[Rhodes22-list] What Should I Have Done Differently?

[mputnam1 at aol.com]

 Great advice, thanks Dave.

- Mark


 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: David Bradley <dwbrad at gmail.com>
To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:49 am
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] What Should I Have Done Differently?










Mark, you've probably gotten your fill of advice by now.  One thing I
would add...   once I'm clear of my slip I disconnect the steering
mechanism from tiller to motor while still motoring.  Does your
outboard have a pin to lock it in position?  The tiller will be 300%
lighter in your hand, and you can then unfurl the sails, kill the
motor and be underway, raising the motor when you're ready.  I use the
steering mechanism only when I'm in a tight area.

Dave


On Feb 18, 2008 12:55 PM,  <mputnam1 at aol.com> wrote:
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> I am hoping you can help me learn from my sailing experience today.  I know I 
must have done some things wrong, but maybe I did a few things right because I 
was able to get back to the harbor safely in the end.  Let me describe what 
happened and then ask a few questions.  And let me apologize in advance for not 
getting all my nautical terms right … I'll do the best I can.
>
> My R-22 is kept at the Washington Sailing Marina on the Potomac River, just 
across the river from DC.  The weather this morning was unseasonably warm with 
winds in the 15-20 knot range with gusts up to 29, according to the coast guard 
weather report.  I knew a cold front was approaching and that it would get 
windier as the day went on, but it was around 11am and while I was a little 
uncertain about going out, it was one of those rare weekdays when my lack of 
work intersected with wind on the water.  So I decided to try and see if I could 
handle it and learn something at the same time.  I had thought I'd read enough 
on this group about how to handle the boat in windier conditions – I wanted to 
put some of that knowledge to the test.
>
>
> I was single-handing the boat and motored out of the marina and down the 
Potomac to where I usually head for the center of the river before killing the 
engine, hauling it up and unfurling the main.  Before I killed the engine, I 
noted that the water was choppy, but there were no white caps.  I resolved to 
myself that if I began to see white caps, I'd head home.  I pointed into the 
wind, killed the engine, hauled the engine up and only let out a little less 
than half of the main (having read so many posts on this group about being 
conservative in windier weather) and it almost immediately got out of my 
control.
>
>
>
> The boat swerved into a beam reach and began tipping over, so I let out the 
main sheet to try and keep the mainsail from tipping me over.  Right then I 
noticed that white caps had appeared (great timing on my part).  The clew and 
the foot of the main sail was thrashing around, with a good amount of airspace 
between the clew and the boom.
>
>
>
> As an aside, I've never quite understood what is supposed to keep the foot of 
the sail close to the boom besides just securing the sheet.  In these stronger 
winds, the main was actively pulling away from the boom.  Am I perhaps missing 
some key component to keep the bottom/foot of the main sail in tighter proximity 
to the boom?
>
>
>
> Because I had let out the main sheet to try and control the heeling, I could 
not reach the line to furl the mainsail back into the mast.  The line was out 
over the water.  So I was having to try and pull the boom back into the cockpit 
to get a grip on the furling sheet … which, of course, led to more heeling.  And 
when I pulled on the line to furl the main, it wouldn't furl.
>
>
>
> And, most disturbingly, with so much wind filling the small amount of the main 
that was out, I just couldn't furl the sail.  It wouldn't budge.  I also noticed 
that more of the main seemed to be inching out.  I thought I had secured the 
main so it wouldn't further unfurl, but I don't remember if I had and I don't 
remember checking it in all the hullabaloo.  It never fully unfurled, thank 
goodness, so maybe I had secured it to some degree.
>
>
>
> Anyway, every time I tried to point the boat into the wind, it didn't help 
give me more slack to furl the main.  It was noisy as hell, of course, which I 
expected.  But I didn't get the slackness necessary to furl the main.  And the 
boat didn't want to stay pointed into the wind, which I found a little 
surprising.  I thought sailboats, when pointed into the wind, stayed there.  But 
I guess I learned otherwise today!
>
>
>
> I eventually put the motor back in the water, cranked it up and powered into 
the wind.  The swells had increased to the point that the engine was coming up 
out of the water on every swell, but at least I was seeming to make progress.  I 
then somehow pulled hard enough on the furling line to be able to furl the main.  
I don't know how I did it, but I did.  At this point, I noticed that my tiller 
to engine linkage was not working.  The 8hp Mercury motor I have only has one 
latch to hold the cowling onto the engine and it was failing with the severe 
pressure on the cowling, and the cowling was being ripped off the engine.  I had 
to use the engine tiller to point the motor.  I tried to disengage the linkage, 
but in the frenzy of the moment, I wasn't able to do that.  So I just continued 
steering by using both the boat's tiller and the engine's tiller.
>
>
>
> I eventually made it closer to the shore where the wind wasn't as severe, and 
was able to disengage the tiller linkage and made it back to the dock.
>
>
>
> So here are my questions:
>
>
>
> 1) First, the most basic question -- whenever I go out on 5 knot days, I make 
little progress on the water.  And if 15-20 knot days are too much, it seems a 
narrow window indeed that I am able to sail in.  Is this the case?  Is the R-22 
a boat that should only go out in 10-12 knot winds in order to best enjoy it?
>
>
>
> 2) What should I have done differently when the half unfurled main immediately 
got out of my control?  Should I have steered the boat DOWNwind?  Would it have 
been easier to furl the main if I had done that?  Or is steering the boat INTO 
the wind and the chop the right thing to do?
>
>
>
> 3) Is there something I should be doing differently so that the clew of the 
mainsail doesn't get pulled so far away from the boom in windy weather?  It 
seemed very loose and uncontrollable.  This was one of the two most 
disconcerting parts of the experience (the other being the inability to furl the 
main).
>
>
>
> 4) In a worst case scenario where I can't furl the main (especially if it's 
fully unfurled) in strong winds, should I just try to motor to shore with the 
main flapping away and catching wind?  I didn't know in the situation I was in 
if the imperative is to a) try and furl the main first or b) to just get myself 
out of the windy area of the river even if it means motoring with the main 
unfurled.  I was afraid that if I tried to do option b, that the boat could tip 
over if I was going in a direction that was putting the main into a position to 
be able to tip the boat.  In retrospect, I'm now thinking that it's possible to 
motor with the main unfurled, as long as the main sheet is fully out and 
allowing the main to go wherever it wants to go.
>
>
>
> 5) Has anyone else with the tiller/engine linkage had a similar problem in 
strong wind situations?  The cowling only has the one latch on the back of the 
engine (furthest astern) and this one latch was clearly a weak point in 
situations of stress on the linkage.  If I'm going to be relying on this linkage 
in bad weather conditions, do any of you have any advice on where and how I can 
get more latches put on my cowling?  OR should I not attempt to use the linkage 
in stronger winds?
>
>
>
> 6) What should be the role of the motor in these situations?  Is it the first 
thing to engage to get the boat pointed in a particular direction?  Or is it the 
last thing to resort to?  Should I be able to furl the main without using the 
engine?
>
>
>
> I have to tell you, it was very disconcerting to have trouble furling the 
mainsail.  I have loved the innermast furling main up until this point … but 
pulling with all my might on the line was doing nothing.  It just refused to 
budge.  I still don't know quite how I was able to get it finally furled.  It 
must have had something to do with engaging the motor in the process, but I 
don't know for sure.
>
>
>
> For anyone out there who is reading this and considering purchasing the R-22, 
please know that I think this is a marvelous boat.  The inner-furling mast is 
something that I've been very happy with up until today and perhaps it's all a 
function of this being too much wind for the boat.  Or too much wind for me, a 
relatively inexperienced sailor.
>
>
>
> I don't know for sure the best way to learn how to sail in weather like this … 
especially if I feel I have to go back to the dock as soon as there are white 
caps.  Maybe there is someone out there who is experienced in this sort of 
weather AND knows the R-22 who can tutor me on-board in just this sort of 
weather, but finding that person would not be easy.  But I am ready for any and 
all suggestions.
>
>
>
> Thanks for reading this very long email and I look forward to any and all 
advice … including "stay the hell out of 20 knot wind weather."  Maybe that's 
the root of the problem, but it seems easy to imagine that going out in a 10 
knot day could easily turn into a 20 knot day with gusts in no time at all.
>
>
>
> Thanks everyone,
>
>
>
> - Mark P.
>
>
>
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-- 
David Bradley
+1.206.234.3977
dwbrad at gmail.com
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