She sails! MELINDA's "maiden voyage"...

[Art Read]

Hope I ain't getting "tiresome" yet. I can't resist... It was a bit grey and chilly early yesterday while we were out, but I gotta tell you, "MELINDA" put all my fears to rest...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid82/pd8b307a35bea58cb455ebe5f695bf004/faea6dbd.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid82/p89e3ff88134b6f6c2f6289f0715706ac/faea6db2.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid82/p1bb5450328cd9d2fb131221ddf6601a9/faea6dac.jpg

That last picture shows us going about five knots or so, (by handheld GPS) on a slightly close reach in about as much wind. Just the slightest touch of weather helm, bubbles for a wake and STIFF! She tracks likes she's on rails and isn't flustered at all by the chop. I paced myself upwind for a few minutes against the only other boat out there, ( a Blanchard Jr.) and it appeared I was gaining to windward and walking up on her a bit too!. No water came aboard, her rail touches the water and then just STOPS and my biggest problem seems to be to figure out how to slow her down on a downwind aproach to the dock with that big main up there... :eek:

(oh, well... At least the first "ding" is out of the way...)

I've still got a lot to learn about how best to sail her, but she makes me feel guilty for ever "doubting" her... Thank you, Mr. Crowninshield!

(Oh, yeah... The best part! The bilges are still "dusty"! ;) )

[ 10-04-2003, 04:12 PM: Message edited by: Art Read ]

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Nice to finally see her with her clothes on smile.gif . Sweet looking boat art real sweet, have fun.

[Todd Bradshaw]

She's a beauty Art - and the boat ain't bad either! Congratulations and many happy voyages.

[Jamie Hascall]

:D

Jamie

[Clipper]

Art,

It sure looks great. So little wake. Hope you can ge some pix from off the boat. Good luck with her and may hours of pleasurable sailing.

[Noah]

What a boat!!

You put something wonderful on this earth. Good job, and have fun sailing her!

I've found it's always good to let someone else drive while doing that first hard sail. That way the boat can't hold it against you.

Have fun with her!

Noah

[Rich VanValkenburg]

Great post! It's good to see you finally get to sail her. Try to get a chase boat out with you for the wallpaper shots. We'll all be waiting.

Rich

[Thad]

Excellent!! Landing on a lee shore is difficult to control with all that power, so you might do best to lower sail and have speed, boom, and all under control.

[Clipper]

What Thad said. Only come in under jib alone. In your sail trials see how she goes to windward under jib only . Then if it you come into a dock with jib alone and screw up and have to make another try you'll know she can beat up to windward again for another try down wind.

Why do you have to come in down wind ?

[Scott Rosen]

That's great, Art.

Since she sails so well, maybe the ballast is fine, and you simply need to repaint the waterline . . . ;)

[Dave Williams]

That's wonderful Art! Tears in my eyes. It's a grand thing you did! Maybe we'll cross tacks sometime.

You might not know me (big junk rigged schooner dory) but I'll recognize Melinda.

To kindness,
Dave

[JeffH]

Yup, reminds me of my high school days when a friend and I would take his DH 12 1/2 and TRY to get the rail under. Took about 15 knots, and then it wouldn't go much further. His uncle used to sail the thing in hurricanes for fun (during one storm surge, the story goes, he tried to realize his lifelong dream of sailing between Little Deer Isle and Deer Isle, but couldn't quite make it over the causway and low tide found him high and dry in the middle of the road. This may account for the vast number of broken frames, amongst other problems the boat had).

Good on ya. Go forth and terrorize the cruising fleet ;)

Jeff

p.s. You'll probably find that she won't sail, at all, without the jib up. Never thought to try it with jib only, so that might be worth a shot...

[ 10-04-2003, 07:24 PM: Message edited by: JeffH ]

[Thad]

I would guess he doesn't have to come to dock downwind unless the wind happens to be blowing that way. Other times the problems will be different, no? That is the fun of it all.

[rbgarr]

Art-

When are you going to nail on some chrome stanchions, a pot metal bow anchor roller and a stern-mounted charcoal barbecue??? Get with it, man! The cocktail party season is almost over! :D

Seriously, though, congratulations and enjoy her to the fullest. :cool:

[ 10-04-2003, 08:28 PM: Message edited by: rbgarr ]

[Ed Harrow]

Art, unless you've grown up with such a boat, you will never, ever understand her. You just better put her on a truck back east to Woodville. ;)

Truly you have made the waters around Seattle a better place. (But, now that you've done that you can ship her back before Bill gets on to you.)

[Ken Hutchins]

Wonderful, I can imagine how happy and proud you are. smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif

[Jamie Hascall]

Art, I thought you might appreciate this quote from fellow forumite ahc on another thread.

" I'm also no Art Read and would probably end up accidentally epoxying my finger to my nose."

Ya done good Bucko! :cool:

[Art Read]

LOL! Actually I think at some point I, uhmm, DID epoxy my finger to my nose! Or something like that... ;)

[Leon m]

Man ! Thats got to feel special,great job.

[Bob Perkins]

Great Boat!

You could quit your day job!

So what's next on the building floor? You know you can't build just one smile.gif

[ken mcclure]

Tiresome?

No such thing.

Inspirational, maybe - but never tiresome!

[ahc]

Happy Birthday, Art!

Go have a great day sailing. Of course, TAKE PICTURES!

[Art Read]

Thanks folks! I'm still two feet off the ground. Spent yesterday arranging temporary moorage, (don't want to wear out my welcome at the Center...) and making a few "adjustments" that the shakedown sail brought to light. Today happens to be my birthday and SWMBO said we could do whatever I'd like... Guess what that is? ;)

This picture shows the dock setup from the otherside of the fairway:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid82/peaf457dfad7480370ca4f0bacc9eed9b/faed2f0e.jpg

Not a whole lot of room in there and a "dead end" so to speak. When the wind is on-shore, you come in dead downwind on the side closest to where I was standing when I took the picture and then round up hard so as to come alongside on the other side bow to wind with your sails luffing. Problem is, I was still doing hull speed at that point, and as I found out when I started my turn, that boat carries her way a LONG way! :eek: No real problem, just scared the liver out of me... I'll experiment with sailing her under jib alone, and main alone, today. I aready tried heaving her to. Very forgiving. She just sort of lies to and waits for you to make up your mind. You can pass the jib if you want to go off the other tack, or even "nudge" her back on to the old tack without jibing if you'd prefer. Never seen a boat do that before...

(RB... The stanchions and B-B-Q are back-ordered at West Marine. Bob... Hush! SWMBO sometimes SEES these threads! :eek: )

[mower]

Happy Birthday Art!
Perhaps today you can get somone on shore to take a picture of her under way.

[John B]

Terrific . You might not change that trim for a while then . :D
we sailed our boat for about 15 years bermudan( 7 of those without a motor) and then converted to gaff.
One of the major differences I noticed is the close quarters handling relatively speaking. a big gaff main will take charge and depowering is the problem. Somehow, it always seems that some part of that sail wants to work when you you don't want it too.

[ 10-05-2003, 04:04 PM: Message edited by: John B ]

[brian.cunningham]

:cool:

[oldriverat]

Nice going Art and Happy Birthday! smile.gif

[wudnbotluvr]

Beautiful! Beautiful work! Do you have the story of "Melinda" chronicled on the forum? I've been lurking for awhile and tried searching but couldn't find your (her) story.

Thanks for sharing.

Wudn

[JimD]

Originally posted by ken mcclure:
Tiresome?

No such thing.

Inspirational, maybe - but never tiresome!ditto
Doesn't look like anyone's getting tired of her yet, Art

[John B]

Yeah, keep it coming.

and best wishes for the birthday too.

[Billy Bones]

WaHOOO! You're an inspiration to us all. Heartiest congratulations from Billy Bones and crew.

Might the depowering be aided by 'scandalizing the main'? I've always wanted to try that--letting slack the peak halyard. My lug won't allow that unfortunately.

Cheers!

[Art Read]

Funny you should mention that, Billy... I put my gaff jaws/toggle together with just that in mind and finally actually tried it today in light airs. Works like a charm! The peak fell docily behind the rest of the main and lay there swaying gently in the lee while the remainder of the sail from the throat to the clew forms a perfect little "storm" trysail. Can't wait to try it out sometime when I really need it! 'Course the wind was from the exact opposite direction today, and remained light all day, so the approach to the dock was about as simple as it ever gets...

Got a few more pictures to put up. Forumite JohnW was there today and volunteered to take my camera while we were sailing. He even followed us out on the Center's "sharpie" BETSY D. He was only able to get a few on my own camera as we left the dock before my batteries crapped out, but promises to let me have copies of some he took later with his own camera as we crossed tacks for awhile out on the lake in a bit more wind than you see here ... Can't wait to see those myself! ;)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid83/pc791941a6cd5f750d6090a4dfcc2e6d7/fae68201.jpg

(Note to self: Fix the angle on those spreaders!)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid83/pef2abf13671e8458bf74bb7c4b4606da/fae681fc.jpg

In this last picture you can see that the stern is still too low and makes the bow look too high and "pointy". 'Specially with the "crew" aboard!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid83/pc8fabf8279d62a7bf907e764f932798a/fae681f8.jpg

Thanks for the pictures, John!

[ 10-06-2003, 01:27 AM: Message edited by: Art Read ]

[Todd Bradshaw]

Art, I never heard the final answer to the Dacron vs. Oceanus question. Which one did you pick and how is it working out?

[Ged]

Congratulations, Art, on both the boat and your birthday, and please do keep posting your pictures and comments. I suspect that they will inspire much progress from many others over the fall and winter.

[Art Read]

Does "Contender Cream, Egyptian Dacron" sound right, Todd? I'd have to double check. I love it so far, but it doesn't feel as "natural" as "Oceanus". Supposed to get a nicer "hand" with age however. And it should hold it's shape better over time according to my sailmaker... She was pretty convincing in her arguements, and I considered myself in no position to question her judgement based on what I knew of her reputation and the quality of her work that I'd already seen. But I did "vacilate" a bit before pulling the trigger! ;)

(P.S. Feel free to critique any "problems" that stick out to you in the way those sails are bent on... I haven't done a lot of "tweeking" yet, but so far, 'cept for a hard spot near the throat, that little wrinkle at the peak and a little "shuffling" on the lacelines, I think they look pretty close. ;) Thoughts?

(Perhaps this shot will give you a better idea of what I've got...)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid83/pd9fbc562936a8d0f8ff6b99722589812/fae6672f.jpg

[ 10-06-2003, 01:01 AM: Message edited by: Art Read ]

[Art Read]

Oh... And John B.? You're an evil, evil, scary man! How the hell did you know that the head and foot of that sail would magicaly "grow" as soon as I "lopped" off the carefully measured, "excess" lengths on my gaff and boom? redface.gif

[Art Read]

"...Do you have the story of "Melinda" chronicled on the forum?"

Sorry "Boatlover"... I haven't kept any sort of "log" of my posts here, but if you have LOT'S of time to kill someday, and would like to follow the whole, long process in pictures, this link will take you to the "Imagestation" page where I've stored all the images I've ever posted here. It covers everything from just after I set up the station molds thru the present. (Someday I got scan in the lofting pictures, just for fun...)

Boat shop page (http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=4292219521&show_all=1&start=1)

[Todd Bradshaw]

Contender Cream should work just fine and they certainly look good. Since the corner patching style is traditional and was originally designed for stretchy cotton fabric it may take a while for the corners to relax and smooth-out, but that's not unusual on Dacron sails with traditional patching. All in all, I'd say you did fine and they should serve you well.

[B. Burnside]

Congratulations, you three! May you have many wonderful times.

[NormMessinger]

Tiresome? Don't be silly.

And incase you are not finding all the acolades tiresome I just gotta add another, or to take the easy way out, just dito to all of the above. Beautiful. Thanks for posting.

[John B]

I don't know Art. (he says in a voice similar to, but not quite the same as Vincent Price , Perhaps it has a touch of Hannibal Lecter in it, perhaps he has a cold. musical intro to x files begins playing in background and a man with what appears to be knives attached to his fingers walks past in the background)

She'll be right mate. :D

I suspect you will want to lengthen/spread the span a bit down the gaff at some stage. Mine is a single span and started out about where yours is .That's what I had to do. You won't notice it until you're in a breeze but I think you'll find the middle of your gaff will want to sag off a bit as it is.

[High C]

Awright Art! A beauty!

[johnw]

Glad those shots turned out. Too bad the rest didn't -- saw some nice ones in the viewfinder, but the battery was too low.

I've got about five shots on the tag-end of a roll I was shooting. I'll process those today.

[Roger Stouff]

A craft of absolute wonder, Art. She is beautiful to be sure!

[Jeff Benagh]

Beautiful! She's even better on the water.

I've followed every post of your progress and have enjoyed every minute of it.

[Lion]

Art - tiresome? Never! More please !!!!

Lion

[videoguy]

smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif ........Phil

[Venchka]

Art,

I'm sorry I didn't offer my congratulations sooner. I've been a bit occupied with the delivery of my boat.

smile.gif Fabulous job! Your explanation about how MELINDA came to be is an inspiration to me and all other would be builders. I'll get there one of these days. Soon.

[abe]

Art, More shots please like that first photo, "from the helm". And late congratulations to you and Melinda.

Been traveling and saw this post on return. An inspiration to get back to work!

abe

[Art Read]

Wayne... I can't IMAGINE you wanting to do much else other than just sailing that new beauty that just arrived at your doorstep! We're all looking forward to YOUR "maiden sail" pictures! (It really is a once in a lifetime experience...)

[Donn]

I showed SWMBO the pics of Art's and Wayne's new babies. She said they looked like sailing furniture. "How come none of our boats look like that?" :eek:

[Venchka]

Kirby's paint man! :D

No worries! I'll knock the new off her soon enough. I promise! I'll get out my macro lens & SLR and get some good close-ups of the dings, drips, runs & divots, ok?

[Venchka]

Originally posted by Art Read:
Wayne... I can't IMAGINE you wanting to do much else other than just sailing that new beauty that just arrived at your doorstep! We're all looking forward to YOUR "maiden sail" pictures! (It really is a once in a lifetime experience...)Thank you, Art. I'll print all these kind words and snail mail them to John. John is more computer challenged than Iain Oughtred!

I know what you mean about "maiden sail". Way too long ago I wanted to learn how to sail. I bought a boat. Towed it on a borrowed trailer across the Lake to Mandeville. Launched it. Learned how to rig it. Learned how to sail it to my new slip. All on a Saturday. I can picture it still.

I think I'll launch Elisabeth Grace in the same place.

She does need a tender...to carry the ground tackle. :D

[ 10-08-2003, 06:10 PM: Message edited by: Venchka ]

[RGM]

Belated happy birthday to you Art, say hi to Melinda for us please. The boat looks great, I enjoy the pictures that you post. Got your phone call the other day when you guys were out on the lake but couldn't get out to the end of the pier to see you. Work got in the way. Be talkin to you later.