avoiding a motor

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Re: avoiding a motor

Postby DanaDCole on Tue Mar 11, 2014 1:22 pm

I agree John, and am loathe to add a motor. One reason I probably will is all the rocks and rip-rap we have around our lakes and a strong wind gust could run me into something jagged if I don't have room to maneuver. Sometimes when there are other boats around you don't have many choices--not even a gybe. And I have one summer of dinghy (Skerry) sailing under my belt, so still a lot to learn.

One example I remember is when Charlie Huie and I were waiting to get to a crowded dock and some old fart took his sweet time walking up to get his trailer, etc., etc. Anyway Charlie can correct me but I think we were hovering out there for at least 20 minutes. It was a narrow channel with lots of traffic and if we'd decided to do a bunch of tacks we would have been getting in people's way--not to mention losing our place in line. If it had been all or mostly sailboats I think it would have been acceptable to tack back and forth.

I just think it would be prudent to have the power option for emergencies that come up, e.g., you are about to be blown into someones million-dollar yacht! And what about maneuvering into a marina slip?

I do plan to get out there and practice, practice, practice around a bouy. I got pretty good at sailing the Skerry up to the dock under some fairly adverse conditions last summer, so I think I'm up for it, but the Pocketship's a lot heavier boat, so less forgiving, i.e., I don't think it would be prudent to reach out and grab the dock when you're still doing two or three knots, which I have done a couple times with the Skerry. My goal, at any rate, is to use the motor only when it is essential or when I think it is the safest thing to do. If I get where I don't need it, I can always sell it. (Besides, I plan to use the sun to keep my batteries charged, so I won't be doing any polluting.)
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Re: avoiding a motor

Postby DanaDCole on Wed Mar 19, 2014 1:29 pm

After reading thru all these posts again, I have made up my mind (I think). I am going to do my best to avoid adding a motor. My first attempt will be to purchase a good paddle and hope I can use it to maneuver around docks--no plans to deal with marinas, at least not yet. If I get stuck in a calm, well that's part of sailing. I can paddle quite a ways if I have to, or just wait it out. One idea I plan to try is to set the tiller clutch so the rudder is slightly to starboard and then I should have to paddle only on the starboard side (or vice-versa).

At some point I may get serious about a yuloh, but those oars are pretty long and I'm wondering about where to store the thing. One thing I have seen online is a sculling mount that tilts from side-to-side as you row, keeping the paddle at the correct angle. This, if it works, would greatly reduce the learning curve. I think I saw it on the Duckworks site. Anyone know anything about that?
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Re: avoiding a motor

Postby Bflat on Wed Mar 19, 2014 2:18 pm

Not long ago Woodenboat magazine ran an article that included a neat design for a sculling oar that breaks down into two pieces. The joint is strong and simple and involves a metal sleeve and one bolt. A 9 foot oar would then only take up about 5 feet (assuming the joint takes about a foot of length).

I think a reasonable place to store such an oar (in pieces) would be across the cockpit forward of the transom and aft of the Boom Gallows. A bracket could even be attached to the gallows posts for that purpose. I'd keep it low, just off the seat backs. it seems like it would be out of the way except if dealing with an outboard motor. It would serve double duty as a kind of stern rail. One down side is that it may be as unsightly as a motor is.

Anyway, that's what I plan to try when I get mine on the water.

Bob

P.S. One advantage a sculling oar has over a motor is that you're standing up and well forward which allows for greater vision over the cabin when around slips and other boats. Also, the propulsion and steering are as one. It can be surprisingly awkward to control a sailboat around a slip with an outboard motor, especially in wind. One has to control gear shift, throttle and steering kind of separately, all while popping up and down from the controls to see what's around. Backing out of a slip against a stern wind would be easier with an outboard, though.
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Re: avoiding a motor

Postby DanaDCole on Wed Mar 19, 2014 2:36 pm

I've read you can back with a yuloh by tilting it the opposite way on each sweep so it pulls instead of pushes. You would need an oarlock that holds it down though.
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Re: avoiding a motor

Postby DanaDCole on Wed May 07, 2014 2:46 pm

I had an incident Saturday that has pretty much made me decide to go ahead with the outboard--though I hate the idea. A guy lost forward gear on his pontoon boat and was being blown toward me in an 18-knot wind and gusting. And I was still tied to the dock! I got loose and backed away, but before I could head downwind I was blown the other way and ended up aground--in sand, so no big deal. The lake was a couple feet low--if it had been normal level I would probably have hit rocks or concrete instead of sand.

Anyway, in hindsight I can see a couple ways I could have handled this differently, so another good lesson learned.

My point though, is that this could have been a disaster with the PocketShip instead of my little Skerry. If it had been a PocketShip with an outboard, I MIGHT have been able to get it started in time to get out of the other boat's way and avoid going aground. (Both the pontoon boat and the PocketShip are relatively light and if worse came to worst we probably could have each just reached out and avoided a collision.)

By the way, since he had mechanical trouble, his became the Stand On vessel and it was my responsibility to avoid him. I'm' sure none of you folks, but there seem to be a lot of people who believe sailboats have the "right-of-way" no matter what. I'm pretty positive he was Stand On, but even if I am wrong the other rules are superseded when a collision is imminent. So I did my part, AND I stayed and helped him get his boat on the trailer. (Self patting self on back.)
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Re: avoiding a motor

Postby Dave Archer on Mon May 12, 2014 12:29 am

Two weeks ago I raced Precious Little in an Old Gaffers Association regatta here in Perth. Check this out: http://www.gaffrigsailinginwa.org/galleries/ It was a lot of fun in a fairly blustery day. On returning to the ramp, I backed the trailer into the water as usual then realized the wind was quite strong from the side. We tried a few times to align the keel with the trough on the trailer but no success. I even managed to put quite a ding into her side. In the end, the only way was for me to stand on the trailer near the axle and grab the bow sprit as my son powered her towards me. Then using the motor, at fair throttle off to one side against the wind, we were able to bring her round and hold her steady enough to guide her up the trough. Without the motor there would have been no hope. Also worth considering is the depth the trailer needs to be in the water for recovery. You would need to be well past waist deep to hold her against the wind. Not very easy. I'm all for the motor.
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Re: avoiding a motor

Postby DanaDCole on Thu May 15, 2014 10:12 pm

I agree with you. As a matter of fact we had that same side-wind problem with the pontoon boat I was helping the guy with. He had managed to get his forward gear going by that time but no reverse. Anyway, the wind was blowing hard on his starboard side. After he tried unsuccessfully to line the boat up by muscle power, I suggested he turn the wheel hard a-port, so the motor would be pushing the stern to starboard, and give it a little throttle. This worked perfectly.

So a motor will be added to my boat for that and other reasons. Probably a Lehr 2.5hp propane.
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Re: avoiding a motor

Postby Shudoman on Mon May 19, 2014 3:01 pm

Quick real world follow up on this engine stuff.

I splashed my PocketShip (Ms TaTas) this weekend for the first time. I did it at a lake here in central florida that my son lives on with the intention of tying up at his dock for a series of shakeout and sailing tests. The public ramp was VERY crowded and active. It was the pace at which you had to move in and out of the ramp area was very quickly with 4-6 people lined up at any one time to use the ramp. We put the boat in and before I had time to even admire that it was floating I had to get out of the way. The Torqueedo worked flawlessly. I dropped the centerboard and backed out and was on my way across the lake in less than 2 minutes from getting the boat off the trailer (btw I DO need a tongue extension on my trailer).

It was 2 statute miles to his dock and the motor, at a relatively leisurely pace of 3.5 kts (4mph) and an almost direct headwind, was down to about 58% capacity at the time of tie up. I think that was a pretty good test of the Torqueedo. The motor was smooth, clean, quiet and transferred almost no vibration to the removable engine mount and hence the transom.

I am sooooo glad that I didn't have to mess with trying to sail out of that crowded ramp area or to mess with getting a fussy gas engine running while all those people were watching me and waiting for me to move. I looked like I knew what I was doing on my maiden sail. btw boat sat perfect on her lines and wasn't as tender as I was led to believe it would be.

regards,

Bill
Image
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Re: avoiding a motor

Postby craig on Mon May 19, 2014 5:05 pm

Beautiful, I love the pictures (here and on your blog). Congrats on finally launching!

There's no question that a motor is extremely handy. I'll have to carefully consider my decision to not install one. I can always add it later.
Titania, launched January 2015
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Re: avoiding a motor

Postby DanaDCole on Mon May 19, 2014 8:32 pm

Beautiful boat and glad to hear all went well. BTW, I noticed you have the jib cleat up front according to the plans. Captain Charlie put a block there instead and mounted the cleat back by the other two (same on the port side). It seemed to work very well. Any reason why this is not a good idea?
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