Third time out of the water

Okay, here’s the chronicle for our third time out on the water. The winds were supposed to be about 12 mph on Saturday, so I really wanted to get out. This excursion was just with my son (15) and me. We already knew that getting the mast up is a bear, so we prepared ourselves for it. Fortunately, we’ve really gotten this down. Mind you, it never goes up on the first time. On this “first time,” we discovered some of the lines and side stays were kind of tangled, so the mast came down quickly on the poor and not-very-good Windex (we will need do buy another one of those sometime). Second time was the charm, then we got everything else in the boat, and went to the launch. There was no line at the launch, which was great, and we had dock lines attached and ready fore and aft -- we really used our brains this time. Of course, we had the same problem this time that we had last time, getting from the launch to the river is about a ¼ mile into the wind, requiring mad paddling and steering, which is kind of hard when two of you are paddling, and one of you is trying to steer at the same time.

Now let me skip to the end of the sailing experience: I thought “ well at least on our way into the launch the wind will be with us,” as it was the first two times we went sailing. Never say those kinds of things: the wind was pushing us out to the river rather than leading us back. Obviously, we got back, but it took the same hard paddling, because the area is just too narrow to try to tack in it and there isn’t enough wind, at least not for two inexperienced sailors. And we were able to get it back on the trailer okay, too, though we temporarily lost one of the paddles for awhile. Getting back and forth from the launch in many ways can mar the whole sailing experience, so if any of you have suggestions regarding this, I’m all ears. We will be looking at other boat launches to see if they’re better for us. (I do kind of like getting to a free boat launch only about 4 miles from the house -- that part is hard to beat.)

In between these stressful times, we had a great time on the water. A number of times the boat started heeling nicely and my son got spooked, so we furled the jib and just used the main. Mind you, I got a little spooked too, but somebody had to keep his head. It also occurred to me that since the wind has been sparse the first two times we went out, I haven’t been moving side to side in the boat when tacking, because it wasn’t necessary. Obviously, when the wind gets stronger, you do need to do that. This boat can really move. I’m looking forward to getting out more and more so I’m even more confident on the water. While we sailed, my son and I traded roles a few times: sometimes he had the tiller while I took care of the jib, or the reverse, so he’s re-learning some skills he was taught some years ago.

Even though we did have those tough times at the beginning and at the end, the middle was really nice.

I checked your original post of pictures of your Whip and thought of something. You have a nice compartment at the rear of your boat, have you thought of putting a small battery in there to power a trolling motor? My Dad had a 16 foot Oday a few years back that we powered out to the lake with a trolling motor. This boat was considerably heavier then yours and was a bit tricky to get on the trailer, but the trolling motor powered it fine in all but a strong breeze.

Joe
Sidewinder #327

Actually, I didn't think about using the compartment for a battery, but I did think about a trolling motor. Since we aren't going a very long way, I'm sure it could work. That would require me to register the boat in Maryland since a boat of this size without a motor doesn't have to be registered, but that's not really an obstacle, however.

Do you think adding this motor is going to require any kind of mechanical knowledge, 'cuz I really don't have much. I also wonder how I could mount the motor on the transom given how deep (thick?) the transom is, versus the little thin transoms on a jon boat. Any ideas?

You'll have to figure out some way to hold a trolling motor on your Whip, but if you can work it out, a trolling motor is great. I use a 36 pound electric trolling motor on my Bandit 17 and it pushes it around just fine. I don't think I could get it launched or docked without it (I usually go out by myself).

There's no mechanical knowledge needed to use an electric trolling motor; you just clamp it on the motor mount, attach two wires to your battery (mine is strapped down in the aft compartment), and steer the thing. It's very handy, especially if the wind dies down. The trolling motor's all sealed up, so there's no adjustments or any hassles like a gasoline outboard motor.

About the only other thing you need to know is how to keep the trolling motor's battery charged between outings. I bought a little charger that slow-charges the battery and keeps it fully charged; it has indicator lights to tell you how charged up it is. Also, you have to put more water in the battery every so often; charging it up slowly uses up the water inside it. Finally, you'll need a marine-style battery; they work much better than an automotive battery and are less likely to quit on you.

You can talk to any fishing-boat guys about trolling motors or your local marinas. Usually, you can pick up used trolling motors and batteries if you don't want to get a brand new setup...

There's a lot of things like this that make using your boat a LOT more convenient. I'm still learning what helps on my boat, too...

Gotcha. There is no motor mount on the back of the Whip. Did you already have one on the Bandit? I'm not sure how I could actually mount one the boat without some extensive work on the fiberglass.

If the inside of your rear compartment allows access to the inside of the transom, it should be fairly straight forward. A piece of 3/16 to 1/4" thick piece of aluminum could be bent into a bracket that could be bolted directly to the left side of the transom next to the rudder. Make sure it allows enough room to tighten the mounting clamps for the motor.

Joe
Sidewinder #327