1st attempted outing

[Fly4rfun]

GL,

as I look at the photo, I see a grey line coming down the mast then horizontally out the boom. l;looks grey to me. is the white/red line/halyard with the blue line attached to it, goes to the deck then to the cockpit, the jib halyard tensioner ? I'll need to read up on the function of that . to clarify you use a clam cleat on the mast for the halyards not a horn cleat?

again thanks for your education .
G.
much to windy today for me to attempt to sail on that small of a lake. gust to 35.

[GreenLake]

What you are seeing in the top photo is a black and white line, very thin, that is part of my reefing system. It runs along the boom, up to the reef point, then back down the other side to a cleat. I would replace that end of it by a reef hook nowadays.

The halyard tensioner is the blue (then, yellow now) line in the bottom photo that goes from the deck to the gray Prusik loop on the jib halyard (white w/ gree flecks).

The blue line in the top photo is the spinnaker downhaul (rigged then a bit differently from how I do it today: I added another fairlead directly in front of the mast).

This photo shows the new fairlead (empty) and the now yellow line for the halyard tensioner (fully retracted for trailoring). And the Prusik loop for the jib sheet.

[Fly4rfun]

GL

thank you.
G

[tomodda]

Tom, Just say your question in the for sale section, the local lake i was referring to is Dog Run Lake, 22 acres small but close. I have plans to check out Tygard lake near Elkins, Possible Deep Creek in MD. there are some south like Summersville lake, burnsville lake and Stonewall Jackson. I live about a hour south of Morgantown off Hiway 50

Wow! That's a small lake. Well, you'll certainly learn about efficient tacking in a hurry, fast

And I'm pretty familiar with your neck of the woods. Although I'm from Philly originally, Daughter #1 went to school at West Virginia Wesleyan in Buckhannon, and Daughter #2 was a Mountaineer. I think I wore out a cheesesteak-flavored groove down the middle of I-79 shuttling them around. Additionally, my work at the time had me going to Katherine Johnson in Fairmount on the regular. WV is certainly beautiful, but I have no idea how you fit in a lake in the middle of all those "hills and hollers". Generally speaking, if you could hammer WV out flat, it'd be the size of Texas!

I've been briefly by Tygard, don't remember it being sailing-size big, but I was just out picnicking with the daughters, not thinking of sail. Deep Creek is beautiful, lots of waterskiers though. Either lake is only going to be worth sailing with a settled westerly breeze (since they go North-South) and East winds usually are pretty weak. If you've got the time and the stomach for driving (4ish hours?), the Potomac immediately below Washington is perfectly sailable and quite nice. By the time you've driven that far, another hour gets you to Kinsale, a wonderful base for exploring the lower Potomac. I love the Chesapeake, and it's well worth the 4 hours drive from my part of North Carolina. Of course, from where you are, Lake Erie is also a possibility, I hear the Sandusky area is nice.

T

[Fly4rfun]

T

I have a friend who I ride with that lives in Astabula, has a 37 foot boat that he races. so might drag the boat up there and sail it I do plan on visiting some of the bigger lakes around here next year. I grew up on the west coast in the NE Oregon in the Mts' last 25 years I was there was near Portland. so miss the big water. and I bet it would be bigger than texas. I am looking forward to redoing mine this winter, fortunately my work area is heated, (free gas)
need to replace the tiller handle, I have some Black walnut, White oak,(vertical grain) and kingwood and purple heart that i might laminate up for it. . again enjoyed your write up on redoing your DS.

Garry

[GreenLake]

well if you gents ever get your boats straightened out and rig them for extended cruising in all conditions you can take them to Texas for the annual Texas 200. A number of DaySailers have done that event (I did it once on somebody else's DS2). Not for the faint of heart, and it requires a bit of prep and logistics (as you can find out from their website). Not a race, and the water is warm --- in my book that is two advantages over the AK750 (the third is that 200 miles is just a more appropriate length).

[Fly4rfun]

Today I went out for my 3rd outing, I would liken it to flying a jet with only a private pilot license. have the basics, but can't keep up with what happens at faster speeds. the winds weren't that strong but did have some gust, I put the jib on and raised it while on the trailer as i was trying to see if using the 1/8th amsteel would work. it did fine but needs tweaking, like a fairlane to smooth it out.

left the jib down as i set the main on the water, and immediately had my hands full. this thing will scoot, was heel over a bit, but due to the size of the lake ran out of room to soon. I am not the most mobile to move from one side of the boat to the other is not that easy for me, (a residual of being sick) but i managed. was fun to see the potential of the boat. never did raise the jib, why use afterburner when you having trouble with 1/4 throttle. all in all, was a good time . learned some things. definitely need a larger lake to sail on. vang is on hold for now, it will be incorporated with more experience. looking forward to next season. I might get one more sail in tho.

[GreenLake]

Running out of room is not a bad thing for practicing.

Learning how to short tack is an essential skill; also, learning just how close you can go before tacking is also something useful to practice. (Admittedly easier to get feedback, when the end of the water is a wall or dock, with nothing shallow in front of it that you could ground on).

When you are not overwhelmed by too much wind (or wind that fluctuates wildly in strength or direction) then the same with a jib. You may have to raise the jib before you push off (unless the wind direction prevents that), so you can manage to have both up before you hit the opposite shore on that bathtub of lake you like to sail

A vang will help your gust response, because you can let the main out when a gust hit w/o the boom rising.

[Fly4rfun]

GL

I think some of the problem was the rudder going wild. I need a bungee cord to keep it stable not take off when i switch sides. i need to use both hands to do that.but will get better. it was a great day. 68 deg out, tomorrow the same. I may use the vang I have now to learn on. and spend some time deciding what components i want in making /purchasing a new one. at this time I'm thinking of another trip earlier in the day, as the wind started to drop off, was getting 3 pm or so. I appreciate the information given on the forum to guide us newbies. I am learning a lot. it sure was a kick when she took off under some heavier wind. i was having a blast, and pun intended. my thought is to tie a rope to my life jacket, (hoop provided as its really a kayaking jacket) and the boat so it wont go off without me if I fell overboard. I am not the greatest swimmer. i could at least pull myself close and get in

G.

[GreenLake]

Yeah, I know that there are people who can sail single handed w/o a tiller tamer of any kind, but that's not me. There's a technique, but it involves a dance like choreography of trading hands and moving the tiller extension and the mainsheet (and then that's the version for boats w/o a jib).

So what to do?

Get your bungee fixed. You have DS1, you can to the simple version even w/o adding any hardware: just string a bungee from side to side - hook it under the coaming if you have to. (This will work to some fashion, but the bungee is liable to pop off --- that's why you'll eventually will want to mount something it can hook into more positively, but for your last outing this season you don't have to wait).

Once you have your bungee across, it will sit below the tiller. Move it forward enough where it is below the tip. In may case, I have 3-4" ahead of the tiller extension, and that's the spot the bungee goes underneath of.

Now, to connect it to the tiller: make a short loop of thin shock cord (thin bungee). Almost like a hair tie. Fold it over itself so it's tripled. Feed the bungee through it, slide it to where the tiller is, and then slip it over the tip. Now you have the bungee held below the tiller, but in contact, by the shock cord. That is what creates the friction.

As you steer, the shock cord wrapper will slide along the bungee. As you let go, friction takes over and hold the tiller where you left it.

You tie a bungee across and not a fixed line, because the tiller moves in an arc.

That's all.

Dead simple.

The first one took me 5min to rig, on the water, when I figured out I wasn't able to do without. (I bring a bucket with odds and ends and tape, saved my skin numerous times -- all my racing friends laugh at me, "because of the weight", but I've learned that I never know when I'll need it, so it comes with, no exceptions).

[Fly4rfun]

I shall try that when i go next either tomorrow or Sat. I'm usually a hands on person but defiantly can see the wisdom /advantage of this

[Fly4rfun]

Went out for a couple of hrs today, a pleasant 62 deg, no rain tho forecast for it. Winds were light and variable. had both the jib and main out. worked up a sweat trying to keep up with the boat. Did get some good speed going , but with the size of the lake I couldn't settle in for to long until it was time to change course to avoid hard objects. i even tried out the vang as a 4:1. set it and left it alone, but did see what it was doing to the boom.The rudder tamer worked great, definitely keeps one hands free. by the time i hauled it out the winds picked up and were more steady, just my luck. good day with some learning, as long as the weather holds on the warmish side I will cont to try and sail. but don't think it will be for long.

[GreenLake]

Looks like you're getting your practice in.

[Fly4rfun]

trying, tried to use some of the advice you gave, It's raining now. so I did time it right, can't wait to get another run in. i think this lake will do for now. I went well into the long leg of it before turning around and headed back.

[GreenLake]

Whatever works.