EC Class III

Tic toc tic toc the Everglades Challenge approaches. Most participants will tell you the event started when they signed up, some 10 months ago. Many build their own boats, or modify for comfort and safety.
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My pick for a class 3 win will be Ben's XCR Sailing Canoe. Marissa and I paddle against the XCR last year in the Ultra Marathon 2010; in different classes but a great opportunity to see how the XCR performs. It performs very well.
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The engineering gene in Ben's DNA has allowed adaptation to the XCR to be clean simple and efficient. The lee board will offer real upwind advantage with its size and placement. The screechier can be a real advantage off the wind, combined with the over-sized rudder. Over sized amas added safety and the ability to fly a lot of canvas.
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My suggestion would be to add a detachable tiller to have rudder response by touch of the hand then by foot peddles off the wind; or be prepared to paddle steer to keep the canoe from rounding up surfing down swells. Another suggestion while under sail would be the ability to allow the crew (Emily) to move fore and aft, especially aft while surfing off the wind.
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The plan is for Ben to send me updates regularly to tell his story; we hope to have plenty of pics and the edgy reporting of the Capt'n. Posts will be over on the Kruger Canoe Adventures Blog where we will be following Kruger Cruisers, Sea Winds and Dreamcatchers that are entered.
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The Kruger Players
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Chief - Dreamcatcher
Cwolfe - Sea Wind
HonuSail - Sea Wind
NiteNavigator / Nightsong - Cruiser
Whale - Sea Wind
Whitecaps - Sea Wind
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The Capt'n