Tips & Lessons Learned 2016

[Jim Cate]

waters.
Does anyone on CF use this form of propulsion, or would you even consider it? I believe boating safety requires (Canadians) to have a manual means of propulsion aboard, suggesting 'oars' as being acceptable??? I certainly do not own any. Even if I did, i would be unable to move my boat if needed.

There must be a size factor in that rule... I can just see the average 75 foot stinkpot with three levels of rowers to propel it along after engine failure... a modern day trireme!

Jim

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Sailorbob8599

Didn't Larry Pardey say he used a 14ft. Ash Sweep (sculling oar) on Serraffyn? And even though it was only a 24' boat, it was what I would call a heavy displacement vessel for its size. Furthermore, I believe Larry claimed he could propel her at 1.5 knots ... I presume that would be in still waters.
Does anyone on CF use this form of propulsion, or would you even consider it? I believe boating safety requires (Canadians) to have a manual means of propulsion aboard, suggesting 'oars' as being acceptable??? I certainly do not own any. Even if I did, i would be unable to move my boat if needed.

Simple. Just sheet your main & a #3 in hard, while you rock the boat from side to side, sculling with the rudder in time with the boat's motion.
I'm too tired to recall the name for it, or explain the science, but it works. You're converting one kind of kinetic energy into another.

There are racing rules which expressly limit how much & how often one can do similar things, particularly in light airs. As it's possible to use this trick to propel quite large vessels. 50'ers being not too tough with a coordinated crew. And yet bigger boats when showing off for guests

My question is, where the bleep do you keep a 14' oar on a 24' boat, & why? And an OB likely both weighs less, & is cheaper. Given the cost of lumber any more.

[JPA Cate]

Or, you could a Google Custom Search on DF for "Yuloh."

A.

[RichandHelen]

This year I learned that "Texing while boating" is a thing. While entering our harbor, a power boat nearly t-boned us. A blast from our horn woke him up. But it was close. As he went by he smiled and said "Texing while boating". They say that this is WORSE than driving drunk and I concur. Be on the lookout and carry a big horn close at hand.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Sailorbob8599

Didn't Larry Pardey say he used a 14ft. Ash Sweep (sculling oar) on Serraffyn? And even though it was only a 24' boat, it was what I would call a heavy displacement vessel for its size. Furthermore, I believe Larry claimed he could propel her at 1.5 knots ... I presume that would be in still waters.
Does anyone on CF use this form of propulsion, or would you even consider it? I believe boating safety requires (Canadians) to have a manual means of propulsion aboard, suggesting 'oars' as being acceptable??? I certainly do not own any. Even if I did, i would be unable to move my boat if needed.

Then you should also recall that Larry also depended on the kindness of strangers to tow his boat into harbors from time to time. We prefer to be self reliant.

Maybe Larry should have spung for an outboard, instead of using other people's powered boats.

[Juho]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Then you should also recall that Larry also depended on the kindness of strangers to tow his boat into harbors from time to time. We prefer to be self reliant.

Maybe Larry should have spung for an outboard, instead of using other people's powered boats.

Maybe he was self reliant, with a flexible schedule. (and not refusing help)

[admiralslater]

when trying to find out why the manual head is fighting back check all the valves not just the Y valve .Do this before ordering and getting half way through the install of your shiny new electric freshwater supplied head.Just because the y valve says over board does not mean that the sea cock is open . The up side is that when I finish the all the hoses pipe clamps and the macerator will be new .BTW did you know that if you give a very light tug on the hose into the macerator the corroded bolts will break off which means you don't have to fight to get the hose off . I an not sure if that is a feature or not

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

TheThunderbird, why no Dyneema for reefing lines? I've long been a fan, & even use replaceable pendants of theh stuff in high wear areas. Like the last few feet which go through cringles.

As to learned lessons:
- If someone's been drinking, & yells "hey, come watch this". Run far away, & film from a "safe distance".
- Don't stand in puddles when working on electrical stuff.
- A mouth full of cooking oil for 30sec. puts out the "fire" from anything that's too spicy.

What is this "too spicy" of which you speak?

Connemara

[Connemara]

For sail and power boats up to 9 metres, Canada requires that you have a manual propelling device aboard OR an anchor with at least 15 metres of rode. Most of us opt for the second, I think; I'd sure have a problem rowing (or sweeping) Connie.

Connemara

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

FYI: Most on this forum already know, but I'll fill you in so you'll no longer remain hopelessly mired in your ignorant haze. Our first boat was an 11ft Kite, and the second was a 19 O'Day we sailed for six years.

Awesome, then you knew the wind would come up sooner or later and that it wasn't really a problem.

Maybe it's just been a while since you had to wait on the wind. It really isn't all that much fun but you just have to be patient.

I was also pointing out that it's much easier to do on a monohull with shelter/food (an anchor) etc than on a small open boat when wet, cold, etc.....without an engine or dinghy

It's especially a bitch at night sailing a small, engineless boat the last 40 miles of a 100 mile RTI Race on the ICW waiting on the wind with barge traffic being relatively constant. (and beachcats don't have running lights)

[jeepbluetj]

If your jabsco macerator pump has the brass studs holding the inlet on, replace them with the stainless bolts BEFORE they corrode away.

Why oh why did they think brass was acceptable?

[Scout 30]

I've bought a lot of stuff on Ebay but forget trying to get a deal on a used windlass there. I ended up sending 3 back to the sellers before I gave up & bought a new one.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Awesome, then you knew the wind would come up sooner or later and that it wasn't really a problem.

Maybe it's just been a while since you had to wait on the wind. It really isn't all that much fun but you just have to be patient.

I was also pointing out that it's much easier to do on a monohull with shelter/food (an anchor) etc than on a small open boat when wet, cold, etc.....without an engine or dinghy

It's especially a bitch at night sailing a small, engineless boat the last 40 miles of a 100 mile RTI Race on the ICW waiting on the wind with barge traffic being relatively constant. (and beachcats don't have running lights)

Maybe you can contribute by telling us what you'd recommend doing if your engine quit, the wind died and you found yourself drifting directly towards the cliffs due to the current or light 1-2 knot wind aboard your 53ft sailboat? I'm not saying that's what happened to us, but what if this were to happen.....is my point and the reason for my proposed remedy/solution.

BTW: Dropping an anchor isn't on the list of possible answers since the depth drops to hundreds of feet withing a few boat lengths from the rocks.

You can't always count on waiting for the wind to come up.

Here's what we did on that day: We continued to sail for two hours making absolutely no upwind progress. Our goal was to return to a marina upwind from our current spot and repair the engine ourselves with parts obtained in a known area. Instead, we continued work on the engine while making progress sailing away from the cliffs, restarted the engine, then motored into a fuel dock 10 miles away downwind to purchase fuel line.

From now on, don't read things into posts that aren't there just to make some "wise guy" comment. We were never in any trouble, it just got me to thinking about what to do in case of an emergency.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Maybe it's time to buy a bigger, more powerful dink? I never did understand the small dink crowd, since we believe that the dinghy should be able to act as a lifeboat, tugboat and towboat should the need arise.

It's cheap insurance if you ask me.

Don't disagree as we have a rib with 15 hp but we had a little blow up floor model and 2 hp in the Med, it came with the boat.

[Eben]

Originally Posted by Sailorbob8599

Didn't Larry Pardey say he used a 14ft. Ash Sweep (sculling oar) on Serraffyn? And even though it was only a 24' boat, it was what I would call a heavy displacement vessel for its size. Furthermore, I believe Larry claimed he could propel her at 1.5 knots ... I presume that would be in still waters.
Does anyone on CF use this form of propulsion, or would you even consider it? I believe boating safety requires (Canadians) to have a manual means of propulsion aboard, suggesting 'oars' as being acceptable??? I certainly do not own any. Even if I did, i would be unable to move my boat if needed.

Ooo a chance for me to chime in... Given that we own one of his vessels...

Yes there's a huge sculling oar on Taleisin, and yes I know how to use it. But boy it's hard work if you're not used to it. I run out of steam before I'm even half way out of the marina...

I can move Taleisin (8 ton) at about 1.5 knots, the problem is that you'd have to do it often to stay in shape!

For the record I've tried it out in the harbour where there's quite a bit of wash and it's still doable, but it's friggin' hard work!

Oh and for lessons learnt! I learnt that just when you think you've experienced every kind of issue that can go wrong with leaving a slip, you learn that it's possible to knock the damned kill switch off your outboard while right in the middle of the fairway! Seriously, does this ever get any easier?

Moral of the story, expect the unexpected, things will go wrong with or without your co-operation. While I wasn't laughing at the time, I can now sit back and chuckle about the experience...