8 Foot Punt SCUPPERS 26 Dec 21 Sea Trials

 26 Dec 21:

Beautiful day, 71F and light wind, so we decided to take our Granddaughter for her first boat ride. We looked around our Armada of 15 boats and to our surprise, SCUPPERS was the boat of choice for today. The water is 47F so we decided it was best to stay close to shore, very close, so an 8 foot punt seemed the best and easiest choice.

First we needed to add a bow line. I drilled a 1/2 inch hole and cut 12 foot piece of New England Rope Vintage 3 strand to make the bow line.

SCUPPERS needed a pennant, so we drilled a hole for the nice bronze flagstaff bracket that we found on ebay, made by Wilcox and Crittenden. Skipper's ratcheting brace bit and auger bits were used to drill the hole.

We used a 4 in 1 file to finish the edges of the hole. This versatile file comes in very handy for a variety of projects, we keep it readily accessible in the shop. The 4 surfaces range from coarse to fine, one side is flat and the other curved.

The flagstaff bracket came with a nice mahogany flagstaff which we plan to use as a template, and a Skunk flag, which we are told is flown after a day of fishing and no fish are caught, i.e. being "skunked." The flag will make a nice pattern as well for more flags.

The boat ride for the Granddaughter was a success, then Skipper took SCUPPERS out to finish up the official Sea Trials. SCUPPERS moves well, turns easily and tracks straight. We determined that we should move the middle seat back a few inches and located spots for oar locks.

My turn. We love how SCUPPERS floats in a puddle of water. The flat bottom is stable and the rocker on the bow lets us run right up on the beach, amphibious operations, Marine Corps style.

All of these boats rested comfortably, but they are next on the list.

The straps worked great, easy to use and the overcenter buckles put just the right amount of pressure on the boat and dolly.

It's nice to have the Carriage House aka Boat Shop up and running, a nice place to keep tools and materials to maintain the Armada. And to keep an eye on the hooligans in the Sunfish Shack.