BoatBanter.com

BoatBanter.com (https://www.boatbanter.com/)
-   ASA (https://www.boatbanter.com/asa/)
-   -   Sailing Newbie Question (https://www.boatbanter.com/asa/25411-sailing-newbie-question.html)

Love a Sheep November 21st 04 08:18 PM

Sailing Newbie Question
 
I am learning to sail and have a few questions. I understand that the
sails can act either as an airofoil (lile an aircraft wing) or like a
parachute where the wind simply blows the sail directly. My question
is this. If the wind is ahead of the beam ie we are sailing windward
then I expect that the airofoil principle must always hold there
otherwise we would be sailing backwards!

However, if the wind is aft of the beam on say the starboard side then
surely we have a choice where to set the sails ie they can be on the
starboard side (ie the boom is pointing to the starboard side) where
they act as an airofoil or on the port side where they act as a
'parachute' - is this right or am I missing something. If so which is
best?

Thanks

Capt. Neal® November 21st 04 08:33 PM

Very perceptive. However, when off the wind on most boats, the
rigging disallows the positioning of the sails to act as an airfoil.

CN

"Love a Sheep" wrote in message om...
I am learning to sail and have a few questions. I understand that the
sails can act either as an airofoil (lile an aircraft wing) or like a
parachute where the wind simply blows the sail directly. My question
is this. If the wind is ahead of the beam ie we are sailing windward
then I expect that the airofoil principle must always hold there
otherwise we would be sailing backwards!

However, if the wind is aft of the beam on say the starboard side then
surely we have a choice where to set the sails ie they can be on the
starboard side (ie the boom is pointing to the starboard side) where
they act as an airofoil or on the port side where they act as a
'parachute' - is this right or am I missing something. If so which is
best?

Thanks


Brian Whatcott November 21st 04 08:34 PM

On 21 Nov 2004 12:18:14 -0800, (Love a
Sheep) wrote:

I am learning to sail and have a few questions. I understand that the
sails can act either as an airofoil (lile an aircraft wing) or like a
parachute where the wind simply blows the sail directly. My question
is this. If the wind is ahead of the beam ie we are sailing windward
then I expect that the airofoil principle must always hold there
otherwise we would be sailing backwards!

However, if the wind is aft of the beam on say the starboard side then
surely we have a choice where to set the sails ie they can be on the
starboard side (ie the boom is pointing to the starboard side) where
they act as an airofoil or on the port side where they act as a
'parachute' - is this right or am I missing something. If so which is
best?

Thanks


Using the aerofoil analogy, the mast edge of the main sail and the
forward stay edge of the jib would be the leading edges, so I don't
follow that if the wind is from abaft starboard, why you would want
the boom out to starboard.

Brian W

Remco Moedt November 21st 04 08:53 PM

On 21 Nov 2004 12:18:14 -0800, (Love a
Sheep) wrote:

I am learning to sail and have a few questions. I understand that the
sails can act either as an airofoil (lile an aircraft wing) or like a
parachute where the wind simply blows the sail directly. My question
is this. If the wind is ahead of the beam ie we are sailing windward
then I expect that the airofoil principle must always hold there
otherwise we would be sailing backwards!

However, if the wind is aft of the beam on say the starboard side then
surely we have a choice where to set the sails ie they can be on the
starboard side (ie the boom is pointing to the starboard side) where
they act as an airofoil or on the port side where they act as a
'parachute' - is this right or am I missing something. If so which is
best?


You're on track, but you've also to think about true wind and apparent
wind.....


Cheers!

Remco




Peter Bennett November 22nd 04 12:25 AM

On 21 Nov 2004 12:18:14 -0800, (Love a
Sheep) wrote:

I am learning to sail and have a few questions. I understand that the
sails can act either as an airofoil (lile an aircraft wing) or like a
parachute where the wind simply blows the sail directly. My question
is this. If the wind is ahead of the beam ie we are sailing windward
then I expect that the airofoil principle must always hold there
otherwise we would be sailing backwards!


True

However, if the wind is aft of the beam on say the starboard side then
surely we have a choice where to set the sails ie they can be on the
starboard side (ie the boom is pointing to the starboard side) where
they act as an airofoil or on the port side where they act as a
'parachute' - is this right or am I missing something. If so which is
best?


No. If the wind is from starboard, and abaft the beam, the sails will
not normally stay out to starboard, as the sheets are rigged to pull
the boom (and jib) into the boat.

It is possible with the wind very nearly dead astern to have the main
and jib on opposite sides - this usually works best with the wind
slightly to the same side as the boom. This is called "sailing by the
lee", and will lead to an accidental jibe if you let the wind get too
far to the same side as the boom (then you will find out why it is
called a boom :-( )


--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
new newsgroup users info :
http://vancouver-webpages.com/nnq
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca

Jonathan Ganz November 22nd 04 12:30 AM

"Peter Bennett" wrote in message
news.com...
On 21 Nov 2004 12:18:14 -0800, (Love a
Sheep) wrote:

I am learning to sail and have a few questions. I understand that the
sails can act either as an airofoil (lile an aircraft wing) or like a
parachute where the wind simply blows the sail directly. My question
is this. If the wind is ahead of the beam ie we are sailing windward
then I expect that the airofoil principle must always hold there
otherwise we would be sailing backwards!


True

However, if the wind is aft of the beam on say the starboard side then
surely we have a choice where to set the sails ie they can be on the
starboard side (ie the boom is pointing to the starboard side) where
they act as an airofoil or on the port side where they act as a
'parachute' - is this right or am I missing something. If so which is
best?


No. If the wind is from starboard, and abaft the beam, the sails will
not normally stay out to starboard, as the sheets are rigged to pull
the boom (and jib) into the boat.

It is possible with the wind very nearly dead astern to have the main
and jib on opposite sides - this usually works best with the wind
slightly to the same side as the boom. This is called "sailing by the
lee", and will lead to an accidental jibe if you let the wind get too
far to the same side as the boom (then you will find out why it is
called a boom :-( )


For either the slow, stupid, or stunned, it's called the boom boom.



Capt. Neal® November 22nd 04 01:32 AM

Using the sail's trailing edge as a leading edge is problematic.
They will not be efficient this way - tantamount to running an
airplane wing backwards.

Letting them out on the port side however would work provided
you could let them out that far without fouling the rigging.

CN


"Love a Sheep" wrote in message om...
I am learning to sail and have a few questions. I understand that the
sails can act either as an airofoil (lile an aircraft wing) or like a
parachute where the wind simply blows the sail directly. My question
is this. If the wind is ahead of the beam ie we are sailing windward
then I expect that the airofoil principle must always hold there
otherwise we would be sailing backwards!

However, if the wind is aft of the beam on say the starboard side then
surely we have a choice where to set the sails ie they can be on the
starboard side (ie the boom is pointing to the starboard side) where
they act as an airofoil or on the port side where they act as a
'parachute' - is this right or am I missing something. If so which is
best?

Thanks


Mac November 22nd 04 04:02 AM

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 12:18:14 -0800, Love a Sheep wrote:

I am learning to sail and have a few questions. I understand that the
sails can act either as an airofoil (lile an aircraft wing) or like a
parachute where the wind simply blows the sail directly. My question
is this. If the wind is ahead of the beam ie we are sailing windward
then I expect that the airofoil principle must always hold there
otherwise we would be sailing backwards!

However, if the wind is aft of the beam on say the starboard side then
surely we have a choice where to set the sails ie they can be on the
starboard side (ie the boom is pointing to the starboard side) where
they act as an airofoil or on the port side where they act as a
'parachute' - is this right or am I missing something. If so which is
best?

Thanks


You've already got a lot of good answers. I'll just point out one more
thing which is that the two sails on a boat interact. That is, even when
the wind is aft of abeam, the wind flowing over the main may be dead abeam
or so, because the jib or spinnaker changes the direction of flow.

--Mac


Tony Rowlands November 22nd 04 09:19 AM

(Love a Sheep) wrote in message . com...
I am learning to sail and have a few questions. I understand that the
sails can act either as an airofoil (lile an aircraft wing) or like a
parachute where the wind simply blows the sail directly. My question
is this. If the wind is ahead of the beam ie we are sailing windward
then I expect that the airofoil principle must always hold there
otherwise we would be sailing backwards!

However, if the wind is aft of the beam on say the starboard side then
surely we have a choice where to set the sails ie they can be on the
starboard side (ie the boom is pointing to the starboard side) where
they act as an airofoil or on the port side where they act as a
'parachute' - is this right or am I missing something. If so which is
best?

Thanks

Once the wind if aft of the beam the generally accepted rule if to
have the boom at right angles to the wind. Likewise when you pole out
the headsail.

Rob Welling November 22nd 04 03:18 PM

(Love a Sheep) wrote in message . com...
I am learning to sail and have a few questions. I understand that the
sails can act either as an airofoil (lile an aircraft wing) or like a
parachute where the wind simply blows the sail directly. My question
is this. If the wind is ahead of the beam ie we are sailing windward
then I expect that the airofoil principle must always hold there
otherwise we would be sailing backwards!

However, if the wind is aft of the beam on say the starboard side then
surely we have a choice where to set the sails ie they can be on the
starboard side (ie the boom is pointing to the starboard side) where
they act as an airofoil or on the port side where they act as a
'parachute' - is this right or am I missing something. If so which is
best?

Thanks


You can't really put both of your sails to what in your description
would be the windward side of the boat...well, not effectively at
least. here's why....

Unless you're sailing dead downwind (wing and wing, or by the lee, as
mentioned - boom toward the VERY slight widward side, also as
mentioned) you'll notice that no matter how far out you let your sails
when on an actual port or starboard tack, you're always going to have
the airfoil effect, not a parachute effect. Watch your telltails,
you'll see the wind moving across the sails, leading edge to trailng
edge. In your case, if the wind was from starboard, even fairly
significantly abaft the beam, you would still sail on starboard tack,
sails trimmed out to port. Once this becomes impossibly, it's either
time to jibe, or go wing and wing.

To relate this to a plane, think about the apparent wind when they
slow down to land and they 'set' the flaps to create much more 'belly'
in the wing to maintain that lift as the wind direction changes
(remember, apparent wind...of course, they're still going forward,
but the plane wants to fall, so the wind direction is now coming from
further under the wing, less in front of it, so they have to adjust,
just like you do) But there's no way a wing will act as a parachute on
a plane, it's still an airfoil. Same thing you're doing with your
sails. The difference is in the fact that a plane can also adjust it's
apparent wind direction by adjusting its speed. But the adjustments
are based on the same principle. If the plane went too slow, it would
fall of course, luckily, we don't have to worry about that, and when
the wind is directly behind us (i.e. the minimal amount of apparent
wind) - we CAN use the parachute effect. but it's only in that
scenario.

how's that for a long drawn out explanation! Sorry for the verbose
detail...hope it made even a bit of sense!

P.S. And yes, be careful sailing downwind wing and wing...accidental
jibes are not your friend. if you're going to do it for long, pole
out, and rig preventers, especially in rolly seas.

Good luck!

Capt. Rob Welling
Sarasota, FL

[email protected] November 22nd 04 07:17 PM


Capt. Neal® writes:

Poor fellow! The man lost his life primarily because
of poor design by the naval architect.

Those C&Cs are a death trap in more than one way it seems.

But, to design a cruising boat with a boom so low that it
can smack you up side the head is criminal. I should think
a nice little lawsuit would straighten out C&C and the
negligent designer.

You won't find a Wm. Tripp Jr. designed cruiser with such
flaws.

CN

R.



Actually, you will.

I have a Columbia 32, designed by none other than William Tripp Jr,
and the boom sweeps over the cockpit definitely below head-height. At
least if I have the 'flattening reef' in the main out (I think there
is a fancier name for it but I forgot it). If I have inexperienced
crew, I sometimes put the flattening reef in even in light airs so
that the boom is a half-foot higher and less dangerous.

--Ernst

Columbia 32 #25 'Tavernier'



rhys November 22nd 04 07:35 PM

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 16:30:46 -0800, "Jonathan Ganz"
wrote:


For either the slow, stupid, or stunned, it's called the boom boom.


We had a regatta in my club in 2001 during which a fellow was killed
via "boom boom". A storm front went through creating 50 knot winds
that...unusually...stayed at 30-35 knots most of the day even as the
sun came out. During the races, a poor ******* got clipped in the
head...hard...during a crash jib (no preventers or concept of "duck",
I assume). He failed to fall down and got smashed on the opposite side
of the head a couple of seconds later.

They pulled the plug on him after a week in a flatline coma.

Even though I recall the boat was a C&C 29, the motion was so fast and
hard that even that boat's 10 foot boom had enough velocity to crunch
a skull.

So use preventers and watch sea-state roll in downwind situations.

R.


Capt. Neal® November 22nd 04 07:56 PM

Poor fellow! The man lost his life primarily because
of poor design by the naval architect.

Those C&Cs are a death trap in more than one way it seems.

But, to design a cruising boat with a boom so low that it
can smack you up side the head is criminal. I should think
a nice little lawsuit would straighten out C&C and the
negligent designer.

You won't find a Wm. Tripp Jr. designed cruiser with such
flaws.

CN



"rhys" wrote in message ...
On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 16:30:46 -0800, "Jonathan Ganz"
wrote:


For either the slow, stupid, or stunned, it's called the boom boom.


We had a regatta in my club in 2001 during which a fellow was killed
via "boom boom". A storm front went through creating 50 knot winds
that...unusually...stayed at 30-35 knots most of the day even as the
sun came out. During the races, a poor ******* got clipped in the
head...hard...during a crash jib (no preventers or concept of "duck",
I assume). He failed to fall down and got smashed on the opposite side
of the head a couple of seconds later.

They pulled the plug on him after a week in a flatline coma.

Even though I recall the boat was a C&C 29, the motion was so fast and
hard that even that boat's 10 foot boom had enough velocity to crunch
a skull.

So use preventers and watch sea-state roll in downwind situations.

R.


Nav November 22nd 04 09:03 PM

First, please don't cross post. Second, if this story were true as
recounted, the coroner and next of kin should have had issues with the
race committee for starting a race with a "storm front" in progress. By
the way, I have never seen a documented case of a race being started in
gale force conditions (even though blowhard toughguy dinghy sailors
claim it often happens). It is my experience that untrained sailors
usually exaggerate the wind conditions by 5-10 knots by chosing to
describe the peak wind speed as if it were the average. On the other
hand, those same people do not appreciate that from the predicted
forecast, one should _expect_ winds with peaks that are 50% higher than
the number given.

Nevertheless, many things on a boat can maim or kill you. The boom is a
common source of injury but a good skipper should take account of the
risks associated with his course in high winds. If nothing else, an
uncrolled gybe in high winds can seriously damage the boat and even lead
to a dismasting. These should be unacceptable outcomes to a good skipper
who will take proper precautions to protect his vessel and crew. It's a
pity that testosterone seesm to get in the way of people retiring from
races when they don't really know how to handle the conditions.

Cheers FT

rhys wrote:

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 16:30:46 -0800, "Jonathan Ganz"
wrote:


For either the slow, stupid, or stunned, it's called the boom boom.



We had a regatta in my club in 2001 during which a fellow was killed
via "boom boom". A storm front went through creating 50 knot winds
that...unusually...stayed at 30-35 knots most of the day even as the
sun came out. During the races, a poor ******* got clipped in the
head...hard...during a crash jib (no preventers or concept of "duck",
I assume). He failed to fall down and got smashed on the opposite side
of the head a couple of seconds later.

They pulled the plug on him after a week in a flatline coma.

Even though I recall the boat was a C&C 29, the motion was so fast and
hard that even that boat's 10 foot boom had enough velocity to crunch
a skull.

So use preventers and watch sea-state roll in downwind situations.

R.



Jonathan Ganz November 22nd 04 09:30 PM

Just ignore crapton.

That sounds rough... Sounds like a combination of bad judgement on the part
of the skipper and the guy who got hit. We typically sail in 25+ kts, and
rarely use a preventer unless we're going to have a long downwind run. We
don't race though.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"rhys" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 16:30:46 -0800, "Jonathan Ganz"
wrote:


For either the slow, stupid, or stunned, it's called the boom boom.


We had a regatta in my club in 2001 during which a fellow was killed
via "boom boom". A storm front went through creating 50 knot winds
that...unusually...stayed at 30-35 knots most of the day even as the
sun came out. During the races, a poor ******* got clipped in the
head...hard...during a crash jib (no preventers or concept of "duck",
I assume). He failed to fall down and got smashed on the opposite side
of the head a couple of seconds later.

They pulled the plug on him after a week in a flatline coma.

Even though I recall the boat was a C&C 29, the motion was so fast and
hard that even that boat's 10 foot boom had enough velocity to crunch
a skull.

So use preventers and watch sea-state roll in downwind situations.

R.




Jonathan Ganz November 22nd 04 09:31 PM

Seems like this was a legitimate cross-post.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Nav" wrote in message
...
First, please don't cross post. Second, if this story were true as
recounted, the coroner and next of kin should have had issues with the
race committee for starting a race with a "storm front" in progress. By
the way, I have never seen a documented case of a race being started in
gale force conditions (even though blowhard toughguy dinghy sailors claim
it often happens). It is my experience that untrained sailors usually
exaggerate the wind conditions by 5-10 knots by chosing to describe the
peak wind speed as if it were the average. On the other hand, those same
people do not appreciate that from the predicted forecast, one should
_expect_ winds with peaks that are 50% higher than the number given.

Nevertheless, many things on a boat can maim or kill you. The boom is a
common source of injury but a good skipper should take account of the
risks associated with his course in high winds. If nothing else, an
uncrolled gybe in high winds can seriously damage the boat and even lead
to a dismasting. These should be unacceptable outcomes to a good skipper
who will take proper precautions to protect his vessel and crew. It's a
pity that testosterone seesm to get in the way of people retiring from
races when they don't really know how to handle the conditions.

Cheers FT

rhys wrote:

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 16:30:46 -0800, "Jonathan Ganz"
wrote:


For either the slow, stupid, or stunned, it's called the boom boom.



We had a regatta in my club in 2001 during which a fellow was killed
via "boom boom". A storm front went through creating 50 knot winds
that...unusually...stayed at 30-35 knots most of the day even as the
sun came out. During the races, a poor ******* got clipped in the
head...hard...during a crash jib (no preventers or concept of "duck",
I assume). He failed to fall down and got smashed on the opposite side
of the head a couple of seconds later.

They pulled the plug on him after a week in a flatline coma.

Even though I recall the boat was a C&C 29, the motion was so fast and
hard that even that boat's 10 foot boom had enough velocity to crunch
a skull.

So use preventers and watch sea-state roll in downwind situations.

R.





Capt. Neal® November 23rd 04 02:09 AM

Love the name of your boat. There is a town in the Keys with that name, BTW.

What's your boom doing so low? Check the mast and look for an old, faded-
out black line. This should be where the boom is located. Chances are
somebody lowered the boom and increased the mainsail size. There is no
reason on that 32-footer why the boom is sweeping the cockpit at less
than head height.

To make things safer for yourself either raise the boom to specs or
install a sit-under bimini which makes it impossible for you to get
your head smacked by the boom. You may even have the wrong
mainsail on that boat. Check the specs on the original and measure
yours against it. It could be the leech is longer which some racers
do to lower the end of the boom.

Check out my website for a few pictures of a bimini which is made
to sit under. However, even with the bimini laid down the boom is high
enough not to smack someone upside the head. If you have a boat with
such obvious dangers it is smart to get rid of them one way or the
other before they do you in.

Listen to a man with impeccable credentials and years of experience.

Capt. Neal
USCG Master, Near Shore, 25GT also
Operator Uninspected Passenger Vessels, Near Shore
http://captneal.homestead.com/index.html



wrote in message ...

Capt. Neal® writes:

Poor fellow! The man lost his life primarily because
of poor design by the naval architect.

Those C&Cs are a death trap in more than one way it seems.

But, to design a cruising boat with a boom so low that it
can smack you up side the head is criminal. I should think
a nice little lawsuit would straighten out C&C and the
negligent designer.

You won't find a Wm. Tripp Jr. designed cruiser with such
flaws.

CN

R.



Actually, you will.

I have a Columbia 32, designed by none other than William Tripp Jr,
and the boom sweeps over the cockpit definitely below head-height. At
least if I have the 'flattening reef' in the main out (I think there
is a fancier name for it but I forgot it). If I have inexperienced
crew, I sometimes put the flattening reef in even in light airs so
that the boom is a half-foot higher and less dangerous.

--Ernst

Columbia 32 #25 'Tavernier'




Capt. Neal® November 23rd 04 02:16 AM


"Nav" wrote in message ...
snipped some
Nevertheless, many things on a boat can maim or kill you. The boom is a
common source of injury but a good skipper should take account of the
risks associated with his course in high winds. If nothing else, an
uncrolled gybe in high winds can seriously damage the boat and even lead
to a dismasting. These should be unacceptable outcomes to a good skipper
who will take proper precautions to protect his vessel and crew. It's a
pity that testosterone seesm to get in the way of people retiring from
races when they don't really know how to handle the conditions.



That's what's wrong with racing. Testosterone and money always gets
in the way of common sense. Racing boats always push the envelope of
safety by virtue of their being built to minimal standards to start and
then modifying to skimp here and skimp there to cut weight until
catastrophic failures occur. This is the nature of the game. Never
mind a few people get maimed or killed in the process.

That's why racers cannot be called sailors. They are cowboys.
They ride the bulls. The rest of us sane people who cruise respect
lives and safety. We cannot abide those who would put others
in danger because they don't value their own safety. To us
sailing is more than a game with rules to break.

We don't mind speaking up about it.

Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jonathan Ganz November 23rd 04 03:28 AM

Well, you don't have to worry about it, since there's never anyone on your
boat except you. And, you never go anywhere of course.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...

"Nav" wrote in message
...
snipped some
Nevertheless, many things on a boat can maim or kill you. The boom is a
common source of injury but a good skipper should take account of the
risks associated with his course in high winds. If nothing else, an
uncrolled gybe in high winds can seriously damage the boat and even lead
to a dismasting. These should be unacceptable outcomes to a good skipper
who will take proper precautions to protect his vessel and crew. It's a
pity that testosterone seesm to get in the way of people retiring from
races when they don't really know how to handle the conditions.



That's what's wrong with racing. Testosterone and money always gets
in the way of common sense. Racing boats always push the envelope of
safety by virtue of their being built to minimal standards to start and
then modifying to skimp here and skimp there to cut weight until
catastrophic failures occur. This is the nature of the game. Never
mind a few people get maimed or killed in the process.

That's why racers cannot be called sailors. They are cowboys.
They ride the bulls. The rest of us sane people who cruise respect
lives and safety. We cannot abide those who would put others
in danger because they don't value their own safety. To us
sailing is more than a game with rules to break.

We don't mind speaking up about it.

Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Don White November 23rd 04 03:32 AM


"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...
Love the name of your boat. There is a town in the Keys with that name,

BTW.

What's your boom doing so low? Check the mast and look for an old, faded-
out black line. This should be where the boom is located. Chances are
somebody lowered the boom and increased the mainsail size. There is no
reason on that 32-footer why the boom is sweeping the cockpit at less
than head height.



I thought you had walked the plank somewhere!
Anyway, the Mirage 33 I crewed on for 4 years had a boom that was about 6'
1" off the cockpit sole. When I got hit, it was because I was standing on
the seat trying to stow away excess halyard line and I made the mistake of
letting the skipper control the ship's wheel.



John Cairns November 23rd 04 03:33 AM


"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...

That's why racers cannot be called sailors. They are cowboys.
They ride the bulls. The rest of us sane people who cruise respect
lives and safety. We cannot abide those who would put others
in danger because they don't value their own safety. To us
sailing is more than a game with rules to break.

We don't mind speaking up about it.

Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Most of the female racers I know are better sailors than you.
John Cairns



Nav November 23rd 04 04:02 AM



Jonathan Ganz wrote:
Well, you don't have to worry about it, since there's never anyone on your
boat except you. And, you never go anywhere off course.


Cheers FT


Nav November 23rd 04 04:04 AM



John Cairns wrote:

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...

That's why racers cannot be called sailors. They are cowboys.
They ride the bulls. The rest of us sane people who cruise respect
lives and safety. We cannot abide those who would put others
in danger because they don't value their own safety. To us
sailing is more than a game with rules to break.

We don't mind speaking up about it.

Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~



I don't know most of the racey females.
John Cairns



rhys November 23rd 04 08:45 AM

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 14:56:43 -0500, Capt. Neal®
wrote:

Poor fellow! The man lost his life primarily because
of poor design by the naval architect.


Actually, probably poor instruction from the skipper, but it was rough
enough that he might simply have been "thrown upright" to catch his
balance and got clipped. I don't know the fine details, only that he
got "boomed" on both sides of his head, with the second one basically
mushing his brain.

Those C&Cs are a death trap in more than one way it seems.


I own a C&C design and I find them quite safe. I will cop to the
crappy cored decks, however...but they can be remedied.

But, to design a cruising boat with a boom so low that it
can smack you up side the head is criminal. I should think
a nice little lawsuit would straighten out C&C and the
negligent designer.

Too late. Company was sold 15 years ago although the trademark
lingers.

You won't find a Wm. Tripp Jr. designed cruiser with such
flaws.


If you say so...

R.

rhys November 23rd 04 08:51 AM

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 13:30:55 -0800, "Jonathan Ganz"
wrote:

Just ignore crapton.

That sounds rough...


It was. A couple were drowned when their catamaran flipped down by
Windsor in the same wind front. Several boats were damaged (it was a
C&C regatta) and I saw a 41 footer attempt to get inside our basin at
the height of it...the water was pouring OUT of the basin so fast they
had to come about and run out into the lake.

Sounds like a combination of bad judgement on the part
of the skipper and the guy who got hit.


Or he was 6' 2". The seas were high and got higher all day as the wind
swung west. Even at dock it was reading 35 knots...we stayed in due to
traffic and my wife's advanced state of pregnancy.

We typically sail in 25+ kts, and
rarely use a preventer unless we're going to have a long downwind run. We
don't race though.


I rig preventers frequently but leave them slack unless conditions
warrant it. But then I sail my 33 footer solo a lot and I am about one
inch taller than the boom end if the mainsheet is taut.

R.


[email protected] November 23rd 04 01:23 PM


"Don White" writes:

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...
Love the name of your boat. There is a town in the Keys with that name,

BTW.

What's your boom doing so low? Check the mast and look for an old, faded-
out black line. This should be where the boom is located. Chances are
somebody lowered the boom and increased the mainsail size. There is no
reason on that 32-footer why the boom is sweeping the cockpit at less
than head height.




looks like I'll have to do some usenet archaeology. I presume that the
first part of this posting is a reply to my own posting. Only I never
saw that reply even though I have read usenet at least twice a day
since I posted.

Anyway, I did not choose the name of my boat ('Tavernier') but I do
like it, too. And yes, I know that there is a community called
Tavernier in the Fla. Keys. I know very little of my boat's history
(bought her when she was 25 years old to the month) but there are some
indications that she spent a lot of time in Florida. If you really
want to know mo the island of Tavernier was probably named after
Bertrand Tavernier, a quite famous French guy who explored much of
Florida in the 1400s or 1500s. Literally, it translates to
'bartender' (someone who has a taverne).

Anyway, that's an interesting thought, that someone lowered the boom
to increase sail area. The PO was very much into racing and I could
see him doing this. Next time at the boat (this weekend, probably), I
will definitively look for a 'faded black line' or any other
indication that the boom was lowered. But wouldn't lowering the boom
leave a lot more physical evidence than a faded black line; like holes
in the mast where the gooseneck fitting was attached previously etc?

--Ernst


Capt. Neal® November 23rd 04 02:26 PM


wrote in message ...

"Don White" writes:

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...
Love the name of your boat. There is a town in the Keys with that name,

BTW.

What's your boom doing so low? Check the mast and look for an old, faded-
out black line. This should be where the boom is located. Chances are
somebody lowered the boom and increased the mainsail size. There is no
reason on that 32-footer why the boom is sweeping the cockpit at less
than head height.




looks like I'll have to do some usenet archaeology. I presume that the
first part of this posting is a reply to my own posting. Only I never
saw that reply even though I have read usenet at least twice a day
since I posted.

Anyway, I did not choose the name of my boat ('Tavernier') but I do
like it, too. And yes, I know that there is a community called
Tavernier in the Fla. Keys. I know very little of my boat's history
(bought her when she was 25 years old to the month) but there are some
indications that she spent a lot of time in Florida. If you really
want to know mo the island of Tavernier was probably named after
Bertrand Tavernier, a quite famous French guy who explored much of
Florida in the 1400s or 1500s. Literally, it translates to
'bartender' (someone who has a taverne).

Anyway, that's an interesting thought, that someone lowered the boom
to increase sail area. The PO was very much into racing and I could
see him doing this. Next time at the boat (this weekend, probably), I
will definitively look for a 'faded black line' or any other
indication that the boom was lowered. But wouldn't lowering the boom
leave a lot more physical evidence than a faded black line; like holes
in the mast where the gooseneck fitting was attached previously etc?

--Ernst


Depends on the gooseneck fitting. Mine is a sliding gooseneck that
can be raised or lowered at will. Oftentimes the gooseneck will
fit an internal track in the mast and although it may have been
riveted on to begin with it is a simple matter to drill out the rivets
and change the location while adding new rivets. This would leave
holes in the mast to show that it was done, however.

More likely is a mainsail cut to lower the boom on the aft end
by increasing the length of the leech on the mainsail. This would
result in the aft end of the boom being lower than the forward
end. The original sail held the boom horizontal, I'm sure.

I heard a different story about Tavernier. At one time it was
a busy port for exporting pineapples, hardwood, and vegetables.
There were several taverns available for the workers. Word got
out that there was always a tavern near the port . Then the Frenchies
came along and changed the spelling. Your explanation sounds
more plausible.

CN


Martin Baxter November 23rd 04 05:26 PM

Capt. Neal® wrote:


Depends on the gooseneck fitting. Mine is a sliding gooseneck that
can be raised or lowered at will. Oftentimes the gooseneck will
fit an internal track in the mast and although it may have been
riveted on to begin with it is a simple matter to drill out the rivets
and change the location while adding new rivets. This would leave
holes in the mast to show that it was done, however.


I believe the gooseneck was riveted to the mast on this vessel when originally manufactured

More likely is a mainsail cut to lower the boom on the aft end
by increasing the length of the leech on the mainsail. This would
result in the aft end of the boom being lower than the forward
end. The original sail held the boom horizontal, I'm sure.


What sort of racing allows modifcation of the main so as to increase area beyond the manufactures specifications?

Cheers
Marty


Capt. Neal® November 23rd 04 06:05 PM


"Martin Baxter" wrote in message ...


What sort of racing allows modifcation of the main so as to increase area beyond the manufactures specifications?


Don't ask me. I hate yacht racing. I do know some racers will embrace any and all
cheats they think they can get away with.

CN

Nav November 23rd 04 09:00 PM



Martin Baxter wrote:




What sort of racing allows modifcation of the main so as to increase
area beyond the manufactures specifications?



More roach.

Cheers


Capt. Neal® November 23rd 04 09:43 PM

You probably just got lucky. Either that or you raced Bobsprit.

CN


OzOne wrote in message ...
On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 13:05:42 -0500, Capt. Neal®
scribbled thusly:


"Martin Baxter" wrote in message ...


What sort of racing allows modifcation of the main so as to increase area beyond the manufactures specifications?


Don't ask me. I hate yacht racing. I do know some racers will embrace any and all
cheats they think they can get away with.

CN


I knew a guy just like you....claimed that I my boat was a cheater and
that's why he couldn't beat me.

We sailed a 5 race series over a weekend.
I swapped boats with him, on the water at the end of each race.....of
course I had to wait around a while till he finished each time ;-)




Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.



[email protected] November 24th 04 01:08 PM

Capt. Neal® writes:


Depends on the gooseneck fitting. Mine is a sliding gooseneck that
can be raised or lowered at will. Oftentimes the gooseneck will
fit an internal track in the mast and although it may have been
riveted on to begin with it is a simple matter to drill out the rivets
and change the location while adding new rivets. This would leave
holes in the mast to show that it was done, however.

More likely is a mainsail cut to lower the boom on the aft end
by increasing the length of the leech on the mainsail. This would
result in the aft end of the boom being lower than the forward
end. The original sail held the boom horizontal, I'm sure.


Good points, all. I actually do think that my boom 'droops' quite a
bit so your theory of the too-long-leech has a lot for it. The sail is
definitively not original (the boat will be feting its 30th birthday
soon...).

I heard a different story about Tavernier. At one time it was
a busy port for exporting pineapples, hardwood, and vegetables.
There were several taverns available for the workers. Word got
out that there was always a tavern near the port . Then the Frenchies
came along and changed the spelling. Your explanation sounds
more plausible.


Yes, I think so. Good story, though.

--Ernst

[email protected] November 24th 04 01:10 PM


Martin Baxter writes:

Capt. Neal® wrote:

Depends on the gooseneck fitting. Mine is a sliding gooseneck that
can be raised or lowered at will. Oftentimes the gooseneck will
fit an internal track in the mast and although it may have been
riveted on to begin with it is a simple matter to drill out the rivets
and change the location while adding new rivets. This would leave
holes in the mast to show that it was done, however.


I believe the gooseneck was riveted to the mast on this vessel when
originally manufactured


I believe so, too (it is definitely not on a rail or track) but will
check next time at the boat (weekend).

--Ernst

Rob Welling November 24th 04 02:00 PM

Capt. Neal® wrote in message ...
Poor fellow! The man lost his life primarily because
of poor design by the naval architect.

Those C&Cs are a death trap in more than one way it seems.

But, to design a cruising boat with a boom so low that it
can smack you up side the head is criminal. I should think
a nice little lawsuit would straighten out C&C and the
negligent designer.

You won't find a Wm. Tripp Jr. designed cruiser with such
flaws.

CN



I' d have to disagree about the poor design by the naval architect
statement - only because there are many an older cruising boat that
don't have the benefit or newer design of today's taller rigs, so they
indeed have a lower (and longer) boom than one's head might prefer in
an accidental jibe. My 1969 Morgan 33 Classic was one helluva boat for
instance, but indeed, the boom was low enough to clobber you if you
weren't careful. When it came to design, Charley knew/knows his stuff.
I would suspect he expected those that were sailing his boats to know
theirs, too.

Anyway, I'd say if you had to place blame, it was negligence on the
skipper's part, and the poor guy that got knocked. Beyond that, what
can you do? Accidents do indeed happen. Sometimes with very
unfortunate and dire consequences.

Capt. Rob Welling
Sarasota, FL

katysails November 24th 04 08:08 PM

Bobspit died while I was gone?

wrote in message
...
Poor fellow! The man lost his life primarily because
of poor design by the naval architect.

Those C&Cs are a death trap in more than one way it seems.




Capt. Neal® November 24th 04 10:33 PM


OzOne wrote in message ...
On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 21:16:58 -0500, Capt. Neal®
scribbled thusly:

That's what's wrong with racing. Testosterone and money always gets
in the way of common sense. Racing boats always push the envelope of
safety by virtue of their being built to minimal standards to start and
then modifying to skimp here and skimp there to cut weight until
catastrophic failures occur. This is the nature of the game. Never
mind a few people get maimed or killed in the process.


Actually, racers are the reason your boat performs as well as you
claim.
Racers pursuit of light and fast lead to synthetic rope and sails,
streamlined foil shapes and blocks and sheaves that can carry the
loads required of a fast cruising boat.


I disagree that racers are the reason for my yacht's superior
performance. There is but one reason for that and that reason
is me. Being an experienced blue water voyager and live aboard
sailor for the past 20 years I have acquired an intimate knowledge
of my vessel, her quirks, her foibles, her strengths and her
virtues. I have minimized the bad and maximized the good.

Along with this I have researched, read and sailed and learned
myself what it takes to sail, modify and maintain my fine
vessel. . I have applied that hard-won knowleged to hone my
sailing skills to a fine edge. I know my yacht like the back
of my hand. She and I have become one. One with the wind,
one with the sea, one with the miles rolling under our keel.

I play my vessel like a virtuoso plays a Stradivarious.

Together we play a symphony.

CN



You should be thankful that people are prepared to spend huge amounts
of money and often suffer those catastrophic failures on race yachts
to develop the gear you use,

That's why racers cannot be called sailors. They are cowboys.
They ride the bulls. The rest of us sane people who cruise respect
lives and safety. We cannot abide those who would put others
in danger because they don't value their own safety. To us
sailing is more than a game with rules to break.


Yep, to you it's a leisurely cruise, to some an adrenalin rush.
You've accused some of the women racers of being dykes and having
balls....maybe they have, it takes balls to push a boat to its
breaking point and in most cases keep it together.

We don't mind speaking up about it.


You're too stupid NOT to!

Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.



Jonathan Ganz November 24th 04 10:46 PM

A symphony.... more like just a phony.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...

OzOne wrote in message
...
On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 21:16:58 -0500, Capt. Neal®
scribbled thusly:

That's what's wrong with racing. Testosterone and money always gets
in the way of common sense. Racing boats always push the envelope of
safety by virtue of their being built to minimal standards to start and
then modifying to skimp here and skimp there to cut weight until
catastrophic failures occur. This is the nature of the game. Never
mind a few people get maimed or killed in the process.


Actually, racers are the reason your boat performs as well as you
claim.
Racers pursuit of light and fast lead to synthetic rope and sails,
streamlined foil shapes and blocks and sheaves that can carry the
loads required of a fast cruising boat.


I disagree that racers are the reason for my yacht's superior
performance. There is but one reason for that and that reason
is me. Being an experienced blue water voyager and live aboard
sailor for the past 20 years I have acquired an intimate knowledge
of my vessel, her quirks, her foibles, her strengths and her
virtues. I have minimized the bad and maximized the good.

Along with this I have researched, read and sailed and learned
myself what it takes to sail, modify and maintain my fine
vessel. . I have applied that hard-won knowleged to hone my
sailing skills to a fine edge. I know my yacht like the back
of my hand. She and I have become one. One with the wind,
one with the sea, one with the miles rolling under our keel.

I play my vessel like a virtuoso plays a Stradivarious.

Together we play a symphony.

CN



You should be thankful that people are prepared to spend huge amounts
of money and often suffer those catastrophic failures on race yachts
to develop the gear you use,

That's why racers cannot be called sailors. They are cowboys.
They ride the bulls. The rest of us sane people who cruise respect
lives and safety. We cannot abide those who would put others
in danger because they don't value their own safety. To us
sailing is more than a game with rules to break.


Yep, to you it's a leisurely cruise, to some an adrenalin rush.
You've accused some of the women racers of being dykes and having
balls....maybe they have, it takes balls to push a boat to its
breaking point and in most cases keep it together.

We don't mind speaking up about it.


You're too stupid NOT to!

Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.





DAVE HORD February 9th 05 08:49 AM

The airfoil is there in all cases, in this respect; as the sail aqttacks the
wind, reguardless of the angle, some air flows on both sides of the sail.
Wind flowing over the most leeward side of the sail creates a partial vacume
on that side, so with air pressure stronger on one side the sail is
"pushed" or "drawn" to the direction where the low pressure is.
Even with the wind directly astern, a low pressure is created on the front
of the sail, and the sail(boat) is drawn forward. Hope that is as clear as
I mean it to be. Welcome to the intoxicaion of sailing.

Dave Hord.




Capt. Mooron February 10th 05 02:43 PM

On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 08:49:14 GMT, "DAVE HORD"
scribbled thusly:

The airfoil is there in all cases, in this respect; as the sail aqttacks
the
wind, reguardless of the angle, some air flows on both sides of the sail.
Wind flowing over the most leeward side of the sail creates a partial
vacume
on that side, so with air pressure stronger on one side the sail is
"pushed" or "drawn" to the direction where the low pressure is.
Even with the wind directly astern, a low pressure is created on the front
of the sail, and the sail(boat) is drawn forward. Hope that is as clear as
I mean it to be. Welcome to the intoxicaion of sailing.

Dave Hord.



OK, that's Bernoulli.

Now I'd suggest you look into Newtonian explanation of lift
ie deflection.


Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you



Capt. Mooron February 10th 05 02:45 PM


Ozone... if these dolts insist on x-posting.... you really should x-post
back.

Don't worry buddy.... I copied your reply and sent it off as a x-post for
you!

No No... no need to thank me... just lookin' out fer Ya!

CM




All times are GMT +1. The time now is 08:57 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2014 BoatBanter.com