Launched and Named
Blow Fish was launched Tuesday 19th March 2019 off her jinker at The Cruising Yacht Club boat ramp. From there she cruised Garden Island, Woodman Point, and up the Swan River as pictured below (Freshwater Bay). She handled beautifully, is well balanced, and as promised by her designer she is 'a real little ship'.
As soon as she was in the water I looked to see how she sat in the water. After moving a few of the heavier stores and equipment further aft she sat nicely on her lines. It can be seen in the picture below that she is floating high. As pictured she carries around 200kg of equipment and stores. She will take around 300kg more to bring her down to her designed water line. For a cruising sailor this is a pleasing result and gives plenty of room to experiment with optimal provisioning and stowage for long range cruises.
I was pleasantly surprised to find Blow Fish weatherly with a light helm and making little leeway. These qualities may have something to do with her large and cleverly foil shaped lateral plane, along with a gaff showing much less twist than I had anticipated. The peak halyard gives good control over the twist, and I believe my sail maker to be knowledgeable in the art of building gaff sails.
Above: anchored Pig Trough Bay at Garden Island.
Below: anchored Woodman Point (just south of Fremantle harbour).
Below: anchored Woodman Point (just south of Fremantle harbour).