Can I sail with her???

[DeValency]

Steadysail isn’t designed for sailing, nor a trawler. It can, in ideal conditions and broad reach add a nm or save some fuel, but more important help stabilizing the boat in choppy seas and on anchor.

Esthetically, it is definitely much nicer to see a trawler with a sail and it can add fun over a motoring.

[ben2go]

I went through the thread again and the other pics showed for me. She almost looks to be sloop rigged with hank on sails.

[TrentePieds]

Russian:

Thanx for that photo taken "beam on" :-) It simplifies the whole argument enormously. That boat is NOT your boat, I gather. Yours is Kathryn B
depicted in a previous post.

You need to be careful about the terminology lest people [or you :-)] be confused. The word "clipper" denoted in the mid 19th Century a very fast ship rigged vessel, and many of them, such as the famous Flying Cloud and Sovereign of the Seas, were built by an American builder by the name of Donald McKay were particularly successful. McKay's ships had a very distinctive bow that resulted from the entire hull having unusually fine lines, which is what made them fast.

It became fashionable, even in bluff hulls like those of the "Monterey Clippers" to employ this shape of bow though it conferred no advantage in a fat hull. The MC also was double ended and in the eyes of many, back when your boat was built, something of a "bastard" hull.

However that was as it should be, for the MC was not intended to carry tea from Foo Chow to London. It was intended to catch and carry fish of the California coast. HOOK caught fish as opposed to NET caught fish, since the really valuable species of fish were always hook-caught so as not to damage them. So a fat hull with lots of carrying capacity was needed rather than a fast hull.

In fisherman's terms, the MCs were TROLLERs. Trolling is a particular kind of fishing that entails towing long lines with baited hooks behind the vessel. Your mast stands where it stands because it was never intended to carry sail. Its purpose was to give a point aloft to which to attach the outer ends of the trolling poles when they were "wung out" (deployed). The inner ends of the poles were attached to the base of the mast with goosenecks, and to the top of the mast by means of a rope or wire stay from their outer ends. When not in use the poles were raised to a vertical position alongside the mast. Along the poles there were, at intervals, attachment points for the lines that carried the baited hooks. Modern trollers are still rigged that way.

So back to sailing :-)

There is no reason that you could not, if you have the ambition and the money, put a rig on your hull that will enable you to sail 'er. But it won't be cheap. If you wish to think, in the abstract, about how to do that in order to learn something about boat design, come back to us :-) It won't take long, on the basis of the "beam on" photo, to rough out a viable rig. To do the calculations required to make a success of rigging her for sailing will take considerable more effort and time.

Anyway whatever you choose to do: Best of luck to you.

TrentePieds

[GrowleyMonster]

Running dead before the wind, you will get a couple of knots out of your steadying sail. At any other point of sail, you will likely have difficulty steering with no headsail. She will definitely want to get away from you and round up. Try it and see, in moderate conditions, before you take my word on this, but I believe I am right.

Also where is the mast stepped? If it is stepped on deck, make sure that there is a compression post or strong bulkhead that transfers the vertical loading to the keel. Standing rigging should not be slack but should not be guitar string tight, either. You should be able to deflect a stay wire a couple of inches with very casual pressure of the hand.

If you want to try running a foresail, you definitely should have a forestay but the sail and halyard themselves will to an extent hold the mast forward.

You probably will not be able to make any way to windward, even with a foresail.

Many small boats sailed in and out of unimproved harbors that have to deal with shoals and shallows have almost vestigal keels and still can make some way to windward. I am thinking especially of boats like the old sand lighters and even newly constructed fishing boats in Belize. They have hardly any keel at all. They are almost unversally fitted with an engine, often an outboard, but in an emergency they can go to windward under sail alone. Your boat has more keel than that, though the hull shape is a bit different. If you seriously wanted to sail the boat, a taller mast and in fact a second mast forward could turn her into a somewhat sailable schooner or ketch. You wouldn't win any trophies with her but you could reach nicely and even claw to windward a bit, if well trimmed and handled. It would just be tedious, like watching paint dry. So run or reach under sail either alone, or engine assisted. go to windward under diesel and maybe with sails up if you are at least 3 or 4 points off the wind.

In a strong wind I would not even try to run before the wind with that sail. When forced to motor right in the trough, the sail will help steady the boat and if she is to hard to steer, slack the sheet a bit. At anchor the sail might be a bit noisy but it will help steady the boat. Rig a preventer to back the sail slightly to whichever side your anchor is.Or the other side if she seems to ride nicer that way, of course. Every boat is different.

Here is another idea. Instead of rigging the sail aft of the mast, with the boom, consider a staysail, with the tack attached to deck well forward of the mast. This would put the center of effort close to the center of resistance provided by the hull. That would reduce the force needed from the rudder, reduce leeway, and generally make the boat nicer to handle. You really don't want any significant amount of sail aft of your mast until you have a good amount of sail forward, for making way under sail.Make sure you have good strong attaching point for any additional rigging, including this staysail.

[Russian007]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

Also where is the mast stepped? If it is stepped on deck, make sure that there is a compression post or strong bulkhead that transfers the vertical loading to the keel.

. At anchor the sail might be a bit noisy but it will help steady the boat. Rig a preventer to back the sail slightly to whichever side your anchor is.ail.

It's stepped on the deck, thanks for pointing that out. I will check for a post/bulkhead.

also, what is a "preventer"?
Thanks

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by Russian007

It's stepped on the deck, thanks for pointing that out. I will check for a post/bulkhead.

also, what is a "preventer"?
Thanks

A preventer helps prevent and accidental gybe. That's where the boom suddenly swing from one side to the other. That can be dangerous and possibly deadly. It could knock someone overboard or hit them in the head and kill them.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by Russian007

It's stepped on the deck, thanks for pointing that out. I will check for a post/bulkhead.

also, what is a "preventer"?
Thanks

Hah. Ben beat me to it. I will point out that it is like a sheet except it is lead outboard/forward. In this application it is keeping the sail aback. It's USUAL purpose is preventing an uncontrolled jibe but here it pulls the boom tip and the sail's clew forward to present sail to the head wind while anchored. Without it, the sail just flogs around and doesn't do very much. Try it with, and without, and you will see what I mean.

For use as a steadying sail only, the mast doesn't really need much support unless you use it for lifting. When the sail is actually doing work, then it is loading the mast significantly.

[Russian007]

For all the helpful folk who commented here, belated thank you. I still reference this information. I study it. It even has some historical nuggets within. China Camp! 5,000 views and probably 4,900 are from me.

[Bowdrie]

Don't know the height of mast above the level of the cabin top.
With a decent height, a pair of yards and a square sail.
Wind off either quarter, good to go.
Alternately, a triangle sail with the foot on a yard and a peak halyard.

[Don C L]

Knowing what I do of these boats I'd say the sail is intended to stabilize the boat while motoring and while at anchor or becalmed and fishing. You can get some drive out of the sail while motoring, and you'll save fuel, but the main benefit is to minimize rolling. If you have a good breeze then off the wind she'll certainly benefit. But she is not designed to be a sailboat. Very sweet little boat though!