Designing and building a successful skeg for Sparks (our 30' hybrid electric launch featured in Epoxyworks 32) took some head scratching. But in the end, it was just another combination of wood and WEST SYSTEM® epoxy. Our skeg needed to be functional and age gracefully, yet be reasonably quick and easy to build and install. This project was an ideal opportunity to explore the limits as well as the advantages of combining wood with epoxy to engineer simple solutions to complex problems.
Sparks' shakedown cruise this summer lasted for 10 weeks leaving from Peterborough in July on the Trent Canal, south through the Thousand Islands to Clayton NY and then north via the Rideau Canal to Ottawa through 124 locks - a distance of 674 miles (1074 km) consuming only 9 gal. of diesel fuel!
Keep reading to view our itinerary, and some more pictures from the cruise.