Hey everyone!
New to the forum here. I've been sailing Sunfish on and off now for close to 10 years, and finally got the chance to buy my first boat. This forum has been super handy for advice for getting the boat dry, cleaning up the bottom gelcoat, and repainting the top (previous owners put on a terrible paintjob, am determined to do it right this time).
Our property in Michigan is located on a canal a straight 250 yards from the open water. I am trying to devise as painless a way as possible to get the boat from our dock to the lake and back, considering it'll be 500 yards of it whenever we want to go out. I was thinking of rigging something up with a trolling motor and battery, but the battery is so dang heavy, I'm not really looking to make any massive modifications to the boat to accommodate this, and I'm worried about the battery in the inevitable event of a capsize. Also am considering some collapsible oars and oarlocks, which may make more sense. Canal doesn't really get enough wind to consider sailing out. I was wondering if anybody else has dealt with a similar situation, and what your solution was. I appreciate the help and ideas!
New to the forum here. I've been sailing Sunfish on and off now for close to 10 years, and finally got the chance to buy my first boat. This forum has been super handy for advice for getting the boat dry, cleaning up the bottom gelcoat, and repainting the top (previous owners put on a terrible paintjob, am determined to do it right this time).
Our property in Michigan is located on a canal a straight 250 yards from the open water. I am trying to devise as painless a way as possible to get the boat from our dock to the lake and back, considering it'll be 500 yards of it whenever we want to go out. I was thinking of rigging something up with a trolling motor and battery, but the battery is so dang heavy, I'm not really looking to make any massive modifications to the boat to accommodate this, and I'm worried about the battery in the inevitable event of a capsize. Also am considering some collapsible oars and oarlocks, which may make more sense. Canal doesn't really get enough wind to consider sailing out. I was wondering if anybody else has dealt with a similar situation, and what your solution was. I appreciate the help and ideas!