Good Nite !
Another stellar weekend on Bald Eagle Lake. Click on post for pictures below. Saturday was a light wind, but it was plenty with the fast ice. Sunday started out with classic rides on the historic Wrigley on White Bear. One of the pictures below makes you wonder, if I was taking a picture, and Luke was taking a picture, who was steering the boat?? What a classic boat that was an honor to get a ride on. Then the party moved on to Bald Eagle. The wind seemed light and the ice had gotten soft and sticky, and it wasn’t looking good for racing. By the later afternoon, the constant light rain had turned the top sticky layer into slush, exposing the fast harder ice underneath and the wind started to build nicely. The first course setting proved to be really crooked, but wiser minds prevailed and moved to a perfectly placed, but EXTREMELY short course that I later measured at about maybe 0.4 miles. Both the DN fleet and the Nite fleet got in 4 races before dark. In DN’s, four boats battled it out with Dave Glick and Dana Stasieluk being fastest. In the Nites, we packed 11 boats onto the short course, which was very crowded. The fast skippers were Brett Smith and Bart Crockett, both of whom showed exceptional skill combined with well-tuned boats. Everyone had a fast, safe day despite the poor visibility, thankfully with no new takers of the “Ricky Bobby” (tradin’ paint) award. I personally couldn’t sail the C skeeter with the Nite fleet on the course because of speed differential and small course with too many boats, but I did take some very fast “victory laps” between races. Many thanks to race committee, and congratulations to all who braved the wet conditions for one of the best Bald Eagle days of the year!!
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C Skeeter
Pat, are we going to see any kind of write up on the new Skeeters performance?
Really curious on how she goes, love to see more pictures as well.
Mike
Performance !!
Mike, Thanks for commenting. Did I tell you that full size CAD drawn templates are available, so let me know when you get the sheet of plywood ready. A few more pictures are below. The new C Skeeter has been challenging. It’s difficult to really tell where I am at until I get to race against others in the same class at the ISA or the Northwest. It seems slow, but very hard to get a reference. Since my rumble seat A skeeter was basically a back of the pack boat against the rest of the A skeeter class, my goal was to build this modern C skeeter to be as fast as the old boat, which should then be at the top of the C skeeter fleet. Shorter rig, but many advantages to the front cockpit. So far, the new C skeeter it is still somewhat slower than the old boat going upwind, but it definitely does much better downwind than the old boat. Since there are only a few front cockpit C skeeters around, the basis for design is very limited so there is a lot of guesses. Despite problems getting it tuned in, some things are working well. The plank flex is perfect. The mast flex is slightly stiff, but almost perfect. The 44” tool steel side runners are great. The light wind sail, Henry Bossett designed, is great. The mainsheet assembly, 7:1 plus winch works great. I thought the cockpit was a little Closter phobic, until I took off my jacket and discovered it is perfect. The enclosed trailer with everything on wheels is fantastic. This thing unloads from the trailer and rigs in the same time as a Nite. I can also set up very easily by myself, because of the removable mast base hinging system. The main problem I am having is boat speed. It points well, both upwind and downwind, but just seems like there should be more in it. Maybe it’s just my expectations, because after all, there is only so much that you can do with a short 20’ mast. It has some Leeward helm to it, which I have always associated with slow boats. I really think the whole rig needs to be moved aft. I have gone as far as I can without revising the boom. Also move the front runner pivot point back. Also revised front runner profile drastically. I could go on for days, but I’m probably at a point now where I should stop playing with it before the regattas start. Next year, I will definitely extend the springboard about 18 inches, and also revise boom so I can move the whole rig back even further. Despite my negativity, it still the fastest boat among Nites and DN’s, and it is an absolute blast to be the pilot. The massive amount of noise inside the enclosed cockpit takes some getting used to. The extensive use of carbon fiber really amplifies vibration. But it sure is nice and warm inside!!!!
