3D Genoa Leads

 I've written about this for Good Old Boat and Practical Sailor, but I still get a lot of questions.

My F-24 came with pin-slide cars and an out-hauler. As long as the sail was fully deployed, this worked adequately, though occasionally a little more leach tension was desirable. When the jib was roller reefed, however, the car needed to be run all the way forward, which wasn't a lot of fun when the conditions were rough enough to require it. Lots of spray and flogging. 

Converting to 3D leads was simple.

• The car is set most of the way back, to the full sail, windward sailing setting.
• A bulls eye bushing was fitted to an odd car I found in the free cycle bin. It was originally used to mount a ladder on the rail, but by cutting away the end and fitting a bushing, it became a low profile block. However, any car that you can attach a pulley or low friction ring to would work. The forward track hold down bolt could be replaced with an eye bolt. Many possibilities.  The main thing is to have at least 2:1 purchase so that it can be adjusted under some load, though not necessarily full load.
• A climbing rap ring is used as a sheet guide. They are nice because there is plenty of room inside for all the lines. But a low friction ring or sailing ring could work.
• Cam cleats for both tails.
• I spliced the tails into a continuous line. This reduces tangles and makes it easy to sort out. When one is in the other is out, so it reduces the tail clutter in the cockpit. But they could be separate.
• The line is bare Dyneema single braid for low friction. The tails are covered with polyester to make them large enough to handle and so they will hold well in cam cleats. I used Samson XLS and disposed of the core, after using it to pull the Dyneema through.

The new system allows lead adjustments in just a few seconds to any position. Small wonder all of the sport boats do it this way now, right on up to about 50 feet.

Jib hauled out when reaching deep

 

 

Normal windward setting.

 

 

Hauled forward for a reefed jib.

 

 Hauled out just a tick for very close reaching

 

 

Close-up of bullseye fairlead.

 

 

Not a great picture, but you can see the two cam cleats and the red/white line/loop that controls forward and outhauling

 

 

 

This is a Non-political Blog ...

 ... But it is also my blog.

I started as a Republican. I voted for 

• Gerald Ford. A good moderate guy with a terrible set of cards.
• Ronald Reagan. He had some tough times near the end.
• George Bush Sr.
  
• Bob Dole. I wasn't impressed, but I was less impressed with Bill.
• George Bush Jr.once. He turned out to be too full of himself and not entirely honest.
  

 And that was the last time I voted Republican.

• Barack Obama. I really wanted to vote for John McCain. I believe he is a very good man and would have been good for the country. But I also though Obama could set a valuable precedent. I remember, on election night, feeling that I would be happy with either.  They were both presidential. Mitt Romney would have been OK too.
  

And then we made a turn.

• Hillary Clinton. She could be irritating, but Trump made his money stealing from people in the casino business. I was brought up to believe gambling was a sin, and that casino owners were in the same catagory as pimps. I still feel that way. A moral person just can't enjoy stealing from people. And why was anyone surprised that he turned out to be a narcissist showman a pathological liar? It was ... obvious. Why were we surprised that the world did not respect him?
  

And now it has escalated miles past the point of ridiculous and scary. It seems there is no action or statement or threat that shocks. There is no red line, not in law, not respect for the process or even Constitution. January 6th he proved that he was a dangerous megalomaniac. 

But more damning for the Republican party is that the only thing they can do is circle the wagons and double down on ... a mistake. They have lost the ability to lead or frankly, to think for themselves. They can only rush to see who can spout the most bile. There are better Republicans. Are they hiding? I believe, hopefully, that many are mortified with the state of affairs, mortified that Trump can be presented as the best statesman they have to offer, but at the same time certain that if they put one toe out of line they will be dissected. As a former loyal Republican, I feel sorry for those that have been attacked and marginalized. There are good people in there. But they seem to be fading.

I would have voted for Nixon. He did a lot of good things. He also did one bad thing and, his own party had the character to confront him with it. He had the character and honor to resign. He appointed a good moderate man to succeed him. I respected that. I thought it would be good for that party in the long run. I think it was.

 Now, the Republican party, the party I supported for decades, has lost it's compass and its sole. I don't think they have any idea where they are heading. They seem to have lost track of right and wrong and even the rule of law. I really hope they can start over. I fear they cannot.

I hope Kamala, should she win, will aim for the center. Not too progressive. It might help the Republican party move to the center as well. As I see it, views change slowly, and the US has moved to the left faster than people can adjust. We've made a large group  uncomfortable. Again, I'm not saying whether that is right or wrong, only that it is true. I'm saying a people just can't change that fast. Real change takes generations, and slow but steady is probably better than two steps forward, then three steps back. The result has been an obscene and sometimes violent overreaction back to conservative values, which too often manifest as mean values. Fear plays a big part, and power-hungry people have always known that feeding fear is a cheap short cut to power. We need to be brave about change.

----

America is great, and becoming greater all the time. I've lived here a good while, and you can't convince me it was better 20, 40, or 60 years ago. It wasn't. Isolationism and protectionism have always lead to inflation and slowed economic growth. Engaugment and competition lead to growth and greatness. 

The world is different and at the same time better, but not all people can acclimate to change. We probably do need to slow the rate of change, not because it is right or wrong, but because it is necessary to allow people time to catch up. 

I could, of course, be wrong about everything. Opinions are like that.

 Next up, testing fenders ... but not like this.

 

Maybe more like this. I'm thinking about low freeboard and flat fenders, since they are more applicable to my F-24.

Wrinkles

 I've sailed with polyester sails lots and understand adjustment by stretching. I understand rotating masts and bendy masts and how they affect shape. If you ease off the main halyard in light air, for example, the sail becomes for full and powerful. There are some wrinkles across the bottom, but they do little harm and the sail is faster than if you stretched it tight.

But this is less applicable  to laminate sails. They stretch, but far less, and most of the shape is baked in when they are made. For example, if I really yank on the downhaul to eliminate these wrinkles (basically balancing the mainsheet and outhaul tension) I don't expect to see much change in draft or draft position. Thus, I assume the goal is normally to reduce wrinkles, since they are not the result of any beneficial shape manipulation by stretching (or not stretching) and they will disrupt air flow. In fact, eliminating wrinkles probably takes you closer to the original design shape. Smooth seems fast.

With and without Cunningham tension. A slight difference in camera angle. but if you lay a straight edge on the battens, they are the same. Without a trial horse sailing next to me, I can't honestly, accurately say which is faster because of wind and wave variations.

 

If I measure the draft and position of draft with a ruler I see no change. It seems like sheet metal. It will wrinkle if the fit is poor or if we ask it to make a compound curve.

• Jib. When the sail is first hoisted the luff was straight. When the wind comes up the luff is curves (sags), reducing the straight line distance between between the head and tack. If we don't pretension the sail it will bunch up on the forestay. These wrinkles are primarily horizontal and don't hurt much. We need to be cautious of over tensioning the sail if there is a furler; they don't like rolling under high load.

• Main, square top. The leach is falling away, requiring the top of the sail to take a potato chip shape if there is any design fullness (broadseam). Unless the sailmakers cuts this area very flat, the molded-in compound curve is violated. 

• Mainsail, tack and sliders. Often wrinkle radiate from these (polyester too), and the cause is often that the tack or reef grommet is not tight forward, but has been pulled aft by the outhaul. Even sheetmetal would wrinkle, because you have pulled it out of square. The tack and Cunningham tackles need to pull forwards as well as down. Reef tackles too. A very common shortcoming.

While I'm sure there is some bias stretch, these specific wrinkles can exist without stretch.

The question is whether stretching a laminate sail to remove wrinkles has any material effect on shape, or whether the wrinkles are generally the result of either poor fit or incorrect installation/rigging.

(I've intentionally skipped a lot of factors for brevity. It's just a forum tickler. Mast bend. Rotation. Headboard misalignment. Forgive me.)

---

I'm ordering a new laminate main, not because I don't like my current one, but because it is showing signs of delamination. It's old but still has a nice shape. Until it blows ....

Fender Washers--Basically Worthless II

12-10-2024, Rev. 8-17-2024

This spring I spent several weeks replacing a bunch of rotted deck caused by the use of flimsy fender washers.  That encouraged me to dredge up this old post. There are longer versions, with more data, in Practical Sailor and Good Old Boat.

As ramp-up for some Practical Sailor testing, I thought I would share a preview.

First, unable to secure scraps of deck material for which I could be sure of the pedigree, I laid up some of my own. The testing will based upon 1/2-inch balsa core with (1) 6-ounce cloth and (1) 17-ounce biaxial layers on the deck side and (1) 17-ounce biaxial layers on the under side.

I drill a 1/4-inch hole (no epoxy plug, block of wood on the back side) and tightened down a fender washer against it. At 10 in-pounds (about 675# load) the washer had distorted and the laminate was failing. for comparison, the bolt working load of a Lewmar 40 winch (1/4-inch bolts) with a strong grinder is about 500 pounds each. In other words, without an epoxy plug the bolt will fail under working load and standard ASME bolting load, with no safety factor for aging and fatigue. It is about 5x weaker than good design suggests. It also explains why I had a PO installed winch rip out.

By 18-in-pounds the fender washer was buckled and the nut was well into the core. For comparison, this is about 50% better than a plain pine board in each case.

I repeated the test with only lock washer. The same result! The fender washer resulted in no increase in strength. The point being, that the bolting washer provided better support in close, the end result being the same.

Testing for the actual project will involve proper epoxy plugs. However, since under the load the bolt will NOT be supported on the other side (the winch or cleat will be lifting) in the real world, the top side support will be supplied by a 4-inch diameter ring spacer, allowing the washer to pull through, if that is what it wants to do. I've tested this without the epoxy plug; not surprisingly, it lowers the failure load and creates top side damage much like I saw on my failed winches.

We'll see. But for now, the moral of the story is that fender washers are basically useless; they fail as soon as they are actually needed.

 You can buy extra thick fender washers that are double the thickness, 4 times the strength, and 8 times the stiffness (that's the way increased thickness works). Bolt Depot has , them, as well as many others. This is what the chandleries, including West Marine and Defender should carry. But they would be higher in price and we would buy the cheap ones. Which is why chandleries don't sell crappy rope. They shouldn't sell crappy washers.

[From Bolt Depot. Buy the extra thick ones.]

 

 

How to Pronounce Kamala

At my last job too many employees made a joke out of mispronouncing a Greek employee's name. It was insulting and said much about those employees.

It's really very easy. 

Comma-La

How to pronounce Kamala

Getting it wrong is embarrassing and disrespectful. It's not "former president Tramp." I guess it could be ... but that would be an adjective related to documented behaviors and I wouldn't capitalize it. Never mind, that's off the point. Donald Trump was elected President from 2017 to 2021, and I can respect that as the will of the people.

Use it up, wear it out...

Rev. 8-14-2024

... make it do, or do without.

I love projects put together from the left-overs pile.

This boat hook and fishing rod holder was cobbled together for nothing from some scraps of line and a
heavy aluminum channel that used to reinforce the inside of a fuel oil tanker. A few minutes with a port-a-band, grinder, and drill press made for a holder that should outlive the boat. Most of the time I simply through the hooks on the tramp, and they've stayed there in near-gale conditions though bouncing quite a lot, but sometimes it still seems worthwhile to tame them a bit, or simply to give them a proper place.

Like wise this chain lock came from scrap channel.


My pilot berth came from a leftover shelf.

My kayak tie-off points were purchased bolt hangers, sure enough, but at only $2.75 each and the bolts were salvaged from shaft zincs found lying in the yard, since I don't have shaft zincs on outboards.

This immensely strong genoa sheet came with the boat. Must have, since Kevlar core went out of fashion some years ago... for good reasons. Kevlar will fail from fatigue far below its rated strength if bent to sharply or flexed to often. I have used Kevlar core halyards for many years without trouble; they are sized for stretch not strength, they pass over long radius wire rope blocks, and there is little motion. However, when used as a genoa sheet at high load, secured to the clew with a cow hitch, and occasionally allowed to flog while furling, the fibers crack. In a 15 knot breeze the core let go, leaving only the badly sunburned sheath to carry the load. How it came to fail internally without snapping completely is something of a misery to me; just the right combination of winds and flogging such that it gave up from fatigue when the load was not actually great. I cut the line at the failure and sailed home with bowlines; after all, it's not worn out yet.

Note the thin spot to the left--the core is failed and bunched up to the right. The failure was right at the tack, where the rope exited the knot. This is NOT the highest stress location in the knot, that is always the first turn. It was the harsh flexing while flogging that did it.

This sheet--and a second genoa sheet for my new inside track--came from discarded halyards in the marina recycle bin.

This tablet holder was cobbled together in an hour from the might-need pile. very light and a better fit than anything I could find on the web; custom for my tablet.

• 2-ball joint mount from my first car phone (before pocket cell phones, before I got married) about 25 years ago. When I sold the car I kept it, thinking it might make a good GPS mount. A good solid annodized aluminum model.
• 4mm water proof glued plywood scrap.
• Scrap aluminum angle. Just the right depth.
• White spray paint left over from the kitchen remodel (repainted all the hinges).
• Assorted saved screws and machine screws.

My electronics are comically out of date but the they work and I'd be satisfied with map and compass. That's how I learned.

At first glance, without my glasses, this WW II poster bothered me.

I've certainly restitched the dodger and sail cover a few times each.

I've never bought line for a bridle or snubber; there is always some retired anchor rode. Same for dock lines; I either splice some up or... I've found there are folks that will throw away barely used lines if one of the matching set gets rubbed.

My dingy under-the seat-box is a milk crate. Takes the strain off the tubes, holds a few things, never rusts, and was found on a beach.


Towels and the like come from home cast offs. If I use one to mop out the bilge, no one cares.

And then there are a thoughts that fall under the general heading "Cheap Boat Keeping."

Most of use would rather put money in our 401-K or the kids' college fund than pour it in the water. I spread my maintenance funds thin as paint, using every trick I've learned over the years. It helps that my dad is a painter (watercolor artist, but also a house painter in college), my grandfather was a mechanic, and I've tinkered since I was a kid and worked around chemical plants for years. Perhaps some of these ideas will be of use to others.

1. Use your engine. Never let it sit for over a month in the winter; the lube needs to circulate and the electrics need to dry. Run it enough in the summer to turn the fuel over a few times each season; we change the oil twice each year, so why would we expect the gasoline to last longer? Engines don't wear-out so much as deteriorate from disuse. I've done lots of fuel testing in my "real" job, so I'm neither quoting from a book nor guessing.
2. Cleanout every locker twice each year. You'll find stuff and reduce repeat buying. You'll gain space and stow things smarter. You'll save weight and clutter by pitching old rubbish or at least taking it home. It will remind you to maintain a few things. Remember, carrying junk costs $20/pound.
3. Save bits and pieces of materials. Some aluminum or FRP plate, a bit of stainless tubing, some left over wire, scraps of good wood, a bit of gasket material, and leftover old fasteners; never old junk parts, but bits that might be found in a hardware store or West Marine. Keep it neat.
4. Learn sail repair (hand work). A stitch in time saves nine. Really.
5. Find a good thrift store, one that carries some marine stuff but doesn't realize it. Small towns near the water. Also a great source for Gore-Tex foul weather gear; mostly the sorters don't know the difference between a worthless windbreaker and the real deal.
6. Stay at a working marina. Often 1/3 the price of a recreational marina.  Also look for houses with a few unused slips out back, or maybe a rusted up marine railway.
7. Use a good 2-year bottom paint.
8. Learn painting and composite repair. Really, you can be very efficient with these things, given the proper tools and some practice. I figure I save a good $100/hour pre-tax; I've learned speed and quality over the years.
9. Get a book book on marine wiring. Buy a good ratchet crimper. I'm an engineer by trade, which is a good start. However, even if you only apply your knowledge to troubleshooting, it's a blessing when somewhere remote. Do professional quality work the first time or you'll lose reliability, endanger your boat when you're away, and mostly do it over some day.
10. Anchor out. Even if it means adding solar and upgrading a few things, you can save $50-$150 per night. Enjoying increased freedom is priceless.
11. Waterproof grease. Electrical connections and anything that comes apart. Teflon pipe dope is good too, particularly where aluminum meets stainless.
12. Watch chafe and wear. Lines--running and mooring--can last for many years if you don't let them rub or slap.
13. Stay in the water all winter. Of course, this depends on the area--not practical in the Great Lakes--but for most of us it's a great saver. The season can be stretched, and the boat suffers less disuse, the hauling and storage fees go away.  You will need a good 2-year paint.
14. Learn small engine repair. They're really simple. Even if all you learn to do is change plugs, rebuild a carburetor, and change the impeller, there's real savings and less chance of being stranded. You'll need some tools and parts, of course.
15. Fish! It's free and nothing is better.

In 25 years of boat ownership, I've only used contractor services for:

• Major sail work and new canvas.
• Hauling. But I do the painting and hull work!
  

As a result, I know my boat inside out; that's a good feeling and an important part of seamanship.

Stagger When You Anchor

rev. 8-14-2024

Sounds like I've either been drinking to much or sailing too long. But bear with me....

I'm convinced the average person cannot see in 3 dimensions when they look across the water. They can recognize right and left, and to some minor extent distance, but they cannot accurately relate what they see to a map-view.

Anchoring is the classic case. They move the boat to what seems like a good spot and lower the anchor,  without being able to visualize where the boat will be after they stretch out scope, or how boats may swing. They end up anchoring either very close in front of you or exactly beside you, neither of which they actually intended. They just measured wrong.

1. Calculate how much rode you will use, including an allowance for adding scope if a storm arrives. For example, if the water is 7 feet, you bow is 3 feet, and you like 7:1 scope, (7+3) x 7 = 70 feet.
2. Lower your anchor 1 rode length +1  boat length off the bow of your neighbor. This might be 1.5 to 2 mast-heights, a simple way to gauge distance if you are reproaching from astern of your neighbor. By the time the anchor tips, digs, and sets, particularly in softer mud, it will be off the beam of your neighbor.
3. Need to anchor in front?  You need to be about 2 rode lengths + 2 boat lengths (about 210 feet). Simple come up beside the boat, note the lon/lat, and move 0.039 minutes forward (a minute is 1 nautical mile, and GPS typically displays 0.001 increments). Or time the distance; 1-knot ~ 1.5 feet per second. At 3 knots, 210 feet will take about 45 seconds. The point is, do something better than just guess.

You have now achieved the optimum stagger, which will allow the maximum number of boats in a minimum space, with minimal need to visualize the geometry.

Simple.This, along with every detail of single and multi-anchor rigging that I could test, is described in "Rigging Modern Anchors."

Lazy Figures of Speach

We're all guilty of it (an example, right there!). Generalizations or truisms that contain little information are used to defend a position. False analogies and straw men that are use to tear a position down.

I'm going to stick to sailors. Politics would take a book.

Just a few from today's forum morning read:

• "I was taught to do it [this way]." I was taught that 2 + 2 = 4, but it did not become a part of my knowledge base until I was shown or figured out why it was true. I would certainly not tell you 2 + 2 = 4 unless I had some basis, other than I was told, that it was true. As you know, I do a lot of testing. That is NOT because I do not believe what I read. I always start with literature research, because many really smart people went before me. But they didn't go down every alley, not everything was published, and things do change.
• I've been [doing X] for 30 years, and [this] has always worked for me." Often used to resist something newfangled. An adding machine works, but an electronic calculator works better. A CQR anchor works, but a Rocna (or other new generation anchor) work better. This can also be used to defend practices that were never very good, but were good enough, since they were never tested in a real crucible.
• I've heard it said that.... This precedes and opinion offered without any support. The writer may not remember the reasoning, he may not have understood it, or it may not exist. We are offered no opportunity to examine the argument, and not convinced that the speaker reviewed it either. It is likely nothing more than parroting, unless followed by support.
• Non-corrosive, when what is meant is corrosion resistant. For example, this from ABYC standard relating to bilge pumps: "h. Hose connections shall be secured with a non-corrosive type of clamp."Standards are supposed to be written using the standard english meanings of words, and new words are only to be defined if you can't find it is a standard (Websters or Oxford) dictionary or if the meaning is necessarily different. Since all of industry refers to stainless steel as "corrosion resistant," this is sloppy writing. What it literally says is that the clamp should not corrode the hose, which is not what they mean.

How Long Should a Tether Be?

7-02-2016, rev. 8-8-2024

The 3' / 6' split has become a defacto standard, since these are the lengths in the ISAF standard. Well, sort of. What it actually says is that:

• 30% of the crew (or everyone if you single hand) must have a tether leg of no more than 3'.
• Every tether must be less than 6'6".

First off that means you can, and perhaps should have tethers less than 3'.

This tether is only 30 inches, is attached well in-board, and I'm well outboard. Of course, I had to climb over the high lifeline.

 At the mast in lump weather I sometimes go even shorter. How about a vertical jackline. Every boat should have these available in the form of halyards, though mine are fixed (they serve an unrelated tangle-avoidance function).

Additionally, I see no reason they cannot be longer in certain cases. My other leg is 8', bout right for the broad bow of a cat. I can imagine much longer on bigger boats. You just have to use the length intelligently.

What about smaller boats? I was fooling around on this 27' mono, using Amsteel jacklines, and concluded that the longest leg should be 3' and the shorter perhaps less than 2'. A 6' tether has no place on a smaller boat. If you would like a longer tether for the cockpit, then have a separate dedicated tether there.

I like custom sizes. I fabricate mine from 8mm climbing rope using sewn splices, but climbing webbing and knots will do nicely.

rev. 8-8-2024

The 3'/6' split is perfect for my F-24. The jacklines run along the inside edge of the tramp lacing and end 4 feet from the bow and 5 feet from the stern, and the large wing nets make it practical impossible to reach the edge. There are no lifelines, other than small sections at the bow and stern.