Tacking and gybing.

[Stephen Wooltorton]

Greetings Seadog sailors,

I am getting know Seadog of Polruan, (bilge keel) sailing her for our first season.

I am having trouble with both tacking and gybing. I particular she is slow coming up into wind to tack, and often stalls and drops back, sometimes from a starting speed of 5 knots at the start of the turn. Any tips to this flapping beginner? 

Steve Wooltorton

[Graham Matthews]

Watching this with interest, our experience of many years has been similar. We eventually accepted it as 'normal'' and tried to minimise tacking. Sometimes I had even started the engine in light winds to get her to come round. Releasing the mizen sheet can sometimes help though.

Graham (Dougal)

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[Adrian Davies]

There is an article on this subject in one of the old Seadog Owners' news letters, I think written by Peter French. It certainly contains the advice to let the mizzen sail go free as suggested by Graham. I shall try and find the article and give a link to it.

Adrian (Scoubidou)

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[Brian Jones]

Hi Graham,

Further to my last the rounded rudder blade requires 4.5 inches adding to the outside edge at the bottom. This extra piece of wood is tapered to nothing at the forward edge and covered in fibreglass and fibre-glassed to the original blade.

When you are intending to tack, sail as fast as you can in the conditions and turn the wheel hard over but don't release the foresail until the boat is through the eye of the wind. You must however release the sheet of the mizzen or she will not go round.

You should be able to tack in any strength of wind and even light winds but use your sails to drive her round. You should not need to touch the engine.

I don't recall having a problem with this in Rouselle once the rudder was sorted and I had her for 37 years and covered over 30,000 miles in that time. You must however release the tension of the mizzen sheet.

I have just retired from 73 years of pottering under sail and in the early days we did not have an engine. We didn't miss it as no one had them. We did however learn to sail your boat in all conditions. For example I had a twenty one foot sloop that I built in my front garden. When she was in the water I could move forward when there was no wind at all. Hoist the main and the jib and sheet in. Stand on the portside deck just forward of the centre line and hold on to the mast. The boat will move slowly forward and curve to the left, then do the same on the starboard deck and it will curve to the right. Using that method you can negotiate a narrow waterway out of the harbour. I have not tried that with the seadog but I expect they are far to heavy to take any notice of a person standing on the deck!

Best wishes to you all

Brian

On Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 12:40:04 PM GMT+1, Brian Jones <brianbr...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi Graham.

If your boat is of the earlier numbers you will have a rounded rudder blade. This needs to be increased to the new design. If that is OK then don't release the foresail until the boat is through the wind. In other words drive her round with your sails. You should not have any trouble with tacking once your rudder is of the new shape.

Regards

Brian (ex Rouselle)

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[Dermot Reidy]

Thanks Brian, as always  a font of knowledge!

Dermot

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[Graham Matthews]

Thanks Brian,

All useful information.

Dougal is number 66 so has the improved rudder. I used to use the engine before I found out about releasing the mizen sheet, I still think of myself as a novice sailor, despite having a sailing boat for 30 years, but I am always happy to learn form others 

Graham

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[Alexia jenkins]

Some more info from the old Seadog Forum -  http://www.seadog.org.uk/soa_forum/viewtopic.php?id=225

Sent from my iPad

On 11 Jul 2023, at 13:42, 'Brian Jones' via SeaDog <sea...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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[Keith Baker]

Hi Stephen

I have jut read Brian's comment and came to the same conclusion after some frustration you must let the Mizzen of at the ready about stage but don't expect it to tack like a Bennitou who would want to sail one anyway

Keith Baker Pavonia 

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From: sea...@googlegroups.com <sea...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Alexia jenkins <alexiaf...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, July 17, 2023 12:37:18 PM
To: Brian Jones <brianbr...@yahoo.com>
Cc: Graham Matthews <gra...@seadog.co.uk>; SeaDog <sea...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [SEADOG] Tacking and gybing.

 

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[Stephen Wooltorton]

Thanks for the tips, fellow Seadog sailors. The earlier conversations were really useful, and it was reassuring to find others grappling with the same problem.

Cheers!

Steve wooltorton 

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[MaxineandIan Round]

Who goes up wind with the mizzen up? It adds nothing. 

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Sent: Sunday, August 13, 2023 6:52:09 PM
To: Keith Baker <kb...@hotmail.com>
Cc: Brian Jones <brianbr...@yahoo.com>; Alexia jenkins <alexiaf...@gmail.com>; Graham Matthews <gra...@seadog.co.uk>; SeaDog <sea...@googlegroups.com>

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[Brian Jones]

OH you are so wrong! The mizzen is the most important sail in a Seadog or any ketch for that matter.  When you are tacking into the wind you can forget your steering wheel and trim the boat with the mizzen. When correctly trimmed the mizzen will keep your boat into the wind all the time and you will be able to sail far faster and closer to the wind than you would otherwise. If you lose your rudder as Alexia did a few months back, you could sail the boat using the mizzen as your method of staying on course.

Kind regards

Brian

If you have a bowsprit and the wind strength is above Force 6, reef the mainsail right down to the hounds, and sail on your staysail and your heavily reefed foresail. 

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[MaxineandIan Round]

I think we will agree to differ Brian

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From: Brian Jones <brianbr...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 13, 2023 7:53:15 PM
To: MaxineandIan Round <timo...@hotmail.co.uk>; SeaDog <sea...@googlegroups.com>

[Brian Jones]

Hi Max

I expect there are many others that I don't know, but why have a ketch if you don't use the mizzen when you could have a sloop or schooner which were always faster than any ketch and can sail closer to the wind?

I used my mizzen to sail on other courses and not just on the wind but you have to watch the weather when you go off watch because if there is a wind shift she will sail on a different course as she will always follow the wind. Once when cat napping on a course from the Scillies to Cork I found she was heading towards Baltimore as the wind had slowly backed and I hadn't noticed.

Here is Rouselle as she was when I owned her for 37 years.

Regards

Brian

On Monday, August 14, 2023 at 08:57:17 AM GMT+1, Brian Jones <brianbr...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi,

Sorry I can't understand that as if you don't use your mizzen why did you buy a ketch? You could have bought a sloop or a schooner which would be faster on all points of sailing when compared to a ketch.

Regards

Brian

[MaxineandIan Round]

Listen Brian when someone says 'let us agree to differ' it means stop.

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From: Brian Jones <brianbr...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2023 10:14:40 AM