Everglades Challenge: Splashing The Beastie

In every project, a fork comes along in the road. A time to decide whether to commit or break it off. 

So far, TwoBeers has kept the investment in our Everglades Challenge boat, Frankenscot, to a minimum: a free boat, leftover parts, hand-me-down stuff from a lot of good buddies.  

Still and all -- a person gets impatient waiting for that fork, at least they do in our house. 

So it was a relief to finally float the Frankenscot, even with the old, low-tech rudder and centerboard, even without figuring out floatation for the hull, even without hooking up all the stuff...to get an idea of whether the creature was going to sink or swim.

---

Swim.

Yay! 

Thanks to  Paul Silvernail of Masthead Enterprises and to Chris Morgan who took a turn on the Frankie while I played videographer.

Frankenscot performs very much as expected: the extra width translates into a much flatter program upwind, the asymmetrical kite feels like pure horsepower AND lifts the plow-shaped bow of the boat, and while the Lightning jib is a bit of a flop for actually sailing upwind, we liked seeing the GPS readout into double digits off the wind. The boat feels roomy (jacuzzi for six?) with the seats removed, and the modern bailer looks sharp.

We celebrated with a beer or two and brainstormed with the usual gang while watching America's Cup coverage.