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Interested in a boat for 2018 TransPac
- Thread starter jamottep
- Start date
Minor thread hijack -- I recently practiced heaving-to as well and didn't care for all that force of the jib sheet against the shroud...seems like a potential problem spot (sheet chafe, point load on the shroud).
Is there something else that people set up when hove-to for extended periods, like a barber hauler or block on the toerail to keep the sheet off the shroud?
Or am I being silly and paranoid?
Is there something else that people set up when hove-to for extended periods, like a barber hauler or block on the toerail to keep the sheet off the shroud?
Or am I being silly and paranoid?
pogen
Sailing canoe "Kūʻaupaʻa"
I think I remember that my boat would sort of heave-to if you first double reef the main, and then cross sheet the #3 or better #4 jib. Otherwise, it would just sail downwind no matter what.
You can put a snatchblock on the rail if you have a rail to lead an auxiliary sheet if your geometry leaves a line rubbing on the shrouds or whatever.
You can put a snatchblock on the rail if you have a rail to lead an auxiliary sheet if your geometry leaves a line rubbing on the shrouds or whatever.
Once upon a time, on an ocean far, far away, sails were constructed of stiff canvas, then later thick Dacron. Chaff was much less a worry; it took a lot longer to chaff through than stretch beyond usefulness - that is if you didn't heave to for weeks on end. Today? I wouldn't consider heaving to with an expensive laminated carbon fiber headsail - unless my life depended on it and I had a backup jib ready to hoist. Times change and so do materials. ;-)
BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
There aren't many boats that are less directionally-stable than a J/80 but even they heave-to pretty well. Here's how we teach it:
1) Look to leeward to make sure there's nothing you're going to slide into while hove-to.
2) Sailing close-hauled, sheet the jib in hard and get it as flat as possible (this doesn't work with a genoa). Ease the main to slow down.
3) Punch the boat up into the wind and chop until it's almost stopped, then complete the tack (leaving the jib tight on the new windward side).
4) Ease the main well-out and as the boat comes to a stop, push the tiller to leeward (45 deg +/-) and tie it off to a stanchion or something.
5) Go pee, have lunch, put on that band-aid or whatever you needed to do.
Sheeting the jib in hard first keeps the boat from oscillating while hove-to, and it will probably solve your chafe problem.
.
1) Look to leeward to make sure there's nothing you're going to slide into while hove-to.
2) Sailing close-hauled, sheet the jib in hard and get it as flat as possible (this doesn't work with a genoa). Ease the main to slow down.
3) Punch the boat up into the wind and chop until it's almost stopped, then complete the tack (leaving the jib tight on the new windward side).
4) Ease the main well-out and as the boat comes to a stop, push the tiller to leeward (45 deg +/-) and tie it off to a stanchion or something.
5) Go pee, have lunch, put on that band-aid or whatever you needed to do.
Sheeting the jib in hard first keeps the boat from oscillating while hove-to, and it will probably solve your chafe problem.
.
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do you have something to lock the tiller in one pos'n?
I used this with both my express 27 and current boat J92s. Tiller Clutch. Works well
you may find, as I found for the Express 27, that if you flatten the main and travel down a little, mainsheet out a little, the boat will jog slowly to windward w/o tacking in a relatively stable manner, that will allow you to drop the jib and put up another. This is described by Andrew Evans, section 5-1. He sails Olson 30.
http://sfbaysss.net/resource/doc/SinglehandedTipsThirdEdition.pdf
I used this with both my express 27 and current boat J92s. Tiller Clutch. Works well
you may find, as I found for the Express 27, that if you flatten the main and travel down a little, mainsheet out a little, the boat will jog slowly to windward w/o tacking in a relatively stable manner, that will allow you to drop the jib and put up another. This is described by Andrew Evans, section 5-1. He sails Olson 30.
http://sfbaysss.net/resource/doc/SinglehandedTipsThirdEdition.pdf
Ah ... A sensitive topic! I was able to heave to: speedometer was reading 0 and it was comfortable. The problem was the point of sail. Andrew Evans says as much:
The boat will settle in a heading directly
opposite the original heading, on a beam
reach.
That wouldn't be desirable in heavy seas, would it?
It's on my list to try again with a smaller jib.
The boat will settle in a heading directly
opposite the original heading, on a beam
reach.
That wouldn't be desirable in heavy seas, would it?
It's on my list to try again with a smaller jib.
Ah, true; underway tasks, biological and otherwise, were easily handled when I was hove-to on a well-balanced little keel-centerboarder with a big genoa in fair weather. 10' swath of jib taut against the shroud didn't bug me much.
A good heave-to really is a handy trick!
But on my Cal I only have a measly 90%, and presume in real weather one has even less foresail up, so it's the sheets instead of the Dacron on the shrouds.
Snatch blocks are now on the shopping list.
Steevee
New member
I would use amalgamating tape for patching hoses, mast boots, etc. No adhesive, just stretch it well and it sticks to itself. Duct tape definitely has its place on the boat, but once the adhesive is wet it becomes compromised. I like Gorilla tape, but careful on wood and thin laminates...it will take part of the wood or laminate with it when you peel it off. Gorilla tape adhesive doesn't do well when wet either. Bottom line is that you'll have to dry the surface before applying any duct tape to it.
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I moved up a little ... I went out Saturday afternoon and came back just past midnight. I thus sailed at night and tried to see how things would be in the cabin and on deck. I deployed the sleeping bag in that tiny pipe berth and staid there a couple of times for 10-15 minutes. It was very noisy! I kept my eyes closed with a timer at 20 minutes, trying to relax. Coming into the harbor the recently acquired search light came in handy to find my way through the black rock jetty against a black night. All said it was 9 hours of sailing and about 50 nm. At some point apparent wind when beating up the coast was over 25 knts and the wind never really went much below 10 knts, contradicting forecasts on predictwind.com and the windy app.
I confirmed that starboard tack is slower with all that starboard weight pulling the boat down. I ended up trying to hang out like on a dinghy. I do need a second reef in the main.
Besides that I didn't do much in terms of maneuvers: I put a reef in the main when I got out of the harbor; I tacked and gybed a few times; I tried the outboard lead car for the jib #3, which is recommended but I couldn't really tell if there was an improvement (right?). With all that AWS when beating I was pondering my options to de-power and reduce heeling and so, a first for me really, I used the backstay adjuster (pulled in to bend mast) and tightened up the jib halyard: I did see a strong benefit from that. And that was good. So far I've considered myself an 80% sailor, meaning that I was happy with getting to 80% of boat speed potential. I'm now venturing into those remaining 20%.
Comparing GPS speed and boat instruments my ego was blown out ... I need to calibrate that thing about 15-20% down.
And a funny thing happened too. I was around the mile marker buoy and it felt like I was hearing voices. It was pitch black then. I popped my head into the cabin to see if it was coming from the VHF: it wasn't. I'm thinking: there they are already, auditory hallucinations. I kept hearing those fainted voices every minute or so. It wasn't sitting right by me so I tacked to go where the wind was coming from and see if it was carrying voices somehow. And indeed two young guys were face down on long boards, paddling back to shore! I asked if they were Ok and the answer was yes. I can't recall if they had wet suits.
I haven't overcome the "bow anxiety". I thought about going down to jib #4 but the bow was being washed over. I was just not dressed for it I'd have been drenched in no time. Once I'm through with Clipper I'll have what I need for that. In the mean time ... I don't know what I'll do.
In good tradition I named the auto-tiller. It's an ST1000+. The ST led to Shanti, so my auto-tiller is an Indian female: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti
That's sure to be a good basis for peaceful hallucinations, I hope.
I was pretty tired after all that, even though technically I didn't do much. I did double my time on the water so there's that to explain the soreness.
I had bought a tiny refurb GoPro to share with family so I played with that a little: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1680463138922117&id=100008753417232&hc_location=ufi
Let's see ... I think that's it.
I confirmed that starboard tack is slower with all that starboard weight pulling the boat down. I ended up trying to hang out like on a dinghy. I do need a second reef in the main.
Besides that I didn't do much in terms of maneuvers: I put a reef in the main when I got out of the harbor; I tacked and gybed a few times; I tried the outboard lead car for the jib #3, which is recommended but I couldn't really tell if there was an improvement (right?). With all that AWS when beating I was pondering my options to de-power and reduce heeling and so, a first for me really, I used the backstay adjuster (pulled in to bend mast) and tightened up the jib halyard: I did see a strong benefit from that. And that was good. So far I've considered myself an 80% sailor, meaning that I was happy with getting to 80% of boat speed potential. I'm now venturing into those remaining 20%.
Comparing GPS speed and boat instruments my ego was blown out ... I need to calibrate that thing about 15-20% down.
And a funny thing happened too. I was around the mile marker buoy and it felt like I was hearing voices. It was pitch black then. I popped my head into the cabin to see if it was coming from the VHF: it wasn't. I'm thinking: there they are already, auditory hallucinations. I kept hearing those fainted voices every minute or so. It wasn't sitting right by me so I tacked to go where the wind was coming from and see if it was carrying voices somehow. And indeed two young guys were face down on long boards, paddling back to shore! I asked if they were Ok and the answer was yes. I can't recall if they had wet suits.
I haven't overcome the "bow anxiety". I thought about going down to jib #4 but the bow was being washed over. I was just not dressed for it I'd have been drenched in no time. Once I'm through with Clipper I'll have what I need for that. In the mean time ... I don't know what I'll do.
In good tradition I named the auto-tiller. It's an ST1000+. The ST led to Shanti, so my auto-tiller is an Indian female: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti
That's sure to be a good basis for peaceful hallucinations, I hope.
I was pretty tired after all that, even though technically I didn't do much. I did double my time on the water so there's that to explain the soreness.
I had bought a tiny refurb GoPro to share with family so I played with that a little: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1680463138922117&id=100008753417232&hc_location=ufi
Let's see ... I think that's it.
I scanned the previous results of the SHTP, in the spirit of finding Olson 30 folks I could interview. The top 3 is all before 1990:
BILL STANGE
CARL NELSON
DAN NEWLAND
Is anyone in contact with any of them? I'd like to interview them and learn from their experience, if possible.
The remaining two for the top 5 are:
ERIC JUMGEMAN
ADRIAN JOHNSON
I found Adrian's web site and left a contact request there. Anyone in touch with Eric?
BILL STANGE
CARL NELSON
DAN NEWLAND
Is anyone in contact with any of them? I'd like to interview them and learn from their experience, if possible.
The remaining two for the top 5 are:
ERIC JUMGEMAN
ADRIAN JOHNSON
I found Adrian's web site and left a contact request there. Anyone in touch with Eric?
svShearwater
Shearwater & Spadefoot
Bill Stange lives up near Seattle and races regularly. He and his wife delivered our J/120 to Puget Sound after Pac Cup 2014.
Try contacting him at mail 2 bill 2001 at yahoo dot com.
Try contacting him at mail 2 bill 2001 at yahoo dot com.
Wow cool and thanks for sharing! I assumed no space, dot or underscore for the first part of the email address.
If anyone's interested ... here is the list of questions I've put together ... I don't mind suggestions ... or if you'd like to share with a previous Olson 30 top dog ...
It's the adventure of a life time!
1. What allowed you to enjoy the experience?
2. What did you do to the boat that made things great for you? Disco ball?
3. What did you do to yourself (food, drinks, mediation, clothing, etc.) to make the experience great for you?
4. What would you have done differently with the boat or yourself to make your experience enjoyable?
It's a race too!
1. What was your race strategy?
2. How did that work out for you and what would you have done different?
3. What was your sleep plan? How well were you able to adhere to it? Did you change it under way? Did you have a lot of experience with sleep deprivation?
4. What are the top three things that allowed you to do so well in the race?
Routing
1. How did you route? Software? Gut feeling? Something else?
2. Where did you get your forecast from (deck observations, GRIB, weatherfax, etc)? How did it help chose the best route?
3. How important was this to your success?
Specific questions
1. How much steering did you do yourself (vs auto-pilot)? On a 0 to 10 scale how would you rate yourself as helmsman?
2. What did you use as auto-pilot? How well did he do compared to you? Try to be objective; for example: I would maintain a velocity made good of 7 kts and the auto-pilot 8 (just kidding).
3. What was your sail management plan?
3.1. Did you fly spinnakers? Which ones? How often?
3.2. How do you gybe your spinnaker single handed?
3.3. How many reefs in your main?
3.4. Bolt rope or slugs on the main?
3.5. Foil or hanks on the jibs?
4. Did you steer to your trim or trim to your heading? In other words for an Olson 30 does it make more sense to trim the sails and then steer to the trim, or instead, let the auto-pilot steer and focus on sail trim?
5. What top two trimming devices did you use most for each sail (main, jib, spinnaker)?
6. What's your preferred sail plan on the Olson 30?
Energy management
1. Where did you invest most of your energy?
2. What allowed you to recover?
3. If you got into a lull what got you out?
Breakage
1. What broke and how did you repair it?
2. What could have broken but didn't because of the steps you took when preparing your boat?
Anything else?
Continuing to chronicle my adventures ... I did go out last Thursday, 1 reef in the main and jib #4. The boat was more balanced going upwind. But the auto-tiller wouldn't start when I plugged it in so that's going to have to be addressed (the power wiring is good). I'm not sure Shanti liked her new name ... I was lucky to have a whale breach multiple times next to me. It went up to 25 kts TWS. Gybing needs some improvement in releasing the main sheet when the boom comes across; it tends to get stuck when I operate the tiller! No round up though. Things got a little hairy when I came back into the marina, but nothing a few friendly helpers couldn't take care of ... thanks to Chris and Mike then! Getting over 10 kts was really cool (this time for good as confirmed with the GPS!). I wonder at what speed the boat planes (I read it does).
I dropped the laminate main to have another reef added and will do the same to Dacron main (Ullman Sails in SC). David confirmed the jib #4 is an original and thought he built it himself way back when ...
Today I went to the boat but didn't sail. I did a few small projects. The backstay adjuster is a 6:1 block/tackle and it sucks in twists. I tried to remove all the kinks today and I'll see if it holds. I'm not sure I like the setup. The Cunningham setup puzzle is resolved so that's good ... I tried to do a whip lock on a rope (boooh me ... I'm certainly not yet handy with all that stuff). I played with the hatch boards and tried to figure how they can be secured; I think I've got that figured out. And I think I also have the jacklines stuff resolved by slipping them through a shackle attached to the toe rail (which is what the previous owner did).
Tomorrow's the last day of my beginner spinnaker class ... After that I'll be certified to go crazy ... Monday to Thursday I have more ASA 101 teaching. I hope to sail next Saturday.
I'm not sure about you guys but I have a real problem calling my boat ... my boat. I mean nothing about is mine. True the pink slip is in my name but all the rest is someone else's handy work. Nothing is "mine". I feel like I'm just a passenger and one day the boat will switch hands again ... for yet another passenger. I hope to treat her well ...
I dropped the laminate main to have another reef added and will do the same to Dacron main (Ullman Sails in SC). David confirmed the jib #4 is an original and thought he built it himself way back when ...
Today I went to the boat but didn't sail. I did a few small projects. The backstay adjuster is a 6:1 block/tackle and it sucks in twists. I tried to remove all the kinks today and I'll see if it holds. I'm not sure I like the setup. The Cunningham setup puzzle is resolved so that's good ... I tried to do a whip lock on a rope (boooh me ... I'm certainly not yet handy with all that stuff). I played with the hatch boards and tried to figure how they can be secured; I think I've got that figured out. And I think I also have the jacklines stuff resolved by slipping them through a shackle attached to the toe rail (which is what the previous owner did).
Tomorrow's the last day of my beginner spinnaker class ... After that I'll be certified to go crazy ... Monday to Thursday I have more ASA 101 teaching. I hope to sail next Saturday.
I'm not sure about you guys but I have a real problem calling my boat ... my boat. I mean nothing about is mine. True the pink slip is in my name but all the rest is someone else's handy work. Nothing is "mine". I feel like I'm just a passenger and one day the boat will switch hands again ... for yet another passenger. I hope to treat her well ...
Spinnaker class cancelled ... So out again this afternoon ... still up to 25 kts ... better gybes (i.e. no locking the main sheet). But ... top batten end cap broken. That top batten was looking suspicious before. I wonder what caused the breakage. Since my other mainsail is in the shop for another reef and I'm without a mainsail now ... I may sail with job only then ... Or the other mainsail will come out of the shop in time ...
Also I found a solution to those jib sheets getting overwraps all the time when tacking. I just leave them on the self tailing winch on both sides and bring in the jib super fast while going through the eye of the wind. This is only a problem in high winds, not sure why ...
I've been looking at the singlehanded Farallones and I think I'll have to pass again ... I have something planned that evening and getting the boat to SF remains a puzzle ...
A good night sleep ...
Also I found a solution to those jib sheets getting overwraps all the time when tacking. I just leave them on the self tailing winch on both sides and bring in the jib super fast while going through the eye of the wind. This is only a problem in high winds, not sure why ...
I've been looking at the singlehanded Farallones and I think I'll have to pass again ... I have something planned that evening and getting the boat to SF remains a puzzle ...
A good night sleep ...
I was teaching ASA 101 this past week so I only got out one day this week. Poor me ...
A few things happened, presenting learning opportunities. The auto-tiller is out to Raymarine for repair. A buddy of the sailing school asked to join me on a ride last Saturday and I agreed as he'd help me being the auto-tiller while I fly the spinnaker, and his buddy could be useful too. And we did just that and more.
Learning opportunities? I did get the spinnaker up (.75) and we did jibe the pole (main first) once. It's when I took it down that a couple of things happened. I didn't instruct one of the guys to release the after guy after grabbing the sheet and pulling the clew in. At that point I had already released the halyard so the spinnaker went into the water. I frantically pulled it back in and that was that. I dried it today and it looked fine albeit a little salty and dirty. With all the excitement I didn't think much of the halyard, which I was going to pay a price for later.
I dropped the two guys and went back sailing. I returned around 11 pm, after a good 3 hours in the dark. Without an auto-tiller I would sail upwind to do jobs on the boat, with the tiller lashed in place. I hit a wind hole again. I find it very frustrating to see everyone sailing happily and me bobbing around. Anyways the wind came back and I tried a few things.
I did a head sail change, going from #3 to #2, during daylight. Trying to hoist the second head sail on the spinnaker halyard is when I discovered it was twisted at the top. So instead of peeling the new head sail I dropped the #3 and switched. That was an interesting little dance as I had to drop the partially hoisted #2, secure it down and tack as I now was getting a little close to land. I figured out the halyard when I returned to the marina. With the #2 up I tried poling it out, wing on wing. It was light wind at that point and I don't think I saw much of a gain. Night came and somehow wind picked up. I got concerned that my #2 would be too much so I changed head sail again. I spent the whole day with one reef.
I wanted to use the newly added second reef but I hadn't rigged it. I figured I'd do it as a bouncy job but safely in the cockpit (I'm 6'6"). I couldn't complete the job because the reef line's shackle was too big to go through the reef clew and the ring holding the shackle pin in place had been soldered in place. I could have done this differently but I chose to put the sail back up and moved on.
When I decided to get back to the marina the wind was slowly dying so right before getting to the jetty I turned around and proceeded to hoist the full main, only to discover that I couldn't. The sail wouldn't go up. After further inspection the bolt rope had bulged up and wasn't moving through the gate anymore. I had to take the sail down and massage the bolt rope so I could I raise it.
Not an uneventful day but all good. I think I like this ...
I brought the 3 sails back home (spinnaker, #3, #2) and dried all 3 of them. I replaced a few tell tales, applied SailKote to the bolt rope of the #2, and noticed the need for a few repairs on the jibs.
So, I can't say that I mastered the bow anxiety because there wasn't much of a seaway when I did my head sail changes but it is progress. I still don't have proper offshore attire too ... Anyone has an old bib for a tall dude rusting away (the bib not the dude), send me way!
A few things happened, presenting learning opportunities. The auto-tiller is out to Raymarine for repair. A buddy of the sailing school asked to join me on a ride last Saturday and I agreed as he'd help me being the auto-tiller while I fly the spinnaker, and his buddy could be useful too. And we did just that and more.
Learning opportunities? I did get the spinnaker up (.75) and we did jibe the pole (main first) once. It's when I took it down that a couple of things happened. I didn't instruct one of the guys to release the after guy after grabbing the sheet and pulling the clew in. At that point I had already released the halyard so the spinnaker went into the water. I frantically pulled it back in and that was that. I dried it today and it looked fine albeit a little salty and dirty. With all the excitement I didn't think much of the halyard, which I was going to pay a price for later.
I dropped the two guys and went back sailing. I returned around 11 pm, after a good 3 hours in the dark. Without an auto-tiller I would sail upwind to do jobs on the boat, with the tiller lashed in place. I hit a wind hole again. I find it very frustrating to see everyone sailing happily and me bobbing around. Anyways the wind came back and I tried a few things.
I did a head sail change, going from #3 to #2, during daylight. Trying to hoist the second head sail on the spinnaker halyard is when I discovered it was twisted at the top. So instead of peeling the new head sail I dropped the #3 and switched. That was an interesting little dance as I had to drop the partially hoisted #2, secure it down and tack as I now was getting a little close to land. I figured out the halyard when I returned to the marina. With the #2 up I tried poling it out, wing on wing. It was light wind at that point and I don't think I saw much of a gain. Night came and somehow wind picked up. I got concerned that my #2 would be too much so I changed head sail again. I spent the whole day with one reef.
I wanted to use the newly added second reef but I hadn't rigged it. I figured I'd do it as a bouncy job but safely in the cockpit (I'm 6'6"). I couldn't complete the job because the reef line's shackle was too big to go through the reef clew and the ring holding the shackle pin in place had been soldered in place. I could have done this differently but I chose to put the sail back up and moved on.
When I decided to get back to the marina the wind was slowly dying so right before getting to the jetty I turned around and proceeded to hoist the full main, only to discover that I couldn't. The sail wouldn't go up. After further inspection the bolt rope had bulged up and wasn't moving through the gate anymore. I had to take the sail down and massage the bolt rope so I could I raise it.
Not an uneventful day but all good. I think I like this ...
I brought the 3 sails back home (spinnaker, #3, #2) and dried all 3 of them. I replaced a few tell tales, applied SailKote to the bolt rope of the #2, and noticed the need for a few repairs on the jibs.
So, I can't say that I mastered the bow anxiety because there wasn't much of a seaway when I did my head sail changes but it is progress. I still don't have proper offshore attire too ... Anyone has an old bib for a tall dude rusting away (the bib not the dude), send me way!
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Something else that happened last time when I swapped the halyard ... I was holding on to it, thinking "I've got you, I won't let you go" and .... pooof ... it went ... swinging outside the boat. Good thing I have long arms ...
I did a few things at the boat today (no sailing):
1. Picked up the mainsail with the added reef and put it on the boat, rigged the reef line. Because of the shackle setup I took the reef line completely out the boom and fed it back in. To do so I sewed a bit of twine at the end, after trying 2 other things first ... We'll see if all was rigged properly when I hoist the main the next time I go sailing.
2. Sprayed WD40 on all often used shackles;
3. Sprayed SailKote in the mast/boom track.
And I got a call from Raymarine saying that all appears ok with my auto-tiller. I did open it up before sending it and found nothing obvious; it could be that "fixed" something. I'd hate for this to be a wiring problem on the boat. In any case I went for a quick sail with Brian B yesterday, with the intent of testing Pelagic auto-pilot. In the end we didn't do much testing but had good fun on his boat. I splurged for one as it was also recommended to me by Bruce at the SS school in RC.
The adventure continues ...
I did a few things at the boat today (no sailing):
1. Picked up the mainsail with the added reef and put it on the boat, rigged the reef line. Because of the shackle setup I took the reef line completely out the boom and fed it back in. To do so I sewed a bit of twine at the end, after trying 2 other things first ... We'll see if all was rigged properly when I hoist the main the next time I go sailing.
2. Sprayed WD40 on all often used shackles;
3. Sprayed SailKote in the mast/boom track.
And I got a call from Raymarine saying that all appears ok with my auto-tiller. I did open it up before sending it and found nothing obvious; it could be that "fixed" something. I'd hate for this to be a wiring problem on the boat. In any case I went for a quick sail with Brian B yesterday, with the intent of testing Pelagic auto-pilot. In the end we didn't do much testing but had good fun on his boat. I splurged for one as it was also recommended to me by Bruce at the SS school in RC.
The adventure continues ...