Knut Posted March 16, 2003 Posted March 16, 2003 Hi guys, sorry :wink: that there is no more drama to report! We went on Biscayne Bay again today with new plastic rubrails mounted in addition to the standard wooden rubrail. Black PVC with a white tube insert came out pretty well. It also worked as planned avoiding scraping any paint as was the result at previous launches and dockings. REally an improvement; do not have to fool around with fenders that sooner or later in the wrong place anyway. Nothing special today other than a good squall with lightning and pretty strong wind and of course a very wet free shower. It was obvious what was coming, so I used the lapper-jib downhaul before the strong wind hit us and centered the lowered sail by pulling both jib-sheets equally. We had more than enough sail with the main only (broad reach) and I had to spill a lot of wind pressure in the worst gusts. The waves coming in on the beam grew to a couple of feet within a short time, but I got impressed how well she was riding them coming in from such an unfavourable angle. The best boat speed so far! (Anyone tried a good log to measure boat speed??) I guess more optimal sail setting would have been the standard jib up + a reef in the main. However, to change the jib under such conditions is not really simple. Three nice hours of good sailing and the sun dried us up before we were back to pick the boat out of the water. (I am buying a new digital camera. I just wonder when I get in the mood to take it along for a sail?? :roll: ) [/b] Quote
buck Posted March 16, 2003 Posted March 16, 2003 That sounds a much better sail Knut, it alarmed me someone capsizing a Weekender, it would be hard to recover from when out at sea, still you seem to have things well under control now. It always surprises me how fast these boats can be, other people who have watched me sail have commented too. They also handle the waves too. I have tried sailing without the jib (very natural to me I;ve nearly always had Cat boats) but it never seems to be able to sail very well and its near impossible to tack. I was thinking of perhaps making a storm jib for windier days. They're a bit over canvased for singlehanding. Quote
captain red Posted March 16, 2003 Posted March 16, 2003 Hi, Sounds like you had a good day on the water. I use to work down there years ago look forward to sailing there someday I saw my first waterspout there. :shock: Talk to you later. Captain red Quote
Gordy Hill Posted March 16, 2003 Posted March 16, 2003 Knut, You might try taking along a hand-held GPS. It'll give your exact speed and really comes in handy when sailing in new areas. Quote
Knut Posted March 17, 2003 Author Posted March 17, 2003 Knut' date='You might try taking along a hand-held GPS. It'll give your exact speed and really comes in handy when sailing in new areas.[/quote'] Yes, I have been thinking about buying one, but there is such a jungle of types and price levels so I have not come around to making a choice. I would assume that in a Weekender (no chart-table or much of a chance to forget the boat and fold out the right map section etc) such a device would have to have a display that can also show the map of the area. Then it could be really useful. Before going SW to the Florida Keyes I certainly want to have one. I don't want to report about getting lost down there. :? Anyone with particular experience in this field? Any good suggestions or views on what to stay away from?? Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.