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Joe Anderson

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Everything posted by Joe Anderson

  1. Thank you for the detailed tips on how to make progress up wind when it is blowing. I almost felt like I was riding along with you. I am not really sure what I do when the wind is piping up, mostly just try not to crash. I look forward to trying to be more aware of what is going on with the boat and trying some of these strategies. At some point I think someone on the forum suggested compiling the tips on sailing a CS in one file somewhere. This would make a nice addition.
  2. I think there is something about exploring along or across an international boundary that makes a trip an adventure. Paul I know you are a very experienced and highly competent sailor, are you also a writer. How can you leave a tease like that? Would you be willing to share this bit of advise on how to make better upwind progress when sailing double reefed in a remote area.
  3. That is brutal. Take it easy on yourself. I am having trouble getting much done and it is still in the eighties here.
  4. Interior looks very nice. Is that the pecan trim? I am very impressed with what looks like the ease with which you were able to turn the boat. She must be pretty substantial at this point. Did Graham give you a rotational axis so you would know where to establish your pivot points? Could you post a close up of what exactly the boat is pivoting on?
  5. Thank you so much for your reports on range. Part of me would like to believe the manufacturer but their claims are so wildly different from your results that they can not be true. It is invaluable to share realistic information. Do enjoy your vacation, but how can you vacation without a boat? When you have the opportunity I would appreciate your measuring the width sans battery.
  6. Wommasehn, The Epropulsion website lists the Spirit runtime at full throttle as 75 minutes. 1/2 throttle runtime is listed as 10 hours using the 1276wh battery. Something doesn't add up. They must be using a lot less than 500 watts at 1/2 throttle? Completely depleting the battery, 1276 divided by 10 hours = 127.6 watts at 1/2 throttle. Does the motor tell you how many watts you are using at a particular throttle setting? I would like to store the motor in a locker with a 22cm opening. The motor width is listed as 27.5 cm. Could you let me know what the width is with the battery removed?
  7. The following is an excerpt from my blog for that trip. http://sundogboatbuilding.blogspot.com/ The tidal range around the Martha's Vineyard and southern Cape Cod is a fairly modest 3 to 4 feet. Yet the currents in and around the islands are strong. And sometimes the direction of those currents have not made sense to me. But now I think I am beginning to understand. The currents of Nantucket Sound are driven not only by the rising and falling of the tides in the area, they are driven primarily by changes in the ocean level in the Gulf of Maine and the Mid Atlantic Bight. Cape Cod divides these two areas that have dramatically different tidal ranges and times. I found this neat Giff put together by someone at the University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology. The arrows indicate direction and strength of the tidal current flow. At the same time water is flowing into the eastern end of Nantucket Sound water is flowing out between Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The only explanation can be that water is sloshing back and forth around Cape Cod between the Gulf of Maine and the Mid Atlantic Bight. This makes navigating the area in a sailboat look like a nightmare. The Giff though is playing a six hour tide cycle in just a couple of seconds so it is not as bad as it looks. Still sailing between the islands can take a few hours and in that time the currents can reverse. You can start a crossing with the current in your favor but the tides are apt to turn before you reach your destination I did not use the Eldridge tide tables but I did consult my GPS which has current speed and direction for various stations in the area. Perhaps my attempted crossings were too long. I found it very difficult to time the currents for an entire passage. I thought it would be an advantage to have the current in my favor, but a strong current with little wind leave you very little control. Also if you want the current to be slack or in a certain direction when you reach a particular headland you have to be able to estimate your time of arrival. It is all part of the challenge that make sailing interesting. Perhaps I should have planned my route further off from Vineyard Haven to avoid the concentration of ferry traffic. There was a power boat fishing in the path of the ferry. The ferry laid on his horn and the power boat roared away. The ferry ended up passing in front of me 50 yards or so. I remember thinking that if I had been a few minutes earlier it would have been more interesting than I would like.
  8. In the main I agree with you it can be dangerous to depend on an auxiliary to get you out of trouble. The belief that you have an auxiliary to rescue could lull a boater into getting into a situation from which the auxiliary can not save you, either because it lacks sufficient power or it malfunctions. I think sailing without a motor has helped me become a better sailor. I am OK with having the motor stored away. However I can remember sailing off Martha's Vineyard in an area with strong currents and heavy ferry traffic and the wind died out. I think a motor would have been a big help then. I felt pretty helpless trying to time my drift and plot the ferry courses while pulling at the oars.
  9. 28 × 14.7 cm / 11 × 5.8 inches Is the listed diameter and pitch for the Spirit 1.0 it is the same for the Plus. The pitch is listed under specifications in the owners manual. The pitch is the distance the propeller would traverse during one revolution if the propeller was moving through an unyielding substance if that makes any sense. I suspect it could be easily calculated by someone with the necessary math skills. In this case it is 14.7 cm. That is obviously related to the angle of the prop blades but I don't know how or what the proper formula would be. In your test you could run 4.5 knots for 90 minutes. What throttle setting was that. Do you know what your speed and range would be at 1/2 throttle?
  10. That is always alarming having pieces of boat float off. It sounds like you handled the situation well. To my eye it looks like the outer veneer of the plywood is very thin. It is that outer veneer running vertically that gives the rudder its strength. Some cheaper plys make the outer layer quite thin, or it may have been sanded thin. It should not have failed so readily. You could build a new blade out of solid wood as Steve suggests or you could sand and add some glass. Could you check to see how thick the outer veneer is?
  11. What are your criteria for electric propulsion becoming a viable solution? I don't have any data but I think electric is at least potentially more reliable.. Spirit plus gives a 1/2 throttle run time of 10 hours Torqeedo 1103 has 1/2 throttle run time of 6 hours I am not sure what kind of range to expect. And of course range is highly dependent on boat and weather conditions. Wommasehen is reporting 6.5 nautical mile range on a 6m centerboard boat using a Spirit Plus with I presume the 1200wh battery. Gas outboard lets say $1,200 Spirit Plus $2,000 Torqeedo 1103 $2,700 I am interested in your idea for a sidemount. mounting on my transom means reaching over the aft deck. I have thought about using this idea from Sukie to make mounting and unmounting while underway easier.
  12. I have a 22 foot sailboat a BandB EC22. I have been eight years now using only oars or a paddle for auxiliary power. I am only considering electric. I was pleased to find this thread. I started out looking at trolling motors but have slowly gravitated to the Epropulsion Spirit Plus. I have not had a motor hanging on the transom all these years and I don't think I could get used to it, for aesthetic reasons and because of fowling the mizzen sheet. I wonder if it would be practical to stow the motor in a locker and only mount on the transom when needed. The Spirit Plus motor is 11kg/24lbs and the battery is 8.8kg/20lbs. In some ways I like the idea of the battery mounted directly to the motor because it avoids the complications of running wiring.
  13. What a joy to be able to sail together. Thanks for sharing the photos and video.
  14. Have a wonderful trip. It would be great if you can post a trip report and let us know how it went. You were right the paint did dry.
  15. I first painted LPUs outside under a tarp with the 3M respirator in the foreground. This time I have been painting inside using supplied air and a hood. The hood is a bit of a nuisance and overkill for rolling and tipping. On mornings when it was between 50F and 60F with 50% humidity it was like visiting heaven but having to wear a hood. As the ambient temp and humidity increase you reach a point where the supplied air needs to be temp and humidity controlled. It is a strange experience to be working very close to paints and solvents that you know have incredibly strong fumes and the air smells like roses.
  16. Perhaps you are aware of this. If you have a sensitivity to epoxy and probably even if you don't. It pays to be cautious when you are sanding epoxy, especially if the epoxy is not completely cured. (Potentially several days.) Contact with the incompletely cured epoxy and epoxy sanding dust could be problematic.
  17. Could you post a couple of photos. I don't think that marine plywood readily delaminates so I would want to know what the transom is constructed of. Also some clue as to what caused the problem. I have used a syringe with a heavy guage needle to get epoxy into narrow areas but if there is an underlying problem the cure may not be that simple.
  18. I launched out of Potters Marina several years ago and explored Rose Bay and Judith Island. It is a beautiful area and I have wanted to go back. I would love to join you but I am not sure if I can be ready. I am doing some repainting.
  19. I hook my foot under the seat but a strap as Alan suggests would be an improvement. The thing I really miss is a comfortable well cushioned seat on the rail.
  20. Scarfing should be fun. A scarfing jig for your table saw helps. Pete's scarfing sled If you are laminating three 1/4 strips I would think you could get away without scarfing just stagger the joints eight inches and place them where there is not much bend.
  21. I would say that an occasional capsize should be considered part of the game plan. Under controlled circumstances capsize and recover the boat so you feel comfortable. Then you can push your limits and increase your skill. When you have crew on board who are not interested in getting wet you can ratchet back and give them a relaxed ride. Flotation is there not just to keep your boat from sinking. It should be of sufficient volume and distributed throughout the boat so as to allow you to recover the boat with a minimum of water aboard.
  22. Dave, I noticed you were posting from South Africa. And then you posted this Just curious. Have you moved onto your boat? Wish you the best where ever you are heading. Joe
  23. It suddenly occurred to me that my Spindrift mast is not entirely a wooden spar but the lower half or so is aluminum tube. Don't ask me how I forgot that.
  24. I really enjoyed building birdsmouth masts. I did a couple of test glue ups first. something done with scrap wood to get my saw lined up and build my confidence. I do not have the plans or info at hand but here are some photos. good luck have fun. I have used my Spindrift 10 masts pretty hard with zero problems. I also have birdsmouth on the upper sections of my EC 22. What ever wood you choose expensive or cheap make sure it is as knot free and straight grained as it can possibly be. I think old bicycle inner tubes cut into strips make the best clamps. All my ideas were borrowed from someone I can't remember most of them, but the building jig is from Graham. Blocks are all fastened down and level first strip is fastened down with a headless nail. The other strips are then gathered around and wrapped with inner tubes. If remembering correctly I stacked all the staves and brought them to a tapered line with the hand plane. I am pretty sure that is the base of the Spindrift 10 mast with the quarter dollar for size reference. The cut off must be from my EC 22 mast. This is my table saw setup for cutting the staves.
  25. That was great Alan. So I guess I just did not realize how human you racers are. You have to employ strategies to keep yourself in the race. Such as: Do not linger near a take out lest you be tempted to drop out. Anchor far enough away from a good restaurant ( Havana Cafe at Chokoloskee) so you are not tempted but close enough so you have a decent internet. Seriously it was fun to follow along with you on the course and have some insight into how you make decisions and plan routes.
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