Sailing
Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 6:27 am
Yesterday (Sept. 7), I finally managed to get the daysailor under sail for the first time ever.
I went out early and brought her to the dock to return the dinghy (launch service hadn't started for the day) and rinse her off, before returning to the mooring. Then, I completed a couple small projects that were required before I could sail: install some fairleads for the roller furling control line, and install nuts and washers on the genoa track bolts.
By 1000, I was done, but there was no wind. Hoping it would come up, I raised the main and motored out past the island and towards Hussey Sound, which opens to the Atlantic. Seabreezes come through here first, so I slowly powered my way out. Sure enough, by the time I got there, a light breeze came up.
I tacked around for a while and adjusted the genoa sheet leads. Please excuse the poor halyard tension seen on the genoa in these photos; the CDI furler has this ridiculous internal halyard that you make off at the drum itself, and it's really tough to get it tight enough. It's even harder (read: impossible) for a solo sailor to go forward and do it underway, so I left it. (Later, I tightened things as much as I could).
After a while, I bore off for a great reach. The wind peaked around 10-12 knots for a while, but was mostly lighter--8 knots. Perfect for a shakedown.
The boat felt light and quick, though I had no speed-determining devices on board. She was definitly more sprightly than a stock Triton, not surprisingly.
The new triradial main looked great. I still needed to rig a cunningham, figure out a way to run the vang control line, and especially needed a way to control the outhaul, which currently had a rudimentary one-part line that was impossible to tighten properly.
For you eagle eyes out there, yes: there is a funny reverse bend in the spar right aft of the jumpers. It seems that the jumpers need to be much less tight than they are (they're not that tight, really), as the tapered spar is much softer and bendier than a stock Triton telephone pole. I cannot find a way to remove that little reverse bend, so when the mast is unstepped later I'll adjust the tension on the jumpers. If the boat were to be in the water longer than she will this year, I'd deal with the tension now, but see no reason to go up the mast at this juncture. If I were a monkey I'd shimmy up to the spreaders to adjust the turnbuckles, but I'm not one.
The new genoa looked nice, but it was supposed to be a triradial design; instead, I received a standard crosscut. Irritating.
After a couple hours, I returned to the mooring, happy with the boat's performance, but eager to fine-tune some of the control systems.
The new cushions in the interior really finish things off, too.
I went out early and brought her to the dock to return the dinghy (launch service hadn't started for the day) and rinse her off, before returning to the mooring. Then, I completed a couple small projects that were required before I could sail: install some fairleads for the roller furling control line, and install nuts and washers on the genoa track bolts.
By 1000, I was done, but there was no wind. Hoping it would come up, I raised the main and motored out past the island and towards Hussey Sound, which opens to the Atlantic. Seabreezes come through here first, so I slowly powered my way out. Sure enough, by the time I got there, a light breeze came up.
I tacked around for a while and adjusted the genoa sheet leads. Please excuse the poor halyard tension seen on the genoa in these photos; the CDI furler has this ridiculous internal halyard that you make off at the drum itself, and it's really tough to get it tight enough. It's even harder (read: impossible) for a solo sailor to go forward and do it underway, so I left it. (Later, I tightened things as much as I could).
After a while, I bore off for a great reach. The wind peaked around 10-12 knots for a while, but was mostly lighter--8 knots. Perfect for a shakedown.
The boat felt light and quick, though I had no speed-determining devices on board. She was definitly more sprightly than a stock Triton, not surprisingly.
The new triradial main looked great. I still needed to rig a cunningham, figure out a way to run the vang control line, and especially needed a way to control the outhaul, which currently had a rudimentary one-part line that was impossible to tighten properly.
For you eagle eyes out there, yes: there is a funny reverse bend in the spar right aft of the jumpers. It seems that the jumpers need to be much less tight than they are (they're not that tight, really), as the tapered spar is much softer and bendier than a stock Triton telephone pole. I cannot find a way to remove that little reverse bend, so when the mast is unstepped later I'll adjust the tension on the jumpers. If the boat were to be in the water longer than she will this year, I'd deal with the tension now, but see no reason to go up the mast at this juncture. If I were a monkey I'd shimmy up to the spreaders to adjust the turnbuckles, but I'm not one.
The new genoa looked nice, but it was supposed to be a triradial design; instead, I received a standard crosscut. Irritating.
After a couple hours, I returned to the mooring, happy with the boat's performance, but eager to fine-tune some of the control systems.
The new cushions in the interior really finish things off, too.