DENBY makes a splash at her big debut!!

[Grant Stanfield]

Hi, Sea Skiffers-

If you've been following DENBY's adventures, click on THIS link to see what she was up to yesterday...her maiden voyage during a classic wooden boat show in Green Lake, WI!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... a6b6944890

DENBY Med-moored at the show docks

Duck soup

"Mine's the blue one, Ma'am..."

"I feel like Hemingway today!!"

Ice creams at the wharf

Ahhh...a day well-lived

Enjoy your summer boating season!

[mfine]

Wow, your duck prop looks incredibly realistic!

[Grant Stanfield]

Wow, your duck prop looks incredibly realistic!

That's a decoy... hand-carved by Christopher Columbus Smith in Algonac early in the last century. They're worth BIG bucks, but what's the point if you don't toss 'em in the lake now and then, right?


...just pulling your anchor rode. She was really very content feeding on all the greenery, and I warned her to re-think her lunch plans: seconds after this photo was taken the skies OPENED to the victorious war-cry of Chris-Craft K's, MBL's, 283's, 430's, and even a couple of lion-hearted Chryslers- all fired up in unison for the boat-show crowds!

(No, we didn't see the duck any more after that!)

Duck deterrent

[Grant Stanfield]

Here's a different shot of DENBY at the Green Lake Wooden Boat Show from another attendee...what a great event, and a great day for her sea trials! Hope you're all having a great summer out on the water!

DENBY Med-moored on the boardwalk- Green Lake, WI

[57skiff]

DENBY looks pretty good in her debut!! I have a ? Do you have a hard time reloading her back on the trailer? I also have a 22' skiff and when i get the boat located properly on the trailer ...as I pull the trailer out ...the boat slips back about 6'' and is not all the way forward on the trailer! How do you hold the boat in position as you pullout of the water? Thanks for any ideas..George

[Grant Stanfield]

Hi, 57skiff-

Yes, trailering has been a challenge so far; not so much the trailer but getting her back out of the water, like you said.

DENBY has been boathouse-kept her whole life until recently; she has NO bow-eye. I have been using a pair of come-along tie downs to secure her into her ideal trailering position, but this has been no help in getting her forward enough on the trailer bunks while retrieving her from the water.

My CC guy Joe Norton calls this a 'bridle' and has several clients who trailer big triple-cockpit Chris-Craft runabouts without a bow-eye and just a bow-bridle. (Incidentally, I use a set of six microfiber 'seat-belt-comfort-cozy-thingies' velcroed around the come-along straps at the chocks and aft spray rails to protect the wood from chafing- works great!)

While I hate to do it for aesthetic reasons, I fear I must resort to installing a bow-eye through the stem (about 2/3 down from the nav. light) so she can be eased UP and FORWARD with the trailer winch, and be prevented from sliding BACK on the bunks while we pull up the ramp with the tow vehicle.

My local CC guru can help me install either a traditional stainless steel u-bolt through the stem (and the brass stem band), but he has also installed very strong cable (made for sailboat mast stays) directly through a wooden runabout's stem and anchored down to the inner keel, with only a small thimble loop sticking out to connect to a trailer winch. He says this is effective and not quite so obtrusive as a standard bow-eye, which appeals to me.

I've got to get to this minor surgery soon, since it's such a challenge to get her out of the water without any bow-eye at all.

Hope this helps...I'd also love any advice on this problem from other Sea-Skiffers...

Look, Ma...no bow-eye!

[57skiff]

Grant Thanks for the reply..I to have tried the "bridel" with little success! I used 3/4" nylon line but it stretches too much to help. You can't pull sideways on the lifting eyes as you will crack the deck. I tried holding the boat against the bow stop [with the engine] while my wife pulled the trailer out but that didn,t work too well either. Still looking for help---any others? thanks for the reply!

[Greg Wallace]

This issue can be addressed by moving the bow stop forward an appropriate distance prior to retrieval so that when the boat settles you can move the winch stand/bow stop back into position snug with the boat. Some make this easier by employing a pivot in the winch stand that can be adjusted with a turnbuckle.

Angle of ramp will influence how far forward you need to move the stop.

Another solution is to coat the bunks with a product like Mary Kate "Liquid Roller" and move the boat ahead with application of brake. Then secure for over the road.

I have used both methods with favorable results.

[57skiff]

Hi,fellow skiffers---I believe that I am on the path of succesful recovery of my boat without resorting to disassemby of the winch or superlubing the bunks! I purchased [2]15'and [1]20'tow straps and after hooking them together---centered the assembly on the boat,hooked them together to the winch strap. We pushed the boat against the bow stop and thightened the winch firmly and pulled the trailer and the boat stayed within 1'' of the stop and was properly centered on the trailer! ! have the straps located down low on the transon and low along the hull....supported by short tie lines to the propper cleats along the gunwale...to protect the hull from the hooks I used foam garden kneeling pads! Alot of goofing around but a least it works! George

[Peter M Jardine]

Lovely boat.... I love the lapstrake lines of the earlier ss...

Keep in mind that all of the line intended for sail boats, such as New England Ropes Sta-set rope has a minimal amount of stretch, since it is used for sheets and running rigging on sailboats. Samson rope makes some rope products that have less than 2% at 50% of total working load. The sta-set is about 5% if memory serves, but nylon is 15% or more. I'm sure the straps are a good compromise.

[Grant Stanfield]

Thanks for all the trailering advice, fellow Sea Skiffers!

DENBY now has a rather elegant solution to her bow-eye problem; Joe Norton III from Norton Boat Works in Green Lake assisted me in running a length of racing-sailboat shroud cable directly through one of the stem-band screw holes, through the stem, looped low around the pressure-fitting nut at the base of the fwd. lifting-eye rod, and nicro-pressed together in a tight loop. The shroud has a very small stainless-steel eye fitting in the end and leaves only 1/2" showing outside the stem band until needed, when a shackle can be screwed onto it for accepting the trailer's winch hook. The shroud is extremely strong, but much smaller and less obvious than a big metal eye.

This makes DENBY a lot more user-friendly and we're looking forward to many years of fun with her. Here are some more recent pix with the new mini-eye in place (with the shackle attached) after the Green Lake Historic Marine Mail Route made its deliveries over Labor Day weekend. DENBY ran great and handled the water very well, and we all enjoyed the day!

Ignore the Cobra...look for DENBY's new bow-eye!

Small shroud cable serves as winching aid

At rest along the boardwalk after the mail run

My wonderful kids loved the mail run aboard DENBY