Happiness is a Warm Spool Gun

[Panope]

I picked-up a used storm jib (Bacon Sails). 75 Square feet, 10 oz. cloth. I don't know much about these things but it is well behaved and was able to keep the boat moving along nicely.

Here is a Video from today's test of the sail. Wind was mid to upper 20's with gust in the lower 30's. Maybe a gust or two at 35.

Boat still able to hold any course, broad reach or above - with a locked helm.

Eventually, I will try Snowpetrel's idea of sheeting this sail in tight amidships and towing a drogue as a means of holding course DDW. If that works, I'll stop thinking about wind vanes.

Steve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uBi1BliOqk

[Snowpetrel]

She looked like she handled it with ease.

Amazed there is no Lee helm but I guess your mizzen must be be working well as a storm sail.

I'm impressed with your testing, very thorough.

That go pro is awesome. Keep the videos coming.

Cheers

Sent from my HTC_0PCV2 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Panope]

SnowP, Funny you should mention the "mizzen" (dingy) as I have been toying with setting a sail on the davit (dinghy will go on the house or stay at the dock). The Pilot house would blanket the mizzen when close hauled but for reaching in high wind, it should see clean air.

But perhaps this would be unnecessary. As you say, it is amazing there is no lee helm. In fact, this most recent outing had the strongest winds that this new rig has seen, yet the boat showed the most directional stability ever. Even in the most powerful gusts and quartering waves, the boat did not yaw at all. No roundups, no fall offs - nothing. Just like being on train tracks.

With any amount of mainsail set, the boat will round up in the gusts but it will quickly return to its initial retaliative wind heading. Because of this, I have abandoned the idea of getting a trysail.

I'll just stick with ever smaller jibs. This new 75 square foot storm jib should be good for use into the 40 knot range. At 50 knots, I'll probably wish for an even smaller jib - or a helicopter rescue.

Steve

A wee little gaff shaped mizzen - set on the davit would be good at anchor if nothing else.

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4s4ytzvs.jpg

[Snowpetrel]

Love it, and of couse then you can claim to have a yawl, rather than just a other boring sloop, (and a proper yawl boat, when the dink is hanging of the mizzen!) make it from some of that tough UV proof PVC and it would make an awesome riding sail, and handy for motorsailing to windward. it is also a few more strings and sails to play with which is really what counts on a boat. by the way you now hav enough sails to start experimenting with a storm jib set as a watersail under that mainboom in light airs...

[Panope]

Criminy!! I'd never heard of a watersail. Had to google it.

So lets see: Main, jib, yankee, topsail, mizzen and watersail. Sheesh, that's two more sails than when she was schooner rigged. Might as well go-all-in and get a yard and square sail.

What is it with sail boats?

They're worse than heroin.

[Snowpetrel]

I recon if you've got a mizzen then you need a mizzen staysail..

Sent from my HTC_0PCV2 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Panope]

Another test of the Storm Jib. F8 wind. Nearby stations reported 38 with gusts 45 knots.

I moved the dinghy from the davit to the cabin trunk for the first time. Surprisingly, there was virtually no change in sail balance. As before, a centered and locked helm resulted in a beam reach. Locking the helm a little to windward or leeward will alter the heading accordingly.

Although the sailing part of this daysail was completely manageable, the coming and going from the marina left little margin for error. It worked out fine, but the potential of damaging other persons boats is significant.

From here out, when the winds are in the 40's, I'll stay in safe harbor and watch sailing video's instead.

Steve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLrz24IMw1U

[Panope]

My sail maker snapped this shot of Panope from her loft as I was returning to port. Picture was taken the same day as the above video.

Point Hudson marina in foreground always has an interesting mixture of boats.

Steve


http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...psokeuszcc.jpg

[Panope]

A short video showing the speed that the dinghy can be deployed from the davit.

Steve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3FK...ature=youtu.be

[Snowpetrel]

Blink and you miss it! Should be faster than Anomalies system :thumbup:

[Panope]

For several months I've been pondering a third, very deep reef in my mains'l. The natural progression would place the next reef 'foot' parallel to the existing foot, perhaps a foot or two below the throat.

Yesterday, the lightbulb went off in my head: Why not use the throat cringle (for the tack) and place a new clew cringle BELOW where one would think to place it, thereby maintaining a decent amount of sail area. The resulting triangle shape will natually only have three cringles. The height (and angle) of the boom will be controlled entirely by the peak halyard. The Gaff angle will be about 20 degrees steeper than normal.

Certainly, in the many hundreds of years of gaff sail development, this concept of using just the top 'triangle' and rotated more upright, has been done before - But I have never seen it.

My sail maker (Carol Hasse) is on-board with the concept and will add the new clew cringle (and reinforcment) sometime this winter.

Sail area of this third reef will be about 85 square feet and will complement my 75 square foot storm jib nicely. Bring on the gales.......

Steve

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...psuy8vgwel.jpg

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...psgawx7twq.jpg

[Snowpetrel]

Hi Steve, we used a reef like that in a mates 28 foot steel gaff rigger. It was very nice to use, with just the one halyard to play with. Only issue I remember was the jaws weren't being compressed onto the mast very well so the whole sail and gaff bounced around a little bit more than normal until we lashed it around the mast tighter.

There is quite a lot of bias on the cloth along the foot of the reef, is Carol planning to add a belly band across the sail like the other reefs have?

[Matt Johnson]

Nothing to add about the reef.... but I can't get enough photos of your beautiful boat. Man, she's a looker!


Matt

[Panope]

Ben, thanks for the report about your previous experience with this. I had not considered the lack of force driving the gaff forward into the mast but it is easy to see how that is the case My gaff rides in a saddle that is held very close to the mast by a heavy stainless steel parrel hoop. It is all hell-for-stout but we'll have to wait and see how it behaves.

I spoke with Carol only briefly and her initial thinking is that no belly band will be needed. Optional, are nettles for the bunt and my preference is to omit these at least initially. Part of the attraction of this whole idea is the simplicity and low cost of needing to add only the clew grommet/reinforcement.

Matt, here's another

Steve

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...psgdmneihe.jpg

[Panope]

A video/photo tour of Panope. Not much new material for those that followed this thread.

40 years crammed into 15 minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riXNSA7m-bk