Duckworks Magazine - Roonio Update

Roonio Update

by Paul Moffitt - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - USA

So with the second summer getting under way and Serendipity (a catamaran named Roonio designed by Jeff Gilbert) in need of repairs, a yuloh, and a bridge deck tent I swung into high gear. I would suggest reading the first few articles about this project as I’m writing this one on the assumption you already have.

The first repair I tackled was taping the fore and aft bridge deck seams with fiberglass tape. Simple, easy, and it allowed me to go over the whole boat inspecting for unknown damage or potential improvements. The original design goals had stated that the boat would be sailed mainly in wide rivers and or protected waters, but I see great potential in this little boat to do some coastal camping.

So with the second summer getting under way and Roonio in need of repairs, a yuloh, and a bridge deck tent I swung into high gear.

While out in waves, the boat worked more then expected and the Gorilla Glue I used started letting cracks form and a slight bit of water was coming in. I can’t have this happening out away from home.

The sanding led to finding a gudgeon being a little whacked. I certainly don’t remember this happening. Maybe it was on the last day of sailing last year when I flew her down before the wind flying wing and wing surfing down the waves. I think we were peaking over 15 knots for a few exhilarating seconds.

The sanding led to finding a gudgeon being a little whacked.

So another quick repair. Sean shaped some ¼” ply and we epoxied and then glassed it onto the stern.

Sean shaped some ¼” ply and we epoxied and then glassed it onto the stern.

Sean built a proto-type design called Slam Dink by Jim Michalak years earlier and actually instigated me into getting Jeff to allow me to build this proto-type. And one final repair I will mention before moving onto the bridge deck tent is the outriggers. These were not designed by Jeff but rather conceived by my father and executed by myself. Here is our first attempt.

The outriggers were not designed by Jeff but rather conceived by my father and executed by myself.

Although strong enough in appearance, there where two problems with the red cross supports. The first is that they where not strong enough to take oarlocks. With one person sitting in each well facing backwards and stroking in time Serendipity can really move nicely. A secondary form of movement is definitely needed for the Everglades Challenge for many self-explanatory reasons. Secondly my father said he thought his “bottom” might have a little too much bottom to it for them. So here is my solution.

They where not strong enough to take oarlocks, so here is my solution.

It took about two hours of wielding and cutting but it came out sturdy, rust free, and very light (less the 4 pounds each but maple beams are more likely to give way than the aluminum.) In the background you can kind of make out the masts, also made of aluminum and rosette wielded.

Now onto the Bridge Deck Tent.

First off let me say that I started this project by looking for a nice 3/2 season tent that would fit the 4x8 bridge deck and sleep two. After much searching I found one that was slightly too big and costing well into the $300 range. That is when I decided that I had all the skills for tent making. Well time will tell.

I purchased five tent replacement poles, some flexi-clear, and some canvas hold downs from the shop here at Duckworks. Off of ebay I got some red breathable nylon ripstop for next to nothing. The year before I purchased a 9’x9’ all purpose rain fly from Guide Gear that I highly recommend and in my case will be stretched over the finished tent to give protection against rain. Then I had some figuring and fussing to do.

I stitched five pockets into the ripstop and two windows, one on each side.

I decided that I had all the skills for tent making. Well time will tell.

I had to figure out the length of the poles and then the finished height of the tent. Here is a early mock up.

In all it will end up being just over 4’ in height, enough to sit in and certainly enough to sleep in. I also had to come up with a nice way to mount the tent poles and fasten the edges of the tent down. I used scrap ash I had left over from booms to make some blocks, which I epoxied on and then inserted maple dowels through and into the bridge deck.

I also had to come up with a nice way to mount the tent poles and fasten the edges of the tent down.

We went camping a couple of times and the tent proved its worth. here is a picture of the first night we used it with my father, Bill, fishing. I am working on further inprovements this summer and plan on doing two long camping trips with my father. This is all in preporation for our try at EC 08.