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    Blog
    First REAL Sail in Open Water
    I wanted to use separate controls for the fore and main+mizzen yards, but my "new" winch drums where crap, and I only had one drum available, the wood disc and cardboard one I've been using. So, I linked all three masts together. it was very near the end of October, but the forecast was for light breezes and mid to high 50's (about 13Β°c). I rigged her royals for the first time, ran all the bracing to the tops'l yards instead of the courses. I redid the bracing plan to only use tops'l yard braces instead of both tops'l yards and courses. This simplifies everything, and hopefully it would be enough. I had a list of specific items to test, so based on that list, here's a report on the first time Constellation really sailed, under full control, in open water: First off, she was sailed in Rock Creek, Maryland, USA. My friend Mark has access to the neighborhood boat-ramp three blocks down the street. He brought his "Son of Erin" along, rigged as a sloop (it's convertible) and his grand-kids who live nearby. So... 1. Test fit in car; she hasn't been in my Toyota Matrix yet. -It was tricky at first, but it worked. No one or nothing else is getting in the car, so this isn't the preferred transport by any means - but it's nice to know it's there. Note in the photo, in the car on the left is the
    launch cart
    with the wheels removed, packed in nice and neat. 2. Test the new
    launch cart
    . -As noted, it broke down and packed away really nicely. The approach to the ramp was very steep, and I took her down head first so she wouldn't slide off the back of the cart. The bumpy ground made the model slide back a lot. I'm going to put a stop in the channel that will catch the edge of the PVC cap and should fix that problem. There's was also a lot of slop in the flag pole bracket, the hole for the bolt that holds the two parts is bigger than the bolt, making for too much play in the handle. I replaced it with another pole bracket that fit more snugly. The wheels are hard and a bit jarring, especially on the ramp where there was broken concrete underwater so cars wouldn't sink into the silt. The handle was the bigger problem though, slopping up and down and flexing. Otherwise the cart performed as expected and I was really pleased with it. When I used it to one side of the ramp where there was hard sand, I had no problems at all. 3. With the royals set, she'll be sailing with the most sail she's set so far. -The forecast was for Northerly winds up to 5 mph. Up in the creek that was variable in direction and speed, gusting at least to 15 now and then, sometimes from two directions! The model took it all very well, though my heart beat faster every time she heeled, I don't think she once got her gun-stripe wet. 4. Test fore tops'l yard brace routing. -No problems at all, everything worked as designed, for a change. 5. See how self-tending bowlines rigged on the main tops'l work out. -They seemed to function just fine. When the model was close enough to see them, they didn't snag or interfere with the sail or bracing. 6. Actually sail the model in open water instead of bumping the bottom in a shallow pool. -A combination of joy and terror. Every gust my heart raced, but she sailed great and went where I meant her to go from the beginning. She responded to controls perfectly and predictably. 7. Get some pictures and video of the model sailing. -One thing that went wrong was my camera's batteries dying, so I didn't get all the pics and video I wanted. Fortunately, Mark was on hand and took some shots and video with his phone. In all, the day was a resounding success. Everything went well, nothing broke or failed. And she sailed! Not like her first sail where she barely made head way for more than a few seconds, but controllably, reliably, and fast too! I handled her by myself. Mark was there and offered his help, but part of my test was seeing if I could deal with it all 100% by myself. No problems. The awkward bit was sitting her on her ballast and lining the rods with their holes without her falling off. That's something I need to work out, otherwise no part of loading, unloading, launching, retrieving, etc, was more than one person could handle. in the end, what I thought would work out back in 1999 did. Here's 16 minutes of that day's sailing... https://youtu.be/80b2au24rFQ
    7 years ago by Jerry Todd


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