OC1-equipment
GENERAL OC-1 HANDLING TIPS
COMPONENT STORAGE
2 bent rear alma pipes in Blue plastic drum in back corner of dragon boat storage container (please ensure they are IN the plastic drum with the dragon heads/tails)
2 straighter front alma pipes in locked OC locker
2 almas on lower sailing rack
2 hulls locked on outside rack.
6 short and 2 long thumb bolts in plastic container in locked OC locker.
DO NOT use the wooden outrigger paddle. Either use one of the club dragon boat paddles or your own paddle.
SETUP
retrieve 3 short and 1 long knob bolts from plastic container in locked OC equipment locker.
ensure the knob bolts are securely hand tightened (long bolt used on the rear of alma).
"?" shaped pipe is for the rear with the big curve attached to rear of alma (wide end).
The 1 long thumb bolt is used for securing the pipe to the side of the alma's rear.
straighter pipe is attached to the front, position the higher side to alma front (narrow end).
relock the cables and reset to zeroes to ensure other hull is secure.
Push in bars into Hull up to the red tape, and into the alma to the white tape. Once in the water, adjust as needed. You can adjust the alma's height off the water to reduce or add drag. (More drag...less tippy, less drag...more tippy)
Paddling
MUST wear pfd
lightly step on left pedal to go left while paddling, right to go right. DO NOT step on both pedals at the same time.
Beginners should lean towards the alma. As you get more comfortable, start to move your weight towards center.
You can paddle on either side, although using a longer blade may be somewhat restricted with the side exit (as with a 50" paddle)
Avoid hitting the alma or hull with paddle. This will put cracks in equipment.
Tip Test
Try to avoid getting hit on the head by the alma (it's light, don't worry).
Flip the outrigger so it is right side up.
tuck paddle into front elastic strap
position your body between hull and alma.
Try to flop your belly across the hull, pushing alma down into water with your legs. Once you are flopped over the seat, you should be able to swing one leg over and get your butt back in the seat! When pushing down with your legs, DO NOT push the alma away which will dislodge the alma from the pipe.
PUT AWAY
DO NOT Paddle up the cement boat ramp.
try to lift the outrigger onto the grass
TEST both the hull and alma for water. try to drain as much water as possible. Water will soak into the fiberglass making it heavier. You should be able to drain enough water so that it doesn't tip in your arms when the water moves from end to end.
wash down the hull and alma to extend the life of the gelcoat surface, removing stray lake vegetation from hull.
Use the blue sitting stools to help you cushion the equipment during wash down.
return front bars into OC locker
back bars are left in the back barrel.
almas are left on lower sail rack
take off the 4 knob bolts from hull and store in plastic container in OC locker.
secure and lock the front and back of the hull with the two locks and cables provided and reset combo locks to zeros
Keep the rudders on the same end of rack.
ENSURE cables are wrapped around the horizontal rack AND the middle part of the vertical pole of the rack so no one can steal them by just slipping the cables around the rack poles. This is an example of GOOD locking: Pic 1, Pic 2 / THIS IS an example of SLOPPY POOR lockup Pic 1, Pic 2
ANYONE OBSERVED to ignore these will no longer be allowed to use the equipment.