[Rhodes22-list] First Sailing--88 R22 (centerboard)

[Keith Bracknell]

Thanks for the advice on the centerboard

--- Michael Meltzer <mjm@michaelmeltzer.com> wrote:
> Sounds like you had a good time, two things to watch
> out for on that mooring:
> 
> 1)install a plague at the center board pennant "Did
> You lift the centerboard", the problem is sooner or
> later you get back at the mooring on high tide and
> leave the centerboard down. The board "pivots up" if
> is settles to the bottom on a falling tide it will
> break the centerboard cap flooding the boat. the
> foam will save the boat from sinking but a really
> pain-in-the-ass, BTW make sure to drain the water
> before bring it back on the trailer(the water weight
> will crush boat/trailer)
> 
> 2)sooner or later a full moon low and wind will
> leave the boat on the mud, might glum up the
> centerboard opening, most times it will clean it on
> it own, sometime a long screew drive needs to get a
> rock out(as tilt it at the next low tide, or load
> onto trailer)
> 
> MJM
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: Keith Bracknell 
>   To: rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org 
>   Sent: Monday, August 05, 2002 2:04 PM
>   Subject: [Rhodes22-list] First Sailing--88 R22
> 
> 
>   [Aria is her name now. Haven't decided whether to
> rename her]
> 
>   Saturday was hot! 90 deg F, 70 degree dewpoint.
> The DEP dockmaster gave me space in the shade above
> the ramp so I could put up my mast. 45 minutes later
> the mast was up.  I'm dropping big beads of sweat,
> but feeling pretty confident after raising the mast
> by myself. Lots of traffic. I raised the mast
> through about 25 launchings. Stink boaters. 
> 
>   My wife (Debbie), 14 year old stepdaughter
> (Caitlin) and two of her girlfriends arrived and
> were ready to launch. Caitlin and one of her friends
> climb on my R22. I punch in 4WD on my SUV, back the
> trailer down into the water, set the handbrake, walk
> to the hitch, and release the winch.  Then I back
> the trailer down a bit more and tap the brakes hard.
> The boat pops loose and floats off the trailer. The
> girls toss the bow and stern lines to Debbie and
> Caitlin's other friend and I release the bow hook
> from the trailer. I go park the trailer and by the
> time I get back the lines are cleated. 
> 
>   I hop in, lower the tiller and fire up the
> outboard. Tide's flooding in with a south wind so I
> get pushed up the Connecticut River off the dock.
> Perfect. I swing the bow around and motor out to the
> RR bridge. The bridge's down. Brief wait. The girls
> have are in bikinis on the foredeck. Innocence and
> mischief. Caitlin's friends thinks they're going
> trolling for boys. 
> 
>   We motor through the bridge (strong flow in the
> current between the pilings) and join the parade of
> boats to Saybrook Point. I've watched these boats
> many times from the shore-side. Nice to be on the
> water. Still hot! The light breeze helps a little. 
> 
>   Power boaters roar by. The R22 throws off the
> wakes surprisingly well. The girls wave and squeal
> at the boys they see. The girls in their bikinis get
> attention. 
> 
>   After we've motored along for awhile Debbie points
> to a small forest of masts on the other side of a
> narrow inlet: "Is that North Cove?"  "Girls," she
> says, "that's where we'll be mooring our boat." Very
> little interest from the girls, but Debbie and I are
> pretty excited about it. I just dropped a mooring
> with the Saybrook dockmaster this morning on the
> edge of dredged area of the cove known as "the
> flats".  The mooring is ten minutes from my house
> and is on the south side of the RR drawbridge. No
> waiting for trains to get back home!  No up and down
> with the mast. Only reason I got in was the R22's 20
> inch draft. "The flats" have only 2 feet of water at
> low tide. Few sailboats can deal with that. (I'll
> see how it works later this week when I actually
> moor my R22).
> 
>   We pass the two ivory-white lighthouse towers at
> the base and at the point of the Saybrook Point
> jetty. After we get clear into the Sound I point the
> boat so the wind is to port and I unfurl the main. I
> cut the motor and we're sailing. I settle in for a
> couple of minutes to relax and get comfortable with
> the main. Light wind. The GPS indicates we're doin'
> about 2.5 to 3 mph. OK, let's get a little more
> adventurous. I unfurl the 175% genoa. The boat heels
> a little more and speed picks up to about 4 to 5
> mph. I pull the sheet across the cockpit from
> starboard and cleat it on port. The R22 sails pretty
> flat. Very comfortable. The boats on the open water
> of the Sound are sparse and there's beautiful
> scenary on shore. Debbie picks out K. Hepburn's
> house, a landmark in Saybrook.
> 
>   Caitlin's friends are underwhelmed by the
> relatively slow speed of sailing. They want to see
> boys. Caitlin, however, seems to enjoy the sailing.
> Debbie likes the calm of the sailing. She comments
> that it's relaxing.
> 
>   The sailing was uneventful...I minimized the
> tacking. Slow going downwind on the way back. I had
> to fire up the outboard to get back quickly enough
> to satisfy Debbie's schedule for a meal at an
> Italian restaurant (Alforno's) in Old Saybrook. 
> 
>   When we made it back to the ramp dock. I tied off,
> got the trailer, and backed down the ramp. Still
> lots of ramp traffic, but I powered the R22 to the
> trailer, cut the engine, and she guided on
> beautifully. I cranked the R22 onto the trailer then
> pulled the trailer to an out of the way place to
> drop the mast. Debbie and the girls went to dinner.
> I remained at the ramp to square away the boat.
> 
>   I was tired from the heat. My sweat ran. The mast
> didn't go down as quickly or easily as it went up.
> It took me 90 minutes to square away everything
> including the mast. I saw DEP officers detain a few
> returning boaters who looked overly inebriated.
> 
>   So goes my initial sailing adventure with my R22.
> I look forward to sailing off a mooring.
> 
>   Keith
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>
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