I had barely packed away all my boats from the
impromptu boat show, before my collection was upped by one. It's from the Rotaru Bootshaus; They just released the
Ten and now this. Who knows how many "oldies but goodies" they have in pipeline? This one is a little different though. It's inflatable.
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| The inflatable boat |
It was very easy to unpack. Click and drag. To my disappointment it did not come deflated. It just popped right up, and before I could say "voila", I was ready to take off. It's a littlebit exciting, cause I never ever sailed anything remotely like this before. RL or SL. It's not my
first canoe, but it sure is my first inflatable canoe with a sail and two daggerboards of sorts. A rather strange vehicle if you ask me, but I get the idea. It can be deflated and put in the trunk. Not that I drive around SL in a car.
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| Cuddly sailing |
So what's it for then? I studied the notecard, while I sailed south. It said "meant for cuddly sailing" or something like that. Ok? As long as it isn't crammed with weirdo sex toys and stuff. I clicked everywhere to make sure it was safe. Then I rang Dutch. To my surprise, he was all for cuddly sailing. He hopped on right before we reached Pslande.
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| Blue water, not Bluewater |
Dutch quickly agreed it was a nice little boat. It sure doesn't look like a racer. It's not superadvanced with currents and waves, code zero and jib, but it is kinda soft and cozy to sit in. It's simply a tiny sailboat for a cozy afternoon at sea with that special someone. Or anyone not afraid ow water. The simplicity means it is probably less likely to crash, so for cruising and exploring, this could be a good choice.
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| Heading north |
Inside the thing sits an elderly BWind sail-engine. It's the one from the
first Babysloop. I wanted to test that stability a bit. After a few minutes in the Blake Sea, we headed north into the inshore waters behind NYC. Right. Yes. North. Unbelievable. There will be no pictures of the
Fastnet Rock in this post. Guaranteed.
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| Lobsters for sale |
The inshore sailing went very well. Loads of stuff rezzing. Trees, birds, boats, houses, lighthouses, piers and what nuts... A restaurant even...Or was it just a fishy shop? Dunno. We didn't stop to check, but I will have to check it out sometime. The scenery was actually so nice, I felt like mentioning it. Dutch response was a dry "I know the area. My ex used to live here."
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| Seeking the ocean again |
Ok. Got that! So we looked for a way out. This looked like a way out, but in fact it was the perfect test. At the end of the narrow channel we turned starboard and sailed down a very narrow "piece of water", and that's where the boat went strange. It wouldn't say it crashed, because it kept running, but the boat got stuck, and when I tried to turn back, it sorta went into a vertical position. I really don't think I can blame the boat for that.
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| We got away |
In any case, Dutch's problem was solved as we had to TP out of there. Found a rez spot and here we are again. Super relaxed and cozy. Open sea ahead. So, what's the verdict? I think it's a nice lil fun thing for leisure sailing and exploring. Not very advanced. Supereasy to sail and very stable. Perfect for exploring uncharted waters. I just don't get how it can be inflatable while not being deflatable.
Inflatable:
ReplyDelete- A dinghy: Tiwal 3.2 http://www.tiwal.com/tiwal-3-2/
- A cat: SmartKat http://www.smartkat.at/
Foiling technic: pump it up with hot air :)
ReplyDeleteIt's one of those vessels that have a very specific purpose in RL but none in SL whatsoever. But then what sailboat really has a purpose in SL? What boat at all? And further why do people even bother making wondrous vehicles, land, water and air? Do we even have these 3 elements in SL at all?
ReplyDeleteNo. So as a matter of fact the inflatable rubberduck makes as much sense as AC72, a M24, a Loonetta or any of Jacqui's museum pieces.
Can you work the lee-broads? Less drag with the weather board up...
ReplyDeleteAnd how about filling it with helium instead of plain old air?!
Sharp tools in your back pockets is a no-no...
What a great read on a very fun "boat" project and actually not from
ReplyDeleteManul's huge backlog of builds. I looked at him, He looked at me,
in unison, "we don't have one of these" and the "factory floor"
was ablaze with frenzied work. We did try helium, but after
a high pitched giggling session it was gone and the thought of
everyone in SL voicing on Helium was frightening. All sorts of
tyre pumps, patch kits, and the like were considered, even
service crews stationed across the grid but were just not doable.
Borrowing some old NASA space suit anti leakage technology,
we were able to insure instant silent inflation but with accepting
that it could neve be deflated, no matter what those people
that live on the bottom of SL's waterways poked it with.
In all seriousness Noodles, thank you for a great tell it as it is
and isn't project we did to be uber simple to sail and maybe
even get to people outside our "usual" group of sailors. The
poses were chosen purposely to pass on all maturity levels
by LL standards and still be meaningful.
@ George A …. we looked at several lee-board set ups and this
seemed the best middle ground without teaching people how to use
them properly.
Fair winds and calm seas to all. Get your "get close" person, and
be close, whether in our "Sunset", as we named it, or in your own
get close sailing machine!
Hot air or helium? Regardless, I seriously doubt this boat will ever foil, but helium sure is fun. George, I was not able to work the lee-boards. They're stuck; To make it really simple to sail this.
ReplyDelete