James McMullen's Rowan, an Oughtred Snooty Tern

[James McMullen]

Ahoy, Jim! Just got back off the water--you know, charging across the seething, churning straits, rail down, double-reefed in a driving rainstorm, really loses a lot of its drama when you're in a ballasted keelboat. Practically boring in comparison. It was nice to have the wood stove along though. Apparently this same weather front dumped all kinds of snow in the Cascades. Still chilly!

Yes, athwartships works very well, especially if you locate your halliard directly opposite your downhaul attachment point in such a way so that they perfectly offset each other and load the mast in column. This will eliminate a chance of the mast flexing and loosening up your halliard tension at the wrong moment.

[ZachE]

James,

Pretty boat!

How does the offset tiller arm do, when steering from the opposite side of the boat? I haven't ever sailed a boat with such a rig, so I'm curious if there are any peculiar handling quirks that come from it.

Also, anything special going on with the swivel joint?

Cheers,

Zach

[BBSebens]

The push pull tiller works great, although it is an adjustment from the normal tiller. Once you get the hang of it, you'll wonder why you ever did it the other way. It is particularly useful aboard our sail and oar boats where your weight is an important factor.


James has posted a Lug Yawl sailing guide, although I can't find it right now. Suffice to say, with a little practice, it is very handy.


There have been several variations on the swivel hardware, with everything from elegant castings to two holes with some line tied through them. No one idea has been settled on as "best" to my knowledge.


Or, you could come here and see it all for yourself. You should come to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival.

[James McMullen]

Well, looks like Ben already said most of it. But indeed, not only does it work just fine on either tack, it is so much more convenient and less restricting than a cockpit-sweeping conventional tiller for these boats that are small enough that you MUST shift your weight all around the boat for proper performance. A fair number of savvy open boat sailors use the push-pull even when they don't have a mizzen to get around, just because of the freedom it provides.

It will have a short learning curve, of course, but no different than the sort from learning how to properly steer with a wheel compared to a tiller. And once it "clicks", you're good for life.

[stromborg]

I've got about a dozen sailing sessions with my push-pull tiller arrangement. The first 6 or so were an adventure, I just kept repeating to myself "Push to port, pull to starboard". One of the unforeseen benefits of the offset tiller is being able to lounge on the sole of the boat in light airs with the tiller coming in over my shoulder not directly overhead.

[Yeadon]

Sail and motor ... it's really just a lot of standing around.

[James McMullen]

Yep.

[BBSebens]

Riveting stuff as always.

[Yeadon]

Moments later, Eric passed out from sheer sail and motor boredom.

[Gopez]

Sail and motor ... it's really just a lot of standing around.

This thread about Rowan is starting to slip a bit. We need pictures/vid of Sooty Tern in action with real wind. Sailing, reefing...that sort of stuff. The only thing I'm learning here is some new funky ways to use a razor, and...that prams make good tenders in calm seas (Oughtred Granny Pram?).
Demotion to four stars I say.

[JayInOz]

"Moments later, Eric passed out from sheer sail and motor boredom."


Actually I've been reading some stuff that Eric wrote for Wooden Boat way back when. My maths isn't too good, but I think he passed out from extreme old age JayInOz

[Gerarddm]

Boy that engine seems loud.

And why was Mr Anti-Engine McMullen almost smiling whilst subject to the indignity? ;-)

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Hilarious, I was peacefully daydreaming at this point.

Moments later, Eric passed out from sheer sail and motor boredom.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

cold man, really cold!

"Moments later, Eric passed out from sheer sail and motor boredom."


Actually I've been reading some stuff that Eric wrote for Wooden Boat way back when. My maths isn't too good, but I think he passed out from extreme old age JayInOz

[Rich Jones]

Is it ever warm there?? Your videos always show you guys in arctic or foul-weather gear.
When is it shorts and T-shirt weather?

[James McMullen]

Is it ever warm there?? Your videos always show you guys in arctic or foul-weather gear.
When is it shorts and T-shirt weather?

What is this "warm" you speak of, Señor? You mean like a temperature? Like what you find inside a building or something like that? What a curious concept. I'm dubious...next you're going to tell me that it doesn't always rain every day or some other bizarre conceit.

[Yeadon]

I have no idea what Rich is talking about. I thought the weather was pretty nice. In fact, here I am in my Salish Sea summer outfit.

[PeterSibley]

What is this "warm" you speak of, Señor? You mean like a temperature? Like what you find inside a building or something like that? What a curious concept. I'm dubious...next you're going to tell me that it doesn't always rain every day or some other bizarre conceit.

I see travel in your future !

[Gerarddm]

Summers here would be perfect if only:

a) temps averaged 5 degrees warmer ( I like summers to be a steady 80 degree high) and
b) it reliably started in June

[James McMullen]

Warm weather leads to sloth, decadence and loss of vigor. I'll have none of that, thank you very much. In fact I'm going sailing again tomorrow, in the rain of course. 70 degrees and sunny is for sissies.

[PeterSibley]

Warm weather leads to sloth, decadence and loss of vigor. I'll have none of that, thank you very much. In fact I'm going sailing again tomorrow, in the rain of course. 70 degrees and sunny is for sissies.

I can only agree !

[Gopez]

70 degrees and sunny is for sissies.

Normally I would agree with this and be happily piling on the wool and Gortex for another adventure on the Salish Sea, but I am now starting to have my doubts.

Day four for my lady friends and I here in SF. Forecast for the next few days...70 degrees and sunny. My crew might be called sissies by the Amish Jihadis, but they are a lot more fun to look at, and have mastered the art of shaving!

[BBSebens]

Summers here would be perfect if only:

a) temps averaged 5 degrees warmer ( I like summers to be a steady 80 degree high) and
b) it reliably started in June

Summer starts reliably on the 4th of July and ends in the last two weeks of September.

A little bit of gear expands the sailing season several months.

[jsjpd1]

Summer starts reliably on the 4th of July and ends in the last two weeks of September.

You lie! It's nothing like that here.


btw- I'm hoping to put Sparrow in the water in the next day or two. Been nice here, but still nippy.

Jim

[Eric Hvalsoe]

[Gopez]

What???

No text? No message? Just an image to haunt me?

God lights too...?

Sure, you're having your day of fun and smiles under petrol persuasion...but, beware the future!

[Gerarddm]

Fun lookin' bunch o' guys, LOL.

Lessee, from left to right, I nominate McMullen, Hvalsoe, Yeadon.

:-)

[James McMullen]

I see where you're trying to go with this, but I guess I'd kinda prefer not being equated with dogmatic, authoritarian, mysogynist, anti-science jerks like those losers. We generally eschew the use of motors when possible for aesthetic reasons, not unsupported claims of a special message from god.

[Paul Pless]

I'd have put McMullen on the far right. . .

[Jazzman]

I'm going to the Wooden Boat Show this year.
Will any of the these famous boats and their skippers be there?

[Rich Jones]

I'm going to the Wooden Boat Show this year.
Will any of the these famous boats and their skippers be there?

I doubt they'd ship their boats coast to coast for the show, but if they fly in, I'm definately going!

[Paul Pless]

There'll be Oughtred boats there for sure. And Mystic Seaport has a number of peapods and other traditional boats. There'll be many sail and oar and camp boats to see.

[WI-Tom]

Warm weather leads to sloth, decadence and loss of vigor. I'll have none of that, thank you very much. In fact I'm going sailing again tomorrow, in the rain of course. 70 degrees and sunny is for sissies.

Hmm... several centuries of Polynesian voyagers might disagree.

Tom

[KMacDonald]

Warm weather leads to sloth, decadence and loss of vigor. I'll have none of that, thank you very much. In fact I'm going sailing again tomorrow, in the rain of course. 70 degrees and sunny is for sissies.

His disdain of good weather approaches that of outboard motors. A true masachist.

[James McMullen]

I'm going to the Wooden Boat Show this year.
Will any of the these famous boats and their skippers be there?

Rowan will be at the Port Townsend! WA Wooden Boat Festival in September. Bandwagon is a maybe, and Big Food is a probably not.
For the Wooden Boat Show in Mystic, CT, I certainly plan to attend one myself before too long--and maybe I'll have an opportunity to ship Rowan over to the east coast as well. I have a mission to circumnavigate Manhattan, and once I'm already there, I might as well sail up the sound to Mystic. I most definitely enjoyed my tour of Mystic a couple of weeks ago, and I'm sure it can only get better with the actual show going on.

But bringing Rowan ​over?-that's not this year--maybe next year at the earliest. I need to build a spare so I can leave one staged for far-flung adventures without giving up my local options.

[James McMullen]

His disdain of good weather approaches that of outboard motors. A true masachist.

Anyone who's ever met me in person knows what a dour, grim and cheerless fellow I am. 43° and raining helps me maintain focus.

[James McMullen]

Well, first trip of the year in Rowan sceduled for this weekend, and wouldn't you know it? Weather's supposed to be totally boring, in the 70's with winds under 15 kts. And sunny, of course. Also since it's a really small tide exchange during the daylight hours, there likely won't be hardly any seething maelstroms of tide rips to endure at all. <sigh>

Oh well, I'll try to keep a stiff upper lip. Must soldier on, regardless. :-/

[BBSebens]

That must be how Ken and KMac feel down in Florida.

[WI-Tom]

Well, first trip of the year in Rowan sceduled for this weekend

Must be nice--still waiting for ice out here, and got 6 or 7" of snow yesterday that's still hanging around.

Tom

[BBSebens]

Clearly, Tom, a move to Washington State is in order.

The housing market is starting to heat up, better make a move quick!

[WI-Tom]

Yeah, but do you guys have deep fried cheese curds figured out yet?

Tom

[TomF]

Man, every time I pull my slimy and oily self free of the bilgewater, this thread's been bumped.

Can nobody build another such boat, and start a thread about a Snotty Tern of a different name?

(I'm angling to get the younger lad and I started on one ... maybe even this Summer.)