Maiden voyage of the Sabalo.
Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 7:49 pm
I was able to get the Sabalo in the water for her maiden voyage Sunday evening. My oldest boy wanted to ride on the new boat with me and, although he didn't know it at the time, my 79 year old father was assigned the Jem Touring Pirogue. 
He thought he was just going to take a few pictures and wait. I told him that wouldn't be much fun and that I have built more than one boat for a reason. 
I said he would get much better pictures from out in the river. He has not paddled for about 45 years so I thought it was high time he did it again.
We lauched from a boat ramp at a city park and headed upstream. I did not deploy the rudder right away because I wanted to see how well she tracked. I discovered she tracks like an arrow. I then deployed the rudder and found it was much easier to turn and wasn't as difficult to use as I thought it would be. I have never used a rudder in a kayak before so it was new to me.
Dad enjoying the paddling experience
Erik and I in the Sabalo
The stability of this boat is phenominal. I was sitting way on the edge with my legs in the water and it did not flip (although in these photos I am not at the edge) I then added the weight of my boy to the side and we still didn't flip it.
Erik thought about jumping in, but I convinced him it wasn't in his best interests due to the snags in the river. Even with him trying to go forward into the water, she was very stable and at no time did I feel like it would flip.
Erik found it stable enough to stand in while I paddled. This allowed him to jump into Grandpa's boat and take it over like a little pirate should. I figure if he practices enough, he should be ready to go to Somalia by the time he is 5 and take over some cargo vessels and make some good money.
Here he is after capturing Grandpa's boat. I think the smile on Grandpa's face says it all
Here they are trying to get a picture of the ducks and heron.
Erik trying to learn how to paddle. I will have to make him a smaller paddle.
He also enjoyed riding on the front deck so he could hang his feet in the water. He is giving his fake camera smile.
He then decided he would be a bow thruster and started kicking his feet. This is when I was really glad to have a rudder. I guess I should have had twins. One on each side and she would be super maneuverable.
Here he wanted me to go faster so we could catch Grandpa
And after a leisurely evening paddle we arrived back at the launch site. I had to help my dad out of the boat due to his leg falling asleep, but he still had a great time and wants to go again. He thinks the pirogue would be more comfortable with foot braces. I hope to install them this week.
My only regret was that I didn't have a fishing rod.
The bass were jumping everywhere.
He thought he was just going to take a few pictures and wait. I told him that wouldn't be much fun and that I have built more than one boat for a reason. I said he would get much better pictures from out in the river. He has not paddled for about 45 years so I thought it was high time he did it again.We lauched from a boat ramp at a city park and headed upstream. I did not deploy the rudder right away because I wanted to see how well she tracked. I discovered she tracks like an arrow. I then deployed the rudder and found it was much easier to turn and wasn't as difficult to use as I thought it would be. I have never used a rudder in a kayak before so it was new to me.
Dad enjoying the paddling experience
Erik and I in the Sabalo
The stability of this boat is phenominal. I was sitting way on the edge with my legs in the water and it did not flip (although in these photos I am not at the edge) I then added the weight of my boy to the side and we still didn't flip it.
Erik thought about jumping in, but I convinced him it wasn't in his best interests due to the snags in the river. Even with him trying to go forward into the water, she was very stable and at no time did I feel like it would flip.
Erik found it stable enough to stand in while I paddled. This allowed him to jump into Grandpa's boat and take it over like a little pirate should. I figure if he practices enough, he should be ready to go to Somalia by the time he is 5 and take over some cargo vessels and make some good money.
Here he is after capturing Grandpa's boat. I think the smile on Grandpa's face says it all
Here they are trying to get a picture of the ducks and heron.
Erik trying to learn how to paddle. I will have to make him a smaller paddle.
He also enjoyed riding on the front deck so he could hang his feet in the water. He is giving his fake camera smile.
He then decided he would be a bow thruster and started kicking his feet. This is when I was really glad to have a rudder. I guess I should have had twins. One on each side and she would be super maneuverable.
Here he wanted me to go faster so we could catch Grandpa
And after a leisurely evening paddle we arrived back at the launch site. I had to help my dad out of the boat due to his leg falling asleep, but he still had a great time and wants to go again. He thinks the pirogue would be more comfortable with foot braces. I hope to install them this week.
My only regret was that I didn't have a fishing rod.
The bass were jumping everywhere.
