Interested in crewing somewhere warm? Take a look at the blog of this WYC member who's doing just that.
By KYLE PENNELL
I took winter quarter off from UW to crew on sailboats in Mexico and Central America. With some luck and guts I was able to find a beautiful 53 boat to crew on after being in Mexico for 24 hours.
I think a lot of members might be potentially interested in doing this but might not know how to get started. Right now I'm keeping a travel blog which I will turn into a "how to crew" site when I have time in the next couple of months. It's amazing down here, I'd love to help others get into crewing.
Check out Kyle's blog at: whyyoucamethisway.wordpress.com/
Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
The Finn: take another look at this WYC boat
Learn more about the club's Finn, a boat that gets great reviews from club members Jay and Alexia.
BY Jay Flaming and Alexia Fischer
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| Alexia takes the Finn out on the bay. Credit: John Courter |
There has been quite a bit of debate around the sailing world concerning the appropriate classes for the next summer Olympics. The current classes include the Europe, Finn, 470, 49er, Laser, Star, Tornado, and Yngling.
One of the most contentious classes has been the Finn, which is the men’s heavy-weight single-handed dinghy. Some people have pushed for eliminating it, arguing that there is no need for multiple classes of men’s SH, while its supporters argue that the Laser’s design leaves large, muscular sailors without a competitive boat. If you are interested in comparing, we have a 470, Lasers, and a Finn in our club. The Laser is the basic novice single-handed boat in the WYC, and the Finn requires an intermediate SH and a rig rating.
The Finn has a Portsmouth number of 90.8, just a bit faster than the Laser, at 91.1, and a bit slower than the Lightning or 470 at 87. It has a reputation for being the most athletically demanding single-handed dinghy, especially in high winds. The Portsmouth numbers indicate that the Finn is only slightly faster than the Laser, despite a much larger sail area (both are cat rigged, with only a mainsail... the Finn has an are of 10.6 square meters to the Laser’s 7.06), so it isn’t the most efficient hull.
Portsmouth numbers are calculated for optimal crew weights. The Laser’s optimal crew weight ranges from 143 pounds to 187 with the standard rig, while the Finn’s optimal skipper starts at 187 pounds and ranges up to about 250. Height is an advantage on both boats, as getting the weight out farther on a lever arm provides better ability to combat heel. Competitive Finn sailors are generally taller than 5’ 10”. Does that mean you must be 6’ tall and 200 pounds to sail it?
Our Finn is one of the lesser sailed boats in the club. Club members have mentioned that the boat’s reputation for having a low boom, complex rigging, and a perceived need to be a big sailor are reasons they haven’t taken advantage of it. Jay Flaming and Alexia Fischer, both first time Finn sailors, took it out for test sails this fall to evaluate how those concerns bear out in real life.
Jay’s Report
I should state from the beginning that I am not a fan of the Laser. I find it uncomfortable, too small, and to me it feels slow. In general, I prefer to sail keelboats or daysailors for social sailing, or catamarans when I want to go fast. However, I have been wanting to get more practice in the single-handed class, to work into a skipper rating, and I just never feel like going out on a Laser. So, on October 31, I took the Finn out for a try. At 6’4” and well over 200 pounds, I anticipated finding the Finn a better fit than the Laser.
It was a shifty day, with winds varying between five and fifteen knots, with gusts to twenty knots, predominantly from the south. Rigging the boat was pretty simple. The halyard has a hook on the mast, like a Hobie 16, but easier to operate, because it is lower down and easier to manipulate from the deck. There are a lot more sail controls, mostly run to the cockpit, including a boom preventer, outhaul, a vang with a tremendous mechanical advantage, cunningham and adjustable hiking straps. There is no trap wire. The lines were all colored differently, and it was fairly easy to make adjustments under way. The traveler was very difficult to adjust, because the continuous adjustment line was pretty short, making it hard to adjust without pulling the line out of the cleat.
The winds were stiff from the south when I left the dolly launching ramp, so I tried to short-tack my way out down to the ship canal end of the docks. However, I kept popping the traveler loose when tacking, which resulted in the car sliding completely to leeward, and making it hard to make progress upwind. Since there was a small crowd on the docks, and I didn’t want to look like too much of an idiot, I decided to turn and run downwind rather than beat. The big boom whacked me on the head on the gybe, but the boat accelerated like a rocket on the turn. I was immediately impressed by the performance on a run. The preventer pulls the boom out easily, so you don’t need to push it out like you do on a Laser.
On the turn past the outer docks, I picked up a gust at the wind line and the boat easily planed out towards Webster point. I looked back and saw an impressive rooster tail behind the transom. The boat feels very fast. When I brought the boat up onto a beat, I had to hike out harder than I have done on any other dinghy in any conditions. I quickly found myself with the backs of my knees on the gunwhale realizing that I needed to flatten the sail. I had tied the Cunningham too loosely, and I wasn’t able to harden down on it sufficiently, so I never got it as flat as I’d like. There is a block arrangement that provides advantage below decks, which limits the travel of the line. I had been warned about this on the docks but thought it was ok. I recommend checking this before you leave the docks, as it is impossible to fix underway. The mast bend on this boat is awesome.
I spent about three hours sailing the Finn, and I found it to be very responsive, easy to tack, and a real blast. I hit my head fairly regularly, and so I often eased the sheet and/or vang to keep the boom up a bit higher than a truly competitive sailor would like, I think. I still ended up with a big lump on my head at the end of the sail, but there really is plenty of room to clear under the mast if you’re more coordinated than I am. Towards the end of the day, I found myself missing easy maneuvers, and eventually realized that I was just physically exhausted. In the puffy winds, I had to move in and out of the boat continuously, which was quite a body core workout, and sailing the boat in the higher puffs required a bit of muscle... the sheet loads are higher than most dinghies, and you can’t get by with lazy hiking.
I never felt like the boat speed was as high as it should have been (and at one point I found John Courter keeping up with me in a Bravo, but I’m getting used to this in any boat). I did find a big bushel-basket sized wad of lily pads and weeds on the rudder at the end of the day, which must have been slowing me down quite a bit. With a bit more practice, a repaired traveler, and no weeds, I think it would be faster.
Before I de-rigged, John recommended that I try a capsize test, since the boat reputedly brings in a lot of water after recovery. I was surprised at how difficult it was to capsize the boat, as it developed quite a bit of stability at about the time the rail hit the water level. I wasn’t able to do a dry capsize, as I felt like the mast was going under when I started to climb up the centerboard trunk, so I jumped in. The boat righted easily, but it brought in about a foot of water in the cockpit. I wasn’t able to get enough boat speed to get the auto-bailers working, and any movement in the boat made it very unstable as the water flowed around. I think if I had bailed for a couple of minutes first, it would have been fine, and the bailers would have functioned with less water in the boat. There was a plastic bailer lashed to the mast.
At any rate, I found the Finn to be a fun upgrade for a sailor of my size versus the Laser. It felt faster at my weight, and more comfortable. However, I don’t think I could sail it as long, at least without some more conditioning. I was surprised by its stability, and interested to see if a smaller sailor would find it enjoyable.
Alexia’s Report
I watched Jay take the Finn out on October 31 to capsize it. He had a little bit of an audience because we were all curious about how it would right. I heard stories about how it capsizes easily, is nearly impossible to right, and if you do right it, it comes up full of water and is pretty much unsailable after that. These reasons and the stigma that it is only for heavier sailors in any wind had caused me to be apprehensive about the boat and not bother with it. After all, I could take out a Laser, which I enjoy doing.
We all gathered around Jay and watched him try and try again to capsize it, but it wouldn't go over! Once he got it over he had it upright in no time and was able to sail it full of water. After seeing this I realized that all these stories were for the most part bogus, and I had to give the boat a try.
I took the Finn out Sunday, Nov 7. The boat rigged very easily. The main rigs like a Hobie 16 where you hook a grommet in a fork in the mast. Then, you adjust the downhaul, outhaul, boom vang, bailers and other rigging. The trailer is a bit heavy but I was able to put it in the water with little trouble. The rest is like rigging an FJ; put the centerboard down and the rudder in and it's good to go.
There was stiff 10-12 knot breeze on the bay with gusts up to 17 knots. I also tried to tack it out of the South end of the docks but had little room because of a submerged tree and a huge motor boat tied up at the guest dock for a wedding. I ended up heading down and running out of the North end. I jibed around the North end of the docks, got into some wind, and the boat took off. I had to hike out hard and feather up in big puffs to keep the boat level, but it was pretty stable and not too difficult to sail. The boat had a lot of power but it wasn't too overpowered. It was a blast on a beam and I was only a little slower than the cats cruising around. I intended to only go out for an hour but two went by very quickly! The boat was incredibly fun and fast.
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| Alexia hiking out on the Finn. Credit: John Courter |
The whole time I was out there I didn't have an accidental capsize. It was easier to jibe than a Laser because the main sheet block is by the centerboard like and FJ. It also felt more stable than a Laser going downwind. Tacking was not a problem either. The boom looks low but there is a lot of room in the boat to duck under it.
I wanted to give capsizing a try to see how someone lighter would do with righting the boat. I decided to try and sail it over but failed miserably. I would get going real fast on a beam reach, sheet in all the way in a puff and try to keep the boat heading straight. The boat would lean over hard, then round up and level out. It was surprisingly very stable at a 50-60* angle of heel. Finally after about 6 attempts, I just jumped over to the leeward side when it leaned over and it finally capsized. Because I was on the leeward side I couldn't do a dry capsize but I believe it is doable. The boat was very easy to right. Unlike the Laser and the FJ, the centerboard is almost at water level, which means someone with minimal upper body strength can easily get themselves on top of the board. The trailing edge of the board is very sharp though!
It didn't take much effort to get the boat up, but it did come up full of water. I sailed it around with all the water to see if it would empty, but it didn't. It was still pretty stable with all the water; I just had to be more aware of the heal and how far the bow was being pushed down. I started bailing it with a plastic bottle which worked and then I headed in.
I was also really tired at the end of my sail. Hiking the boat was physically demanding and a great core work-out! I was a bit sore the next few days. I can't say if it was more or less fun than a Laser, they are too different. I would definitely take the Finn out again though!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Last chapter of old boats of the club, the keelboats
The final installment of the "Old Boats of the Club" series.
By JOHN COURTER
San Juan 21
This boat and the Penguin are the only two classes of boats that the club had gotten rid of before I joined. I don't remember anyone telling me anything about this boat. Pretty much the only thing I know about the San Juan 21 is that it has a swing keel.
More information here.
Bristol Caravel 22
This is known as a sturdy cruiser with a lot of interior room. While not a stellar sailor, it wasn't bad. One thing that made it worse was when a know-it-all student who was keelboat fleet captain decided that the 110% lapper, which was the biggest sail that came with the boat, was too small and decided the boat needed a 150% genoa. A sail was purchased and a track installed. Now we had some horsepower. The problem now was that this was always the last boat to Blake Island if it was upwind.
Years later I, I mean the know-it-all, did some math. I had finally noticed that at best with the genoa the boat tacked through 120 degrees. When sailing with the lapper which sheeted in between the uppers and lowers to a block on a post at an inboard position the boat could tack through 90 degrees. This means if I changed jibs from the genoa to the lapper I could point 30 degrees higher, but would lose some speed. I would have to lose more than 30% of my speed or about a knot if I were doing hull speed under genoa to make it to my destination later with the lapper. Since sailing that much slower under the lapper would be a rare circumstance the lapper would have been the sail of choice for most any upwind work. By the time I had figured this out the club had bought a used replacement lapper that no longer sheeted to the post, but instead had to be sheeted outboard to the genoa track, so it didn't point very well either.
More information can be found here.
Islander Excalibur 26
This felt like a fast boat, and it handled well. My first cruising adventure was as crew to rescue the boat from Skyline Marina in Flounder Bay near Anacortes. Keelboat users will trade off in the Islands to save having to take the boat back to the club. Apparently one user left the boat at the marina and the next person didn't show up. The first person made no arrangements with the marina. A week later the marina called us and asked us about a boat that had been left in the marina with no payment.
I was taught a lesson on this boat. I was sailing along rail almost in the water and the boat had almost no weather helm. I commented to the more experienced sailor how well balanced the boat was with no helm. He looked at me funny and said look at the tiller. I then noticed that I had the tiller in my lap, at least 20 degrees from straight. That's when I learned that a well balanced spade rudder makes it so you don't have to pull hard on the tiller even when there is massive weather helm causing you to drag the rudder through the water like a big brake.
More information about these boats here.
Columbia 26
The Columbia 26 was not a well liked boat. Maybe it was the nearly flush deck that made it look funny, maybe it was that some felt that it was a poor sailor.
See the information here.
Cal 25
A donation that needed a fair amount of work. Deception, a Catalina 27 was donated before it was put in service and the Cal 25 was subsequently sold.
Neptune 24
People complained about the transom being weak. I discovered that the transom wasn't attached to the deck anymore, so when you pressed on it you could move it in to create a gap at the hull deck join. The importance of a bridle on the spinnaker pole was demonstrated when the foreguy connected to an eyestrap in the middle of the pole caused the pole to snap. The shock to the mast caused the tang for the lower shroud/spreader base made of pot metal to fail, now that there was no lower the mast bent...
Information here.
Stone boat
I forget why we took a donation of a 20 foot ferrocement hull with a wood deck. If you see any mention of stone boat fleet captain in old club documents, you now know what it refers to.
By JOHN COURTER
San Juan 21
This boat and the Penguin are the only two classes of boats that the club had gotten rid of before I joined. I don't remember anyone telling me anything about this boat. Pretty much the only thing I know about the San Juan 21 is that it has a swing keel.
More information here.
Bristol Caravel 22
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| The blue boat in the middle is the Caravel, the boat on the left is Excalibur. |
Years later I, I mean the know-it-all, did some math. I had finally noticed that at best with the genoa the boat tacked through 120 degrees. When sailing with the lapper which sheeted in between the uppers and lowers to a block on a post at an inboard position the boat could tack through 90 degrees. This means if I changed jibs from the genoa to the lapper I could point 30 degrees higher, but would lose some speed. I would have to lose more than 30% of my speed or about a knot if I were doing hull speed under genoa to make it to my destination later with the lapper. Since sailing that much slower under the lapper would be a rare circumstance the lapper would have been the sail of choice for most any upwind work. By the time I had figured this out the club had bought a used replacement lapper that no longer sheeted to the post, but instead had to be sheeted outboard to the genoa track, so it didn't point very well either.
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| Caravel with its original lapper. |
More information can be found here.
Islander Excalibur 26
This felt like a fast boat, and it handled well. My first cruising adventure was as crew to rescue the boat from Skyline Marina in Flounder Bay near Anacortes. Keelboat users will trade off in the Islands to save having to take the boat back to the club. Apparently one user left the boat at the marina and the next person didn't show up. The first person made no arrangements with the marina. A week later the marina called us and asked us about a boat that had been left in the marina with no payment.
I was taught a lesson on this boat. I was sailing along rail almost in the water and the boat had almost no weather helm. I commented to the more experienced sailor how well balanced the boat was with no helm. He looked at me funny and said look at the tiller. I then noticed that I had the tiller in my lap, at least 20 degrees from straight. That's when I learned that a well balanced spade rudder makes it so you don't have to pull hard on the tiller even when there is massive weather helm causing you to drag the rudder through the water like a big brake.
More information about these boats here.
Columbia 26
The Columbia 26 was not a well liked boat. Maybe it was the nearly flush deck that made it look funny, maybe it was that some felt that it was a poor sailor.
See the information here.
Cal 25
A donation that needed a fair amount of work. Deception, a Catalina 27 was donated before it was put in service and the Cal 25 was subsequently sold.
Neptune 24
People complained about the transom being weak. I discovered that the transom wasn't attached to the deck anymore, so when you pressed on it you could move it in to create a gap at the hull deck join. The importance of a bridle on the spinnaker pole was demonstrated when the foreguy connected to an eyestrap in the middle of the pole caused the pole to snap. The shock to the mast caused the tang for the lower shroud/spreader base made of pot metal to fail, now that there was no lower the mast bent...
Information here.
Stone boat
I forget why we took a donation of a 20 foot ferrocement hull with a wood deck. If you see any mention of stone boat fleet captain in old club documents, you now know what it refers to.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Nice I-14 sailing website
Check out these tips for sailing an I-14.
Thanks to John Courter who posted this on the list.
Thanks to John Courter who posted this on the list.
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| Photo Courtesy of Boatdesign.net |
Monday, August 9, 2010
New youngest solo circumnavigation attempt set to start Wednesday
We've got another girl aiming to be the youngest around the world... How do you feel about it?
Read the Seattle Times' coverage here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012502062_dutchsolo01.html
And check out 14-year-old Laura Dekker's blog here: http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/Home.html
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| Photo Courtesy of: Sailtalk.net |
Read the Seattle Times' coverage here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012502062_dutchsolo01.html
And check out 14-year-old Laura Dekker's blog here: http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/Home.html
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Welcome Home Adrian!
Last night our very own Adrian Johnson, winner of the 2010 Singlehanded Transpac, made it home, if you want to hear about his adventures, check these things out.
Idefix puttered onto the WYC dock at around 11 p.m. and a bunch of us were there to celebrate Adrian's return. Here's a pic of the (probably exhausted) skipper:
Adrian has written a bit about the race on his blog so make sure to check it out here: http://adrianjohnson.info/
Also, pick up a copy of latitude 38, or take a look online here: http://www.latitude38.com/ebooks.html. You'll notice Idefix on the cover (very nice!) and a great article about this year's singlehanded transpac on page 100.
Make sure to congratulate him when you see him!
Idefix puttered onto the WYC dock at around 11 p.m. and a bunch of us were there to celebrate Adrian's return. Here's a pic of the (probably exhausted) skipper:
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| Photo Credit: Mike Klaczynski |
Adrian has written a bit about the race on his blog so make sure to check it out here: http://adrianjohnson.info/
Also, pick up a copy of latitude 38, or take a look online here: http://www.latitude38.com/ebooks.html. You'll notice Idefix on the cover (very nice!) and a great article about this year's singlehanded transpac on page 100.
Make sure to congratulate him when you see him!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Interested in making a trap harness?
Sailors,
I am planning to build my own trapeze harness, costing $50-75. Does anyone else want to make one too? It will be easier to do the tailoring with a couple extra pairs of hands.
Coincidentally, the Sail Fleet Captain has retired a stack of old FJ sails. Before they find their way to the dumpster, I'm going to grab a couple to provide material for harnesses. If you also want to make a harness, let me know and I will designate some sail cloth for you too.
Ben
If you're interested, respond to Ben on the list or send me an email and I'll get you in contact with him.
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