Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES Rigged for Rowing

02 March 2019:

We built our Penobscot primarily for rowing, so she goes out sometimes without the sprit sail rig and rudder. Launch and recovery from the Dynamic Dolly is easy.

We grab our PFDs, a few towels, the padook, 2 cushions and snacks.

The vintage long leaf pine oars are working out great, we plan to add leathers now that we have an idea where the best spot for them is.

Miles rowed 2.75/Total 16

Log of ST. JACQUES

Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES 03 Aug 18 Morning Row

03 Aug 18:

Nice day for exercise, stretch the muscles, our Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES took us out for a row. Grabbed some PFDs, water, crackers, bluetooth speaker and launched from the dolly. The tide was running out and wind was light from the East, so we headed upwind/uptide with the hopes of rowing for a half our or so, then drifting back with the tide and breeze. The plan worked! Temp was already in lower 80s with humidity up, but a nice scattered cloud deck started building and we had a bit of shade. We also wore some new sun protective gear from Columbia, tops and long pants to keep the skin covered but omni-cool and omni-shade fabrics that breathe. They worked great, no sizzle feeling on exposed skin. Skipper also tried out her new watercolor pencil sketch pad. A couple of osprey were out looking for breakfast, and a batch of white egrets flew by, otherwise the bay was pretty quiet.

ST. JACQUES will be an important part of our cross fit program, a beautiful rowing machine that gets us out into nature.

Log of ST. JACQUES.

Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES 30 Mar 18 Row and Sail

30 Mar 18:

Light winds so we took ST. JACQUES out for a row to the bayou and hoped to test out rudder repairs on the way back. I rowed from the front seat for about a mile, Skipper steered and paddled a bit. The Penobscot 14 carries well and is fun to row.

Left the bayou to head home, wind had picked up to 12 gusting to 15 on a broad reach. We dropped the centerboard and popped the brailing line loose on the spritsail. Skipper surfed us back to the house through lots of fetch on the lee shore, ST. JAQUES rolled through all of it on an even keel and felt very controllable. The spritsail acted like a spinnaker, and we didn't have to worry about ducking a boom or a gybe. We covered the last 3/4 mile in under 8 minutes :) As we neared shore we brailed the sail and glided in to shore. Rolled ST. JACQUES back up into the yard on the dolly and she got a fresh water rinse.

Here's a few pictures of the boat to see how we outfitted for the morning expedition. Outfitting for the 1:20 cruise included coffee, water, two foam seats, a throwable device/cushion, 2 towels, a blankie for Skipper and of course the PFDs.

Here are some shots of the rudder uphaul and downhaul. The uphaul is used primarily on land and during launch and recovery. The downhaul is used to counteract the buoyancy of the rudder. The rudder worked great during the sail.

Miles rowed 1.5/Total 7.5

Log of St. JACQUES.

St. Jacques Log Sail and Oar Plus Tiller Repair

21 Aug 17:

Took St. Jacques out for a short sail in light winds, worked on the transition from shore to sea. Sail was ready but First Mate forgot to drop the centerboard about halfway, so we went a bit sideways in the light breeze until the dock helped him gain his bearings. Once untangled from the bow line and mainsheet, we poled and paddled a few feet to gain sea room then crawled off the beach under sail. Worked our way up towards the river looking for dolphin, ended up ghosting a bit and rowed for a while. 7 1/2 foot oars for the forward station may be a few inches too long, but it is too early to tell with the limited rowing experience of the crew. St. Jacques was very easy to handle and likes to sail just above a beam reach. Wind died again and temp index started creeping towards 100F, so the oars brought us home. Just prior to the shore, the tiller snapped at the foot and the sail got brailed for the last few feet. Time to watch the eclipse now.

The tiller snapped where I had cut the shoulder too deep, which created a weak point. Kind of like notching a tree to fell it.

Repaired the broken tiller with Jamestown Distributors TotalBoat THIXO (thickened epoxy) and a wrap of 4 oz fiberglass cloth.

Wrapped the fiberglass and epoxy with saran wrap to help smooth the surface and hold the pieces together.

St. Jacques waiting for the next adventure.

Rowed 1 mile/Total 2 miles

Log of St. Jacques