Launch Day!
Jul. 16th, 2011 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catsittingstillToday was Launch Day for Moxie.
Alice and I took Moxie and Constance to the put-in near my house and we paddled for three or four hours. I took Moxie out and swapped with Alice when we stopped for lunch so we both got to paddle both boats. There was a bit of a headwind so we dealt with small waves, about 1 foot high, and both boats handled them very gracefully. The weather was as good as we could have asked for--overcast but not raining and below 80 degrees the whole time: much better than I had any right to expect at this time of year, actually.
I think Moxie is maybe a little slower than Constance, and I'm pretty sure she's moderately easier to turn, but I need a bit more time in both boats to be sure. The narrower-than-designed seat in Moxie was okay for me and Alice didn't have any trouble with it either. When Alice was paddling (and we weren't paddling hard, just cruising gently looking for photo ops) a little green curl of water came up from the bow.
Coming back (admittedly with the wind at our backs) my new hiking GPS insists we did 6.4 mph--and we weren't even trying to go fast.
I have pictures but I am too tired to upload right now (plus Kip is using that computer) and we are going out again tomorrow morning early to beat the heat.
I am very happy. But all the drive-to-finish has drained out of me and I feel like a beanbag toy with a third of its beans missing.
Good night.
Alice and I took Moxie and Constance to the put-in near my house and we paddled for three or four hours. I took Moxie out and swapped with Alice when we stopped for lunch so we both got to paddle both boats. There was a bit of a headwind so we dealt with small waves, about 1 foot high, and both boats handled them very gracefully. The weather was as good as we could have asked for--overcast but not raining and below 80 degrees the whole time: much better than I had any right to expect at this time of year, actually.
I think Moxie is maybe a little slower than Constance, and I'm pretty sure she's moderately easier to turn, but I need a bit more time in both boats to be sure. The narrower-than-designed seat in Moxie was okay for me and Alice didn't have any trouble with it either. When Alice was paddling (and we weren't paddling hard, just cruising gently looking for photo ops) a little green curl of water came up from the bow.
Coming back (admittedly with the wind at our backs) my new hiking GPS insists we did 6.4 mph--and we weren't even trying to go fast.
I have pictures but I am too tired to upload right now (plus Kip is using that computer) and we are going out again tomorrow morning early to beat the heat.
I am very happy. But all the drive-to-finish has drained out of me and I feel like a beanbag toy with a third of its beans missing.
Good night.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-17 01:50 am (UTC)Go Moxie! Go you! Can hardly wait for pictures.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-18 12:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-17 02:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-18 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-17 03:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-18 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-17 09:56 am (UTC)(I have no idea how fast a canoe usually goes, but 6.4mph is faster than you would be allowed to go in some UK inland waterways with a powered boat, I don't know if the same speed restrictions apply to hand-powered.)
no subject
Date: 2011-07-18 12:54 am (UTC)The GPS acted quite funny today (had only 2 data points for our whole trip, and claimed we'd gone 35 mph--clearly impossible) and then wouldn't turn on until I gave it new batteries. So the 6.4 mph figure is suspect until further notice; I want to try the whole thing again with fresh batteries.
I think the boats are fast, and I wouldn't say 6.4 mph is impossible, but it's enough faster than I was expecting that I want to repeat the measurement.