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Watch Out Fog About! Posted On 2010-06-03 , 3:41 AM Hi, This week I found myself on a yacht (length less than 12 metres), with no radar, at sea in the middle of Fog. Visibility was down to about 25 metres, it was cold and extremely eerie and the wind had dropped. We had to get back to our home port, had a couple of miles to run and it was about 3 hours to sunset. Would you know what to do? In these days of GPS things are a lot easier, however, that doesn’t take away the risk of having a collision at sea. So this is what we did (Top Sailing Tips): • Started our engine • Put our Navigation Lights on. • Dropped and stowed our sails. • Listened in on VHF Channel 16 • Posted a Lookout up on the foredeck who had a lifejacket (as we all did) and made sure they were clipped on the fore and aft safety line. • Brought our hand held compressed air canister Horn on deck. If none held on board then a whistle should do. • Sounded one prolonged blast (lasting 4 to 6 seconds) every 2 minutes. These simple precautions prevented us having several collisions and ensured our safe passage back to port, which was a welcome sight indeed. So make sure you are prepared for Fog at sea, especially in these summer months. That’s all for this week Martin P.S. If you like these sailing tips why not send us some feedback to support@sailingtips.co.uk or post a comment below or visit our other sailing tips on our website at www.sailingtips.co.uk/sailingtips comment
Triangle Race 2010 - Reefing and Sail Trimming Posted On 2010-05-17 , 8:46 AM Hi, Well we survived the Triangle Race (2010), and lived to tell the tale: Day 1: Plymouth to Falmouth – lousy weather and the wind on the nose (South Westerly), so we had to beat towards Falmouth – we only managed to make Dodman Point by 1630 and our calculations told us we would not make the finish by the cut off time of 2000, so begrudgingly we motored the last leg and found that most of our class had similar problems and had retired also, which cheered us up! Day 2: Falmouth to Fowey – lovely breezy sunny day and a quickish race to Fowey, finishing 3rd in our Class – we put sail trimming to good use. Day 3: Fowey to Plymouth – again a great day but with winds gusting over 20 knots at times we decided to start with a single reef in the Mainsail. Top Sailing Tip: to get the best out of a sailing boat, the sails need to be adjusted for the prevailing conditions; if the winds are gusting or strong then the boat will be unbalanced under full sail and will exhibit weather helm, particularly when beating/close hauled or on a beam reach. Weather helm is when the boat feels heavy to steer and heads up into the wind when it gusts. To reduce this effect and bring the boat back into balance it is best to put a single reef in the Mainsail. If the wind is really strong then 2 reefs in the Mainsail and a reef in the headsail may be needed. Once balanced, the boat will handle better, be easier to steer/helm and will go faster. Often less sail area can mean more speed and a more comfortable voyage! Top Sailing Tip: it is very useful if competent crews and skippers understand and know how to implement sail trimming. This allows you to achieve the right amount of sail with the right shape for the prevailing conditions. When racing, we constantly monitor the sail shapes, the feel of the helm and the balance of the boat and adjust as things change. This keeps the boat going as fast as possible. Look for the telltales to be flying properly and for creases in sails and billowing / luffing. We employed the above techniques to great effect in the Triangle Race and although the yacht is a relatively slow cruiser, we managed to get the best out of her through sail trimming and even crossed the finish line first on the 3rd day. It’s a great feeling overtaking yachts with lower handicaps than yours! When I get the time, I’ll put an article on Sail Trimming in the Sailing Tips area. The organisation and running of the event by the RWYC was brilliant and we all had an excellent long weekend of sailing – many thanks. Hope that helps in some way Martin P.S. If you like these sailing tips why not send us some feedback to support@sailingtips.co.uk or post a comment below or visit our other sailing tips on our website at www.sailingtips.co.uk/sailingtips comment
First Race Of The Season - 2010 Posted On 2010-05-13 , 8:57 AM Hi, Well we managed to finish our first race of the season in 2nd place and everything went smoothly, with a nice downwind leg back to the finish line during which we hoisted our Cruising Chute and furled the headsail and whizzed across the line. That was when our problems started! You see, when we let go the Cruising Chute halyard, nothing happened, it was jammed, so what should we do? We headed up in to the wind to deflate the sail and tried pulling hard on the sheets, but it still wouldn’t budge. As we had finished the race we decided on the following which I think makes a great Sailing Tip: We pulled the sheets ends back through their blocks and then proceeded to wrap the Cruising Chute around the forestay to prevent it filling until we were happy it was secure. This meant we could not use the headsail again until we had sorted the problem. Then we headed back to the marina and moored up. Now we were in a better position to sort the problem out in our own time, without worrying about other issues. Once the yacht was secured alongside we unfurled the Cruising Chute from around the forestay and with several people ashore, the sheets attached to the Clew, along with another line attached to the Tack, were passed ashore and then walked along the pontoon some way to get a better angle of pull on the Halyard block at the top of the mast. The halyard was again released and after several hard tugs, it came free and the Sail was lowered, removed and repacked. So what caused the problem? The end of the halyard which connects to the Head of the sail has a plastic ring around it to prevent the splice from entering the block and jamming it – this had failed to do its job and had slid along the splice exposing a thicker rope taper, which could then jam itself in the mast head roller block. It’s worth remembering that winching up a Spinnaker or Chute halyard like this too hard can cause what happened to us. So it’s best to be aware of this and try and get the sail up fast by hand before the wind fills it, and thus prevent having to resort to a winch and over tension it. What would you have done in the above situation? What if you were at sea and couldn't go back alongside to sort the problem out? If at sea or anchored and reasonably calm, then it's probably a case of getting out the Bosun's Chair and somebody going aloft, probably hoisted by the Mainsail Halyard to identify the cause of the problem and then secure a line on the Chute Halyard quick release coupling. Once that is done you could probably feed that down haul line through a block, secured up forward somewhere, and fed back to a winch and pull down to release the jamm, with the halyard released but under control. That should clear the problem. Hope that helps in some way Martin P.S. Next up is the Triangle Race (Plymouth/Flamouth/Fowey/Plymouth). If you like these sailing tips why not send us some feedback to support@sailingtips.co.uk or post a comment below or visit our other sailing tips on our website at www.sailingtips.co.uk/sailingtips comment
Last Minute Preps For Sea and the Racing Season Posted On 2010-04-29 , 11:04 AM Hi, My last Blog entry covered what maintenance we had done on my friend’s Fin keel Catalina 320 yacht, whilst it was out of the water. One large job remained, which we planned to do once the boat was back in the water and that was re-rigging the sails, which had been sent to the local Sailmakers for cleaning and repairs. Well a about a week and half ago we had the perfect day for it – bright sunshine and no wind. (Top Sailing Tip - if you are going to be hoisting sails when berthed alongside then make sure you do it when there is little or no wind. If you are at a swinging mooring then it won’t matter too much as the yacht will naturally head up into the wind, but even then the less windy the better). (Sailing Tip - it is always advisable to have the owner’s handbook/instructions available if you have one with the correct diagrams, to help with the rigging of sails etc if you are not sure what to do). On arrival at the yacht with the sails, our first task was to check and pack the Cruising Chute ready for use in our first race of the season which was rapidly looming. (Top Sailing Tip – we have rigged up 3 large hooks which are suspended from the deckhead in the Saloon, to make it faster and easier to pack the Cruising Chute. One for the Tack, one for the Head and one for the Clew.) When preparing the Cruising Chute for re-packing we staredt with the Tack, hooked that on the forward of the 3 hooks and then ran our hands along the Luff to ensure the sail wasn’t twisted until we arrived at the Head which we then hooked up to the next or central hook and then followed the same procedure along the Leach to the Clew and hooked that up on the last remaining free hook ,and then ran our hands along the Foot of the sail until we arrived back at the Tack. Happy that the Cruising Chute wasn’t twisted we then pack the sail into it’s bag ensuring that the Tack, Head and Clew were all exposed ready for clipping on prior to use. That done, we stowed the bag in the fore cabin. (Sailing Tip - Often these sails and Spinnakers have different coloured cloth along the Luff, Leach and Foot (e.g. Red, Blue and White) to make it easier to check and prepare for packing.) Our next task was to rig the headsail, in this case a Genoa. The yacht has a self-furling rig for the headsail and so utilises a drum at the bottom of the Forestay and a Top-Swivel which is connected to the headsail halyard which slides up and down the Forestay. Prior inspection of the Genoa highlighted that there was still some minor stitching repairs outstanding on the Leach of the of the sail, so it would have to go back to the sailmakers for the overlooked repairs. However, as they were only minor repairs and we had our first race only 5 days away, plus we needed to have some time at sea to shakedown and ensure everything was working, we decided to rig the headsail and remove it ahain straight after the impending race. So we cracked on and connected the Tack to the top of the drum using the in-situ shackle, and the attached the Head to the Top-Swivel, again using the in-situ shackle. Next we secured two lines for the Port and Starboard Sheets to the Clew, using Bowlines and ran the Sheets back aft outside of the Standing Rigging, through the Sheet Lead Blocks on the slider tracks, Port and Starboard respectively. Then a stopper knot (Not a figure of eight) was placed at the end of each headsail sheet, to prevent them running back through the blocks, and then each was taken around the main Port and Starboard winches a couple of turns. We then ‘Bent On’ the headsail by feeding in the Luff ‘Bolt Rope’ into the Forestay self-furling groove and hoisting the headsail halyard. Once up and tight, we placed a light tension on one of the headsail sheets and furled the headsail around the forestay until just the Clew was prominent and then took up the slack and secured both the headsail sheets around the Port and Starboard main self-tailing winches, respectively. Before rigging the mainsail, we made sure the Boom was midships, supported by the Topping Lift and secured the main sheet, to prevent the traveller moving around. Also we decided not to refit the Dutch Rigging that this yacht comes with (helpful for short hand sailing when dropping the mainsail). With the mainsail pre-positioned and flaked out neatly on the coachroof, we carefully removed the locking plate (4 screws) at the bottom of the main mast groove to allow the Luff sliders to go into the mainmast groove. Next we attached the Tack to the Tack Cringle where the Boom meets the mast. Then we attached the Clew Outhaul, which runs through the boom to the Clew and fed the Foot Bolt Rope into the Boom groove and gently pulled the mainsail Foot back along the boom making sure it didn’t snag at all, and then tightened and secured the Clew Outhaul at the end of the Boom. Then we attached the Main Halyard to the Head of the mainsail and carefully hoisted the mainsail with someone feeding the Luff plastic sliders into the mainmast groove and as the mainsail went up we stopped to fit the plastic battens into the appropriate batten pockets securing them in place with the Velcro flaps on the Luff of the sail. We also rigged the two reefing lines through the appropriate eyes in the mainsail with one end secured around the boom with a bowline and the other down through fairleads either side of the mast and back though the appropriate jammer/stopper on the coachroof. (Top Sailing Tip – when trying to pass a line through a stopper/jammer, the best way to do it is to feed in the line at the mouth and keep a little pressure on the line and then work the locking lever through its full arc of travel several times, as you do this the internal jaws will draw the line through the stopper until it emerges at the other end, when you can then just pull the rest of the line through and then take up any slack / tension the line with the locking lever down.) With the mainsail up tight and halyard secured, we could checked everything to make sure all the lines were correct and then finally we re-secured the locking plate back on the bottom of the main mast groove to stop the mainsail Luff plastic sliders coming back out. We eased off the Topping Lift so the weight of the Boom is taken by the mainsail and then retightened it, happy that it was moving ok. We then dropped the main sail and flaked it either side of the boom and the secured it with sail ties at the appropriate points along the boom and then covered the mainsail and boom with the mainsail cover and secured it in place with its fasteners. A final check of everything to make sure we hadn’t missed anything and then we secured the yacht. Next week is our first race of the Season so come back and find out how we faired. Happy Sailing Martin P.S. If you like these sailing tips why not send us some feedback to support@sailingtips.co.uk or post a comment below or visit our other sailing tips on our website at www.sailingtips.co.uk/sailingtips comment
Preparing Your Boat For The Sailing Season Posted On 2010-03-31 , 8:57 AM Having just finished helping a friend ready his yacht (Catalina 32) for the coming sailing season I thought I might just summarise all that we did. The yacht is in good condition so it wasn't an onerous task: Last Autumn all the consumables and things that might suffer from the damp were removed whist the yacht over wintered in its marina berth and the water tanks drained down. At the same time all the securing lines were checked and we made sure there were sufficient fenders out at the right height to protect the yacht from the floating pontoon it is moored too, often fenders can work under the pontoon edge providing little or no protection to the yacht hull. We then had a significant wait for an available slot to lift out the yacht onto the park, so it is always wise to think ahead and book a slot early on if you can. In the mean time we removed the sails for cleaning and some minor repairs by the local sailmakers. Typical Marina Boat Lift Once the yacht finally came out of the water and was placed in a cradle/stand, it was time to tackle the hull and prepare it for the ravages of this coming season, we had a nice weather window one recent Saturday, so we set about the task in hand. Firstly, we made sure all the seacocks were Closed (Top Sailing Tip) before we gave it a pressure wash, which removed most of the weed residue. This tip prevented dirty high pressure water jets penetrating the inside of the yacht and causing a mess! Then we used the thin end of a soft wood wedge (Top Sailing Maintenace Tip) to remove any barnacles and the like by gently scraping it across the hull, rudder, propellor/shaft and other fittings etc. This removes verdigris really well and doesn't damage the hull. Using A Soft Wood Wedge To Remove Verdigris At the same time we inspected all the underwater fittings to make sure they were all in good order, in doing so we noticed that the sacrificial anode was about half worn and showed signs of reduction around the fitting bolts, and although it would have most likely last another season or two we decided to fit a new one to be on the safe side, which was an easy task. Sacrificial Anode Attached To The Hull Having donned face masks, hats and goggles, we next gently rubbed any residual material and verdigris away from the hull and fittings, including the bronze propellor shaft and blades etc, using some Alminium Oxide Abrasive Paper (P120 Grade). Top Sailing Maintenance Tip - buy a roll of this and use a soft cork block inside the section of paper when you use it. We took particular care though around the depth sounder transducer window so as not to damage that or the gel coat finish under the residual anti-fouling. On completion we looked like a couple of blueberries from the dust, but it wasn't a difficult task. Then we gave the hull a second wash down and left it to dry for a while. but as it was a breezy and sunny day this didn't take long. Whilst the hull was drying, we positioned strips of masking tape along the water line to enure that when we applied anti-fouling we didn't get it on the polished hull, and in doing so ensured a nice straight waterline finish. Top Sailing Maintenance Tip - if you are careful, you can tape the whole side of a yacht's hull without breaking the tape and keep the line unbroken, just unroll about a foot of masking tape at a time, position it and smooth it on and repeat the process. Once the taping was done and after quick brew and pasties for lunch, we prepared the anti-fouling and poured some into decorators plastic paint trays and used small rollers to apply the anti-fouling paint to to the hull, working from bow to stern and waterline to keel. Again we took care not to cover the depth sounder transducer window or the propellor/shaft and bronze fittings. Once the anti-fouling was dry, we carefully removed the masking tape exposing a nice clean waterline. Next it was time to polish the hull above the waterline and bring it back to a nice sheen using a silcone car polish. This time ashore also afforded a window of opportunity to have some other minor maintenence and alterations undertaken, so it always good to think ahead and arrange any jobs with contractors that need doing. Once all this was completed it was time to get the yacht back in the water. As the yacht was lifted out of the cradle/stand this exposed the areas on the hull that couldn't be cleaned/painted with anti-fouling - so we grabbed the opportunity to do this quickly. There was sufficient time for the anti-fouling paint to go off too (just!) Once back in the water, it was a check of the all the seacocks to ensure the right ones were open or closed. Don't forget engine cooling water (open!) and ensure the water is being pulled through and flowing out of the outlet when you first start the engine. Then it was a quick motor round and back to the marina ponton mooring. Again we ensured the yacht was correctly and safely moored and fendered in preparation for any subsequent Spring gales. The time it took to clean and prepare and then paint the hull was about 3 - 4 hours only, with 2 people. One last thing, I came across this freebie checklist of preps in readiness for the sailing season by Yachting Monthly so thanks to them and hope it is useful to you: Fitting Out Check List Our next task is to refit the sails, which I am told are ready for collection from the sailmaker, but that will be next week's task so until then good luck with your Sailing Preps. Martin P.S. If you like these sailing tips why not send us some feedback to support@sailingtips.co.uk or post a comment below or visit our other sailing tips on our website at www.sailingtips.co.uk/sailingtips comment
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