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New Boat 4 Sled
- Thread starter sleddog
- Start date
WBChristie
Member
Hi Sled, please check your PM's
I was recently queried by a friend, a certifiable Westsail 32 owner, whether I thought he could sail his boat at 4.2 knots BS in 4.2 knots AWS at 48 degrees AWA, with the verifiable true wind nearly dead aft at 3 knots. Before I publicly answer, I'd like to take a vote: could he or couldn't he? Just type yes or no below. I should add I just won $20 of Macapuno Icecream which would go to defraying your brain warming guess work.
Meanwhile, at Catalina, we recently witnessed a Catalina 36 under power, transiting from Howlands Cove to Emerald, T-bone a mis-charted rock pinnacle 3 feet underwater in 25 feet of dark blue water, 100 feet from the nearest shore How did we know? Our mooring for the Cal-40 RADIANT was only 250 feet inshore from the incident and the crash was quite audible.
Catalina 36's must be stout. The fellow motored off, weaving as he went. We rowed out to investigate the rock, but due to urchins, I refrained from standing on the pinnacle for a picture.
Let it rain!
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Howard Spruit
Member
"Just type yes or no below. I should add I just won $20 of Macapuno Icecream which would go to defraying your brain warming guess work."
YES!
???
YES!
???
One curious YES! vote by a 505 dinghy, Moore 24, and multihull designer of repute telling us it is possible for a 28' LWL, 10 ton, monohull to sail 1.4 times the speed of the wind in 3 knots of wind. Hmmm. Even the AC boats can't do that without being towed. Any other opinions?
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Sorry I was unable to be at RYC yesterday for pioneer and sailing legend Jocelyn Nash's tribute and sendoff. Here is a brief description from one of her many admirers:
"Joc got a very sweet and proper sendoff today. The Nash family really rocked it and I saw a side of Gordie Jr that I have never seen before, and truly love. He and Ruth took the little tugboat that he built out and anchored not far outside the Richmond Channel. He had built a small paper boat that he put Joc's ashes in, set it on fire and let it off the stern on a fishing line. The rest of the many boats that came out circled them, throwing flowers into the water. It was moving and sweet. We had a boatload of Dewitts and some other friends.
Back at the club, the tributes poured out for three hours and were moving, funny, and so Joc !
I was asked to speak and the first thing I asked was how many people in the room had worked at DeWitt sails, It seemed like half the room raised their hand- so fun ! It was a festival of old friendships- some I hadn't seen in many years, like Hank Jotz.
Joc had a great run, and lived life her way. One of my all time mentors": Milly Biller
"Joc got a very sweet and proper sendoff today. The Nash family really rocked it and I saw a side of Gordie Jr that I have never seen before, and truly love. He and Ruth took the little tugboat that he built out and anchored not far outside the Richmond Channel. He had built a small paper boat that he put Joc's ashes in, set it on fire and let it off the stern on a fishing line. The rest of the many boats that came out circled them, throwing flowers into the water. It was moving and sweet. We had a boatload of Dewitts and some other friends.
Back at the club, the tributes poured out for three hours and were moving, funny, and so Joc !
I was asked to speak and the first thing I asked was how many people in the room had worked at DeWitt sails, It seemed like half the room raised their hand- so fun ! It was a festival of old friendships- some I hadn't seen in many years, like Hank Jotz.
Joc had a great run, and lived life her way. One of my all time mentors": Milly Biller
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BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
I'd ask Randy. He's the only Westsail 32 owner I've met who is realistic about the boat's performance and isn't trying to defend it.
I've not seen Capt. Randy post here. He's probably baking biscuits in his well appointed galley. Speaking of Westsails, I have friends who spent years prepping for their world cruise. On the second night after leaving Santa Cruz, they were run down north of Pt. Conception. The boat was dismasted and holed, but managed to stay afloat while being towed to Santa Barbara. Traumatized..End of cruise...The couple spent considerable money hiring an investigator and lawyer to locate who left the blue stripe on their Westsail hulk. The blue ship with rigging on its anchor was found in San Francisco and a lawsuit filed. The ship owner maintained the Westsail masthead light was inoperative as the tricolor was found smashed on deck. They finally settled for the cost of a bare boat, something like $20K...
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Intermission
Member
Thanks, INTERMISSION. 2 yays, 2 nays, and one non-committal. OK, here's what we do in event of a tie. We wait until Monday for the definitive answer to the question to be posted, in hopes maybe some Westsail 32 owners at their rendezvous in Owl Harbor will chime in with their opinion. And we know they are universally opinionated, passionate, and enjoy cooking aboard.
I'd say ... Maybe theoretically but in real life conditions? You'd need perfect sea conditions, great oversized sails, intent steering (light winds are never steady), a super slick bottom, all dead weight removed but weight to leeward, no rocking the boat. Also, gaining momentum when heavy in light wind is not easy (I think as I've not handled heavy boats personally). And then very well calibrated instruments are needed to even be sure that what they tell you is in fact true ...
I'd say no.
I'd say no.
3 Nays....But, PJ, what if all your exacting theoretical requirements were not hypothetical? Standby..All will be revealed regarding my friend's conundrum getting his Westsail "up to speed."
Which reminds me, aeronautical engineers said a bee could never fly. We just watched a wonderful documentary on the PBS Nature platform entitled "My Garden of a Thousand Bees." Fun and revelatory. Recommended.
https://www.pbs.org/video/my-garden-of-a-thousand-bees-trjhzt/
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I mean, just the idea of a steady 3 kts breeze seems implausible. There'd be gusts and lulls, wind shifts. I found this interesting:
https://youtu.be/jyQwgBAaBag
https://youtu.be/jyQwgBAaBag
WBChristie
Member
My vote is Yes! ……surprise!
And a comment about weight… once moving, weight is your friend in these conditions.
And a comment about weight… once moving, weight is your friend in these conditions.
captleasure
Member
For those of you not familiar with the Bakerius Propanious Ovenious theorem that adds additional insight into this discussion; The velocity of the heated gas spread across any number of whole grains has the affect of creating not only a warm cabin environment, but also a delicious baked good. The generated heat then in turn creates an unwind draft from the cabin down below, thus filling the mainsail with added camber and draft, thereby creating speed and momentum.
So, my vote is YES!
So, my vote is YES!