You pretty much nailed it.  If you are down on Erie I would add the fog and steep tight wave patterns can come up very quickly as well.

Nick

 sarnia

Sent from my Bell Samsung device over Canada's largest network.

-------- Original message --------

From: "Bill Strosberg lists@strosberg.com [harryproa]" <harryproa@yahoogroups.com.au>

Date: 2018-04-24 10:27 AM (GMT-05:00)

To: harryproa@yahoogroups.com.au

Subject: [harryproa] Re: Great Lakes Area

 

eruttan:

I grew up on northern Lake Huron (Canadian side) so my thoughts may be
useful.

The Great Lakes are really fresh water seas - not lakes in anything but
name.  It is 135 kilometers (@80 miles) across Lake Huron to the closest
land in Michigan (narrowest point) from my family home. That's enough
deepwater fetch for some serious swells to build.

Harryproas built using intelligent infusion would be great because of
the inherent insulation of the foam sandwich.  Foils need to be easily
repaired (and easily lifted) due to the granite & limestone reefs and
shoals.  Most boatyards here keep busy rebuilding lower end units from
power boats.  Fixed daggerboards require trunks to be built with a
crashbox(es) able to handle groundings on rock - in both directions in
proas.  You have to plan your build around the high probability of
grounding.  My next build will incorporate an outer Kevlar layer in the
lamination schedule in areas that could come in contact with beaching
and shoals - like a whitewater canoe.  You've got to have rollers,
fenders or big tubular bumpers to beach on rocks.

Waste systems must be designed for environmentally fragile waters - I
prefer composting heads to blackwater holding tanks and never discharge
via thru hulls.  There are some weird laws here about alcohol on boats
requiring a permanent head (in Quebec) so be careful to check.  Canada
Border Services also doesn't like undeclared importing of alcohol and
handguns aren't permitted - we've got very strict gun controls in
place.  It's not that rifles & shotguns are illegal - they have to be
declared, documented and disclosed to customs to avoid problems.  Most
of the time you can check in via telephone with Customs.  Fishing will
generally require a permit (but is well worth it).  Lots of spectacular
game fishing here.  Unlicensed fishing can result in boat seizure -
don't mess with the Ministry of Natural Resources!

Water temperature here reaches it's peak in August - around 16-18
degrees C (@62-68F) offshore with shallow beach temps around 20-24C
(70-75F).  Springtime (now) northern Huron is about 5-10C (40'sF) - and
the ice floes are still melting and moving around with the wind and swell.

Weather comes and goes incredibly fast - line squalls can materialize in
minutes on sunny days and reefing needs to be very easy, reliable and
fast.  You can't depend on flexible top mast sections to spill enough
wind to keep you upright when you get caught in a storm line or
downbursts.  On the other hand, most summer days are drifters - light
wind sailing ability is critical to cruising here.

Here in Canada, friendly marinas can be sparse and widely spaced apart -
our population is small and traffic isn't as intense as in the US (or
coasting internationally).  The North Channel is world class cruising,
stunningly beautiful and gets busy (by local standards) in the summer -
but do expect to be on the hook in remote places without cell service,
road access, marinas, gas docks and doughnut shops.  Insects can be
horrible in spring to early summer - black flies, deer flies and
mosquitoes can make life intolerable - and DEET repellent doesn't slow
them down much.  Fine mesh screens for portlights, Dorade vents, hatches
and companionways are an absolute necessity.

Hope this helps a little!

--
Bill