Major Changes!

Well, its been a while...

Hello again from the coast.  We have settled in and although there is more do around the house than I care to mess with I am ready to press on and finish Addy, but I wasn't until now.

At the risk of criticism and insult, I am changing direction with Miss Addy.  She is going to be reborn a launch.  Off with her gigantic pilothouse.  She will be opened up and topped with a full awning, scalloped edges and all.  

Rendering of Miss Addy as a Launch.  the old cockpit becomes
the raised helm and a full awning stretches the length of the launch.
Anchor bow roller  and winch are left intact.
This picnic boat gets a porta-potty as its only convenience.

Let me explain how I came to this radical decision.  It hasn't been a hasty one and, for a while, I wondered at my own lack of interest in finishing her. As a matter of fact if I had to do it all over again, would I have even picked this vessel (or at least this version of her) now that I live here?

In all honesty I haven't been real active as a boater in my new home. I have under my belt all of two trips on the local river. The nearest lift at Blue N Hall Marina is located on this river and is home to The McIntosh Rod and Gun Club, Proprietor Ashton Alford.   

I have a miserable showing of time on the rivers but am working to remedy this once I get the Mako so that it can be lifted.  The ramps here are rough, washed out and risky with the eight to nine foot tidal swing.  Using a lift is the way to go but the timing has to work out (these are tidal rivers). I have a few issues that I'm working out as I have accessorized it to the point that she's a little heavy and a little unbalanced in the lift.  The problem now is the stern eyes. They are too close together and too sensitive to the slightest imbalance.

Looking south from Belleville Point on Blackbeard Creek.

The two trips that crystallized my decision...
Trip one was with my daughter, wife and granddaughter, Addy.  It was at dead low tide to learn where the real channel lies in these rivers.  A nine foot tidal swing can make you think you are in the main channel, when it actually hugs the bank.  The water can go from deep to skinny in a matter of yards and the tides can make fifty yard wide rivers disappear twice a day. The Georgia coastal rivers are very different.  They have strong currents and constantly change.  Chart plotters help but it changes too much to bank on it.  Best go out at low tide and learn.  Go to the intercoastal and venture out carefully I was told.  I heed their advice. I went back out a week ago (trip two) with my wife and Dad at high tide and windy.  Very different.  At the intercoastal it starting getting rough with the wind and water piling up and we ran back in.  You have to have visibility here.  You need to see where you are going as hazards abound.

Accessorized Mako Pro Skiff hangs in the lift at Blue N Hall.
It is not happy with those close stern eyes and more often than
not it wants to roll to port.  I plan to move the stern eyes
outboard.

My first trip out with only half of my daughter's family told me that we needed a bigger boat and Addy needed to be made ready.  Trip two's revelation regarding windy conditions and current tells me that I was not excited about the prospect of taking that boat out with the tall pilothouse sides subject to wind and so crammed with amenities she felt very small.

Belleville Point at sunset
(about 10 minutes north)

The problem with Addy now is that she was conceived in a wholly different place, mindset and for a completely different purpose.  I started out needing an "exploration" vessel for far off waters that are now at hand, literally minutes down the road.  I also intended to take those trips to the gulf and not the miles of wondrous tidal creeks of coastal Georgia.  I may have been kidding myself but the gulf seemed a place that wasn't nearly so dependent upon the kind of visibility and subject to the current that these rivers require and contain.  One thing that I am keenly aware of now is how hard it is to see out of that tall pilothouse.  I had already began to think about having to add cameras around the pilothouse.
Docking in the rivers here is something that will take me a while to master, maybe a long while.  Its never the same and the prospects of doing this out Addy was making me nervous.  At the time that I conceived Addy's usefulness, we needed a conveyance that would make the trip to those far shores worthwhile.  The intention was to put in and camp for 3 to 5 days at a stretch, maybe longer then travel back to Rome where we would plan the next trip.  Maybe this would be once a year, maybe twice.  It wasn't going to be used much but the plan was to make the most out of each trip.  Now, I could see that, in her present arrangement, she wouldn't get used at all.

Turning this over for the past month, and knowing that I must restart her because it was already such an investment, I have had a radical change of heart but, one that makes perfect sense for our lives now.  

We need room, protection from the sun, and at times the wind or bugs, and places to sit and relax. What would our outings look like now?  Day trips, picnics to Sapelo, occasional tossing in of a line for trout, photography and general nature watching.  We needed a family boat for the rivers. Addy was never built to go offshore so her life is in the protected rivers and there is plenty to see. However, she was built for cruising the intercoastal for days on end, anchoring and living aboard.  Now, we see a special overnight trip, once a year perhaps, to a local marina on the coast with an overnight stay in a hotel, but many weekend cruises for an hour or two.

Redwing 21 Launch version

The launch concept is the equivalent of our modern pontoon boats in form and function.  Lets face it, pontoons are popular for a reason, they are just fun.  I see Addy turning heads and actually getting used in this role much, much more often.

Addy's hull with her full keel, swept bow, flat stable bottom that draws little water and roominess is a perfect platform. Karl Stambaugh actually includes several versions of a Redwing launch in his plans.  Her present massive pilothouse with shower, galley, toilet, berths and storage is not.  I turn back to the classic launch.  The quintessential  river touring boat for large parties with the purpose of sightseeing and entertainment.  These were slow, stable vessels that served as platforms for picnics, entertainment  and sightseeing .  Many of them were electric powered for the quietness it provides.  I will ditch the amenities for live-aboard use that sacrificed so much room.  A full length awning with curtains that can be lowered is an important feature.

Simplicity is the new watchword! 

Duffy Boats Launch as a sample of what is planned.

Craigslist will soon see a new self-contained head, galley burner/sink and Webasto AC unit among other creature comforts posted in the Brunswick classifieds. Off with the pilothouse and cabin.  The decks will be cut an even 9" all around and mahogany will be used extensively. Why? because a launch is the perfect canvas for those Victorian or Georgian touches. It is my intention to deck over with bright finished mahogany in the old mahogany runabout style.  The elevated cockpit will remain and will serve as the helm with a wrap around elevated backrest that ties into the mahogany coaming that surrounds the opened seating arrangement. The main seating will be set lower and arranged in a "U" shape that wraps both sides and the bow.  The boat will be driven seated from an elevated helm, and from the rear, so that the captain can be part of the party and conversation with a great view of the boat, guests and the intended course.  If the single high thrust kicker looks to be under-powered, I'll trade up.  If the keel seems to make her too hard to turn, I may add a bow thruster.

So, take one last look. She begins a metamorphosis soon (via reciprocating saw)... and I am excited about her again.