----- Original Message -----

From: Doug Haines

To: harryproa@yahoogroups.com.au

Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2006 12:44 PM

Subject: Re: [harryproa] Sunday E/NE tending W/NW, Moderate

G'Day,

 

More sailing experience now shows a few points that are better than others.

1) I broke the rudder off the beam where the gudgeons are glassed on, too little contact area and too much torque due to the two gudgeons spaced so close together on the beam.

 

r

Try to build them up above and below the beam if you can.  Spreads the load, and it is easier to attache to the flat top and bottom of the beam.

 

Will probably fix it back on with extra glass, but in future hope to improve on current design with Rob's single system though I have'nt had a close look at and don't know exactly how it all works, I turst Rob's designing, to get it sorted right.

 

r

The system I have on my boat worked well last summer.  Using lines as tracks, instead of timber should make it a lot more forgiving. 

 

2)I find the two mainsails a little complicated to watch and angle in to the wind, and steer too. It may be a good challenge to a pair of keen sailors but,  I'm not really that experienced sort of go on the feel somewhere between luffing up and too hard on, and see where the speed is. This sort of tuning is not so easy wih the two mainsails. I therefore suppose I might make the centre mast tube and bulkheads as Rob did by cutting a big hole in the side of the lw hull to retro-fit. I can use one of my current masts in that centre spot.

However there are a couple more issues on the mast/sails:

 

3)To get around Perth, up Rivers under bridges the masts need to swing down. I think this is fairly straight forward not adding too much extra bulk down around about boom height to make a hingewith pins or some fixing. The mast overall would need too be lighter than my wood/glass, too heavy too lift without excess effort. So a single mast in the centre with a hinge and light enough to drop and raise up so foam and carbon I suppose.

 

r

The wedge in front works, but is cumbersome, particularly with big wakes from powerboats.  I would make it telescope if 5m is the limit and you are building a new mast anyway.

 

4) Another issue is that I found that the mainsail only ( called cat rig or una rig ?), would not swing around sometimes its a bit complicated but I wonder if the easy or ballestron rig would be easier to turn because you can sheet to both ends? I'm not sure about this I'll look for some internet diagrams or look at Harryproa galleries.

 

r

cat rig (USA) una rig (UK) The only times I used a sheet to the front of the ballestron boom was when I had a spinnaker up.     If the sheet is to the lee hull it should be pretty easy to move the boom.  If it isn't,  then a turning block on the beam should give enough angle.

 

Incidently for cruising with two mainsails, lowering/raising sails out on the water you can't reach the aft boom end as it is lying far back over the stern. I.e. an easy rig would be easier to reach especially if ever wanting to reef offshore. I neede to jump in and walk down the back to tie on the clew (is that the back corner of the sail?) and your sail falls into the water a bit. The front sail/mast is easy to reach standing on the deck and netting.

 

r

Easiest, driest and safest is to drop them both completely, tie in the reefs standing on the tramp, the rehoist them.

 

I don't know about the dynamics but why the small jib on the easy rig wouldn't be better performance I don't know.

 

r

Luff tension is hard to get.  Not a worry on a cruiser.  The boom gets in the way a bit as well.

 

I occasionally wanted to push the boom back round through the wind and this would be easier with the balancing jib.

 

5) Definitely need a small outboard (2hp) on a bracket near the ww hull ( so the boom won't bang into it, and easier to reach for helmsman, and out of way of rudder). One direction only needed, opposite end that used for anchoring keeping things tidier.

 

r

Not too far from the lee hull or maneuvering gets tricky.  Make sure it lifts up high enough to clear waves coming from the wrong direction.

 

Anyhow good fun sailing the proa this morning, good 8-12 knots I think, I think above improvements will be safe enough to venture in confidence out offshore, up and down the coast.

 

r

Excellent.  Feel free to borrow my gps as I won't be using it for awile.

 

regards,

 

rob

.

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