MAIDEN VOYAGE FRIDAY!!!!!!!

[Liane]

OK guys, this is it!

Thanks to Pat and Paul, I now know about "topping lift", and I actually think I'm ready to put her in the water !?!?!?!?

Work done:
floor timber under compression post replaced and glassed in
crack in keel grooved out, sanded down, filled with epoxy+chopped up glass and covered in glass
hole drilled in bottom of keel filled with same, and glassed
foam under both cockpit rails, and a plywood support (perpendicular to the long axis of the hull) under the cockpit for added support instead of foam
new bow eye, reinforced hull
some stainless steel bits modified for rigging
all of the safety stuff required by law
registered
and ready to rock!

SO:  I am going to visit friends in the Puget Sound this weekend, bringing the boat, none of us knows how to sail, but have an outboard just in case...

What do you think!?!?

What are the ULTIMATE basic tips YOU would give a COMPLETE amateur (I've sailed sunfish around a lake, and hobie cats)?

I'll let you know how it goes!

THANK YOU **ALL** for the INVALUABLE help you've given me -- I may have given up on this project without you!!

I'll try to remember the camera.

Wish us luck!

Liane

[crbakdesign]

If you've sailed Hobies and sunfishes you should have a feel for the wind on your sails.  A CP 16 is a much more stable boat and feels like you're on a much larger boat.  If you have to launch into a headwind, wind up the motor to get out of the launch area.  Once your out, raise your main sail into the wind and then your jib.  Sheet in your jib and you'll be on your way!  Enjoy - it's an easy boat to sail and very forgiving.

[Liane]

Thanks crbakdesign!

I was told the opposite by someone else:  jib then main.

Can you explain to me briefly why the main then the jib?

I got the sails up for the first time yesterday, in the driveway, and they were much bigger than expected.  It does seem like a "big boat".  Kinda nervous!

Also, how come I now have "two stars" with my name?  I have never even been sailing!  Although I have done quite a bit of work on this darn boat (more than I ever intended to do without sailing first...), I'm still not a sailor yet.  Check with me after this weekend...

What is this star system for, anyway?

Thanks,

Liane

[K3v1n]

As far as being a sailor goes, my wife still doesn't consider me a "Sailor", she tells people I sail.

The stars just keep track of how many posts you have made. Don't have much to do with sailing, just how much you like to chat.

-Kevin

[crbakdesign]

[I was told the opposite by someone else:  jib then main.

Can you explain to me briefly why the main then the jib?


Thanks,

Liane

Figured with your experience with small boats you would feel more comfortable sailing initially with the main.  You can raise a jib under almost all points of sail, but if you raise the mainsail first, make sure the wind is forward of the beam. With a fresh breeze off the stern, raise the jib first and then steer into the wind to raise the main.   Hard to raise a mainsail while running before the wind; your battens will be hung up in the shrouds for sure.

[mgoller]

If you have sailed a little with a sunfish you can sail the CP16.  The only issues are heavy wind and rolling seas.  Lets say you get out and are just lolling around and the wind kicks up.  It is unsettling in these circumstances to handle some of the rig changes you need to make.  Going forward to drop the jib.  Trying to reef the main in heavy weather.  The 16 rolls. 
Your first sailing should be in ideal weather only.  Practice in good conditions dropping the jib, (maybe install a downhaul), reefing, sailing under main only, jib only.  Practice heaving to, heaving to and dropping the jib, anchoring with main only.
Chances are one of these ideal days will present some issues.
If all else fails, the boat turns up into the wind and stops, take a deep breath and think.
If you really need to, you can depower really fast by dropping the main, jib or both.  Just get through the task once you've made the decision.
"If you are thinking about reefing, you should have already".
I think of sailing like doctors think about medicine.  Practice, and Patience. 
Oh, and have a blast on your sailing!

[sawyer]

Liane:
If you have the perserverance to repair all the things you did, you surely have the ability or capability of learning the ropes "so to speak".  The CP16 is the most stable small boat I have ever sailed, I'm sure the mast and rigging would break before the thing went over. I speak from experience there, I have had many small boats upside down even some with the mast stuck in the lake bottom, now that is a chore to straighten up.  Wed aft I was out in 18-20 kts winds on the local impoundment here in Newaygo, actually took the jib down and reefed the main which was too little sail, so upped to full main and no jib and she sailed fine. Practice makes perfect, single handing can test you a bit in higher winds, just watch out for the boom, it can catch one off guard.....   The rest of it is a learning experience, I held the tiller as hard as I could and before I could get water over the rail, the boat would round up into the wind. There was serious weather helm, but it just does not have enough rudder to get water in under most circumstances....  Not to say it can't be done, but I tighten the sheets right in and hold the tiller and heel as she may, she is just a tough and stable girl.......  Have fun Friday, I hope the weather treats you fairly, and will be looking for photos of your maiden voyage..............     Doug 

[Liane]

Hey guys

thankfully I didn't hit any weather, but had other issues (see my new post regarding a "BOWED MAST").

overall, the sailing was smooth.  As Doug mentioned, I did get smacked with the boom full force on the side of my skull, that hurt, I still have a headache.  Live and learn  (hopefully I live long enough to learn enough to help myself from getting killed by my own stupidity...).

I wouldn't know what to do in sudden bad weather, but I don't know how to learn about it besides just going out and sailing... 

Am I really the only CP 16 owner in Portland (Oregon)? 

DOUG:  any experience straightening a bowed mast?  Did yours bend when lodged at the bottom of the lake?  Mine bowed about 6 to 8 inches out of true...no kink, no break, just a bow, pretty much in the middle.  (see other posting for moronic details).

Thanks!

Liane

p.s. forgot the camera.  I really do need to get that thing figured out, anyway.

[Liane]

OH, and if CHATTING is all it takes to get those stars, I'll be an admiral in no time!

[sawyer]

DOUG:  any experience straightening a bowed mast?  Did yours bend when lodged at the bottom of the lake?  Mine bowed about 6 to 8 inches out of true...no kink, no break, just a bow, pretty much in the middle.  (see other posting for moronic details).
I did not get a bend in the mast on the sunfish, or whatever the little board boat is, I just had to untie everything and tie back to something that would float and then push the little board boat off of the mast with my feet, kind of like an overweight underwater pole dancer upside down if you can visualize that.  "Oh, thats ugly"    Never had issue with straightening a mast, but did bend one into a pretzel once on an oday javelin, one of my first boats, I was green and the sales outfit set it up wrong and big winds bent it the second time I used it, (to their credit, they also replaced it, but not the same anodized color, but did not matter, it sailed well........... Don't know what to tell you, lay it on the driveway on some rugs to keep from scratching it and drive over it with the car maybe make a jig with two by fours on each side and treads over it and use the weight of the vehicle to straighten it, but using the 2 by's  to keep it from crushing. Sort of a long press...............  Did that make any sense???      Doug

[Liane]

hey yeah, makes sense.  took it to machine shop, used hydraulic press.  see "bowed mast" entry.  Liane