I'm a Cruiser / Racer as opposed to a Racer / Cruiser. Both have there place in sailing.
I was asked by a good friend and sailing buddy why I'm spending boat bucks on performance gear (sail tweakers like travelers and vangs and such) considering I don't race Patience Two .
I don't race her because I can't - a) she's a catamaran and there isn't a good catamaran racing venue close by. Mono hull owners don't like racing with multi hulls because we can and do exceed hull speed (as a reminder hull speed is the fastest sustained speed a displacement sailboat can go based on the formula
1.34 times the square root of the length of the hull at the water - for my boat that's about 7.55 - my LWL is 31.75 feet). If you don't believe that witness the last America's Cup - done in multi's pulling 20kts of boat speed in 6kts of wind.
I've topped 10.3 kts on my boat. In the right wind (over 16kts) a mono has no chance.
and b) I can't - she's not set up for it (missing sail tweakers like travelers and vangs and such - and carrying all the cruising gear Mary and I prefer not to unload and load all the dang time.
I race on friends boats - like my friend Mikes Hunter 216, a light weight sport boat that will kick ass on the water. The last season I raced we pulled a 1st for the series I participated in, beating bigger "faster" boats head to head and kicking them around on corrected time.
Okay, next post on cunninghams and outhauls and more heavy metal stuff.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Winter Upgrades - Heavy metal
With the boat all naked what with no sails and all I've had a chance to look her over and consider what I'm going to do with her this winter.
Right now I've got 2 deck organizers on the port side that allow me to run 6 lines back to the cockpit. Really they can handle 4 lines because the end two sheeves (turning blocks) lost their ball bearings when I installed them.
Currently I run the main halyard, boom vang and outhaul through them and to a clutch, the clutch is pictured in a previous post - it is the 3 line version of this.
Last week I ordered a new 3 line clutch, same as I have on my port side. I'm going to install it on the starboard side.
I also picked up a set of genoa track car's like the ones pictured to the right. Call me silly by I like Garhauer's stainless steel line, it's heavy, but it's tough. These cars allow you to pull the genoa car forward so you can adjust the sail's clew without leaving the cockpit. Without cars you have to pull a spring loaded pin to disengage the car, then shove it against the pressure of the wind.
Note the car has a fiddle (flat) double block and a double stacked block with a end termination separate. The double stack/end terminal unit goes all the way forward on the track and gets secured there (the screw on the end). The control line leads from the terminal end to the big block on the fiddle, back to the double on the bottom, then back to the small block on the fiddle, back to the terminal block on top, then back to one of these at the rear of the track, and within reach in the cockpit:
To move the car you simply pull the line which allows the car to slide forward (it's riding on ball bearings). The 5:1 blocks (the way the lines run fore and back around the blocks (land lubbers call them pulley's) mean that it takes 1/5 the effort minus friction loss to move the car. That's good because sometimes the wind puts so much pressure on the sails you can not do it without help.
The car will slide to the stern under wind power (the genoa is pulling it up and forward all the time, the control line is holding it still).
You adjust these cars to allow the clew (back, bottom) of the genoa (forward sail) to move forward / aft and in and out.
Let's see if I can describe it for both sailors and non-sailors. When sailing upwind (into the wind) you want the genoa to be back and tight to the center line of the boat, that allows it to point into the wind and causes the wind to channel better over the back of the main sail. That channeling creates what a sailor calls the "slot".
To effect that one would put the car further aft, and where it goes and works best depends on wind speed and whether or not you have the genoa reefed (made smaller because of high winds). My first 'reef point' is to furl my 150% genoa to 100%.
- a brief side note, 100% refers to the area of the fore triangle; a triagngle that is sided by the deck (foot of the sail), the mast and the luff (forward edge) of the sail. A 150% genoa, like mine infers that the clew of the sail goes back another 50% past the mast. My foot is 14 feet (tack of the jib to the mast) so a 150% would be 7 feet longer, I have a furling genoa, it rolls around the forward edge (on a aluminum foil) to store it, and to make it smaller in high wind...end note
What that means is that in order to have the clew (back, bottom) of the genoa held at the same angle relative to the wind when I furl the sail to the first reef I need to move the car 7 feet forward of where it was at 150%. That's a lot of push pin pulling and car sliding while standing bent over a track in 20 knots of wind. Hence I'm adding the cars. It's not just performance, it's safety.
Ah, but there is more.
When going downwind and even on a reach (side ways to the wind) you want the clew of the genoa to be able to curve out ward away from the center line of the boat. Consider that the main sail is going to also go away from center line when sailing at 90 degrees off the wind, would you want your genoa to curve inward and have the wind from it back winding the main sail? So you move the car forward to prevent that cupping force.
Downwind you want that big honking sail out so it can catch air like a kite, you move the car all the way forward so you aren't closing the sail up like a laundry bag.
Still more, because gosh if there wasn't anyone could do it (well actually anyone can do it)...
There are times when you want to pull the car more forward than normal. Pulling the car forward when going upwind puts more 'bag' in the sail, making it rounder and fuller. A rounder sail means you can't point into the wind as well, but gives more "power" i.e. pulling force, something you need in heavy chop/waves, or in truly light and fluky wind - it's better to move a 50 degrees than to not move at 40 degrees off the wind.
Next up, we'll talk Cunningham's, Out hauls and what all that other heavy metal is for.
Right now I've got 2 deck organizers on the port side that allow me to run 6 lines back to the cockpit. Really they can handle 4 lines because the end two sheeves (turning blocks) lost their ball bearings when I installed them.
Currently I run the main halyard, boom vang and outhaul through them and to a clutch, the clutch is pictured in a previous post - it is the 3 line version of this.
Last week I ordered a new 3 line clutch, same as I have on my port side. I'm going to install it on the starboard side.
Note the car has a fiddle (flat) double block and a double stacked block with a end termination separate. The double stack/end terminal unit goes all the way forward on the track and gets secured there (the screw on the end). The control line leads from the terminal end to the big block on the fiddle, back to the double on the bottom, then back to the small block on the fiddle, back to the terminal block on top, then back to one of these at the rear of the track, and within reach in the cockpit:
The car will slide to the stern under wind power (the genoa is pulling it up and forward all the time, the control line is holding it still).
You adjust these cars to allow the clew (back, bottom) of the genoa (forward sail) to move forward / aft and in and out.
Let's see if I can describe it for both sailors and non-sailors. When sailing upwind (into the wind) you want the genoa to be back and tight to the center line of the boat, that allows it to point into the wind and causes the wind to channel better over the back of the main sail. That channeling creates what a sailor calls the "slot".
To effect that one would put the car further aft, and where it goes and works best depends on wind speed and whether or not you have the genoa reefed (made smaller because of high winds). My first 'reef point' is to furl my 150% genoa to 100%.
- a brief side note, 100% refers to the area of the fore triangle; a triagngle that is sided by the deck (foot of the sail), the mast and the luff (forward edge) of the sail. A 150% genoa, like mine infers that the clew of the sail goes back another 50% past the mast. My foot is 14 feet (tack of the jib to the mast) so a 150% would be 7 feet longer, I have a furling genoa, it rolls around the forward edge (on a aluminum foil) to store it, and to make it smaller in high wind...end note
What that means is that in order to have the clew (back, bottom) of the genoa held at the same angle relative to the wind when I furl the sail to the first reef I need to move the car 7 feet forward of where it was at 150%. That's a lot of push pin pulling and car sliding while standing bent over a track in 20 knots of wind. Hence I'm adding the cars. It's not just performance, it's safety.
Ah, but there is more.
When going downwind and even on a reach (side ways to the wind) you want the clew of the genoa to be able to curve out ward away from the center line of the boat. Consider that the main sail is going to also go away from center line when sailing at 90 degrees off the wind, would you want your genoa to curve inward and have the wind from it back winding the main sail? So you move the car forward to prevent that cupping force.
Downwind you want that big honking sail out so it can catch air like a kite, you move the car all the way forward so you aren't closing the sail up like a laundry bag.
Still more, because gosh if there wasn't anyone could do it (well actually anyone can do it)...
There are times when you want to pull the car more forward than normal. Pulling the car forward when going upwind puts more 'bag' in the sail, making it rounder and fuller. A rounder sail means you can't point into the wind as well, but gives more "power" i.e. pulling force, something you need in heavy chop/waves, or in truly light and fluky wind - it's better to move a 50 degrees than to not move at 40 degrees off the wind.
Next up, we'll talk Cunningham's, Out hauls and what all that other heavy metal is for.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Empty inside
My boat is naked, inside and out.
Mary and I stripped the sails off and pulled all the stuff that makes it a home on the water off this weekend. Late fall is upon us and winter is approaching, a good time for sailing as the wind is generally a little bit better; a bad time for sailing as there is a reason they call the fall regatta's 'frostbite regatta's'.
My 1955 Lyman 15 foot runabout is hanging from straps in the garage (literally, 2 2inch wide straps with sawhorses to stabilize).
So what does a sailor do when he's reduced to be a motor boater? Apparently he gets out the leaf blower.
Some would think it's the lazy season - ha, ha, ha. Not. Now's when the work begins. Those sails that provide us effortless and fuel less power to sail around the world require routine maintenance unless you want to replace them to the tune of 2 grand or more (EACH) every couple of years.
That means either you fold them up (take out battens, batten cars, ropes and such) and ship them off to be cleaned and inspected - Now that's a 200 bucks or more to box and ship. We have b i g sails.
Or ROAD TRIP !
We are going to pack them up and take a road trip next weekend to deliver them to Sail Care, they rebox and ship back as part of the price.
Oh, and stay tuned to for the mad adventures in bottom stripping. It sounds sexier than than it really is.
In this case I get to lay on a cold concrete floor with 600 pounds of wooden boat over me while I sand, chip and scrape paint off the Lyman, meanwhile it rains lead based paint on my face. In a garage with no heat.
Better be some good times next year.
Mary and I stripped the sails off and pulled all the stuff that makes it a home on the water off this weekend. Late fall is upon us and winter is approaching, a good time for sailing as the wind is generally a little bit better; a bad time for sailing as there is a reason they call the fall regatta's 'frostbite regatta's'.
My 1955 Lyman 15 foot runabout is hanging from straps in the garage (literally, 2 2inch wide straps with sawhorses to stabilize).
So what does a sailor do when he's reduced to be a motor boater? Apparently he gets out the leaf blower.
Some would think it's the lazy season - ha, ha, ha. Not. Now's when the work begins. Those sails that provide us effortless and fuel less power to sail around the world require routine maintenance unless you want to replace them to the tune of 2 grand or more (EACH) every couple of years.
That means either you fold them up (take out battens, batten cars, ropes and such) and ship them off to be cleaned and inspected - Now that's a 200 bucks or more to box and ship. We have b i g sails.
Or ROAD TRIP !
We are going to pack them up and take a road trip next weekend to deliver them to Sail Care, they rebox and ship back as part of the price.
Oh, and stay tuned to for the mad adventures in bottom stripping. It sounds sexier than than it really is.
In this case I get to lay on a cold concrete floor with 600 pounds of wooden boat over me while I sand, chip and scrape paint off the Lyman, meanwhile it rains lead based paint on my face. In a garage with no heat.
Better be some good times next year.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Music
My iTouch died 2 months ago.
I don't have many songs on it, but they were important to me. I have a VERY eclectic taste for music - I like everything from Lady Gaga to Lady Antebellum and throw a little Beethoven's 9th in on the side.While I can indeed dance - my singing is akin to a bull frog on helium but I try it anyway. Funny story there... let me digress...
My friend and new dockmate (it's his Coronado 25 I talk about) - Marc was singing along to his newly installed radio a week or so ago while I was on my boat abusing my windex (calibrating it). Across the 30 - 40 feet separating us I asked him loudly:
"what did you do with the money?"
His instant response?
"drugs"
How many of you would have inferred the rest of the question with no reference - "that your mother gave you for singing lessons"...?
Music is important to some folks.
Some folks just get it.
Marc installed his stereo after ensuring his deck was not leaking anymore. I installed my speakers in the cockpit as the first hole I cut in the boat.
My wife fixed my iTouch tonight, she went to the Apple store and braved the lines, the arrogant customer service and rest. I have a new iTouch at 1/4 the price of the old one. ALL of my songs are back on it.
I have music again.
Enrique Iglesias "Hero".
enough said.
I don't have many songs on it, but they were important to me. I have a VERY eclectic taste for music - I like everything from Lady Gaga to Lady Antebellum and throw a little Beethoven's 9th in on the side.While I can indeed dance - my singing is akin to a bull frog on helium but I try it anyway. Funny story there... let me digress...
My friend and new dockmate (it's his Coronado 25 I talk about) - Marc was singing along to his newly installed radio a week or so ago while I was on my boat abusing my windex (calibrating it). Across the 30 - 40 feet separating us I asked him loudly:
"what did you do with the money?"
His instant response?
"drugs"
How many of you would have inferred the rest of the question with no reference - "that your mother gave you for singing lessons"...?
Music is important to some folks.
Some folks just get it.
Marc installed his stereo after ensuring his deck was not leaking anymore. I installed my speakers in the cockpit as the first hole I cut in the boat.
My wife fixed my iTouch tonight, she went to the Apple store and braved the lines, the arrogant customer service and rest. I have a new iTouch at 1/4 the price of the old one. ALL of my songs are back on it.
I have music again.
Enrique Iglesias "Hero".
enough said.
Christmas wish lists
I've been easy over the past eight or nine years - Santa can bring me boat stuff and it works.
Random time is over, I have needs :)
Here's the problem boys and girls, I like power, I use power, I have to replace power.
Gee, you ask - how much power do you need - you are already the skipper of your boat, the captain, master of your destiny.
Well - the answer gets complicated. Farting around on your boat can take many different forms and the consumption and manufacture of electricity can as well.
Woe to the dude who gets up in the morning and cranks a key to clicking sounds from the engine compartment.
My daily draw can exceed 70 amp hours (a amp hour is using 1 amp for 1 hour - a typical light on a boat draws 1 amp per hour).
Some boaters basically wing it. Some get all anal retentive about it. I'm somewhere in the middle, for instance I don't turn down the stereo speakers to save power (those are after all 100 watt speakers) but the meter does trickle away in my mind....
Here's my usage, broken down by category.
CPAP (apnea) - 1.2 amp - 7 hours = 9ah
Stereo (must have) 1.4amp - 10 hours = 14ah
Anchor light 1.1 amp - 9 hours = 10ah
Lights - 1amp each - 6 = 6ah
Fans (3) .5 - .7amp = 5ah
Standard - = 16ah
Additional/random = 10ah
Standard is a fill in for CO2 detector, propane shut off valve (fails shut on loss of juice), fridge fan, battery monitor etc.. all that stuff you can't shut off.
Additional is all those other things - water pump, phone charging, turning on my wind instuments just to check, GPS for anchor alarm or chartting my next day..just 'stuff'. It can go higher (laptop charge) but seldom goes lower.
My current 'system' - because it has to be viewed as a system not a list of components - is:
Cranky - what I call my Westerbeke 30B diesel. It has a standard 55 amp alternator.
80W Kyocera solar panel - makes 30-40 amp hours a day on a good day.
Xantrex C12 controller 3 stage charger - max amp out is 12, normal is 3 to 4.
Xantrex XBM monitor - to watch all this magic happening.
I have battery chargers and combiners and such; we'll skip them because this is about hook time, not pier side. The combiner is a safety feature - puts the banks together or detaches them on low voltage to prevent that nasty silence thing when I turn the key.
So that leads me to this - begging
A 240w solar panel.
A 20 amp controller for the above (ask me for the brand).
A pair of Trojan batteries to hold the output (ditto, ask me for size and type).
Get in line folks, I expect the offers to come pouring in any day.
Random time is over, I have needs :)
Here's the problem boys and girls, I like power, I use power, I have to replace power.
Gee, you ask - how much power do you need - you are already the skipper of your boat, the captain, master of your destiny.
Well - the answer gets complicated. Farting around on your boat can take many different forms and the consumption and manufacture of electricity can as well.
Woe to the dude who gets up in the morning and cranks a key to clicking sounds from the engine compartment.
My daily draw can exceed 70 amp hours (a amp hour is using 1 amp for 1 hour - a typical light on a boat draws 1 amp per hour).
Some boaters basically wing it. Some get all anal retentive about it. I'm somewhere in the middle, for instance I don't turn down the stereo speakers to save power (those are after all 100 watt speakers) but the meter does trickle away in my mind....
Here's my usage, broken down by category.
CPAP (apnea) - 1.2 amp - 7 hours = 9ah
Stereo (must have) 1.4amp - 10 hours = 14ah
Anchor light 1.1 amp - 9 hours = 10ah
Lights - 1amp each - 6 = 6ah
Fans (3) .5 - .7amp = 5ah
Standard - = 16ah
Additional/random = 10ah
Standard is a fill in for CO2 detector, propane shut off valve (fails shut on loss of juice), fridge fan, battery monitor etc.. all that stuff you can't shut off.
Additional is all those other things - water pump, phone charging, turning on my wind instuments just to check, GPS for anchor alarm or chartting my next day..just 'stuff'. It can go higher (laptop charge) but seldom goes lower.
My current 'system' - because it has to be viewed as a system not a list of components - is:
Cranky - what I call my Westerbeke 30B diesel. It has a standard 55 amp alternator.
80W Kyocera solar panel - makes 30-40 amp hours a day on a good day.
Xantrex C12 controller 3 stage charger - max amp out is 12, normal is 3 to 4.
Xantrex XBM monitor - to watch all this magic happening.
I have battery chargers and combiners and such; we'll skip them because this is about hook time, not pier side. The combiner is a safety feature - puts the banks together or detaches them on low voltage to prevent that nasty silence thing when I turn the key.
So that leads me to this - begging
A 240w solar panel.
A 20 amp controller for the above (ask me for the brand).
A pair of Trojan batteries to hold the output (ditto, ask me for size and type).
Get in line folks, I expect the offers to come pouring in any day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)