Thanks all for the replies thus far. So I took it out for the second time yesterday sailing in light to moderate winds and proceeded to
capsize in an unexpected puff. Once the mast sunk I had a devil of a time rerighting it using all of my mere 168 lbs on the very end of the dagger board. And then could not reboard to bail her out as she was too low in the
water.
I am absolutely in love with the looks/lines of the
boat and how it moves under the slightest hint of
wind and the responsiveness and the ease of rowing but I'm not so sure it can serve as an effective
tender because of these traits. I suspect it tows very well but haven't tried it yet. I intend to order some
inflatable dinghy dogs to hopefully alleviate the tenderness issues at the expense of the boats good looks and I would be most interested in hearing how you would execute the switch to a carbon fiber mast as that would help. Also thinking of drilling a small hole at each end of both sections and shooting in bit of spray foam to prevent it from filling with
water and sinking as it was initially buoyant for a minute or two.
Also curious as to how you seat yourself under sail so that you can effectively and quickly move to the other side when tacking. I'm 60 but still pretty agile but I find it very difficult within the constraints of the small area behind the center board and the
arc of the tiller and the lowness of the boom.
A couple other complaints that I intend to remedy is the
rudder is not captive in any way and floated off so I will be drilling and putting a clip through the pintle or a hinged gate above the top gudgeon.
Anyway as smitten as I am I am not totally enamored and would greatly appreciate any and all
advice on how to make this a better experience. In all fairness I must admit up till now I have sailed only
keel boats and this is my first sailing dingy.
Cheers, David