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Lynn Watson

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Everything posted by Lynn Watson

  1. When Graham was in PT a couple of years ago, I asked him if a traveler on the miz would help with pointing; his answer: "Probably" Three or four degrees is well worth some trouble to achieve if you seriously want to get the boat up the hill. Your sheet arrangement makes sense; and with the rope horse you're halfway there for an adjustable sheet lead. I sail on an OPB too, a fractional sloop, and we've found that the leech of the main is as important a focus for good trim as anything else in the rig. A cat ketch mizzen would likely be less critical, but it would be nice to know where that sweet spot of trim is. I for one would love to hear the results of your tests, when you get it figured out for all the rest of us. :-) btw, how open do you trim the main for upwind? cheers, Lynn
  2. As per the plans: The bilge keel tapers from 19" long to 16", sits 21" off CL, and projects 6" below the bottom and 10" below LWL. I couldn't find a spec weight, but presume it's around 60#, to balance the 60# lead nose on the centerboard. The shape looks like a 0012 NACA foil with a molded-in 1/4" end plate. The design calls for the centerboard's leading edge, ballast keel, and bilge keel to line up and sit flat on a sandy bottom or a utility trailer (!). This sounds like a great idea for the southeast coast with its endless flat sandy beaches; maybe not so much for the rocky inlets of the Salish Sea. I think I would save the effort of building this and just stuff a fender under the boat as I settle down on the bottom with the ebb tide. And the weight of a motor and fuel on the starboard side should fix the trim issues well enough (assuming I ever get around to building the darn thing...). As always, though; different ships, different long splices. cheers, Lynn
  3. Thanks, this helps enormously to visualize the assembly. Lynn
  4. Hi Bob, I agree about the v-bottom being superior; never cared for flatties anyhow. Graham's hullforms are brilliant. And the tensions that Storer advocates for downhauls are appalling, but that seems to be what they need for good sail shape. I guess that calls for heavier scantlings in the boom than I'm used to; mine have usually been little more than heavy battens and slide over my shoulders easily in a tack. Oh well. About the link - something seems to be adding a bunch of metatext junk to my link, so, everybody should use Bob's link to Storer's site, not mine. Lynn
  5. Yes, thanks so much for these vids, Alan. Seeing it done and having it explained at the same time is fantastic. Props to you. Lynn
  6. You're right, Randy; it is the self-vanging effect that makes a sail docile off the wind. When a sail twists off so that the top is forward of the mast and the lower part is aft, it gets unstable and the boat starts rolling. A friend capsized a Ness Yawl this way in the Great Glen Raid and nearly got into deep trouble. Let me define some terms, as I understand them: cat ketch and cat yawl are generic terms for a two masted boat with the larger sail forward and no headsails. The ketch has a larger mizzen, stepped farther forward, that contributes significantly to the drive of the boat. A yawl's mizzen steps aft and is more of an air rudder for rig balance and heaving to. 'lug sail' refers to a half dozen different rigs that all have a yard at the top of the sail that isn't attached to the mast (as a gaff is) a balanced lug has a yard and a boom, neither of which is attached (well, some have parrels...) to the mast and carries the luff well forward of the mast. It has a boom downhaul some ways aft of the tack, which when pulled tight gives some vanging effect. Sprit booms like Graham's have much stronger and more positive effect because of the slanted boom pushing down, as well as out, on the clew. vanging effect is the force that holds the clew down and the leech straight and limits the twist in the sail. Excessive twist is what makes sails squirrelly off the wind, as they oscillate and shed vortices alternately on one side and the other, resulting in the classic "death roll" Bob, your sketch looks like it should work fine, if the areas come out the same. You'll need a boomkin to sheet the mizzen to. And I notice that you mention my balance lug hero Michael Storer in Australia. He's great; here's a link to some interesting reading: http://www.storerboatplans.com/wp/design/rig/sails/making-balance-lugs-faster-2013-setting-up-sails-spars-and-rigging Hope I haven't confused things too much... cheers, Lynn
  7. I've been wondering about this; how do you repair/replace parts that have been epoxied together? My limited experience is with trad-built boats that are more or less reasonable to dismantle. Is there a standard approach to parts removal that minimizes the pain? cheers, Lynn
  8. To expand on Randy's post -- The messabout is a joint venture between TSCA and the PT pocket yachters, marking the end of the season and serving as the annual meeting for tsca. We usually have a dozen or so boats and their associated humans come to hang out, catch up and tell stories about what fun we had over the summer. If the weather suits, we'll go sailing around between Points Wilson and Hudson with a mutual admiration theme. If the weather doesn't suit, we have the kitchen shelter with with appliances and heat to retreat to. Join us if you get the chance; bring a boat and some treats if you can. Overnight camping at the beach is available if you want to make a weekend of it, but get on it quickly. The reservation # is 360-344-4431 I'm looking forward to sailing the Belhaven around and shocking the hidebound locals ;-) cheers, Lynn
  9. My two cents worth -- Generally speaking, sails look very different when they're loaded with wind and when they're not. And (pardon me if I'm just repeating what you already know...) performance sails are trimmed for different shapes for light air and heavy air. In light air, say 5 knots, we try for full sails with as much power as possible, and the deepest part of the camber about 45% of the distance back from luff to leech. This calls for a pretty straight mast and not much tension on the snotter and downhaul. When the wind gets into the teens, we start depowering the sails. As the sail is loaded up, the shape gets deep and the camber is blown aft -- both things you don't want. So we tighten the snotter to flatten the sail and tighten the downhaul to pull the camber forward to about 40% back from the mast. A tight snotter should do two things -- push the clew aft; and bend the mast, pulling the luff forward. Also, a mast with the right flex profile will bend off at the top in heavier air, letting the upper leech twist off and spill excess wind. This helps keep the boat right side up You can see that it's important to match the luff curve built into the sail to the mast bend characteristics so that they work together. Graham seems to have this dialed in with his mast/sail designs. To address your specific issues: luff wrinkles: if the wrinkle in your foresail doesn't disappear when the sail fills with air, try easing the downhaul or applying more snotter. If you can't fix it with those adjustments, perhaps the luff curve/mast bend is out of whack. batten crease: if it won't blow out when you're sailing, the battens could be too tight or too stiff. The forward ends, especially at the top, should be pretty darn flexible and not too snug in the batten pockets. mizzen foot wrinkle: not too sure about this; it doesn't look critical. More downhaul or less snotter could make a difference if the overall shape of the sail stays ok, or flaking the sail for storage so that it doesn't get crunched up might help. Pictures of the rig under sail would be interesting to see; and anyway, we all like pictures of boats under sail! Boy, that was pretty long winded; guess I've had enough coffee this morning... good luck, Lynn
  10. You laminate them in place on the hull; thin strips bend much more easily than thick ones and decent (i.e. hard) gunwale stock is tough to bend around those curves. The trick seems to be holding the strips still when they're all spooged up and slippery. Others on the forum have worked this out well. Also, it's best to fit both sides at the same time so the springy laminations on one side don't push the boat out of shape. Lynn
  11. Chick, could you estimate the trailer weight for the P22? I wonder about pulling this boat catercorner across the country with a Toyota pickup... On a related note, I went for a delightful ride in Randy's new Belhaven on Lake Washington last weekend. That's a nice boat! Surprisingly stable for being so light - stepping on the rail only sank it about 3". Props for form stability. Seemed a bit underrigged for light air, though. I'm hoping for about 18 kts at the Fort Worden messabout in October; then we'll see what's what! cheers, Lynn
  12. I went looking for the back story, but there's not a lot in English. Late nineties off the German coast in relatively shallow water, which could account for the horrific sea state. One source said that they took a wave aboard that mashed up the house and possible damaged the miz. It looks kinda like old storm slop and not much wind. I would certainly try to get more sail up and some speed through the water. Unless of course I was lying on the sole with a broken leg, barfing into the bilges... I totally agree with Howard about split rigs in small boats. The mizzen more than makes up for its expense and bother. Leave it up at anchor and the boat will lie quietly and not sail back and forth like a sloop. You can heave to positively at any angle to the wind you want, by sheeting the miz in more or less. And in a hard chance, there's the option of motorsailing to weather with a reefed mizzen and nothing else up; it'll hold the head up and keep you going better than just a motor. Phew! All this talk of hard chances -- I'd better go for a nice calm sail. cheers, Lynn
  13. Yes I did indeed laugh, Lennie, and I thank you for putting up this clip. It's from the '12 Olympics if I recall and was universally voted the best sports commentary of the entire games. If only the real sailing event blather was this entertaining! Here's something to put the madmen in the Lasers into perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=NKusg6Jyc9Y Makes the Norfolk Broads look pretty attractive too. cheers, Lynn ...don't watch the clip while you're eating breakfast, as I did...
  14. Okay, Graham, I take your point! Thanks for the input. Hope you can make it out to Port Townsend for a festival again sometime. cheers, Lynn
  15. Everyone seems to agree that wood masts are too floppy, built to design dimensions. So the inquiring mind wants to know: how much to increase the x-section of the mast to get a good flex profile? Your composite stick sounds very efficient, but I just enjoy working with wood so much better than with metal... Could you make an estimate of what would seem right in, say, VG fir for a Belhaven mainmast? Here are the specs given in the plans -- 3 1/2" dia from heel up 6', then tapering to 2" at masthead; 20% wall thickness (3/4 stock) birdsmouth construction, 20' total length with 21" bury in the tabernacle. On another note, would a strip of unidirectional carbon tape on the insides of the birdsmouth staves make any sense? Thanks for indulging my curiosity, Lynn
  16. ...thought about replying to this, but I realized there was nothing to say, so I didn't...
  17. That's the spirit! We'll keep our fingers crossed that you both can come to the next Palooza with the finished boat. be well, Lynn
  18. "Lynn -are you thinking of converting it into a Belhaven 15? Randy" Ha ha, that's right, I'll just cover the whole boat, stem to stern, with a two foot high cabin -- what could go wrong? See ya at the Palooza, Lynn
  19. Hi Paul, I'm sure that your project boat will be welcome at the palooza, and may very well find a new home. Drop Marty a line and he'll fix you up -- Norseboater22@gmail.com You might consider bringing everything that goes with the boat with you, in case the buyer lives nearby and you can deliver it all and take the trailer home to your Snipe (I'm kinda tempted myself...) cheers, Lynn
  20. Thanks, Paul and Dave, for the very useful info on longboarding. I can feel the upper body burn already :-) It sparks a couple of questions, though: --- What range of grits do you run through in the fairing/shaping process, before moving into the smoothing phase? --- and more generally, what stage of the boat's assembly do you start thinking about fairing? It seems that with something as inherently floppy as 1/4" plywood, the hull is bound to change shape some as interior pieces get installed. Alternately, how do you set the right shape for the hull panels initially and then maintain it while you're crawling around inside measuring and scribing for bulkheads and bunkflats and other furniture? Lynn btw, I absoutely concur with your views regarding HomeWalDepotMart.
  21. Hi Edward, Well, the Mk3 is still a CS20 -- Graham said that he wanted it to be able to win the EC. That means easy planing and rowing, but still a camp cruiser (I've already got one of those; you've been on her). The Belhaven is considerably more boat, in roughly the same length, and it should be considerably harder to get it on its side than any of the 20's. Also there is sitting headroom below and room for a galley flat. With the same sort of raised deck cabin, the Bel might be a boat you could do a month long cruise on. Probably wouldn't be as pretty or as fast, but nicer to sit out a couple days of bad weather on the hook in some quiet cove. It would be interesting to run both designs through SCA's Seaworthiness test and see how they compare. How are the new hatches coming along? Lynn
  22. Me too! (can you say that if you're not on AOL?) :-) Lynn
  23. From the plans, freeboard (height of sheer/gunwale above the waterline) is about 25" in the middle of the cockpit, about an inch more amidships. Is that what you wanted? cheers, Lynn
  24. Yes, pinning the tabernacle box together at the top makes total sense to me. As for how, you might consider running some 1/8" copper rod through the back and sides, then peening the ends over roves or small washers. Elegantly strong and not bad looking, either. cheers, Lynn
  25. Nice snug installation, should work well up or down. Will the gas tank be aft with the motor or under the cockpit seat? Thanks for the pix, they're going in the good ideas folder. Lynn
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