First Sail on a Big Lake

[slode]

We brought Sylvia to Lake City for the weekend and took my folks out Saturday morning on Pepin.  We launched at the public landing.  For our second attempt at full setup and launch all went well and we shaved a fair amount of time off our first go when we went to Waconia for a short afternoon sail last week. 

Wind started out of the west at 5-8 knots and we made a nice leisurely downwind sail to Pepin where we stopped at the Pickle Factory for lunch (nice bar & grill, not actually a pickle factory).  They didn't have their docs out yet and everyone was hungry so I made the first attempt at "beaching".  This went better than expected.  After dropping the sails, and starting from about 60' from shore, I had my dad drop anchor at the bow and let out rode as I backed into shore.  Once the prop was less than a foot off the bottom I shut off and raised the motor, jumped out in about 2' of water, and ran a line off the upwind stern cleat to a sand spike to hold the rear steady while Dad set and cleated off the bow anchor.  She held pretty steady and another spike off the opposite side of the stern made for  a secure set while we ate.  The open transom is just great!  Even a 63 year old lady with a bad knee can easily make it off and on.

The trip back proved a bit more exciting as shortly after we took off the wind shifted to the NW and increased to 12-15 knots.  This made for a close hauled starboard tack straight back to the landing.  It started gusting a bit and no one was really comfortable sitting on the lee side bench so I stood behind the boom gallows and all three of the others sat on the windward bench.  This was surprisingly comfortable for everyone and gave us some much needed hiking weight to point a bit higher.   I love the hull form of the Eclipse.  We were driving through 2+ foot waves and she just cut right through them with no splash making it to the cockpit, and no heavy pounding.  I was holding a 15 degree heel and letting her push to 20 in the gusts before rounding up.  We beat like that the whole 6-7 miles home.   After we made it through the first couple gusts with no harm done everyone was having a blast!  I was a bit concerned of comfort level with 4 in the cockpit but after this trip it has proven very doable as long as the people sitting forward can manage the jib sheets.

Getting her back on the trailer with 15 knot winds and 2 foot waves at an unprotected landing was a feat but we got it done with no damaged done.  Goalposts for the trailer will be a definite addition in the near future.

This outing brought out one question and one recommendation.

First the question.  After a short time on the starboard tack I notice water pushing through the drain and filling the sink at a level pretty close to spilling out if pushed much past a 20 degree heel.  Does anyone have a check valve installed in the drain line?  Or will keeping the drain stop in and closed while underway take care of this?  The added weight of the extra crew probably didn't help this.

Second the recommendation.  I discussed this modification with Al when I first joined the forum and it has proven to work very well.   With the stock mainsheet setup if you install a fiddle block with cam cleat in place of the block attached to the traveler you can work the sheet from either end.  Just pull enough line through and cleat off at the unused end.  This allowed me to sit/stand astern, have access to the tiller and motor, and still work the main with one... or three people sitting in front of me.  Picture is from Al's boat, I have the same setup with a Ronstan block to match My other factory blocks but don't have a picture of it.

[alsantini]

Sounds great.  I have also been very impressed with how the Eclipse handles heavy water.  It is an amazing boat.  Did you give any thought to putting in a reef or reducing the Genoa by furling?  I find after about 16 mph that a 25% reduction in the Genoa does the trick until about 20.  Then a reef in the main will take you up past 25 mph.
My first year I experienced the water in the sink issue.  I put the stopper in and voila, fixed.  Probably not the most efficient method but to add anything to an already slow draining sink might make it totally unusable.  4 years so far with the stopper in has worked and it was cheap!
Thanks for passing along my pic.  Always good to see it again and I use it anytime I do not need the bimini and have 4 people in the cockpit. Sail On    Al

[slode]

Al,

The thought of depowering crossed my mind but everyone was up for some excitement after the fairly lazy downwind leg of our trip.  I didn't feel out of control at all and slight direction adjustment gave good control of heeling and was easy to maintain.    It was a good opportunity to test some limits as long as everyone was screaming in excitement and not fear.  Of course this is coming from someone who would have been flying a hull 2-3' out of the water in the same conditions on my beach cat.  Much stronger gusts or another 3-4 knots sustained and I would have been taking in some Jib.  I really like the ability to stand behind the boom gallows while underway.  It gives good visibility and plenty of stability.  I think it's as good as having a catbird seat.

[waterwheels]

Hey Guys,

Love the main sheet modification. It can be a challenge to reach if you have people sitting in the way or you are near the stern, although a tiller extension helps.
It looks like you are reducing the mechanical advantage from 3-1 down to 2-1, do you find the main sheet harder to adjust or is it still manageable?

Thanks for sharing.

Don
Living Water

[slode]

Don,

Purchase on the mainsheet is still 3:1.  Very easy to work in heavy winds from either end. 

[Azduck]

I've got family that sail in Pepin pretty regularly! Hoping to trailer my Eclipse there sometime soon!

[slode]

We'll be down there with Sylvia July 14-15.  I belong to Fleet 444, a catamaran club who sails Pepin regularly.  They are having a gathering that weekend but we are bringing the Eclipse instead of my Nacra 5.0.  Still plan on hanging out with them but plan on anchoring in the backwaters by Wabasha for the night.

I won't be able to keep up with all the beach cats flying around but there's usually no destination so it'll still be a lot of fun.

I recommend putting in at Hoksila vs. the public landing, especially if wind is out of anywhere but the SW.

[Azduck]

Good to know! We are looking for an excuse to try and get her on the trailer - that's an adventure we haven't yet had with our Eclipse. Gotta check with the Lady in Charge though.