Fast building two plywood Quick Canoes in one week to paddle touring the Loire River in France – Part 1

The above photo was taken on the third day of our Canoeing trip on the Loire River in France. The two black canoes didn’t even exist a week ago. When I wrote the original article on Disposable Canoeing I had no idea at all what it would lead to me and a bunch of adventurers, wine and cheese connoisseurs. Most of us didn’t even know each other! The picture above is the result of this adventurism, but what happened to make it happen? What technology was involved to make the boats faster to build than most stitch and glue boats and what weather conditions did we have to overcome to make it all happen.

Sailing unstayed Cat Ketches and Cat Yawls safely and efficiently downwind in strong winds

John Goodman and I sailed the immaculate Goat Island Skiff he built from my plan in the Texas 200. The boat showed itself to be one of the faster in the fleet despite loading up such a short boat with food, water and camping gear for six days with little outside support. We played with sailing the boat by the lee – a method used by racing boats to gain both speed and control. I document the method here including a video showing how the angle of heel can be controlled using the mainsheet.

Taking videos on board sailing boats using a boom camera

Cameras, digicams, video cameras are fun on boats, but it is hard to get good pics of yourselves sailing the boat or the boat doing its stuff nicely. John Goodman and Family built their Goat Island Skiff GIR and sailed it in the Texas 200 event as well as some solo river cruising. They used a camera boom to great advantage – to move the camera away from the boat. Another alternative is a wide angle lens which can produce dramatic effects for marine photography but the toom seems much more useful. It works well with the steadying of anti-shake electronics.