Second time out in the Osprey. Not terrible, not great either...

[Greenheart]

...you ARE facing forward as you tack, aren't you?!

Ah. Umm...possibly not. I hadn't given it a thought...I was scrambling across the boat, wrestling the four-foot tiller extension and the five-foot tiller, turning facing aft as I duck under the boom (which is lower than I expected, and I'm a shorty), then seating myself and finally looking at the state of the mainsheet, which by then is often horribly tangled round the cam cleat swivel.

For reasons I can't easily explain, I've also been slackening off the mainsheet before going about...leaving lots of line free to get tangled up. I think I must've thought there was less chance of sudden heeling on the new tack, if I didn't have the sail sheeted to draw automatically.

I like the idea of the cam cleat on the main, if it's not more awkward than beneficial. My smallish final block replaced a tiny, offensively useless one which appeared to have been attached as an afterthought following the 'looting' of a big expensive ratchet block.

I'll probably take the boat out on my own this week, under main alone. I know there'll be issues with the directional balance, but it'll remind me of cat-rigged sailing I've known best in the past. If I can get to grips with the boat whilst alone, SWMBO can come as a passenger next time - because I won't make any demands of her apart from sitting on the high side...

...and once she's enjoying that, without feeling overburdened by having to understand, we can see if she fancies having a sail to control.

Any encouraging advice, regarding sailing a big dinghy under main alone? Yachts with big genoas do it all the time...how hard can it be?

 

[Seajet]

Hi Dan,

personally I'd keep the jib on; it's not much area and helps enormously with tacking.

One good trick is to tie the jib sheets together with a reef knot, this allows one to sheet in or out from the windward side deck.

I think your mainsheet cam cleat is very worthwhile; on occasions when you don't want to cleat the sheet, trap it under your thumb on the tiller.

Re SWIMBO, the cause of a lot of unhappiness or even sickness when sailing is the feeling of being out of control and clueless; try to get her involved and understanding what's going on.

 

[Kelpie]

Probably a good idea not to get too far downwind if sailing under main only. The boats I've sailed find it quite hard work getting back upwind under this rig. And as you already know, you'll probably find yourself with huge weather helm, which in theory can be ameliorated by bringing the board back a bit (I've tried this but not often enough to form any conclusions as to whether it works).

As to handling the main during a tack, well I've had my wrists slapped by a SI but what I find works for me is to either: a) leave it cleated during the tack, because you'll want exactly the same tension on the sheet on the opposite tack anyway; b) uncleat it and dump it on the floor, picking it up after the tack.

The above works just fine in a Wayfarer but I gather an Osprey is a little more flighty.

 

[Greenheart]

...personally I'd keep the jib on; it's not much area and helps enormously with tacking.

Thanks Andy. I only wanted to remove it to lessen the total heeling force. The main is 100'sq...the genoa adds another 43...so I hoped my 12 stone (hiking, not trapezing) would cope a little more easily under main alone.

I'll remember the jib-sheet trick, sounds good.

Most of all, I'll shop for a harness soon. Not for SWMBO, for me. And not for the bedroom, for the boat.

I always liked the slick quick pointiness of the Contender, but also wanted a boat that could accommodate a mate or two, not necessarily with sailing skills. My wish to singlehand the Osprey may be ineradicable until some uncomfortable, irrecoverable capsize teaches me sense...but I'm not going to dwell on capsizing anymore.

Probably a good idea not to get too far downwind if sailing under main only. The boats I've sailed find it quite hard work getting back upwind under this rig.

Hmm, I'm wary of that, thanks. If I try it, I'll mainly work to windward then sleigh-ride home.

Re. the way to hold the mainsheet during tacks...I wonder what your wrist-slapping sailing instructor was objecting to? Surely whatever works, must be good enough.

It was tough pulling the boat up the slipway yesterday, where I'd done it fairly easily before. Is it best to have a lot of pressure in the trolley tyres? I've been letting them down when finishing for the day, so the trolley-base resides on bricks to rest the tyres. Daft, probably. They were a bit soft yesterday after I let SWMBO pump them up.

I may need to get chocks which drag along behind the wheels, to stop roll-back. I've never seen anyone else with these...are they a DIY job?

 

[Seajet]

Dan,

I once took my Osprey out along Emsworth Channel to the sandy beach at East Head for a picnic; all the 3 crew ( 2 attractive girlies and a chum ) were inexperienced.

I made the classic mistake of showing off, drove the boat too hard and capsized.

I was the only one with a wetsuit, and managed to clamber over the high side to sit on the centreboard.

Just as I was sitting there opening a can of beer I'd rescued thinking ' God I'm cool ' the girl I fancied swam up and said " you look just like a pixie ! "

 

[Searush]

If there is water in the boat it can become MUCH heavier to recover up a slope. ALWAYS let it drain at the bottom of the slope if you can & then pull it up empty.

TBH, I think you have picked too large a boat as a learner, but a cheap suit of sails off a smaller dink (gp14, Enterprise or similar) as suggested will make it a lot easier to handle at first by taking all the power out of the sails & reducing the loads on sheets to much more easily handled levels.

The rudder must be dried out if you want to repair it. Wash with fresh water & dry it out completely, then clean the crack with a little acetone before putting resin/hardner mix in the crack & clamp it shut for a couple of hours. Finally, fill any gaps & sand smooth.

Maintenance is always an ongoing task with dinks, especially old ones. Look after the good lady, good ones are hard to find.

 

[Kukri]

Just to cheer you up, here is how my younger sprog and I spent today. I should explain that younger sprog, age 11, was sailing in a dinghy for the second time ever.

1-ish. arrive at club, trundle down to ramp, discover that stopper knot on main halyard of Firefly is wrong side of sheave at base of mast and halyard goes neither up nor down. Adjourn to bar for lunch.

2-ish - back in dinghy park, mast down, commence wrestling with recalcitrant halyard

4.05, Give up in disgust, decide to cut it off and blow month's sailing budget replacing with expensive Dyneema. Jump in car...

4. 17 Remember that local megachandlers shut at 4 on the Sabbath, reverse tracks. resume battle with halyard

5-ish sucessfully extract halyard, tie man-size stopper knot,, re-step mast

5.45 or so - launch. F3 with short sharp puffs.

5.46 observe that we have forgotten to reeve off the Cunningham and tension the outhaul. Attempt to explain to 11 year old how to do this but he hasn't got the strength needed

6.05 The last puff of the day achieves the inevitable... B2 inversion... sprog learns Capsize Drill 101...

6.20, Sprog finishes bailing, says people who sail Toppers don't know how lucky they are, makes unkind remark on Ancient Parent's physical fitness as he re-boards

6.30 boat on ramp. Elder sprog, who had been teased about leaving his IC's Windex on the bottom of the river, unkindly points out mud on head of mainsail and arrowhead missing from Windex.

7. Crew in shower...

and a fine day was had by all

 

[Greenheart]

Good stories, and thanks for the tips.

I'm reluctant to buy a Windex as recommended by Minn earlier, for exactly the reasons of their vulnerability which he later reports encountering! I reckon I'll set up the burgee halyard I discussed elsewhere.

Thanks for the smaller-sails encouragement, Searush...

...Minn and I are PM-ing about his old Firefly sails. If the Firefly stood in as Olympic singlehander in 1948, I reckon her sail area would be relatively manageable aboard the much bigger Osp. I'm not expecting a different design's sails to set perfectly or give viceless steering balance - just to allow underweight singlehanded crewing in a typical F3.

Actually I don't believe the Osprey is too large or too ambitious for my needs/wants; I'm just unused to her style, which I had flattered myself I already understood. And my style of use can't be very usual for this design. But as soon as I stop expecting her to respond terrifyingly to every puff of wind, I'll be able to relax and enjoy.

I spent many days - many summers, full of sailing days - aboard little una-rigged dinghies designed to be manageable for kiddies and families, and my mindset hasn't entirely evolved to the scale and behaviour of this loftier boat. Practice will take care of that, I'm just at a steep part of the learning curve.

I've known lots of lads who liked nothing better than driving any boat beyond its limits - shredding sails, dismasting and damaging foils, even holing the boat, all in pursuit of extreme 'fun'...

...my experience hasn't given me that appetite, just as well since I can't afford to replace stuff smashed by cavalier use/misuse. I wanted a boat which could be sailed fast, but wasn't so singlemindedly bent on performance that she's only rewarding at the breakneck limit. I'm still very sure the Osprey is right for me - even though I expect I'm quite unlike most Osprey owners.

 

[Capt Popeye]

Ahoy there Dan C

Suggest you fit the Rowlocks ASAP and take your lady for a row, to get her (you) both used to the boats movements;

Also fly the jib and both get used to handling 'one' sail at a time, setting up the sheets your way, andcoping with any heeling and rudder actions

Best wishes to you both, and hope Oars still OK with you?

 

[Iain C]

Dan

I'm also going to respectfully say that you are doing it all wrong mate. The absolute first thing you need to do is to get someone knowledgeable to look at the boat. And that perosn needs to be a dinghy sailor. You do not need all the latest systems on it, but what is fitted MUST work properly. Take your mainsheet...you are barking up the wrong tree saying you are going to remove the jammer. It's essential on a boat like that, but must be set up properly. Height of swivel, height of cleat, angle of cleat, length of shackle are all critical. It needs to cleat as the mainsheet touches the side tank and uncleat as soon as it lifts from the side tank. It also need to have pinstops so it can't spin all the way round. You absolutely cannot tack facing backwards, an when you tack you need to poke the right bit of the tiller through the "gap" first (the UJ) or you will end up in a pickle.

Don't sail under main alone, it is very difficult and you will end up in a pickle again. A 49er simply won't do it at all (saw a mate break his jib halyard and end up on the wall as he just couldn't steer). Your boat clearly has not been set up properly by the previous owner (take your bailers for example...the wire bail is absolutely essential to stop a substantial leak, the string simpy wont work) and there's probably other stuff too. And another absolute howler is no toe straps. Trapeze boats don't have them, I can understand that your OH doesn't want to trapeze yet (and please send her out with a good dinghy sailor who can give her a stable ride to start with to learn the basics) but without either a wire or a toestrap the poor lass is going to feel incredibly vulnerable at the front. I guessing she has a death-grip on the shroud to compensate? Fit them, and remove if you want when she starts wiring.There is absolutely no point in looking at smaller sails until you give her some way of giving some righting moment and security. At the moment you are doing the equivalent of "my brakes don't work properly, so I'd best fit a smaller engine". Seriously, stop worrying about scuffed rudders until you have all this essential stuff done.

I'm often Gosport way at weekends...I'm more than happy to have a look at the boat for you, and once everything works,, go sailing with you if I'm down. PM me if you want.

Oh, and burgee halyards...no!!!!!! Get a Falker burgee (not a windex, you will trash it on your first shallow water capsize) and a masthead clip. Burgees just live at the top of the mast permanently on a dinghy.

Keep at it, well done for giving it a go, this next bit is essential or you will end up putting you and her off for life, just because of boat setup and a few simple techniques. You're so close now!

 

[Kermit]

When I sailed an OK with a centre jammer I postitioned the cleat so that it was harder to get the rope between the cams than to get it out. The adjustment of the cleats positon can be further tweaked by the use of wedges.

Not to easy to explain, but I had the side of the cleat nearest the helm lower than the side where the sheets enters the cleat.

I'd have to use my foot to force the mainsheet into the cleat, but a simple upwards tug was enough to free it. Once the boat started to heel it was easier to free the mainsheet. Don't leave it too late though......

 

[Lakesailor]

Oh, and burgee halyards...no!!!!!! Get a Falker burgee (not a windex, you will trash it on your first shallow water capsize) and a masthead clip. Burgees just live at the top of the mast permanently on a dinghy.

You saved me the trouble.
The little s/s clips are only a quid or so. Or even cheaper is some gaffer tape.

I tried to flog Dan this but he wasn't convinced. Dan PM me your address and I'll send it for the postal charges.

 

[Iain C]

TBH there's other wrong with that Harken swivel...it's the best you can get (bar the same swivel with built in kicker jammer). That bolt is an "addition" which made me wonder if it was locking or free to spin. It probably just needs some fine tuning...but if you are tacking backwards your knackered anyway. Tack facing the mainsheet...that's aft in an Ent/Mirror/Miracle, forward in Ospreys/Fireballs/anything with a centre jammer.

 

[Greenheart]

Gentlemen, thanks for replying, once again.

Cap'n Popeye, the oars are beauties, I thank you; time and a busy schedule and lack of cordless drill have prevented me fitting my shiny new rowlock-sockets, but when they're in I'll enjoy de-stressing rather than distressing SWMBO with freedom from flapping (my own, as well as the sails'...)

Iain, thanks for the advice. No shortage of owners and sailors at the club have offered the benefit of comparison with their systems, and (perhaps they're too polite to be honest about mine) most of them just seem mystified when I ask how they'd resolve my minor issues on board. I recognise that my personal manoeuvering during tacking has been badly, sadly flawed, and I'm going to put that right for starters...

...I see that my mishandling of the mainsheet during tacking is causing the problem. That said, I can see that the height of the block (and the angle of the mainsheet coming out of the jammer) also isn't helping at all and needs basic adjustment...but I won't now remove the jammer-swivel.

Not sure what you mean by "(the UJ)"?

I had assured SWMBO that lack of toestraps wasn't something she could be blamed for - particularly since, as a novice, she doesn't even know that there ought to be something to hook her feet under...very unpleasant for her. I'll put that right. (I haven't actually seen the toestrap webbing for sale in chandleries or elsewhere...is it hard to find? Plus the little spiky grippers which clasp it to a strong point on the deck.)

The smaller-suit-of-sails idea is mainly to gear the boat down, for singlehanding. I regret I've been boring readers about it for years now, since long before buying the Osprey.

Regarding the burgee, I've gone through any number in the past, which lived permanently at the masthead and frayed gradually into redundancy. I snagged them on trees, bent the staff on other people's rigging (not always my own fault!) and lost them altogether during capsizes - and of course I regarded them as a necessary overhead, no pun intended. But since I have an unused hook up there and an assortment of small blocks and light line that would serve, I will at least try using a halyard...

...it'll save me lowering the mast or rolling the boat just to put a new flag up there each time. Plus...unless I'm much mistaken (okay, usually I AM much mistaken) don't the flagstaff-clips need rivetting on to the masthead? I used duct tape once before and the flag sagged drunkenly for a fortnight.

Sincere thanks for the offer to help...when I'm near Portsmouth I'll let you know and you can give me your impression of the boat, in person.

Lakey, that block is another handsome offer, but I wouldn't let you part with a solid bit of kit for less than the price of a modest round of drinks. Not sure whether I need to ditch my current set up, but I'll PM you in due course, thanks again.

 

[prv]

Not sure what you mean by "(the UJ)"?

The universal joint, the place where the tiller and the extension are joined together.

(I haven't actually seen the toestrap webbing for sale in chandleries or elsewhere...is it hard to find? Plus the little spiky grippers which clasp it to a strong point on the deck.)

There's nothing special about toestrap webbing. I haven't looked, but I bet if you put polyester webbing into the eBay search it would come up with something appropriate. Short battens of plywood would do for mounting it.

But since I have an unused hook up there and an assortment of small blocks and light line that would serve, I will at least try using a halyard...

You don't even need a block. Kindred Spirit's burgee halyard was just led through a fairlead on the side of the mast, and that worked fine. In fact it's probably better, as you can draw the burgee staff tight against a fixed object instead of a block that rattles around.

Pete

 

[Iain C]

Dan

Tostraps...any webbing will do, the wider the better. Even seatbelt webbing. Just bolt them to the boat though, and double the ends up to make the bolts go through more material. Get the length right, and add some bungee to hold them at a constant height so SWMBO can get her feet under without looking.

Falker burgess have wire the whole way round so do not flap and fray, they last for years. Seriously, don't put a halyard on it, you are wasting your time. A burgee clip is very cheap, and short tappers are fine, no need for rivets.

Trust me on this stuff...been there, done that...

 

[Greenheart]

Seriously, don't put a halyard on it, you are wasting your time. A burgee clip is very cheap, and short tappers are fine, no need for rivets.

Trust me on this stuff...been there, done that...

Thanks Iain, I do believe you're right, but I'm old and stupid. I'll try it the wrong way first, then report that your words have been proved correct, just as they obviously are already!

The universal joint, the place where the tiller and the extension are joined together.

Thanks Pete. Actually my universal joint is one of those weird flexible rubbery things which I was fearful of over-bending, but it seems indestructibly robust.

I'm awaiting a payment for last month's work. Then I'll quickly get spending before other bills spoil my fun. A trapeze harness, toestraps, burgee, silicone for ease of mainsail hoisting, a new mainsheet, very possibly a big butch mainsheet ratchet block...ah, the rare bliss of wandering round the chandlery with a wallet full of cash...

I mentioned 'towed trolley chocks', to stop a hefty boat on a trolley from backsliding into the drink when the sailor is hauling out, wearied by his combined incapacities. Has anybody seen or heard of factory-made chocks, or does everyone just hope to find a brick handy?

And another thing...

...I'm thinking that my rudder would benefit from a 2nd tackle. The one which broke is there to keep the blade down...but only the pivot-tensioner keeps it in the elevated position...

...so as we push off from the beach, I have to clamber out of the cockpit, over the three-foot rear deck and reach down to loosen the pivot screw, before the tackle will work. If I had a second tackle attached to the trailing edge (holding the blade up), I could raise and lower the blade from the sidedeck, rather than releasing the pivot-tensioner and trusting to luck to keep the tip of the blade from hitting the beach.

I guess it's easy if you sail from a dock, but on a steeply shelving beach, with waves and a SWMBO too physically short to hold the boat's nose well out to windward, it's damned difficult to avoid damage and a few moments of chaos when launching and landing. Or...

...am I doing something stupid? I won't be surprised...

 

[prv]

I mentioned 'towed trolley chocks', to stop a hefty boat on a trolley from backsliding into the drink when the sailor is hauling out, wearied by his combined incapacities. Has anybody seen or heard of factory-made chocks, or does everyone just hope to find a brick handy?

I have seen plastic chocks for sale in caravan shops, but I wouldn't dream of spending money on them. Use a suitable bit of scrap timber if a brick is too heavy to carry around.

...so as we push off from the beach, I have to clamber out of the cockpit, over the three-foot rear deck and reach down to loosen the pivot screw, before the tackle will work. If I had a second tackle attached to the trailing edge (holding the blade up), I could raise and lower the blade from the sidedeck, rather than releasing the pivot-tensioner and trusting to luck to keep the tip of the blade from hitting the beach.

I don't think the pivot screw is meant to hold the rudder up.

Every dinghy I sailed had a lanyard (not usually a multi-part tackle) to pull the rudder blade up. Some of them had a second lanyard to pull it down (secured to a hook on the tiller via a loop of shockcord, providing some give if the rudder hit something), others just had a hefty piece of fixed shockcord pulling the rudder down.

Pete

 

[Seajet]

I agree with the shockcord pulling the rudder blade down, line to pull it up; a tube cleat on the tiller is handy for the latter.

As for launching, how about sailing off the slip backwards ? One just holds out the boom to windward and applies reverse helm, maybe backing the jib as well if necessary.

It usually only works briefly before the boat pays off, but gets one clear of the slip.

 

[Greenheart]

Thanks chaps. Once again, your commonsense is blinding. Perhaps I have reversed the intended arrangement that is provided...there's a 2:1 tackle on the tubular tiller, and I'd rigged it to hold the rudder down, because I had imagined it swinging up under pressure of drag under way...

...but it could have been fitted to lift the blade, though I'm not sure how - the attachment position of the (now snapped) cord on the blade doesn't favour lifting. Worth a long look though, and I'll add shockcord to the list. Plus some scrap timber for those chocks. If I wasn't so daft, I'd have made them months ago for our hilly corner of the dinghy pound.

I used to sail my Topper in reverse. Deliberately, I mean. I even reckoned she went better that way in light airs. But I can't easily picture how to ease the Osprey backwards off the beach, sailing against the wind...it may be possible, but not at my tender stage of knowhow!