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PostPosted: Mon May 28, 2012 6:26 am 
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Hi,

I'm new to sailing, and am absolutely loving my new papaya TI. My son and I went out for a sail yesterday. The wind was producing small white caps on our lake. This was the strongest wind I've sailed in yet.

A couple of questions:

The carbon fiber is designed to flex right? I cold swear that it was bent considerably when we were really "hoofing." It won't snap on me will it?

Also, my GPS says our top speed was 9.8 mph. The water had very small swells and white caps, and at speed the leeward AMA was largely buried. Stupid question here, but were any of these indicatins the I could have flipped over? I've watched a lot of videos from those of you who sail in the ocean, and the swells were quite a bit smaller than what I've seen some of you contend with.

Thanks!


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PostPosted: Mon May 28, 2012 7:57 am 
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Location: CLEARWATER, MN
When you bury an ama...there is a lot of resistance...your speed will decrease.
Try several things to bring the ama back up...have your passenger lean windward, have your passenger hike out onto the windward trampoline if it is installed, or furl your sail a turn or two. I have found that a full sail will do a couple of things...it will bend and dump a lot of the wind and/or it will tip the TI, driving the leeward ama, under slowing you down. A slightly furled sail will generally give you a higher speed under higher winds.


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PostPosted: Mon May 28, 2012 9:27 am 
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Location: Central Florida
Like Tidalwave said, you want that ama on, not under the water, so if you cannot get it to mostly stay out by adjusting where your weight is, then just reef the sail (roll up) just a little.

You will be surprised how just a small amount of reefing 2-3" will change how the boat feels. When adjusted right for conditions (mainly wind speed for your direction) it will sail even faster.

9.8mph on your GPS is not bad, as the hull length calculates to a top steady speed of about 8mph, but you can get it up to 10-12mph pretty easily with the right conditions.

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PostPosted: Mon May 28, 2012 10:13 pm 
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Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
leelanauX wrote:
Hi,
A couple of questions:

The carbon fiber is designed to flex right? I cold swear that it was bent considerably when we were really "hoofing." It won't snap on me will it?

Also, my GPS says our top speed was 9.8 mph. The water had very small swells and white caps, and at speed the leeward AMA was largely buried. Stupid question here, but were any of these indicatins the I could have flipped over? I've watched a lot of videos from those of you who sail in the ocean, and the swells were quite a bit smaller than what I've seen some of you contend with.

Thanks!


Hi, amazing new way to get an intro to your boat...well done.
-1) yes your carbon fiber mast will flex, if it didn't - it would snap. Carbon fiber is many times stronger than steel. However, be careful how you handle it and how you store it, a few nicks can cause damage when it is stressed to the limit.
-2) Your GPS said 9.8. Not bad. Keep in mind that the fastest you can push your boat is what's called a 'Broad Reach'. That is when you are almost at 90 degrees to the wind.
-3) As other people have mentioned in answer, if your ama is almost underwater, you need to 'luff' your sail. This means taking your main line out of the cleat and spill wind to just keep the ama at a point where it skims the water. This also means that if a gust hits you hard, you can just let go of the line (keep in mind that if your mainline is cleated and under extreme pressure it can flip you as the pressure of the line in the cleat can be severe).
-4) Sailing on the ocean can be quite different than sailing on a lake. The ocean tends to have regular swells as a Lake has all sorts of factors like the terrain at the shores. In Colorado, a lot of the mountain lakes are circled by mountains. Where you live, that may not be the case. No matter where you sail, make sure you get a good weather report before launching.
-5) Read the water. In light airs you can watch 'cat's paws' as the wind literally bounces across the water. In heavy airs, you will see a sudden shift by a very dark, disturbed area in the water close to you. Those heavy airs seem more prevalent in Lakes than on the ocean. That's one of the reasons I scared the crap out of myself when I started sailing the lakes of the Canadian Rockies 40 years ago. Lake sailing is a lot more difficult than ocean sailing due to the 'unknown factor'. It takes careful study of the terrain before you can get comfortable with local knowledge. Yet once you get there, you will have a BLAST rocketing down a Lake with a 30 knot 'breeze' behind you...remember that the wind in Lakes usually blows down the long stretch....(in that case, you will also have to tack to get home, hehehe).
-6) Remember also, you are blessed with a roller furling system on your TI. If you see 'caps' on the water, furl your sail at launch and test out the effect of the wind on the shortened sail. If it feels ok (the wind will let you know), unfurl your sail a bit further.

Good sailing
Tri

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PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 3:20 pm 
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Quote:
This means taking your main line out of the cleat and spill wind to just keep the ama at a point where it skims the water. This also means that if a gust hits you hard, you can just let go of the line (keep in mind that if your mainline is cleated and under extreme pressure it can flip you as the pressure of the line in the cleat can be severe).


Hi, ok. Does this mean that in high wind you don't cleat (? Right word ?) your main line? You hold it in your hand? Is that hard to do. When I had it cleated and the wind would all of a sudden blow super hard, I had a darn hard time pulling it out of the cleat?

Also, do you have to loosen the main line prior to comming about?

Thanks,

E


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PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 5:35 pm 
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Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
leelanauX wrote:
Quote:
Hi, ok. Does this mean that in high wind you don't cleat (? Right word ?) your main line? You hold it in your hand? Is that hard to do. When I had it cleated and the wind would all of a sudden blow super hard, I had a darn hard time pulling it out of the cleat?

Also, do you have to loosen the main line prior to comming about?

Thanks,
E


Hi again E
In very strong winds, the force on the cleat can prevent you from letting your main sheet loose (main line, same thing). If you hold it in your hand, it will tire you sooner than later. You can also use the boat to find friction for the rope to take the load off. 'Luffing' is usually only needed if you are in gusty conditions (as you mentioned).
If you have a steady wind, it's better to reduce the sail area by furling it around the mast to reduce the stress on the main sheet cleat. It all depends on how strong the wind blows. It's all about getting the right amount of force to keep you moving without overpowering the boat. That's why it's important to read the water as you launch and set the boat up close to shore. The wind usually blows the hardest in the middle of the lake.
Because a Trimaran has a lot of wetted surface area in the water, they tend to be harder to turn going upwind than say a Laser or any light monohull. If you are going upwind, you can't afford to loose forward motion to turn the boat 60 to 90 degrees on a tack. If you loose speed, you may have to use your Mirage Drives to get enough speed to turn on the next tack.

I hope that answers your questions, E
Be well and fair winds to you and crew

Tri

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PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 5:51 pm 
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Most of the time, most of us keep the sheet line cleated. My only exception is in strong, gusty winds I will often un-cleat the sheet-line and hold it, letting the gusts pull some line a few inches and using my arm to pull it back at the end of each gust. It can be tiring, but will give you much more speed and control without overwhelming the sail and ama.

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PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 7:46 pm 
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Location: Kailua 96734
And the exception to this is when it rips the sheet right out of your hands! (This last Sunday).

Keep a good thick knot in the end of the mainsheet for these occasions. And good thick gloves.

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PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 8:56 pm 
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Location: Central Florida
Yep, loosing the sheetline beyond the cleat is not fun. Another reason I tie a small loop knot at the end(s) of the sheetline.

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PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 9:56 pm 
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Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
KayakingBob wrote:
Yep, loosing the sheetline beyond the cleat is not fun. Another reason I tie a small loop knot at the end(s) of the sheetline.


I don`t bother with knots...
If the main sheet wants to be that nasty I just let go and call 1-800-....(OOPS)
(..that`s the number for the local Sailor Party Hotline...)
(My bad), hehehe

Just kidding
Tri

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PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 10:20 pm 
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Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
NOHUHU wrote:
And the exception to this is when it rips the sheet right out of your hands! (This last Sunday).

Keep a good thick knot in the end of the mainsheet for these occasions. And good thick gloves.


Ditto on the gloves. Non of those silly ass fingerless sailing gloves. I use rawhide gloves. When they get stiff from salt, toss them in the compost heap...
As for a knot, a simple figure 8 rocks as it`s large mass and simple to undo by just bending it backwards to release the tension in the line.
(You can also double it up by weaving it around the first figure 8 and tie into a rescue or climbing harness, if need be).
Or better yet, carry 6 Aluminium carabiners attached to yourself (saves all that knot tying when your fingers are freezing numb)
(Yup, I`ve done SAR for many years and had training by the Yosemite SAR team in human tracking...(tons of fun if you like remembering every major brand of shoe sole patterns).

Cheers

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