New Boat 4 Sled

[AlanH]

The balanced lug rig is a good rig. Now, the way I see it, there's a community of "alternative" boat nuts who just hate bermudan rigs and love lugs. They're gotten so hardnosed about it that now there's a reverse snobbery thing going on. .... to be in the cool peoples club, your boat HAS to have a lug rig of some kind. A distant second place which will leave you with associated club membership status is a sprit rig,but anything that looks bermudan is just bad, bad, bad.

Once, before I bought the S2 7.9, I was down at the Alameda Marina, at the end of the small boat dock, the dock farthest west. Some homeless guy had stripped the Cal 20 that he was living on of everything metal..mast, winches, blocks, gudgeons...mast base... jib tracks, EVERYTHING, and cut it loose in the Estuary. It had drifted over to the Alameda Marina, where a tenant had kept it from beating up on some boats there, and tied it off to the end of the dock.

I seriously considered picking it up...getting an aluminum tube (3-inch diameter straight tube, 20 feet long is about $80 at Allan Steel in Redwood City) and turning a mast base and masthead fitting out of hard maple, on a wood lathe. A few more pieces of wood, and a cut-down secondhand mainsail....some old blocks...make a new rudder out of a 2 x 12 and voila...I'm "big boat" sailing again for cheap.

I didn't do it, but there are days.....

 

[AlanH]

If someone wanted to make a relatively simple Oughtred design that has a flat bottom so that it beaches relatively easily, the Skerrieskiff 15 and 17 are very good candidates. The designs were put together so that high school shop classes could build them.

the skerrieskiff is primarily intended for rowing, but the plans make allowances for a daggerboard.

 

[sleddog]

Heads Up.

There's an Olson 29 in Olympia, WA For Sale in the classifieds. My thinking is there is no better boat and bang for the buck for an experienced sailor to sail in the SHTP and vie for both 1st to Finish, and Overall prizes. The Olson 29 is an improved O-30, faster and more sea kindly by a little and a lot. It would be a good catch for the right person.

 

[sleddog]

If you've ever sailed on Bill Lee's MERLIN, or just want to attend a fun, once-in-a-lifetime event, tomorrow afternoon at Santa Cruz Harbor MERLIN is being recommissioned after a long absence to the Great Lakes. MERLIN is legend, and in attendance tomorrow will be sailing legends, much of Santa Cruz's sailing and boat building community, as well as MERLIN's original 1977 Transpac crew when they set the elapsed time record that stood for 20 years.



MERLIN stories will be rife. Remember when MERLIN, under Dave Wahle's command, powered down Santa Cruz Harbor in reverse at 8 knots, spun on a dime as the closed Entrance, and motored back to her slip, again full speed in reverse, to satisfy the Transpac Race inspector's motoring requirement? The onboard inspector from S.Cal fled in terror and was not seen again.

Here is the proposed schedule:
Sunday, 2/26/17

1:00 - Move Merlin to the D dock end tie on West Side from Harbor Marine slip on East Side. - Everyone is welcome.

3:00 - Party starts - Hosted keg beer and wine on MERLIN.

4:00 - Ceremony starts, Chuck Hawley, Karen Trap, Bill Burr.
If the size of the crowd is large, we may do some of the presentation at Aldo’s

4:30 - Hors d’oeuvres at Aldos - No host beer and wine too

Weather looks to be sunny, but cool and possibly breezy. Bring warm clothes, and be sure to ask any MERLIN crew member to describe the famous "Cosmic Flush," and the "Cosmic Squeeze."

Bring your favorite MERLIN stories, and Get Licked By MERLIN.



Evening Trivia:Was MERLIN named for

A) the most fascinating figure in Welsh mythology and Arthurian legend: the great wizard, prophet and adviser to several kings, including King Arthur.

or B): a small, fierce falcon bird of prey of great speed.

or C): the legendary 12 cylinder Rolls Royce engine that powered the Spitfire and Mustang P-51 fighter jets, as well as many other aircraft. The Merlin could develop 1,620 horse power and pull the P-51, a prop plane, above 440 mph. You can hear the distinctive Merlin engine approaching from several miles away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...&feature=iv&src_vid=P2nlGN6aS8g&v=Y5rGyP6SSYM

or D) all of the above

 

[Wylieguy]

A
All of the above,however. A) As a retired English Prof. I recuse myself. B) As the father of a raptor walk leader I recuse myself. C) As a RC boat sailor who sailed against a WWII Spitfire pilot on the Kensington Palace's Round Pond and listened to some wonderful stories, I recuse myself.

The "Rolls Royce 'Merlin'" that powered P-51s presents a controversy. The engine was build under license by Packard in the U.S. The Brits bristle when they hear about the Packard engines or "Packard Merlin" engines used in P-51s. No matter what, though, the RR Merlin turned a mediocre fighter design into perhaps the best piston-driven fighter plane of all time.

 

[sleddog]

WYLIEGUY:
Spot on. Despite recusing yourself, you've correctly answered for what MERLIN was named "All of the above."... Chicken dinner winner will have to be a chicken pot pie for the moment. But come on down for a visit anytime.

Here's an undated photo of Bill Lee in his Merlin Wizard get up, which he wore to launchings of his Santa Cruz built boats.

 

[Dazzler]

Sled: Very tempting to be there for the MERLIN party. I was at Moss Landing for the original launch party 40 years ago. I suspect today's date was selected to mark that 40 year anniversary. I recall that at the original launch party my daughter, not yet 2 years old, enjoyed exploring MERLIN. Best wishes for a fine day with lots of good stories.

 

[sleddog]

Sled: Very tempting to be there for the MERLIN party. I was at Moss Landing for the original launch party 40 years ago. I suspect today's date was selected to mark that 40 year anniversary. I recall that at the original launch party my daughter, not yet 2 years old, enjoyed exploring MERLIN. Best wishes for a fine day with lots of good stories.

A sunny afternoon for MERLIN's 40th Birthday celebration. Many familiar faces among the 150 paying homage, with the docks filled, tours below, and the cockpit filled with smiles and mandolin music. Much emotion too, realizing we are all 40 years down the road. Yay, MERLIN, bringing us together again.





Bill and Lu Lee (Bill in his red 1977 Transpac crew shirt)


Surviving 6 crew from MERLIN's 1977 Transpac record run.


(left to right) Don Snyder (navigated by celestial), Phil Vandenberg (cosmic flushed), Bill Lee, Bos'n Dave Wahle, Jack Halterman, and Bobbo Larson. RIP Harvey Kilpatrick and Rob Wade.

 

[sleddog]

For a fun and informative, real time sailing adventure, one could not do better than follow Rob aboard his NM-45 TIGER BEETLE as he makes his way south along the Pacific Coast. Rob calls it as it is, and writes and photographs with brevity and clarity that is a pleasure to follow.

Currently TIGER BEETLE is approaching offshore Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja. Rob will bypass Cabo enroute to Banderas Bay, where he hopes to pick up a replacement dinghy outboard for the one that swallowed a lot of sand in a dinghy upset at Bahia Santa Maria.

Rob's adventures are never boring, and he also helps out other cruisers by explaining in clear to understand technical advice.

Rob couldn't understand why his autopilot stopped working one windy night along Baja and TIGER BEETLE went into a rounddown after having the cockpit pooped by a breaking whitecap .....we've all been there, done that. However the reason BEETLE's steeriing locked up was not the autopilot's fault. Rather, a soggy bean bag had been dislodged and repositioned hard against the wheel, preventing movement.

Join Rob aboard TIGER BEETLE for some singlehanded sailing fun. https://tbeetle.wordpress.com/

 

[hodgmo]

...Join Rob aboard TIGER BEETLE for some singlehanded sailing fun. https://tbeetle.wordpress.com/

Thanks for the tip, it's a great read!

 

[sleddog]

TIGER BEETLE is currently motoring in light wind, passing the Tres Marias Islands to port and closing on landfall near Punta Mita, at the entrance to Banderas Bay, on mainland Mexico.

Rob was asked by a curious reader, "how far can the Beetle go on a full tank of fuel?" I don't know about Rob. But from experience I'd say "it depends." Depends on how hard you work at it, what your best cruising RPM is, and if there's any wind to assist." My cruising range on WILDFLOWER, with it's single cylinder Yanmar 1GM10 diesel, a 14 gallon tank, and two 5 gal. jerry jugs, was not unlimited. But sometimes felt like it.

After miles of voyaging, I found WILDFLOWER's most economical fuel consumption was a measely .18 gal/hour, equivalent to about a pint and half/hour at 2,200 RPM at about 5 knots boat speed. This worked out to about 133 hours of motoring, 5.5 days, and 667 miles.

But as we are reminded, "But wait, there's more!" Usually when motoring, there's a bit of wind. It doesn't take much wind to make more wind. And with more wind, you can make more wind yet, and more speed, increasing range dramatically. This is called motor sailing, something we are all familiar with.

Unless flat calm and rolly seas, the best motor sailing is achieved by keeping the sails up and trimmed to the apparent wind. Making apparent wind out of almost imperceptible true wind is the key. Sometimes it requires an adjustment of course and throttle to get the sails pulling at their best, usually to a close or beam reach (AWA= 50-90 degrees.)

Here's an example: In February, 1987, WILDFLOWER was sailing south from Agua Verde towards Isla Partida in the Sea of Cortez. The early morning wind was light drainage from offshore, about 3-4 knots, just enough to wrinkle the water. On course, without the motor, the wind was well aft of abeam and boat speed was about 1.5 knots.

I cranked up the engine on slow ahead, about 1,200 RPM, and now with motor assist, the apparent wind was drawn abeam. The main and jib began pulling, and boat speed doubled, to between 3-4 knots. This was satisfying. But I wanted to see what was possible. Continuing to motor, I set the spinnaker and dropped the jib. With the pole on the headstay and the spinnaker trimmed, the boat speed went to 5 knots. This was better. But there was yet more potential.

I slowly increased the engine revs, and trimmed the spinnaker sheet as the apparent wind went further forward yet. Now the apparent wind angle (AWA) was 75 degrees, the boat speed was 6 knots at 1,800 RPM, and the pull of the spinnaker began to heel the boat. Kwell.

One last try. With the autopilot steering, I nudged up the throttle to 2,200 RPM (max was 3,400). The apparent wind went further ahead yet, to about 50 degrees AWA, and unbelievably we were motorsailing at nearly 7 knots with a 27 foot sloop of 21.5' waterline, displacing 6,500 pounds, in wind that was barely wrinkling the aqua blue water. WILDFLOWER heeled to near 15 degrees and the spinnaker pulled like harnessed pair of Norwegian Fjords.

The point being, motoring in light wind can be a fun exercise in apparent wind and sail trim, sometimes doubling, even tripling boat speed and range.

 

[sleddog]

It was a dark and stormy night. There was a sharp pop and this writer fell to the ground.

Actually, it was broad daylight, at 3:30 pm in the afternoon, on Marnell St. The weather was fine. My leg wasn't.

We've all broken rope for one reason or another: overload, chafe, halyard, bad lead, towline, kitestring.

The audible pop I heard was the parting of my Achilles tendon, largest and strongest tendon in the body, capable of bearing up to 10x body weight.

I'd faintly heard of the Achilles tendon when I ruptured the first one in my right calf, 41 years ago, playing basketball during a lunch break while building boats at Tom Wylie Design in Alameda. It took three doctors a week to diagnose what was initially thought to be a badly sprained ankle.

Recently, my left leg Achilles parted while pushing a small RV trailer from the street into the driveway. Operator error. Fortunately, my foot surgeon was nearby and available, and after the Thompson Test* to confirm the rupture diagnosis, surgical repair was scheduled for the next day. 24 hours later the two halves of the tendon had been surgically rejoined with small diameter wire-rope, leaving a 5" vertical scar and stitches as evidence.

Hobbling on crutches, navigating a knee scooter, on hands and knees up stairs, non-weight bearing, is not my strong point. The knee scooter is especially devilish, with all the stability and steering subtlety of an IOR lead dog spinnakering in good breeze.



My splint has been replaced by a black plastic orthopedic boot. It's a beauty, big enough for a PHRF rating and with enough tabs, Velcro, straps, and stiffness to satisfy even RAGTIME's quest for rig improvement.

They got pills for about everything. But for patience, not so much.

Carry on.

* Thompson Test: Lying on your tummy, the doctor squeezes your leg calf. When the Achilles tendon is intact, the ankle and foot will flex. When the ankle and foot do not flex, a complete tear of the Achilles tendon is the culprit.

 

[BobJ]

So sorry to hear, Sled!

You were pushing a trailer into the driveway from the street? "A small RV trailer." Yeah, well they have these things called "tow vehicles."

I can't say much. A few years ago I decided to do something similar with my FJ on its trailer. I'd had to beg the trailer shop to install a hitch on my MG. "Those cars can't tow trailers!" he said. He was right and there were some adventures, even towing a measly FJ. But anyway, this particular day I decided I would hand-push the FJ and trailer from the upper driveway to the lower driveway - we lived on a hill. By the time I reached the lower driveway the rig had some momentum. Holding onto the hitch, I started to turn the trailer into the driveway and centrifugal force took over. Like the outside kid on a playground spinner I went flying. Fortunately the boat didn't get hurt.

Towing a boat with an MG - more to come.

 

[BobJ]

The coolest thing about owning a small, trailerable sailboat is being able to sail on the lakes and reservoirs around here. There are many options. One that's not as well-known is Lake Pillsbury. Pillsbury is best described as "rustic," being a bit north of "Wild Bill Place" and "Three Crossing." It has a marina that can handle maybe six boats and when I last towed the FJ up there, it was accessed by a dirt road named simply "M6."

I and a group of friends had a grand time camping and sailing, until the time came to haul the boat and drive back down the hill. Towing the FJ - with the MG. If you've owned an MG you know the brakes are adequate to stop the car most of the time. There were no brakes on the trailer. Coming down the hill, all went okay until the pads got too warm. I could still slow down quite a bit if I stood on the brake pedal while pulling hard on the emergency brake. Things were getting pretty dicey by the time M6 teed into Highway 20 above Lake Mendocino.

Being a Sunday afternoon, Highway 20 was busy with campers, boats, etc. heading north out of Clear Lake. But I was about to turn onto it, towing a boat, without benefit of stopping first. Like a Cecil B. Demille movie, the "sea" of vehicles parted and I skidded through the turn onto Highway 20 like a boss.

Philpott names her cars - her beemer is "Miss Lucy." My MG was named "Cholmondeley." I loved that car.

 

[Intermission]

If you've owned an MG you know the brakes are adequate to stop the car most of the time. There were no brakes on the trailer. Coming down the hill, all went okay until the pads got too warm. I could still slow down quite a bit if I stood on the brake pedal while pulling hard on the emergency brake. Things were getting pretty dicey by the time M6 teed into Highway 20 above Lake Mendocino.

Ever try downshifting?

 

[BobJ]

Of course - they didn't offer automatic transmissions. But at some point the trailer starts pushing the car.

 

[sleddog]

If you haven't seen Sir Anthony Hopkins in the true story film The Worlds Fastest Indian, I recommend it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bu9dGRQvJY

BobJ and his trailer out-of-control story reminded me of "The Worlds Fastest Olson 30."

Eric Thomas had recently arrived in Alameda from his home in Duluth, Minnesota, with his Olson 30 POLAR BEAR in tow behind his pickup. Eric was entered in the 2008 Singlehanded Transpac, and we were sitting together at the send-off luncheon at CYC. I asked Eric how his non-stop drive West went, towing the boat...

Eric is a quiet sort of guy, not one to brag. His story was epic Seems Eric was napping in back while his crew was driving the rig. Eric awoke to the sound of the truck engine winding out. He couldn't believe his eyes: they were crossing some huge salt flat in the middle of no-where.

Seems his crew had been a bit bored, and while driving I-80 in NW Utah had came upon the turn-off for Bonneville Salt Flats, where land speed record attempts are run. Without Eric awakening, the crew entered the Speedway and was asked his intent. His reply "I just want to drive on the salt flats."

No sooner said than done. Eric awoke to find his pick-up, with POLAR BEAR in tow, racing through the speed traps at nearly 100 mph. Verified by electronic timing, as on exit, they were told by Bonneville officials they had set the speed record for the fastest pickup truck with boat in tow.

This run confirmed Eric as a true lifetime Bugliter even though he usually sails on fresh water near Duluth, MN.
Eric gave his well prepped O-30 POLAR BEAR one fine ride in the 2008 SHTP, and was first-to-finish, second overall.

Eric and POLAR BEAR were immortalized on the cover of Lat-38, showing how to "hang 10" at the Hanalei finish while planing under spinnaker. POLAR BEAR's SHTP success made them celebrities at the Minnesota State Fair where a full scale POLAR BEAR was carved out of butter, becoming the only O30 to melt in the heat of a Minnesota September afternoon.

 

[islandplanet]

I scooped up the Scampi 30 mentioned earlier in this thread. While it certainly needs some attention, it was too good a deal to pass up. The salt water in the bilge is from the stuffing box. Only 2 thru-hulls plus transducer. Diesel runs well and the Ballenger double spreader rig is due for new wire but in good shape otherwise. Even has a decent dodger. Lots of sails with it but haven't had a chance to inspect. Spinnaker staysail and a blooper are sails we don't see too often. Should be a lot of fun once things are sorted.

 

[sleddog]

I scooped up the Scampi 30 mentioned earlier in this thread. While it certainly needs some attention, it was too good a deal to pass up. Should be a lot of fun once things are sorted.

Congrats!!!!!
I can't remember what prop was included. But a folding prop is worth a half knot in sailing speed over a solid prop.
~sleddog

 

[islandplanet]

Congrats!!!!!
I can't remember what prop was included. But a folding prop is worth a half knot in sailing speed over a solid prop.
~sleddog

Thanks.
It's a Martec 2-blade folder.
I was pleasantly surprised with the boat for that price.