Sails #4 and #5

Chesapeake summers are hot and humid so, to beat the heat, we are looking at early starts and short outings. The fourth sail the season was a quick outing to check for any interference between the new inner forestay and the operation of the jib and its roller reefing system. If you want to learn more about that you can read the post on why we are adding one more sail to Rosalind that will be uploaded shortly.

The fifth outing was a great sail. Last weekend, the forecast called for light winds 4-9 knots and hot weather so we decided that, as usual, we would go out early to beat the mid-day heat. We invited two great friends to come along and planned to be on our way by 9:30 am. Instead of dinging back and forth we brought Rosalind to the dock to pick up our guests. Motoring down the West River it was clear that Rosalind was a little slow. It has been two months since we pulled her out of the water and had her bottom power-washed. We have found that the engine runs very smoothly at 1800 RPM, generating very little vibration throughout the boat. Even though we will not win any speed records at these RPMs, the cruising is very conformable with the engine just humming along with minimal noise, and we can travel for many hours without feeling like we are being shaken to pieces. 

We motored to Red 4, about a mile from our mooring. We rolled out the mainsail, fell off, rolled out the jib and turned off the engine. Sailing! The wind was slightly stronger than forecast, between 10 and 14 knots. With the wind shifting from a beam reach to a broad reach Rosalind’s speed ranged from 2.8 to 4.2 knots. What surprised us was that even on a broad reach Rosalind sailed herself. The balanced sails and the flat sea state helped keep her on track. Nevertheless we were amazed at how well Rosalind tracked (sailed straight) by herself. 

The Admiral enjoying the sail!

We sailed to the entrance of the Rhode River and, as the ambient temperature started to climb close to 30C (86F), we prepared to tack and head back. Tacking, turning the boat so that the bow crosses the wind, was not a success. We started turning and expected the jib to move from one side of the boat to the other, but the jib did not budge.  Instead the jib got stuck around the inner forestay. It only took a second to realize that with the new inner forestay in place we could no longer tack without first furling the jib and then unfurling in on the other side.  This is because the “slot” between the jib and the inner forestay is too narrow for the jib to go through it. So we furled the jib and instead of tacking we jibed, moving the wind across Rosalind’s stern. It was clear that we had not yet built “muscle memory” to account for the new forestay configuration!

Inner forestay just visible behind furled jib

We sailed back up the river and after a little time we first furled the jib then the main and motored the last bit to the dock where our friends got off. The two outings confirmed that the new sail configuration will work well. The fifth outing of the season with our fiends was relaxing and pleasant and we learned a lot about how we will sail Rosalind in the future with her new sail setup.  Another great set of outings!

V-Berth Refurbishment 

Last week we brought the v-berth cushions on board as the v-berth refurbishment is now complete. When we got Rosalind, the leaky v-berth hatch had caused water damage to the cabinets, sides and base (area where we stand between the bunks) so the first job was to fix the hatch leak. We had to remove the broken old hatch, level and fair the area under the hatch and install a new hatch. After the leak was stopped we got new cushions made. Then we started the rebuilding process which was done over several seasons. 

The rotten plywood at the base of the v-berth was removed (a) and replaced with a piece of Coosa, a synthetic non-rotting material (b). The base of the v-berth was then trimmed with some new plywood that was match stained and varnished.

Repairing the base of the v-berth

The rotted plywood and carpet sides ((a) below) and the cabinets which had also suffered some damage from the leaky hatch were also removed. For the new setup we added insulation to make the cabin more comfortable (c) and then cork over the plywood, instead of the original carpet over plywood. The cabinets received some new plywood sections and were then refinished. We also relocated all the windlass electrics and placed them in a water tight enclosure ((e) left) so they are protected from any water splashing if we have to open the overhead hatch in wet conditions. 

Rebuilding the upper parts of the v-berth

This has been a significant project but now the v-berth is quite, dry and has the nice earthy smell of cork. We are looking forward to some cooler weather so we can stay onboard and start enjoying it!