Happiness is a Warm Spool Gun

[Snowpetrel]

She looks Lovely, thanks for sharing these pictures. That drifter sure works well. What weight nylon is it. A yard topsail would go brilliantly in light winds…

[Panope]

Ben,

That drifter has been nothing short of miraculous. My sail maker (Carol Hasse) recommended the it as a solution to a weather helm tenancy that Panope had under her smaller working jib. Helm is nice and light now but the performance boost provided by the drifter is a real eye-popper.

Not sure of the drifter's sail weight. It is made of nylon and Carol mentioned that at 16 or 18 knots it will stretch (temporarily) and become useless above a beam reach.

A topsail is something I have been thinking about but I am afraid it will be mostly a novelty as Panope is already a bit tender with her current (taller than originally designed) rig. It would have to be a really tiny thing but a small vertical yard topsail would make for some dandy pictures. I did rig the flag halyard with the block dead center aft on the mast head - just in case I get a wild hair..........

I do fly the working jib at the mast head (above the drifter) when the wind is very light.

Steve

[sailcruiser]

Steve shes a beautiful boat. It's good to see you enjoying her after all your hard work.


SC

[Panope]

It has been more than a year since the last post so here is an up-date.

Been using the boat quite a bit: Lots and lots of day sailing, about 6 different weekend trips the the San Juan Islands, the annual shrimp slaughter down on Hood Canal and a nice 11 day trip to Barkley Sound (West coast Vancouver Island).

I did manage to finish up a couple projects. I lined the inside of the icebox with fiberglass and epoxy. Used a brush on the finish paint - can see brush strokes but is smooth enough to easily wipe clean. I use frozen 1 gallon water jugs to keep cool. One jug lasts 3 days during constant use. I did leave a frozen jug in place when I was not aboard and some ice remained after 7 days. During the 11 days aboard on that trip to Barkley sound, I used the small Engel Cooler to refreeze a second water jug, rotating every 2 days.

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...psvl22ryl4.jpg

I added "Soundown" acoustic insulation to the engine box. I was happily surprised at the amount of difference this made. Well worth the cost.

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...pswhb7wpqc.jpg

A good friend (a circumnavigator) once told me that it will take a year for me to really learn to sail this boat. At the time I figured he was underestimating my abilities - I was wrong! I now have two (6 month) seasons of sailing experience with the "new" Panope and although I feel like I have got things pretty well sorted, I continue to refine both the boat's rigging and my skills. I try to go daysailing in as much wind as I can safely exit and return to/from my slip. I am typically single handed with a focus on developing techniques for self-steering with a locked helm. The autopilot does a fine job of holding a heading but the goal of "locked helm self steering" is too enticing to leave alone.

Here is a video taken during an upwind leg with a 25 knot breeze. The boat is pretty tender so the mains'l must be deeply reefed. This, along with the boat's high windage and shallow keel means boat speed slows when beating into higher winds. Fetch is only a mile or so but a cross swell from larger water is also present.

Helm was locked during this video.

Warning: Turn your volume down as the initial sound is horribly loud. Sorry for such a crappy Video.

https://youtu.be/Z-c5dRMFazs

Here is a Video depicting some speedy motorsailing. I was on a tight schedule and needed make 80 miles that day - dead to windward. I set the main with a single reef and used my normal power setting of 25%/10 horsepower/2500 r.p.m. This combination of sail and power worked beautifully and I was able to knock of this leg in 11 hours. I have gained some respect for the concept of a motor-sailor type boat that has a small sailing rig.

The Autopilot did all the steering on this leg.

https://youtu.be/WFnZx1ehStI

Speaking of motoring, that normal power setting of 2500 rpm gives 6.2 knots (no wind) while burning .55 gallons per hour.

Best sailing speeds that I have seen are: just under 6 knots while beating (tacks thru 100 degrees on compass), 7 knots while beam reaching, 8 knots on a broad reach (started to get a little squirly in the gusts) and about 7 knots DDW (I'm too chicken to carry full sail DDW as this main is very difficult to prevent on account of the mast being soooooooo far forward).


Things are pretty well ship shape on deck. I have recently cut all the running rigging lines to proper lengths and whipped all ends. Have also been making up lots of soft shackles (from Amsteel) for various uses such as these Jib sheet Pennants:

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...psseeyuziz.jpg

All of the installed equipment and systems have been getting thoroughly used and tested. The only failure that I can think of is a broken dinghy paddle blade (crappy plastic). The engine now has 350 hours and as not missed a beat.

Future projects include rebuilding/refinishing of the main cabin sole, painting (white) some of the bright work down below (to brighten the place up) and replacement of some of the old wood trim that does not match the style of the new woodwork of the Pilot house.

That's all for now.......

Steve

[Snowpetrel]

Thanks Steve, great to hear how panope is going. She Looks great in the videos.

Does she have any Lee helm with the deep reefed main? Sure looks to be sailing nicely, and it's great that she will hold her course with the helm locked.

Cheers Ben

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[Panope]

Ben: There is no lee helm with a deep reefed main. I am still figuring out this boat's habits but my feeling is that as long has the boat is heeled over with the rail in the water, she will have weather helm even if under head-sail alone. In part, what is happening is that as sail area is reduced, the windage of the pilot house becomes a larger percentage of total. Since the pilot house is so far aft, it is essentially a permanent mizzen. The dinghy mounted high on the davit is also contributing to this effect.

The boat will have lee helm only in light winds with with just the head sail set. This is not a usable sail choice as boat speed will only two or three knots (head sails are small).

My ventures into waters that are exposed to the ocean have (unfortunately) been under light wind only. I anxiously wait for the opportunity to sail in strong wind with a fully developed sea-state. It is possible that the boat will not self steer with a locked helm in large waves. That said, I did experience a gust of perhaps 40 knots that buried the port holes deeply, caused an aggressive rounding upwind, followed by the boat immediately returning to the desired heading - all with helm locked.

I find that if the wind is above 15 knots and the main has a reef or two, I can get the boat to self steer on any point between a broad reach and hard on the wind. Anything below a broad reach requires some helm corrections. When running off, the boat does best about 20 degrees above DDW - wing and wing. The jib will stay inflated at that angle and the un-prevented main has little danger of gybing. The wimpy wheel pilot has no trouble steering, but again, a large sea-state may be a completely different story. If I had an offshore passage in the works, I would be looking very hard at a Hydrovane.

Here is another Video. 20 degrees above DDW, wing and wing (no pole) and the autopilot steering a magnetic heading. Boat is making just under 6 knots through the water. Wind is about 15. I could have shaken out that reef in the main, but things were going along so nicely, I did not want to mess it up.

http://youtu.be/6tn4jIX_5h4

[Snowpetrel]

What a great video. Impressive how well that jib stays out without a pole. I guess with the main sheeted in slightly it directs the flow into the headsail nicely.

It strikes me that your sailplan is similar to sprays yawl, without the mizzen or bowsprit. Maybe a bamboo jibboom will get her steering downwind with a lashed helm?

Provided those windows are strong or have decent lexan storm covers I'd have no problems going offshore in her.

She certainly looks nice, and slips along with a very smooth wake.

Cheers

Ben



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[Panope]

Yep, That gigantic main (relative to the head-sail) is spilling a ton of air into the jib. Also, with the head stay so close to the mast, the jib remains close to this re-directed air even when sheeted way out. I certainly did not foresee/plan this pole-less jib concept but it has been a welcome side-effect of this non-standard rig.

I have toyed with the idea of an A-frame bowsprit that pivots up (for cheap dock fees). I am sure it would really improve performance and balance but I worry that a bowsprit would clutter the boat too much. Even the addition of some kind of pole stored on deck does not appeal (crazy idea is to store a pole inside the mast with access achieved by lowing (pivoting) mast in tabernacle and drawing pole out horizontally through bottom of the mast).

I suppose a good old fashioned square sail would be great for running off (carbon fiber yard?). I would also like to play around with twin head sails (wing and wing).

Unfortunately, there are no quick/easy offshore passages to be made to/from my local. The shortest trip is out to Hawaii and back and from what I gather, the northern portions of that trip can be more than a little bit rough. I suppose I could close reach out into the Pacific for a couple hundred miles and then turn around and close reach back. That would be a good test, especially if I could keep from getting swept away to California.

Here are the things I would change or add if I were to go on an off-shore passage:

-Achieve self steering (that is usable in all conditions) by means other than autopilot. Probably a windvane.

-Make Lexan covers for the pilot house windows. The glass is 1/4 inch tempered and is probably strong enough for any "Water" loads. I would worry more about loose equipment thrashing about.

-Waterproof the fore-hatch and companionway hatch. I purposely built the sliding portion of the companionway with a 1/2 inch gap around the perimeter for the purpose of ventilation. This gap should be closed or close-able for offshore.

-Make a new helm shaft that penetrates the aft bulked of the pilot house. This will allow an outside helm to be used when the companionway is buttoned up.

-Build chocks on main cabin trunk to store dinghy.

-Make lee-cloths for the saloon settee bench/bunks.

-Puchase the usual assortment of safety/storm gear: trysail, sea anchor (not sure this boat would be appropriate for running off with a drogue), liferaft, epirb etc, etc.

Here is another video taken during that same downwind leg as in the above video. It provides a look at this boat's very unconventional helm placement. Picture another wheel mounted co-axially on the back of the house. The port side door would have to be remain latched in the closed position.

Steve

https://youtu.be/ytQ0QCBD0EY

[Snowpetrel]

Sounds Like a pretty small list for preparing for offshore, normally mine go to about two pages! Shows how well you have done the work.

Looks like you are in the perfect part of the world for exploring. You must have about 2000 miles of waterways to the NW of you to enjoy so no need to go offshore in any rush I guess. Unless the call of the palm trees are too strong?

Personally I don't see any major issues with a drogue from the stern on her. She has a lot of drag to the keel, and with the dink ondeck the windage aft is no worse than a lot of modern boats with targas and all the crap they normally have hanging of the stern. and the mast forward would hold the head down nicely, specially with a wee storm jib strapped in tight, but with any luck you will never need to find out.

I saw a neat way to lash down a walker bay dinghy on a friends boat, he drilled a few holes in the gunwale, and located them on some studs. then he wingnutted the thing down to the cabin. Simple and secure, and no problems with the plastic dinghy flexing out of it's lashings.

Cheers

Ben

[Panope]

I like the idea of bolting the dinghy down. A variation might be to bolt the dinghy to a couple of 'cabintop shaped' timbers that are then secured with STRONG lashings. That way, when the dinghy goes back on the davit, the house top can be cleared of everytthing for sunbathing or whatever.

It's funny, but I do not have the "call of the Palm trees" much at all. Warm water is nice but the high air temps are no fun for me. I would very much like to make an ocean crossing some day, but not for the purpose of getting to the other side.

Summertime around here is just about perfect for boating and the winter months are great for holing up in the shop to work on projects. So I'll probably never take Panope anywhere beyond the Inside passage to Alaska.

There is that other fantasy trip that is a bit more ambitious: The Northwest Passage.......

Steve

[Snowpetrel]

One day I'd love to get up that way. Looks lovely, but a tad worried about all those bears roaming about in the wilds...

The lashed down chocks is a great idea. It would be a shame to loose that great clear cabintop.

I remember hearing of a little Brent swain 26 motor sailer with a big pilothouse like yours getting through the NW passage. I think she was called Dove 2 or 3. Nice effort. I think they had twin keels and shallow draft and hid from the ice in close.

Keep an eye out for chris and jess on teleport. They should be down your way sometime.

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[Panope]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Thanks Steve, great to hear how panope is going. She Looks great in the videos.

Does she have any Lee helm with the deep reefed main? Sure looks to be sailing nicely, and it's great that she will hold her course with the helm locked.

Cheers Ben

Sent from my HTC_0PCV2 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Another daysail, this time under jib only. Still no Lee helm (Walker Bay 8 mizzen was set). Boat held course perfectly with a centered and locked helm. Below 130 degrees helm inputs were required - just like with other sail combinations.

Boat was able to make a tiny bit of way to weather when "pinched".

I measured the wind speed from deck level at 25 knots gust 30. Boat speed 5 knots. That jib is 120 square feet and it should be a good sail choice up to 40 knots. I am thinking a 60 square foot storm jib would be good for winds above 40.

My goal is to be able to safely keep the boat moving under sail while single handed in high winds.

Steve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4z_L3chNTU

[Panope]

A light-air, day-sail with an emptied sail locker. Once again, the boat stayed on these reaching courses with a locked helm.

Steve

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UD8nUmiOdI

[Panope]

The one area of Panope's hull that I have not been able to keep clean is the bottom of the keel. The rest of the hull can be scrubbed from the dingy or when dried out on a beach.

The first use of this device occurred after 6 months of barnacle growth (I use no antifouling paint) and the effort required to slide it along the keel was considerable. It also took several swipes to get the job done.

In the future I'll do a maintenance keel scrape once every month or two.

The bottom of Panope's box shaped keel is perfectly flat and is about 10 inches wide. The floats keep the scraper pressed up against the keel and also keeps the scraper aligned properly as one pulls the device along the keel with the ropes.

The idea behind the holes is to simulate the action of a cheese grater.


Steve

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...pskuzsfe82.jpg

[Snowpetrel]

Clever. Not sure it would work on the fin keeler...but it would work great on the whole sharpies bottom.

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