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What a ride....

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Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/05/2003 : 13:13:18

Just got back from four days on the Chesapeake. Three friends three boats. (others were a S-2023 and a Seacraft 23) Although I missed mom and the kids, being solo allowed me to sail hard and really get to know the boat, and, I couldn't have asked for better conditions.

We put in in Rock Hall MD, and spent the night at the ramp. Next morning we set out for Annapolis. Weatherman called for 15-20....he lied. Excited voices on VHF from bigger boats with expensive wind instruments clocked 25-30, with peak gusts at 38....WHAT A RIDE. You know the wind is blowing when the whistling in the rigging becomes very loud and goes to three part harmony. It's hard to judge waves, but at one point the horizon dissapeared. For those of you that have been there and took a picture, you know how it never really shows....still, here it is:

<img src="http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/Images/familypics/Forumshots/whitecaps.JPG" border=0>

Going to windward I had a double reef in, and the jib rolled up except for the last two feet. The boat handled beatifully; the main can fly a nice steady "farmers reef" with the forward half backwinded without flogging in the gusts. The full battens seem to help there. The foredeck was awash most of the time, but the new dodger and spray cloth exceeded all expectations and kept me dry most of the time.

Friday we sailed to St. Michaels in a "mere" 10-15 gusts to 20. Full main, ocasionally furling the jib in the 20 knot periods. I know there has been some more discussion on weatherhelm here, but I can add some observations from the field. As I said, solo I was able to manoeuver on the edge and I let her round up numerous times, in fact perfecting the art...<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>. There is a groove, where you ride and keep the boat under control, in the puffs you pinch just enough to dissipate the energy without loosing too much speed, ie. rudder control. On a beam reach, especially on the backsides of the waves, ease the main, steer down. Then sometimes she just whacks out. After a while you can feel it coming. When she's gonna go, you'll know it. Don't fight it. Rounding up with the rudder sideways kills your speed. Now you have no control and end up heaving for a while before you can fall off, or worse, coming about without wanting to. So, when you know she's gonna go, let her, and when she's done you still have enough steerage to fall of and get back with the program.

Being solo, going up to put in a reef was not the easiest, so a couple of times I kept the main and rolled the jib. Come to find out that the jib contributes to the weather helm more than you would think. Saturday we went from St. Michaels back to Rock Hall, through Kent Narrows. It was a beam reach. Winds 15-20, gusts more....I had a single reef and full jib. I dont want to trigger another discussion on accuracy of GPS as a speedometer, but when is reads between 6 and 8 for three hours you're going like a bat out of hell, period. At one point she rounded up five times.... one right after the other. That's when I gave up and rolled the jib and ended up with a very stable boat, and lost maybe a half a knot. So other than to windward I think I will now opt for a full main/no jib vs. a reefed main with jib.

As a side note here, my buddy with the S-2023 and I are pretty much always racing. His boat has a PHRF that is within a few points of mine, so every change I made in the sailplan could immediateley be checked against the gain or loss over him.

So to end this rambling, I'm still excited from this wild horse ride, the boat performed better than ever. Granted, you have to hold on to it. An autohelm would be a waste of money, in fact I don't think anything other that a tiller in one hand and the mainsheet in the other will do. More like sailing a Laser I guess. She is tender, and you have to get to know her subtle signals, and sail area management is critical, and not always predictable. Once you get it figured out, you're in for a great ride. Waves, from wind or mammoth belch fires moving at 100GPH speeds don't affect her as much as any other boat this size I've ever been on.

On a final note, I bought a $12.00 low pressure high volume plastic 12V air pump at Target. (I'm sure Walmart or K-mart carry them too in season) It came with several attachments, and I used the conic one, wrapped in electrical tape to make it stick in the vent hole of the water ballast tank. The boat was tied up at the ramp. With the big valve open and the air pump running, I came back five minutes later with the trailer to find her sitting high and smiling, ready to hop onto the trailer. I closed the big valve, effortlessly got the bow on the roller and hauled her out. Then I opened the valve again, no water came out. $12.00 very well spent.

Enough already.

Oscar
250WB#618 Lady Kay on the Chesapeake
<img src="http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/Images/familypics/Forumshots/Glitter2.JPG" border=0>

Edited by - Oscar on 10/05/2003 14:12:06

Edited by - on

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 10/05/2003 : 15:46:56

Oscar, great account of great sailing. I hung on every word...

Yes, heeling is the chief cause of round ups... which won't be eliminated by leaning on headsail compared to main.

I can suggest a fix for the rounding up... its called a high aspect ratio rudder... aka the 2nd generation, join Sailgal in the hunt for a beaching.

Regarding sailplan... the fastest I've had my boat going was with a full main and partially furled jib. Full jib was overpowered. Changing to a reefed main and full jib...didn't work, limited the boat to hull speed. Like you, the boat was doing 8.5 mph and did so for hours. That equates to around 7.4 knots and more than a knot faster than hull speed.

Another benefit of the high aspect ratio rudder while on a weather course... is that the helm can be locked and she will stay with the wind very well.

An autohelm can work for some aggressive sailing... but has to have a rudder that has both control and balance.

A forgiveness zone to move that "going over the brink" point further away is what I've worked toward a long time... and found.

To go fast in heavy air... the forestay has to be tight. A tight stay compared to a loose one will also reduce heel by 5 degrees.

A loose forestay however, will provide a faster boat in light air.

The course that can eat the boats lunch is not the weather course (though it can suffer a lot of leeway there) but the broad reach. Because of the large rudder surface, the quartering swell if powerful...can catch a rudder not vaned as it approaches and yaw the boat where a strong wind can then broach her. In that situation... two choices remain...drop the main and go with whatever jib keeps speed within reason or throw out some warps. I think its a reasonable approach to limit speed if using the jib so that hull speed isn't reached. The thought of having the jib overpowered beyond hull speed is disconcerting to me... there is no redundancy for a failed forestay... at least not with the CDI furler. You may have the Shaeffer which provides at least a halyard holding things up.

Yes, the C/B boat is surprisingly comfortable in chop.

Yes, you discovered that she can be quite capable.

You did not mention... feathering the center board back any additional amount for the rough conditions... Did you try that?

Arlyn C-250 W/B #224
<img src="http://www.cox-internet.com/arlynstewart/rr4.jpg" border=0>
N/E Texas and Great Lakes

[url="http://www.stewartfam.net/arlyn/"]Arlyn's C250 Mods n Cruising Stories[/url]

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 10/05/2003 : 17:59:19

Arlyn,

I have the CDI.

I did bring the board back a little, I did not notice a lot of difference. Then a little more, and all that did was increase the drift dramatically.

Forestay was quite tight.

Does Catalina still offer the second gen.? That's the beaching rudder right?

Oscar
250WB#618 Lady Kay on the Chesapeake
<img src="http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/Images/familypics/Forumshots/Glitter2.JPG" border=0>

Edited by - on

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 10/05/2003 : 19:10:30

Oscar,

The 2nd was produced in both blade and beaching but the beaching is the desired find for two reasons. The rudder is a deep high aspect design and the beaching will forgive an accidental grounding and the 2nd wasn't a balanced design and the beaching is easy to gain some balance by milling off a small portion of the rudder head.

Unfortunate perhaps is that many owners who upgraded to the 3rd... found a ready sale for the 2nd beaching by owners of another design who appreciated it's virtues. They are no longer available from Catalina being discontinued in the summer of '99. The reason for the discontinuance was a poor hold down design that created problems... that problem is an easy fix. However, if beating the bushes... I bet one could be found. Many owners will prefer the 3rd because of its well balanced design. An aggressive sailor in rugged conditions... needs the extra control however.

The lack of effect by raking your board back isn't surprising... and can be possibly explained by the necessity for that to be of help, to the need of the rudder to be able to provide control and restrict the yaw. The 2nd can do that... the 3rd cannot. And, yes... raking the centerboard aft begins to reduce its area... so its a compromise. At any rate, your observations lead me to believe that its ineffectual without a high aspect ratio rudder.

While you were preparing your dodger and going sailing...we were threshing out the results of heeling... you will find it interesting some rainy or winter day. Your experiences both in your recent sailing adventure and your flight experience will give you some perspectives about what all was offered there.

Is this the air pump?
<img src="http://www.stewartfam.net/arlyn/air_pump.jpg" border=0>

Arlyn C-250 W/B #224
<img src="http://www.cox-internet.com/arlynstewart/rr4.jpg" border=0>
N/E Texas and Great Lakes

[url="http://www.stewartfam.net/arlyn/"]Arlyn's C250 Mods n Cruising Stories[/url]

Edited by - arlyn stewart on 10/05/2003 19:15:30

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 10/06/2003 : 07:55:52

No that's not the one, mine's just 12V, and not rechargeable. However it looks very similar, just a little thinner. (where this one has the battery). I bet it's the same manufacturer, as the attachements and power switch are identical. I soldered an extension onto the powercord, and it plugs into the 12V outlet in the galley.

Oscar
250WB#618 Lady Kay on the Chesapeake
<img src="http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/Images/familypics/Forumshots/Glitter2.JPG" border=0>

Edited by - on

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