David, This is great news. I have used that sculling technique for 30 years on my old Potter with a similar (but less robust) kickup rudder, but I thought the 17 would be too heavy to move. You did the experiment for us. As for sailing into a dock, I ran my Potter without a motor for 20 years, and it is fun (and occasionally challenging, and dare I say green) to dock with wind alone. The problem comes with a hairy tailwind that gets you cranking toward the dock under bare poles. Steering with one hand while getting a line around a dock cleat can get the adrenaline pumping, because you are never allowed to miss. I finally left a short line attached to the dock cleat and grabbed it on the way in (you need a longish slip), but it darn near pulls your arm off if you don't get a loop around the stern cleat at just the right moment. If you have a cleat near your shrouds, it is easier to stop on a short finger, but the stern lurches to port when the line comes up short, and you need a second line from the stern cleat. Repeatedly pulling to a stop alongside a buoy from every wind direction has always been a mandatory exercise for me, because sail handling around hard objects is so much more consequential than it is in free water. Now I have a larger, heavier, and more pristine boat that I don't want to scratch, so I will have to practice even harder. Sorry about going on about this; it is probably all obvious. I guess it is time to go sailing. Tom Jenkins 2004 M17 ----- Original Message ----- From: "David C. Patterson" <davidcpatterson@msn.com> To: <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Saturday, May 02, 2009 11:34 AM Subject: M_Boats: Raising the centerboard on a run; sculling with an IDA-SAIL rudder
Anybody have experience with these things? Out for a second sail of the season on Chatfield Res south of Denver on a chilly, misty May Day, my companion Mike got me to set up the spinnaker pole to the jib on a run. We were admiring how well it worked in the 4 to 5 mph wind, running wing on wing. Probably in first stage hypothermia, I recalled William Snaith writing in The Wind's Way about running with the centerboard up to reduce wetted area, during his early 60's trans-atlantic race on Figaro III (he won). So I tried that myself. I got a full extra knot out of my M17. So, question: what other centerboard tricks don't I know? (I have already learned that I tack less at anchor with the centerboard up, and that I "sag to leeward like a pig" when I forget to lower it on a reach.) Second question, for anyone who might have tried it: coming into the docks with almost no wind, we discussed and tried sculling our way to the dock using the Ida-Sail rudder, brought up to just under the surface of the water. It makes a pretty powerful scull. (One of my personal challenges is to sail to and away from the dock with no engine, if possible.) Darned if it didn't work a treat. Anything someone knows about this technique, aside from strain on the tiller head, which I found myself watching, I'd love to hear it. Especially any cautions. As a second season sailor, I need to collect warnings. Thanks, David (M17 #393)
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