View Full Version : How's this for a cool sail?
x SF med
08-31-2006, 13:59
I ran across this picture on one of my sailing sites and thought it was appropriate to post, notice the spinnaker....
I ran across this picture on one of my sailing sites and thought it was appropriate to post, notice the spinnaker....
Well, the wings are on a "chute". ;)
Pat
x SF med
08-31-2006, 18:42
Pat-
Not only a Chute - a Catalina 27 Chute! Think an SF Crest would be a bit too much?
Pat-
Not only a Chute - a Catalina 27 Chute! Think an SF Crest would be a bit too much?
Go for it, Doc! :lifter
I thought it looked familiar. Ours didn't have ports in the v-berth.
Pat
edit: My wife pointed out those ports were in the dinette area. The FOG is closing in.
A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing downwind (with the wind behind the boat). The spinnaker fills with wind and balloons out in front of the boat when it is deployed, called flying. It is constructed of very lightweight, usually nylon, fabric, and is often brighly colored. The spinnaker is often called a chute, as it somewhat resembles a parachute in both construction and appearance, or a kite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinnaker
Man I had to look that one up! I'm not a "boat" guy! But it still looks cool.
x SF med
09-01-2006, 06:14
Kites are great - they look cool, but once the breeze gets over about 18 or so, it's a real bitch to handle, think MC1-1B with a major updraft, crosswind, and overloaded - plus one side is led through the spinnaker pole, and that's the nonworking side, so essentially only one toggle to control it - it can get interesting - there's a little mishap called a "windward death roll" it is exactly what the name implies, the chute gets overpowered on windward side of the boat, and actually pulls it over - fall down, go BOOM. Gotta love it, nonsailors think - oh, it's so pretty and relaxing - bwahhh - try 3-6 foot waves/chop and 25 kts of wind with gusts to 40 - ass busting and dangerous. Can't beat it.
Ok, so I'm addicted to the sport - ask a golfer about his obsession....
x_sf_med,
I'm from the Pacific Northwest on the Puget Sound and worked the west coast from Mexico to Alaska as a merchant mariner before I stumbled my way into this line of work. My skipper was the son of a Brit expat shipwright father and a Pentagon secretary mother who stood his first watch on the family ketch at age 11. Literally raised on the water. His nautical tutelage really planted an interest in sailing in me, always urging me to get away from the diesel and onto a wind powered vessel. His enthusiasm mirrors your own.
While working on the boats, I started reading the Patrick O'Brian books and that just made the sailing interest more pronounced. It can't happen now for obvious reasons, but I'm determined to get back to sea eventually.
Somewhat related, kite surfing looks pretty cool too.
Oh, and I picked up golf. . .
Books
Gotta love it, nonsailors think - oh, it's so pretty and relaxing - bwahhh - try 3-6 foot waves/chop and 25 kts of wind with gusts to 40 - ass busting and dangerous. Can't beat it.
Ok, so I'm addicted to the sport - ask a golfer about his obsession....
:lifter
Pat
x SF med
09-01-2006, 14:56
Pat-
A wheel? Sacrilege!! Never sacrifice control for comfort. :D Can you tell I prefer a tiller? Better feel in a race, and it makes you more aware of the weather helm, so as to avoid the infamous Catalina auto-tack....
Books-
I got the sailing bug at 8. Trust me 14 years landlocked in Ft Worth Tx after the military, and an initial stint in college (also Ft Worth) I was ready to get back on the water with a vengeance. I can't afford guns any more, the name of my boat says it all... "Loose Change" I don't have much any more, and if you have any I'll take it - gotta rewire and replace the freshwater system this winter.... plus I'm replacing the winches (not the wenches, gotta find a couple of those too)... ok, I'm done for now.
Pat-
A wheel? Sacrilege!! Never sacrifice control for comfort. :D Can you tell I prefer a tiller? Better feel in a race, and it makes you more aware of the weather helm, so as to avoid the infamous Catalina auto-tack....
We’re more into cruising than racing.
As for the “auto-tack”, we could have used it about half an hour before the picture of my wife was taken. We were double reefed and would have loved a third. The waves were about twice the freeboard height, at least. You can see the swell behind her head. I would bear off to pick up speed and that took us toward a lee shore. We struck the jib and even tried the engine. The little sucker just couldn’t turn through the wind and waves. I eventually rigged a preventer and jibed. It’s funny with sailing how it’s wet, noisy, and cold one minute then dry, quiet, and hot the next.
Love it! And miss it for the time being.
Pat
x SF med
09-01-2006, 16:50
Pat-
the auto tack is a bad thing... very, very bad - Wx helm gets so bad the heel forces you full around, no time to unsheet the genny, it backwinds on the windward side and forces you around, or knocks you down. That's why even cruisers in Cat 27s are going back to the tiller.
To combat the dreaded auto tack; you have to (non sailors beware, it's like talking SF to a leg or civvie here):
*sail the shape (foil) of the sails, balance the draft of the genny (flat, no twist, run the car back to spill the leech, run off the center telltales)
*bubble out on the main (force the slot into the luff of the main, full cunningham and outhaul, vang sheet- boom down- to spill the leech, tight sheet with the traveller up and then ease the traveller out for the 1/3 bubble giving the power to the aft bottom 1/3 of the main, balancing the power from the fully shaped untwisted headsail)
- you just can't feel the Wx helm with a wheel when you're shaped wrong, until it's too late.
In your case, with trailing seas - reaching off with the reefed main, and running a storm jib (unless you were on a roller furler, you could have left a tail there too though) would have given you the power and control to side surf and jibe (tack) off wind. a little more distance - but a smoother ride and better speed with more helm response.
Sorry if I lost anybody - ask if you would like a less sailing explanation - althoughg the MFF guys can probably figure out the aerodynamics of the issue.
Damn, I love sailing. Maybe I will take the 6pack course (not beer - CG Charter/offshore captain's course) this winter and change careers.
Pat-
the auto tack is a bad thing... very, very bad
I know, I was kidding. ;)
To combat the dreaded auto tack; you have to (non sailors beware, it's like talking SF to a leg or civvie here):
*sail the shape (foil) of the sails, balance the draft of the genny (flat, no twist, run the car back to spill the leech, run off the center telltales)
*bubble out on the main (force the slot into the luff of the main, full cunningham and outhaul, vang sheet- boom down- to spill the leech, tight sheet with the traveller up and then ease the traveller out for the 1/3 bubble giving the power to the aft bottom 1/3 of the main, balancing the power from the fully shaped untwisted headsail)
OK, but somebody's going to have to hold my beer. :D
In your case, with trailing seas
No trailing seas. The photo was taken after the jibe. (The surfing was fun, though.) Before the jibe, we were beating on a port tack. The lee shore was also coming out to meet us because of the shape of the island. I'm pretty sure my crew was mumbling something about mutiny; it was our honeymoon after all. :D
Pat
In your case, with trailing seas
It just dawned on me that you thought that I jibed to the starboard tack. No, I advanced to the rear...back to Avalon. It was my honeymoon remember. :D The wine and cheese was closer and the mutiny postponed. :lifter
Pat
x SF med
09-01-2006, 21:09
OK, but somebody's going to have to hold my beer. :D
That's what those little swingy basket thingies are for - keeps it from spilling too. But most of my suggestion should have been taken care of during set up and tacking. Oh, yeah, your crew was driving, so you could take pictures....
Honeymoon? - you were sailing - wait till you get to the mooring and blame the rocking on the motorboats and the 'noise' on a stubbed toe. ;)
That's what those little swingy basket thingies are for - keeps it from spilling too. ;)
Doc,
We had those. Mine is in Davey Jones' locker. When it jumped overboard I understood why the professional fishing boat guys, going the other way, kept looking at us through their binos. I know the time-line of the pix by when the beer holder was there and when it was gone. With my beer! :D
Pat
x SF med
09-01-2006, 21:44
Pat, the only reply to that situation is ..... OOOOPs! But. I'm not sure if it constitutes alcohol abuse.
Pat, the only reply to that situation is ..... OOOOPs! But. I'm not sure if it constitutes alcohol abuse.
Here's the before pic. Mine is on the port side. Actually it looks like an RC Cola can. :eek: That's not like me!
Pat
x SF med
09-02-2006, 05:07
Pat-
Can't have been that bad - no foulies, the binocs aren't tied down, and your driver isn't tied in to a jackline with a harness - a calm afternoon's sail... Can't pics be so misleading?
I also see only 3 wraps on those Lewmar 32 st's.....
Pat-
Can't have been that bad - no foulies, the binocs aren't tied down, and your driver isn't tied in to a jackline with a harness - a calm afternoon's sail... Can't pics be so misleading?
I also see only 3 wraps on those Lewmar 32 st's.....
And no reefs tied in yet. The day was young. It got more fun later. :D
It wasn't all that bad. The lee shore was the only problem. The weather was strong Northwest winds like after a frontal passage, but there was no front. The next morning we had four foot swells in Avalon harbor. There was a lot of puking over the rails on the party boats. :D
On the radio we heard people sailing back across the channel threatening to sue the Coast Guard for false weather reporting. :rolleyes: I went back to basics using my aviation wx knowledge and drew up my own charts. We stayed in Avalon an extra day and pressed on later. A couple sailing from Catalina to Santa Barbara Island that week wrote up their experience in "Cruising World".
That's about as "rocky" as our marriage has ever been, though. ;)
The real question (besides what's in that blue can) is, are you going to order a new chute with an SF Crest on it?
Pat
Roycroft201
09-02-2006, 21:06
The real question (besides what's in that blue can) is, are you going to order a new chute with an SF Crest on it?
Pat
I've been wondering the same thing ! :munchin
:D
RC201
x SF med
09-04-2006, 21:58
Maybe over the winter - I need to rig a spinnaker halyard, a second jib halyard, switch to 32 STs, rewire, 2 new throughhulls for speed and depth, reglass the stern Lazarette (OB well), redo the freshwater system... if I have ant cash leftover, possibly buy a new chute - finding a sailmaker who can get ab SF Crest on it is another story, and in 10th SFG(A) Green?
Sorry for the delay in responding - stayes at the YC this weekend, 3 races this weekend, 2 on a J105 (hot boat), and one on a buddy's O'Day 28 (it was supposed to be on mine, but my tiller snapped going out to the starting area, luckily, I had a spare in the car.) I'm just a little tired, winds over 15 the entire weekend, and 3 8 mi races. I only got wailed into the lifelines once as bowman, gust of 25 as the chute was coming down on the J105... bruises galore, bad knee is worse, but it's kind of like SF, once you're hooked, it stays in your blood.
x_sf_med -
I say go for the 6 pax license. I worked with plenty of fellows who worked off of their 1600 ton coastal licenses and then had 6 pax sail ones to work the off season. They would reposition boats for the wealthy ie: sail the yacht from San Francisco to New Zealand so the owner could rendezvous with the boat and gunk hole around the South Pacific. Nice work if you can get it. You just might become a vagabond boat person. . .
Books
my tiller snapped
Termites? :D My wheel never snapped. ;)
Really though, was it laminated?
Pat
x SF med
09-06-2006, 06:18
Pat-
Maple and ash, double rise - the guy I bought it from said it was only 4 yrs old. Insides had rotted (he never took it off the boat in the winter) -I glassed it up earlier this year, and ordered a replacement that I put on this weekend (Catalina Direct is great) but they only stock single rise tillers, I need to set an angle stop to get the right height.
Books-
I already am a vagabond boat person! I drive 70 mi each way to get to the boat/YC - and a lot of weekends don't get home until Sunday night. My only problem with the 6-Pack is timing, I have to plan for long drives during the week after work - if you miss any of the classes, you lose your money, and it ain't cheap.
incommin
09-06-2006, 08:11
The poor souls who have never sipped wine and watched the sun go down and the stars come out while on their own boat have no clue to what they are missing!
x SF med
09-06-2006, 08:25
The poor souls who have never sipped wine and watched the sun go down and the stars come out while on their own boat have no clue to what they are missing!
Bro, ain't that the truth! And being rocked to sleep with a cool breeze flowing through the cabin, sunrise over the horizon.....
And being rocked to sleep with a cool breeze flowing through the cabin, sunrise over the horizon.....
Waking at 0300, in a crowded anchorage, to the sound of a stainless steal barbecue lid getting knocked off your neighbor’s transom by your spreader. :eek: :D
Pat
The Reaper
09-06-2006, 16:12
What do they say are the two happiest days in a boat owner's life?
The day you buy her and the day you sell her.
TR
x SF med
09-06-2006, 16:13
Pat-
Were you sinking? If your spreader knocked the lid off a transom mounted BBQ, you had worse things happening than paying him $30 bucks for the lid, the spreaders on a Cat 27 are 28 ft over the water... unless you parked next to a smallish cruise ship - in which case, you did not leave nearly enough swing in your anchorage. Give up the whole story bud, admission is the first step in acknowledging a problem - "Hi, I'm Pat, and I have an anchoring problem...."
Pat-
Were you sinking? If your spreader knocked the lid off a transom mounted BBQ, you had worse things happening than paying him $30 bucks for the lid, the spreaders on a Cat 27 are 28 ft over the water... unless you parked next to a smallish cruise ship - in which case, you did not leave nearly enough swing in your anchorage. Give up the whole story bud, admission is the first step in acknowledging a problem - "Hi, I'm Pat, and I have an anchoring problem...."
:D :o
More accurately, it was the shroud that knocked it off. The lid was chained to the kettle so no harm done.
“Anchor etiquette” was the problem. We were on a Cat 36. We asked those already there how they were anchored and everyone was on one hook. We set one anchor the same length as the others.
The boat we bumped was a 45’+ double-ender with 100% chain rode. I was on nylon with about 10’ chain.
The next morning, the other skipper and I figured out that, when the tide went out, we went forward over our anchor and in front of his boat. With his chain, he swung less and more slowly. When the tide came in, his boat was slower to move and we swung into him on the opposite side.
When we hit, I popped the v-berth hatch and saw the name of the boat: “Illusion”.
Lesson learned!
Pat
incommin
09-07-2006, 05:02
What do they say are the two happiest days in a boat owner's life?
The day you buy her and the day you sell her.
TR
You left out all the maintenance and repair time. I don't know how many times my wife asked if I was going to play at the docks all day or were we taking the boat out?!!!
x SF med
09-07-2006, 06:29
What do they say are the two happiest days in a boat owner's life?
The day you buy her and the day you sell her.
TR
NOPE!! The day you buy her and the day you win your first big race!
You left out all the maintenance and repair time. I don't know how many times my wife asked if I was going to play at the docks all day or were we taking the boat out?!!!
I do most of that while it's on the hard over the winter, rather sail than repair, unless, of course it's a required item, like say, a tiller....