What a day

maRaider · Post by **maRaider** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 5:25 pm

So, this is a good news bad news day. I got the Man-O-War out on the water today, me and someone I know who is more familiar with this type of boat than I am. We hauled ass. Gentle breezes, but we were ripping up and down the lagoon. It was lovely.

Then the mast folded at the deck.

We managed to sail her in reverse (after 40 minutes we crossed the 100 yards to shore) with him holding the sail up and me running the rudder.

What a bittersweet outing.

On the other hand. I was considering re-rigging her anyway with a shorter alternate mast and a spritsail or a lugsail, which would be more child-friendly, so... instead of an alternate rig, that will become her rig. Heh... quite a day.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 6:23 pm

Quite a day indeed, and once again rigid flexibility is called for. Glad you got to enjoy it!

troyengel · Post by **troyengel** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 6:30 pm

Dont feel to bad, My first outing, I broke my trailer winch, and on my second outing, I broke the new winch and the bow guide, and the bunking started to come off the suport boards. I have been bringing a comealong and a bunch of zip ties on every outing.

Oh the battery was dead, and I ran aground 6 times.

I thinks it gets better with time.

jbbkamp · Post by **jbbkamp** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 7:17 pm

Last year we were out in a boat about the same size, a Newport Sandshark. Like you said, a great day of sailing, came to an end with one of the side stays breaking and the mast landing in the water. Got towed back by a couple of drunk guys on a pontoon boat. 1st thing they did even before throwing me a rope was to throw me a beer. They said it looked like i was having a rough day...and I was! Oh, well...it's all fun!!!

maRaider · Post by **maRaider** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 7:20 pm

I'm actually feeling pretty great, considering. I'm pretty adaptable in my old age, having dealt with enough "Growth Experiences" to keep some perspective.

I've been really taken with the notion of building different rigs and now I have a completely plausible reason to fiddle around with it. I doubt I will buy a new mast, but I may trim back the sails to accommodate the shorter mast (losing a lot of thrust, but keeping the general lines of the boat). For kid-training, I wanted something more forgiving anyway, so I'll eitehr build a spritsail or a gaff.

Honestly, having an excuse to experiment with 4 or 5 different rigs is exciting. Dreams' days as a stock MOW may be behind her, but I have no intention of letting her go. The rest of the boat performed splendidly (though we bent the pintles when we were going backward (the only steerage way we could find) and hit a rock.

Bhacurly · Post by **Bhacurly** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 8:09 pm

Thats great! Love it!!!

Dont forget the picts!

cs3079 · Post by **cs3079** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:19 am

I love your sailing attitude. Unenlightened others will think you're crazy. It's all about the perspective you take. If you love sailing, you gotta be able to love it all, otherwise you'd be best just to bum a ride on someone else's boat for a day and get it done with.

Nice lookin' boat by the way!

CaptainScott · Post by **CaptainScott** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 6:30 am

Sounds like a grand day! You want sailing and made it home! Sorry about the mast though!

As you try different rigs, don't forget to be aware of boat balance! As a kid I had a Chrysler Dagger 14. Cat rig. In the ever present desire to go faster I cut up a sunfish sail and hanked it on as a jib! I've never seen that boat go so fast but alas it could not last. The mast is stepped forward on the Dagger. There was simply to much downward force on the bow. Instead of rising up over the waves she began to plow through them until the inevitable happened. A gust of wind hit as we started to plow causing my Dagger to cartwheel! What a blast! So being young and foolish did we pack her up and go home? Nope! We kept on sailing her and periodically cartwheeling!

Eventually the Sheriff showed up in his power boat to rescue us! LOL! Really, we laughed out loud! Sailed back and forth several times to show we were in control! Explained our mods and he let us go about our fun!

So remember that in any kind of blow, you do not wish to upset the balance of your MOW! Mother Nature will seek out and exploit your every weekness!

Scott

maRaider · Post by **maRaider** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 8:09 am

Excellent advice. Yes, you nailed it, I was riding my bike into work today wondering if the placement of the mast would allow for stays and a jib. I had started to come to the conclusion that it was too far forward, but had not considered submarining or cartwheeling. I was mostly concerned about tearing the top surface of the boat off of the bottom one unless I bolted through the hull (which is not something I intend to do).

So, I reached the right decision (not to try stays or jibs) but am doubly convinced now.

I did have a thought that I would like to bounce out: I was thinking of cutting back the sail from the bottom to fit the shorter mast, which would greatly reduce its square footage. Is there anything to be said for cutting the leech instead? It would result in a shorter, but wider triangle. My wife is a sewing deity of some sort and I am not bad with a zigzag stitch, so I am less concerned with the process of changing the sail shape than I am with the result. Are there good reasons for or against this?

If I shorten the sail from the bottom, making a triangle of the same angles but shorter, it seems like my boom will be disproportionately long.

Bearing in mind that peak performance is not my goal, having a kid-friendly training boat is, any suggestions on salvaging some of my Dacron?

Also, thanks to all of you for the words of encouragement.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 5:27 pm

Just read an article in Practical Sailor that asked the same question about shortening a sail. The quesiton boiled down to: 1) How much will you take off the bottom of the sail, and 2) What percentage decrease in sail area does this cause. In the case of the article, removing a foot from the bottom only resulted in a 3% decrease in sail area & the material removed is at the bottom (least effective) part of the sail as compared to the top (more effective) portion.

I have very little idea what I'm talking about but hope it helps you or someone else can take this and add on so it is helpful.

Paul

maRaider · Post by **maRaider** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 8:27 am

That's very helpful. I had assumed that, because starting from the bottom removed the most square feet of sail, the result would be the most dramatic. I think (once I get the broken part of the mast cut off) I'll see if it's possibly to carefully seam-rip from the bottom up and furl it around the boom before I apply the scissors. Worst case, I screw up a sail that I can't really use anymore anyway. Best case, is that it works and I can surge/stitch the bottom. Somewhere in between is that it does not work and I have to improvise a completely new shape.

Thanks for the info.