Review

Having used the boat for nine months now, I can give a sort of review. First: until now I only have rowed the boat. Sailing will soon be possible, because I finally made the sail. But since the completion of the boat, I rowed it weekly. What can I say? Well, rowing with it is fun. Some points:

  • You need something like a cushion as a seat. I used a piece of foam which I normally use for my knees when gardening.
  • When the wind blows more than 3 Bft, waves make the boat wet. You will need a small bucket.
  • With head wind, rowing is a lot heavier.
  • The boat can carry a lot of load. I have transported probably a hundred kgs of timber in the boat without any problems. 
  • With some load on the backseat, the boat seems to be 'flatter' on the water. 
  • Position of the oars is perfect.
  • The handles of the oars are not perfectly round. It would be better if they were. The diameter is a bit small. A couple of mm's more is better for me. After two hours of rowing, I get blisters.
  • The metal rail on the bottom is very useful. The front should be as flat as possible. 
  • Next winter I will give it a new layer of varnish. Because of a collision with a piece of concrete just beneath the water surface, there's some minor damage visible on the body.
  • I haven't used the nesting function. I will probably only use this in winter time, when the water is covered by ice. Normally I have the boat in our garden, upside down under a plastic cover, in one piece.
  • The foam under the seats, used for floating, are sensible. It's easy to accidentally kick a hole in it. The outside, with only some layers of epoxy and varnish, is too thin. You'd better use glass fibre. 
  • The speed when rowing is fine. 5.5 km/h is the average.

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