Katuka water test

After 2 months of delay, I finally got to sit (and paddle!) on the Katuka OC-1 trainer for its first water test. This was after some arms-twisting to install the temporary iakos, rudder, foot pegs, etc.

During design, there was little thought and consideration for the production problems that will surface later. It seemed that a new problem surfaced every other week, and made one wonder if this project was ever going to be successful.

It was near freezing on a frigid winter day, but at least it stayed rain-free day after days of rain. My constant thought was not capsizing and falling into the freezing water, and hanging on to the boat if I capsized since I didn't have a PFD on.

It could be due to not moving my bones for a few weeks, or just wanting to warm up my body. But I felt good on this boat! Excellent gliding properties, stable, and excellent weight-balance to apply power strokes.

I was also a little concern initially to see how much the Ama sank into the water, and thought they did not follow the calculations accurately. But the ama did its job nicely today!

In all the haste, they managed to paste the logo upside down!

On the water that day, cutting the small waves, I felt a small victory of happiness that I had not felt for the past weeks, due to all the personal troubles I was facing.

I felt happy to see that something conceived as an idea was slowly becoming reality. At the beginning the factory kept asking me to buy a boat for them to copy. But that would have robbed me of all the fun, isn't it?

Our joys and lessons come from the journey, and not the destination...