Our Fleet
We enjoy boats of all kinds and over the years we have built up a bit of a fleet here at our home port. In addition to Malolo, the "mothership", and Meander, we have a variety of other boats, both purchased and home-built. Here is a little bit about them, in order of size.
Cape Islander - "Two Brothers"
"Two Brothers" was (past tense - you'll see why below) a 38' Cape Island boat built in 1964 in the Pubnico area of Nova Scotia. He (it's too much of a workboat to be a "she") was a wooden boat, but his hull was covered in fiberglass many years ago. He was used for fishing and lobstering for almost 40 years, which is a hard life for the boat. When we purchased him in 2003, a lot of the wooden structure of the boat was rotten, and was at the end of his useful fishing life. We purchased him with the intent of building a new "house" to make him suitable for fair weather cruising (and with that upgrade, "he" might become a "she"). After looking at the work required and the level of rot in the boat, we decided that it wasn't worth the effort. Instead, we used him for day cruises around our area.
We normally left Two Brothers in the water year round (our cove never fills with ice because if it freezes our neighbour who is a lobster fisherman uses his boat to break it up and clear it out), but hauled him out in fall of 2006. Once out of the water, the level of rot became even more apparent. Very quickly the keel started to push the floors up and it was obvious that repair was out of the question. After serving as a lawn ornament for a couple of years, in spring of 2009 we made a deal with a neighbour who is a boatbuilder - he could have all of the "good" stuff (engine, shaft, propeller, hydraulics, etc) if he paid to have him broken up and taken away. And away he went.
Windsprints - "Blue Magic" and "Dragonfly"
When we were on a scouting trip to Nova Scotia in the summer of 1999 looking for a house before we moved, we attended the Mahone Bay Wooden Boat Festival with some friends. We borrowed a "windsprint" to participate in the small craft races. Well, turned out that the windsprint was for sale, so we bought it. The boat is designed by Phil Bolger. It is a 16' double ended boat built of plywood, with way too much sail and too little weight. There's a fleet of 6 to 8 windsprints racing each year and it's great fun.
In 2008 Blue Magic was needing some work and we just didn't have the time with all our other projects. At the end of the races, we gave the boat away to a young couple who had been coming out to crew for a couple of years. We bought "Dragonfly", a windsprint built by a friend who no longer races.
Kayaks
When we moved to Stonehurst and saw how great it would be to paddle in the area, we decided to build a couple of kayaks. Never having built a boat of any sort before, we were a bit timid about the process. We bought a kit for a boat called a Volkskayak which is a 17' sea kayak made with "stitch and glue" construction. The kit included pre-cut plywood panels, epoxy, wire, etc. To build the boat, the plywood panels are "stitched" together with brass wire, then glued with epoxy. After the glue has set, the brass wires are removed and the holes filled with more epoxy. It's a fairly simple construction method and the boat went together nicely. We built a second one from plans, rather than buying the kit. We built them over the winter of 2000.
On a calm, warm day in May, we decided to try them out. Never having set foot in a kayak (so to speak) before, we weren't sure how it was done. I held Donna's boat while she climbed in and paddled off. I then tried getting in to mine (with no one holding it) and promptly rolled over and into the water. I went in twice more before I was finally able to stay upright. Needless to say, we have since learned how to get in and out without getting wet.
Avon Inflatable
Not much to say about this one! It was the tender for our previous "big" boat and is now over 15 years old but still holding air and working great. We use it as a tender for Malolo, but we are looking to replace it. It's a bit worrisome to get to shore in the inflatable with two dogs and have them dig their claws in and leap from the boat. I can just hear the HISSSSSSS and find ourselves stranded as the boat deflates.
Nutshell Pram
Our second effort at boatbuilding, after the kayaks. The Nutshell Pram is a plywood lapstrake 9' 6" rowboat that is lightweight, looks great and rows easily. I plan on adding the sailing rig to it, but haven't done it as yet. We built the boat over the winter of 2003 and launched her in June. The plans called for two sets of oarlocks, and we thought that was a bit of overkill for two people to row such a small boat so I only installed one set. Well, we launched the boat and I sat in the middle seat and Donna sat in the stern and the bow promptly went up about 3'. A eureka moment, the second set of oarlocks is so that you can sit on the front seat and row when two people are in the boat!
The nutshell is a bit too tippy to use as a tender with the two dogs, and it can't take an outboard, so we'll be adding to the fleet.
Portland Pudgy
Before leaving for our Bahamas cruise in the fall of 2007 we decided to get a new dinghy. Our Avon inflatable, at 15 years old was getting a bit long in the tooth. After much research and debate, we settled on the Portland Pudgy, a unique little boat. It is designed to be used as a lifeboat as well as dinghy. At only 7 1/2' long it has the carrying capacity of 10' inflatables, it is double-hulled making it virtually unsinkable, and it can be sailed, motored and rowed. The downside is that it can only handle a small engine and therefore is limited in speed.
Having used it extensively as the "family car" on our cruise, we are very happy with it (although we did experience some trouble that hopefully the manufacturer will fix). We missed having the speed of an inflatable, but everything is a compromise.