Too Much Engine dependence

[Don Guillette]

This thread was posted on the SAIL TRIM FORUM and since it involves a C30 I though some of you mates might find it interesting. Hopefully we'll get some response so you might want to check the forum to see what other sailors have to say. Check out the tread on STEERING WITH SAILS. Do all you guys know how to steer your boat with only your sails??


A Catalina30 friend of mine from So Ca called me the other day regarding the thread on steering with sails. He told me if he lost his steering he’d just start the engine. I asked him what good would that do? SILENCE!! Sometimes we get an idea in our sailing heads and that’s as far as we go.

I asked him what he’d do if the steering cable jumped off the sprocket. He said he’d FIND his emergency tiller but he was not sure where he stored it. I asked him if he had ever installed it to see if it fits? Nope, was the answer. I asked him if he had ever removed his steering wheel? Same answer, nope. He asked me why it would be necessary to remove the steering wheel to install an emergency tiller. The answer is because the emergency tiller is a long one on a C30 and the end of it hits the wheel. He carries very little in the way of tools and I suggested he buy a wrench to fit the wheel hub nut. He relies too much on a towing service.

Picture my friend half way to Catalina Island, in the middle of the northbound and southbound shipping lanes (the massive cargo ships pop up over the horizon and the next thing you know they are on top of you) and the steering cable jumps off the sprocket and based on the info I developed in our short conversation, he’d be running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Add in the factor that it’s blowing like stink.

All of this could be avoided had he taken a few minutes to practice within the safety of his dock. Secondly, the boats we own are called SAIL BOATS. The sails are the primary source of power and your engine is your back up. That’s the advantage we have over power boats. My friend could have sailed out of the shipping lanes if only he knew how to STEER WITH HIS SAILS.

 

[gpd955]

When we delivered my 79 C30, we lost steering about 5 miles off the coast in 8-10 ft seas (luckily it was just high seas with decent intervals and not storm conditions) and we had to used sail to get into the harbor where we were able to rig up the emergency tiller to get her into dock. Since then, I admit, I haven't practiced it.

Since we got the new boat, and will have it for a whole season, I plan on doing a lot of the things that I have been remiss about (MOB drills, trim, anchoring, etc.) and that is something I will add to the list. Because most of the time the people who sail with me just want to go out and have fun, I never get the opportunity to do some of those important things. Since it's Easter though I'm going to do some reverse Lent and actually DO them!

 

[Calif. Ted]

Minney's has a bucket full of the large knurled wheelnuts so you don't need a wrench, one less thing to drop when removing the wheel. You will forget about the keyway on the wheel and it will fall overboard (remember when you practice) They are a rare and pricey little piece of metal.

 

[gpd955]

Minney's has a bucket full of the large knurled wheelnuts so you don't need a wrench, one less thing to drop when removing the wheel. You will forget about the keyway on the wheel and it will fall overboard (remember when you practice) They are a rare and pricey little piece of metal.

We couldn't get the wheel off at the time so that wasn't a problem for us! However, when we put the tiller on, whoever was steering had to snuggle up to the tiller and use full body motion to steer since we had to install it upside down to clear the wheel....if you can picture that! Once securely docked, and in daylight, I figured out how to do it the right way. With the new boat, one of the first things I did was to take the wheel off and put it back on and locate and install the tiller to make sure all was in working order. Luckily I don't need to remove the wheel when this tiller is needed. Live and learn.

Don's original post can apply to many other skills that we put low on the priority list while we do other things, too. Those little "unimportant" things that are ignored because we are too busy doing other fun stuff will come back and bite you in the @$$! Unfortunately, i learned that the hard way.

One thing I did do over the years, though, was explain and demonstrate to my son (now 7) how to stop the boat if something happens to me. I even randomly quiz him during the off-season to make sure he remembers. We may add turning the boat around this year but he may still be a little too little for that!

Thanks Don, your simple question served as a reminder about the big picture.

 

[Bad Obsession]

When my boat was surveyed the surveyor actually checked out the emergency tiller and checked its operation. It worked and I saw how it was installed etc. Never really thought about it after that but it was a good idea for him to do this and it was a good learning experience for me.

With schedules, time frames, and all the other factors in life I find that way too often that I need to motor to make time. I wish I had more time when I cruised and didn't feel rushed.

Other things I consider is that in the summer I have to watch the forecast for storms. If I know there might be storms in the evening I try to reach my port by 5, usually by 3. That way I get to spend some time in port before I leave it the next day.

My my region I am sketchy about sailing at night. The problem is motoring back into port with the maze of crab pots that you have to navigate to get into port. Under sail I tend to not catch pots but it can happen as well. I wish that it was a requirement for the floats to be painted with highly reflective paint so a flash light at night, or even moon light, could pick them out.

Sometimes we are a slave to the engine. I prefer it the other way but it is the way of this modern world. When I retire someday I hope that I am not a slave to the iron Genny!

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Bad,

How are you pal?

Speaking about crab traps, The enforcement for where and how the crabbers place their traps is awful. Under-weighted traps are carried by current and end up in channels and high traffic areas. Then many are abandoned and with barnacle growth, submerge under the surface until they catch your prop.

Also crabbers are out in droves during plelagic fish runs (kings, Spanish etc.) and are a nightmare for fishermen trolling. I can't tell you how many times I've snagged the unseen bastards. The line can also pull a shaft from the coupler and some boats have sunk.

When sailors & fishermen go out, they don't leave all their junk out there for others to have problems with. They have piece of shit boats and tow them with $40,000.00 trucks.

There is a method for properly laying traps with only 2 floats, one at each end with a continuous line. The weighted traps are attached along this line and require no floats. But crabbers will not put money into their equipment, so the boating public suffers.

I have no respect for folks who never see the big picture, or who just don't care. If when trolling and snagging a trap, I retrieve my rig and simply cut the float from the trap. Some will disagree with me, but I feel that "It's your junk, I'll treat it as such."

CR

 

[jrowan]

Engines & electronics will always let you down, & usually right when U need them the most. We took our new cat 30 out for its 1st shake down cruise last weekend & had a great sail - but of course the depth sounder that I had tinkered with numerous times crapped out on us. Going into the channel for the marina in Gloucester, Va. I used my past tracking on the chart plotter to help guide me back. Big mistake. My previous sailboat was an S 2 with a shoal draft keel of only 4 feet. The additional depth of the 5.3 ft draft on the Cat 30 along with an exremely low tide conspired to get me on a sand bar. I should not have followed where I had previously sailed in the old boat. The Garmin GPS unit lays so many dotted line tracks from your previous courses sailed that U can't see the depth markings anymore - should have used my paper charts. To much reliance on electronics was my downfall. But guess what got us off the shoals? Unfurling the sails again to lean the boat & keel enough to heel the boat off the mud. I could've throttled that lil' diesel until it blew a gasket, & it never would've gotten us off the shoals. Cheers to traditional methods.

 

[Bad Obsession]

A sailboat without an engine is still a sailboat. A powerboat without an engine is a drift! LOL.

 

[DanM]

J,

I've found that I usually go into the Active Tracks menu on my Garmin 440s and select Delete Active Track so the small screen doesn't fill up the small screen like you mentioned. I try to get into the habit of doing it before I leave my slip so that when I get back I have just a record of that days sail in the event I'd want to use it for something.

Of course, YMMV.

DanM.

 

[Stu Jackson]

The Garmin GPS unit lays so many dotted line tracks from your previous courses sailed that U can't see the depth markings anymore - should have used my paper charts.

Garmin MapSource allows you to save tracks onto your computer. I do, and label them with file names, and then remove them from the GPS handheld.

What good are tracks if you can't navigate because of them? If they're that closely spaced, they most likely can't be doing you much good for reference either.

I find they're fun to "remember" any given "trip" but haven't used them for "track back" since I continue to use waypoints in each direction.

Consider downloading them and cleaning up your handheld.

 

[jrowan]

Good advice to all who rely on GPS for navigation. My story is a good example of why U shouldn't have those tracks left on for too long. They just wind up blocking crucial information.

 

[Roger Long]

Garmin MapSource allows you to save tracks onto your computer.

Good thing too. The harbor portion of my 2010 sailing:

 

[jrowan]

Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about. You can't see a damn thing where your supposed to see the depth readings in the channel. Garmin also doesn't distinguish a different color track or pattern for the current path verses older ones. Better to get rid of them.