I've had my weekender out a few times now as I continue to figure out a few major details and make a few mods. I recently added a tongue on the trailer and got a set of those gudgeons and pintels. I also added a little more meat to the rear of the stem so my rudder could swing a little bit more in each direction without banging into the transom. All seems OK there. I haven't mounted my motor yet (trolling) and have found a couple of instances (today being the second) where there was a good steady wind blowing right into the ramp. To my thinking, this seems a major problem and I basically had to pass on going out. My concern is that how am I going to get her turned around and keep her heading up into the wind while raising sails without the assistance of a motor. I believe that without the motor, the wind would blow her right back into the ramp. It's really hard to walk away from it after investing the time, fuel and effort to set her up and then decide conditions just don't seem right. When I have had her out it's been up at a rather small local lake where the wind is a bit sporadic and I have the opportunity to raise sails where wind is not an issue. todays heartbreaker was at a much larger lake that is very heavily used by power boats and the ramp is the busiest I've seen yet.
Yep it can be intimidating with the wind doesn't blow the way you'd prefer, but this is mother nature's way of letting you know who's boss. It can be done and it's not as difficult as it may appear.
Often you can "warp" the boat around a dock, so you're at least close hauled. This is little more then using dock lines to move the boat against the dock and pilings so it's facing in a more favorable position.
You can also hoist (with a loose sheet of course, always a loose sheet) while the sail flogs, then push off the bow so you're close hauled or heading in that general direction. Wait for some way to get on, which will mostly be sideways, then sheet her in and off you go. In many launch ramps, you may have to short tack your way out to get some sea room, but it can be done. The hardest part is trying not to panic as the boat gathers up some way so the helm will respond and not over steering the boat once you do have way on. Just wait, she'll skid and wheel around as the sail fills, then you'll get some flow over the keel and rudder and she'll start behaving like she should.
Don't worry about a full hoist or a good sail set, just get some "sea room", so you can have the space to adjust things without drifting into hard pointy stuff.
A trick I often use is to leave a stern dock line attached and back wind the jib. This causes the boat to back down against the stern line. When the stern line gets taunt, the boat will pivot around as the bow swings away from the wind. Release the back winded jib sheet and stern line, then sheet in to a close hauled course and off you go.
It's harder to describe here then actually do. Practice coming dead into the wind, sails flogging etc., then back the jib and watch what the boat does. Also practice backing the main against the jib. This will make you actually sail backwards, which can be a handy feature if you can control it (lots of practice). You'll find that you can get the boat to sail forward after skidding backwards only a few feet, once you've got some practice.
Tom,
Re: rudder swing. You only want about 30 degrees to either side of center on your rudder swing. Any more than that will have the rudder acting more like a brake than a steering device. To check this out for yourself, take an 8" wide board and try holding it steady at various angles while underway. Once you get to about 30 degrees off center, the board no longer steers and wants to head off in a new direction, but actually becomes a drag with a lot of turbulance behind it which will cause a huge drag on your forward motion. This is one of the most common problems in learning to tack with a light boat. You are moving along just fine on a heading and decide to tack in the opposite way. You throw the rudder over hard and the boat stalls and stops part way thru the tack. The rudder has effectively become a brake rather than a rudder.
Many builders have installed simple stops to limit swing to 30 degrees or there-a-bouts thereby virtually eliminating hitting it with a prop if the motor is centered. Any motor mount on a Weekender needs to be placed as far to either outboard side of the transom as possible. I've mounted electric trolling motors off to the side entirely with clamp on mounts. That totally elimiates the issue of hitting the rudder with the prop. Just as long as your shaft is long enough to keep the prop below the bottom of the hull.
It is possible to back a Weekender away from a dock while under sail. Not the easiest thing to learn when you are just trying to get used to a new boat, but a skill that will come in handy under lots of situations in a pinch. Just takes a bunch of practice and understanding of how to brace a boom by hand when the main is raised. By the way, this same technique is often the easiest way to start moving again when you are locked "in irons" and have no headway.
I have never had a motor on my CS20. 2 3 foot canoe paddles are my only auxillary.
And I love leaving the dock and coming back under sail alone.
But the issue you mention does make it tough.
I have faced that situation before and looking around I simply found a willing power boater who was happy to haul me out a wee bit so I was clear of the dock and could raise sails and take off free of hazards.
Cooming back with a weekender if the wind is still blowing down on the dock, one would want to head up and douse the main and furl it and then you could use the jib to pull oyou home.
The advantage of the jib is that you can let it run free at the last moment to arrest forward drive. Problem withthis is you only have one shot to land it.
Sort of like a glider.
Another altrernative is choose a differnet launch to launch from.
I am of course fortunate to have an abundance of bodies of water to choose from myself. One nice thing about the Weekender is it is super easy to rig to launch if the sails are bent on all the time.
Alwasy go check the wind conditions near the dock before hoisting the mast. Then if it is unfavorable and there is no one to help....
Or break down and get a small trolling motor. These are plenty if all you want to do is use it for short jaunts to better wind.
And the tips PAR gave you are spot on as well.
I noticed last weekend that if you turn the rudder too far that it will behave more as a stop than a rudder. What I was really trying to do is to keep the top of the rudder box (where the tiller is mounted) from banging into the transom. I figured it would be something I would have to constantly keep after with paint. Now I just need to keep from turning too far. I suspect I'll develop a feel for this.
I already have a trolling motor that my wife picked up at a yard sale some time back. (A Minn Kota 65MX) I just haven't gotten around to mounting it yet. I've also been having a mental debate about mounting it. I do hate the look of motors hanging off the back, but I think that for me, that debate is over. Yesterday I picked up a male and female plug to mount on the surface somewhere near the motor. I was surprised to see that it is set up to take 8 AWG wire. In my reading, I believe a 6 AWG wire is recommended for this load. I suspect there is some wiggle room on this; that the 8 AWG will most likely be OK. I haven't been able to find any reference as to what the current draw on this thing actually is, but I am led to belive these things can draw up to 30 or 40 amps. What would be the recommended fuse size? This week I plan on purchasing the battery, case, circuit panel, wire and solar panel for recharging and have at it.
The 65 MX is a 28 pounds of thrust motor (pretty small, but okay for calm waters in a Weekender). It will push you to around 3 MPH in flat water (no current, no waves). It will perform better with a new prop, like the "Kipawa 314" (I think this is the one)
http://www.kipawapropellers.com/index.html
There are others that are making high performance propellers for trolling motors, including me. I currently don't have a mold for a 3 1/4" hub Minn Kota. I use vectored nozzle engineering on my props.
The fuse you need is a 30 amp and the motor feeds coming up the shaft are 10 gauge (AWG), so 8 gauge is safe if SAE (better if AWG) and the distance to the battery relatively short. Increase to 6 gauge if your battery is in the fore peak.
You can mount the trolling motor directly on the rudder box, using a bracket. I have done this on several different boats and it has a few advantages.
The biggest advantage is the motor steers with the tiller or wheel. This provides instant and very positive maneuverability, just like an outboard, so you don't have to wait for some way to be on, before the rudder responds to input. Second, it can't eat or chew on the rudder, because it's mounted behind it. Third it can be raised and lock or raised and removed, when sailing is good. This gets it out of the water or placed in a compartment out of the way, which removes the weight from the butt of the boat.
On all that I do this to, I remove the "powerhead" portion of the motor (the part that has the handle and control switches). I splice into the motor feeds with a bulkhead connector, which plugs into the aft deck, then the powerhead is attached to the tiller (under it). This allows you to use the tiller normally, but have the controls easily at hand. The feeds from the powerhead go to the bulkhead connector and the battery.
When coming into a dock with the wind on your nose, just bare in at an angle, say a close reach, then pinch the boat up into the wind to slow down, but keep some way on. If you time it right, you can tack the boat right at the dock and it'll lock in irons just as you get there, bringing you to an easy, gentle stop.
If the wind is at your back, again approach at an angle, say a broad reach, then bare away (head dead down wind) to slow down and scandalize the mainsail, making sure you "blanket" the jib with the bagged out main. This will bring the boat to crawl as you land at the dock. Have an anchor ready if you miss judge your speed and/or distance. If you're getting panicky, then toss the anchor over the stern and it'll haul you to a stop pretty quickly, even if it's dragging a little.
These are all things you can practice in clear, open water. It's easier then testing the finish and strength of your rub rails, plus much less embarrassing.
Short tacking and quick maneuvering in tight quarters are skills that will be used repeatedly as you place miles under your keel. They'll only come with practice. Each time you head out, you should spend 15 minutes or so, doing as many short tacks as you can befor you're falling into irons and have to reverse the rudder or back wind a sail to recover. Soon these skills will become second nature and the fear of a crowded anchorage or a tight launching ramp will be much reduced, regardless of wind direction.
Something that my first sailin instrucor once said to me, that stuck in my mind:
Carry out the manouvre successfully, and worry about how to make it prettier next time afterwards.
By successfully he meant effectively AND safely.
As Mr. Riccelli suggests, warping away from a dock/pile is a good method of getting underway. This works especially well if the dock stretches some distance further from the shore and the line you use is fairly long. As long as the warp is under tension and in contact with the mooring pile or dock, it gives you acceleration.
Another method which I have used on small boats when no dock is available, but when the wind is shorebound is something I call "anchor walking". For this you need a a reasonably light anchor (better two, but then you should always have two, eh?) and somebody to man the anchor(s). It's possible to do this yourself, but not as safe. You toss an anchor as far as you can and pull the boat out the 5 to 10 or so feet, or as much as you can. As you get over this anchor and it begins to let go, you toss another one, or quickly pull this one up and re-toss it the next 5-10 feet or so, over and over until you feel you have enough sea room to put up the luffing main. After that it's the same as above - holding the boat on the last anchor dropped, you can overreach the main, it will fill and go to a close reach an allow you to move sideways and forward, all the wile gathering way. Usually, it's enough to pull the boat about a boatlength or two, since the last anchor toss should keep you safely away from the shore, and the boat clapped in irons, until you are ready to point her prow where you need.
My 0.02 dollars worth.
Cheers all.
I actually love getting places under sail and not having to use the motor at all. This is one of the joys of a small boat like the Weekender over a larger heavier boat. Wind blowing onto the boat-ramp is actually much better than a cross-wind or, in some cases, wind blowing away from the boat-ramp. I always loved days like you described because it made it easy to rig the sails at the dock and sail away avoiding the use of the motor. To paraphrase what PAR said in not-so-nautical terms you back the boat into the water, grab the lines, then walk the boat backwards then rotate it around to the other side of the launch ramp dock so that the bow is facing into the wind and away from land. Tie it up then go park the car. When you get back, you can raise the sails with the boat still tied up to the ramp, untie the boat, reach over and give her a shove (or better yet have someone give the bow a shove), tighten up your jib and you are away. When I sailed by myself, I would loosen the bow line and then jump in the boat letting the wind take the bow away from the dock. As this was happening, I would let loose the stern line and go.
Sailing to the dock when the wind is pushing you towards it can make for interesting landings. One option is to lower the sails and drift with the wind. Another, if you have space, is to sail parallel to the dock, put your helm hard over, and do a 180 degree turn coming up alongside the dock with the wind, now over the bow, slowing you down. Of course, the wind will always gust up right at the wrong moment during this maneuver. :wink:
Wind blowing away from the dock made raising sails and sailing away from the dock more difficult but not impossible. You basically had to let the wind swing you 180 degrees before you could sail off. Cross-winds were tough but I would generally tie up the bow line to the leeward side of the dock letting the wind take the stern of the boat around which would point the bow into the wind (don't need bumpers out). I would rig the bowline so I could release it from the cockpit. I would then raise the sails, release the bowline, and make the bow fall off the wind towards the lake side (rather than towards the land).
Overall, don't be afraid to try to sail your boat into or away from dock. The weekender is lightweight and, even at full speed, you aren't moving that fast so the only thing really at risk is your ego. Of course, you should be familiar enough with your boat to know its turning radius and how quickly it reacts to the helm. I have had the fun of ramming several docks, taking down a lot of leaves and branches from overhanging trees, whacking a pontoon boat hard with the boom, running into another boat (poked a hole in mine), and several other accidents that did more damage to my pride than anything else. However, I have also had lots more times, either through accident or skill, where I impressed the heck out of folks (including myself). Key is to always act like you "meant to do that." :?
As for the electric trolling motor, if you are going to use it follow PAR's advice and cut it apart for mounting. Personally, I have found electric trolling motors (in my case a 45 lb thrust) to be more trouble than they are worth. They tend to not have the umphf to fight the wind when I really need them and a pair of oars propels my boats better and with less effort (carrying the battery & mounting the motor) than my 45 lb electric. Plus, I get a little exercise. Adam Plourde put oarlocks on his Weekender with a board across the front of the cockpit for a rowing thwart (seat) and he found the Weekender rows real easy. Also, keep an anchor so it is easy to deploy and don't be afraid to use it.
On my Little Gem I use oars primarily as my secondary propulsion only putting a motor on the boat when I know I will be sailing far from the launchramp and have limited time to make my way back.
Like Scott, we prefer no motor. An old sailor once told me you should learn in a dinghy (or any small boat like ours) and not put a motor on for the first five years. I think it depends on your own comfort zone but good advice anyway for some. We have never used a motor and never needed a tow. We sometimes were late, sometimes sculling against a tide, but for the most part we learned how to sail. A motor that fits a small boat can sometimes even be dangerous! If there is wind, even a lot, you should be able to sail to shelter (reefed) as part of your plan on any trip. A motor might make you not seek shelter but rather think you can still make it home. A fully loaded small boat in big wind, most motors that fit it won't do the job. Do what works for you and you'll be happier when out.
Great info! Thanks for the advice! I re-read some sections in my Chapman's Piloting book and I saw exactly how I could have and should have handled the situation. Sometimes I'll encounter a situation and not see the solution until I sit with it for a while. All I knew yesterday was that I personally didn't see what I needed to do and I certainly didn't want to get in the water and "wing it". This dock was very busy with power boats. I was the only sailer there. Later in the day I realized that what I have to do is go ahead and get in postion to back her in even if the previous boat was still in the way. Just sit there until they clear out and then drop her in. This wasn't readily clear to me yesterday. In my book I saw how all I really had to do was secure a line onto the chocks, pull her up the dock a bit and let the wind pretty much do most of the work to bring her about to turn 180 degrees. From there I could easily have raised sails and tacked out of there. I look forward to another shot at it next weekend. And......after reading these responses I believe I will hold off on that motor for now. Thanks again for the input!