[Rhodes22-list] Depth Finders

[Bill Effros]

Rex,

The downhaul is designed to slip when you hit something.  You can vary 
the amount of pressure necessary to kick it up.  The downhaul is 
supposed to be configured with a loop at the top, and 2 lines going down 
through the "clutch".  If you don't know what I'm talking about, say so 
and someone will find past discussion of this point and post it.

Bill Effros

Charles Henthorn wrote:
> Bill:
>    
>      Noticed your comment "My rudder is set to both kick up, and then pop out if I hit something big." and wondered what technique you used to guarantee that happens.  Do you not tighten the downhaul on the rudder as much as I do or do you have some other feature I don't have?
>   Rex
>
> Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
>   Ben,
>
> There's a lot of silting in Long Island Sound. Also zillions of 
> uncharted rocks. If you look at charts around here there are lots of 
> areas labeled "hen and chickens". Meanwhile, we have a 9 foot tidal 
> variation four times a day. So the locals know exactly when they can 
> scoot over the hen and chickens, and when they can't.
>
> Other people, watching the locals cutting corners, try it themselves 
> three hours later, and rip the bottoms off their boats.
>
> I get around this by never cutting corners. I've got a picture of our 
> local ferry full of old people sitting on the rocks at an odd angle. 
> The captain had been here for 19 years or something like that, making 
> four trips an hour, eight hours a day, eight months of the year.
>
> In my view, you're going much too fast, even in a sailboat, to make a 
> correction based on information transmitted by a depth sounder. The key 
> is situational awareness, not electronic gadgetry. People become so 
> focused on their depth finders that they T-bone other boats.
>
> Needless to say to anyone who sails a lot, I've still hit plenty of 
> rocks, and I've grounded. I pull up my centerboard whenever I sail 
> shallow, and use the rudder as my depth gauge. Since my hand is always 
> on the tiller, I know immediately when I'm in water with the potential 
> for problems.
>
> My rudder is set to both kick up, and then pop out if I hit something 
> big. Those kick ups really get your attention, and you never have to 
> take your eye off the water.
>
> Bill Effros
>
> benonvelvetelvis at theskinnyonbenny.com wrote:
>   
>> I haven't sailed nearly enough. My last trip out was in some rough weather, and I ramed something in the water. I'll send the details because it's a worthwhile story, but the punchline is that I lost the centerboard. So we're on the hard, in the process of fashioning a repair.
>>
>> Meanwhile, we've had a couple of other big projects taking up our free time. But it's starting to feel a lot like spring, and the plan is to be on the lake nearly constantly, Including a couple of overnights.
>>
>> I'm adding a depth sounder while Velvet Elvis is on the trailer. Since Katrina, what used to be deep might be a sand bar (actually, a mud bar here), and old mud bars have completely disappeared.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>>
>> From: R22RumRunner at AOL.COM
>> Subj: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Rummy, was Retracting IMF
>> Date: Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:57
>> Size: 677 bytes
>> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>>
>> Ben,
>> Glad to see that you made it through the winter. Been sailing lately?
>> Slim wants to mount a cleat on the boom like I have and wanted to know how 
>> to cut the plastic block I gave him. He obviously doesn't understand the 
>> opportunity that has been afforded him to purchase a new tool.
>>
>> Rummy
>>
>>     
>
>
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