Could a Tanzer 16 Mast Float--Theoretically -- Maybe

Could a Tanzer 16 Mast Float--Theoretically -- Maybe -- Not Likely -- July 5, 2014.  Working on a different project and a different post about the hinged mast step yielded an unexpected conclusion--Maybe a Tanzer mast could float--I doubt it since so many Tanzers are sold without rudders and there are more than a few tails of turtles.

The inside of the mast is filled with polystyrene beads.  I assumed it was to keep the water out, not to make the mast float.

These beads are forty years old and down at he bottom of the mast so lots

of water must have worked its way down there.  The ones at the top

are much lighter in color.

But--here are the numbers.  The inside of the mast extrusion has an area of approximately 4 square inches. So the volume of the inside of the mast is 4 sq in x 24 ft x 12 in/ft which equals 1152 cubic inches.

Water weighs .03606 lb/ cu in x 1152 cu in = 41 pounds of water.  So if the mast were filled with water, the whole mast would weigh 31.4 pounds (weight of mast) + 41 pounds of water = approximately 72 pounds.

BUT--if you filled the mast with beads, it would support 1152 cubic inches x .3606 lbs/cu  41 pounds (10 more pounds than the weight of the mast)--so theoretically the flotation in mast might cause it to float--but it doesn't.  One would suppose that the weight of the two wet sails, the standing rigging, and even the weight of the boom would add enough mass to insure that given a few minutes in choppy water, the mast is going to point toward the bottom.

To calculate area, I just found the area of the rectangle and

deducted the triangles that were not inside the mast.  It's

very approximate, but good enough since we are just

what-if-ing.

The good news:  If you keep the beads in the mast, and act quickly you can usually right the boat.  The bad news:  If the mast fills with water there is almost no way you could get it back up--and, even if you could, with 72 pounds 24 feet above the boat it would be so unstable that almost anything would knock it back over.

The take away:  If you are dinking with mast, keep the beads inside -- which I am and which I will.

Today's Cliche:  Attitude is 90 percent of everything--but new sails help.

Tanzer 16 Great Little Boat, Great Sail--Issues with new main

Tanzer 16 Great Little Boat, Great Sail--Issues with new main -- July 3, 2014 -- A steady 10-knot wind blew out of the W all day--at times there were prolonged periods of 15 knots and  now and then a gust of 20.  No  clouds--not too hot.  A rare and wonderful sailing day on Puget Sound.  Normally, clear skies over Budd Inlet usually mean not much wind until evening.

Me.  The camera is pointed north.  The Olympic Mountains

on the left horizon.

 Luckily Fred and Tony decided I needed to go sailing; my arm is heeling, but no way I could rig the boat by myself.  With that much wind, it was nice to have three guys worth of  movable ballast in the boat. We sailed north close hauled  for an hour at max hull speed (guessing five knots) We did it on just four tacks thanks to the NW breeze.  Thought we would have an easy down wind or broad reach ride home, but the wind shifted to the SW so it was a beat out and a beat back throwing a nice flat wake all the way.

Tony on the left; Fred on the right.  Camera is pointed south toward State

Capitol Building.  We used this one brief lull to take a couple of pictures,

otherwise it was hands on helm and sheets the whole time.

Bad surprise sail wise-- The slugs on the new main were too fat for the mast slot--don't know what we'll do about this--either cut a little off the forward edge of each slug or send it back or cut the slugs off and install new slugs with shackles.  I hate to use shackles because Benoit sewed each slug in place.  The current configuration is super strong and reduces wear on the sail.  We needed that new main!  The new jib wants to point 15 degrees higher than the old worn out main.  (In typical Jim fashion, I left the old main home so Tony had to sit with the boat all rigged while Fred and I spent 45 minutes going home to get the old main.) When we have all three new sails, we should be very competitive racers--well at least the boat will be competitive, us, we still need work.

Bummer--beautiful, well-built sail--slugs one or two millimeters too fat.

Lesson:  Have the sail maker send some sample slugs before the sail gets built.

Bad surprise docking -- good ending --  my crew had never sailed up to the dock straight into the wind in a narrow channel before--which required two ultra quick tacks in a very narrow channel (60'); apparently I am not quite the teacher I think I am.  The first time we got stuck in irons behind a government barge; we bounced along its side until we could sail backwards--luckily no big damage done (once scratch in the gel coat).  We learned.  We performed great on the second try --which was good since there was an audience.  We came screaming into the slip area, executed two very crisp tacks.  Let the jib fly, eased the main, wiggle waggled* the rudder and stopped exactly on the lee side of the dock where Tony stepped off and secured us.  I almost felt guilty that we got some oohs, ahs for our dandy seamanship.

The Tanzer is a great little boat.  It forgave our mistakes--almost blew a gibe--they guys wanted to try jibing in 15 knots.  The boat knocked down a bit, but a quick, controlled round up gave us time to ease the main sheet--one demonstration is worth a 1000 words on this maneuver.  Later we cut a shoal a little close (my fault), but the centerboard grounded before the rudder and we were able to sail off by raising the board just a few inches.  There is plenty of room in the Tanzer for three guys--no time on our knees.  Dang--what a great little boat!

Further observation:  The sooner we get a hinged mast, the happier we will be.  Still further observation:  Probably not a good idea to jibe in anything over 10 knots unless you have both of the skipper's hands working and/or an experienced crew.  *Wiggle Waggle-- (noun and verb) a highly technical nautical term meaning to shove the tiller back and forth quickly.

Today's Cliche:  Never make fast the mainsheet of a small boat. 

Tanzer 16 Overnighter--Project Boat

Tanzer 16 Overnighter--Project Boat -- July 1, 2014 -- Jon in Saint Petersburg, Florida read that I was thinking about building a hinged mast for my Tanzer 16 and generously shared some pictures of his "new" project boat a Tanzer Overnighter, sail number 441.  The seller was asking $825 because the boat was a "bit rough."  It is a  lot rough, and Jon got it for $550--about right since the boom, mast, centerboard, and rudder are worth that much, or even more if you part it out.  This is a real project boat:  Jon will need to re-repair a hole in the bow that now has a single layer of glass and way too much resin.

He has to deal with bottom paint. Then he plans to repaint the whole hull.

He will need new sails and new standing rigging--and (one assumes) new running rigging. And the trailer needs lots of help too, although it does appear to be a galvanized frame with nice, big wheels.

And, Jon will have to take care of all the other stuff that goes with a boat including some cockpit issues.  Jon has big plans sailing in Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Sounds like he is up to the task.  He started sailing when he was eight and works in a boatyard.  Lots of work, lots of potential.

Here are the hinge pictures I needed.

Today's Cliche:  Everybody has a great idea for getting rich that WILL NOT WORK. (4th corralate to Murphy's Law).

Tanzer 16 Traveler for Main--Correction

Tanzer 16 Traveler for Main--Correction -- June 27, 2014  -- I need to correct an error on my last post. I showed you a picture of Ralph Crouse's boat and said that someone had added the tracked traveler arrangement.  This one:

Turns out I was wrong; it came that way from the factory as an option--just like the pedestal.  I was looking at the plans--getting ready to work on the new mast--and I noticed the following:

Today's cliche (worth repeating):  Necessity is the mother of invention, but assumption is father of screw-up.

Tanzer 16, Painting, Complete Refurb--Wow

Tanzer 16, Painting, Complete Refurb--Wow -- June 23, 2014 -- Drove down to Vancouver, Washington yesterday to buy a mast from Ralph Crouse.  He had a spare because he completed a total reburb on his Tanzer 16 and used the mast from a Ranger 16.  Wow!  what a great job Ralph has done. The boat is for sale--asking $4000.  It's worth more!

Ralph with the boat.  He has a Lightning that has received the same TLC.

The first thing you notice is the paint job.  The hull is a bright, canary yellow.  The deck gleams in white--the non-skid areas are painted yellow.  The cockpit is white, the seating area is a nice grey. Ralph used a roller and brush to apply the Interlux Brightside paint.  The whole job looks as good (maybe better) than my spray work.  The Interlux folks say this in their literature, but it never worked for me.

Check out the traveler.

In addition to the paint, Ralph put on a brand new rub rail.  He has rigged a topping lift for the boom, and created a much beefier and more user-friendly mast step.  The boat has an Elvstrom bailer.  Someone substituted a tracked traveler  for the main sheet.  Ralph says he doesn't use it much.  The sails are in good shape; the main has slugs.  He has rebuilt the rudder head.

Top L: beefier mast step.  Top R: factory pedestal--2:1 purchase on center

board control.  Halyard cleats under pedestal--an idea worth copying.  

Bottom L: Bailer.  Bottom R: Main traveler.  

In addition to all this, Ralph's wife runs a commercial sewing operation, and she made a full cover for the boat.  As you might guess, the trailer is first rate too.  What a treat to see his boat and steal some ideas.  The boat won't measure for class events, but it is fun to sail and races competitively in Portsmouth handicapped events.

If I didn't already own a boat, I would buy this one--a steal at four thou.  See Ralph's add on Craig's List--Portland.

Today's Cliche:  Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

Tanzer 16 New Sails

Tanzer 16 New Sails -- June 14, 2014 -- It was subtle, and we would have realized sooner if we raced head-to-head with other Tanzers.  Almost every boat on the race course could out point us; even with a steady wind we would need two extra tacks to reach the weather mark.  At first I thought it was sail trim and poor helmsmanship (mine).  Added tell tales so we could trim better.  With the main and Genoa laid out on a work bench, I realized that our sails were thinner than well used handkerchiefs, and they folded way too easily.

That was when I realized they were probably the original sails--May of 1976--and just plain old worn out.  Also read an article on sail trim that noted, "All else equal, newer sails win."  Tanzer class association must think so too.  They say, "New sails may not be purchased more than once every two years unless specifically authorized by the Chief Measurer in writing, and then only for the reason that the sail to be replaced has been destroyed or rendered unusable."

Contacted Tanzer Boat Parts*; they went to their friend Benoit (Ben) and had two beautiful sails made for #1306, a main and a jib.  A Genoa is on order.  When everything is done, the sails will cost more than the boat and trailer--but still quite reasonable.  The workmanship and detailing are meticulous.  Frankly, they should be charging a bit more.  Of course the cloth feels like sheet metal compared to the old sails, and you have to think that sail cloth has probably improved a lot in the last 40 years.  

We did opt for slugs on the luff of the main--prohibited by class rules.  We race in a mixed Portsmouth fleet so the boat doesn't have to measure, and the slugs (and topping lift) make it way easier to get the main up quickly and clear the launch ramp dock for others.

Can't wait to get these sails in a race and see how we do; I 'll let you know.  (Of course they look so nice, we will probably have to paint next--there's just no end to it--then the trailer will look crappy.

*See Links

The workmanship is beautiful--thanks Ben.

Today's Cliche:  Excessive profits breed ruinous competition--unless you're big pharma, investment banking, or the cable company.

Tanzer 16 Placement of Jib Sheet Track and Block for single handers

Tanzer 16 Placement of Jib Sheet Track and Block for single handers -- June 9, 2014 -- The previous owner of #1306 liked to sail by himself, and he wasn't afraid to move the jib sheet track to make that easier.

Instead of the factory placement, he shifted the track to a wider angle and placed the old cam cleats behind the track. With just a little tiller extension, the cleats can easily be reached by the helmsman. In our new set up, with the snubbing winch, the changed placement is not an issue for a crew member who is tailing the jib. It's also nice to be able to move the block outboard on downwind leg.

For those who race in the measured class, I don' think it violates the rules: "No placement of the jib track and block, or any other block, shall be so positioned that trimming of the jib sheets can be made at an angle further inboard than that of the angle from the jib clew to the track block as placed by the manufacturer. (August 1978)" It doesn't prohibit outboard!

When sailing alone, I really appreciate his modification. I have no idea how this will affect the spinnaker sheets/guys--if we ever get a chute. Of course I will need to fill the old holes when I get around to painting the deck.

Much easier reach for single-handing. The old holes are visible

to the left of the track.

Today's Cliche: The only thing worse than quitting too soon is hanging on too long.