OSS - Launched

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At long last on Sept 18, 2001, I finally got my One Sheet Skiff launched.  With a hull weight of about 30 lbs it was much easier to put on top of my Jeep than the 135 lb MiniCup.

I took it after work out to the reservoir where I normally sail which is almost empty, but has a fair bit of algae thick water.  The caster I installed at the end of the skeg worked well for transporting the boat along the dock to the water where it was quick work to set it in complete with my two recently finished oars, bailing bucket and floating rope (required by law in Ontario).  The boat was christened with a small bottle of cheap wine as "Ursa Minor A." while a large stray dog looked on.

I then proceeded to get into the skiff.  It held my weight fairly well, but seemed "tender".  While getting down to the seat that sits 3" above the hull, my feet slipped, the bow went down and to the side and the boat immediately filled with water and sank.  Undeterred and buoyed by the suddenly blue air around me, I got out, stood up and lifted the boat out to dump out the water.  Much easier than bailing.  I then got back in, and well attended by the stray dog, pushed gently off from the dock and tried to ship my 7 1/2' long oars.  These oars, while nicely made, were far too long and heavy for such a small boat and attempts to use them made the boat rock back and forth.  I then decided to paddle the boat backwards using a single oar.

This worked quite well and the skiff tracked very well, probably due to the full length 1" high keel I had put on.  Fascinated by all this, the stray dog swam after me and around me bumping into the front of the boat, probably to indicate that it thought I was going the wrong way.

After about 15-20 minutes, the dog was getting very tired and would not respond to repeated "hints" that it return to shore as well as the fact that I had by this point determined that my 5' 11"/ 230lb frame was rather too large for the skiff, I returned, reloaded the boat and returned home victorious.

My children (9 and 7) are now looking forward to having this boat for their very own next summer.  Now I can start looking at a next project.  Possibly even one that will hold me.

Update Aug 25/2002

I finally had a chance for one of my kids to try out the skiff.  I built much shorter oars for this skiff and installed proper oar locks.  For some reason, my now 8 year-old son Trueman had a challenge with the oars, probably because he's a bit short for them, however once I removed the oar locks and let him paddle using a single oar, he had a fine time paddling around on Connestoga Lake.

DISCLAIMER: Because the construction of any boat is dependent on factors of materials and craftsmanship that are beyond my control, I can accept no responsibility for any item constructed based on information found on this web-site.