Having gained sufficient windward ground, I decided to turn broadside to the wind and waves, to see how the boat handled things. All was going well until the dog, not enjoying the rolling motion through the swell, stood up. This greatly raised our centre of gravity, and co-incided with the biggest waves in the centre of the lake.
He lost his footing and nearly went over the gunnel, but a quick grab at his collar put him right again. After that he stayed sat down…
Once through the unobstructed centre channel, the waves dropped to about 12″, making for a much more comfortable transit. But despite my overly mobile ballast, the boat never felt like it was going over, and stayed dry even broadside to the 2′ waves in the rough patch.
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