Lookfar's sailing trip up the Tapuwae River January 2014

View up the Tapuwae river from Lookfar.

[Creator unknown] :Plan of Motukaraka Hokianga surveyed for Capt. McDonnel[l] [ms map]. [184-?]

Reference Number: MapColl-832.11a/[184-?]/Acc.1780

Shows survey of land of Motukaraka Island, Hokianga Harbour, adjoined by the Motu Karaka and the Waimanga Creeks. Map shows position of old Maori pa site as well as mangrove trees and high water mark.

This image reveals the same Island viewed from the south. The Pa is located at the one o'clock position in the photo, identifiable by the dark patch of large trees amidst the mangroves. The Tapuwae river reaches off to the left in the distance.

View from a headland, Tapuwae River, Hokianga, Northland, New Zealand

A view from our home shows the headland from where I took the above photo of Motukaraka Island, the mangrove fringe is actually the Island which is separated by a navigable channel leading into the Tapuwae River.

Lookfar brings me safely home. The Tapuwae, Motukaraka and the pa can be seen in the background of this image. Photo by Julie Holton.

An exceptionally fair wind and tide combination prompted me to make a spontaneous trip in Lookfar up the river opposite our home across the Hokianga Harbour. The incoming tide carried us as far up river as it was possible to sail. The trip took me a total distance of 15 KM. there and back. This was among the most enjoyable of my trips to date. During the course of the day the 10-12 knot breeze steadily changed to a point where I was on the same tack coming home as I was when I left in the morning!

Julie took a photo of me returning from a rowing trip on the HokiangaHarbour.

This image was taken by Julie this afternoon (Boxing Day 2013)

I rowed across the harbour to one of the ancient Maori Pa sites within sight of our house.

I'll post some images from the trip shortly.

Modifications and additions to Paddle's rowing set up.

After several test outings I've refined the rowing geometry to suit me. I've tilted my handlebar rowing frame aft a little to orient the row locks further from my seat. This gives me a full boat length between sweeps of the oars and lots more power. I've also built two foot rests that fit under the aft seat gunnel tubes. They are tapered to fit in a way that allows for adjustment to suit different sized rowers. They are screwed into place through the tubes. 

Paddle has revealed himself to be a particularly good rowboat. 

I'll continue with the modifications to include a simillar sailing rig set up to Lookfar. The additions are not in conflict with each other in any way as the lee boards fit forward of the rowing frame and the mast cassette is located in the front thwart.

Paddle takes me on a rowing trip up the Omanaia River.

"Paddle to The Sea" with his rowing frame and modified thwart lashed into place ready to row.

Over the last few weeks I've been refining an accessory to my Coleman Canoe that I called "Paddle to the sea"

I recently purchased a length of 50mm, (2 inch to you Americans) stainless steel exhaust tubing. I had it bent by a local automotive exhaust specialist on their tube bender. I provided a profile which I roughed out in scrap plywood with a jig saw to fit in the hull, slightly aft of the centre support beam tube.

As with Lookfar, I modified the crossbeam tube by removing it, cutting two aluminium gussets to fit in the same bolting pattern as the tube to gunwhale connection. I rotate the tube so the folded tube crimps point upward and bolt them to my fabricated, 3mm aluminium plate gussets. This allows me to drop the cross tube 75 mm (3 inches) below the gunwhale. 

I then fabricated a plywood thwart seat the same as with Lookfar, which when inverted, looks somewhat like the tail plane assembly of a light aircraft. I lashed this seat on to the centre cross beam (see the photographs).

 

plastic rowlocks like these are low cost but are noisy and very flexible, I chose them because they were inexpensive however I plan to replace them with metal ones before I try again.

Here you see a detail of my lashing and a glimpse of my gusset which supports the canoe's central cross tube.

A view beneath the assembly showing the method I used to locate the vertical spine of the thwart seat assembly onto the keel tube.

The rowing frame which resembles an oversize handlebar for a motorbike, was lashed in to place when I modified the cross beam. The outrigger tube lashed behind  the cross beam and the lower part of the outrigger tube in front of the vertical support post tube. This cants the outrigger tube aft giving me the ideal offset for ergonomic rowing and perfect lashing opportunities to best support the whole assembly against the significant lever forces induced by vigorous rowing.

I've used a pair of 2.4 meter, 8 foot oars.

I found the ideal ergonomic row lock positions in and old boat handling manual from my late father's library. 1500 mm (four foot four inches) between row locks, (for eight foot oars), 300 mm, (one foot) outboard of the gunwhales, row lock position, 160mm, (seven inches) above rowing thwart seat, and 300 mm (one foot) aft of the thwart seat.

Seems to work OK, rows like a real one.

The apex of the triangle on the thwart seat points forward.

The handle bar similarity is emphasized in this image.

This really is one of the most versatile and enjoyable canoes I've ever owned, the possibilities are very exciting.

I find I can cover about half a boat length per oar stroke making this a very comfortable rowboat with plenty of power. I can accommodate two passengers as well as room for gear.

Lookfar's new rudder

I purchased a new rudder for my canoe project from our on line auction site.
It was listed as a brand new, unused, 30 year old, laser rudder, just what I wanted!

Pictures say it best:





















I had to modify the anodized aluminium cheeks by cutting away a section from the leading edge under the upper pintle to allow for clearance of the cast nose molding of the canoe.


















I cut 30mm off the Coleman, cast aluminium, nose molding to allow the closest possible fulcrum point to the stern of the canoe. I then drilled a perpendicular hole one oversize from the pintle pin. The hole drilled to one side is for the control line that keeps tension on the rudder blade in the down position. The line is secured by a cleat forward, close to my sitting position, on the gunwale.

















The lower Gudgeon is from a wrecked rudder off my old X Class yacht from the 1960's, from my "just in case it might come in handy one day" box. As you can see I bent the cheek plates around to the shape of the canoe stern. I bolted the assembly with 1/4" stainless steel machine screws, washers and nuts to the Ram X plastic hull. I shaped a pine block to fill the void created by the offset, female, gudgeon flukes. The black compound you see is a polyurethane "dubbin" adhesive used by the car industry to glue in car windshields, it's the toughest, meanest adhesive/sealant known to man.

















The lovely mahogany tiller is from an old P Class yacht which I kept from a restoration project on my son Robert's 3rd sail boat in the 1990's ( again from the same "handy" source). The tiller did not fit perfectly into the rudder head stock to begin with so some slight modification was needed for it to fit snugly.

















The tiller extension is from a window cleaners, telescopic extension handle.
I connected it to the tiller with a small stainless steel swivel, one end of which I bent out flat to create a saddle to bolt the assembly on to the underside of the tiller. This keeps the extension tube low, under the up sweeping curve of the tiller.
The cheek plate on the extension tube is cut from one side of a spinnaker pole fitting from a small sail boat, just the right diameter dish section to allow bolting to the side of the tube.

















The tiller is secured in place with a stainless steel locating pin drilled to fit through both the folded stainless steel cap of the tiller stock and the tiller itself. I always retain small items like these with a little lanyard so as not to loose them.

How does it handle you ask?

I launched Lookfar last night on the high tide. There was a 6 knot southerly, I sheeted in the tiny sail, dipped the starboard lee board, pulled on the rudder blade control line and the little canoe came alive, perfectly balanced, a delight to sail.
The rudder has transformed the handling of this little sailboat. Upwind no rudder is needed but downwind the hull wants to wander so the rudder helps to make the hull track straight. The new rudder makes a big difference to tacking and gibing control as well.
My old friend Mitchell says of my Lookfar project, "It's funny how the simplest, cheapest, smallest, closest to the water boats often provide the best boating." He should know, he showed me how!

Thanks for reading my blog.

Harmen