May is here and time to launch Kincora. Well at least on the calendar it is May and time to launch.  I am sure the New England weather will change quickly and, before we know it we will be in shorts.  So I am finishing the final few projects this week. Last two years my thru hull for speed, depth, and temp had a slight leak. I could see who ever put it in did the job in a hurry. There was glass over old non-sanded gel coat. Ugh, why do people do that? I would get about two cups…

My winter trips south was great for getting out on the water windsurfing with my CarbonArt SL121 board hand built in New Zealand by James Dinnis.  The best board I have ever sailed.  Fast, smooooth, and makes you laugh out loud when you jibe.  This board is great for sails from 9.2 sq-meters to 7.6 sq-meters.  So this poses a question, what do I do when the wind gets in the low to upper 20’s.  Last few years I sailed on Kincora and still will at times.  But now I have ordered a new board from CarbonArt the FR116.  This…

Spring has arrived, and time is flying by while getting ready for the fun sailing season to start. Water temp in Dutch Harbor is 45 F today, so this weekend could be my first windsurfing in RI this year. It was nice to get weeks of windsurfing this winter in FL Speaking of busy, tomorrow I am off on 6am flight to film Seakeeper retrofits, and running footage in FL for two days. That should be a cool shoot.   More when I have the videos edited. Here are a few stills from an aerial shoot I did for Blount Marine…

If you have read information on my site you will see I am hooked on sailing fast, shorthanded sailing, windsurfing, SUP, and the design/build of all watercraft. After my years designing in kayak industry it is fun watching the growth and development of the SUP industry and the similarities. I really enjoyed the whole process of designing kayaks. The feedback you get with human powered craft is so sensitive to the slightest changes. The prototyping really helped me prove the whole process I set up for the design and build.. I was fortunate to be able to do 15 kayak…

Ah the New England winter gave us one more reminder how fast it can change on Monday 14 March. I was in Raleigh, NC visiting family on my way north and held off a day. So the last leg of my drive was easy in clear NW wind and no snow. Final trip of the winter south and my green hunk of Chevy steel is back in Jamestown. The van performed flawlessly with the exception of having to replace the battery in Florida. This last trip was ten days with some vacation mixed in. Yes, can you believe it vacation…

Kincora is getting a power upgrade. Let me explain. First the only power I have on her is battery power and solar charging. I have a long list of gear that I have to power while sailing singlehanded, safely day and night. Standard Horizon GX1700 VHF with RAM3 VHF remote in cockpit Raymarine A75 Chart plotter Raymarine EV100 autopilot Raymarine P70 and i70x2 control heads with wind, speed, and depth Raymarine AIS650 Class B Transceiver Lopo LED tricolor at masthead LED running lights at deck level One interior led red/white light Voltmeter So as you can see I need a…

Last week I was in Sarasota Florida windsurfing with my buddy Rick, and the conversation always goes to fast boats. Rick loves multihulls so I mentioned the Dragonfly 25 Sport, built by Dragonfly Boats that I shot during the Dusseldorf Boat show in 2015. What a cool boat with some nice touches that will help control at speed. And what looks like the right about of buoyancy in the amas. So I looked for the link to give him, oops not there. Well I have now changed that and here is the link to a very cool boat shot in…

My 1994 hunk of Chevy steel gets some love. Seven years ago I purchased my 1994 Chevy G20 extended van with 50,000 miles for $4K.  It has a 305 V8 with overdrive, and runs fantastic.  The van came from CT state auction where it was owned by the post office, moving staff from Hartford to New Haven and back.  Perfect size and price for my land yacht. Since this is the fourth van I have owned I had a good idea on how to adapt it for my land yacht.  It is all about fitting the toys inside and being…