A few trips with the Skarabee

Last two weekends we have made a trip with our club. Both times I picked the Skarabee. Both times there was a lot of wind. The first time we didn't make a trip actually but played again around our sheltered bay. The second weekend we made a trip of about 18 km to the isle Hooft in the IJmeer.

The experiences with the Skarabee were not different than before. It needs a lot of skeg to correct weathercocking. Probably this would be better when loaded, as this boat has been designed for taking a bulk of load. Unloaded as I paddle it now it definitely needs a larger skeg. When you paddle across the wind and totally lower the skeg I want the boat to turn down the wind but it is not very eager to do so. Also downwind it is not very straight tracking. I will look if I can alter the skeg somehow to get it more effective.

Nothing new about surfing also. It takes some effort to get the Skarabee into a surf. But I managed to get the bow burried in the wave once. Exciting and fast. On sea, with larger wavelengths, it would probably surf better. Controlling the boat when surfing is still difficult as it wants to break out too soon. A larger skeg would help here of course. Or...why not make a rudder on it? and why not a sail? The Skarabee can have it.

Another idea I have is to lower the aft deck as I don't need all that volume. It could help diminishing the weathercocking and also for esthetical reasons this would be good idea. But a lot of work... And before I would make such a drastic change I first want to test the Skarabee when it is loaded. The first camping trip is planned with Eastern. However, this trip might be cancelled because of the Corona lockdown.

During the long trip I developed a few blisters on my hand. A few minor ones but one serious. The shaft of my Greenland paddle is made from soft wood. The spots where my hands are on have been abrased by wearing gloves with some antislip pattern.

worn spots on both ends of the loom

The bare wood absorbs water and these spots are pretty rough now. Not good for wet and cold skin. I already tried to fix the spots with linseed oil but this didn't help much. Now I try the hardwax oil that is used for wooden floors.