How does it sail?

[Dan_keller]

Hi all,

I am curious how pocket ship sails? Does it point well? I currently sail a 1976 Seafarer 22, heavy but sails well.

Does the lightness of the hull really help Pocketship sail fast and stable?

[Bflat]

Pocketship's Sail Area to Displacement Ratio (SA/D) = 27.5. That's rather high for a boat of its type. That means it has plenty of sail area for light winds, and will need to be reefed early as the wind increases. So it should be relatively fast (again for its type) in a broad range of wind speeds. Lightness would make it fast and responsive, but not contribute to its stability (in fact it would seem to detract from it). It's chined hull form does contribute to stability, however. That's some of the theory, anyway. I did a google search and see that your Seafarer 22 has a SA/D of 19.1. Compared to that the Pocketship should feel like a more lively boat with perhaps better light air performance relative to the big difference in their waterline lengths (the longer boat will be faster, but might not feel like it). I also see that the Seafarer is considered to be a true "blue water" sailer, built to heavy standards so again, would feel sluggish in comparison to the Pocketship even though it would ultimately make a faster and more comfortable longish ocean passage (not something the pocketship is really intended for). It's kind of an apples and oranges kind of comparison.

Gaff rigs are generally not considered to be close winded, at least when compared to modern Bermudian rigs. However, some say that reputation is undeserved. The gaff has advantages (a shorter mast being among them). I think they look cool too. The jib should make the pocketship's upwind ability be satisfactory, I think.

But (and this is a biggy), I have yet to sail a Pocketship. I hope to finish and launch mine by the end of this summer.

I'm anxious to hear what others have to say. The various videos seem to indicate that the pocketship achieves hull speed easily.

[Pascal]

Gaff rigs usually do not point well but I have to admit that Pocketship does just fine. It is true that she has a big sail area and need to reef early but I never did reef mine( may be should have for my wife sake) .The most wind I got was about 17 mph and she (Naoned) responded like a dream . From 10 mph to 14 mph is just perfect for her .

[Dave Archer]

I have raced Mine, Precious little, occasionally against both Bermudan and Gaff rigged boats of similar size. She holds her own considering the hull length but is by no means a speedster. I carry a high handicap. I have never reefed her sails and have been in some formidable winds off the Perth coast with a good swell and white caps. She just heals over with the leeward portholes deep in the water and Gaff Spar about horizontal. The other boats head for the shore but we just plow onward. The cockpit stays virtually dry. She is a steady little ship and a lot of fun. I cant quite point as well as my Bermudan rigged friends I find. I'm off to Albany in our South West for a raid. I hope to show her off there at the Easter festival of the sea.

[craig]

Wow, that means you're approaching 60 degrees of heel when the gaff is parallel with the water. I have at times allowed the portholes to touch the water, but always quickly depowered because I was scared to let it go much further (not that I would tip over, but I didn't want anybody to fall out!). It's nice to know that Pocketship can easily handle that. I am probably over-cautious when reefing. Part of the problem is that I exclusively lake-sail. The wind will be 5 knots, then gust to 15, and things will get "exciting" very quickly for my lightly loaded boat. I've never had any issue with a capsize, thankfully. Once when approaching the ramp, a motorboat pulled in front of me and I had to quickly gibe. I goofed the gibe in the excitement and accidentally heeled the boat over quite far, throwing myself and a passenger to the leeward side of the boat. The boom went into the water. In the absence of waves pushing a boat, it was the "worst" case scenario to approximate a capsize, and we never came close to taking water over the cockpit sides. I felt very comfortable in Titania after that (and my passenger kept sailing with me).

I can't compare my speed and pointing experience with others since I made my sails myself, and they have some "peculiarities" I believe compared to the better-cut official sails. Using my GPS trace, I calculated that I can sail 51 degrees to the wind with speed, and reach hull speed relatively easily. Wind comes in fits and spurts where I sailed, but I would go out if the sustained wind was 3 knots or better. You can't really complain with performance in such low wind.

Craig

[Bflat]

Sailing with too much heel is exhilarating and can give the impression of speed, but actually slows most boats down. It might seem counterintuitive, but reefing when needed usually lets a boat sail faster. Lots of heel increases weather helm and leeway when sailing upwind. The centerboard loses much of its lift when at a severe angle (causing greater leeway). The rudder becomes less effective too so it has to be held well off center to counter the weather helm and to make up for its reduced effectiveness. At that angle the rudder acts more like a brake than a rudder. In general, long, narrow, deep draft boats are sailed effectively with more heel than short beamy ones like the Pocketship. However, it is good to hear that the Pockethip can handle what comes at her.


Mea Culpa

I wrote the above in response to Dave while still building my Pocketship - and I was wrong as pertains to this design. I have since finished her. After 3 sailing seasons I can concur that Pocketship likes a lot of heel, and sails well that way. I would not have guessed it based on her shape, but she really moves well upwind with lots of heel. 45 degrees is not uncommon. Twice, I've taken water over the coaming. She is always well mannered about it. She goes over so far and stiffens up. I race her, and have twice taken first place in my club's annual regatta and have also done well in our weekly racing series. Not having an official handicap my club took a stab at it and assigned her a Portsmouth rating of 120. That proved too generous. This year they lowered it to 110. She still came in first (granted it was over a fleet of only 6 assorted boats - Catalina 22, Wayfarer Dinghy, Buccaneer, and 3 precision 18s). All have commented on her speed and dramatic angle of heel. She seems to sail better than she should. She's a great boat. Sorry Dave - I stand corrected.
Cheers,
Bob