Tuesday, July 13, 2004 (Picard's Birthday - actually Patrick
Stewart's Birthday)
While updating the Nirvana blog, I realized I had not updated
this page in quite a while. I took a hiatus from sailing for
about a month after the middle of May due to family commitments and
other activities. I have sailed four or five times since the 3rd
of July. The last scoring race for the club was on the 10th and
I took first place in the first race. While I think I may have
taken a first once before, this one was with enough competitors that I
actually count it. The only bad thing about winning once, is now
I am expected to be more consistent and to know the rules.
Carl Olbrich, another club member, posted some EC-12 tuning tips
that have helped me out a great deal. In addition to the tuning,
I replaced the turnbuckle set up on the shroud lines with standard
clevises. I have been having battery problems on the boat and
finally ordered two six (6) volt 2000 mAH receiver packs from Tower
Hobbies. I also rewired the winch so it no longer provides power
to the receiver. The receiver is now powered directly from the
battery pack via a 'Y' connection after the power switch. I
added a topping lift line to the jib; that has also helped. I am
testing a lead weight on the front of the jib boom to try and get it
to go to the side on downwind legs with light wind. Other than
the battery packs, I don't have any changes planned for this boat.
Sunday, April 18, 2004
I survived. My first regatta was less intense than I
expected, but intense would describe day one. There wasn't a
whole lot of yelling "STARBOARD!" or "OVERLAP!". Just enough to
keep everyone honest. The first day I held back on the starts.
The Dixie Cup circuit guys figured out the lake pretty fast. My
best finish on Saturday was third, while today I managed a second.
Overall I placed 8th out of 10 boats. Everyone said I did really
well for my first regatta. There was a pretty big point margin
between me and 9th place. Today I was little more aggressive at
the start and was actually called over once and had to do a 360 on
another part of the course because I couldn't really see where I was
on
the far downwind leg. On one leg I was able to sail a tighter
line for some reason and went from like 5th to 2nd. I guess the
thing I am going to have to improve on are downwind legs and rounding
the marks where the transition from downwind to upwind occurs.
The other thing that really needs improvement is my sail rigging and
tuning skills. The previous owner and builder of the boat put every
kind of adjustment on the rigging that's possible, but I don't seem to
know which one adjusts which part of the sails. So here is my
reminder of what I learned today. The backstay needs about three
pounds of pressure. The curvature of the mast should match the
sail's curvature along the leading edge. The slider on the lines
can reduce the curvature of the mast when tightened. The outhaul
adjusts how much space there is between the boom and sail bottom and
gives the sail its horizontal curvature. The vang adjusts
spillage for lack of the right word, but really this is seen by
looking at the curvature of the back edge of the sail. The jib
is then adjusted to match this main sail rear edge curvature.
And lastly, don't forget to loosen the cunningham (downhaul) when
storing the sail. Thanks to Gerry Cobley, the RD for the
regatta, for helping the new guy. I think the sail adjusting
session prior to today's racing was the key to my success. Now
if I could sail like a grandmaster plays chess. I seem to sail
the few feet in front of me, while I am sure more experienced sailors
develop a course in their head that covers two marks ahead of themselves
and only adjust their course as the wind shifts or the competition
dictates. Maybe one day. Here is a photo of a few of the
skippers.
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A few of the Skippers. |
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From L-R: George from Columbia, Jim, me, and the famous Frank Angel. Click for full size. |
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Saturday, April 17, 2004
I sailed in my first official regatta today. I didn't bring
up the rear every time, actually I only brought up the rear a few
times out of almost 17 races, and actually took third place once.
I spent Thursday and Friday night getting things ready. All day
Friday I helped get the course ready. I just got home from the
regatta dinner and I am about to drop. I will add more after
tomorrow's races.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
I have been sailing the EC-12 on Saturdays. I still bring up
the rear of the fleet unless one of the other skippers has a problem.
I need to work on my rigging. This Saturday is regional regatta
and I was planning to work it, but registrations are not coming in as
planned so it's a good chance to get some experience. I might
sail if I can get my rigging straighten out. I also need to
split the power supply to feed the receiver and winch separately.
Looks like all I have to do is split the power from the battery after
it comes through the switch. I could just solder it and use
tape, but I am planning to use JR battery connectors and heat shrink
tubing to keep it secure and looking half way decent. Look for
an update next week to see if I actually sailed.
Saturday, March 27, 2004
No stomach virus to keep my off the lake today. I think we
sailed eight or nine races and I actually took a couple of third place
finishes. No problems with boat, had great wind, and finished
the day at Clews Coney Island (great food).
Friday, March 26, 2004
Woke up at four a.m. with chills and a fever last Saturday 3/20.
Thought it was just my sinuses, but after taking a shower I couldn't
function enough to load the boat in the truck and make it to the lake.
Six days later I am still recovering from a stomach virus.
At least the time I spent last Friday night adjusting the sail control
lines and the re-programming the RMG smartwinch wasn't wasted.
Tomorrow is a scoring day and I guess I am ready to bring up the rear
of the fleet. :-) Hey! Does that make me a Rear
Admiral?
Saturday, February 28, 2004
Sailed in the first club points race today and got fourth place in
all races but one where I finished third. There was snow on the
ground and it started out pretty cold, but things warmed up.
After racing a couple of hours, we met to plan the regional regatta
scheduled for April 17-18, 2004.
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Sailed at the local Apex Park lake today with Ross. I also
took the Nirvana and had a gentleman sail it for a little while.
Then a kid named Dale sailed it for about a half an hour. The 12
year old did great. I ran the course a lot faster than the Nirvana and
Ross' SeaDolphin, but that would be expected. Next Saturday is
the first club sail for points that I will be able to participate in.
I am looking forward to it with a little trepidation. Hopefully
the weather will cooperate.
Saturday, February 21, 2004
Went over to Lake Johnson this morning to sail with the club.
There were a couple of boats in the water, but they were contemplating
coming in as the wind was gusting pretty bad. I rigged my boat
and got some much needed pointers on adjustment of the rigging.
I finally decided to put in, but only stayed out a few minutes.
Of the two other boats, one had came in to swap from an A rig to a B.
The other boat came in and called it a day. In the
afternoon I sailed the Nirvana a couple of times. Tomorrow I am
going to try and sail at the local lake with either the EC-12 or the
Nirvana depending on the wind.
Monday, February 16, 2004
Went over to Lake Johnson where our club sails on Saturday mornings
and the light winds seemed to have kept everyone home so I headed over
to Apex Park lake and put #1555 in the water for her maiden voyage
with me at the helm. I sent the boat out and forgot to mount my
wind/weather vane and set the vang. Got it back to shore with no
problems and corrected these oversights and spent about two hours on
the water. It's amazing how easy it is to see the bigger boat
when compared with the Nirvana. There are some major differences
when comparing the EC-12 to the Nirvana. The main difference is
the size of course. The Nirvana is only 32" long while the E-12
is 58" long. The sail area of the EC-12 is triple that of the
Nirvana. The Nirvana with its flat panel sails would have kept
me off the water Saturday, but the EC-12's A rig was fine in the three
miles per hour wind. I guess the one thing that surprised me
with the EC-12 was seeing it slide sideways a bit in the water.
I guess its the difference between a keel boat and one with a
fin/ballast bulb design.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Going down to another club member's place tomorrow night for a sail
making class. Since I have decent sails for the EC-12, I may see
if I can make a set for the Nirvana or a set for a Victoria as it
looks like the Victoria will be our club's next class of boat.
Thursday, February 5, 2004
I am still distraught of the loss of the 1425 hull, but found
another boat for sale that was built from a Robin Yachts hull a few
years ago and hasn't seen much action the last year or two. It
came with two A rigs, one regular weight and another lightweight.
Some of the features include a really lightweight deck, Teflon
bushings on the rudder shaft, a high speed ball bearing rudder control
servo, an RMG SmartWinch 280c, and dual ball bearing goosenecks for
the boom and vang. The builder was active in the club a few
years ago and actually built another boat for someone else in the
club. There are several machined parts for the mast and rigging
that provide some fine tuning. I will post some photos at some
point. Here are some photos taken by the builder.
Sunday, January 31, 2004
EC-12 #1425 is officially retired for now. A major miss-hap during
painting rendered the hull damaged beyond an easy repair. I still want
skipper an EC-12 and will look at building a new hull and reconsider
the other local boat that is for-sale.
Friday, January 30, 2004
I have spent the last month taking the hull down to the gel coat in
preparation for a new paint job. There was something going on
between the yellow Krylon and either the original bottom layer of
paint or the primer. When I was sanding the hull, the yellow
paint would melt and turn green. Then I would have to wait for
the melted stuff to harden and knock it loose with a plastic scraper.
Hopefully, I can get the primer coats done this weekend and the
painting done during the week as the club starts sailing again
next Saturday. The Hitec Laser 6 and Supreme receiver have
arrived. So after the paint job, I will hook the receiver up to
test and adjust the radio, rudder and sail controls. Oh yea, the
fiberglass shop wanted more to paint the boat than I paid for it.
The pipe insulation foam has compressed nicely and is no longer too
tight. Now the only question is how will the foam handle a wet
hull. I am not too concerned as the insulation is the type that
doesn't readily absorb water. As soon as the paint job is
complete, I will post a photo.
Monday, December 29, 2003
The EC-12 I picked up a couple of weeks ago is preparing to under
go some changes. There are no problems with the electronics in
the boat and I have a new Hitec Laser 6 radio for it, but I am waiting
on a new receiver to go with it. The hull has some rough spots
where the krylon paint didn't quite set up before the boat was put
back in its stand. I am trying to decide if I want to try
sanding out the spots and not go into the primer or previous coat of
paint or if I just want to go ahead and paint it while the club is on
hiatus. I called a local boat fiberglass specialist and left a
message to see if they would consider a small job like stripping and
painting it for me. If they say no, I am probably going to try
the job myself. The EC-12 site and rcuniverse discussion boards
have covered fiberglass painting in depth over the past week or two so
hopefully I will not screw up too bad. The boat is registered
with the class secretary as sail number 1425. The Dumas built
hull has no number. The sail control is via an Osmund arm type
winch with an additional servo for jib adjustment. It came with a nice
set of Windjammin sails with red trim. I am trying not to be
overzealous in wanting to put it in the water. I am actually
hoping it takes a while to get the receiver for the boat as an excuse
not sail it. Tonight I replaced the shag carpet on the boat
stand that marred the paint job with foam pipe insulation. The
foam seems a little thick at the moment when compared to the old
carpet, but I think the weight of the boat will solve the tightness
problem within a day or two.
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Excerpt from the Nirvana web log: A lot to tell in this
update. I think I mentioned below that I was going to have to
replace the radio that came with the Nirvana. I could not get
the servos to stop twitching even with fresh batteries all round.
I had actually ordered a Hitec Laser 4 from Hobby Horse (Hitec
Specialists), and was going to use that radio with the Nirvana and a
Hitec DCX receiver. Just after placing the order for the radio,
I went sailing with the EC-12 club.
As always, I get some great advice on tuning the Nirvana and they try
to talk me into considering an EC-12 as my next boat. Two weeks
earlier the Commodore of the club had sent me an e-mail listing the
four local boats for sale. The one that caught my eye was a
recently built boat that included a radio and two sets of sails.
It was also the most expensive. While sailing, I asked about the
boat I was interested in the general consensus was I should consider a
different boat. This boat was owned by the brother of the
guys sailing at the club that day. I talked with the brother and
he gave me the background on the EC-12. It was actually his boat
at one time and it needed to be rebuilt from the keel up. He
wasn't too interested in tackling the job at the time and left it
sitting after finding another boat. Later his brother bought it
from him and together they rebuilt it from re-pouring the keel
up. The reason the boat was for sale was the brother never had
time to make the drive up to the club enough to justify keeping it.
I made arrangements to meet the owner at his home a couple of days
later and picked up the boat, which was the cheapest one of the four
that were listed for sale in the e-mail I had received. At
some point I will start an EC-12 page to discuss the details.
Monday, December 15, 2003
I drove down east about an hour and picked up an East Coast -12
tonight. More details later...
