A Silhouette in Portugal

Just want to mention this blog about a Silhouette twin-keeler in Portugal. The boat looks very nice, but unfortunately I can't read about her adventures. If you can read Portugese this may be interesting!

Simple self-tacking jib

I read this article in a boating magazine about how to rig a very simple self-tacking jib arrangement, so I just had to try it out. The system setup is like this: a long line is led through a block at the jib, then made fast at the winches. The idea is that when you tack, the jib moves to the other side of the mast and stops at about the same position on the opposite side.

More info and video here.

Another one round Britain

Dylan Winter seems to have set a trend. He is no longer the only one video documenting a circumnavigation of Britain. Nathan Whitworth is sailing his 21 foot Corribee, also a twin-keeler, and his videos are on Youtube, too. There is however quite a difference between the two of them. Nathan's videos are much more personal interest style, while Dylan Winter adds lots of interesting historic, political and environmental background. Also Nathan's taste in music upsets my cat, while Dylan's doesn't. Finally, I have a feeling, Nathan will be done a few years earlier, unless all the gadgets onboard Kudu desert him again...

Nathan's videos are here. He also has a blog.

More about the junk rig

Here is some more information about the junk-rigged bilge keeler in the post below. In a new blog post the owner describes how the boat that should not be able to sail at all, does sail.

When I decided I wanted my own boat there were a couple of things I had to take into consideration. Firstly, I would mainly be sailing single-handed, secondly my arthritis means that clambering on the coachroof or hanking on foresails wasn't an option. After much reading and suggestions I started to look seriously at the junk rig. A single sail, all lines easily handled from the cockpit, reefing being an almost one-handed job. It looked ideal.
Being new to sailing, and having no interest in fitting in with the "Yacht Club" types it even looked odd enough to attract me!

For the uninitiated, I'll just give you an idea of sail handling.
Being heavier than a "normal" sail due to the wooden battens, the halyard has a 4-1 purchase using blocks, which makes hoisting the sail easy. I've added a winch to my coachroof to help with the job as the arthritis gets worse, but rarely use it yet.

The sheet "zig-zags" from the pushpit anchor point up to each batten and back, in use it gets treated as a single sheet.

The only other lines are the yard hauling parrel, this simply pulls the centre of the yard up and in towards the mast, and the luff parrel which moves the whole sail backwards or forwards in relation to the mast in order to balance the boat.

Hoisting the sail is just a matter of letting all the lines go and hauling the sail up! No need to point the boat into the wind, but better if the wind is forward of abeam as the sail will then "weathercock". Once it's hoisted the sheet is taken in and you're sailing! The other control lines can be altered to suit whenever you're ready......
There's no need to haul the sheet in with the sort of force normally used on a "Bermudan" rig, in fact if the sheet starts to feel heavy it's probably better to ease it back off! The stresses and strains on a junk sail are far less than on most other types.

It's often been mentioned how quiet and relaxed sailing a junk rig is, I couldn't agree more!

Read more here.

A junk-rigged Twin-Keeler

According to some, this boat, being a junk rigged bilge keeler, should not be able to go to windward at all. But it does. On this new blog you can read about its adventures. The sail handling really seems very easy. 

Tiller sail self-steering

Anyone heared of this? Might just be interesting to try. 

Sailing: A tiller sail for self-steering: Capt. W. Bligh RN

Publish at Scribd or explore others: How-to-Guides & Manu navigation sailing

Vivacity over the Ocean?

I recieved an email from Peter Jackson who is thinking about taking his Vivacity on a longer ocean passage. 
"I want to take my Vivacity 20 to sea and I want to cross blue water – I’ve been told by the old guys in my club that it’s a stupid idea to even think of sailing any real distance away from the UK in a 20 footer. By the way they only use their boats as caravans so I’m not taking to much notice of them."

So here are my views on the topic:

Thanks for your email. You raise a very interesting topic and I am sure you will be getting very different answers from different people. Most will think that you should get the biggest boat you can afford. However, most people do indeed choose boats for their creature comforts rather than their seaworthyness.

I am myself, somewhat sickly perhaps, fascinated with small boat journeys and have read about quite a lot of them. If you boil the accounts down you get to some facts that may be considered.

As for the contra side first: there are mainly three disadvantages of sailing long ocean passages in a small boat. 1. the smaller the boat, the less wind you can sail in. That means in a gale, the smaller boat has to stop sailing actively and heave-to earlier. 2. the smaller boat cannot carry as much provisions and 3. the smaller boat sails more slowly, making the passage longer.

Now, I did not include accomodation comfort here for a reason. All small boat voyager's accounts tend to agree that a small cabin is a problem only at anchor. While sailing you are either lying down in your bunk, reading or sleeping or sitting down eating, drinking or navigating. You are not, very much walking around anyway.

On the plus side the accounts list: 1. A small boat does often sail dryer as it tends to float on top of the waves like a cork instead of thrusting itself into them like a bigger boat would. This, of course is highly depending on the circumstances like wave length and height, type av boat and so on. 2. A smaller boat is more easily handled, there is less load on the rigging and sails and you can manhandle everyting without the use of electric or mechanic devices that can fail. 3. A small boat is more rigid and less prone to damage. This of course applies to standard fiberglass boats only, steel boats or wooden boats have other characteristics. But a small fiberglass boat is like an eggshell, it's compactness makes it more resistant to impact. Also it is lighter, so the force on impact is less.

This for the general facts. Individually, boats of course are different. While many small boats have crossed oceans, there have been pointed out some things they should have rather than not. Main thing is a sheltered cockpit that cannot collect too much water if the boat is pooped. Here the Vivacity is not favored. It has a comparably large cockpit and not very efficient drains. So probably, if you are going, you should modify the cockpit, making it a little smaller and also make the hatches really watertight.

Now, finally, I am not sure if you are aware of the "Vivacity Mini" website. That guy did some major alternations to his boat (adding a mizzen even) and then sailed it from the US to Hawaii. I am sure you won't really have to make that much changes to you boat to get out on the oceans, but it is at least proof that it can be done.

(Note: the pic shows Alacrity "Hotfly" in a swell).

Arctic adventure

A fast trimaran is probably the most different kind of boat than a twin-keeler. Still, given my faiblesse for small boat adventures I just have to write about American "Captain Tommy's" epic voyage from the Great Lakes out to sea and then via the Nortwest Passage to Alaska. Yes, you go it right. Through the Northwest Passage, singlehanded in a 30-foot trimaran. Now 30 feet may not be small compared to other boats, but for this trip it's not a big boat.

The trip can be followed on this website.