Just a Wee Three Week Cruise, but a Aways a Few More Preparations...

 and a few minor up-grades. I will post the details of the more successful projects and a trip report in about a month.

• Window covers. We made a full set of Sunbrella covers for all of the fixed windows, in part to protect the plastic and in part to help with the AC load. While the cabin roof is well insulated, the windows pour in the BTUs. The covers were dead simple; we replaced every other screw with a male snap.
• Inventory. We always carry double of so many things. I'll be visiting the boat a week ahead of time and will put together a list. On our earlier trips, those with just Jessica and myself, I had far less help but planning was more linear; a simple one-person list process. Now I have to "manage" and "organize". I hate that.
• Shear pins for the 3.5 hp Merc outboard. It seem the new ones have aluminum props and take stainless pins. So I went to the local full-service hardware for some 5/32-inch brass rod and now have a 5 year supply of pins for the price of one. (5/32" x 1"--the Mercury web site states that they can be either brass or stainless with the resin prop, but that stainless gives less protection)
• Some new rub pads for the tender, cut from and old pair of waders. 3M 5200 is some cursed, messy, slow drying stuff, but it has some serious staying power.
• Cabin roof flat screen mount. Not my prettiest work, but I built a bracket that allows the flat screen to pivot up to the roof, out of the way, without disconnecting the wires.
• Route planning. Always, there are a few places and inlets that I include primarily as book research. My family only requires that we call in Tangeir, Cape May, and Chincoteague.

The end of the summer comes far too soon.

How to Carry Bicycles Without Origami

Many places we cruise are best experienced by bicycle--Cape May, Chincoteague, Tangier--most of the Chesapeake and coastal towns, really. Folding bikes are the conventional recommendation, but ask the owners how they peddle and they respond "Well, like a folding bike. Best not to go too far." They're not lighter, take up the same space (just a different shape, really), cost more, require some assembly with every use, have dinky wheels, and as a result, don't tolerate poor roads and heavy loads. Why make the compromise? A cruising boat is generally larger than a car, and for all the talk of storms, doesn't ride nearly so rough as a car on a bad road, in terms of peak impact forces or numbers of load cycles.

I'm not the first to ask the question. In Dodd's book Modern Cruising Under Sail the author reports successfully carrying bikes on a rack while off-shore. In another post describes the use of an unmodified rack (Narrow boat rack) on a British narrow boat.

I picked up this rack at a thrift store for a few dollars, cut away the parts that weren't needed, added a pair of Starboard hooks to fit around the rail, creating a simple rack. It's light, out of the way, allows easy unloading to a dock on the side, and easy lowering into the tender. I can use the bikes I have, and if one were to disappear or rust up, I can find cheap replacement bikes anywhere. Salt is a factor, no doubt, but ample use of oil helps and I don't cruise full time. A simple solution for most cats, at least.

I apologize for not offering more detail, but every rack and rail combination will present different possibilities. I will share this; most racks come with hooks that are meant to hold the edges of the trunk, but this will not work well on a boat, at least not on the PDQs. We tried it; the strain on the hatches looked scary and it makes opening the hatches awkward. As on a car, dedicated attachment points are much  better, stronger, simpler, and cleaner.

When this one fails, I will make a permanent folding attachment to the rail, I think, only because I'm a tinkerer. (Note 9-22-2016: 6 years later it's still going strong)

Notes:

• Bikes are secured to the stern rail in additional spots if bad weather is expected. Then, they won't move a bit. In ordinary weather and small craft advisories, we have found a single strap to be enough to prevent all motion.
• The rack simply hooks over the rail. A pair of straps to the base of the stern rail holds it down. Much simpler than mounting to a car. No new holes were required--I used climbing bolt hangers under existing stanchion bolts.
• Throw a towel across the tender before loading the bikes; they have many sharp bits.

Maybe it's a catamaran thing. But I don't think so.

In Kindergarden We Learned to Follow to Simple Rules. Not Everyone Can Folow Simple Airline Rules.

...Yet when it is time to load an airplane, so many have lost that simple skill.

• Liquids and gels in a quart bag.
• Take off the bling and belt prior to screening. It's metal, obviously?
• Your carry-on suitcase must fit in the little test box at the entrance to the security line. No expanding suitcases.
  
• Only one suitcase and one other small item. Not an additional purse and armful of other stuff. We have too much stuff.
• Step out of the aisle after you lift your bag up. Don't stand in the aisle and decide what you need from your bag, just to pass the next few hours; you had an hour waiting at the gate to work this out. If you couldn't do it then, tough toodles. Do without or wait until we are at 25,000 feet.
  
• Bags go in wheels first. Simple--square peg in square hole. Not sideways. No wheels out. But ~ 30% of the travelers don't get it.
• Sit down. But don't buckle-up until the window seat guy is in.

Sheeze.

Needless to say, I missed a connection last night because a good portion of the people on the flight couldn't figure out how to simply sit down. I wasn't damaged--I got a nice dinner and an up-grade to first class--I was amused.

Remember when teachers would ask the class to sit "criss-cross apple sauce," specifically to make squirming difficult for little kids? That's next, you know. I don't think my knees can take it.

Bow and Forward Cabin Sun Shade for PDQ 32

We just spent four blistering hot days on the Chesapeake, and so I spent a little more time optimizing the use of a sun shade for front half of the boat. The prior owners left us the good quality 10' x 12' nylon tarp they had used, and I made that my starting point.

• Paint. From my last boat, which had a similar shade, I learned that cloth shades often let too much heat through. If they are light-colored cloth too much penetrates there is too much bottom-side reflection. If they are dark, they absorb heat and re-radiate it downward. I have painted awnings with white latex paint and had fair results. In this case, I did not let it dry long enough and some of the pain stuck to itself; let it dry for several weeks and this should not be a problem. Perhaps there is a better paint choice, but I am sold on the bi-color results. Additionally, paint reduces fabric stretch, which is a help.
• Genoa sheets. By setting the shade over the sheets, you can get more height and a wide range of shapes. Experiment.
• Setting it lower on the rear edge, just above the open hatches, directs more air below. Yes, you have to duck under it, but it seemed worth it.
• Cabin shading. Even if you are at the dock with the AC running, the shade reduces the load and makes it possible for the AC to keep up. If I were going to use AC a lot or going to the tropics, I would make an extension to cover the cabin behind the mast. 

Improvements? Eventually I will re-cut the tarp just a bit. A slight V in the leading edge will improve the fit. A 12' x 5' extension to cover the rest of the cabin.would be useful, but I will keep it separate.

A prior post described carrying the AC unit on deck: Keeping Cruise-N-Carry AC Unit On-deck

Would a more permanent version that could be kept up during squalls make sense? I don't think so. Nothing  is going to withstand a 60-knot gust and still fit in a stuff sack. Ease of setting more important, and this minimalist shade takes only a minute with practice.

Simple side extensions for the dodger help too, but in this case to keep out the rain. I have no wish for a full enclosure, particularly in the summer, but the short sides let too much spray in during heavy down pours, soaking the cockpit. I made some simple wings that solve the problem and roll up into nothing when not used.

Just a bit of nylon tent material and some Velcro I had lying about - only one fitting was added, a small pad eye just below and forward of the winch. The top edge is secured to sail slugs.

I love sitting in the cockpit during a downpour after a hot day.

Trivial Preparations

I follow blogs of people preparing to leave, more or less, forever; my preparations for our first one week cruise of the season pale in comparison, but there is always a list:

• Non-skid added to cockpit steps. The lower cockpit seats have caused more than a few slips when wet in wild conditions. We decided to add 4-inch wide 3-M abrasive tape. That should do it. The steps inside as well. 
• Spray curtains for the sides of the dodger. I don't like the full enclosure, but a bit more was needed. I made them from light nylon and they roll-up forward in a very small space.
• AC unit stability. We have a Cruise-N-Carry and like to keep it on-deck. The adjustable leg slips, so I made 9/32" FRP pins to hold it. Also 1/2-inch EVA foam on the bottom to reduce sliding. A prior post described carrying the AC unit on deck: Keeping Cruise-N-Carry AC Unit On-deck
• More PFDs. Why, we never wear them? Well, we often have as many as 10 people on board at anchor and I only have 7. Fortunately, we have a great marine thrift store nearby.
• Oar broke when stepped on - fixed that.

Pretty short, really, and getting shorter each time. I'm running out of projects and risking boredom. I guess I'll just have to suffer through and relax in the shade with a book and a beer. I'll throw in some swimming, fishing, and socializing if it gets bad.

Speed Polars

rev. 9-16-2013

A common question posed by non-sailors is "how fast will she go?" As a question, it feels like "how long is a piece of string?" It depends on many things. The full answer, for another sailor, is a speed polar plot, expressing the velocity of the boat in a variety of winds and on a variety of headings. Conventionally, these are produced by prediction programs and are used in sales literature and as goals for racers, who will remove every scrap of weight from the boat, scrub the bottom weekly or even dry sail the boat, and buy new magic-cloth sails annually. The rest of us, and we are legion, have only the stretched-out sails that came with the boat, mounds of stuff in lockers we can't even remember, scrub the bottom only before painting, and sail with either no crew or lounging crew.

Predictions are typically made for flat water (like that's going to happen with a 20-knot breeze), everything unloaded that can be, empty tanks, zero water absorption, a questionable factory weight figure, and a polished (not bottom paint) bottom. Capsize is calculated based upon wind speed, when in reality waves are a very significant factor. These projections are not rooted in the real world, unless the boat is actively campaigned as a racer.

I've been curious how my real-world boat would do, compared to these projections. Certainly not the screaming speed on my Stiletto 27, often sailing above wind speed. As a starting point, I found a velocity projection for the PDQ 36:
PDQ 36 Speed Polar Plot
I also looked at a Gemini 105Mc plot: a bit faster to the weather, and a bit slower on a reach. A bit more heeling when hard pressed. I did not use those numbers.

I took a bunch of measurements from my own boat, under non-scientific conditions:

• Open Chesapeake Bay waters, with typical long-fetch sea state
• Clean bottom, but nothing special
• Full fuel but variable water tanks
• Tender with some stuff in it
• 1-5 people
• Old sails
• Typical cruising load. Lots more "stuff"
• Uncalibrated instruments, though I did check the GPS against the knot meter, and calculated apparent values against measured true readings. The compass was recently swung.
• 130% (or what ever percent) genoa. IT would be slower and heel less with the stock self tacking jib.

I will also add that I did not fly the chute in 20 knots - that lies beyond my comfort zone with my typical crew. There is little question that with the chute up in 20 knots you are flirting with capsize, should the boat round-up. The numbers were projected from the PDQ 32 actuals using the PDQ 36 methodology. They should be good... if scary. The 20-knot main and genoa numbers are also fudged hard-on-the-wind. We are pressing too hard there for my old sails, so I reef at about 15- to 18-knots sustained.


I have also observed that just because I can carry more sail, it is not always much faster on the PDQ 32. Because the keels are about 2 feet further forward than good sailing design would place them (they are so located for drying-out on tidal flats, so it is not a design error), the boat develops a very heavy helm when pressed hard on the weather, and reefing the main and rolling up a few turns of jib lightens the helm with no perceptible loss in speed; the rudder becomes straight, rather than being cocked to one side and behaving as a brake.

So, it is not so simple. But here I present a PDQ 32 speed polar for cruisers. About 40% of the values have been confirmed in actual practice, spread across the full range. The gaps have been filled using both the PDQ 36 study methodology and some other forgivable fudging. Achievable goals for real world sailors, I think.

(Click for larger image)

PDQ Altair 32 Classic, 45-foot mast height

There are some jumps in speed that beg explanation; I saw the same affects on the Stiletto.

• When the speed passes ~ 7.5 knots the water begins to leave the transom more cleanly, and the waterline, in a sense, becomes longer. Thus, a 0.5-1.0 knot jump occurs rapidly, up to ~ 8.0-8.5 knots.
• When the wind speed reaches somewhere around 15-20 knots it is easy for the rudders to become overpowered on certain courses, so it becomes critical to either steer well and keep the speed up, drop the traveler a lot, or reef the main. Reefing the jib only makes this condition worse. My Stiletto had larger more efficient foils and did not have this characteristic - it just kept going faster, until the helmsmen lost nerve or flipped.
• When the speed passes ~ 10 knots the hulls begin to plane a bit. I suspect this is very load dependent. I have noticed a number of times, reaching with the genoa, that the transition from 10 to 12 knots occurred rather suddenly. A little unnerving a first. The Stiletto did the same thing.
• The PDQ 32 is probably just as fast as the PDQ 36, in general. It's a little slower under power, because of the shorter waterline; the jump in speed happens at a different point, so it will be a little slower in 8-12 knots winds as well. In 0- to 8-knot winds, it is a bit faster due to lighter weight and less wetted surface. In 15-20 knots it will depend on the waves; the PDQ 36 will win in chop, due to mass and length.

A challenge for you; try to get boat speed to equal apparent wind speed. It is very possible on a reach with the chute up.

The apparent wind plot is simply calculated from the speed plot. There are no predictions there, just high school trig.

Running wing-and-wing is not evaluated, because the wind speed instrument fails to operate correctly when the wind is less than 30 degrees from the stern. However, when sailing deep, particularly in a strong breeze when a chute might be scary or simply too much work, it makes more sense. I admit, I resisted this for a year, a product of sailing very fast cats. A mono-hull sailor convinced me to try it, and he was right. As soon as the genoa begins to get well blanketed, consider it" you will maintain the same speed you had at about 140 true. The proper set-up is a must; see this post:

Rigging for Wing-and-Wing

However, wing and wing is only practical straight down wind. It is still slower than a chute, though much easier in a blow.

The data, for anyone who cares....

PDQ 32 Speed Polar Data File

For comparison, here is a Gemini 105 mC speed polar from a velocity prediction program. Notice that the speeds are very similar on most courses, except hard on the wind where the boards make the Gemini more weatherly. Not the other hand, the heeling data suggests that the Gemini is significantly less stable, becoming very light in 15 knots true and going over in 17-knot gust; of course, that is with everything in tight, hard on the wind. This is about 5 knots less tolerant than the PDQ 32, though either act would require pretty poor seamanship; the strain would be quite obvious and the sailor would certainly have reefed down and/or eased sheets.

Gemini 105 mC Speed Polar

The PDQ 36 has similar speed characteristics, only it can handle a lot more wind. instead of getting light around 20 knots, something more like 27 knots is required. The large difference is due, in part to the large genoa used on the PDQ 32 in place of the stock self tacking jib. Beam and mass account for the rest.

PDQ 36 Speed Polar

Need a polar for your boat? Search the web; lots are out there. Try this collection.

Retribution

On the Chesapeake, even though fishermen trolling have no navigational right-of-way, I've noticed that most sailors are polite and don't demand rights on the open water where trolling is common. Everyone gives your transom wide berth, recognizing you have gear in the water as much as 300 feet back.

25 years ago, when I had a Prindle 16 catamaran (no engine) I was trolling for bluefish on the lower Potomac, when a waterski boat decided it would be funny to do a loop around my boat, quite close. Suddenly, one the reels started to scream, all the line ran out, and it broke off at the spool - unusual, because line generally breaks at the lure end, but I didn't think much about it.

I had already caught one good fish, the skier expereince had bummed me out, and so I stopped fishing and just sailed for a few more hours, wandering my way back to the launch ramp. I de-rigged my boat, secured it on the trailer, and then noticed that the ski boat was back on its trailer too, a swarm of guys hovering around stern drive. It had been towed in.

I wandered over, curious - morbidly - to hear what misfortune had befallen the JERKS when I saw a something familiar. My lure, a 12-inch hose eel, was hanging from his drive. It seems the wire leader had cut through the oil seal, the lube had run out, and in several hours of hard running, he had fried his stern drive.

I walked over, cut my lure free with a multi-tool I had in my pocket, and thanked him from returning my lure. I left for home, directly.

Scraps

Like many sailors, I never seem to throw away old lines. State-of-the-art Kevlar cordage that once served as a low-stretch halyard may become a belt to hold your trousers up, but it's never simply discarded with out being re-purposed at least once.

Securing the Boom. Some folks like boom gallows. Some simply crank the mainsheet against the topping lift. I've always favored a short brace line from the end of the boom to a handy point on one side, creating a triangle. The boom holds still, becomes a firm resting point, wear is reduced, the the topping lift is less strained. It is also light and fast. This one was tied from one of the original jib sheets from my 1979 Stiletto during our delivery trip in; a gale was predicted the next day and I wanted everything tight.

I simply clip it up out of the way while sailing.

Securing Coils on Deck. Some lead all halyards and reefing lines into the cockpit, but I like a clean cockpit without all those tails. I don't mind climbing on deck in a tempest and I like the simplicity and low friction allowed by working at the mast.A similar line secures the spinnaker bridle tail tot he tramp when not in use.

However, there is still the matter of tails and how to control the clutter. I've seen all matter of nifty gagits for securing coils in the West Marine catalog, but a simple padeye and 2 feet of 1/4-inch line is simpler, easier to deal with in the dark and rain, more durable, and more dependable. This was tied from retired 1/4-inch Kevlar halyard from the same Stiletto.

Davits. Another old halyard (1/4-inch Stayset-X if you must know - too stretchy for racing boat halyards) hoists the tender on her davits. The original owner had stuffed 3/8-inch 3-strand through tiny blocks and the friction was horrible.


I still have my first climbing rope, nearly 30 years old. It has been retired from climbing falls to a secondary anchor rode. Old dock lines have pulled a number of drivers out of snow banks this winter. Old sheets from my new boat, found in the bilge on the way home connect the outer dolphins of my slip to the dock, making single-handed docking simple.

An old Kevlar sheet was converted into a high life line (no stretch).

-----

The trick is not to just horde, but to re-purpose.

Boat Cards

Trivia... but handy when traveling. We printed a batch off a year ago and they disappeared soon enough. I hate that the internet makes me strip the personal info.

Gulf of Mexico Spill

rev. May 4, 2010

Since broader media coverage inevitably focuses on the bloody shirt and what ever will sell advertising and skips boring factual information, I thought I my provide a little low-spin information. I'm not with the Sierra Club, I don't work for a major oil company, and I don't live in the area such that my boat or lively hood is at stake. I like clean water but I recognize that I consume oil.

It seems, between burning, spraying soap, evaporation and sinking, the spill is not growing so fast as you would think... which isn't to say there isn't impact, only that it is not so immediately visible as oil on a beach or bird. It's staying out of sight, the winds and currents corralling it off-shore.

The current amount collected seems pretty pitiful, but I would guess that the number is at least 24 hours old and the sea state has only allowed effective skimming for a day of so. On the other hand, it's typical in spill clean-up efforts that much of the oil volume credited as recovered is actually water mixed in with the oil.

Still, that is a lot of boom and a lot of skimming platforms. There is also a lot more time, until the well is capped. Let's hope.

From NOAA and the Coast Guard:
Current Operations
May 4, 2010 Operations:

Total Vessels (including tugs and skimmers): 196
Boom deployed: 486,940 feet
Boom available: 668,081 feet
Oil and Water Mix - Recovered: 23,968 gallons
Dispersant Used : 156,012 gallons
Dispersant available: 230,000 gallons
Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV): 10
Overall Personnel Responding: 7,484

In addition to the overall personnel responding, more than 2,000 volunteers have been trained to assist in the response effort.

9 staging areas are in place and ready to protect sensitive shorelines. These areas include:

Biloxi, Miss.
Pensacola, Fla.
Venice, La.
Pascagoula, Miss.
Port Sulphur, La.
Port Fourchon, La.
Gulfport, Miss.
Dauphin Island, Ala.
Shell Beach, La.

Weather conditions for May 4: Winds from the south at 8-9 knots, 2-3 foot seas.

From the State of Louisiana:
http://emergency.louisiana.gov/

Spill Trajectory Maps:
Maps - Past and Future

And you can even hire-out to join the clean-up effort.
Vessels of Opportunity

But you won't compete with the beast they are sending to drill relief wells:
Deepwater Discovery