Hey Folks,
I know that sometimes we just want to hear about sailing, right? So I have a brief sailing report followed by a couple miscellaneous questions.
Last week on Wednesday and Friday we took our Cal 2-27 out from Rock Creek into the Patapsco (Rock Creek feeds into the mouth of the Patapsco River right where the Patapsco feeds into the Chesapeake.) On both days, but especially Wednesday, the conditions were perfect. Comfortable temperature and humidity, light but sailable winds, and beautiful sunsets.
We've only had this boat, our first, since March. We've taken her out several times, but this is the first time that we took her out as a family, just for sailing (no fishing, no slip practice, etc.) I got to put up the whisker pole and run wing-and-wing (wing-on-wing?), which in my opinion is the most elegant and all around cool looking rigging for a simple boat like ours.
On the Wednesday trip we saw the Wednesday Rock Creek yacht race. My wife and kids loved the spinnakers, and got excited about taking ours out (it's been in the garage.)
On the Friday trip we had friends aboard, and stopped at the mouth of the creek for a ten minute swim at sunset. Absolutely beautiful.
The best thing is that in the several times we've been out, my kids (8 and 10) haven't complained that they're "bored," and my wife seems to have licked a former motion sickness problem and is talking about weekend trips over to the Eastern Shore. Everybody took a turn at crewing: minding the tiller, tailing winches, manning bumpers at the slip, etc. My wife even likes going below to use the galley, including the stove, for lunch and dinner.
I have no pressing concerns, but here are a couple questions:
- The roller furler on my jib works well, but the furling line is the least seaman-like thing on my boat. It gets kinked up and likes to get jammed in the various pieces it runs through on its way forward. Is this a common problem? Is it possible I'm using the wrong kind of line? It seems to have a "memory" for the kinks, so I'm wondering if there is a more suitable type of line.
- I have a tensioner on my back stay. I've never used it until this sail, when I noticed the backstay was slack at one point. Are there any simple guidelines to setting the proper tension? Is this one of those situations where you can set one tension but then should ease it when the load changes (like when tied up after sailing?) I tried to sight the mast for changes while I adjusted the tension, but the only difference I could discern was the actual tension of the backstay, measured by grabbing it with my hand.
- I have a 20-ish gallon fresh water tank. This is a 28-year-old boat. Does anyone consider this water drinkable, and if so, what do you do to keep the tank and lines sanitary?
Many thanks, and happy sailing.
I know that sometimes we just want to hear about sailing, right? So I have a brief sailing report followed by a couple miscellaneous questions.
Last week on Wednesday and Friday we took our Cal 2-27 out from Rock Creek into the Patapsco (Rock Creek feeds into the mouth of the Patapsco River right where the Patapsco feeds into the Chesapeake.) On both days, but especially Wednesday, the conditions were perfect. Comfortable temperature and humidity, light but sailable winds, and beautiful sunsets.
We've only had this boat, our first, since March. We've taken her out several times, but this is the first time that we took her out as a family, just for sailing (no fishing, no slip practice, etc.) I got to put up the whisker pole and run wing-and-wing (wing-on-wing?), which in my opinion is the most elegant and all around cool looking rigging for a simple boat like ours.
On the Wednesday trip we saw the Wednesday Rock Creek yacht race. My wife and kids loved the spinnakers, and got excited about taking ours out (it's been in the garage.)
On the Friday trip we had friends aboard, and stopped at the mouth of the creek for a ten minute swim at sunset. Absolutely beautiful.
The best thing is that in the several times we've been out, my kids (8 and 10) haven't complained that they're "bored," and my wife seems to have licked a former motion sickness problem and is talking about weekend trips over to the Eastern Shore. Everybody took a turn at crewing: minding the tiller, tailing winches, manning bumpers at the slip, etc. My wife even likes going below to use the galley, including the stove, for lunch and dinner.
I have no pressing concerns, but here are a couple questions:
- The roller furler on my jib works well, but the furling line is the least seaman-like thing on my boat. It gets kinked up and likes to get jammed in the various pieces it runs through on its way forward. Is this a common problem? Is it possible I'm using the wrong kind of line? It seems to have a "memory" for the kinks, so I'm wondering if there is a more suitable type of line.
- I have a tensioner on my back stay. I've never used it until this sail, when I noticed the backstay was slack at one point. Are there any simple guidelines to setting the proper tension? Is this one of those situations where you can set one tension but then should ease it when the load changes (like when tied up after sailing?) I tried to sight the mast for changes while I adjusted the tension, but the only difference I could discern was the actual tension of the backstay, measured by grabbing it with my hand.
- I have a 20-ish gallon fresh water tank. This is a 28-year-old boat. Does anyone consider this water drinkable, and if so, what do you do to keep the tank and lines sanitary?
Many thanks, and happy sailing.