BYYB Forums

Hi guys.

To answer somebody's question about my Pocket Cruiser with triple keel fitted (I could not remember the name, unfortuately)  Question was asked approx. two years ago. I have been sailing five times on Moreton Bay already.
I have found it to be a huge successs, the boat sails on straight course at moderate to stiff wind strength.

I didn't want centreboard housing/ daggerboard box when I started the building projecxt because woods rot are prone to start there, and also wanted more space in cabin where two adults plus two children can sleep inside.

Here are the photos 

Nice job Ron,

Your boat looks very nice inside and out.  One of the things that  I like about the Stevenson designs is the wide open nature of the admittedly small cabins.  It looks like you have maximised the utility of your space in some ingenious ways.  I agree with you that dagger board trunks could be a place for both damage to the hull as well as a place to rot.  The triple keel that you went with also seems to work well when beaching the boat.  With my weekender, the keel forces the boat to lay on her chine unless left mostly in the water. 

I am very curious as to how well your boat tracks to windward.  Intuitively it would seem to be a great improvement. 

Al

Hi Al

Thank you for your comment.

Speaking of sailing windward. See attached photo

Clyde does sail well at CLOSE FETCH at moderate to strong wind :
but the bow bangs against the chopping small waves at strong wind. I favour the postioning Clyde at CLOSE REACH at strong winds so that he floats over the waves. I do sail Clyde at CLOSE FETCH at moderate wind all along to my destination goal.
Cannot sail Clyde at CLOSE HAULED at light wind but can sail at CLOSE HAULED at moderate wind however I find sailing Clyde faster sailing zig-zag at CLOSE REACH position than CLOSE HAULED in time keeping. I dont bother using Clyde at CLOSE HAULED in strong wind because the waves push Clyde backwards faster than the sails could pull him up.

In general Clyde sails happly at CLOSE REACH without me stressing.

As you see in the first photo in the previous post. I made the bowsprit much longer with much bigger jib, reduced the main gaff sail a bit. The jib has better aerofoil than the gaff main sail hence Clyde could sail CLOSE HAULED at moderate wind.

Happy sailing

Regards Ronald

With the larger jib and shorter gaff, did you notice any lee helm?  I have never sailed on a cat boat though I want to try it sometime, and I wonder if moving the center of effort forward had any effect on the helm.  I also made a somewhat larger jib for my weekender but didn't move the luff forward at all.  I like my larger jib very much and have noticed no difference in handling, only an increase in speed. 

I noticed that you use  a flat bed trailer which I like because it can be used for other uses when you don't need it for the boat. 

If you ever get the chance I would like to see a video of Clyde under way.

Al

Hi Guys, I've got my Pocket Cruiser upside down and saw this triple keel arrangement, I was hoping Paul R might comment on this setup. I built the dagger boxes but didn't cut them out yet. I was going to cut down the forefoot and add a deeper keel section but I really want to beach the boat and this seems ideal. Thanks everyone, bill.

The triple keel setup is a lot of drag. The centerline keel, if much like a Weekender could be cut nearly completely off, with little problem, in regard to strength and stiffness. Then a set of bilge keels installed of proper size and location of course.

Two keels will still be more drag than one, but less than three and the boat will take to the ebb tide bolt upright. Beaching with keels is problematic at best. A centerboarder boat is best at this, with a daggerboard a distant second. Boats with appendages (one or more) will place significant loads on the bottom if repeatedly grounded on a beach. This damage usually is seen at the aft end of the appendage, where it tries to drive itself up, into the boat's bottom.

A bilge keel design is a wonderful thing in areas with a large tidal range, which is why you see a lot of them in Great Britain. The tide goes out and the boat settles down 20' - 30', coming to a rest on the bottom, waiting for the next flow to float her off again.

Boats are choices, so access what you need for your sailing style and area.

Hi again

To answer Al stead's question on lee helm.

I sailed Clyde twice after seeing your question. After two sailing, I did not notice any lee helm so far.

Regards Ronald