Several of the boats I have built were rowboats. Wind has always been my biggest concern. On the mountain lakes where I do a lot of my boating, the winds can go from zero to fifty very quickly, with gusts and abrupt direction shifts. This can make staying on course very difficult, depending on the boat.
I'm wondering how the RowCruiser performs in heavy wind, and what measures you might have taken to compensate for high wind.
I have built all of my boats with a rudder, which is great for downwind rowing in a gale. I drop the rudder and it acts as a pivot point to keep the bow from rounding up into the wind. Upwind rowing is more difficult. A boat designer friend of mine always puts a drop-down bow board in his rowing boats, which provides a pivot point to help keep the hull nose-to-wind when rowing upwind. I'm wondering if there would be any value to adding such a feature to the RowCruiser that I'm about to begin.
Any thoughts or experiences that might be helpful?
Thanks!
Hello Kellan - If you plan on rowing in windy conditions, it's very wise to consider your options at this stage. Of all our boats, the RowCruiser is the most vulnerable to winds, due to the extra freeboard created by the cabin. If you plan on saiing the RowCruiser when it's windy, or just rowing in calmer conditions, it's not an issue. On the other hand, if you're exclusively rowing, and you plan on going in heavy winds, there are measures you can take that will make a big difference.
The most challenging is rowing with heavy wind on the beam or quarter. The boat has a tendency to point downwind, and you really need to compensate on the oars. Additionally, there is a significant amount of sideslip. The most effective way to counter this is to install a daggerboard and small rudder. Lee helm and sideslip are almost fully negated with this setup, and you can row fairly easily into all points of the wind. I know Adam Riley and Matty Clarke used this setup for their NW Passage row with good results. The daggerboard can be about half the size of the sailing version, and the rudder can scaled down too. I think it may work okay with just a skeg instead of a rudder, but I haven't tested the diffference. Might be worth asking Matty or Adam. If you decide to go this route, we can send through plans/instructions for the daggerboard/rudder construction.
Hi Colin. Thank you so much for the promt reply!
Yes, I would very much like the info for the daggerboard and rudder. Is it something you can direct message to me here on the forum? I will happily pay for it. Although I am not planning to build a full-on sail rig with amas, I would like to add a small collapsible sail rig, like a Hobie Outback or Falcon rig, and it sounds like the small daggerboard and rudder would pair well with that.
As for wind, in my region it is mostly calm, but I often encounter wind that comes out of nowhere, punishes me for a while, and then vanishes before too long. I just want to be prepared to work through it or ride it out when necessary.
