365 Ketch - Hull 141

[Dale Tanski]

I'm trilled that the luff tape on that sail fit your furler! 
That would have been a real bummer if it didn't. 
Glad to hear your a real sailboat.
Enjoy...
Dale

[jpendoley]

Jordan,
Congratulations! It only gets better.

[Jordan]

40nm sail in the books, with me completely in charge the entire time, and only two sets of additional hands, neither of which are skilled sailors, but have definitely motored between marinas for the last year or two. Enough to make MXT feel okay about it, which is awesome.

I think I need to discuss our first sail in more detail, since this sail is based a lot on comparisons.

First time we went out sailing, the goal was to figure out if the boat sailed. Main sail only was the initial plan, but then Dale came through with a 150% headsail, that actually fit the luff tape. We couldn't run it correctly as laid out earlier. But still we went out. A few different points of sail, a bit of experience with the gulfstream. I was sailing near what I thought was an anchored container ship. Moving close, tacking away, and moving back in. And then we decided to move on. The wind shifted, our sails filled, and we set out. A minute or two later, I looked at the container ship, and asked the guy with us if that ship was at anchor. I could have sworn she was steaming along, and going faster than us.The container ship was at anchor, my sails were full, and I was going backwards. I seriously thought I was losing a race to an anchored ship!! I like to call this the moon-walking dolphin. Essentially though, it's just a lack of understanding how crazy that gulfstream gets. We head back in, tried to dock, killed the engine, and our skilled sailor just wanted to manhandle us in. I already did that, though. I feel a bit bad about this, since I know he's just trying to help out new sailors. But when he stalled the engine, and started reaching for a pylon, I said "Oh, so we're not going to try to get into the slip with the motor. Cool. Thanks for nothing." I was stressed a bit, to be honest.

Check out this track:



Second sail was different. This time, I knew what I wanted to do. I spent some time looking over waves, wind, gusts, clouds, tides. I even checked live webcams around Port Everglades and marine traffic maps to get a sense of how busy the inlet would be on a holiday weekend. I thought about our departure time, return time, position of our slip, etc. There were a lot of moving parts! But there were some aspects of our trip that I think were directly related to the planning. First, from our Marina, we have 3 drawbridges to get through before we can get to the ocean. I know, but it's temporary. Anyway, the way it works out is that whatever direction I'm heading (into the marina from the ocean, or out to the ocean from the marina), the first and third bridge open at the top and bottom of the hour, and the middle bridge is 15 minutes afterwards at 30 minute intervals. Which means that ideally, I can make it through all 3 bridges in 30 minutes. First time we went out, the engine made odd noises at the second bridge and we turned back. The next time, we followed another sailboat, making the wrong assumption they knew the schedule, and missed the second one on the way out. A bit of motoring practice, and we did things right on the way back in.

This time, I was the one driving the boat out of the slip, I was the one driving up the ICW, I was the one routing us, I was the one on the radio, I was the one responsible for the safety of my guests/crew, I was the one in charge of docking with the engine for the first time, utilizing prop walk to get into my slip. This time, I was truly captain.

I did good, if I do so say so myself. We left at noon, 4 people on board, tides helping all the way, and making sure the small storms forecast were set to miss us mostly. We hit all 3 bridges within 30 minutes. We got to the inlet, and headed East, towards the open ocean. Apparently, if I had the same boat as my new slip neighbor, if I gunned it, I'd hit the Bahamas in about an hour and a half. But that wasn't where I routed us this day (plus I'm all about wind, not fossil fuels). I wanted to go South. I had to raise sails and go on a port tack. Theoretically, I could do it. Last sail track looked like a kindergartner with a pen and a sneezing fit planned my route (see above). That gulfstream is a lot closer than I thought. But you know what? I did it. We unfurled the jib (about 6 times, because the drum got jammed with the too-big line), raised the main, and tried to trim the sails to go South ish without fighting the current. And she did it. We didn't even tack until we had to come back, and we went significantly further than I thought. It was beautiful. Hitting 7kn on a beam/broad reach with a 150% headsail and a possibly too large main. No mizzen. We decided to tack, head out into the gulfstream, and make our way North. The wind was forecast to drop quite a bit later in the day (hence why I wanted the Gulfstream to help on the way back). Sails started to luff, and after some behavior that seemed bad for the sails, decided to go ahead and put a reef in the main. So I went to the first reef, getting the reef point on the starboard hook in the boom. Went to reraise, and I realized that the reefing points on the luff of the sail had no lines ran through. Neither did the second reef. The guy I was with said that there were lines run at the second reef, and even though I didn't see them, I decided to give it a shot. I've missed stuff on the other side of the sail a few times now. When we got it down, I'm pretty sure he was trying to use the tell tales to tie the sail to the boom. Obviously they didn't fit, and obviously he had ideas as to why which weren't related to sailing experience. So we dropped the main, and turned on the motor. We head towards the back end of a squall. And promptly got hit by another. Now, I knew this one would be here, but never in my wildest imagination would I have thought we'd have made it this far South. But a bit of water was an expected part of this trip, which I made clear at the much-more-informal-than-I'd-like briefing. Not much, but a bit. This 365 is heavy enough that even though I'd never been in weather like this, I had absolutely zero doubt in my mind that the boat could handle it. Both of the other folks onboard seemed to melt as soon as the rain started. Huddled together in the corner of the cockpit, and not even registering my words. With this newly purring Westerbeke 40, I had no doubt we'd get back. Our charts were Navionics on our smartphones. But holy shit I'm bad at reading waves. That squall built up quite the waves. Not close together, but big enough to mess with me. I tried to point us at a good bearing (with no sails up, and using iron wind, it seems like it should just be a matter of pointing, but apparently not), but often wound up taking these swells straight on the beam. All kinds of stuff went flying across the cabin. Nothing broke though, so that was cool. I think this was a lack-of-experience thing, and I also think that this is damn near the closest thing I'd experience out there once I know what I'm doing. And not even the cats died!! We almost lost the other fridge (that I still hold we shouldn't have), but lashed it down.

And then it was just the smell of diesel and chugging along back towards the inlet. The storm let up, but took all the wind with it. I could have (and should have) sailed, but to my embarrassment, I motored. I'll admit, I was scared. The main fell out of the lazy jacks, and messed up my ability to see. I requested that someone take the helm so that I could fix it, but MXT just jumped up there and started manhandling this sail. I'll admit, that freaked me the fuck out. We're not going out to the ocean again without a way to clip in. I didn't think that would be an issue honestly. I feel confident in my ability to go up on deck and mess with the mast mounted winches. What I wasn't prepared for is everyone thinking driving was the scariest thing, and being stuck behind the helm while MXT reflaked the main. I am in love with the fact that I chose for us to float on the ocean, and I know I'm small in the face of it. I've never felt so small as when she was up there, less than 8 feet away from me, with me powerless to give her a hand. But we did it. We had to head out a bit more than I expected, but the swell kind of dictated that route.

No issues, and we got back to the ICW. It took longer than I thought, and it was dark now. Talk about trial by fire. The vast majority of boats on the ICW on the Sunday of a 3-day weekend (even after sunset) didn't have lights. And then, as I approached the first bridge back in, some famous ICW cruise ship was there. The wind didn't mess with me, but the current was pushing me towards the bridge. After announcing myself on the VHF (a new one), they knew I had the right of way. I believe the bridge tender's exact words were "Oh shit, a sailing vessel". I chatted with the big ass stinkpot, and was able to pull off a really nice hover as she went through the bridge. It felt good making it look easy.

We hit the next bridges as expected, even though I went a bit fast for the middle bridge, and wound up doing a loop and prop walk test uncomfortably close to a wreck, but everything worked out. Got back into the marina, and found my dock. Holy shit it was tight. Drove in perfectly, used prop walk to back into my slip, and pulled it off almost perfectly (I need to work on boat hook skills).
Tomorrow, I intend to write up a lessons learned post. For now though, I sailed. Again. And I'm so ridiculously happy.

Here is that track:

[jpendoley]

Jordan,
Congrats on a great cruise!  I think it's great fun to read about your adventures as you get more time using your boat. It only gets better. Each and every trip you gain experieince and confidence.
The admiral and I took off for labor day weekend-had great wind over to Gloucester, MA. Quiet night anchored out in the harbor while schooners sailed in and out carrying tourists.
The next day, we sailed outside and anchored in Folly Cove and dove for flounder and lobster.  I speared a couple of fish for lunch and caught a lobster for later.  Summer is drawing to a close and I haul out on Sept. 30-lots of projects to keep me busy during the winter.

[Jim S]

Did you have a wee bit of Folly Cove Rum while in Folly Cove?  Excellent, to my taste, rum made in Gloucester.

[jpendoley]

Jim,
I did not know and I live almost next door! Most summers I head north, but based on the last trip I have decided Glouster has much to offer-schooner races, a dependable breeze and great diving all in a working man's harbor. Plentiful anchoring and great used bookstores too. Now a rum distillery? Sailing heaven.

[Jim S]

We did a rum distillery crawl headed to Maine the year before you bought Tropicbird.  R&W distillery in Gloucester was our favorite.  We had great fried seafood at a shack there as well.  Gloucester had not lost its charm, I hope it never does.

Rural coastal New England is a favorite area for us, so different from the heat and humidity of the Texas coastal areas.  Actually more relaxed it seems.

[SV Alfresco]

You have to try Privateer Rum in Ipswich.

[Jordan]

I don't know if we are going to head that way any time soon, but I did go ahead and add that to my map. I lost internet at the Marina, and I'm too cheap to bother tethering my phone, so I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. But I did do a bit of writing.

Lessons learned.

Now, as I'm assuming will continue to happen on each sail, I generate a list of things to do for next time. Hopefully this will ease up as I go out more often, but it's a fun learning experience figuring out things that will make sailing more fun, more comfortable, and safer.

1. Roller furler line
   I mentioned before how the line that is installed on there is too big, and gets caught in the drum. Apparently we got lucky the first time we went out, because while I did have to go on deck to furl and unfurl the jib, it went smoothly. Not so on this last sail. I could barely get the jib all the way out, and it involved a lot of back and forth between the sheets and the furler line. This is something I knew, but I didn't actually experience real issues with it the first time, just inconvenience. I think the line should be 5/16", and my current line is 56'. It's a 3/8", and when I size that correctly, I'll hopefully resolve the issues with chafing. Since this is the only line of this size on the boat, I don't necessarily want to buy in bulk, even though I'm really leaning that way with other lines. I bought an 80' length of 3/8 to replace whatever halyard or sheet broke first, and thought I was hot shit, considering it was 30% off. Only paid about $130. Got home, and found a freaking 300' spool for $76. Gonna hold off on the 3/8, but I might just buy a 600' spool and replace everything, but we'll see. For now, I am ordering this 100' length of 5/16 line for < $40
2. Fenders
   I've currently got 3 fenders on the boat. I added one when I added a short spring line, but otherwise I've just left them where they were. Well, this caused a problem when trying to move the cars back on the jib track. When moving them further back, I ran into the line for the fender. So I just need to actually untie and retie them, so I know how they need to be positioned. Mostly, I didn't want another variable introduced this first time docking (and it turned out to be in the dark no less!). UPDATE: I actually did this yesterday, and identified a better way of storing them so that they are positioned correctly, but aren't in the way of the track.
3. Pendant on headsail.
   Now I'm kind of debating this one. Doing a bit of research and talking to cruisers, it seems that having a crimper and the crimp ends for stainless wire is extremely useful. If I do get one, I can just cut off the existing pendant at the top of the sail, and mount in at the foot. That will get me the clearance I need. However, one of the things that has been on my list of skills to develop has been rope splicing. I've been looking around for some beginner kit with fids and stuff, just so that I have an idea as to how they are supposed to work, but didn't seem to find anything reasonable. However, as I went shopping about for marlinspikes, I found one with a nice set of fids that came with it, which is pretty cool. So I can try making a Dyneema pendant (I do know I'd have to be very careful about chafing) and use that, but we'll see.
4. Cushions
   The couple who came with us brought some throwable cushion floats and a stadium chair. That made things significantly more comfortable. I'm not certain about the stadium chair itself just yet, but those cushions are handy (plus they seem like they would stow significantly better). Going to pick up 2 of these, and we'll see how that goes. We stacked a bunch up on the lazarette so that whoever was driving could sit and still see.
5. Locker Latches
   We've got the standard locker doors with the hole for your finger and the spring loaded latch inside. I've never been a fan of them, as I've damn near broke my finger when something moves at just the wrong time. But those push button pull out latches are like $20/piece. Instead, I found some plastic ones for significantly cheaper (like 10 of them for $40). Since I now know I'll be using primarily polyester resins, I'm going to try to get my hands on some sawdust, and use that as filler in epoxy to fill the holes in the locker doors. We'll paint them (or something), and drill a new hole closer to the edge for these latches. When we were rolling a bit, a few of our doors just gave up and were swinging open. A fire extinguisher almost squashed the cat!! So yeah, that's a priority.
6. Belt
   During the test start of the motor, I noticed a bit of squealing from the belt. So I killed the engine, and retensioned it. It tightened up, but that belt isn't in great shape. So we're going to get a new one and a replacement. I think one of the other pulleys may have an issue with it's bearings, but I want the belt running smoothly before I continue troubleshooting. It's kind of hard finding that belt though. The model number on it is 2614b532, and a search doesn't seem to show anything. MXT emailed Westerbeke to see if they knew. I'm hoping I don't need to, but I can bust out the micrometer and use this pulley calculator I found posted on this forum.
7. Harness!
   It's not her favorite, but MXT doesn't seem to feel unsafe when we are moving a bit more than she is comfortable with. I wouldn't have thought we'd have gotten to this point this soon, but we did. Which means lots of motion, and lots of ability to fall off deck. Watching MXT flake the main was not comforting, and I know she's also uncomfortable when I go up to mess with the sails. So we'll make sure we get one of those. There is going to be some research here.
8. Tablet and mount
   We are using Navionics as our Chart Plotter, and I tried to use an old phone mount for my bike on the pedestal, but the actual waterproof case didn't work out. Needing to pull out the phone and look at it while driving was not ideal. I'm going to get a 10" tablet to mount up there, and set it up to be always on.

[SVJourney]

3/8 should be right on the furler.  When you release it do you keep some tension on it?  That helps it coil smoothly on the drum.  You will be in a world of hurt trying to drag that big 150 down in a squall if the 5/16 twine breaks.

Your sheets and halyards should be 1/2". Remember it might be your butt hanging from one.  Do not buy cheap line although buying a spool of good 1/2" would be awesome.  You need double braid that is designed to be spliced and the line you find at Home Depot is not it.  Also yacht braid is lower stretch than normal generic rope.  Important for halyard tension.

All according to nobody but me of course, but I fully expect Dale to chime in here with a look of horror at the thought of climbing 3/8 line.

[SVJourney]

Belt,
Just take the belt off and take it to the local Napa or whatever autoparts you use.  Note before you take it off how much adjustment you have left so you know whether to round up or down on size.  There is nothing special about it.  All auto parts stores have a tool to show what size you have.  Takes seconds to measure it up and cross match the number.  Get a Gates "Green Stripe" heavy duty or equivalent belt so it lasts longer.  Don't tighten it too awful much or it can damage the fresh water pump bearings.

[Jordan]

3/8 should be right on the furler.  When you release it do you keep some tension on it?  That helps it coil smoothly on the drum.  You will be in a world of hurt trying to drag that big 150 down in a squall if the 5/16 twine breaks.

Your sheets and halyards should be 1/2". Remember it might be your butt hanging from one.  Do not buy cheap line although buying a spool of good 1/2" would be awesome.  You need double braid that is designed to be spliced and the line you find at Home Depot is not it.  Also yacht braid is lower stretch than normal generic rope.  Important for halyard tension.

All according to nobody but me of course, but I fully expect Dale to chime in here with a look of horror at the thought of climbing 3/8 line.

It is totally way too big. And it's not that it's spooling funny or getting bound up. The amount of physical material inside the drum jams it about 4 turns before it's unfurled entirely (and I didn't even add extra loops to furl it tight initially), it just gets full . And I used a micrometer to check the existing halyards and sheets, and they were all 3/8. I can't really see 1/2" fitting in the self tailing winches for either the boom vang (is that right? like a traveler that doesn't travel and connects to a static point from the midpoint of the boom?) or the sheets for the headsail. I'll see if I can't get a picture of the way the furler looks when the sail is out to show you what I mean.

And one of the riggers weighed quite a bit more than I do, and they used all of the existing halyards that Dale scared me about .

That spool of rope (or that company) seems like solid quality rope to me. E-rigging or whatever the site was. Did you see something I didn't, or just talking about being careful? I hate Florida Home Depots, so trust that I won't get anything for the actual functioning of the sailboat as a sailboat from there.

Oh crap, I forgot to say, we did grab a 1x1 piece of pine to do a test. We added it to the cockpit table, which allowed it to full open, and even though the leg of the cockpit table was a bit short, I used a spare length of PVC to get it at the right height. I'll tell you what, it makes a world of difference! We're going to redesign the table to flip out, but for now, this is nice. We had our snacks there during our sail, and I could reach over to grab something.

Belt,
Just take the belt off and take it to the local Napa or whatever autoparts you use.  Note before you take it off how much adjustment you have left so you know whether to round up or down on size.  There is nothing special about it.  All auto parts stores have a tool to show what size you have.  Takes seconds to measure it up and cross match the number.  Get a Gates "Green Stripe" heavy duty or equivalent belt so it lasts longer.  Don't tighten it too awful much or it can damage the fresh water pump bearings.

I'm guessing that happens in autopart stores outside of Florida. MXT had the belt, and took it to no less than 4 different places (including advanced auto, O'Reillys, Napa, and West Marine). I'll have to try to find a place that does it or something. Maybe call ahead, because these folks are freaking useless. You should have seen the oil filters they told MXT were compatible with our engine. Jeez.

[Jordan]

Okay, photo of the drum and some video at the album I posted earlier. However, I think you may be right about the halyard size. I may have some seriously underpowered lines in board. Even worse, I would have gotten replacement underpowered lines. That's why I'm posting here as I think things through. I know I'm getting impatient, so need to check myself.

[P69]

Would 5/16" for the furler line be kinda skinny and hurt when furling the sail?

[Jordan]

Would 5/16" for the furler line be kinda skinny and hurt when furling the sail?

I don't think so. At least not for me. IIRC, 10mm and 1/4" were too small, but 12mm and 5/16" felt okay to me. The Jenneau 349 next to me runs 5/16 as well.