Oooooooh Noooooooooooo!
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When the wind is straight out of the east and the tide drops, powerful dumping waves form off Dania Beach. Launching a long surfski into conditions similar to these can be real tricky!!
Disco fever kayaking in Dania Beach – Surf’s UP!
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Yesterday I decided to launch out into conditions similar to above. The webcam can be deceptive and the waves not necessarily that big in the grand scheme. However with a mostly easterly 15-20 knots blow and a dropping tide, these waves form into real dumpers that pack a lot of destructive energy. A little voice reminded me of this fact as I surveyed the shoreline at Mizell-Johnson (formely John U Lloyd) State Park in Dania Beach. Itching to get out and paddle I kinda ignored it. Maybe the fact that it actually took me three tries to get out past the breakers that should’ve told me to stop!
But I decided that once past the breakers the (swells) conditions were pretty nice for surfing (true) and that in fact the wind was dying down in the afternoon (also true).
So in effect I convinced and justified myself to paddle out!
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The clean split along the bow seam was easy to miss on the shoreline. It was only after loading her up on the rack that I noticed this!
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I don’t know for certain when the damage occurred, there was no snap, nor cracking sound that I could tell. Was it while the boat was getting bashed in the waves while trying to mount and paddle out past those dumping breakers? Was it when slamming down the back side of the waves finally heading out into deeper water? I guess it really doesn’t matter that much.
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Back home in the driveway boat looks OK from a distance.
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Aside from the conditions – breaking waves and surfskis don’t mix well, something better handled in shorter plastic boats like my RTM Disco aka MOJITO.
The fact is that I really left myself open for this to happen and I’ve known it for a while!
You see when I “finished” my Findeisen Shearwater surfski resurrection , I wasn’t really finished. This was because I did not want to cut open the bow to install about five linear feet worth of foam. Thus I knew that one day I’d probably have to finish the job. It was just a matter of time!
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A closer look shows the deck / hull seam split and separated.
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The deck is quite soft on the Shearwater surfski. It’s the seam that ties the whole monocoque boat structure together. The (missing section) center stringer is the key component to prevent too much flexing and subsequent cracking!
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The first sign that something was wrong was that the boat boat felt heavy and not responsive. Upon pulling the boat up on the beach just north of the fishing pier it was obvious the boat took on several gallons of water. I wasn’t worried about sinking, mind you there’s already a lot of foam inside!
Once the water drained out on the beach, I looked over the boat but could not find anything obviously wrong. So I proceeded to continue my paddle out the intracoastal with the tide, stopping twice to stack my booster pads for flatwater paddling and again to remove them before heading out the inlet back into the ocean. The boat did not pick up any water in the flat water!
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The clean split in the bow occurred right along the seam line.
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When heading out Port Everglades inlet, large waves often form on the south side where it meets the ocean. It’s a small area to go through, but the waves can easily get overhead high! I made it through no problem, just coming down hard on the back side after cresting the waves. It was probably at that point that the visually apparent damage occurred that can be seen. I made my landing on the beach with ease, but again the boat had a bunch of water in it.
Puzzled, it was only after loading her on the racks that I saw what actually happened.
So the moral of the story is:
DO listen to the little voice in your head and
DON’T put off finishing something for too long!
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The split in the bow and the remains of the original center stringer of my vintage Findeisen Shearwater surfski.
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The Findeisen Shearwater surfski resurrection left off where the foam stops .. because I couldn’t think of any way to stuff more foam into the bow.
Surfski center stringer repair and the Findeisen Shearwater resurrection!
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In my initial resurrection of ONEWAY, I was forced to end the center stringer support right where the “Dolphin” peak in the deck starts. This was because I didn’t want to do any additional cutting and there was no way to stuff additional foam into the bow past the twin foot wells.
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Facing off with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in Port Everglades, circa 1998 (?)
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Why go through all this work on a 25 year old surfski? I’ve always enjoyed paddling ONEWAY, even if the ergonomics weren’t quite right. Since my initial resurrection, I’ve incorporated booster pads to suit the conditions. These coupled with the extended leg space enable *some* leg drive, really more a kind of a side to side “squirm”. It’s enough to paddle longer distances in with much more power and comfort than before.
Being a fish form surfski,
she’s also unique in this day and age and a great surfing boat!
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Fish form vs swede form!
A tale of two surfskis 20 years apart (Stellar SES vs Findeisen Shearwater).
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Under the Sand Key lighthouse eight miles off Key West, summer 2020.
I like this old sufski, ONEWAY is a good offshore touring boat for Florida waters.
Now the resurrection part II will commence!
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I’m actually glad this happened when it did,
how it did,
and most importantly where it did!
This incident has created an ideal opportunity to finish ONEWAY with a full length center stringer,
so stay tuned for the Surfski Resurrection – Part II !
I’m looking forward to more longer distance cruising in this boat!
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Link back to:
https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/reality-check/surf-zone-surfski-upset-with-a-clean-split/
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Bless UP!
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© 2020 Flex Maslan / kayakfari.com / awakenthegrass.com . All original photographs, artworks and music in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Flex Maslan, unless otherwise noted. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.
All rights reserved!
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The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!
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With that said..
Blessings friends!
🙂
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