Sandweaver shakedown cruise

When the baby son (TBS,  as opposed to the elder son (TES),  who is a year or so older) returned from his US road trip one of his first duties was to spend a day or two at school checking his students' A level results (better than expected) and then to check the GCSE results and begin enrolling students into this September's 6th Form classes.

One of his filial duties was to 'phone his Mum and Dad (to discover whether or not they were still alive) and to chide the LS into launching the Sandweaver.

A moment of truth:  a shakedown cruise.

Rutland Water was the obvious place.   An hour or so up the A1;  no tides;   a decent slipway;  friendly,  helpful staff;  safety boats nearby.

Friday 23rd seemed as good a date as any.   0845BST outside the gate.

The roadworks on the A14 have a speed limit of 40mph;   stationary didn't seem reasonable until it became clear that a small van had broken down in the outside lane.

After that,  stationary seemed entirely unreasonable until it became clear that a lorry had broken down in the nearside lane.

Later,  on the A1,  the LS received a 'phone call from TBS to say that a mudguard had fallen off the trailer.

At purchase,  these mudguards look very solid,  capable steps.   The first step revealed that they were thin,  brittle plastic which,  in the event,  wouldn't even survive a road journey.

Later in the journey,  the bow snubber fell off and had to be retrieved.

TBS,  following the LS,  reported that the boat was riding smoothly and steadily on its trailer,  but that the trailer wheels were bouncing very fast and very violently.

Note to LS:  replace the mudguards with steps.

"Shakedown" in a very literal sense!

The people at Rutland Water are so very friendly and helpful.   The Watersports Centre is operated by Anglian Water,  which owns the reservoir and supplies drinking water.

The Sandweaver was rigged quickly and easily . . 

(More quickly and easily than a smart GP14 nearby;  stepping that GP14 mast is a nightmare.)
(Actually,  there was a hitch:  the mast has a heel fitting which carries the sheaves for the jib,  main & spinnaker ha'lyards.   This fitting should be held to the mast by two small screws.   The absence of these screws allowed the fitting to come loose and jam into the step.)

 . . and reversed down to the slipway.   A wide,  shallow,  gently-sloping slipway.   The trailer had to be detached from the car and fully immersed before the boat would float.

Three things,  perhaps.

1   The centreboard must be lifted fully and held up,  out of the way.

2    The break-back mechanism of the trailer must be made to work.

3    The rear skids of the trailer might be replaced with tilting rollers.

With the boat afloat and secured to the pontoon the engine was mounted and tested;  no problem.

Water bottles and luncheon were loaded;  no problems.

The A frame,  to hold up the after end of the boom,  was a success.

The real problem was the amount of water gushing into the boat from the centreboard case.   The vibration of the journey had loosened the pivot nut,  which,  with its washer had fallen into the bilge.   With the nut and washer replaced the gush was reduced to a seep.   The LS can live with a seep.

Note to LS:  replace the nut with a Nylock nut,  and replace the rubber sealing washers.

Why,  why do boatbuilders put the centreboard pivot bolt below the water line?

Paul Fisher often puts his below the boat,  in the keel,  where it cannot leak.

Francoir Vivier often puts his at the top of the board,  well above the waterline.

The Torqeedo 503 pushed the Sandweaver away from the pontoon,  between the children on their paddle boards,  canoes and inflatable things,  and out into clear water.

The Wykeham Martin furling gear worked perfectly,  but the jib set badly.   The ha'lyard is thin Dyneema with no purchase.   The LS couldn't get the luff tight enough,  and the line slipped on the cleat.

Two possible solutions:

1    Ditch the Wykeham Martin (TBS loves them,  but the LS is not so sure) and hank the jib to the forestay.

2    Attach a block to the head of the jib to give a 2:1 purchase.   This might be quite difficult.  The ha'lyard is part Dyneema and part wire;  the join (inside the mast) won't pass the sheaves at the top or the bottom.

The mainsail was set quickly and easily.   Again,  the LS couldn't get enough tension on the ha'lyard and the Cunningham has only one part.   The gooseneck is fixed.

The sail worked well enough,  but it's old and baggy.

The boat sailed well.   3.5 knots with little or no heeling when hard on the F2 to 3 wind.  4.3 knots downwind with (maybe) F3.

When the wind picked up a little,  and the boat heeled,  the reefing lines worked almost perfectly:  the starboard cheek block needs to be moved 2 inches forward on the boom.

The rest of the shakedown cruise was idyllic.

The reservoir is set in beautiful countryside,  the fishermen weren't too obnoxious,  and the two sailors didn't quarrel (much).   The wind was light,  but enough to give up to 4.5 knots on the beam.

Returning to the pontoon,  the jib furled perfectly;  the mainsail came down easily and was tied to the boom;   the electric motor gave perfect control between the children.

With the trailer fully immersed the boat floated on and was secured.   Taking down the mast and securing the boat for the road was easy and leisurely.

The road journey home was hell.

At 40mph the trailer ran fairly smoothly.

At 50mph it set up a vibration which shook the entire car.

The lighting board finally gave up;  it'll be replaced with LED lamps.

Perhaps a visit to the trailer workshop at Bury is called for?