Seaotter5
Well-Known Member
Redfish the Sailfish finally got out on the water today. There were the usual minor glitches: the lower boom was turned 45 degrees in the gooseneck, meaning that the main sheet blocks were on the side of the boom, instead of the bottom. The boat has obviously been in salt water a lot, as the brass fittings were heavily corroded so I just sailed that way; and the weird blocks on the top and bottom of the mast kept the sail from going up easily. The gooseneck kept on getting stuck on the lower pulley.
Other than that, all went well. The winds were variable, at 0 to 12 mph and changing direction every few seconds, which allowed me to do a bit of testing under different conditions.
It’s still early days, but a few things caught my attention.
First of all, the Sailfish doesn’t need a lot of wind to sail. She was moving and under control when I couldn’t even feel a breeze. If we have another “no wind” race day at Gifford Pinchot I am definitely racing the Sailfish! Conversely, at 12 mph the Sailfish was “lively”. I am very glad that I didn’t test it last week in 20 mph gusts!
Secondly, the Sailfish paddles very well with a kayak paddle, better than my Minifish (Which actually paddles pretty well), and far better than I remember my old Sunfish paddling. Third, I need to figure out how to lay back instead of leaning forward when tacking. And, finally,
the side rails make it really easy to secure stuff onto the boat. If I can figure out a way to lounge back onto some kind of a cushion while still running the helm, I think that the Sailfish would be a great calm mini-cruiser/adventure boat . A very wet one, mind you, but a very comfortable one!
Anyone know how to free up corroded brass?
Other than that, all went well. The winds were variable, at 0 to 12 mph and changing direction every few seconds, which allowed me to do a bit of testing under different conditions.
It’s still early days, but a few things caught my attention.
First of all, the Sailfish doesn’t need a lot of wind to sail. She was moving and under control when I couldn’t even feel a breeze. If we have another “no wind” race day at Gifford Pinchot I am definitely racing the Sailfish! Conversely, at 12 mph the Sailfish was “lively”. I am very glad that I didn’t test it last week in 20 mph gusts!
Secondly, the Sailfish paddles very well with a kayak paddle, better than my Minifish (Which actually paddles pretty well), and far better than I remember my old Sunfish paddling. Third, I need to figure out how to lay back instead of leaning forward when tacking. And, finally,
Anyone know how to free up corroded brass?