[Rhodes22-list] Thoughts on motor-sailing

[Rob Lowe]

John,
Any day on the lake beats a day, well, doing most anything.  We often just
motor around when there is no wind.  The boat then becomes a floating
drinking, swimming platform.  On windless days we will take the dogs with us
and just putter around.  They don't care much for boating when the wind is
up and they get tossed around.

Rob Lowe
S/V Getaway (' 76)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael D. Weisner" <mweisner at ebsmed.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 5:45 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Thoughts on motor-sailing


> John,
>
> I think you just discovered the latest energy saving craze - hybrid
> boating!!  Now, if we just automated it a bit, the motor could start
> automatically to fill in for the wind.  Maybe we could use one of those
> electric trolling motors that were being discussed a while back instead of
> the outboard as an assist.  We could even use solar electric power and
> regenerative braking with such a setup!!
>
> Naw, nevermind.  I still just like sailing, even when there's no wind.
> That's when it is time to put up the bimini (or anchor shade) and just
kick
> back and have a pint, swig or whatever.
>
> Mike
> s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
> Nissequogue River, NY
>
>
> From: "John Lock" <jlock at relevantarts.com> Tuesday, June 19, 2007 5:07 PM
> > Until this past weekend, I was a purist - If there was wind, I
> > sailed.  If there was not, I motored (or didn't go out at all).  But
> > we're settling into a summertime pattern here in the south where
> > there's just not going to be much wind most of the time.
> >
> > This past weekend, we had a beautiful weekend to sail, other than the
> > lack of wind.  So we headed out anyway, determined to make a day of
> > it no matter what.  Mostly winds were less than 5, if the air moved
> > at all.  But I hoisted ever square inch of sail we had and try to
> > catch some of it.
> >
> > When we got a puff, the sails filled and we'd move a little
> > bit.  Then we'd sit and rock on the boat wakes waiting for the next
> > puff, the GPS stubbornly reporting 0kts.  I finally said "screw
> > this!" and started the motor.
> >
> > As often happens when out on the water, I discovered something very
> > pleasant.  If I kept the motor throttled back, only making 3kts or
> > so, it was just enough to keep the sails filled.  When the wind did
> > return, I could feel the boat heel and I'd kick the motor into
> > neutral.  The sails were already shaped to catch the slight
> > breeze.  Fabulous!  If the puff held long enough, I'd cut the motor
> > altogether and use sail power for as long as it lasted.  When it
> > quit, one pull on the starter rope kept us going.
> >
> > It was a great feeling to know that I wouldn't be relegated to the
> > power boat all summer whenever we wanted to go out and about.  By
> > using just the right combination of power and sail, I could still
> > maintain the illusion sailing, even if it wasn't a pure experience. ;-)
> >
> > Cheers!
> >
> > John Lock
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > s/v Pandion - '79 Rhodes 22
> > Lake Sinclair, GA
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> >
> >
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list