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I just bought another boat!!!!

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  MedSailor 
#1 ·
"Hello, my name is Medsailor and I'm a botaholic. It's been one day since I bought another boat."

<chorus> "Hi Medsailor."

I've wanted one for a long time and now I have one! I am the proud owner of a portland pudgy: I bought one from a friend that is getting out of boating altogether. It has the sail kit, and full life raft kit.

Today I took her for a sail. Wind was varied between 5-15kts. The boat was VERY stable and easily driven. Only problem is that she went to weather like a pig. My tacking arc was about 150deg as best I could tell. Less when the wind piped up.

Part of the problem was me. I'm not much of a dinghy sailor and I am just getting used to the boat. Part of it is the short leeboards, which I plan to lengthen. Part of it must be the rig. It's a 40sqft Gaff rig with no headsail. I was thinking of adding a bowsprit and a jib. Any idea how big of a jib/genoa I should try?

Here's "Tinker" my new baby:




MedSailor
 
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#2 ·
"Hi Medsailor. My name is Caleb. I still have 2 sailboats. I sold my 3rd sailboat, a Lightning so I
could spend more time with my other boats."

It is going to be pretty hard to get the tacking angles you might be used to on a fin keeled sailboat with a Pudgy. Dinghies respond best if you optimize your weight on the hull in my experience. Try to keep it flat in the water by adjusting your weight, eg; hike out when necessary and dump wind from the sail if you need to.

I'm not really acquainted with the use of 'lee boards', mostly with center board dinghies though. I wonder what playing with the depth of each lee board on different tacks would help your pointing ability? Dunno.

Good luck with your new Pudgy. It seems like a great multipurpose dinghy/sailor.

"Do you have a sponsor yet?"
 
#3 ·
...

Part of the problem was me. I'm not much of a dinghy sailor and I am just getting used to the boat. Part of it is the short leeboards, which I plan to lengthen. Part of it must be the rig. It's a 40sqft Gaff rig with no headsail. I was thinking of adding a bowsprit and a jib. Any idea how big of a jib/genoa I should try? ...

MedSailor
VERY cute! I've never heard of these boats before. Perhaps (and this is just my opinion) you could try correcting the "you" part of the problem (technique, etc) before making changes to the boat. It might be that's all that's needed.

Have fun!
 
#4 ·
Naaaaaw... Surely there is something shiny I can BUY to fix the problem. :D

Here's a link in case you want to learn more about the boat:http://www.portlandpudgy.com/

Anybody want to hazard a guess at the angle to windward this boat should point? I'm don't know enough hard-core design theory to answer the question myself. It seems to me like there are factors that will affect how well it goes to windward (VMG) and other factors that affect how it points (angle to wind).

Inadequate leeboards for example would hurt the VMG, but wouldn't hurt the pointing angle.... right?

Seems like the rig style would affect pointing angle the most, with a bare-headed gaff (like this boat) pointing poorly and a marconi with a headsail doing better. But then again, the Laser I has only a main and points well.....

Like I said, not enough sail theory to answer my own question.
MedSailor
 
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