Author Archives: Nautical Mind Bookstore

3 Tips to Get More out of your Mainsail

Leave a reply

In his second in the Mastering Basic Sailing and Cruising Skills series, author Rob Macleod writes:

Just after acquiring Sojourn, a 1981 CS36 Traditional, it became apparent we were going to have to get a new mainsail. Since the mainsail is the primary sail for the boat, I wanted a well-cut, easy to handle cruising sail. Putting any of the newer, high-performance materials aside, we chose a Dacron cruising sail. The manufacturer was a major consideration, but more importantly for me was a sail that I could control the shape of the sail using the existing control lines: halyard, mainsheet, outhaul, Cunningham and reef lines. I wanted a sail that I could hoist myself, had 2 deep reefs and would drop quickly when I released the halyard. So you can see that boom and mast furling were not on my shopping list.

The primary reason for not selecting a furling sail was the loss control of some aspects of sail control (furling sails tend not to have battens) and loss of the some sail area (furling sails also lose the roach or back edge of the sail). We selected a sail with traditional battens.

Understand that sail selection is very personal. Some people will give up a little control for convenience and, in this case, we were willing to give up some convenience (furling) for shape and control. We have installed, and are still fiddling with, a lazy jack system to capture the sail when it is lowered to keep the sail off the deck and prevent it from obstructing the view from the helm.

The 3 tips for better sail handling of a traditional mainsail are:

1. Ensure the sail can be hoisted and doused easily and quickly; this includes being able to hoist the sail to full height by hand, without the assistance of a winch (I will cover furling and unfurling in a future blog)  Ergasia5

2. Ensure all of the controls that are hold holding the sail down are released before hoisting and then re-set them once the sail is set

3. Trim the sail according to wind and wave requirements – the 2 primary settings are for power and for speed

Easy hoisting

Main-1-LuffMy mast is 52’ 10” off the water. I know that for a fact,  because I once tried to go under a bridge that was only 50’ off the water. Oops.

I am able to hoist my mainsail to full hoist (not to full tension) by hand. In Basic and Sailing Skills, I cover hoisting the mainsail in general terms. Each boat is different and it is important to adapt the process to your particular needs and situation. Mary, my wife and sailing partner can raise the mainsail most of the way by hand and has to use the halyard winch for the last 15 feet or so. I’ll come back to using a winch.

I start by steering the boat just off the wind (10 – 20 degrees) with the wind over the starboard side, to keep the sail away from the main halyard and the main halyard winch. I will usually pull the sail at least half way up before wrapping the halyard once around the winch. About that time, the weight of the mainsail on the halyard needs to be carried by the resistance of the winch. I then continue hoisting the sail by hand until it is fully hoisted. Then, and only then, do I use the winch handle to complete the hoist.

Main-2-WinchI see many sailors winching the sail up from the beginning. This tends to keep your eyes down on the winch rather than up on the sail. By hoisting by hand and watching your sail, you will see if a sail slug or slide gets jammed, if you left a reef line in last time you sailed or if you forgot to take the last sail tie off before hoisting. The power of a winch in low gear can overcome resistance caused by any of these oversights, and the result is usually a torn sail.

Main-3-HoistIf the sail does not go all the way to the top (usually indicated by a piece of black tape around the mast) there is often something holding it down. And that brings us to step 2.

Sail controls

Few sailors let off the outhaul, downhaul and boom vang after lowering their mainsail. The only one of these three that does not lose its tension when the halyard is lowered is the outhaul. The other two pull against the halyard tension to do their work so they automatically lose tension. Please refer to Basic Sailing and Cruising Skills (or other learn-to-sail book if you don’t have mine yet) for a more detailed explanation of the basics each of these sail controls.

 

Main-4-VangBy letting off the boom, outhaul, Cunningham (or downhaul) and the mainsheet before hoisting the mainsail, you are releasing any impediment to the hoist. This also goes for reefing lines and sail ties. With nothing holding the sail down, it is much easier to hoist it up.

When hoisting, if the sail catches up on something, investigate, especially early in the season. Look for objects that are jammed in the slot the sail slugs go into, or for dents on the sail track the slides attached to. When we first took ownership of Sojourn, we had a terrible time trying to tension and release the outhaul and reef lines. The next spring, we took the mast down (the boat had been stored with the mast up for the several years). We took the boom apart and were surprised to find multiple bird’s nests in the boom. After cleaning the boom out the controls worked just fine. The importance of hoisting the sail by hand is you discover these problems.

Trim for conditions – power or speed

Main-5-AirplanesA good friend of mine, and a fellow instructor, Peter Juryn (who now sails out of Nepean Sailing Club in the Ottawa area) taught me the basics of when we flatten the sail and when we want it full.

Image, if you will, two airplanes sitting on parallel runways, ready to take off. One is a CF-18 jet fighter and the other is a 747-cargo plane. Which one is built for power and which one for speed? I think the answer if fairly obvious. If we look at the wing cross section of each plane, you see that the CF-18’s wing is fairly flat. The lift comes from the jet engine propelling the plane at such high speed, that lift just happens. The 747 on the other hand, has a substantial curve in its wing. Because of the enormous weigh the cargo plane has to lift off the ground, it requires this great curved surface to produce lift at much lower speeds than the jet fighter.

Our mainsail is capable of being adjusted for either power or speed. In light air and relatively flat water, we need a lot of lift in the mainsail, so we tension our mainsail to induce a well-curved surface. The 3 primary controls for the mailsail are the main halyard, the outhaul and the mainsheet. Secondary controls are the Cunningham or downhaul, the boomvang and the traveler. Let‘s deal with the primary controls.

Main Halyard
  1. Hoist has far as you can by hand
  2. Using your winch and winch handle, tighten until a single vertical wrinkle appears in the luff of the sail
  3. Secure the halyard
  4. If more tension is required, use the Cunningham or down haul, continuing to hoist may jam the sail at the top of the mast
Outhaul
  1. Once the sail is hoisted, tension the outhaul until a shelf develops in the foot, if the full length of sail is attached to the boom – then ease the tension keeping the foot under tension (if the sail is loose footed, this is a little more difficult to see)
 Main-5-Full
Mainsheet
  1. Once the luff (halyard) and foot (outhaul) are tensioned, bear away from the wind until the sail fills
  2. Trim and sail on a close reach course
  3. Continue to adjust the 3 controls until the sail is drawing well and the boat is moving through the water

 

From what I observe on the water almost every summer weekend, occasional sailors tend to set their sails once and leave them set that way for the season. I am not suggesting the need to be constantly tweaking the adjustment like you would on a performance racing sailboat. The rule for cruising sailors is:

“Let it out ‘til it luffs; bring it in still it (the luffing) stops.”

The corollary to that is:

“If in doubt, let it out!”

The killer of sailboat performance, and therefore your enjoyment of your boat is too much tension.

Next time we will cover the secondary controls.

Please post your comments on the blog and we are open to suggestions for future blogs.

Enjoy your boat,

Rob MacLeod
rob@informedboater.com
www.InformedBoater.com

John Henry on Steamships

1 Reply

John Henry, author of Great White Fleet: Celebrating Canada Steamships Lines Passenger Ships reflects on “How [He] Learned to Love Canada Steamship Lines and Its Passenger Steamers”:

Great White Fleet: Celebrating Canada Steamships Lines Passenger ShipsGrowing up on the shores of Lake Erie in the 1940s and 1950s, I developed a passion for lake and river passenger steamers that has never left me. In the early postwar years, you could still take overnight trips every summer aboard the massive paddlewheel vessels that plied between my hometown, Buffalo, N.Y., and Detroit. And take them I did — no fewer than four times in five years.

As my interest in such travel deepened, I inevitably learned about the biggest inland-water steamboat operator of all: Canada Steamship Lines of Montreal, whose elegant passenger ships could be found in ports all the way from Duluth, Minnesota, in the continental heartland at the western end of Lake Superior, to the lower St. Lawrence River, east of Quebec City. Unfortunately, I managed to take only one of these steamers, the beautiful Cayuga on the Toronto-Niagara run — and that was after C.S.L. had sold her. But I always wanted to know more about what I had missed before the company ended all passenger service in 1965.

Hoopes donation, Musée de Charlevoix

Hoopes donation, Musée de Charlevoix

The opportunity to do so came after reading that Canada Steamship Lines had donated thousands of historic photographs and hundreds of boxes of its archival material to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston, Ont. So, during a two-year period, I repeatedly visited the museum to do research for what I envisioned would be a copiously illustrated hardcover book on C.S.L.’s dozens of passenger ships (known collectively as the “Great White Fleet” because of their spotless white paint jobs). And I gathered vintage pictures from other sources, including the esteemed Toronto marine historian Jay Bascom, whose C.S.L. collection has to be among the finest in Canada.

The result is Great White Fleet: Celebrating Canada Steamship Lines Passenger Ships, timed to coincide with the centennial of the company’s creation in June 1913. Flourishing still, C.S.L. operates bulk carriers on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence; other units of its parent, CSL Group Inc., operate similar ships around the globe. But I saw the centennial also as a fitting occasion to revisit the wonderful fleet of passenger ships that the company fielded for more than half its existence and that raised its profile in a very positive way.

It’s time to celebrate that delightful part of Canada’s transportation heritage as well!

1-13Niag-To-Sea

Cornell, Vigor, Rules: Ontario Sailor Reviews

Leave a reply

World Voyage PlannerWorld Voyage Planner
By Jimmy Cornell

Jimmy Cornell has sailed more than 200,000 miles on all the oceans of the world, has circumnavigated three times, and began rallies to safely get lots of other sailors across the Atlantic or around the world. And he’s still helping sailors, this time with the release of the soft-cover version of his World Voyage Planner, which outlines the best route and time to leave to get to your particular paradise. The book sections the different routes by oceans, with chapters on the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean and Indian oceans, with the final chapter covering around-the-world voyages. There are three options for going from Canada or the U.S. to Europe; a northern latitude route in June or July to northern Europe and then a trip south to the Mediterranean in the fall; Bermuda and on to Gibraltar, especially for those sailors starting south of the Chesapeake; And finally sailing south to the Caribbean for the winter and heading to Europe in the spring. The book begins with planning the trip, including which boat is best (it depends, but a comfortable cockpit and a hard dodger are good), crew (healthy, add one or two on a long passage), finances (from $10,000 to $60,000 a year, but upgrade the boat before leaving, carry spares and stay out of marinas and marine stores) and weather. This book is an ideal planner for a trip anywhere in the world.

 

Practical Mariner's Book of KnowledgeThe Practical Mariner’s Book of Knowledge, 2nd Ed.
By John Vigor

This book by marine journalist John Vigor, a dinghy racing champion in South Africa who know lives in Bellingham, Washington, offers an eclectic mix of the useful and the whimsical on boating – everything from sizing an anchor to figuring out paint coverage or a colour-scheme for running rigging. With no graphics or photos or even colour on the page, the book manages to be interesting enough to prompt you to pick it up at different times to while away hours testing yourself on boat knowledge. It’s organized alphabetically, and offers more than 400, soup-to-nuts nautical theories, definitions and terms. Vigor sailed his 31 ft. sailboat more than 7,000 miles from Durban, South Africa to the Caribbean and up the Florida coastline to “escape” South Africa’s problems. He’s written for newspapers and sailing magazines and gained lots of boater knowledge, which he is now sharing with others. By the way, in answer to the above-raised questions, to paint the topsides you need to calculate the length on deck (in feet), plus beam, multiplied by 2 and multiplied by the average freeboard; A 35 ft. sailboat should have a 12 lb. Danforth anchor and/or a 25 lb. CQR; And a jib or genoa line should be blue, red for a spinnaker sheet, green for topping lifts and orange for lines for vangs and travelers. Dive in to the mix and enjoy.

 

Paul Evstrom's Racing RulesPaul Elvstrom Explains The Racing Rules of Sailing
Edited by Soren Krause

Author and winning Olympic sailor Paul Elvstrom says the racing rules for sailors are “among the most complicated of any sport” but it’s easy to stay out of trouble and “preserve friendships” and promote racing by sailing against others the same way that you would like them to sail against you. “It is great to win…but only if the other competitors join in the pleasure,” Elvstrom says in the introduction. His book goes on to explain the latest changes made to the rules of racing completed by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), which mixes things up after each Olympics. Some new rules, to be in effect until 2016 ensures skippers give “wiggle room” to others to change course on a run whether they are on the same or an opposite tack, improves the definition of “mark room” and allows more latitude to help crew in danger by, say, falling overboard. The smaller-format book comes with a plastic sleeve, to protect if from water in the cockpit and small, along with plastic boat models to show the racecourse transgression to others, or explain the new rules. There are helpful, colour graphics with interpretations on the new rules and changes, and the back cover shows racing signals and flag combinations for skippers and crew.

 

Rules in PracticeThe Rules in Practice 2013-2016
By Bryan Willis

This 8th edition is a larger-format book with colourful graphics to help the reader through situations in which the new racing rules would apply. It’s more graphical than Paul Elvstrom’s book (see above review), and a little easier for the novice to understand. The author, Bryan Willis, has been chairman of the jury and chief umpire for events like the Olympics and America’s Cup, and has been a member of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) racing rules committee for 25 years. So, there’s little doubt that he knows his stuff. He says there’s satisfaction in going into a mark rounding in second place and coming out in first — more than sailing faster on a run. That comes with knowing the rules. With the help of layout artists, the author offers sailors a great resource to keep them out of trouble, or to argue their case when trouble finds them. A graphic on a given racing situation is offered, with boats close together on the course, followed by explanations on the various rights and obligations of skippers in the various boats, along with the rule numbers needed to argue your case before the umpire. Different scenarios are offered, such as during a gate start, rounding the windward mark, the finish, and on a reach. The back section spells out the ISAF racing rules.

Diesel, Fiberglass, & Racing Smarts: a passel of reviews from Ontario Sailor

Leave a reply

Here’s a selection of helpful reviews from the latest issue of Ontario Sailor Magazine:

Fiberglass Boat Repairs Illustrated

Fiberglass Boat Repairs Illustrated
By Roger Marshall
Softcover, 184 pages

Sailor and fisher Roger Marshall, from Jamestown, Rhode Island, and author of 14 books, has now tackled the sticky and messy job of fiberglass repairs after rebuilding his fourth “plastic” boat. The book, illustrated with many colour photographs, guides readers along on projects ranging from fixing small leaks to a complete refinish of the hull and deck. There are details on bedding and refastening deck hardware, adding or repairing bulkheads, replacing waterlogged balsa core in the deck, and replacing a hatch — even changing the size of its deck opening. There’s lots of advice here, like drilling oversized holes in balsa-cored decks and filling the space with epoxy, only to re-drill the right size of hole after the filler has cured. This seals the outer edges of the hole, so that water doesn’t penetrate into the surrounding balsa. If the process is not done properly, you get a punky deck and lots of problems later on. The book begins with helping readers to recognize problems like stress or impact cracks, chipped fiberglass, and a keel that is separating after an impact. Work materials are detailed, including hull cleaners and waxes to battle oxidation and major repairs, like entire transom replacements, wrap up the book.

 

Diesel EnginesDiesel Engines
By Leo Black
Softcover, 152 pages

This book deals with regular maintenance of your diesel engine, which can save you a bundle on costly repairs or a complete overhaul – which is best left to experts who have both the proper training and the right tools. Although replacing some engine components, like a water pump, alternator or starter, are well within the grasp of a weekend mechanic, some special tools are needed. But not so with regular engine maintenance, which will prolong the life of the engine. The new edition deals with electronic diesel engines and explores the three fuel systems: low pressure; mechanical; and electronic. And what is the first task? Go wash your hands, just like your mother always said. Engine bearing failures are largely a result of dirt in the lubricating oil, and impurities in the fuel result in injection pump and injector failures. The first few chapters talk about the history of the diesel engine, and its various parts in the separate systems dealing with fuel and cooling. Regular maintenance includes checking and replacing sea cocks, cleaning fuel strainers, replacing impellers and zincs, and checking and replacing hoses, which are the main cause of an overheated engine. Other maintenance is checking and draining primary and secondary fuel filters, which separate out water that can stall and damage an engine.

Essential Boat MaintenanceEssential Boat Maintenance
by Pat Manley, Rupert Holmes
Hardcover, 295 pages

If you own a boat, there are always things to do to keep her ship-shape. And this book has most of those topics covered, from repairs to fiberglass, wood, sails and engines, to hull maintenance, plumbing, and spar and rigging overhauls. Written mostly for sailors (there’s a section on trim tabs), this book features colourful, step-by-step photographs and a pleasing, breezy layout, with details that don’t get too technical. Chapters deal with general care of canvas and ropes, hull and deck repairs, painting, electrics, engine and outboard maintenance, dinghy care and winterizing. There are useful tips like throwing your stiff lines in the washing machine, using hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine bleach to battle mold (followed by a wipe of white vinegar), and treating watermarks on wood with oxalic acid. Other work covered includes replacing mast boots or gaiters, adding ventilators to help prevent mold in the cabin, and the nerve-wracking job of resealing through-hull fittings. This book can save the boat owner on costly labour costs if someone has to be hired. And regular maintenance will prevent small jobs from turning into costly big jobs in the future.

Sail SmartSail Smart
by Mark Chisnell
Softcover, 94 pages

Professional racing sailor and author Mark Chisnell, who has written three fiction books, details how he turns everyday, onboard-instrument data like apparent and true wind speed, boat speed and other output from basic sailing instruments into better racing results. He uses the information available to most racers, rather than that gleaned from high-tech equipment like radar and weather satellites that are standard equipment on Grand Prix racing boats that are ripping across an ocean or around the world. The simple feat of “mastering your instruments” can make a difference between the right and wrong call on when to tack or waiting for the right wind shift. Although some aspects of the book are quite technical, the author explains things through the use of diagrams so that novice racers can figure out tricks like using wind triangles to their advantage to move up in the fleet. They get the wind triangles from boat speed, a compass reading, and the apparent wind speed and angle. A chapter is devoted to helping sailors set up and calibrate their onboard instruments, including the compass. This book is for serious racers who don’t mind doing some math to glean a leg up on the course.

NOTMAR, RAMN, LOL Going PDF-only in 2013; Still required on-board

Leave a reply

cover-eng-mini[Update: Added LOLs]

In a somewhat confusing sign of the times, the Dept. of Fisheries & Oceans has stopped publishing their annual Notices to Mariners (NOTMAR), Radio Aids to Marine Navigation (RAMN), and List of Lights (LOL?).  They are now available exclusively as free PDF downloads: NOTMAR here, RAMN here, LOL here. (2013 Editions in early April)

At the same time, the Charts and Nautical Publications Regulations still unambiguously require both publications aboard vessels in Canadian waters.

We don’t often refer to the RAMN these days, but we like to have them aboard to comply with  some racing rules,  vigilant officials, and general prudence. So it seems we’ll be printing off hundreds of pages or keeping PDF copies on our iPads. Would you buy hard copies if we pre-printed them for you?  If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts on this issue, we’d love to hear them!

Paper charts and sailing directions continue to be available on-line and in our store.

 

 

A Sister Remembers a Coyote

Leave a reply

mikeplant

Julia Plant, author of Coyote at Sea reflects: 

When my older brother, Mike Plant, died at sea in 1992, just before his 42th birthday, he had made a big name for himself in the strange, and, seemingly impossible, sport of single-handed sailing around the world.  Before his racing career took off, my relationship with Mike was an enormous part of my life and, particularly, a big part of my “coming of age” years: my mid- teens to my mid-twenties.  His sudden death left me feeling bereft, and I wasn’t ready to let him go. Writing a book about him gave me the illusion of having him in my life.

9780071789905-Coyote-Lost-SeaAs his sister, it was important to me that people understand who Mike was on an intimate level, as well as, who he was before he found his passion.  Although he had dreamed about sailing around the world his whole life, he lived a lot of his life before he even knew about solo, long distance racing.  He didn’t actually have a typical ocean sailor’s background. He grew up in Minnesota, a long ways from the sea, and he did not begin sailing on the ocean, let alone, solo, until he was thirty-six, the same year he won Class 2 in the 2nd BOC Challenge Around the World.  He did realize his dream and the path that he took was wild, compelling and definitely worth writing a book about.

Jimmy Cornell’s Blue Planet Odyssey

Leave a reply

Jimmy Cornell’s books World Cruising Destinations, World Voyage Planner, and Ocean Atlas (among others) form the foundation of any serious or aspiring offshore sailors’ library.  His seamanship and experience are universally admired.  His latest project is Blue Planet Odyssey, a round the world sailing event aimed at raising awareness of the global effects of climate change by calling at the most endangered islands in every ocean: San Blas in the Atlantic Ocean; Tuvalu, Tokelau, Tuamotus, Micronesia, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean; the Maldive and Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean. This global event will also highlight the effects of climate change on the Arctic icecap, the Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands, all of which lie on the Blue Planet Odyssey route.

Continue reading →

Boat Show: Authors and Bargains Galore!

Leave a reply

The cavalcade of boaty and literary wonder that is the Toronto Boat Show is just around the corner!  From Saturday, January 12th to Sunday the 20th we’ll be at the Direct Energy Centre on the old, slightly haunted CNE grounds. This year we’ll be joined by a whole chapter of authors who will be delivering lectures/seminars/workshops, signing books, and  generally hanging out at our booth (listed below).  We’ll also have incredible, once-a-year-only treasures and bargains from the vault like last year.  If for some reason you can’t make it to the party, you can drop by our store which will have the same great deals, but less of the carnival atmosphere.  If you can’t make it there, but would like an autographed copy of a book, phone or email us, and we’ll get the author to sign the book and then ship it to you. More fun boat show facts are on their website.

Continue reading →

Harbourfront Wasteland Wonderland

1 Reply

At first glance, our neighbourhood appears to be a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Wind funnels down a canyon of condos and whips across dusty rubble while giant machines demolish sidewalks, traffic lanes, and the peace. Look deeper though, and beneath the desolate moonscape you’ll find a vibrant community, brimming with delicious food, fun activities, and great deals! When you visit our store, you’ll find the same selection of books, charts, and calendars as on our site (in pleasantly browsable, physical form) as well as special store-only bargains, magazines, DVD rentals, and a puppy! You’ll also be able to swap yarns and expertise with our staff of Arctic tug crew, tall ship sailors, and seasoned yachties.

Pylons!

Puppy! (not for sale)

Skating!

Rubble!

When you’re done with us, load up on rugged gear for you, your boat, and your family at Genco Marine next to the Beer Store, or Tilley Endurables in the nearby Queen’s Quay Terminal. QQT’s a fun boutique mall, home to a games store, fudge shop, food court, and more. Apart from the food court, there are plenty of tasty and unique restaurants nearby like Grill 4 U Shawarma, Indian Roti House, and Shoeless Joe’s. Special mention must go to Spice Thai Cafe, whose hot and sour soup is the best in the city, and the unfortunately-named Lick It Gelato whose coffee is molto béne.

Tall Ship Caledonia

The Tall Ship Caledonia — Right across the street from us!

Activities and entertainment also abound, including one of the best skating rinks in the city, tall ship watching (now with extra “tall” thanks to the arrival of Caledonia), the Power Plant Gallery, the Music Garden, and of course, beholding the engineering marvel of major enhancements to municipal infrastructure.

 

* Parking can be challenging, especially if there’s an event at the Sky Dome/Rogers Centre, but there’s metered parking and several lots in the neighbourhood (including beneath the Radisson). The nearby police station is the Marine Unit, and so generally more interested in fining you for missing paper navigation charts than giving parking tickets. There’s a 509 bus running from the similarly devastated Union Station.