Arwen's meanderings

Hi everyone and welcome to my dinghy cruising blog about my John Welsford designed 'navigator' named Arwen. Built over three years, Arwen was launched in August 2007. She is a standing lug yawl 14' 6" in length. This blog records our dinghy cruising voyages together around the coastal waters of SW England.
Arwen has an associated YouTube channel so visit www.YouTube.com/c/plymouthwelshboy to find our most recent cruises and click subscribe.
On this blog you will find posts about dinghy cruising locations, accounts of our voyages, maintenance tips and 'How to's' ranging from rigging standing lug sails and building galley boxes to using 'anchor buddies' and creating 'pilotage notes'. I hope you find something that inspires you to get out on the water in your boat. Drop us a comment and happy sailing.
Steve and Arwen

Tuesday 18 January 2011

Just when I think I’ve got this standing lugsail yawl ‘thingy’ rig nailed.....................

Osbert comes out with some absolute pearls of wisdom on JW’s forum.....which sets me off realising I still have so much to learn.....and actually that is the point – it is fun learning. It can be frustrating as well – but that’s life! 
Anyway to summarise.......Mick was getting frustrated over using the Gunter rig (yep I can sympathise...read my first blogs! I'm still not clear if i have sprit boomed standing lug sail or a sprit boomed gunter rig) and so posed some questions to the JW forum members like....’would it be easier to sail with a standing lug rig’; to which we all chorused back along the lines of ...’hey don’t give up yet Mick ...because when you get the hang of it – it’s a brilliant rig this Gunter yawl type rig thing’ (which, as I hinted above, I still get very confused over despite several interventions by John...who has yet to realise he’s dealing with someone who, frankly, is thick (or maybe he has realised that but is being tactful). Anyway I digress in to pointless self reflection!

Owen Sinclair came to the rescue for Mick with some really pithy advice and observations along the lines of........
• "If there is enough breeze go out with just the jib and mizzen set, stow the main, and this will help you learn how to handle these sails and to learn to have their sheets to hand".

...and I thought .....that’s really good advice – how come I haven’t done that yet..............

• "go out without the mizzen (he does note that Navigator doesn’t sail quite as well without it will sail without it) which gives you confidence sailing just under main and jib"

....that’s another really good idea Steve.......so why haven’t I done this yet?

"find some experienced crew to come with you to handle jib sheets and/or let them take control and watch what they do"

....nobody wants to sail with me...........I wonder why........?

"use cam cleats not horn cleats; use different sizes and different colours for different sheets"


• "carry spare life jackets so you can persuade any knowledgeable passersby (who stop to marvel at Navigator........and they do) to go out with you"



(Note choose carefully – I did that at Salcombe......and he put me on a sandbar for a couple of hours.........nuff said!)

"arrange the sheets in such a way that main and jib are across your thigh as you sail or close to hand and make sure that the mizzen sheet is ready to hand at the transom"

And I thought........bloody hell – he’s a wise bird is that Owen (but then he has been sailing his navigator for over a decade I think)........if only I’d had the nouse to think of those things........doh....I’m so stupid I actually make Homer look intellectual!

'What's the difference between my brain and Homer's above...answer......nothing! Doh!



Then I read some more replies from other forum members and yep the learning/thinking curve accelerated upwards again......


Try bringing the mizzen sheet up over the stern, through a bulls eye alongside the mizzen mast back on the after edge of the deck, then to a cam type cleat with fairlead” says JW

.........and I think – ‘yep done that’ - mental pat on back.


Can I point out that the mizzen sheet should be accessible from both sides of the cockpit as when you are sailing toward the wind you need to ease the mizzen sheet before you turn away, the mizzen tends to hold her bow to wind and in certain conditions she just won’t turn unless that sheet is let out.” Follows up JW


Well ‘bugger me’ say I......cos in that one small pearl of wisdom.....JW has set off huge illuminated light bulbs above my head.............

...............why am I tacking and then leaving the jib back slightly to force me through the turn before releasing the jib sheet?
Because Arwen didn’t seem to be making a tack – she kept getting stalled!

And why is that Steve?

Because you complete moron – you don’t release the mizzen sheet when you tack and so it holds her pointing into the wind............DOH!

There‘s that Homer Simpson feeling again – stupid? You have no idea how much!



And so....just when I’m feeling completely inadequate...............Robin wades in with

“I found that a bulls eye mounted on the rudder head and a combination fair lead jam cleat mounted on the side of the tiller brings the mizzen sheet to hand at all times”


Of course it does.....what a simple, clever idea! Why didn’t I think of this? Doh!





Kevin B makes me feel better about myself......



I couldn't get the boat to tack all the way through and had to fall off and jibe around. It just didn't occur to me what was happening. That night I realized I had the mizzen sheeted in so tight it acted as a weather vane. I would swing the bow around and the boat just stopped dead to the wind....I guess that's why they call it a learning curve. Once I got the concept it was a piece of cake and actually a lot of fun to sail single handed.”




And so to Osbert, who is one of those truly reflective guys....who I’d love to meet in person because I’d learn so much...........sadly, I’d have nothing to contribute back other than giving him a warm fuzzy feel good feeling that in spending time with me he may have prevented some great seafaring catastrophe in south west England............

Osbert’s pearls of wisdom........

don’t use the tiller – use the sails to steer instead


• lash the rudder in centre and use sails to steer - helps you understand how sheeting affects the boat


• start doing it with jib and mizzen first


• use bungie to set the tiller so that it can still be used in an emergency


• have plenty of space, not too gusty


• start on a broad reach.....leave tiller and unsheet mizzen – ease the mizzen it catches less wind so boat pivots gently and steers away from wind; pull in mizzen sheet – catches more wind and bow turns into wind




....and I’m thinking......that’s such common sense, simple, clever advice.............................WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT? It would have saved me so much pain and heartache and soul searching!



Make small adjustments to try and keep a steady course..........!


• Cleat off mizzen play with jib sheet – do similar things



Osbert concludes.........



Doing this you'll learn how the boat balances, and the effect of the sails. You'll find yourself instinctively moving the sails to make course corrections - which is a good thing as using the rudder too much is like applying a brake!"

"Don't try this in poor conditions or in crowded waters!"
Osbert”



So....on my first outing this year...forget about MOB drills and coming alongside........lets sort out the basics of sail handling first..........Boys......thanks for the homework!

And you know what.....I’m really looking forward to this...because learning is fun; I now know what I have to do to improve......I can see where I’ve been making mistakes......and ladies and gentlemen...this is why forums like JWbuilders (and others)....are so incredibly important and valued by people like me.......the Homers of this world.......DOH!



Thanks guys........no seriously - thanks........You have just enabled me to jump the quality of my sailing in leaps and bounds in next few months....I really can't wait to get started.

Steve


4 comments:

Osbert said...

Steve

You've made me blush! And made me out to be some kind of expert - I'm not!

I'm still learning how to get the best of out of my Walkabout - and playing with sails like this is one of the ways I'm trying to find the answers!

By the way, the sailing without rudder thing was something I did when taking a RYA dinghy course a while back. That was in Wayfarers so we were playing with the jib and main. Part of the reason was to learn how to deal with the situation where you'd lost the rudder, so we actually removed them entirely - which also affects the balance, because you only have the centre board providing resistance to sideways movement through the water.

We also practiced sailing upwind with the centreboard up, to simulate sailing with a broken centreboard - move crew weight as far forward as possible to dig in the forefoot to provide lateral resistance.

All good fun.

And by the way, you've successfully done a longer voyage than I ever have - so knock of this Homer Simpson stuff!

steve said...

didn;t say you were an expert - said you were one reflective guy who always made me think - and you do! sounds like a really good dinghy course - must look into that - cos some of the stuff you mention sounds really useful.
i spend most of my life perpetually feeling like Homer - I'm in education remember - it changes so fast on a daily basis - i barely get my head around anything....sorry if I made you blusah - but you are really reflective and i really admire that in people
take care
steve

Jon said...

Steve, great post. The topic is of of particular interest to those of us sailing yawl-rigged boats. I have sailed with jib/mizzen a couple of times in windy conditions and the boat balances and handles very well...coming about is trickier than with the mainsail up and even more sensitive to the mizzen position as you turn through the wind. I have also experimented with steering by sails and in certain conditions it works well and is a great education on how the sails balance each other and affect the boat. I, too, have not yet had as serious a sailing journey as you, so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

Jon

steve said...

thanks jon. It's interesting - i have had a long journey using all sails; and a hairy return leg in which I learned loads....but Osbeert has made me REALLY think about the skills of sail setting - i need to get back out there asap and sail with just jib/mizzen; tie off the rudder amidships and see what difference it makes. now is a good time - Plymouth sound ain't too crowded in winter!!!!!! i wonder why (as i look at this morning's temp of -2.5C)
thanks for the tips and comment Jon - good to hear from you - stay in touch
Steve