First in-water test of Aquamot "Trends 2.2 FM" 2.2kw Fixed Pod motor with folding prop. Tempo is 18.5" and weighs 500kgs. Motor is silent, prop is audible at higher throttle settings. Batteries are Basen LiFeP04 302Ah cells. 8 cells in series. First measurements suggest 9 hours at 4kts. I'm happy.

First test of a just installed Aquamot - Trends 2.2 Fixed Pod 24v motor with folding prop. Batteries are made from 8, 300ah, 3.2v LiFeP04 cells.

Motor is dead silent till about 1/3 throttle when a little vibration is discernable. At wide open throttle, the folding prop and motor are detectable. I'm delighted. Max battery draw in video is 1.8kw.

We leave the beach, do a few tacks at Bribie Island and return. Nothing exciting happens, just a pleasant sail in 10-15kts.

The 1 hour sail sped up 4 times reducing watch time to 17 minutes.
Interesting things become apparent when watching on fast forward. It's kinda hypnotic.
Too bad youtube slaughters the video quality.

We raise the sail and go for out for an hour.
Nothing noteworthy happens but it's better than watching a train or a sleeping cat for an hour.

Tempo revisited Pumicestone Passage, the sound formed by Bribie Island in Queensland Aus. We made this with a GoPro7 Black and a "Hohem iSteady Pro 3.

Small boat enthusiast will enjoy viewing at full screen with volume up. Cheers, Mack

Someone asked for a longer video so here is an unedited 25 minute segment straight from the GoPro.

We leave the dock and tack into 16 -18 kts, ideal weather for a heavy Crab Skiff / Sharpie. I built "Tempo" in 2005, she is the "18-foot Modified Sharpie Skiff, Hooper Island, Chesapeake Bay, 1906" sharpie from Reuel Parker's "The Sharpie Book".

Just a quick sail from Tin Can Marina to the boat ramp.

We took Tempo, a Crab Skiff Sharpie built from Reuel Parker's The Sharpie Book, to Lake Samsonvale QLD Aus for a xmas day sail. Winds were light so we had a relaxing sail.

I would have never considered launching and retrieving a 740Kgs trailer with the mighty Camry wagon but that new finagled electronic power management pulled Tempo out of the water on mud and wet grass without a slip of a wheel.

A waterway pedal under the footbridges on Victoria Harbour. 2011

J and I pedaling Ripple around Victoria Harbour testing the new GoPro HD video camera. Movie is compressed so quality is not nearly as good as original. Nov. 2010.

Clare applies the first of several detailing colours on two of the historic trains recently restored at The Wooden Boat Centre, Docklands Melbourne AUS.

Xmas Day 2017 we went sailing at Golden Beach, Sunshine Coast Queensland Aus. The afternoon sea breeze picked up a little more than expected as the gybe shows. We nearly had to reef.

I ignored Reuel Parker's design for the rear seat/sheets and installed a thwart, instead. After finding it impossible to steer while sitting on a thwart, I hastily installed these sheets, with storage pouch underneath. The sheets are removable so you can sit on the floor in light winds. The wooden toggle keeps the sheets from accidentally knocked upward.

Tacking up wind to get to the ramp on Jan 1, 2011. The wind wasn't strong enough to make a reef necessary but we didn't have far to go and weren't in a hurry. I wish I'd set the reef properly, notice how baggy the reefed sail is. When set correctly, the reefed sail is nearly flat.

"Tempo" is Reuel Parker's modernization of a 1906 Hooper Island Crabbing Skiff. (18-foot Chesapeake Bay Modified Sharpie Skiff). I built it from his book, "The Sharpie Book" which is interesting, informative and hard to put down.

music - “Sucette” by Lazio (AC2077) CD

Tempo pushes the limits of shallow water sailing around "Rotten Island, Ocean Grange, Victoria" (see Google Earth). No music for this video so you can hear the new bottom paint being scraped off as we plough through the mud.

Fortunately, we managed to free ourselves without having to get off the boat and push.

We headed to shore for lunch but got stopped short.

Mild conditions sailing over the x-mas break at Metung, Victoria, Australia. Only excitement was not being able to pinch to weather enough to make it around a sand bar (should of tacked). We went aground and I had to get my foot wet pushing us over the bar. We sailed out of Boxes Creek this year.

test row, test video.
Old GoPro battery was only good for a few minutes so this is the only video : (
Video is shaky because resistance was all in one plane. There was no second axis tension.
YouTube stabilized it making it just bazaar so I undid the the stabilization.

music: "De-Phazz - Who The Pop Cares?"

First raise the sail, tighten with the Down Haul, then adjust the Sprit with the Snotter.
Leave shore without hitting anything.
Tack, tack, tack out of Chinamans Creek.
Head up wind till you find a beach for lunch.
Remember that your boat weights 420kg/925lbs, wish you hadn't sailed up so hard on the beach.
Try to stay awake while boat sails itself home on a nice broad reach.
Turning downwind into Chinamans Creek boat gybes to wake you up.
Retun to port without hitting anything.
Tidy boat.
Take GPS home, plug into Google Earth and reminisce about voyage.
Condense 4 hrs of video into 3 minutes, upload to Youtube.

music: "String Vibe Plastiyc" mix from album "Turntables on the Hudson" 2004

We tack "Tempo" out of a narrow creek into open water then beach at our favorite lunch stop.

"Tempo" is a Reuel Parker drawn 1904 Hooper Island Sharpie built from "The Sharpie Book".

downtempo track is 'Swann Todd" by Fila Brazillia from album A Touch Of Cloth.

H and I went for a slow sail Sunday.

Video compilation of the 3 Pedal Canoes we built. 'Had all three in the water one day.

(changed the music so it would be allowed to play on iPhones)

Sharpie rigged, just add water. We don't like wasting time at the ramp.

We took pedal canoe "Taffy" to the Yarra. The river is low this time of year but what's a little mud.

This boat is for sale. I've got recites for $6K. Open to offers.
Custom trailer available.
-----------SOLD--------------