Very exciting. Looking forward to hearing how it did.
I have been remiss in following up on the motor trip results. Joel has had the rig out a couple of times. It works, but some flaws were revealed and improvements are needed.
It takes considerable time to assemble the full rig, with motor, amas, aka and spray covers, especially the latter which can be a struggle to install without a helping hand.
He took the rig around Cape Sable in conditions that would have been better suited, if still challenging, in a sea kayak. Joel’s description contained the phrase “The most scared I’ve ever been in a canoe”. Joel is a superb paddler and I know the stuff he has done. My description would undoubtedly have contained words like “puckering” and “Need new underwear”.
While the rig withstood that test any failure of the motor, mount, amas, clamps or etc in those oceanic conditions would have been catastrophic. Don’t do that again Joel.
The biggest issue was in using a double ender canoe with a side-mount motor. Not so much in steering or balance, but in turtle grass fouling the prop in shallow weedy areas. The vee bottom of the MRC Revelation parting the weeds served mostly to push them into the prop.
A square stern canoe would probably help considerably in that weedy regard, parting the aquatic grasses to allow the prop cleaner water.
Of course back at the beginning of this project, just when we had settled on using the Revelation as the motor canoe, there was a sudden post-Labor Day flurry of square stern Grumman 17’s on Craigslist, including a couple in excellent condition for $200. Coulda shouda woulda. And probably will.
I see the Mark II version in our future, using a square stern Grumman 17 (or 19) and some kind of easy-on/easy/off platform spray cover combination.
BTW – That “sudden flurry” – I had been looking for an inexpensive square stern for this project for months to no avail. Immediately after Labor Day there were a half dozen for sale within 100 miles of my home. I’ll keep looking, but the anomaly was remarkable enough that I have faith the same thing will occur starting September 6, 2016.
