A review and demonstration of the Walker Bay 8 with sailing kit sailing on the Rideau Canal. Great boats for sailing for small children, a good, cheap, durable yacht tender.
Thanks so much for the simplicity of your video as a new "sailor" it was very educational and that kid must be sailing the world by now? What a blessing to have a father like you😊
I love your son's facial expressions after you tell him to do something. Priceless. I took my four-year-old sailing this summer for the first time talk about a worrisome proposition :-) I think I'll wait till she gets a little older before I take on a small boat. She wants to touch everything.
Thanks so much for showing me the details of a Walker Bay 8'. I just bought a 17 year old one for $250, a 2.5 hp 1984 Evinrude for $150 and a set of sail,daggerboard and keel (from a 13' Banshee) for $75. You taught me how this is rigged so I can now get going on a retro-fit. Obviously, the video was really about Oliver who is very well behaved and bright. Thanks Joe
We can't figure out if Oliver is the mate or the captain... Love that expression of his as he "mans" the tiller. Wonderful video, and thank you for sharing it with us. Cheers from Japan.
Oh ya, he loves the boat. I think "Dog" was his first boat, but "boat" was in his first 5 for sure. This boat will be his as soon as he's big enough to take it out on his own.
Vladimir, she handles choppy weather very well, I have had her out in 4 foot or so white caps and she remains very stable on all points of sail, provided you use your body weight to trim her appropriately. I have not used an outboard, the manufacturer recommends a maximum of 2.5 hp I think, which is not nearly enough to tow my mothership with, so would not add much value for me, as the boat rows so well.
Clyde Osterhout the oar locks were super easy. I just put the new locks into the old holes. They were a standard size. The boat motors pretty well with two adults. It sails and rows okay with two adults, but it is very cramped for rowing and sailing for two adults.
Yes, you can put an electric trolling motor on a WB8. Here is a video where I did just that. Both a 40 pound Minn kota and a Honda 2.3 gas motor. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ASG8cNXqqQ4.html
I was thinking about one of these for my P-26 Dinghy. Do you find it heavy to put on the cabin top singlehanded? Now that you have had the boat for many years any complaints?
I sold the boat 3 or 4 years ago and wish I hadn't. It was a really great boat. The boat was fairly light, 72 pounds or so. I would think it would be a good tender for a P-26.
+Jack Gold The factory oars that come with it are wood with plastic blades, but I broke both of them. They are not heavy. However, the 6 1/2 foot solid Ash oars I upgraded to are a bit heavier.
Jesse C no, thats the achiles heel of this boat. No ability to reef what so ever. When the wind starts getting into the mid-high teens, the rudder becomes so overpowered she becomes unsailable and just rounds up into the wind and stabys there.
@@travelbywater9378 Nice video. I have been eyeing a WB as a tender. Regarding the reef, just take/send the sail to a sailmaker to put a reef or two in. As an all around tender, I would do that and get the tube kit for safer use in heavier weather. Rigged correctly, this makes a good lifeboat!
@@robertbarnes1989 the reefing situation is a bit more complicated. The sail has a sleave luff that goes over the top of the mast. There is no halyard, the sail goes up with the mast. I do think rolling it around the mast would work. I havent tried. I still have this boat but havent sailed it in a couple of years. I am saving it for my kids to learn on when they are a bit bigger. It is a fantastic kids boat and a nice smaller yacht tender in my opinion.
@@travelbywater9378 I am pretty sure a sailmaker could modify the luff - at least from the reef points down to accommodate a way to reef. An extra cringle, cut away some of the sleeve and re-enforce what's left then another cringle at the leach. No reason not to do it.
ben0125 ya, I got the Walker Bay as a tender for my 35 footer. The stern davits wouldnt have handled the extra size and weight of a Sunfish or Bug. I also have a dinghy for going fast- a Prindle 16, so the WB fills a very specific role for me.
