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A Dream

As a member of the board of Wood Islands and Area Development Corporation I have listened as the board wrestled with issues relating to the closing of the liquor store (it now appears it will continue as an ‘agency store’ run by the corporation, but that is another story). What has come into my imagination is the idea of making…creating…made up of whole cloth…a shipbuilding village of the 1860s. Wood Islands has a marvelous resource in the lighthouse and park with a great view of the strait, the harbor, the ferries, and the fishing shacks.The dream is to save old buildings and move them to the area to create a village and represent the shipbuilding industry as it might have been at that time. 

I hope to produce a book outlining the dream and, just today had the idea of having shipbuilding take place on the park site in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the confederation in 2014. The project would aim to eventually become another King’s Landing, Sturbridge Village, or Upper Canada Village…a living history recreation.

But the reason I am posting under sailing is that I am hoping to draw on the expertise of some group like the Lunenburg Shipbuilding Alliance to create something that could represent real shipbuilding at that time. Authenticity to the period of course rules out epoxy and fiberglass! I am hoping to find some people who could create a shipbuilding process that wold not have to be hurried, as long as there could be some sort of activity for visitors to see every day. Whether a vessel of traditional plank and timber construction could find a market is a big question, but I suppose a first vessel could remain at the harbour for tours…perhaps we could fill up a harbour with vessels! Or another idea is to have life-sized, pre-cut pieces that could be assembled and then disassembled and re-used…sort of like big building blocks. Then the process could be illustrated over and over without producing a finished vessel that had to be fitted and used.

At this point the goal I have is to see if some living-museum activity could be funded for 2014 just sitting in the empty park.

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Now in the yard!

The boat hauling went well…but of course SOMETHING had to go wrong! The trailer went down to the wharf with no trouble but, when it came back out of the water one of the tires was flat. A quick trip to Loren Panting of Panting’s garage and it was fixed with a tube…the rims are rusty enough to make a seal a problem.

The weather was awesome…dead calm, sunny, and cool enough to avoid sweating. The trip home was done at 20-30 km/h to keep the mast from bouncing up and down…jerking from potholes broke it’s support and then, dropping, the mast itself once about 5 years ago. The boat now sits safely behind the house for the Winter.

The book I am developing is to be named, “Never the same mistake twice” and I am already planning improvements for the trailer. In its present form the keel sits flat horizontal on the main trailer beam once it is out of the water, but sits on the front edge on the 10:1 sloped ramp as it floats into position. The result is that when the trailer is pulled out of the water there is a significant change in bow position as the boat shifts back.To fix that I plan to add a wedge-shaped timber under the keel so the boat will maintain the 10:1 angle relative to the trailer as it comes out of the water…it would be oriented slightly tipped forward if it were not for the fact that the very low trailer connects to a considerably higher hitch ball on the truck. So the net result should be a boat travelling almost horizontal relative to the ground with the bow attachment remaining just where it was when the boat floated onto the trailer.

Are these modifications important? not really…it is working OK, but every year a little bit more is improved. Hence the name of the book.

 

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Time to pull the boat

The water and air are getting cool/cold enough to take the joy out of sailing and, even with no hurricanes, it is time to bring it home. The challenge is to pick the right day. With the moon phase, the high tides are coming early next week and it requires a high high tide to float the boat onto the trailer without having to back it off the bottom end of the ramp…the planks run out and there is about a 2′ drop off. So tide is one thing…and, by the way Monday through Thursday have good tides at mid-day so there is plenty of time to bring the trailer down in daylight and get the tongue extension bolted on and get the mast lowered before the tide is high.

Next is the question of weather…it appears that there is a small chance of rain every day, but no particularly high winds. So the time is here to bring it out.

I want to try out some trailer modifications which cushion the bow and give a roller to allow the bow to be pulled into place by the person on the boat. Coupled with a redesign of the side supports so the sides do not crush the amas, things should be good. Boat moving is always accompanied by high stress times…what might happen even if nothing actually goes wrong! Wish me well.

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Leslie Stewart’s new book

 

Leslie’s newest book

Leslie continues to write poems and interesting short accounts about life on Prince Edward Island. His latest , he claims, empties the barrel, but in the next breath he begins an account of a new poem he wrote based on his childhood, and how the inspiration refused to take him in the direction he intended. Having been short-listed for the Island book award in poetry, this newest collection should take him to the top.

Among the classic pieces is one where folks at a Halloween party decide to recruit the Wood Islands Ferry to serve as a bridge to bypass a long delayed highway department bridge repair…Ferry Bridge. Another prose piece recounts the hilarious efforts to get a piano out of the basement and deliver it to a friend’s house…Piano Movers.

Then there’s a poem about using a bundle of insulation as a sled because it is padded and slippery…Insulated Sleigh. His newest book is longer than usual…200 pages…and a bargain at $17. If he doesn’t corner you first, give Leslie a call about getting a copy in a couple of weeks.

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Secret of GPS chart-plotter discovered

Single-handing today I had a west wind which meant go south out of the Wood Islands  Harbour if you want to come back on the same wind. All well and good except a rising tide in Northumberland Strait gives a 2-3 Kt current to the west. Running a broad reach…crosswise to the wind…meant the tide carried me to the west even though the sailboat pointed south. 

After an hour I reversed direction…I could tack through the 180 degrees because the boat speed was high enough…about 5 Kts. Now, heading back toward the harbour, I noticed that when the boat pointed toward the lighthouse the little arrow on the GPS display pointed more to the west. OF COURSE, the GPS isn’t interested in the direction of the boat…just the net direction it finds the sensor going relative to the earth. You don’t need a course in vector math to recognize that the tide was moving me west as I sailed north. So I adjusted the autopilot setting until the GPS arrow was pointed toward where I wanted to go. Even though the boat pointed quite a bit east, the net direction was north! I’ve always known you could calculate the direction to point when in a cross current, but the GPS unit makes it even easier. My discovery for the day!

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VHF radio progress

I have ‘bitten the bullet’ and ordered a new marine radio…the old one which has been in use for about 7 years seems to only work on a few channels (thankfully including channel 16) but I have never been able to test the DSC (Digital Selective Calling) emergency function to see if my GPS connection is working. The advice from a technician is that, if only some channels work it is most likely not the antenna or cable.

So I have ordered a new radio…in this case a Standard Horizon Eclipse 1150 for about $130…coming from Canada (Halifax) so it avoids the ‘agent fees’ which are highway robbery. Courtesy of US government regulations, all radios are now type D, which means that they will continue to monitor channel 16 when you are on any other channel…a distress call will interrupt whatever you are doing. Another feature is the display of the GPS coordinates...if I have correctly coupled my GPS to the radio…and the GPS is on…I will see the current coordinates on the radio display. That does wonders for my confidence about the setup.

As best I can tell, the only loss is the ‘loud hailer’ function on the previous radio which allowed me to put speakers on the mast and be able to shout at someone nearby. Not really necessary, I suppose.

So progress marches on even when you aren’t watching.

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Single-handing with autopilot

The last two trips out on my 26′ trimaran I have gone alone. Partly that is due to no one being available and partly due to my primary ‘crew’ resigning…she has decided she doesn’t like wind and big waves and she got seasick. It turns out that the key is an autopilot…in this case a ‘Tiller Pilot’. With it in place I can go forward or below without fear that the tiller will shift to one side or that, even holding in one place, the boat will gradually turn in the wind. Not that a machine can replace a person…especially my wife…but it frees me up to do adjustments without the panic of having to do everything in 30 seconds. There is nothing like the quiet relaxation of sailing along in moderate winds and seas with the autopilot managing the details. The only time I take over is when going diagonally in following seas running with the wind…constant change is needed to head down the waves and then head sideways in the troughs.

I’m making up a checklist of things I should do before starting out single-handed from my home port of Wood Islands. It amazes me how many things there are to do when they are listed out…no wonder I have managed to forget some.:

  1. Print out a tide schedule so I can estimate the current amount and direction… will it be significant when coming out at Wood Islands? Falling current is east by up to 3 knots while rising is west up to the same speed. Look up the marine forecast online…not that that is particularly trustworthy…to see if there are any warnings…winds are usually less that forecast or later in arriving…perhaps due to the length of Northumberland Strait. If a trip to a destination is planned then the wind direction matters.
  2. Drive to an overlook and check how high the waves are…should I abort the trip?
  3. Arriving at the boat, unlock the companionway boards and put them in a locker. Make sure the water level in the bilge is not above the upper threshold for the pump (be sure it is working). Glance around to see if anything is obviously wrong.
  4. Read the wind gauge and evaluate the shape of the various nearby flags for wind indications. Based on those bits of data as well as the marine forecast, choose which sails and reefs to set.
  5. Tie the boat close in to the wharf ladder and remove the normal bow, stern, and spring lines.
  6. Lift the fenders (old tires) and leave them on the wharf.
  7. Lower the outboard into the water and start it to be sure it is functional…and then stop it.
  8. Turn on the instruments…GPS, marine radio, and fish-finder.
  9. Retrieve the autopilot from its storage locker below and connect it to its power socket…be sure to turn on its power.
  10. Put on your life-jacket.
  11. Check the ferry schedule so you won’t be going out when it is going through the narrow outer passage…even though there is room to pass safely, it apparently worries (or ‘pisses off’) the captains.
  12. Remove the jib cover from the chosen front sail and remove the cover and unstrap the mainsail. Attach the sheets to the leech (?…the back lower corner) of the jib.
  13. Raise the jib and tie off its halyard (lifting rope); set the sheets so the jib is on the correct (downwind) side for the wind direction going out of the harbor. 
  14. Raise the mainsail…then unhook the boom from its hold-up wire. Tie off the mainsail halyard and keep that sail sheeted at the center…not off to either side yet.
  15. Loosen the rope tying the boat to the wharf ladder and start the outboard. As the boat begins to move, cast off and keep the tiller almost straight ahead so you don’t rub the wharf.
  16. Keep a lookout for unexpected traffic and motor out to open water.
  17. Choose a direction, set the autopilot on auto, adjust the sheets for the wind direction, stop the motor, and begin the joy of sailing!
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Dinghy buoyancy

The following comment in a thread about rocker (front-to-back-curvature) in a boat on Duckworks forum reminded me of a flaw in my second dinghy:

The distribution of buoyancy along the length of the boat is also important. (Technically the Prismatic Coefficent or Cp). The more the buoyancy is towards the ends of the boat the more efficient the hull is at high speed. Conversely the more diamond shaped the better at low speeds.
So two people in a boat will sink it deeper and usually that means the Cp increases, so it becomes more efficient. Richard Woods of Woods Designs

 

top view showing ‘seat’

I can speak from personal experience about buoyancy along the length…several years ago I ‘designed’ and built a very small (6′) dinghy with a lovely deep V at the bow twisting to a relatively flat stern, but I made this boat quite narrow towards the bow…like an arrow, perhaps…it is so tender in front it takes a complete re-positioning of the first person if a second person climbs aboard and woe to the first one boarding if they try to board from the bow! Perhaps that is an unavoidable result of being so short, but I wish I had made it nearly equal-width throughout its length.

When the weight is properly arranged it rows beautifully with the cut-off bow going nicely through the waves. One time three of my younger (idiot?) friends rowed (with only a couple inches of free-board) over a mile in it to rescue my errant sailboat that had lifted its anchor and was heading out of the harbor. It is also quite rugged and one year floated around the harbor for a week after I forgot it when pulling the sailboat…it ended up buried on a sand spit with 6″ of sand in the bottom and another foot of water on top of that!

Still, I have always wished I had the time, money, and energy to make a stab at designing another very-short boat that would be less tender at the bow.

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8x10s for $1

I just discovered that Blacks is doing a deal on 8 x 10 prints through August 19th for $1.00. Since the files can be transmitted digitally and the chain will return the prints by Canada Post (for about $8 in shipping and postage charges), it is a very attractive deal. When you consider that they usually charge $4.99 (and Walmart charges $3.00), it can be a good time for someone who uses the prints in products to stock up. In my case I used to print my photos on an ink-jet printer, but the declining quality of my printer head output, the high cost of paper and ink, and the water-sensitivity of the prints makes the photo-reprint option attractive. The finished prints easily arrive well within two weeks…perhaps one week if things go well.

Keeping an eye on print prices is fascinating. Having surveyed the market on the internet, the big problem is finding sources (in the US) that will ship to Canada…and even then the shipping costs are absurd. Blacks and Walmart are the best sources so far. In the interesting-but-not-at-this-moment category was the previous Blacks offer of 1000 (!) 4 x 6 prints for $99…about $0.10 per print. I couldn’t get together such an order in the short time allotted. I wonder what next week’s deal will be!

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Jiffy reefing

Yesterday I finally rigged the reefing for my mainsail. Reefing is lowering the sail part way so it doesn’t present so much area to the wind…especially useful in strong storms where the sail needs to be ‘depowered’ to avoid going too fast…or more likely, blowing over. Jiffy reefing is simply a way to make this lowering easier to do…even from the safety of the cockpit, since one usually wishes the sails were reefed just at the time when the wind is so strong you fear getting washed off the deck if you go forward!

Jiffy reefing is a clever arrangement of light lines (ropes) and blocks (pulleys for you landlubbers) which make it easier to bring the mainsail down to just the right place to tie off the sail at the preset place(s). From the drawing you can see that it requires 3 pulleys and a rope that is fed through the reef cringles (large grommeted holes at the ends of the reef line). When the halyard…the rope attached to the top of the sail that holds it up…is let loose a bit, the sail starts to loosen and drop down. By pulling on the jiffy reefing line the two cringles are pulled down to the boom, holding the sail at the desired height. Then the halyard is tightened so the exposed area of the sail is tight again and the reef lines strung through the holes between the cringles can…if the winds and your courage allow…be tied around the bottom of the boom so the center of the sail stays tight against the boom and the excess sail doesn’t flop around. If it has become dangerously windy, you can leave those lines untied. Interestingly enough, the name for the ‘square knot’ in nautical terms is the ‘reef knot’ because it is the best knot to use for tying off those ropes.

While jiffy reefing makes the process considerably easier…especially when done by a single person…it is always best to anticipate the need to reduce sail before the conditions make it too difficult. I usually gauge the wind before starting out and do reefing and choosing a smaller jib while the boat is safely in the harbor, needing no one at the helm.