Launched!

We went up to Coniston this morning to launch Boat. It was a beautiful sunny day in Liverpool when we left, and a cold windy one in Cumbria.

Here's me on the bank wishing I had worn more thermals....

The boat handled very well, it seems to be faster than my Aquanaut, and certainly turns more quickly. I only went out for half an hour, as my right shoulder is playing up again, but that was enough to satisfy me that the project has been a success!

The only niggly problems were the spraydeck lip is a touch lower than my other boat, and it was fiddly to get my deck on, [however it wasn't my usual one and is a bit tighter], and a small amount of water got into the hatches. I've traced this to the finger indents on the lids being a little deep, so I'll fill 'em with epoxy and file shallower ones.

Even with the wind trying to weathercock the boat it was so much easier to turn than my Aquanaut!

We weighed the boat and it came in at just under 24kg, which isn't bad as its got a heavy layup on the hull, and the marine ply bulkheads are 1.5kg, where weight could have been saved with foam.

Thanks are due to my bro-in-law Dan Kenyon for taking the pictures and editing the video.

www.dankenyon.com