maxcampbell
Well-Known Member
It may not break on the day, but as demonstrated on a friend's boat, it will put a horrible irreversible twist into the luff wire, maybe unlaying the parts of the wire. Please don't use a furler as a reefer.
Dinghy roller-headsail
- Thread starter Greenheart
- Start date
It may not break on the day, but as demonstrated on a friend's boat, it will put a horrible irreversible twist into the luff wire, maybe unlaying the parts of the wire. Please don't use a furler as a reefer.
Greenheart
Well-Known Member
Probably it would fit the Osprey trailer...although, the trailer isn't exactly this year's model, in fact I suspect springs and bearings need renewing. It's presently disappearing into the ferns at the club.
Of course, I'm always interested...but where's the link to the for-sale section? Can't see it.
If I'd had £2000 for a Westerly Nomad, I could have saved this forum about ten thousand words of daftness.
I'm sure I'll muddle through and get the Osprey right for my weird use in the end, if only by a lot of experimentation & failure!prv
Well-Known Member
Really? Possibly you've missed out on some useful dinghy bits over the last few months, then
Forum is here: http://www.ybw.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?18
Specific post about this abandoned boat is: http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?366852-How-much-is-my-boat-worth
Pete
tigr
Well-Known Member
Don't like sitting or standing in a load of water, I'd seal up the bailers and floor the bottom, keep it designed so you can move the boards at a low part and bail water out as although we do not use our dinghy heavily but get water over the side. Forgot to add it's nicer for the dog to sit on as well.
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?71731-dinghy-floorboards
I've found milk cartons are ok but the real thing is very cheap and works slightly better, sponge is handy as well.
Another thought is hunt down a smaller mast and sails or be adventurous and make up a simple rig with small spars and cheap tarp - could be a bit of fun making that as well.
I'd keep the original gear until you are happy to use it.
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?71731-dinghy-floorboards
I've found milk cartons are ok but the real thing is very cheap and works slightly better, sponge is handy as well.
Another thought is hunt down a smaller mast and sails or be adventurous and make up a simple rig with small spars and cheap tarp - could be a bit of fun making that as well.
I'd keep the original gear until you are happy to use it.
lw395
Well-Known Member
The original gear will probably work much better and be easier to use than anything amateur made.
Neil_Y
Well-Known Member
You have to get the sail up the mast, as the mast has a slight taper at the top you need the sail right up there to be able to flex mast with cunningham and flatten it more. The straighter the mast the fuller the sail, and rig the outhaul to the higher eyelet. Loads of kicker as it gets windy probably need 16:1 purchase.
Old baggy sails make sailing in any breeze a struggle whatever the boat or helm.
Old baggy sails make sailing in any breeze a struggle whatever the boat or helm.
knuterikt
Well-Known Member
This is your old thread http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...y-could-this-be-arranged-using-DIY&highlight=
Greenheart
Well-Known Member
Thanks for these thoughts and links. In the past I have used the forum buy/sell section...I bought my oars from Captain Popeye. I'd just forgotten how to get there.
We're making leeway from the theme of the thread, but no matter.
I really like the timber floorboards idea...nicer than the present arrangement which is neither dry nor flat, nor smooth enough to let drips accumulate in a single area. While I'm a fan of the milk-carton-bailer (used it last night to good effect) and the popular manufactured versions, I'd like a flat timber floor through which I can occasionally poke one of those stirrup-pump-style bilge pumps, to empty-out: http://www.tcschandlery.co.uk/6319/Whale-BP1955-Easy-Bailer-55.html
I can see that correctly understood & tuned (assuming the bagginess isn't terminal), a sailplan can be made to create useful drive rather than unwelcome heeling...
...but even assuming it can be considerably de-powered, any full rig designed to challenge a two or three man crew, will still overpower one man alone...won't it?
Until I accept defeat and buy a proper singlehander, I'd like to see the Osprey tamed by reefing - I'm not racing, after all. In its present state, the mainsail is "all or nothing", which makes me overly wary and SWMBO terrified. I believe the boat would still sail well with a reduced main; I could begin pushing it, and myself.
Sorry if my desire to geld a racer and load it with cruising appointments doesn't make sense. I might have bought a pure cruiser, but they're mostly too expensive...
...and I remain convinced that a speedy bird which can also be made to fly slowly, will make a safe yet entertaining cruiser. More fun than a pure-bred slug, surely?
We're making leeway from the theme of the thread, but no matter.
I really like the timber floorboards idea...nicer than the present arrangement which is neither dry nor flat, nor smooth enough to let drips accumulate in a single area. While I'm a fan of the milk-carton-bailer (used it last night to good effect) and the popular manufactured versions, I'd like a flat timber floor through which I can occasionally poke one of those stirrup-pump-style bilge pumps, to empty-out: http://www.tcschandlery.co.uk/6319/Whale-BP1955-Easy-Bailer-55.html
I can see that correctly understood & tuned (assuming the bagginess isn't terminal), a sailplan can be made to create useful drive rather than unwelcome heeling...
...but even assuming it can be considerably de-powered, any full rig designed to challenge a two or three man crew, will still overpower one man alone...won't it?
Until I accept defeat and buy a proper singlehander, I'd like to see the Osprey tamed by reefing - I'm not racing, after all. In its present state, the mainsail is "all or nothing", which makes me overly wary and SWMBO terrified. I believe the boat would still sail well with a reduced main; I could begin pushing it, and myself.
Sorry if my desire to geld a racer and load it with cruising appointments doesn't make sense. I might have bought a pure cruiser, but they're mostly too expensive...
...and I remain convinced that a speedy bird which can also be made to fly slowly, will make a safe yet entertaining cruiser. More fun than a pure-bred slug, surely?
armchairsailor
Well-Known Member
Spilling, scandalising, learning how to trim according to conditions to create a smoother ride - it's the essence of sailing... I was reacquainted with it the one time I sailed my kestrel (also singlehanded) - all too easy to have water sloshing over the gunwhales if you turn too quickly, don't correctly trim a gybe and so on... It's a lifetime to learn (and I've not even got past stage 1 yet) Enjoy!
Iain C
Well-Known Member
Dan
Have you actually replaced the bits of string on your bailers with the correct s/s wire arm?
Have you actually replaced the bits of string on your bailers with the correct s/s wire arm?
Iain C
Well-Known Member
Bit more to it than that. Here's the 12' skiff I used to race (belongs to forumite BobC) with the biggest rig and the smallest rig. Which one's faster?
Seajet
...
Dan,
the Osprey may have the potential to go fast,but it's also very stable with good manners to do what you ask; a smaller boat may be slower but probably much more tippy for swmbo !
I wonder if you could jam rubber or foam into the bailers, so they don't leak normally but if required you could open them, jetisonning the rubber bits ?
As for the furler, my Osprey came with one, I used it coming or going at the slip and when the kite was up; the crew had to lie on the foredeck to get at the line, which didn't help stability on windy days.
As a quick fix, virtually free that you coud do right now, how about a foresail downhaul ? Simply a bit of light line to the jib peak, led to the forestay fitting and backto the cockpit.
Makes controlling the jib much easier for ensuring it's swiftly out of the way and keeps it from billowing full at the wrong moment, so handy for setting off from and approaching the slip or for reducing sail area / crew workload when out in clear water.
As your swmbo is so nervous I strongly recommend you do a capsize drill next to the slip asap, it will be informative to you and reassure her that a capsize is nothing to worry about.
the Osprey may have the potential to go fast,but it's also very stable with good manners to do what you ask; a smaller boat may be slower but probably much more tippy for swmbo !
I wonder if you could jam rubber or foam into the bailers, so they don't leak normally but if required you could open them, jetisonning the rubber bits ?
As for the furler, my Osprey came with one, I used it coming or going at the slip and when the kite was up; the crew had to lie on the foredeck to get at the line, which didn't help stability on windy days.
As a quick fix, virtually free that you coud do right now, how about a foresail downhaul ? Simply a bit of light line to the jib peak, led to the forestay fitting and backto the cockpit.
Makes controlling the jib much easier for ensuring it's swiftly out of the way and keeps it from billowing full at the wrong moment, so handy for setting off from and approaching the slip or for reducing sail area / crew workload when out in clear water.
As your swmbo is so nervous I strongly recommend you do a capsize drill next to the slip asap, it will be informative to you and reassure her that a capsize is nothing to worry about.
Greenheart
Well-Known Member
Fabulous photos, Iain! But the skiff's idea of a reduced-area sailplan can't reflect any typical dinghy-crews' outlook...and the wind's clearly much stronger in the 2nd pic.
Let me ask it this way: if you had to singlehand a boat which you knew from experience requires the weight of two crew to keep her upright in a breeze, even assuming their best sail-flattening, wind-spilling techniques...
...if one man seriously wants to sail such a boat, what options are available, other than reducing the sailplan to a size that his limited avoirdupois can cope with?
Very simply, having accepted non-competitive compromise on a racing dinghy, what's the effective way to make her easily singlehandable? I thought, smaller sails.
Not being disagreeable, I really want to know what you think.
About the self-bailers, no I haven't got the requisite securing springs. Not found on any website, even Anderson/Elvstrom's own. And since my bailers look bashed & imperfectly aligned, I fear the springs aren't the real problem. And since two complete new bailers would cost more than a trapeze harness, they're lower on my list...
Let me ask it this way: if you had to singlehand a boat which you knew from experience requires the weight of two crew to keep her upright in a breeze, even assuming their best sail-flattening, wind-spilling techniques...
...if one man seriously wants to sail such a boat, what options are available, other than reducing the sailplan to a size that his limited avoirdupois can cope with?
Very simply, having accepted non-competitive compromise on a racing dinghy, what's the effective way to make her easily singlehandable? I thought, smaller sails.
Not being disagreeable, I really want to know what you think.
About the self-bailers, no I haven't got the requisite securing springs. Not found on any website, even Anderson/Elvstrom's own. And since my bailers look bashed & imperfectly aligned, I fear the springs aren't the real problem. And since two complete new bailers would cost more than a trapeze harness, they're lower on my list...
Greenheart
Well-Known Member
Thanks Andy. I expect you're right. In the light winds we've so far encountered, I've just been a bit surprised how the boat lurches when one of us moves a few inches. We're not total porkers, but I get a feeling trim is pretty important - though I'm very impressed with how the boat makes easy progress, regardless of my technique...
...in fact, under oars with the mainsail tied up tight in the lazyjacks and a bit of centreboard down, I found she was bustling along at a couple of knots even with the genoa stowed! I didn't need to row at all. That wasn't heading upwind, obviously.
Very good point about a jib-downhaul...at present the halyard doesn't let the top of my genoa drop lower than nearly four feet off the deck before being detached, which is hellish when you're trying hard to bring things briskly under control.
I should have long-since lengthened the halyard. Plus, oh my God, that halyard tangles easily! A hideous, tight-knotted bundle of 4mm line, pressed into the cleat by the pressure of SWMBO pulling the sail down. Luckily I had a hold of the boat from the beach by then. But it made me want a roller-furler, more than ever.
Nice idea about jamming the bailers with rubber...but lately I've been smothering the hull-side of the bailer areas with waterproof duct tape, and they still leak!
Thanks for the capsize thought. When the chap at my club comes out with me, we'll do a test for my own peace of mind, which I can then pass to SWMBO...perhaps...
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Lakesailor
Well-Known Member
We've been suggesting this for ages. Come on, get a grip and do it. Unless you drown, you'll find it very confidence-inspiring.Thanks for the capsize thought. When the chap at my club comes out with me, we'll do a test for my own peace of mind, which I can then pass to SWMBO...perhaps...
Seajet
...
And maybe after a try out with the bod from the club, unless something comes to light requiring fixing get swmbo to do a drill with you, it's her confidence which will be boosted by this, and probably nothing else would have such an encouraging effect.
Greenheart
Well-Known Member
Long time, no review...but I fitted the roller-furling (huge thanks to Tam Lin for his top-swivel)...and it works really well. I can't see why anyone thought it wouldn't be a big plus.
I was glad to discover that fears expressed about the Osprey losing tacking ability under mainsail alone, seem to be without basis. SWMBO contrived to fall wholly and heavily into 18ins of water as we launched, so it wasn't long before she preferred to sit on the floor in the lee of the forward cockpit bulkhead, leaving me to balance the boat...
...so when we heeled and SWMBO squealed, I suggested she uncleat the genoa-sheet and pull the furler line...and her evident delight at the genoa's immediate disappearance, was a memorable first at sea. But tacking without the headsail was effortless, no danger of getting stuck head to wind. It felt great to have the sail-plan so readily adjustable.
Arriving at our planned stop, I decided to drop the main and come in under headsail alone, furling the genoa in time for an unhurried step over the side...all of which went exactly to plan in the gentle conditions, although I'd left the lazyjacks too slack and I hadn't practiced flaking the main/removing battens at sea, causing unsightly untidiness...
...but the experience was very positive. I found a way to stow the oars securely above or beneath the gunwales with shock-cord, using enough line to permit rowing whilst preventing unscheduled detachment. And I fitted snap-shackles to the boom blocks, for instant clearing away of the mainsheet. The lazyjacks hoist the boom above the rower's head.
And best of all...she's not green any more!! (I mean the boat. SWMBO'S still green.)
I was glad to discover that fears expressed about the Osprey losing tacking ability under mainsail alone, seem to be without basis. SWMBO contrived to fall wholly and heavily into 18ins of water as we launched, so it wasn't long before she preferred to sit on the floor in the lee of the forward cockpit bulkhead, leaving me to balance the boat...
...so when we heeled and SWMBO squealed, I suggested she uncleat the genoa-sheet and pull the furler line...and her evident delight at the genoa's immediate disappearance, was a memorable first at sea. But tacking without the headsail was effortless, no danger of getting stuck head to wind. It felt great to have the sail-plan so readily adjustable.
Arriving at our planned stop, I decided to drop the main and come in under headsail alone, furling the genoa in time for an unhurried step over the side...all of which went exactly to plan in the gentle conditions, although I'd left the lazyjacks too slack and I hadn't practiced flaking the main/removing battens at sea, causing unsightly untidiness...
...but the experience was very positive. I found a way to stow the oars securely above or beneath the gunwales with shock-cord, using enough line to permit rowing whilst preventing unscheduled detachment. And I fitted snap-shackles to the boom blocks, for instant clearing away of the mainsheet. The lazyjacks hoist the boom above the rower's head.
And best of all...she's not green any more!! (I mean the boat. SWMBO'S still green.
)
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Kelpie
Well-Known Member
Fantastic to see you getting out on the water after all that planning! I've recently upgraded to a roller headsail on my dinghy (as well as downsizing to a Wanderer from a Wayfarer) and find it extremely handy.
Hope you can get out a few more times in what remains of the summer
Rob
Hope you can get out a few more times in what remains of the summer
Rob
EuanMcKenzie
Well-Known Member
I once broke the rudder blade on my Osprey and managed to sail it back with jib rolled and centre board at half height and it steered quite nicely by leaning
I found my old trapeze harness + another that came with my last boat in the shed. Mine is xl the other is medium. Free for the cost of the postage if you want them PM me.
Get the main fully up then wack on the Cunningham and you'll find the sail becomes a different animal without reefing
E
I found my old trapeze harness + another that came with my last boat in the shed. Mine is xl the other is medium. Free for the cost of the postage if you want them PM me.
Get the main fully up then wack on the Cunningham and you'll find the sail becomes a different animal without reefing
E
Iain C
Well-Known Member
Dan
I've always thought some of your plans were a little "leftfield", (and I still maintain falling into those lazy jacks with a trapeze hook could be a nightmare) but I think that boat looks great. She looks loads better for a coat of white paint, and I really do think you have pulled off your "fast dinghy cruiser" plan. Well done, and great to see it out on the water!
I've always thought some of your plans were a little "leftfield", (and I still maintain falling into those lazy jacks with a trapeze hook could be a nightmare) but I think that boat looks great. She looks loads better for a coat of white paint, and I really do think you have pulled off your "fast dinghy cruiser" plan. Well done, and great to see it out on the water!