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

[Iain C]

...the window in the jib is almost certainly in exactly the right place for a flat boat and fully hiked/flatwiring crew. Moving the jib up is totally wrong and will ruin the sheet lead into it and the boat won't sail properly...

 

[Greenheart]

Moving the jib up is totally wrong and will ruin the sheet lead into it and the boat won't sail properly...

Yes. As would have become apparent in the first 15 seconds of sheeting...

...but even a crack a couple of inches high would make the difference between a broad angle of blindness, and some visibility there. The window is really not helpful.

It reminds me of steering a 32' Jeanneau, five years back somewhere busy...Southampton Water I think it was.

Close-reaching against the tide for ages amongst lots of other traffic, with a whopping genoa blanketing everything to leeward, forward.

Great efficient sail plan, not great for visibility. And hard up against the guardrails, so none of the crew wanted to sit the other side to look.

The genoa I'm using is very, very tired, and I have another which I suspect is better...not sure about the window though.

Another ridiculous out-of-proportion purchase heaves into the mind's eye...a transparent-film headsail, costlier than the rest of the boat...

 

[andymcp]

This may sound like a negative post - it's not meant to be. I hope you have many happy years of fast dinghy cruising ahead. But...

Dan, I've followed this thread with a mix of curiosity and sympathy. My earliest sailing experiences in dinghies were with a certain close relative while growing up on Skye, and his nerves and lack of confidence nearly put me off any kind of water sport for life, before we had even left the shore. Like you, the craft in question was a performance-leaning dinghy. Like you, there were some well-known fundamental skills that would have benefitted us both had we taken the time to go learn them from an experienced person first, or learned to communicate them effectively while getting to grips with a new boat. Like you, there was much blaming of kit, set-up and a list of 'improvements' that were the focus of my tutor rather than bedding in the simplest skills and experiences which would get us through the worst that could happen.

Two things changed it all for me. First, a helpful local chap saw me out in a kayak one day and stopped by to ask if I was the crew he'd seen rattling around the dinghy in the bay amid a stream of cursing and shouting from the skipper. Having confirmed that was me, he offered me a lesson in his Wayfarer. Those few hours were the most valuable in my sailing career - calm, simple, elegant tuition around the fundamentals of sheeting, trimming, boat trim and helming. And even better it ended with a brief warning of "You're going to get wet now" before capsizing the boat. While we were both bobbing in the water, me in a bit of a panic and slightly stunned by the fact it *wasn't* an instant death sentence, he quietly started telling me the basic steps to follow to right the boat and get back on board. He floated around with his feet up while I got on with it, then boarded when I'd finished. I now knew that capsize was manageable and absolutely not something to fear, just another thing to rectify and move on from - pure gold for confidence. But apart from his skills, the Wayfarer *felt* safer and a nicer place to be. I wished I'd been learning in one the whole time.

The other thing that changed my enjoyment forever was when the same chap had a word with another local whose son had left for Uni, leaving his Laser behind. A single sail, easily righted, fast, tippy and fun. The family agreed I could borrow it as often as I liked (it sat in their garden next to the shore, ready to go anytime) as long as I repaired any damage done, always wore either a wetsuit or a buoyancy aid, and for the first few times a helmet too. I soon found out why the helmet was a good idea, and very very quickly learnt how to control a dinghy, how to recognise signs of capsize, how to plane, trim, hike out, spill wind - everything needed to enjoy rather than endure.

I only tell those stories because it feels to me like you are not concentrating on the right things. You cannot decide when the first capsize will be, unless you do it as a drill. You will get wet in the process, therefore you need a wetsuit for everyone on board. Yes, other people learned without one and survived, but they are cheap, available and will make the world of difference, so why wouldn't you? You should assume it WILL happen, not that it won't. Even in benign conditions it only needs a combination of a mild gust, another boat's wake and shifting crew positions (which, without straps, would be likely) and you'll be in the drink. Forget lazyjacks of any kind, forget any other significant additions or alterations until you address the safety and security of your crew. Wetsuits first, capsize drill immediately after. Get an experienced hand to do it with you - even if you know the theory it is much easier to follow instructions first time, then do it again yourself second time. You're wet then anyway, so do it another 4 or 5 times until you can laugh at it rather than be scared by it. If at that point SWMBO is not enjoying things then I fear a dinghy life is not for her. My own fair lady will never set foot in a dinghy because of never having learned and re-learned capsize drill, and having been relentlessly taken out as trapeze ballast by her elder brother. However she is as happy as a pig in the proverbial on a nice, secure yacht, even when broaching, as she feels the boat will look after her where the skipper's talents might fail (something she *never* felt in a dinghy). We bought an Enterprise a few years back to teach the kids in, and it brought back all those memories and lessons, so we waited (a long, long wait) for a sunny and warm, near windless weekend before we took them out with safety cover and an experienced friend to show them the dark art of tipping a boat over and getting it back up again. They've never been scared on a boat again since.

So that was a very long way to say, IMHO, forget the **** about tinkering with the boat setup. Get wet, get capsized, get the boat back upright. Do it with help at hand, do it because it's the most important lesson there is, and it's the fastest way to make sure SWMBO has some control over events. Look at what the RYA do in dinghy courses - Level 1 allows you to drift around under supervision. The minute you reach independent sailing at level 2, capsizing and recovery, along with safety, is the main focus. There's a reason for that.

 

[[23929]]

Geez, Dan, if you are just cruising around and worry about being over powered, just hoist a set of Firefly sails. I'm sure you can get a old suit for a few quid. You can then forget about the trapeze and the high cut foot on the jib will give you a clear view to leeward.

The Osprey was originally a three crew boat with non on a trapeze.

As Iain C says, raising the jib tack is wrong. You'll never get the right tension on the foot and leech and this will just compound your problems.

 

[Greenheart]

Get wet, get capsized, get the boat back upright. Do it with help at hand, do it because it's the most important lesson there is, and it's the fastest way to make sure SWMBO has some control over events.

Thank you Andy, I know you're right. It'll also be the fastest way to reassure me that I have control over events.