Some Heavy Air Photos

[John C. Harris]

>>>>>>@John Harris, you stated that the Pocketship almost never exhibited weather helm under any conditions. Since a small amount of weather helm is desireable for safety reasons (I'm used to racing planing dingies), I need to know if the Pocketship ever exhibits any lee helm.>>>>>>>>>>


In light air the boat has a touch of lee helm. By the numbers it shouldn't, but it's that long bowsprit, which generates a lot of turning moment. In light air, in a slow tack, there are a few seconds where you aren't generating much lift over the centerboard and rudder before you build up speed on the new tack. If you oversheet the jib at this moment, it takes some lee helm to bring her back up. It's not enough to cause an unwarranted jibe, but you notice it and you get used to easing in the jib on the new tack---which is good practice anyway. In any kind of wind, a normal amount of weather helm dials up.

I talked to Dan Segal about it when he reviewed the boat for WoodenBoat Magazine. He had owned a similar gaffer with a long bowsprit and said his was exactly the same. I wouldn't trade that magnificent bowsprit for anything!

[sailordavy]

Thanks for your reply regarding lee/weather helm. If I understand your answer, as long as the jib is not over sheeted too soon during slow, light air tacking the potential lee helm will not show up. During this situation, if the jib were accidently sheeted/cleated too tight would the boat continue to fall off and jibe or would it eventually head up due to speed generated from the mainsail?

[John C. Harris]

I've never managed to get it to jibe that way. What happens is that if you flatten and stall the jib right out of a tack, the boat just keeps falling off until it builds up some speed and the foils start lifting, at which point it comes back up. I take it as a cheerful reminder from the boat not to pinch right after tacking, and to ease the jib sheet in, good practice whether you're in PocketShip or a 12 Meter.

Once the wind is up over 10 knots or so you tend to come out of tacks fast enough that the turning moment of the bowsprit can't overpower the lift being generated by the foils. Man, I love that English pilot cutter bowsprit, but some idiosyncrasies come attached. Eventually some boffin is going to dial that out by actually rigging the boat as a cutter.

[truenorth]

I'll find a larger [gooseneck] if I ever get around to sailing to the Bahamas. (For 99% of sailors and sailing, the standard RaceLite gooseneck is fine.)

Apologies for bumping a very old thread, but there's good information in here. John mentions upgrading the RaceLite gooseneck for those who are considering longer voyages in more spirited conditions. Is there a recommendation for those of us in the 1% who want a stronger solution than the RaceLite?

Second:
I think the manual indicates 160lbs beneath the floorboards; if you were always solo and not carrying much gear I might suggest 200lbs instead.

Again, thinking about longer cruising in heavier water (Lake Superior, Gulf Stream) Is 200lb enough? Or would the boat benefit by going higher than 200lb under the floorboards, 300-400lb? Microcuisers who have made such passages recommend several hundred pounds of ballast down low.

[John C. Harris]

>>>>>>>>
I'll find a larger [gooseneck] if I ever get around to sailing to the Bahamas. (For 99% of sailors and sailing, the standard RaceLite gooseneck is fine.)
Apologies for bumping a very old thread, but there's good information in here. John mentions upgrading the RaceLite gooseneck for those who are considering longer voyages in more spirited conditions. Is there a recommendation for those of us in the 1% who want a stronger solution than the RaceLite?
>>>>>>>>>

It's probably relevant that PocketShip #1 is now at the five year mark and has had plenty of rough handling in big wind. Lots of ugly flying jibes and general abuse, yet the stock Racelite gooseneck is going strong. My comment is based on the fact that in the course of 25 years of sailing I've broken one or two of the Racelite goosenecks. And Murphy's law demands that yours lets go as soon as you're off soundings.

I don't have a recommendation for a stock gooseneck heftier than the PocketShip-sized unit. They're hard to find on the shelf. It'll be something off a 20-25 foot plastic sloop, modified to suit.

Related thought: A few days back Dave Archer asked about adding a kicking strap, or boom vang, and whether it would improve performance. Answer: absolutely. It would reduce twist in the mainsail. Mainsail twist bleeds off power, especially in offwind sailing. Because of the size of the mainsail, the boom vang would need to be substantial, at least 4:1, if not 8:1. Which brings us to a big disadvantage: when you recapture all that horsepower that's been leaking out of the mainsail, the thrust manifests itself somewhere. You'll see it throw a pretty good bend in the boom, but most of the force is on the gooseneck. Kinda like the guys who burn up stock transmissions when they add ECU chips and turbos to small engines: everything attached to the engine better be able to handle the additional power!

The stock gooseneck has proven adequate for the way people use PocketShip. No armchair philosophizing or anguished emails, please.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Second:
I think the manual indicates 160lbs beneath the floorboards; if you were always solo and not carrying much gear I might suggest 200lbs instead.
Again, thinking about longer cruising in heavier water (Lake Superior, Gulf Stream) Is 200lb enough? Or would the boat benefit by going higher than 200lb under the floorboards, 300-400lb? Microcuisers who have made such passages recommend several hundred pounds of ballast down low.
>>>>>>>>>

If you have cruising stores aboard, I do NOT advocate additional ballast. My observation is that almost everybody is sailing the boat light and unprovisioned, in which case 200lbs beneath the floorboards rather than the recommended 160 seems to yield better handling. But more isn't better. Too much lead will drug the boat's handling in conditions that require liveliness, and the extra lead would make dangerous inroads on the positive buoyancy in a swamping situation.

[truenorth]

Thanks, John. Just the recommendations needed!