Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/06/2021 in all areas

  1. Very interesting learning experience. At least you'll have a robust boat that can't rot. That was one of the attractions of composites for me, but cost and lack of experience/skills swung it the other way.
    1 point
  2. Today’s Longer Sailing Mini-Adventure As stated in the above post, I planned to sail this afternoon, going a longer distance than I have done so far. I didn’t get to the lake until 3:15 pm and I wanted to be sure to get back to the landing again before dusk. I decided to go upwind most of the way to the “top” of the lake, perhaps turning back a bit before the end, depending on time. Since I hadn’t eaten lunch and I’d sail past “supper time” I sent the quartermaster to procure sufficient provisions. Yes, I often pull my boat around with my little Toyota Yaris. I managed to rig everything for launch within ten minutes. I even got the new “pig stick” up the main mast, flying a red ribbon (wind gauge ?). I tried making a little video showing how easily the boat now comes off the trailer with the roller bunkers. I was having to hold the boat back from rolling off with one hand while fumbling with my phone using the other hand. I thought it would roll all the way off on its own like usual but I needed to give it a small tug from the dock. It’s LOTS easier than the padded bunks. I got underway, motored out a bit, raised the sails, neatened the lines somewhat, and started beating my way up the lake. The weather changed from damp and cloudy to being a very nice late afternoon. I also started a new freebie sailing app called Waterspeed that I had downloaded to my IPhone. (I later decided to upgrade it for a year… I think I like it.) At first, I was experiencing a strong weather helm. Hmmm… it didn’t seem typical to have that kind of “pull” on the tiller. Then, I checked the rudder downhaul line… oops, a little loose. The helm balanced right up. And before I knew it, the steward was serving up a late lunch in the galley (half a sub.) It took over two hours to get to the top of the lake. With the tacking, it was over 7 miles. (I know that my sailing skills do not always provide the best speed and pointing into the wind, but I think my new app can help me learn.) I decided to round this most northern buoy and head back to the landing at the south end of the lake. And then the steward served dinner, the other half of my sub, while I was texting with my wife. What a nice surprise. The return trip was down wind and I did not tack even once the entire way. It’s my longest single run. I used a broad reach and wing-on-wing and things moved along quite well. It was a bit over an hour to return to the landing. The wind was definitely softening at 6:30 pm. Sometimes my ribbon looked like this: Mostly there was a good enough breeze… On my return trip, at one point of very soft wind the boat gently came to a complete stop and started pivoting around. (The lake has stumps and sandbars; I’ve tripped the centerboard cleat a couple times.) Yep, I grounded ?. That hasn’t happened to me yet. Raising the centerboard half way solved the issue. This is what my new app recorded for me: It was a very nice sail. The sailing club has a couple more events coming up… one more race night and a Saturday poker cruise (using the buoys for the poker cards… I think.) I’m looking forward to both.
    1 point

Supporting Members

Supporting Members can create Clubs, photo Galleries, don't see ads and make messing-about.com possible! Become a Supporting Member - only $12 for the next year. Pay by PayPal or credit card.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.