Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

[Ben Fuller]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

I'm a big fan of the bowsprit technique for both oars and mast(s).Handle/ butt under the forward thwart, with a dedicated strap to tie them down. I dislike the double oarlock method as I sit up on the rail when occasion permits.

Ben

[Canoeyawl]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

It's a problem, I always sent them aft off the stern. Whatever you do protect the blades from someone that doesn't know not to sep on them.
The blades can be reduced in width more than you might think with no loss in "performance" which helps.

[Thorne]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

Thanks, guys! Jake, with the boomkin and mizzen sheet aft, I can't hang the oars off that end of the boat. The mizzen sheet loves to tangle with all sorts of things -- just missed it catching a dock cleat in a very windy launch yesterday!

Ben, my current problem is that the forward end of the lugsail boom sweeps across the bow right in the area where the oars would sit on the gunwale / breasthook. I may try changing the downhaul syst

I may have an issue with how the boat is currently rigged. From looking at all the photos of other CY's online, it appears that the line with the string of parrel beads that holds the yard to the mast is too far forward -- nearly everyone seems to have the yard cross the mast at the centerline. I'd also love to have the mast be a foot taller, as the boom sweeps the gunwales and keeps the crew ducking. I like the option to raise the whole sail in light airs, particularly when sailing with inexperienced guests and/or kids.

Built a set of DF oarlock bases / pads today, letting the epoxy cue before oiling and varnishing. These match the existing ones as closely as possible, and should allow another rower on the front thwart -- giving me either two or three rowers if we row two-up on the center thwart. My Humboldt friends are not fond of outboards, so I suspect we'll need these at the Big Lagoon Messabout in two weeks.

http://luckhardt.com/blmessabout.html

[Scott de M]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

Hi Thorne,

Some thoughts in no particular order:
1) Agree about the snotter. You want the line to be captive to the boom, not the mast. I use a snap clip lashed to the mast at the correct height and then just snap the snotter in or out as needed.
2) Oars - you have found all of the possible options, the one which I choose depends on number of crew. BTW, I cut holes in the athwartship support at the front of the CB case which sort of interferes with laying the oars along the CB case.
3) Mast - agree, mine is built to spec and I wish it was taller, but of course then it would not stow as well. My solution, which only works if you are a relaxed sailor, is that I usually sail with 1 reef and the yard fully raised if I have much crew and there is much wind and we just don;t want to have to worry about the boom hitting anyone. The boat has plenty of sail, so it works for me. Another thing we do, if sailing with 3 or less, is the crew often sit on the floorboards with back against the mid thwart. Crazy Creek chairs or some cushions, fenders etc and this can be very comfortable.

Scott

[Thorne]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

Scott - I agree that sailing with one reef would certainly be more relaxing, and without a doubt solves the mast height issue!

Here's a video from yesterday's downwind run up Elkhorn Slough near Moss Landing. The main halyard has about 4" of slack and knot, but the boom still hits the gunwales occasionally with just a 2:1 purchase on the downhaul.

https://www.facebook.com/david.luckhardt1/videos/10156667093143646/?t=7

[WI-Tom]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

Thorne,

to my eye, you have the halyard attached too far back on the yard in that Facebook video you linked.

Does the sail plan show the luff parallel to the mast? You seem to have the mainsail rigged with the luff not parallel. You're almost getting toward more of a standing lug set-up, with the downhaul slid pretty far forward on the boom, and the aft end of the boom lifting up. As you move the luff more parallel, the end of the boom will come down, and probably the downhaul will slide farther aft along the boom. I realize that will give your passengers even less headroom under the boom, but that's what I would try if it were my boat. I, too, would rather have a taller mast.

To fix all that, you also need to fix this:

It almost looks like you attachment point on the yard may be close to the tip of the yard than to the heel--it should be the other way around. You want the yard to be quite tail-heavy when hoisting the sail. Yours doesn't look that way to me, though it's hard to see much from a short snippet of video.

Great boat--enjoy the shakedown process!

Tom

[Daniel Noyes]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

sliding the attachment point further toward the luff on the upper yard will give a "worse" angle to the boom for head clearance... but it will also allow Thorne to hoist the sail significantly higher up the mast... because the front end of the yard is lower than the back end o the yard.

[WI-Tom]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

sliding the attachment point further toward the luff on the upper yard will give a "worse" angle to the boom for head clearance... but it will also allow Thorne to hoist the sail significantly higher up the mast... because the front end of the yard is lower than the back end o the yard.

Yep, you're exactly right. So it may come out about even in the end.

Tom

[Thorne]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

Some photos by Canoeyawl from yesterday's very breezy sail on Elkhorn Slough with the TSCA in this thread down in the Bilge -

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?238756-quot-Sunshine-quot

As you can see, I added oarlocks for the foreward thwart and carried the long Shaw & Tenney oars "torpedo style" on the gunwales. The second set (old 10' fiberglass racing shell oars) I bungeed alongside the CB case as shown in photos above.
IMG_1305 edit1.jpg

[Thorne]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

Another question -- the mainsheet is very long, and I'm wondering why that might be. It ties to the top of the fiddle block on this mainsheet fitting, runs up to a block on the end of the boom and back down to the block and camcleat. From what I know about sailing, you never ever want the end of the boom to go foreward of the mast -- but my mainsheet is long enough to let it go all the way forward. Any idea why?

[John B]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

On set up they might have thought of having an extra purchase, I did exactly the same on my boat so I bought over-long.

[WI-Tom]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

Thorne,

it can actually be handy to have that much sheet for a last-ditch "let 'er fly" depowering of the sail with a balance lug. You can let the sail spin all the way forward and stream out over the bow if things start to get out of hand. Then you're not sailing anymore, the sail is just weathercocking into the wind.

Tom

[Thorne]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

I'll measure it and leave enough to let the sail all the way forward, but still think I'll have 8-10' extra. We shall see...

Thanks again, all!

[Canoeyawl]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

Thorne,

it can actually be handy to have that much sheet for a last-ditch "let 'er fly" depowering of the sail with a balance lug. You can let the sail spin all the way forward and stream out over the bow if things start to get out of hand. Then you're not sailing anymore, the sail is just weathercocking into the wind.

Tom

Having had to resort to that technique it is a damned good thing there was no jib as it probably saved my life, I was about five miles offshore and just let it fly and kept following it until we could get the sail and the spar down and back in the boat. An overpowered lug sail can get all awry in a few seconds with a serious heeling moment.
In my case (about 40 years ago) it was just "Dumb luck" that there was no stopper in the sheet.

[Thorne]

Re: Just bought a 2006 Caledonia Yawl, and have a few questions...

I also had to do that on Tomales Bay, heading down to the ramp at Inverness. That was my canvas marconi sail, rigged with a sorta-kinda Leg o' Mutton sprit-boom. I think that was the year you launched there, too.

Having had to resort to that technique it is a damned good thing there was no jib as it probably saved my life, I was about five miles offshore and just let it fly and kept following it until we could get the sail and the spar down and back in the boat. An overpowered lug sail can get all awry in a few seconds with a serious heeling moment.
In my case (about 40 years ago) it was just "Dumb luck" that there was no stopper in the sheet.