Truant's First Splash

She's not been this close to the water before, and after sliding Truant off the beach trolley Mitch stands the mast up ready to rig her.

In, and away. I got so involved with getting her away that I didn't get a close up before she was off and gone! The balanced lugsail is generous for the boat's size, and is very easy to rig and handle.

Coming back toward the beach I can see that we need a little more outhaul tension on the yard, but that everything else seems fine. The rigging and playing on the front lawn before we put her up on the trailer paid off.

What an evening - Lake Rotorua, early spring, and Mitch is sitting comfortably, leaning back on the coaming while Truant takes him exploring.

We launched Truant today - Mitch and I. The lake, only a kilometre or so from my house, was sparkling blue. We had an hour or so left of the day, but Truant had been stuck, essentially finished in my workshop for a few weeks. So, after dry rigging her, we put the beach trolley and boat onto her trailer and hustled off down to the lake.

She's not a long boat, at 11 ft 6 ins ( 3.5 m ), and is of almost extreme beam. A strong flare in her sides gets the skipper out to where the weight is most effective, so I gave her a pretty big rig. She has the coaming angled and positioned for Mitch's comfort, and there is lots of room to relax.

We wheeled the trolley across the park to the edge of the lake, rigged the tan balanced lugsail on its unstayed mast, and without delay or ceremony, slid her into the water.

Lake Rotorua is, in fact, a sunken volcanic crater. It is very shallow for much of its area and ideal for playing with new boats, because one can walk alongside for quite a way out. Once Mitch was aboard, I walked with him as he got to grips with the new boat. Soon he was off, the 8 to 10 knots of breeze getting Truant up to hull speed very quickly. She showed me a clean pair of heels as Mitch headed her away into deeper water.

A little later, I managed to borrow the wee boat from a grinning new owner - only for a few minutes though.

My impressions? Surprisingly quick for a non racer; accurate in steering and the helm quite balanced. The seating position and foot spaces are good for my leg length, but my only gripe is that she needs a tiller extension to allow her skipper to lean back in real comfort.

She tacks nicely and gybes softly - one of the virtues of a balanced lugsail. She runs straight, points well, and is surprisingly tolerant of weight distribution. There is a good feeling of "getting on with it", as she bustles along, and there is an impression of sturdy capability. This is just what I wanted in a small daysailer that was not intended to make big demands on "mature" skippers and crew who may not be very "able-bodied".

Good, really good!

The only problem now is to be able to borrow her back from Mitch!

John Welsford.