Skeg repair = a snap
That cable skeg is a snap to replace. You do need to be handy with a allen wrench (tiny one) and the tip of a Swiss Army knife or awl is all it takes to get the cable out. Insert new cable and add a dab of 2 part epoxy putty to lock in place. Reinsert cable and tighten the allen screw. Done; 10 minutes.
As with lots of cars I’ve owned, anything mechanical that you actually use eventally breaks. All hail duct tape!
See you on the water,
Marshall
www.the-river-connection.com
Forces get this comment
"But I really liked the Force 3 - the boat has a real nice, willing personality."
I don’t know how to parse it, but essentailly everyone I know who has paddled a Force has come away with same impression. The usual comment tends to be, “It is a sweet boat.” At first I thought it was maybe on the “quick” side as in you needed to stay on top of it to stay on top, but I was wrong. As things get rougher, it still remains quick and responsive, but then out comes this wonderfully unflapable feel of someone who is simply at home and comfy. It is one of those boats that lets you go where you want to go at speed even when things kick up.
Celia, I’m impressed!
For a 50 year old woman (not sure exact age) at about 130 lbs. (I gather from one of your posts)the fact that you are driving any of these boats above 4 knots approaching 5 knots is exceptional. Few tourers out there can do that. Do you come from an athletic background? For your size and age in those boats that makes you elite relative to the norm.
Don’t be impressed
– Last Updated: Oct-06-06 6:42 PM EST –
I can only drive the Vela at that speed for a very short bit, in flat water, without opposing wind - and the boat is very quick off the mark to accelerate. I couldn't move the LV off the mark as quickly. Even with the spriteliness of the Vela, it usually takes a paddler in apparent trouble to get my speed nearly there. I really don't like cardio work even if it is good for me. In fact I mostly checked it out after reading from someone else that the boat hit the wall about there, and found looking down at the substantial bow wake that I agreed.
Normally I am a slow paddler with a badly in-need-of-improvement forward stroke, though I've been working on that the last couple of months and I think it is getting better. It is true that a group of us circumnavigating the Monemoy islands off of Cape Cod were clocking nearly five knots this last weekend and I was keeping up comfortably - however at that point we had a 2 plus knot current on our tails, neutral wind and quite long period swells. The current was fast, not me.
BTW, I am nearly 55.
Cruising at 5+ knots
with the effort of around 3 felt fine. Though the big swells occaisionally sharpening up felt even better 