Sailing the Walker Bay 10

My Whitehall is a lot of fun to sail but it's almost too much for me to set up by myself. I've had a Walker Bay sitting around unused since I got the Whitehall and it occurred to me that this can be sailed, also. I took advantage of a Black Friday sale at West Marine to get the Performance Sail then waited months for appropriate weather.

The sail kit went together fairly easily. It would have been even easier if Walker Bay had included the correct instructions. The instructions provided were for the High Performance Sail kit instead of the Performance Sail kit. The High Performance Sail kit incluides a small foresail and parts for mounting it. I puzzled over the missing pieces but decided to assemble what I could. I eventually found the proper instructions on the Internet and found that I'd make good guesses about the parts I had assembled.

Currently I've got my Whitehall hanging from the roof of my garage so I can use the trailer for the Walker Bay. This is overkill but a lot easier than trying to get a 100 lb boat on the roof of my car. The Walker Bay is light enough that I don't bother backing the trailer into the water. I put the boat off near the water, set up the sail and launch it by hand using the built in "wheel in the keel".

Setup is quick and easy. You put the lower piece of the mast into the upper piece, step it, attach the boom, fasten the safety lines and block, and fit the rudder. The dagger board goes in after the boat is in the water. All of this takes 5-10 minutes - maybe 15 including parking the car and getting settled in the boat.

When evaluating the Walker Bay as a sailboat it is important to remember that this is a rowboat with a sail so some allowances have to me made. The biggest is that seating is not particularly good. The rowing bench is in the center of the boat. For sailing, this doubles as the point where the block is fastened down. Most pictures of the boat sailing show the sailor sitting on the rowing bench. This will work in a strong breeze but is unsuitable for normal sailing. The best place to sit is on the floor between the rowing bench and the back bench. This lets you keep one hand on the tiller and the other on mainsheet. Any other position means that you will have to shift position and take a hand off of the tiller, the mainsheet, or both.

Because your weight is further back than when rowing, the bow is lifted a bit. This lets the boat turn quickly but it has other ramifications. The biggest is that you really need to have your hands on the controls at all times. If left unattended, the boat will turn suddenly in the slightest wind. This is potentially dangerous
Sitting on the floor limits how long I can sail. My legs get tired of being curled up after an hour or 90 minutes.

All of that said, it Walker Bay is a decent sailboat. Sailing it is easy and intuitive. The slightest breeze is enough to move it and it can get up to a good speed. I've only used it in a lake and I would hesitate taking it ou on anything larger but its great in the 5 square mile lake that's most convenient to me. It can sail fairly close to the wind and it tacks quite easily. When sitting on the floor, the boom goes harmlessly over my head so I don't have to remember to duck.

The biggest problem is when the wind is coming directly from the side. This pushes the boat sideways. The dagger board and rudder are not enough to stop this from happening. The bow being out of the water because of my position doesn't help this either.

My conclusion is that the Walked Bay is a good boat for someone who wants to be able to go sailing with a minimum of setup. If you watch for sales, you can get the boat and sail for around $2,000 which isn't bad. The boat itself is a zero-maintenance boat and the sail kit is light and easy to store. It meets my goal of being able to set up the sail and get on the water quickly.