Regarding our recent article on furlers, reader Phil Truitt writes: “Josh, and Mr. Culik, Nice summation as far as it goes. Very small jibs like on the Potter 15 and many others can, in fact cheat the rules of thumb. I've used small drums like the ones you classify as AON to furl and/or reef merely by adding a piece of fairly heavy wall aluminum tube over the headstay and pinned one way or another to the drum and sewed or laced the sail on. Worked pretty well. Problems with shape being frequently eased by the fact that absolute efficiency is less of a problem when the wind pipes up. I do try to get a bigger than necessary drum to make it easier to haul by hand.”
Reader Rich Green shared some comments on the recent subject of Double-Enders vs Transom Sterns: “My finish of the Benford design 22’ which I named Passage was of a canoe stern sailboat as opposed to a typical double ender. It was a brilliant sailing boat with a fine entry, cut away forefoot and deadwood and plenty of buoyancy aft for the stern to rise to following seas. I think the difference has to be made between the canoe stern (double ender, as it were) and the “ordinary’ double ender with barn door rudder off the stern.
And finally, reader and contributor Norman Stringfield shared this interesting bit of small-boat news. Maybe some of us should rethink our next boat?
Click here to read the whole story…
You should have offered another choice for your poll :
The guy is a lunatic - Do NOT spend tax dollars to rescue - Give him a posthumous Darwin Award
In the immortal words of Zorba the Greek, "A man needs a little madness, or else...he never dares cut the rope and be free."
Had the Coast Guard been present in the Spanish port of Palos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492, it is doubtful they'd have allowed his ships to leave, or maybe interdicted them on the high seas before they got to the Canary islands, clapped the crew in irons, and sunk the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria as hazards to navigation. Oops! I'll need to mind my P's and Q's the next time I'm out and about in a boat on Lake Erie now!
Mind you, my own experience with the Coasties over the years is that they are able, hard working, dedicated folks who love boats, boating and boaters. The button pushing politoes who "manage" them? Meh.