Author: Jeff

An experienced installer with an assistant probably could have done this in a couple of hours and two trips into the stern of the boat. It took me at least ten trips and a long day. But it’s done. The drive unit for the autopilot is ready for trial. I’m happy with the install.

The big challenge was the access. Manfred warned me it was a bit tight. Here’s the trip. This is looking aft at the port quarter berth with the cushion pulled out

Then headfirst into the tunnel on my back

Slide past the motor, water ballast system. Things are getting tight.

A pause when the berth ends

And then a wiggle down and under to lie on the inside of the hull. No room to turn over.

Hard to get good pics in that space :-). But you can see the drive hanging here. There’s a rudder sensor as well. I used lines to act as rudder stops.

There is no better way to get to know a new boat than to crawl around like this, and I’ll be better able to troubleshoot or jury rig if there’s a failure. But a helper would have really made a difference today.

Random question of the day: is Michael Barbaro computer generated? When I asked Google I didn’t get a ready answer.

I’m pretty sure I’ve listened to every episode of The Daily, and before that a politics podcast he hosted during the 2016 presidential election. I’m also a digital subscriber to the NYT and read their top stories pretty much daily.

Now obviously he’s a real person. But there’s a huge talented team producing these shows, and strong editorial oversight. I guess what I’m saying is it’s a big deal for the NYT. They’re breaking new ground.

I’ve come to the conclusion that an awful lot of Michael’s content comes from a keyboard. He’s laid down a gazillion words and phrases, and a computer does the rest.

If we can watch dead actors on the screen thanks to the miracles of CGI maybe we can listen to Michael host the daily in perpetuity…

Lemme know what the real story is.

I had a long-time GLSS sailor stop by earlier. We had a nice chat about safety equipment and protocols. He told of a sailor who died in an earlier race while being dragged on his tether after going over the side.

I’m still thinking through my equipment list and protocols for personal safety. I have a wireless remote control with the autopilot and will keep it tethered to me. Hopefully that can help to mitigate the risk of being dragged at speed. I need a harness and a couple of tethers. Jack lines will be easy on this boat. It’s a clear run from end to end.

If wearing a tether is a PFD necessary? I’ve been looking at combo devices. And what about all these other devices that people carry? I don’t strive to be the Techno Bill of sailing, but there are several attractive safety devices – PLBs that send a distress signal to SAR via satellite, hand held radios to call for help, AIS distress beacons. But strap it all on and add a knife and a flashlight and it seems a little much. I need to find the right balance, and cover risks beyond just racing. I want to be able to sail solo confidently and safely in any conditions I’m likely to encounter.

Picked up some foul weather gear today. Light and comfortable. I didn’t go oversize as I hope not to have to layer much.

Henri Lloyd Shadow 3D Race Jacket

Henri Lloyd Shadow 3D Race Jacket

I’ve been thinking lots about power for TL this spring. Specifically electrical power. I ruled out solar panels and wind/water generators quickly. It’s a racing boat. Solar may be possible, but not until I figure out where it might live.

The fuel cells look promising, but they’re not cheap, and fuel requires some advance planning. Maybe in the future. I participated in a discussion on Trawler Forum not too long ago on this. I should also say that I’ve learned a lot about 12v batteries and charging systems hanging out on that forum.

But I have a little diesel under the cockpit, a Yanmar 1GM. And I don’t mind the noise of running it while sailing. Currently there is a single group 31 battery well mounted.

My house needs are minimal. Charging mobile devices and my Juul. Running lights are LED. It’s the autopilot, navigation system and instrumentation that requires power. I have radar as well, and plan to use it extensively for watch keeping. Digital, it only draws 2 amps. I’m estimating a continuous load of 10 amps for everything.

The stock alternator on the Yanmar is rated at 35 amps. After some consideration of options I decided to spring for a new Balmar 70 amp replacement alternator. Good stuff, with a solid external regulator. I’ve also ordered a Balmar monitoring system that will track and report charge and discharge rates, state of charge, etc. If I have to run the motor for an hour once every 4-5 hours I can live with that. I’m going to continue to use a single battery, but am considering a jump pack for backup.

One of the cool features of this alternator is that it can be wired with a switch that will limit it to 1/2 power. Since I’m over propped I’ll dial it back when under power.

It should be here tomorrow.

I’ve documented the system here in an earlier post. Today I filled the tanks at the dock. That required getting the pump working. I still have a small leak in the pump but it’s an easy fix. No other leaks that I can see. I’m planning to replace/lube the gate valves as well before I leave. That requires a lift, but it’s an easy job.

I filled both tanks first. The transom was a good 3″ lower.

A couple of hours later I checked for leaks, then drained the port tank. Whoa. I almost lost my tool box off the deck.

This boat has a lot of stability. I guess I was prepared to see the heel induced by the full tank but it was still dramatic.

With the tanks empty the waterline is just below the transom

Note the radar. Got that finally installed today.

I’m really looking forward to sailing in a breeze. Looks like it’s light through to early next week.

Weather here in Chicago has been consistently weird. It was sunny and warm all afternoon. Now it’s foggy everywhere.

I spent part of the day studying the rig more closely. Ran the main up with a good dosing of mcLube on the bolt rope. That made a big difference.

I haven’t yet sailed in anything over 10 knots, but playing with the rig at the dock it didn’t feel like I could get enough mast bend. That led to some minor adjustment of the checkstays, but the rig still looked way too straight. So I loosened the rig, kicked the butt of the mast aft, and retuned. That put about two inches of prebend in and a very sloppy headstay with slack backstays. That seems like a better starting point, though it still doesn’t seem bendy enough. I was getting maybe 8″ max, and pretty even.

I was ready to go for a sail and had invited a few of the CYY folks, but no takers.

I took a pass around the yard and ran into Taylor and Pam. They’re a lovely couple who live in Iowa and have a Shannon 43 that they’re working on making perfect. I applaud the effort. Classic very well put together boat. I met them in the fall and we got reacquainted again this spring. Such is the boatyard rhythm.

Happily they took me up on an offer of a quick sail, and off we went. We motored through the bridge, raised sails, and went for a sail. Taylor and Pam steered and I did all the work. I think they enjoyed it.

Things went reasonably smoothly. The last few feet of the main raise is difficult. Going to try easing the outhaul next time. I still have a few lines to finalize, but I’m feeling pretty comfortable with the layout. I’m reminded all the time that this is a racing boat. While I’ve been lamenting the bare bones steel coffin interior it’s just about perfect on the outside and moving around is easy and secure. Lines, stoppers and winches are well placed.

We had the small jib up going out and the small spinnaker up coming back. Spinnaker is in good shape. I think it’s the newest sail. It’s got quite a different shape. I can see using it lots.

The boat powers up nicely in the light wind, even with the working headsails. I’m excited by the performance potential. But it’s also a big rig with not much in the way of sail handling conveniences. I think I can do it, and I’m willing to experiment and evolve as I learn more.

We sailed back through the bridge and into our berth. I left all the sails on deck and packed up myself later. I rolled the main and put the boom cover on. That works OK.

Looking forward to getting out in more wind. In the meantime it’s electronics install time. As usual I’ve suffered some further scope creep, and I’m replacing all the current electronics. But that’s for a different post.

I’ve been writing this post from a seat looking at the rig. The jumper strut sort of turns it into a masthead rig in some respects. I think I shouldn’t impose my 80s based thinking on this boat too much. It also occurs to me that I haven’t spent much time trimming composite mains. It makes sense that less bend is needed. I’ve done enough thinking on this. Time to get some sailing time in.

I was in Guelph last weekend. There was a memorial celebration for Molly Saturday night at the sailing club, and excellent Snipe racing Saturday and Sunday. About 15 boats racing.

I like the Snipe a lot. Very tunable, not too athletic. I’ve always liked short course lake racing. And there are some very good sailors racing there. My friend Harri in particular is a great sailor, and has spent a lot of time building the fleet there. I think everyone was happy to see him out again, and he won the regatta sailing with Inessa.

Saturday was a bit of a write off for us as we hit some snags getting the boat ready after a winter in the shop. But Sarah and I were ready Sunday, and had several pretty good races, with 7-5-4 finishes. We’ve only sailed the boat a few times, and each time we’re getting a bit faster and smoother and learning how to set up the boat. The breeze was gradually building from a patchy 5-10 knots at the start.

A few minutes before the 4th race Sarah lost her hat and prescription sports glasses overboard after tangling with the vang during a gybe.

We’d had three good starts. The fourth didn’t work out. I was being indecisive, and decided at the last minute to abandon my pin end strategy and get closer to the committee boat in order to be able to get right after the start. So we reached across the line on port tack against the wall of starboard tackers. We ducked the first clump of 3-4 boats. And there was a nice hole above and behind them with about ten seconds left.

We were probably two boat lengths behind the line, and I hardened up on port to try to get closer to the line.

That was a mistake, as it was Harri’s hole. He responded immediately by heading up sharply to block me. Smart move, and one I should have predicted, but anybody else would have let me in and I wasn’t identifying the boats.

Probably in hindsight I should have crash tacked and taken my lumps. But I bore off instead to take Harri’s stern. We were almost on opposite courses, with him sailing close hauled to the line and us reaching away.

Just as we were passing Harri’s transom another boat on starboard tack was bearing off to avoid his stern, and probably didn’t see us coming. I didn’t see them until just before the collision. They hit us about as squarely as possible just behind our port chainplate. Sarah had no warning.

The bow of their boat stuck about 3″ into out boat. After pulling the boats apart and having a quick look at their boat – it was fine – I waved them off to go racing, and we sailed in to assess the damage.

After the other boat came in we confirmed that they hadn’t suffered any material damage. I assured the other crew that I felt that it was my fault – I was on port and they were on starboard.

The boat is repairable, and we’ll leave it in Harri’s capable hands. But it smarts. I’ve been thinking about my accident history, and that’s actually the first time ever I’ve damaged a sailboat in a collision. I’ve broken a few spars, and have crunched Mazurka twice. But my record sailing is no longer unblemished

What went wrong? Coming across on port is pretty aggressive and potentially dangerous, but I’ve done it lots on big lines in the Laser fleet.

I’m not sure why the boat that hit us was bearing off to duck Harri rather than heading up inside him. Maybe they didn’t respond quickly enough to his sudden course change and were more concerned with keeping clear than anything else, or maybe the committee boat was blocking them. Doesn’t matter. I was taking a risk and got nailed when I didn’t properly assess the situation.

Nice day out on the lake. Wind 5-8 knots. We had the original genoa up. Like the main it’s quite serviceable. I think I’ll put the newer sails in storage for the time being.

We sailed upwind for a while then put up the big spinnaker for the trip back.

Rigging with the sprit seems straightforward. About the only major change I’m thinking about is having slugs put on the main. I don’t think I’ll install furling.

Boat handles very well, and feels fast. I’m really pleased and excited. It was nice having Samantha and Sarah here for the maiden sail. They like the boat.

Next on the to-do list is installation of electronics. I brought the radar and MFD from Mazurka, and have a new autopilot and VHF. Ockam system is working, but I need to invest some time in understanding and calibration. Not sure about integration of wind and autopilot, but not fussed if it doesn’t happen.

The cockpit is quite comfortable for lying in athwartships, kind of where Sarah and Samantha are in this pic. I can imagine napping there.

The committee met, and offered a rating of 48 that includes the use of the water ballast. The rating without is 78. The declaration is for the season.

I took the 48. It was harder than I thought. It’s going to be hard sailing to that rating. But looking at the fleet maybe I can be first to finish. I’m in the Superior division with the big guys. That’d be fun. It’s better that sailing slower to ‘optimize’ the rating.