I will treat this as a Seasonal Journal.
We are beginning season 3 with our Telstar. She is getting better, faster, more comfortable, and easier to operate, with each year. This year, we are tackling a minor leak in a difficult to reach area, adding boomkicker, sorting out the rudder lift controls, keeping the outriggers dry, and making the outriggers open and close more easily.
We launched her on Memorial Day. Our weather here has been cold and wet, so much so that many boats at the marina only launched in the last two weeks. After a little launch day excitement, see my other threads, we got to sail her a few times in the last two 3 weeks.
We are reefing earlier this year. Good thing. The forecasts have been all wrong for this area. When the forecast calls for 10-12, and we get 10-25, I am happy we read the weather rather than the forecast and reefed.
Even with a double reef in the main and about 40 % genoa deployed, she powers up quickly out of a gybe. We almost never tack into the wind. In 12 knots, she will reach at 6-7 knots while double reefed. In a brief blow of 20 knots, we had her up over 10 knots. You can really feel this boat accelerate. However, you can feel her stand on her nose when the breeze dies too! At 3600 lbs, she does not carry momentum. I do not remember my 272 slowing like this boat. Of course, I never felt my 272 accelerate.
Unreefed, we found that the leeward outrigger digs in strongly when sailing a close reach or close hauled. It slows the boat. Reefed, she stays flat and is faster.
Sailing off the wind is her weakness, or rather, it gives up her strength. She is fast enough on a broad reach to make up any distance lost to sailing downwind.
Being able to haul the motor pod out of the water is a huge bonus over the first season. We used to send up a rooster-tail with the pod dragging. The spray even got in the cockpit. Now, the boat is faster, and drier. Using the linear actuator for lifting the pod is working well so far. I am curious how many seasons the actuator will work.
Steering the outboard with a linear actuator is working well too. Our fairways are tight, so getting directed thrust from the outboard really raises our confidence level when departing the dock.
I removed the outriggers this Spring and shimmed them downwards in order to make them deploy and retract more easily. This was a good decision. They open smoothly, and they close completely now.
The mast had no sheave for a topping lift. It had an exit on the side of the mast labelled for this purpose, but there was no block to turn the line aft, so the angle was all wrong. We decided to add a boomkicker to keep the boom up when tacking. It is a nice addition while at the dock too. It takes the pressure off the lazy jacks.
We built a warehouse last Fall to store the boat and work on it in Winter. No more rushing to finish all the tasks in 2 weeks of cold, April weather. Next Fall, we hope to duplicate the mast raising system included with later Telstars. It can raise the mast with one line right from a horizontal position over the deck.
Onward and upward with this boat. We are figuring it out. We are getting smoother and faster with it.
Thanks,
Andrew
We are beginning season 3 with our Telstar. She is getting better, faster, more comfortable, and easier to operate, with each year. This year, we are tackling a minor leak in a difficult to reach area, adding boomkicker, sorting out the rudder lift controls, keeping the outriggers dry, and making the outriggers open and close more easily.
We launched her on Memorial Day. Our weather here has been cold and wet, so much so that many boats at the marina only launched in the last two weeks. After a little launch day excitement, see my other threads, we got to sail her a few times in the last two 3 weeks.
We are reefing earlier this year. Good thing. The forecasts have been all wrong for this area. When the forecast calls for 10-12, and we get 10-25, I am happy we read the weather rather than the forecast and reefed.
Even with a double reef in the main and about 40 % genoa deployed, she powers up quickly out of a gybe. We almost never tack into the wind. In 12 knots, she will reach at 6-7 knots while double reefed. In a brief blow of 20 knots, we had her up over 10 knots. You can really feel this boat accelerate. However, you can feel her stand on her nose when the breeze dies too! At 3600 lbs, she does not carry momentum. I do not remember my 272 slowing like this boat. Of course, I never felt my 272 accelerate.
Unreefed, we found that the leeward outrigger digs in strongly when sailing a close reach or close hauled. It slows the boat. Reefed, she stays flat and is faster.
Sailing off the wind is her weakness, or rather, it gives up her strength. She is fast enough on a broad reach to make up any distance lost to sailing downwind.
Being able to haul the motor pod out of the water is a huge bonus over the first season. We used to send up a rooster-tail with the pod dragging. The spray even got in the cockpit. Now, the boat is faster, and drier. Using the linear actuator for lifting the pod is working well so far. I am curious how many seasons the actuator will work.
Steering the outboard with a linear actuator is working well too. Our fairways are tight, so getting directed thrust from the outboard really raises our confidence level when departing the dock.
I removed the outriggers this Spring and shimmed them downwards in order to make them deploy and retract more easily. This was a good decision. They open smoothly, and they close completely now.
The mast had no sheave for a topping lift. It had an exit on the side of the mast labelled for this purpose, but there was no block to turn the line aft, so the angle was all wrong. We decided to add a boomkicker to keep the boom up when tacking. It is a nice addition while at the dock too. It takes the pressure off the lazy jacks.
We built a warehouse last Fall to store the boat and work on it in Winter. No more rushing to finish all the tasks in 2 weeks of cold, April weather. Next Fall, we hope to duplicate the mast raising system included with later Telstars. It can raise the mast with one line right from a horizontal position over the deck.
Onward and upward with this boat. We are figuring it out. We are getting smoother and faster with it.
Thanks,
Andrew
