newbee questions

allyn dave

New Member
My wife and I recently bought a small place on the Puget Sound and I have always wanted a small fast sailing dinghy . Being new to sailing I thought a Sunfish would be a good start . As it turned out a Super Porpoise came up for sale 6 houses down the beach from me and at $350 I could not turn it down .I even sailed it home . The hull is perfect and the deck is very sun faded so I rubbed it out and waxed it . I've only sailed it 3 times so far . The first 2 where in mild winds , Saturday the wind was moving pretty good , I would say there were 2 ft. rollers that were breaking . I ran into 2 problems , first was the hiking straps , I was wearing some kayak booties but with the freshly waxed sides and I could not get traction( the hiking straps on a Porpoise are mount to the sides of the cockpit) . I'd get the boat healed over and I would be leaning out and my feet would slide off to one side of the cock pit or the other . Did I screw up by waxing the sides of the cockpit , or is there a shoe that could be recommended that will give me traction ? The second problem was the wind itself . My first tack across the bay was awesome . I will say I was in way over my head but the speeds were epic . But when I went to turn and tack back the wind changed from a south west to a west and I stalled out . Once I figured out what happened it was almost to late , I don't know how I did not flip but it was a rush , frustration to panic and then shear speed across the bay . I fought the wind for about an hour before I gave up . It seemed to change every minute or so which made it impossible for me to get back to my place so I beached it in defeat and walked it back to my place . Is there a secret to sailing these kind of conditions or do you wait for more consistent winds ? For those of you that have sailed the south Puget Sound are the stronger wind always inconsistent or was this just weird weather ?

Thanks , Dave
 
I started out with a Porpoise II, which appears to be very similar. (The Super Porpoise may be somewhat longer). In my opinion, the Porpoise II hull was designed too narrow, and the footwell too shallow. The hiking straps are the same. Otherwise, the fiberglass-build was up to high standards for such dinghies.

Could the condition (stall) you described above be called "in-irons"? My Porpoise II was much more likely to fall into "irons" than my present '76 &'78 Sunfishes.

Your Super Porpoise deck is maroon in color? ;)
 
My wife and I recently bought a small place on the Puget Sound and I have always wanted a small fast sailing dinghy . Being new to sailing I thought a Sunfish would be a good start . As it turned out a Super Porpoise came up for sale 6 houses down the beach from me and at $350 I could not turn it down .I even sailed it home . The hull is perfect and the deck is very sun faded so I rubbed it out and waxed it . I've only sailed it 3 times so far . The first 2 where in mild winds , Saturday the wind was moving pretty good , I would say there were 2 ft. rollers that were breaking . I ran into 2 problems , first was the hiking straps , I was wearing some kayak booties but with the freshly waxed sides and I could not get traction( the hiking straps on a Porpoise are mount to the sides of the cockpit) . I'd get the boat healed over and I would be leaning out and my feet would slide off to one side of the cock pit or the other . Did I screw up by waxing the sides of the cockpit , or is there a shoe that could be recommended that will give me traction ? The second problem was the wind itself . My first tack across the bay was awesome . I will say I was in way over my head but the speeds were epic . But when I went to turn and tack back the wind changed from a south west to a west and I stalled out . Once I figured out what happened it was almost to late , I don't know how I did not flip but it was a rush , frustration to panic and then shear speed across the bay . I fought the wind for about an hour before I gave up . It seemed to change every minute or so which made it impossible for me to get back to my place so I beached it in defeat and walked it back to my place . Is there a secret to sailing these kind of conditions or do you wait for more consistent winds ? For those of you that have sailed the south Puget Sound are the stronger wind always inconsistent or was this just weird weather ?

Thanks , Dave

Greetings!
That wonderful magazine Sailing World has a humorous feature near the back of each issue, "Ask Dr Crash". The first pass through your post I thought maybe this was the forum version of the column, but without the picture. But I'll bite.

I will almost guarantee that there is not one sailor who didn't learn the lesson about waxing the deck and especially the seating area the hard way. We have all made that mistake, hopefully just once.

There are some expensive no-skid wax products and some non-wax fiberglass cleaners, and they do sell expensive grippy shoe/hiking strap combos that you shouldn't need -- but given all your combined challenges I would say that your best bet is to find a local sailing buddy.

As long as there is any wind, shifty or not, with time in the boat (and a daggerboard) you will be able to get exactly to any destination you want. You will need to work on your 'pointing' and your tacking (right now it sounds like you are doing more 'reaching' back and forth). But you are incredibly fortunate to be on the water in a great locale, with a boat.

Looking at your profile picture, one thing right off you might want to try is adjusting the halyard on the upper spar so your sail isn't quite so high, and be sure to sit forward in cockpit. Practice tacking repeatedly every 20 seconds or so, a dozen or so tacks in a row, while keeping forward motion. Maybe make yourself a yarn telltale on coathanger wire mounted on the forward spar at eye level. Mostly, just spend as much time in the boat as you can, in all kinds of conditions.

First, see if you can get some of the wax off, and good luck.
 
Greetings!
That wonderful magazine Sailing World has a humorous feature near the back of each issue, "Ask Dr Crash". The first pass through your post I thought maybe this was the forum version of the column, but without the picture. But I'll bite.

I will almost guarantee that there is not one sailor who didn't learn the lesson about waxing the deck and especially the seating area the hard way. We have all made that mistake, hopefully just once.

There are some expensive no-skid wax products and some non-wax fiberglass cleaners, and they do sell expensive grippy shoe/hiking strap combos that you shouldn't need -- but given all your combined challenges I would say that your best bet is to find a local sailing buddy.

As long as there is any wind, shifty or not, with time in the boat (and a daggerboard) you will be able to get exactly to any destination you want. You will need to work on your 'pointing' and your tacking (right now it sounds like you are doing more 'reaching' back and forth). But you are incredibly fortunate to be on the water in a great locale, with a boat.

Looking at your profile picture, one thing right off you might want to try is adjusting the halyard on the upper spar so your sail isn't quite so high, and be sure to sit forward in cockpit. Practice tacking repeatedly every 20 seconds or so, a dozen or so tacks in a row, while keeping forward motion. Maybe make yourself a yarn telltale on coathanger wire mounted on the forward spar at eye level. Mostly, just spend as much time in the boat as you can, in all kinds of conditions.

First, see if you can get some of the wax off, and good luck.

I did measure the halyard on the spar and yes it was about a foot from were it is suppose to be . Thanks for the good info ,I'll just keep working on learning how to sail . Any recommendations for get wax off and what could I use to shine her up ?

Thanks again , Dave
 
Hi Dave
I am a long time sailor,,,but I recently waxed my SF and would you believe I fell into the drink 3 times...so mini I am glad to know about the non skid wax!!!
Have fun with you boat.
Kitty
 
ps Dave
I just read on The Hull Truth forum lots of info on non skid wax....one "cheap" suggestion was MOP and GLOW!!! worth a try.
K
 
I think practice will help. If it was as windy as you say, it is unlikely the wind was shifting all that much, unless you were on a very small bay off of Puget Sound.
 
As minifish2 suggested, if your wind is shifty, it might help to have a wind indicator. you can buy a couple types from Sunfish dealers, or make your own. I used a coat hanger and cassette tape - and then rigged it up with a piece of PVC pipe that "clamps" onto my upper spar. it does a great job picking up little wind shifts.
img0215_106.jpg


img0215_108.jpg
 
Yes, I used a saw to cut the pipe into a "C" shape. I had to cut it a few times to get the slot just right... but now it slips tightly over the spar and won't come off easily, or accidentally.
 
Yes I just bought my first Sunfish two weeks ago and could not wait to "Shine that Baby Up". So here I go with the polish. My girlfriend even commented on how "Slick" the boat was and how well she cleaned-up. Well we both spent the next few hours climbing back into the boat. To tack meant someone is going in the water, like it or not. I have 5 surfboards, I stick to then like glue so you would think I know better, but the little Sunfish sure is shiny.
 
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