The Doodlebug's Maiden Voyage

The Doodlebug is finally finished, with some major delays, but nevertheless, it has been launched into the waterways of the world. When finishing the boat, I coated the whole thing, top and bottom in epoxy for strength and for waterproofing. But then I found out that the epoxy can wither away if left in the sun for too long. So I bought and applied some UV protective varnish to the topside of the boat - just the decks and seating area as well as the mast and oars. That was all fine and dandy until it rained. Now rain isn't a bad thing usually, but it rained a lot and often for the past week and a half, making the area in general very damp. For a varnish like the one I applied, this makes it nearly impossible to dry. After 10 days, with the varnish still not completely dry, I made the decision to swallow my pride and put wood flour on top of the varnish. The varnish was mostly dry, so most of the wood flour was easily wiped away after it had sucked up some of the moisture. What I was really trying to achieve was to cut down on the stickiness of the boat, and I succeeded in that regard fairly well.

Now, the trailer I used to pull the boat down to the boat launch is of my own design, and as you can imagine, I built it myself. The whole thing is just a wooden frame with wheels and pads for the boat to sit on, with handles carved out of the two joists that run down the center of the trailer. Those handles are awesome! I'm really proud of them. I had to carve them out of the 2x4 with a jigsaw, rasp down the edges (which I've gotten good at doing from my work on the boat itself), and sand them to perfection. I should point out that even with the trailer and the supreme handles, my hands were killing me when I finally got down to the water. That boat weighs in at about 120 lb. empty, and the trailer is roughly 60 lb. On top of that, I've also got all the extra parts that come with the sailboat: boom, oars, daggerboard, rudder, etc.

When I first put the boat in the water, the first thing I noticed - to my utter dismay, I may add, was the fine stream of bubbling water coming in from a point on the daggerboard trunk. Oh, I was pissed. I dragged that boat out of the water back on the trailer. My mother and I went back to the garage and picked up some paper towels and the epoxy stuff. After I had patched the hole sufficiently, I estimated a wait of about 3 hours to allow the epoxy to set (it usually takes longer, but it was pretty warm today and quite dry, which helps). I was dead on the money. Three hours later, I had had lunch, gone swimming, came back and plopped that boat in the water. It was time for the test.

First I tested the boat for leakage (again) by rowing around a bit. I found two spots that might be minor leaks, but I can't be sure, so I'm going to keep an eye on it. Other than that, the boat rows great! It's flat on the bottom and draws very little water, so it's quite fast. Plus, with the daggerboard in place, I get very little sideslip when there's a cross-breeze blowing. I headed back to the dock and rigged up the sail. Then I went sailing. Now, I should point out that at no point in my life have I ever been on a sailboat and was involved in the sailing in any way. This was my first time. Sure, I had done a little reading, but that's never the same, is it? Happily, I got the hang of it a little bit once I got out to the wind. I'm definitely still a novice, and I have a lot to learn, but I'm learning fast. The boat sails beautifully! At one or two points, I picked up so much wind that I was actually making a sizable wake! Definitely faster than any canoe, kayak, or Adirondack guide boat.

What a day!