DaySailer.org Forum

Thanks Heidt! Man, you have *got* to write this adventure up and send it to the DS Quarterly - she is fairly begging for submissions that are about something other than going around in circles ... ;-P

jeadstx did it, and so can you!

(caveat: I have not submitted any accounts of my cruising adventures, much to John's dismay, but I hope to remedy that situation in the future ...)

Wow. Thanks for the details, Heidt. What an adventure. Gives us semi-newbies hope.

A technical question: You mentioned a 3.5-foot bowsprit. Is that 3.5 feet out past the bow, or the total length of the spar, in which case, how much of it is out past the bow?

I ask because I'm one of the Doyle UPS drifter-reacher-with-a-bowsprit crowd (OK, crowd being three people, but anyway...).

On the other hand, I could have looked at the photos, which answer the question.

Nice boat, by the way.

Enjoyed your pictures Heidt. You mentioned that the the other daysailer took a Bucaneer instead. Was the "70's restored daysiler" listed on the roster actually a DS that they also had?

John

Heidt,

Thanks for the photos and the summary! Your boat looks great and I would say your rigging looks really good, as well. About how many square feet is that asymmetric you are flying? It looks like that might be Doyle's APC, is that correct? Are you launching it out of a bag? That seems like it could get tricky single-handed.

I have been flying the Doyle UPS, their cruising version of a screecher, and really enjoying it. I'm running a bit shorter and, I think, larger diameter bowsprit. I get, not scary, but noticeable side bow in it when close reaching. Also, the sheet load can be pretty substantial when close reaching. I don't quite need a winch but I definitely wear sailing gloves and appreciate using 52 mm auto ratchets blocks. So, how are the sheet loads with that big sail downwind?

The DaySailer sport boat! Next is the square top mainsail!

John

It looks like Knotsynced & Aleutian just finished in the Buccaneer. I can't recall why he switched to the Buccaneer over his Daysailer but he finished, that's what matters most.

KC

The bowsprint I have is the mast top section from a Force 5. 1.5" that slides into 2", removable for trailoring. I have rigged a bob stay to relieve the upward loads. If I try to aggressively reach I can see some deflection but the APC is really built for running so no problems. The small Ronstan ratchets seem to handle the loads well,backed up by cam cleats. I don't know the exact size of the sail, it was built for a Hunter 216, approx. 22' hoist.

I'm hoping to add a light screecher type/ wind seeker sail, probably on a furler in the future. Something to keep the boat moving in light wind before I breakout the oars.

The square top main was considered early on with hiking racks. The boat is easily overpowered for a solo 155 lb skipper so those additions are on hold at this time but possibilities for next year.

I had a setback on my 500+ mile return trip from Tampa last night. The mast crutch apparently broke and the mast fell into the street a few miles from home. All the rigging is salvageable but I'm needing a replacement section, preferably tapered.
If anyone has a east coast/ southeast lead, I'd appreciate it. I'm thankfull no one else was involved.

I'm hoping Arrowsparrow( the college kid on a Lazer) finishes the EC today. He has my vote for sailer of the year!

Heidt

Heidt, I've been watching Knotsynced & Aleutin, as well as Aerosparrow, as well as a couple other boats. Watching the tracking map yesterday, it looked like Aerosparrow was not making much progress on the final leg.

Sorry to here about the mishap with the mast.

John

So now I have a technical question from looking at one of the photos. The photo of the jib stored in the blue bag is captioned "storm jib." There's been a fair amount of interest in storm jibs on this forum. Is the jib in the bag smaller than a standard Daysailer jib, and if so, how well does it work?