When Last We Left Them...

Last spring, my favorite skipper and his motley gang of boat-builders pulled up stakes and put their project on hold. 

Designed by OH Rodgers, the new vessel is informed by ten years of Everglades Challenge races and inspired by Mr. Linton's thirst for the next level of challenge.

So how do you make the Everglades Challenge—a 300-mile-adventure race for human-powered watercraft of all stripes—more challenging? How about take away the other half of the sailing team and make 2026 the year of the solo challenge.

And build a boat for it.  In April, the project at least LOOKED like a boat. 

OH and Jeff made a mold, set planks, laid up a bunch of carbon fiber and fiberglass, made the bulkheads that give the hull its stability, started on water tanks, made decks and floors, and these components spent the summer curing.

Immediately upon our return to Florida (I mean IMMEDIATELY), Mr. Linton hightailed it to OH's playground and lowered the barky out of the rafters of OH's big barn.

I imagine it looked a bit like a bat descending, but no photos were snapped of the event.  Happily, the hull had a good summer with no delamination, no precipitious drops, and zero squirrel incursions. 
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Progress started almost immediately, though it varied in visibility. For instance, most of a day went to making tender bits more robust, like the bow bulkhead, which will anchor the headstay. 

Key to the boat's ability to hold together is its compression beam.  This keeps the boat stiff and unyeilding against side compression. A soft taco ain't what we want in a boat.

The beam started off as a 4inch PVC drainpipe, which was wrapped entirely in carbon fiber and epoxy resin. The PVC was extracted, so the result is a light, rigid beam that will brace into the hull from side to side. 

OH checking the measurements.

Part of what will contribute to the compression is the water ballast. As any rummy will be glad to explain over a clinking glass, sailing is a game of levers and what pilots call lift.

​Wind pushes against the sail, creating a wing shape, which lifts the boat to windward, while the sticky-downy parts (rudder and centerboard or keel) keep the boat from sliding around like a hockey puck.

The wind is a bully, trying to push the boat onto its side, so sailors use their body weight to lever the boat back upright.  As with Spawn of Frankenscot, this new, unnamed creature will also  use water ballast to keep on her feet. 

Those are baffles, to keep sloshing to a minimum.

The tanks are blocky for now. Time is ticking; the Everglades Challenge starts on the first Saturday of March. 

The tanks will also serve as a backrest for our intrepid adventurer.

The boat will boast a total of three tanks: one on either side for going upwind, and one in the middle, for, as TwoBeers says, "For when you have to calm things down." 

All done, the barky should top the scales at 400 lbs. At 20ft in length. with a mast height of maybe 26ft, this makes for a lively, spirited sort of vessel.

via GIPHY

By filling the middle tank, Jeff can double the boat's weight.  When he says, "Whoa," he means it.

​The filling and emptying of ballast tanks is an engineering  puzzle that Jeff's been pondering all summer. It's a topic ripe for additional brainpower. Thanks to Bill Bruss, who gave us six excellent days of plumbing, plus some recreational sanding and wiring.  Bill is a gentleman, scholar, and workhorse.

Like Spawn, the new boat will have two kick-up rudders (all the better to handle very shallow water), which required the stern to get beefed up too. 

Things are pretty hectic at the OH Boatworks, but meanwhile, this is not the only Rodgers adventure vessel in the running for this spring's Everglades Challenge.  Spawn will be competing with Jahn "Moresailhesaid" Tihansky and Dave "DSea" Clement.

And there's a sister ship in the works. Tony "Yarddog" Pocklington is feverishly working on his version of the single-handed new creature.  

Nameless, unnamed, anonymous, incognito--we have GOT to name this boat.  Suggestions welcome. There might even be a prize...