The Duck That Stuck 3

Modifications

 

So what did I learn?  Basically, that I’m lazy.  So most of the mods were in search of the perfect lazy guy’s boat.  A few even help in sailing….but not many.

Truth of it is that Shorty’s design is great!  And Polysail makes a great and inexpensive sail.  The two significant changes were to replace the pins in the rudder system with a long bolt and lock-nut, using nylon washers where there is metal contact.  A bushing would be better.  The other change was to add a tiller-minder (and shorten the tiller).  I find I can sail much straighter when I don’t have to hold the tiller all the time.  Think of it as cruise control.  Oh, and I added a net to the bow section under the deck.  The rest was strictly comfort motivated…

 



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Technically, this isn’t a modification to the boat.  It’s rather like…an appendage.  I don’t think there is anything new here, but it sure beats tying the mast to the roof of the car, or the boat.  All’s you need is a stick of 2x4 and a 1” dowel.  I tie it to a cleat inside the boat for safety going down the road. 

Not pictured but a great idea had by Pat Guillory:  Go buy yourself a $5 gun sock and cover up the top 5 feet of the mast and sail.  Great idea!

 



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Articulating Tiller:  A great idea that wasn’t!

I’m sure someone has made this work (otherwise I wouldn’t have found it on PDRacer.com), so I went wrong somewhere.  Epic – and entertaining – fail.  Gotta admit it looks good, though…

Oh and the chair?  Epic-er-er fail!  Not one of my better days…

Yeah, that’s a fishing rod holder next to the cleat.  There’s one on the port side as well.

 



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Seats by Ocean Kayak.  Drink Holders by Scotty.   Both are a complete success!  I spent 3 hours in TDTS the other day and only came out half as stiff as on other voyages.  The seats were easy to install and set up with a few pad eyes and some creative use of paracord.  At a 45 degree angle, they are perfect for prolonged lazy sailing.  The drink holders are removable and only enhance the experience.  If you look closely, you can see the tiller minder on the, well, the tiller.  All these innovations mean that my biggest job is to curl those, um, water bottles!  Note the tiller has been shortened since the build pics.  And she has a new nick-name…”The Igloo”.

 



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I have no good picture of the net, but here it is.  The net is held on using J-Hooks and modified pad eyes from a kayak shop.  Same place I got the bungee cord for the outside net line, the seats, the drink holders…say, kayak shops are our friends!  I used paracord for the webbing itself.  All told, about three hours worth of work (I’m a net virgin) and it works great.  YouTube has a lot of videos on how to make a net.  It’s a good way to spend an evening when there is nothing left to do on your boat!

 



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Nothing here, just one of my favorite pictures of Pat’s 646, "Allons Canard", and my 705, "The Duck That Stuck".  I like to think of them as twins.

Fair Winds,
Nick