Sunday 15 September 2019

Sandbanks


Well, No.2 Son is now ensconced in his digs in Winchester and is set for a week of Fresher Weej parties before the serious work starts, if it starts at all...

Collected the windsurfer from Poole and headed to Sandbanks to give it its first sea trials. There were so many bits that it was impossible to fully build it (plus there wasn't a breath of wind) and we settled for trying to use it as a paddleboard, but it proved impossible to stand upright on it without it tipping over. Whether this is to do with the stance for paddleboarding being incompatible with a windsurfing board (which I suspect) is moot - on a windsurfer one stands on the centreline, whereas on a paddleboard one stands planted athwartships.



We settled instead for using it like a kayak, for which it is not well suited in such shallow water due to the length of the leeboard, the necessary absence of which rendered it very directionally unstable. At keast it does take my entire weight without sinking,

The whole contraption needs laying on the lawn, various bits carefully renovating and being put together methodically to see what needs replacing, which doesn't seem to be much. That will have to wait, however, as we're off kayaking somewhere today - not sure where yet.




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