Sea trials

Thanks for all your input. This is the new arrangement. Mainsheet is each end attached to the rail, other end in hand but I can take a turn for hauling down.
https://imgur.com/TjrQJ2w
the rudder is not fitted, will I need a wider or deeper blade, or not, or both. With the half reef I can sit for'd under the boom more easily
Pot swivel for the jib sheet. Using the thole pins means I can drop the lot quickly just by pulling them out.
https://imgur.com/l8KdcRg
https://imgur.com/wPNtuUh
 
reckon you'll need a deeper rudder. A mirror's transom is, I think, not as high as your one. For a Mirror that knot in the end of the rudder uphaul rope normally just touches the water.
Of course a Mirror has a dagger board, so a lot less rudder force needed to turn it.
 
I think he'll find that a lot more powerful than an oar. Best give it a try first.

If he makes it deeper it will be vulnerable. It could do with a bit more width at the underwater bit.

Like this (course the wider it is the more drag it will create as you put the helm over)

4b29bc7bf6fdfe6b52bbfa92acbdff33.jpg



I wonder if it's worth experimenting with leeboards? Might get the boat to round-up better. Bit of a faff though in a river with frequent tacking.

.
 
Gunter rig on a mirror should normally be parallel to the mast not faked back. You will have a knot or splice or something that needs to go to get it as close to flush as possible. Do that and you might ditch the reef.

Jib - not sure what you are doing, but sheet really tight is the only way to tack it! Cam cleats for single handing

Rudder. The original Heron Rudder is a spoon. So doesn't project down much but leans back much more.

Stop dragging it's bum in the water.

What about swamping etc. Is there any bouyancy.

Mainsheet. Again not sure what your setup is, but you ideally want to be able to sheet it hard (boom over the after quarter would be normal) as you go into the tack. Currently you are trying to tack reach to reach and slowing down as you go. Get it as close hauled as you can, moving quick then push it round, and use the cleated job to flick it round...
 
Hi. I think Shiny Shoe has the correct idea.
For a mirror mainsail: 1. fix the peak to the gaff as high as possible. 2. hoist the gaff as high as possible. 3. Tension the luff nice and tight- this will leave a gap to the boom ( you may need a line around the mast and back to the tack of the sail) 4. tension the foot of the sail.
This should lift the aft end of the boom and the mainsail will set better.
Good sailing
 
Spent three hours today wearing a big grin and sailing mostly upwind, off frenchman's. Did all the things, hauled the boom down, roved the jibsheets, shook out the reef after a bit, sat further for'd, she sails upwind near as well as anything I remember. The main still draws well when the jib is giving up. No helm pressure, can let go, she doesn't pay off, so the rudder will possibly be adequate, ordered the bits today.
Just not nimble going about, but I am confident with more than the light airs today she will manage it, plus the rudder fitted.
Last time it was a constant struggle and losing ground, chalk and cheese now, go anywhere.
I will address the finer points of sail setting, and tidy up a bit, now I'm confident in the results.
For buoyancy I have five big dahnfenders stuffed under the seats.
Thanks for all the tips....now, where's the spinny off the Hornet.......
 
Looking at the video again it is clear the jib sheeting is all wrong. Turning block or eye needs to be a lot further forward on the gunwhale to get the top of the jib tensioned in. (when hard on the wind) Yes of course you need to get close to the wind before tacking to get the jib to back. Likewise as said needs a vang or similar to get the top of the main working rather than falling away. ol'will
 
William_H said:
Looking at the video again it is clear the jib sheeting is all wrong. Turning block or eye needs to be a lot further forward on the gunwhale to get the top of the jib tensioned in. (when hard on the wind) Yes of course you need to get close to the wind before tacking to get the jib to back. Likewise as said needs a vang or similar to get the top of the main working rather than falling away. ol'will
Click to expand...

And sheeting through the pot swivel means the tightest it can sheet is to ?4-6" outboard of the gunwale. On a dinghy that would either be a gunwale or often inboard by 2-4inches.
 
Yes, my next thought is bring the jib sheet inside the shroud. The jib is backing while the main is still driving, the boat is very easily driven, it is built for rowing racing.
here is a very poor vbideo, but gives some idea about a couple iof issues, you may be able to see how well she's doing (then my battery went)
https://imgur.com/xCnkYzX
 
The jib sheet needs to come inside the shroud and aft, pulling down too much at the moment.
I'm going to lay the rig out in the yard and rectify the peak halyard, tack and clew.
 
If you get a helm on board you can play about with the jib sheeting position whilst sailing and see the effects on the sail of alterations you make. On a small sail like that you can just hold the sheet in position by hand. I've done that a few times on small cruisers (18ft-ish) when deciding where to fit a sheet track.
 
As others have hinted the boat will respond to rudder input much more sharply than with an oar - the oar, apart from being very inefficient in shape (not to mention short of area) is a long way behind the boat so you will get a much wider arc of turn than with a transom hung rudder. It doesn't help that the boat has little rocker and a deep skeg which will be reluctant to move sideways through the water - but a hull which wants to track in a straight line is a pleasure in other respects (especially for rowing). In favour of the oar rudder is that when you have lost all way in a tack it is a lot easier to row it round with that than with a normal rudder!

I have a Tammie Norrie (13'6" clinker ply Iain Oughtred design) which is very slow to tack. The hull is light, long and slender and is very reluctant to turn. The original fixed rudder was very small - it's better with a bigger rudder (I bought an Enterprise tiller/rudder stock/2 rudder blades on EBay for £15 including delivery!) but still only just makes it through stays sometimes.
 
There are definitely better boats if you want to scoot about like a madman, but this is very satisfying. the keel is long and straight, unlike one of Terry Heard's mouldings from the 70s, about 19ft, the mould was taken from an old boat which had hogged.
 
Well done. I might suggest with the rudder that you carve a little out of the rudder itself to allow it to swing forward to as close as possible to the keel. Forward rudder while not actually balanced will reduce helm loads by reducing unbalance. ol'will
 
William_H said:
Well done. I might suggest with the rudder that you carve a little out of the rudder itself to allow it to swing forward to as close as possible to the keel. Forward rudder while not actually balanced will reduce helm loads by reducing unbalance. ol'will
Click to expand...
Good point, might make a new blade.
 
More trials, pics taken from the safety boat. Rudder makes all the difference as proposed, I was able to point up just about as high as a nearby Wayfarer, but going about is still a very tenuous and ticklish affair, takes a lot of coaxing but getting there. Quite blustery and very flukey. Shift the mast back more? Seems nicely balanced at the moment.
https://imgur.com/Yl6ktmY
Doesn't feel unsafe even here, I might have capsized a dinghy at this point....next step is to sink her and see if she can be got back, has sufficient buoyancy.......
https://imgur.com/hyraWVe
 
Need to sit on the side!

It looks from that heavily heeling photo that the helm is pretty close to the centre, that is a good sign that the boat is nicely balanced. In a laser the tiller would be hard to windward to stop it rounding up.

This whole project is upsettingly practical, you are putting the rest of us to shame.
 
A simple barber hauler on the jib maybe to get it in really close when going about. Used to do this on old cats which have a bit of a reputation for not going about.
 
What an amazing change in her behaviour ! I think you have done 80% of what is necessary, so the refined 20% is matter of fiddling with bits of string and blocks.

Does the deeper rudder blade have a bungy cord to control it's draft ? I'm thinking of running into hard sand and not breaking the blade and cheeks.

Capsize buoyancy. I rspeckfully suggest you need to move those dahnbouys outwards. if you have all the 'lift' centrally and down by the keel, the free surface effect and dahnbouyss will tip her over again.

But you have a gem of a boat. Doesn't matter a damn if you have sails from other dinghies, the strings and flappy bits all look as if they are doing a good job. Looks as if you have got some miles of smiles ahead.
 
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