First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post your launchings, and post-launch adventures here. Please keep the to plan/date format.
narfi
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Re: First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post by narfi »

Fuzz wrote: Wed Aug 11, 2021 5:55 pm That was one heck of a project! Glad to see how well it turned out. I think some teething problems are to be expected on a project like this. So how does Landon like what you did to his boat? And why do I think this learning to sail might have something to do with other long term plans :doh:
he likes it, means less paddling :P

I am not very good at chess, but in life I try to plan several moves ahead, so you are right this was the first move. Wife may have a better/different route to the same endgame, so we will see how the game plays out over the next few years :)

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Re: First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post by Jaysen »

Considering the price of fuel, sails are cheap. That’s how I’m winning the “sailboats are better” argument here.
My already completed 'Lil Bit'. A Martens Goosen V12 set up to sail me to the fishing holes.
Currently working on making a Helms 24 our coastal cruiser.
“Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens” wrote:Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.
Jaysen wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 3:44 pm I tried to say something but God thought I was wrong and filled my mouth with saltwater. I kept my pie hole shut after that.

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VT_Jeff
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Re: First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post by VT_Jeff »

Narfi, huge congrats on the launch, what a great project! Design/build/launch/learn, just incredible.

As far as tacking goes, you'll figure out how the boat likes to tack pretty quickly. On jibing, you should definitely practice some controlled jibes(sheet the main to the centerline as you jibe around etc, you can look it up), it's an good skill for safety of the crew and the boat.

Interested to see/hear what the upwind performance is like. Will she point?

Congrats again, nicely done!
There are only two seasons in Vermont: boating season, and boat-building season.

Completed Paul Butler 14' Clark Fork Drifter
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narfi
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Re: First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post by narfi »

VT_Jeff wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 9:47 am

Interested to see/hear what the upwind performance is like. Will she point?

Congrats again, nicely done!
Thanks!

I do not know angles or anything, but the wind was coming directly off the ramp we launched from, and our routine for night one was; do a few laps around the bay and then back to the ramp and change 'crew' so all the boys got a chance, we did that several times and never any issue coming back into the ramp at an angle then turning directly into it right at the end and coming in on momentum.

The rudder steering is stiff, but I am very happy with how smooth the traveler system turned out, super easy as well and the ratio on the sheets is high enough that it takes no effort to hold it tight either. For tacking, we would center the traveler tighten the sheets start the turn, if needed I would give a stroke or two of the paddle, then once past center loosen the sheets and manually push the boom over by hand, usually that was good enough, sometimes I would need to do another stroke or two of the paddle because the wind was so light. I figured I would get comfortable with that before playing with jibing much, but I think it should be fairly safe with the traveler and sheet system I have as long as I stay aware.

To secure my rudders down, I found a super slick method was already in place...... I had set up the retract cable which worked well, by sliding the cable each side of the rudder down under the lower screws on the case for pulling it down, it uses the same cable to pull down instead of up, no rerouting needed! They will float so no need to pull them up in the water, just for securing them up on the trailer, so it is an easy switch at the beach launching and trailering to slip the cables over the screws to transform it from up to down and back.

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VT_Jeff
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Re: First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post by VT_Jeff »

If you were all getting back to the ramp, from whence the wind was coming, then you're all doing a pretty damn good job! Most stories you hear about first-time sailing involves a downwind launch and an upwind tow by a motorboat, so bravo!

I may need a photo to fully understand the rudder mechanism but glad to hear it's going to work without a complete re-design, that's always welcome news.

https://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Basics-B ... 1585748072

I know there are a ton of books out there but this one really helped me: does a great job on the fundamentals.

Turn on your gps next time you're out and post a screenshot of the tracks, that will tell a good part of the story.
There are only two seasons in Vermont: boating season, and boat-building season.

Completed Paul Butler 14' Clark Fork Drifter
Completed Jacques Mertens FS14LS + 10%, Build Thread
Started Iain Oughtred Tammie Norrie

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Re: First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post by narfi »

VT_Jeff wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:32 am

Turn on your gps next time you're out and post a screenshot of the tracks, that will tell a good part of the story.
Is there a good android app for that? as well as maybe showing speed?

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Re: First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post by VT_Jeff »

narfi wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:53 am
VT_Jeff wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:32 am

Turn on your gps next time you're out and post a screenshot of the tracks, that will tell a good part of the story.
Is there a good android app for that? as well as maybe showing speed?
I use BoatingHD from navionics, no idea what maps may be available for the neck of your woods but worth a try.

Edit: maps are not even essential for tracks/speed.
There are only two seasons in Vermont: boating season, and boat-building season.

Completed Paul Butler 14' Clark Fork Drifter
Completed Jacques Mertens FS14LS + 10%, Build Thread
Started Iain Oughtred Tammie Norrie

narfi
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Re: First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post by narfi »

Screenshot_20210812-080523_Gallery.jpg
Screenshot_20210812-080523_Gallery.jpg (75.65 KiB) Viewed 1024 times
Not a great picture but shows the geometry.

The darker line is the bungee that was too weak and not enough length to build spring tension......

You can barely see the retract cable to the front but it is tyed around the eye bolt on the leading edge of the rudder case (forward red dot) back through the hole at top of rudder (top red dot) and then forward through the eye bolt for a 2:1 leverage.

I can pull slack in the retract cable each side of the hole (top red dot) and wrap it around the screws/bolts sticking out about 1.5" lower on the case (lowest red dot) for pulling the rudder down instead of up.

Make sense or need a clearer picture tonight?

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Re: First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post by VT_Jeff »

narfi wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 12:13 pm Screenshot_20210812-080523_Gallery.jpg

Not a great picture but shows the geometry.

The darker line is the bungee that was too weak and not enough length to build spring tension......

You can barely see the retract cable to the front but it is tyed around the eye bolt on the leading edge of the rudder case (forward red dot) back through the hole at top of rudder (top red dot) and then forward through the eye bolt for a 2:1 leverage.

I can pull slack in the retract cable each side of the hole (top red dot) and wrap it around the screws/bolts sticking out about 1.5" lower on the case (lowest red dot) for pulling the rudder down instead of up.

Make sense or need a clearer picture tonight?
I think get it, that is about what I was picturing, I've had kayaks with similar skeg geometry, nice! Can it still kick-up when in the pulled-down state? If the CB can't kick up it may not matter.


What lake are you on? I'm looking at BoatingHD now.
There are only two seasons in Vermont: boating season, and boat-building season.

Completed Paul Butler 14' Clark Fork Drifter
Completed Jacques Mertens FS14LS + 10%, Build Thread
Started Iain Oughtred Tammie Norrie

narfi
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Re: First sail of my life - HC14 converted trimaran - Aug 10 2021

Post by narfi »

VT_Jeff wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 12:17 pm BoatingHD
So I think that app requires an internet connection to work well...... First time I tried using it, it wouldn't even open at the ramp. Second time trying was yesterday, I started it at home and clicked through the x days trial loading screen, then stuck it in my pocket and headed down and launched it. Forgot to "start" the track till we did a lap or two around the bay, but then pulled it out and clicked start. It seems to do fine till we get out of the bay and around the island, beyond even our shoddy cell reception(data works like a grossly crippled dial up connection here) and even though we went all the way around the island just showed a straight run back through it to the ramp.....

The tightened forestay and shrouds did great on the open lake, no more concern with movement on the mast, but even though the boat was quite stable, wife didn't like the waves splashing over the sides. :( Landon loved it though.....

Steering modifications were a huge success. Super easy and responsive now, so much better than the cable system.
Screenshot_20210816-071713_Boating.jpg

Screenshot_20210816-071743_Boating.jpg

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