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