shake down success!

[tipsyravensailing]

Heya all.

finally made it out. not a lot of photos but i was... busy.

Day started with a motor problem. long story short the screws vibrated loose on the fuel pump so it was either sucking air or whatever. pump up the line and runs as long as there was fuel in the carb bowl. fixed that with a pump rebuild on the galley table and out we go.

I was joined by GF and buddy. we got out there and got the main up. the gal dropped the winch handle over board but enh. life. i'm sure its got friends down on the bottom.

We crossed back and forth on macatawa for a good long while and managed to get it back into the dock like i've been doing it all my life.

no wrecks. no dings dents or whatever. lost one bit, a handle. going back out again next weekend w/ a gopro to share the results.

came in and made hobo dinners on the marina grilles - potatoes, carrots, onion, ground beef, cream of chicken soup, salt pepper, lawrys seasoning. wrap it all up in aluminum foil and 30 minutes at 350. delicious. wrapped out the night with a bottle of wine the gal has been saving for a long while.

tinkered a bit on it today and came on home - got the motor dialed in tight enough that a half pull onthe card and vroom.

i'm over the moon but suitably exhausted. 2 hours of troubleshooting an outboard in the sun had me running low on energy before i even got out there

 

[tipsyravensailing]

https://www.facebook.com/tipsyravensailing/

my friend did catch video of her getting the main raised. you'll have to swing by that link to see the lulz of her dropping the winch handle, recovering it, and then dropping it again. like i said in the video - its only 70 bucks and if its the worst thing that happens on the shakedown, then okidoke. just try to be calm and don't get excited over the little shit and just go sailing.

while you're there, shoot me a like

 

[jssailem]

Congratulations on your success.
Fun video. No that is done, many more opportunities await!

No Fear

 

[Boomer54]

Like Captain Ron says, “If it’s going to happen, it’s gonna happen out there”!

Sounds like a great first cruise and day, well done!

 

[tipsyravensailing]

she has been telling me all along (while i'm taking nauticed classes) that she doesn't want to learn by paper but by doing.

Well. now she's learned that winch handles are important and can be lost rapidly. in fact, everything can be lost rapidly. lol.

she's got port and starboard down good, understands when i say raise the main but gives me a glare if i say anything other than rope. so its all color coded. black rope. red rope, white rope.

got it down to where the black line furls the headsail, blue is our sb jib sheet, red the port jib sheet, and the white is the main. she was definately more comfortable a couple miles into the sail.



I did have some issues, but i think i've gotten the downhaul adjusted right now, the outhaul was looser than it should have been, the vang might as well not been there, and i forgot to put the battens in. next time out i'm sure i'll do better.

4.6 knots was my best at a close with both sails out and 7 knots of wind. i'm sure with the tweaks i made i can get clsoer to my hullspeed.

 

[jssailem]

Two thoughts

1. Perhaps one of these floaters would be good as you build up experience. https://www.amazon.com/Five-Oceans-...z4a3wj7oo_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&s=sporting-goods
2. Try to raise the main sail with the boat facing directly into the wind. Then you should be able to raise the sail manually pulling down on the halyard. A winch is not needed. You can add a bit of leverage by running the halyard down beneath the mast cleat, holding the tail of the halyard with the left hand, then reaching up on the halyard with the right hand and pulling towards you, then pulling in the slack with the left. No winch needed.

 

[jssailem]

4.6 knots was my best at a close with both sails out and 7 knots of wind. i'm sure with the tweaks i made i can get clsoer to my hullspeed.

If the wind was 7 knots and you were doing 4.6. That is remarkable. ( no outboard running- right )
With wind of 15 knots you’ll get hullspeed.

Apply down haul after you have raised the main to the top. Down haul (also known as a Cunningham) is used to add tension to the sail luff after it is fully hoisted.

 

[tipsyravensailing]

yeah - i have the bulk to lift the sail but she didn't. i've already ordered a floating handle i should order a spare.

Nope, outboard was soundly off - tilted up out of the water. we were on our third pass i think and i couldn't get the main to swing out so i brought the bow into the wind some and she jumped up - we were doing 2/3 knots up to that point, with a couple stalls.

4.6 was as from the DST unit - displayed on the b&g screens. speed over ground was 0 when we stalled out - there's apparently little to no current where i was.

if 15 is the magic then i'll make a point of finding it.

i presume more than 15 i'm reefing right? still a little in the dark how the hell to do that on this boat. there's fair leads on the port side, cheek blocks on the sb side of the boom, and a cleat. I'm thinking there's supposed to be some weave it up and down shenanigans? maybe one fair lead is supposed to be with a stopper knot? i dunno. i'm just glad it was mild enough that i didn't feel bad not knowing. lol.

 

[jssailem]

Picture of your sail leach and the end of the boom would help.

 

[jssailem]

Basics of reefing the main.

Single reef.

1. A line tied to the boom goes up to the reef crinkle along the leach then back to the end of the boom. This becomes the reefed outhaul.
2. The main is lowered an the reef cringle along the luff is placed on the reefing hook or is tied off to the boom gooseneck with a bit of line.
3. The reef outhaul is now tightened.
4. The main halyard is now raised to the reef height.

All that is left is to tidy up the extra sail along the boom. Some folk let it be. Or you can get sail ties and bundle it up off the boom. Sailmakers often install several cringles alon the sail for this purpose. These are not strong points. So the ties are from the cringle under the sail foot and back to the cringle. Not around the boom. (Easy way to rip your main sail it tying the gathered sail to the boom.)

 

[BigEasy]

IF all you lost on the first outing was a winch handle, you did great!
John's idea of the "locking" floating winch handle is a good one.
The video of your SO facial expression when she dropped the winch handle was priceless!!
Glad to see that she was wearing a PFD while on deck Sail on.....

 

[rgranger]

.... the gal dropped the winch handle over board but enh. life. i'm sure its got friends down on the bottom.....

Common event! I zip tied a piece of pipe insulation foam to mine and now it floats!
I have had the opportunity to rescue my handle once so far

 

[jssailem]

Rescuing the floating handle is an impromptu Man Over Board drill.

 

[DougM]

Why is it that when a winch handle goes over the side, its always in a slow motion end over end somersault just barely out of reach?

 

[jssailem]

If it just leaped overboard and slipped beneath the waves there would be no drama. The flipping is a tease. It makes you think if you jump quick you can catch it.
Of course you can’t.

 

[tipsyravensailing]

Basics of reefing the main.
View attachment 154273
Single reef.

1. A line tied to the boom goes up to the reef crinkle along the leach then back to the end of the boom. This becomes the reefed outhaul.
2. The main is lowered an the reef cringle along the luff is placed on the reefing hook or is tied off to the boom gooseneck with a bit of line.
3. The reef outhaul is now tightened.
4. The main halyard is now raised to the reef height.

All that is left is to tidy up the extra sail along the boom. Some folk let it be. Or you can get sail ties and bundle it up off the boom. Sailmakers often install several cringles alon the sail for this purpose. These are not strong points. So the ties are from the cringle under the sail foot and back to the cringle. Not around the boom. (Easy way to rip your main sail it tying the gathered sail to the boom.)

This is fantastic! Looks exactly like what i was expecting to see. Oddly there's a loop on the mast w/ a very long rope attached to it through an eye, very permanent. I'll take pictures of course. I'll get the reefing lines rigged next time the sail goes on the boom and take photos, see if you all concur with my guesswork

 

[tipsyravensailing]

IF all you lost on the first outing was a winch handle, you did great!
John's idea of the "locking" floating winch handle is a good one.
The video of your SO facial expression when she dropped the winch handle was priceless!!
Glad to see that she was wearing a PFD while on deck Sail on.....

hiya!

Yup. as far as i know! lol. but in all seriousness yeah just the one winch handle.

She and my passenger were both wearing pfds on board, even though he never left the cockpit. She put it on, as did he, without me asking. I threw mine on when i ran up to recleat the main - she doesn't know the knot exactly yet.

On the book of faces (lol) the common comment is always about her expression. Someone said it looked like she watched someone throw a child overboard - the next person said no, more like someone pitched a nice bottle of wine.

 

[tipsyravensailing]

Why is it that when a winch handle goes over the side, its always in a slow motion end over end somersault just barely out of reach?

TWICE!

haha. first time the toe rail caught it and everyone laughed. joke was on us in the end.

 

[rgranger]

Why is it that when a winch handle goes over the side, its always in a slow motion end over end somersault just barely out of reach?

I guess... that if it were in reach, it would still be on board

 

[Scott T-Bird]

It's already been said, but I'll say it again … point the boat into the wind when raising the mainsail! There is no reason to rely so much on winching the sail up with your small sail. Use the winch handle only at the end to pull the stretch out of the halyard. You will need to develop better technique to avoid losing that handle. Imagine doing this on Lake Michigan with the boat bouncing far more in waves.
I always argue that halyards should be led to the cockpit on a small boat. Think how easily your girlfriend could be tossed into the water if there is any kind of wave action. Small rounded coach roofs are not a good place to stand when you need to use 2 hands for raising a sail. I would consider leading lines aft and standing in the cockpit. You will probably spend more on lost winch handles (that you won't lose if you are in the cockpit) than it will cost to purchase the equipment to lead halyards back to the cockpit.