Re: Mods

Posted by Bob McMurray on Mar 16, 2006

I�ve had a North Bay for about 5 years and have been very happy with it. It gets used mostly for fairly long day trips in the open ocean in So. Cal. (often with Dave Houser). It� a nice fast boat, fairly well behaved when full of gear, if you keep the weight in the stern, but empty it�s a different story. I would definitely recommend an adjustable skeg to tame it in quartering winds.

The dimensions I arrived at by trial & error were based on the slot starting 42" back of the rear edge of the cockpit. The skeg itself is a 7.5" arc that hangs down 5.5" which seems to allow for neutral performance in any conditions/directions I�ve ever encountered. I would guess it is usually not much more than half way down unless the wind/swell is really nasty. BTW I�m about 180#.

I made the skeg removable for repairs, which it hasn�t needed yet. It�s made of 16ga stainless and 1/4" nylon so that it just drops into the slot being kept there by the friction, gravity and the spare paddle/bungee. The bottom edge of the metal box sits flush with the keel. The cord that operates it runs up to the rear deck bungee which allows it to retract if I forget to pull it up for surf landings (not uncommon).

As to moving the bulkhead - unless you are a real masochist - I wouldn�t bother, sounds like torture.

Bob McMurray

In Response to: Mods by FrankP on Mar 16, 2006

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