Not all Swallow Boats are BayRaiders!

[Tony]

I made the mistake of showing a bit of my boat on a photo of Lakka harbour. (See Maintenance  thread.) Its not a very good photo but some joker wanted to know what all the junk on top of my jib boom was. 
It is not a jib boom – it is the Mains-l boom of my balanced lugsail ....as fitted to my Cardigan Bay Lugger, Four Sisters. 
(I don’t have a self tacking jib boom, in fact, most of the time I don’t have a jib at all. I only bother to rig it if the winds are going to be very light - in which case I fly it with the lug sail to gain an extra knot, or if they are going to be very strong.  In which case I fly it instead of the lug sail – and gain an extra life!) Slight exaggeration there, perhaps.
For  those  amongst us not blessed with a  lug sail and forced to trundle around in a boring old BayRaider which you never have the need  to reef  (Sour Grapes?  I don’t know what you mean!) I will explain with the help of the diagram below.
The starboard reefing line (blue – I didnt have  a red) is fixed to the boom at the tack and runs up the  port side of the  sail, through the first reef cringle, back down the other, starboard, side of the sail to a cheek block and back along the starboard side of the boom to a jamb cleat in easy reach of the cockpit. 
The port side of the boom carries another jamb cleat from which the port reefing line (green) runs forward to another cheek block, up the sail luff to the second reef cringle, down the other,starboard, side of the sail to the starboard cheek block - already occupied by the starboard(blue) reefing line (the block is big enough to cope with both) and then firmly attached to the blue line with a rolling hitch. (This knot has never failed yet and doesnt  clatter against the boom like a shackle would.)
Reefing takes seconds.
Head up into the wind,using  the mizzen to hold you there. Centre the rudder and tie it off with shock cord loops so that you stay head to wind, drifting slowly backwards.  Push the aft end of the boom up to meet the first reef cringle. Tie it off with its pendant so that it becomes the new clew. Tension with outhaul. (None of that is shown on the diagram.) All that took about 10 seconds. 
Next, slacken the main halyard to drop the mainsail by the depth of the reef and pull down the first reef with the blue, starboard, reefing line. You will notice that it pulls down the port reefing line by the same amount – exactly.  Tension the luff with the halyard or the downhaul and tie in the reefing points if you feel the need. (Round the bunt of the sail, though, not around the boom!)  Free off the mizzen, put the tiller down and off you go.
For the second reef, repeat the above using the port reefing line.
For the third reef, head to wind, drop the lug sail and tie it up with the boom and yard to the cabin top.  Unfurl the jib. OK up to about 25 knots of wind.
For the fourth reef, start the engine, head into the wind, furl jib and perhaps mizzen, too.  Proceed to windward at 4 or 5 knots with one arm firmly hooked around the mizzen mast, engine at one third throttle. Make promise to self to pay more attention to the weather forecast in future.
Typically at this point the crew (so called) will look up from their book and ask what all the noise is about.

[Julian Swindell]

After a bit of head scratching I think I figured it out and it is clever. One of the problems with slab reefing is the long dangly bits of the second reef lines which swing about when you have taken in just one reef. This tightens up both lines together, which is very clever. The rolling hitch will hold forever. I use one from a handy billy to my jib halyard to yank it really tight. I just leave it in place and it never moves.

[Tony]

Hi, Julian.
How are you getting on with that BC #1 of yours?  I see from your blog that you have taken her out of the water already – Last sail of the Season, Sept 19th.  We don’t have a season as such here in the Peak District – just weather – and the water temperature is usually a couple of degrees down on the North Sea.  (Dont  worry, Im not going to get all tough and Northern on you. ...because Derbyshire is the soft Midlands where I come from!)
Yes. You are right.  That slab reefing idea IS clever.
 I cant remember where I stole it from...possibly one of John Leathers books.
 
It might have helped if I had made a note somewhere that I had omitted to show the port side of the green reefing line - so as not to clutter the drawing , you understand.  Sorry if it was confusing but I never was any good at technical drawing.
As for the rolling hitch ....dont you just love knots and string! With the high tech fibres available now I find less and less need to buy expensive stainless “ jewelry” from the chandlers.

By the way, if your reef is 500mm deep you will need 1000mm clearance between the cheek block and the jamb cleat or the rolling hitch will butt up against it. Obvious, really;  but you will have an extra 1000mm of rope hanging out of the cleat when you have finished. To tidy it up, the traditional reef pennant hitch involves wrapping the pennant round and around the boom. This takes much longer to actually do than to describe – and even longer to untie,  as it often jambs up tight. 
My alternative is to tie a chain sennit around the boom. (In the picture I have tied a bit of string round a batten to give you the idea. Note last loop pulled through to stop it unraveling on its own.)  Its quick to tie and falls away in an instant when no longer needed. I have a habit of using it to keep any long bit of string tidy – even shore lines and anchor warps; OK so long as you don’t lock the final loop!

[Julian Swindell]

You have oviously got a thing about string. I just coil it up and hang it on something, where it stays for about a minute before unravelling.

Dasiy G comes out of the water tomorrow. The last time was the last sail because I lowered the masts but didn't have time to bring her back. Hoping for a break in the weather at Poole for the actual extraction. Wish me luck. That will be the real end of the season.

[Tony]

Ah!
So your coiled strings seem to unravel under the influence of gravity?

I have a Theory for this.....check it out at  http://superstringtheory.com/ 

Originally, string theory was proposed as an explanation for the observed relationship between mass and spin. Things didn't work out, though, probably because the string they were using was 3 strand hemp with an in-built tendency to cockle. If they had Octoplait  in those days it might have been a different story.

In the mean time have you tried nailing them to a Planck?

So “Daisy Grace” is off to her nice dry boat shed for the winter.  If you are hauling her out in a cross wind or current don’t forget to tie a couple of good strong strings to her stern to keep it all under control. Poor old  “Four Sisters” has to live out in the open all year round, protected only by a green Tarpaulin held down with....you guessed it....String!

Any other String Obsessives  out there?  Got a favourite knot  you want to share with us?

[Tony]

Quote from Johan Ellingsen
Serious question #1:The matter of the hiking stick.Wanting to concentrate crew weight,and also to get a workstation suited to the stereotyped motor patterns of the elderly,I´m trying to make Matt provide a moved-forward tiller,with a linkage á la Sea Raider,and a mainsheet attachment on the bridge-deck or somewhere.Matt thinks this would crowd the cockpit too much.

#2 I´m also trying to promote a sliding cockpit hatch,to facilitate galley activities and to be able to get dressed more or less standing up.This also spreads despondency in the Cardigan Bay area.
_____________________________ _____________________________ ____________________

Hi, Johan Glad you found your way here.

Serious question #1 
A good idea to move crew weight forward – and out to windward – with a hiking stick,  but I wouldn’t change to the Searaider linkage.   The tiller arrangement on the Storm 15, 17 and 19 and , of course the CBL is simple and bomb proof – it is also extremely convenient.
•   It never intrudes into the cockpit, it is always to hand when you are sat leaning against the comfortable backrest.
•   It lies between two cleats across which you can rig up a length of shock cord. Put a twist around the tiller and you have an instantly removable tiller tamer which can be used for self steering (get the mizzen sheeted properly and you don’t even need the shock cord. She will reach or go to windward all by herself!) locking the tiller when rowing or heaving to.
 (By the way, if when on a reach, you push the tiller to leeward and lock it there, she will head up into the wind, tack, bear away, quietly gybe if you have a balanced lugsail, or more dramatically with a Bermudian rig,  then head up into the wind again, going round and round in circles all by herself until you get dizzy. When tired of such nonsense just centre the rudder, sheet the mizzen in hard and let the mainsheet free and then the CBL will sit, head to wind, as quiet as a lamb, making typically about one knot of stern way in an F5. To start making progress again on either tack, just ease the mizzen sheet a little, briefly back the main by holding it to windward one side or the other, just long enough to push her head off the wind, then let go the boom, let the sail fill on your chosen tack, sheet in and trim main and mizzen to set your course. Note that you haven’t needed to touch the tiller yet – not unless you really wanted to. )
•   If you are actually steering with the tiller for once, the mizzen sheet is cleated just behind your hand so there is no excuse not to have the mizzen drawing  perfectly. A a pretty good driving sail it is, too!
•   Have the mizzen sheet long enough so the sail can weathercock back into the cockpit.  You will then, with just the mizzen set and a tight grip on the tiller,  be able to perform Party Tricks like sailing backwards off the pontoon into clear water, even reaching in reverse if need be. (I have not yet tried going to windward in reverse but I feel sure it is possible!)
•   Having the tiller just behind the mizzen is brilliant when motoring in rough water. You can sit on the aft coaming with one arm around the mast or stand, supported by the mast at your back, to con the boat though a confused sea or through a crowded mooring. Not even power boat wash on the beam at close range can knock you off your perch!
One modification you might be able to persuade Matt to try is a BayRaider-style kick up bade to the rudder. This will be deeper than the standard, solid blade and should be a more efficient foil. It could give you a tighter turning circle but Nick (Matt’s Dad) has tried all sorts and reckons the difference would not be worth the extra complexity.

Serious question #2

Accepted Wisdom of the Ages. Part one.

Long, thin sliding hatches work OK, short wide ones jam solid at the slightest provocation....and they  all leak when it rains.

I am sure Matt can design a hatch that will not leak or jam but why bother? The CBL bulkhead is angled so that it is a comfortable backrest for folk relaxing under the spray hood. This angle means that you can stand inside the cabin and rest your elbows comfortably on the cabin top (spray hood down) while admiring the view forward.  The harder it rains the less interesting the view will become - trust me on this one- and the greater becomes the urge to raise the spray hood. You will not want to get dressed (still frowsty from your sleeping bag) standing up in the rain. Neither will you appreciate said rain delicately soaking the inside of the cabin. You pretty soon get the hang of pulling on your drawers from a prone position.
 
More wisdom.
 (You wont agree with this. Nobody does....at first.  Some people think they want to sleep, cook, eat and even defecate in the same tiny space. Would you want to do all that in one room at home? It might test the closest of relationships. )

Dont cook in the cabin!   Do all you cooking and most of your eating and drinking on the cockpit side of the bridge deck, under the spray hood. That way you will always have a dry sleeping bag, your clean clothes wont reek of last weeks curry and you wont get scalded when some idiot drives past you at 20 knots! If you can get hold of “Watercraft” magazine No.76 there is an excellent article called Cooking on Small Boats, written by a little known literary genius ( thats me....who else?) which will give you more details on the subject.

[Johan Ellingsen]

I´m quite impressed - all this at 3am!Profound thanks!

The way all my pet ideas are being shot down it´s like a shooting gallery at a funfair..I´ll be posting my final version shortly,for the esteemed comments of you gentlemen,and send it off to Matt for construction.

PS where do your pen your lead pigs?

[Tony]

Hi, Johan.

3am? Dont worry about it. I live in what used to be a pit mans cottage and some times slip into the shift work pattern. Some kind of imprinting diffusing out of the brickwork, perhaps? I seem to be on earlies (2 til 10) this week. I also have developed a dislike of Thatcherite politics.

As for shooting down your ideas.....you asked for comments but who is to say that my views are any better than yours? Having Matt build you a boat is as personal as being fitted for a Saville Row suit and quite rightly so. He wont make one with a hole in the seat of the trousers but if you want wide lapels, why not go for it? You would have a job to get him to build anything ugly, though.

Lead pigs? They live bolted down to the keel in the space that was originally intended for oars. 90kg in 10kg lumps for ease of movement.

Speaking of oars, mine, at 8 feet long are too short. I can only manage 2 knots when splashing like a demented paddle steamer. They are great for manouvering in tight places, though.

[Johan Ellingsen]

Hi guys(in particular Tony),
I´ll be trying to attach a few pictures,God knows where they´ll end up!The first is Swedish Sunday sailors,1873 model,"jib-a-weather,helm-a-lee,loaded down with brandy and cigars.."The Corinthian approach has a few things going for it..Tony,of course I am very grateful indeed for
all your patient advice.Non obstant,I´ve sorely tried Matt´s nerves today,and no doubt your sensibilities will be equally offended!
Being faced with a yawning build slot,I had to reach a number of quick decisions, the gist of which is:
Rig:Bermudan cat,w/CF masts.Being a keen follower of this forum, methinks at least I know how to trim  a triangular sail.Mainsail lines to clutches on cabin roof.Hatch?Hinged lid/drinks tray?
Hull:CBL/single centreboard,s/d cockpit.Torqeedo o/b on quarter bracket,unshipped(9kgs)when not in use,and stowed in what is now a large stern locker,together with lines and fenders,also bilge pump there..Reason for ominous silence from Cardigan: 2x50cm cockpit lockers,in the first instance to take
2x 100 Ah 12V Li batteries,later fuel cell etc.One bridge-deck locker for heavy stuff:anchor,bucket etc.The other maybe turned into cabin stowage.

The "elephant in the drawing room",is of course my deranged view of ergonomics in yachting. Picture 2(?):this Swallowboats chap,strained
posture,worried expression,the very image of cervical rhizopathy.Myself,I can hardly manage the telly if it´s not straight in front of me.Contrast this with picture 3(?):(Please disregard grandchild,just told he mustn´t climb out on the rudderhead.Also disregard me being a wet and just rolling out the genoa):Aroma of good coffee,relaxed attitudes,and a very no-strain working seat.Having said that,I´ve asked Matt to put in a standard tiller/mainsheet arrangement.
Further experiments are in order,in the depths of the archipelago.

Tony,regarding cabin insides,where to cook,etc:I have to tell,you that in the Ellingsen marriage there is the one taboo subject,namely What the Boat Costs.My wife is a demon kitchen designer,and raring to go on this one(she did a very good job on the Frances).We shall just have to sit back..

Mining and Thatcher-ha!We lived in Cornwall through the Scargill years,
and felt,at the time,that Maggie would be just the thing,Sweden being then still very much an uneasy mix of USA and DDR.Innocence indeed,considering what came after!!

Boats aside,my brother-in-law has just shot our elk for the year.This will keep us out of the clutches of the meat industry,thank God.

[Johan Ellingsen]

Only got in one picture,once more into the breach:

[Johan Ellingsen]

And my first one,hope itshows,it´s lovely

[Julian Swindell]

A hinged cockpit hatch, I never thought of that, it would work perfectly. And I thoroughly approve of the sailing with coffe cup in hand. If I can get my boat properly balanced, I can lash the tiller, pour out a coffee, toast passing boats and search around for the biscuits whilst the boat takes care of herself. None of this constant steering if I can avoid it.  Yes, I think I must come and cruise the Baltic someday soon. When will you be getting your boat Johan?

[Johan Ellingsen]

Less (single)malt(in the bottle),more sense,or so I hope.I got my Frances 26 in England nearly 25 years ago,and she´s been a wonderful family member.Now,for some time,I have felt that I simply wasn´t going to be up to the physical side(jumping off the bows to the ponton,what a fright)much longer.So,right,an OAP boat?Turning my lovely,craftsman-cared for craft into a horror of granny-bars,like a period building with wheelchair ramps all over,wasn´t very attractive,so I went for a new construction,and told the chap in the picture his father and uncle were taking over the (slightly)big(er)boat-enthusiastically received.Long story short:an eco-cat-rigged-19-ft-Island Cruiser?
Now,a Frances 26 cutter is a very unsuitable beginner´s boat,and I have hopes of marinizing another uncle(a Gothenburger who doesn´t know how to sail??!),and I particularly like the auto-park-take-a-few-deep-breaths feature of the sheeted-in mizzen.

I would hope my new boat would be ready(and de-bugged)early in Spring.Julian,my only down-times would be:around 2/7(son´s wedding)
and 1st week in August(family do in Lofoten.mind you,open to all comers,unlike anything you´ve seen..)

[Tony]

................Having said that,I´ve asked Matt to put in a standard tiller/mainsheet arrangement................

Hey, Johan.
Standard tiller and mainsheet is a decision you will not regret. You will find the CBL cockpit is very comfortable with at least four choices of working (so called) position on either tack.

1. Sitting out to windward - with or without hiking stick
2. Sitting next to mizzen mast. Feet braced on opposite side of cockpit in a blow or stretched out on side seat if calm.
3. Perched up on aft deck (see photo) for maximum benefit of cooling breeze in hot weather.
4. Standing, with or without one arm around the mizzen....especially useful when motoring into an unfamiliar mooring.

Other specifications seem to be reasonable choices, too.....but then I dont have to worry about making it all work together. Im sure Matt can cope, Ha Ha!
You mention a self draining cockpit - good idea if you can do it without having your knees up under your chin when seated. I do get tired of bailing out after a rain storm...and you will be able to leave the boat on a mooring without a cockpit cover.

Any ballast at all?

Good luck with the Galley arrangements - All the same,I stand by my opinion, universally unpopular though it might be.

Where DID you get that pre-delivery  photo of Four Sisters? Doesnt she look CLEAN! I hang my head in shame......but then I prefer to sail a well worked up boat than to paint it!  ( Excuses, excuses.)
Speaking of sailing - I have long fancied a trip to the Baltic. Dont know when as I will never drag my wife away from the Ionian in summer. Any idea when the next Raid Finland is to be held? We could have our own flotilla of Cardigan Bay Lugger variants by then. I am fascinated to see which rig works best.

Keep us posted.

[Julian Swindell]

One tiller position you can't use with the CBL behind-the-mizzen tiller is what my family calls, delicately, the clench grip. Let's just say you are standing up, tiller poking into you from behind, and you can steer by clenching one side or the other... no hands. For maximum nonchalance you do this with one hand in your pocket and the other holding a glass of beer/wine. It apparently doesn't look half as cool as I think it does (due to the tiller apparently being stuck up my backside) and it has the propensity to go spectacularly wrong. I haven't been gybed out of the boat yet, but it is bound to happen sooner or later. But as Tony says, standing at the tiller is a very good way of keeping an eye on a mooring or watching for rocks.