Hi Claus,
There are of course teeting problems, especially with a brand new design, but they are remarkably few and none which interfere with the sailing. The main problem I have is a stiff rudder blade, which is not as it should be and Matt is going to sort it out after the season. I am also fiddling about with the rig, trying to sort out quite how the lazy jacks etc work (these are of my own concoction so don't blame Matt). I think I cracked it yesterday, but no camera to record the results
Comparing Daisy Grace with other designs reminds you that all boats are compromises. My old Winkle Brig had simple weighted centre boards, which hung down at an angle, and a shallow rudder. This meant she was a breeze in shallow water as they just kicked up and then dropped back down. The BayCruiser has deep foils which have to be held straight down by ropes. When you go into shallows they kick up with a bang, everyone jumps out of their skin and then you have to get them down again once you are in deep water, which is a bit of a fiddle. BUT, the BayCruiser screams to windward in a way that a Winkle Brig sailor couldn't dream of, partly because of those deep hydrofoils. You pays your money and you makes your choice, as they say. I am just delighted to be able to make serious up-wind progress against the tide, which I just couldn't do before.
Compared to my old Drascombe Dabber, the BayCruiser (and the open Bayraider) are just significant improvements on what I think is the best of the Drascombe range. Booms on main and mizzen make downwind sailing so much easier, and you don't get whipped by the block on the clew of the main. The Dabber pointed quite well, but couldn't sail fast to windward, so again, the up-wind performance of the BayCruiser is great. I have yet to try her without water ballast, I just flooded the tanks and then forgot about them to be honest. One day I will get up the nerve to try.
A crucial test was carried out yesterday. We have odd tides in Poole Harbour and yesterday there was a high tidal stand of about 6 hours when the water hardly rises or falls. I took the opportunity to sail her onto a beach, which is what my wife wants to be able to do. With the rudder and centreboard up, the bow goes right up onto dry land, whilst the stern is still afloat. After I had played around for a bit. I just had to get on board (very inelegant, she has quite high sides) walk to the stern and she floated off. With the Winkle Brig, if you grounded on a beach, you were there until either the tide lifted you off, or you could find a couple of strong helpers to give you a shove.
One thing I would advise any BayCruiser purchasers. Get the optional rubbing strips fitted. Not only do they look good, they work too. I clobbered the corner of a marina pontoon and it took a chunk out of the strip. Without it, it may have taken a chunk out of the hull.
One thing I am really mulling over is the engine. For a variety of reasons I am using a Honda 2.3HP. In "normal" conditions it pushes her along at 3-4kts, but it is not perfect. It has to be run at full power so it is very noisy. When I came back into the harbour against a full, 4kt spring tide, we only made it because we had full sail up and were motor sailing. The engine alone simply couldn't have done it. For this reason I was planning to get a 4HP outboard, but then I noticed that Suzuki's 6HP is the same weight as their 4HP, so I may go for that. As much as anything, it is because you can generally run a more powerful engine at lower, and therefore quieter, speed. I will keep you posted on the final decision.
