The Newb went sailing for the first time solo

[RideTheWind]

Im a little fuzzy on the details as its been a bunch of years but I used to be very much into windsurfing and seemed like Topaz was a great place for windsurfing - one of those places you heard about because it had particularly good winds.

"good winds" for windsurfing when I was younger now means it might be "windy as hell" now that Im considerably older.

Is Topaz the lake Im thinking of? Was there a lot of windsurfing there at one time or maybe still?

Not sure about back when windsurfing was hot. Topaz is on the California Nevada border... It is at about 6000 ft. Elevation on the back side of the Sierra range. I could certainly imagine it being a Mecca for windsurfers as it is rare that there is no wind, and it's almost certain to get windy at some point.

 

[RideTheWind]

So it looks like its actually at 5200 ft.
I just found a wind station at this site.
Looks like its about 8 Mph at the moment which seems normal for this time of day.
http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/US/NV/Topaz_Lake.html?MR=1#

 

[Piotr]

Okay so as far as the swing keel. I am not sure about "locking" it. I am waiting until I get it into deep enough water then I lower it until I notice a bit of slack then I pull it back until there is no slack. While I am under way it will hum once it gets moving at a good clip.
Please let me know if this is not correct.

Not quite. There should be a bolt through the keel trunk inside the boat. that's the bolt on which the keel pivots. above that bolt should be a hole. There should be a corresponding hole in your keel. When both holes align (may take you a while to find that alignment), you should insert a bolt that will lock your keel in place. I use a pin with 2 rubber washers. That way I can unlock the keel when needed in under 3 seconds. If you have 20-40 hrs of free time, search this forum for discussion about virtues of sailing with "locked" vs. "unlocked" keel. In shallow waters it's better to leave it unlocked, while in high winds or waves conditions you should lock it. On Chesapeake with 2-3 ft waves, the unlock keel will bang into the hull (not good). Also, even if you leave it unlocked, you should align the holes, as this indicates the keel is in the proper position. If the keel is too far forward, the boat will want to turn more into the wind (the "pivot point" moves forward) if the keel is not completely down, the boat will try to fall off ("pivot point" moves back). However, once locked, the boat will not turtle - at worst you will get a knockdown, and once you release your sheets, the boat will right itself.

 

[Piotr]

Oh, and the "hum" is normal

 

[RideTheWind]

Not quite. There should be a bolt through the keel trunk inside the boat. that's the bolt on which the keel pivots. above that bolt should be a hole. There should be a corresponding hole in your keel. When both holes align (may take you a while to find that alignment), you should insert a bolt that will lock your keel in place. I use a pin with 2 rubber washers. That way I can unlock the keel when needed in under 3 seconds. If you have 20-40 hrs of free time, search this forum for discussion about virtues of sailing with "locked" vs. "unlocked" keel. In shallow waters it's better to leave it unlocked, while in high winds or waves conditions you should lock it. On Chesapeake with 2-3 ft waves, the unlock keel will bang into the hull (not good). Also, even if you leave it unlocked, you should align the holes, as this indicates the keel is in the proper position. If the keel is too far forward, the boat will want to turn more into the wind (the "pivot point" moves forward) if the keel is not completely down, the boat will try to fall off ("pivot point" moves back). However, once locked, the boat will not turtle - at worst you will get a knockdown, and once you release your sheets, the boat will right itself.

Wow, that's good to know! I don't remember reading that in the manual.
On the plus side, now I know what that bolt I found is for....
I will probably leave it unlocked most days as I do have shallow waters and I do need to raise it from time to time, but I will certainly lock it on certain days.

 

[RideTheWind]

So according to the weather site above, it was gusting to 24 mph at Tahoe the day I was sailing. It tends to be windier at Topaz from what I hear. So how does mph convert to Knots? I'd say it was gusting to 30 mph or so.

 

[RideTheWind]

So according to the weather site above, it was gusting to 24 mph at Tahoe the day I was sailing. It tends to be windier at Topaz from what I hear. So how does mph convert to Knots? I'd say it was gusting to 30 mph or so.

Never mind I found it...
http://www.disastercenter.com/convert.htm
Sometimes it seems silly to ask questions on the interweb.....

 

[Piotr]

So according to the weather site above, it was gusting to 24 mph at Tahoe the day I was sailing. It tends to be windier at Topaz from what I hear. So how does mph convert to Knots? I'd say it was gusting to 30 mph or so.

not to contradict you (i wasn't there, of course), but from your description I would say you were more likely to have 20-22 kts winds, which is somewhere between Force 5 and Force 6. occasional 26kts gust is also possible. I reef at about 16-17 kts. BTW, next time you let out your jib, make sure you have a minimal, but still SOME tension on the windward ("free") sheet. It will let you keep sheets from tangling while your jib is whipping around. And with that wind, I would definitely suggest locking your keel.

 

[Piotr]

I quickly checked and it appears that some V-21s did NOT have a locking keel. so, if you don't have that second hole , don't sweat it. However, if you feel safer with it, it should not be a difficult mod.

 

[RideTheWind]

not to contradict you (i wasn't there, of course), but from your description I would say you were more likely to have 20-22 kts winds, which is somewhere between Force 5 and Force 6. occasional 26kts gust is also possible. I reef at about 16-17 kts. BTW, next time you let out your jib, make sure you have a minimal, but still SOME tension on the windward ("free") sheet. It will let you keep sheets from tangling while your jib is whipping around. And with that wind, I would definitely suggest locking your keel.

Yeah I was thinking gusts to 25 kt. based on a 30 mph wind. Either way it was crazy!!! I have a pretty nice bruise on my left rib from falling on something as I ran up to lower and secure the jib

There is a hole above the keel that I am pretty sure is for the lock.
I will post some pics of my main rigged below. I noticed that my Halyard should have been pulled tighter once I looked at the pic, but I had limited time to rig and take the pic to figure the best system for reefing.

 

[RideTheWind]

I can also zoom in to a particular section as these are lowered resolution versions of the pictures I took.

 

[Piotr]

Yeah I was thinking gusts to 25 kt. based on a 30 mph wind. Either way it was crazy!!! I have a pretty nice bruise on my left rib from falling on something as I ran up to lower and secure the jib

There is a hole above the keel that I am pretty sure is for the lock.
I will post some pics of my main rigged below. I noticed that my Halyard should have been pulled tighter once I looked at the pic, but I had limited time to rig and take the pic to figure the best system for reefing.

1) to be able to quickly align/lock your keel, have somebody shine a light into the hole. Lower your keel all the way and, while they are looking into it, count how many turns does it take to line up both holes (have them yell when the holes are perfectly aligned). It may take a few trials. That way you will know how many cranks you have to back the keel up from the "all down" position to have it properly positioned. get a pin from a hardware store (or a carriage bolt) or the correct replacement one from BWY with two washers. Now you will be able to lock the keel in 3-5 seconds (and unlock).
2) from the pics, it looks like you have the original sail and boom, i.e. you reef by rotating the boom and winding the sail. Which means you cannot reef quickly in an emergency. So, you have 2 choices - if it's windy or you expect a strong wind (15kts+), reef the main BEFORE you leave the marina. The first reef should be about 1/3 of the sail should be wrapped around the boom. The second choice is to invest $90 for a single line reefing system and $75 for a sailmaker to modify your sail (the instructions on the reefing system will explain what to do), plus about 2 hrs to install the system (easy, as long as you know how to use a power drill and a screwdriver. Actually, if you do not have sail slugs, the sailmaker may be $150. can you zoom in on the point where the sail is attached to the mast?

 

[Piotr]

here is one more way to control your heel - with main, you let the boat round up, i.e. turn to wind. in most boats, if you have both sails up and are heeling too much, the boat will round up into the wind by itself. It's a built-in safety feature. Another reason NOT to sail under jib alone. this is likely what happened to these folks on venture 23. BTW, note the reef on the main and way too much jib.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyxD_8moalI

 

[Piotr]

and here are some Polish guys sailing Macgregor 22 on Chesapeake (40 miles south of me) in 15 kts winds. Note both sails up and not reefed (yet). BTW, I believe they are on this forum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCByQ62raL4

 

[RideTheWind]

1) can you zoom in on the point where the sail is attached to the mast?

Here are zooms. One from the side and one angled from the bow, which is probably noy that useful...

 

[RideTheWind]

here is one more way to control your heel - with main, you let the boat round up, i.e. turn to wind. in most boats, if you have both sails up and are heeling too much, the boat will round up into the wind by itself. It's a built-in safety feature. Another reason NOT to sail under jib alone. this is likely what happened to these folks on venture 23. BTW, note the reef on the main and way too much jib.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyxD_8moalI

So one question on the video. It seems that my jib would be way tighter at that point, also it looks like somebody is going nuts on the rudder. Are you saying that the quick jogs are the boat self righting? Or is it a combo of turning into the wind and self righting?

Also it's funny because I had watched that video earlier, but with your description it was easier to understand what was going on.

 

[Piotr]

Here are zooms. One from the side and one angled from the bow, which is probably noy that useful...

yup, no slugs, just a luff line. I suggest just reefing before going out for now. Eventually, You may want to look for a new main with reefing grommets and sail slugs.

 

[RideTheWind]

yup, no slugs, just a luff line. I suggest just reefing before going out for now. Eventually, You may want to look for a new main with reefing grommets and sail slugs.

So you are saying to roller reef then? Someone here had limited succes with that. I will try it as I did remove the boom vang. I have more wind than waves so it sounds like trading control of the boom for control of the sail is the way to go in my situation... If anybody hears of a good sail that is already set up for reefing :2cool: cheap let me know

 

[Piotr]

So one question on the video. It seems that my jib would be way tighter at that point, also it looks like somebody is going nuts on the rudder. Are you saying that the quick jogs are the boat self righting? Or is it a combo of turning into the wind and self righting?

Also it's funny because I had watched that video earlier, but with your description it was easier to understand what was going on.

it's probably both. I was taught that once you trim the sails, it's better to turn to wind if you have to (heeling too much) than to adjust sails. it's faster. And the guy is controlling his heeling by letting the jib out; at that time the boat is sailing under the main only.
BTW, the boat turning into wind by itself because it heels so much the rudder is out of the water is called "rounding" and here is an example of an unintentional rounding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ_V1-lh-_M

 

[Piotr]

So you are saying to roller reef then? Someone here had limited succes with that. I will try it as I did remove the boom vang. I have more wind than waves so it sounds like trading control of the boom for control of the sail is the way to go in my situation... If anybody hears of a good sail that is already set up for reefing :2cool: cheap let me know

yup, thast's what I'm saying. A used cheap main that would fit your boat should be around $350. first find dimensions of your main, then look on line for a similar sail.
start here
http://www.wadler.org/boat-mac/sailsXtype.php