Our 2003 C310!
- Thread starter JRT
- Start date
Well had an exciting August down here. A micro burst storm hit the marina and half the docks broke free and drifted into the center. Minor cosmetic damage from what I was told and luckily RoseLeigh was on the docks that didn't break free and was outside the area that hit.
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It took a week to get everything fixed but the marina is back to normal with some repairs still in the works. We did make it out last weekend so have managed to sail every month so far in 2020.
Yes we are on Lake Guntersville, it is a nice big lake area to sail that is the good news, the bad is the surrounding hils create a lot of weird wind patterns and they change direction all the time.
I think they were lucky in the way dock C broke lose an pushed into Dock B. The marine guys took the time untangling the boats after the storm and moved several to keep the damage to a minimum till the C docks could be pulled away, which was 4 days later. There is some debate on what the storm was, there was no recording and some think it could have been a tornado.
I think they were lucky in the way dock C broke lose an pushed into Dock B. The marine guys took the time untangling the boats after the storm and moved several to keep the damage to a minimum till the C docks could be pulled away, which was 4 days later. There is some debate on what the storm was, there was no recording and some think it could have been a tornado.
Definitely avoid covering the paddle wheel with a sling, but mine was covered once by a sling during haul out, but the half round projections on either side of the paddle wheel protected it, so no damage done.
A micro burst can be a scary thing. We were on a mooring at Cuttyhunk Island in MA a few years ago when a micro burst hit. Winds were recorded at 88 mph. All the moorings in the harbor held, but a few boats anchored in the Bay were pushed up onto the beach. The noise from the wind was incredible. Up until then, the highest wind we had seen on Andante was 60 mph.
Made an October sail so so far every month. Was perfect day 10-15 wind and 70s for fall in Alabama!
Did our first sporty sail yesterday. Wimd was 10-15 which was perfect with 70 degrees in November in Huntsville. However gusting conditions got us the most we have seen which was 20 to 26. It was a very sporty ride with just my daughter and I but RoseLeigh handled the wind just fine. Due to the exciting conditions, which included crashing through waves on the lake we decided we had tested ourselves enough for our first November sail. So sailed every month in 2020 so far. No pictures we had our hands full this time.
Drop in the first reef and put about 6 rolls on the 135% or 12 rolls for a 150% and that is a great day of sailing. My happy place is 15-30 knots and have sailed in wind over 50 on a few occasions. When my daughter was 7 she watched The Little Mermaid for the first time. In the middle of the hurricane scene, she stood up and yelled "They've got too much sail up. Why aren't they reefing!" 
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John, very cool!
Especially since you and your daughter have enough experience to handle this much wind. (I didn't hear tension in your post)
@Hayden Watson has given me a great procedure for reefing on the fly in less than 60 seconds, I'm sure he will be willing to share.
It's good experience for you and your daughter, you know your boat can handle it, now you know you can too.
I bet those waves surprised you a bit though!
Especially since you and your daughter have enough experience to handle this much wind. (I didn't hear tension in your post)
@Hayden Watson has given me a great procedure for reefing on the fly in less than 60 seconds, I'm sure he will be willing to share.
It's good experience for you and your daughter, you know your boat can handle it, now you know you can too.
I bet those waves surprised you a bit though!
I did!
I got very good at it and did impress some sailing friends with how easy and fast I could set a reef.
Yup waves are pretty much just bumps on the lake most of the time. This wasn't as dramatic as real waves in open water but surprising for our normal quick day sail routine. We went out knowing we would be testing ourselves so our eyes were wide open on the conditions and challenges. No other club boats where out and our sister C310 said he was not going out with the gusts since he had no crew.
My daughter was on helm and calling our tacks, watching our heading, depth and position, Dad was on sail handling. Our trim wasn't great and I really should have started with the jib reefed in. I also messed up and had the jib cars set to far forward initially on our first tack. Full sail under the gust we would spill the sails and my daughterwould pinch us up to depower. it was an exciting ride for us for sure and good that Mom did not come out. We never lost control or felt like she was going to round up. We did reef in the jib eventually and that did help.
I'm rethinking my jib sail replacement, the 135 isn't bad, but I keep thinking I might just get a 115 instead as that worked really well on our old O'Day 25 when I got that new sail with a new main. If wind is low we just deploy the code 0 so my thoughts on getting a new 115 seem to make sense on sail handling and less possible damage with overlap on the standing rigging.
My daughter was on helm and calling our tacks, watching our heading, depth and position, Dad was on sail handling. Our trim wasn't great and I really should have started with the jib reefed in. I also messed up and had the jib cars set to far forward initially on our first tack. Full sail under the gust we would spill the sails and my daughterwould pinch us up to depower. it was an exciting ride for us for sure and good that Mom did not come out. We never lost control or felt like she was going to round up. We did reef in the jib eventually and that did help.
I'm rethinking my jib sail replacement, the 135 isn't bad, but I keep thinking I might just get a 115 instead as that worked really well on our old O'Day 25 when I got that new sail with a new main. If wind is low we just deploy the code 0 so my thoughts on getting a new 115 seem to make sense on sail handling and less possible damage with overlap on the standing rigging.
When I replaced the original 150% on Papillon when I got her, I specified a 135% blade rather than the more conventional 135% that does not go all the way to the mast head. I have been really happy with the performance. Most people do not realize that many times, the smaller size headsails do not use the full hoist so make sure you discuss that issue with your sailmaker to determine what sail is best for you.