Look at the size of that Genoa!

[T. Nelson Surbrook]

I took this while on Lake Coeur d' Alene this afternoon. Bigger is better! :wink:

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[ken connors]

T. looks like a beautiful vessel and a thrill to sail. i see youve significantly raised the height of your mast stump. what mods are required for this. im a novice sailor and i would assume this added sail height would add some increased risk of capsize.

[T. Nelson Surbrook]

Not to worry about the increased risk of capsize. The truth about capsizing is that if you know what you are doing you won't. The only people who go turtle are poor sailors who don't pay attention to the water. Also some good sailors who get drunk and lose their situational awareness. I raised the cabin by 3 inches and the boom by 14 inches. She sails very nice and doesn't worry me a bit about turning over.

[Greg Luckett]

Gee, you must not go out past your safe weather horizon. Just kidding.

There are sudden storms which will put you over even without sail. There is an article in the Power Squadron "Ensign" magazine about such a situation on Lake Superior.

The real question here should be "what effect did this change have on stability?" It has to have had an effect on the center of gravity, maybe making the boat more tender? How did it change the way the boat handles in different sea conditions?

Thanks for your insights and sharing,

Greg.

[Steve Tarry]

Greg, the kind of weather you're talking about is more a function of your part of the country than in the Northwest. Though I am a bit of a straight-up sailor myself, I agree with my Spokane cohort that if you pay attention to what you're doing such a crisis is unlikely here. Our lakes and the Puget Sound just don't get freaky winds like the Great Lakes incident you refer to. The only scary moment I had in years of sailing the Sound was going through Deception Pass right next to a grey whale that got lost during migration. There's nothing like a forty-foot whale a few feet off the port side to make a sailor truly aware of the size limitations of his boat.

[T. Nelson Surbrook]

Steve is right about this and to give the proper answer, the boat is just a little more tender but not enough to make any real differance.

[Craig]

Greg please be careful if you are sailing on Michigan with these boats. While they will take more than you can that does not mean you should push them to the limits. Raising the rig by 10-16" does not greatly effect the stability, however, that said the extra couple hunderd puonds up front has a very noticable effect on stability and handling. The old schooners always loaded the fwd hold first and heaviest. It improved both the handling of the ship and the speed. I added 260 or so pounds of lead around the base of the Saralee's mast box to improve trim and handling. She still makes 6+ kts in a brisk wind and has consistantly showed 7+ coming down the back side of some waves I shouldn't have been out in. Not too shabby for a fat old man with a boat 500 lbs too heavy.

Nelson how do you like that vang? I know you like to run before the wind. Has it functioned very many times. I ask because I had a jibe suprise me the other day and don't want it to happen again. With the rig at the old height the boom would have taken me off the rail. I was trying a run when my pax decided it was time to get up and move. She came over as I was trying to get them to sit down.

[Greg Luckett]

Now I am envious. Sounds like a perfect place to sail.

[Andrew]

Please pardon my ignorance, but how do you get the Genoa to 'jibe' (hope thats the right word :oops: ) when tacking :oops: etc?

I guess I could ask the same question about the Jib. I realise the clubfoot takes care of most of this on the 'original' weekender, but how does the rigging work for a 'real' setup

Thanx

Andrew

[T. Nelson Surbrook]

Craig the vang doesn't prevent the accidental jibe. It only serves to tighten up the main when running to wind. The flatter sail gives better windward performance. I have run a line from the boom to the forward chain plate before to keep the main in place while placing the boat-hook without a handle on it over a post at the bottom of the mast and out to the clew of the genoa to form this huge wing on wing configuration. You don't go real fast but it looks really cool.

Andrew, to answer your question, the jib or genoa when run with two jib sheets(lines) just wraps around the mast when you change tacks and fills on the other side. It works quite well and it just requires that you handle the lines when tacking. When you get used to it, no problem. I hope this helps.