origami plans from Duckworks. Planed weight was #26 but due to marine ply and other heavy items, mine came in at #48, a bit of a disapointment. On its maiden outting it rowed well and was very stable. Likely due to being almost square. Now to see how it works as a dinghy from my WWP 15.
asloth[img]Attachment: 150-5029_IMG.JPG (Downloaded 17 times) Last edited on Tue Apr 17th, 2007 04:44 am by a sloth |
a sloth
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 11 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20th, 2008 04:47 am |
|
A months later update.
I ended up building two Origami 6' folding boats.The second lighter one stowed tightly in Wes Wight Potter 15 cabin and it along w/ lots of camping gear got to Montague Harbor on Galiano Island last late May.. I sailed/motored around the harbor for a couple weeks before moving to Salt Spring Island for rest of summer. Learned to sail/motor out of Fulford Harbor, but never did spend any time camping out. I'm still trying to figure that one out.
Finally sold the WWP15 and have built a Jim Machalak stitch and glue rowboat, a roar2.
But I've moved away at least for now from camping outboards and will post a message and question to the rowing section.
|
Current time is 04:24 am | |
|
