Tanzer 16 a respectable last place - that mast must go!

Tanzer 16 a respectable last place - that mast must go!  -- August 30, 2014 -- Thursday was the last race of the season, and only our second time racing this year-broke my arm in May the night of the first race.  We were last, but it was a respectable last--the committee folks weren't drumming their fingers waiting for us to finish. Participation was light so we were up against the best sailors who had something gain--no low fruit to pick*.  We got very respectable starts on a skewed starting line--nobody could start on starboard tack and those that tried had to jibe behind the fleet or endure penalty turns for tacking in front of and touching other boats. (*Actually we beat a couple of boats but we didn't do the last of the three races; it was getting dark, and the boat had to go back on the trailer.)

We were just starting to bear off--we missed the C-Lark by about an inch.  

More room than I wanted to give him, but we were early on the line so 

we needed to kill a few seconds.  He had to luff to not cross early, and we

started dead even on port tack.  We were going faster at that moment.
He was about 60 -90 seconds ahead of us at the windward mark.

That is the value of racing; we were up against the best of our little fleet--we didn't make any mistakes.  We now know for sure that our boat is just a little slower than the others and points a little lower than the others, probably two or three degrees.  The new main has helped a lot, but there is more to do.  We never could get the main quite flat enough or get the boom all the way up to the center line on windward legs--the wind was about seven knots.  In our races that all added up to more than 90 seconds on the first windward mark.  We gained on the downwind legs but not enough.  Bright spot, our tacking and jibing have smoothed out so we don't lose time there. (And, we don't look like clowns.)

I have already stripped the boat and started working on next year's improvements.  It's early.  We could sail for two more months.  But, I am sick/tired/frustrated about the Tanzer 16 mast.  The Tanzer is a wonderful boat--but I hate that mast.  It is tall; it is heavy; and the base attachment to the keelson is impossible.   The portable hinge makes it tolerable--but just barely tolerable. The mast must go!

This is the new (used) mast.  The bottom fitting for the keelson has been
removedso that we could machine plugs.  They will attach the mast to the
two parts of the hinge--after we cut the mast.  In subsequent posts, you will
see step-by-step how the project unfolds. 

This is going to get fixed.  There is no sense starting and ending every sail with the dreadful task of dealing with that mast.  It is going to become a hinged mast like the early Tanzers and the Overnighters.  The parts are made and a spare mast is hanging in the storage area.  The most difficult part was machining the plugs that will attach the mast to the hinge.  A friend made them on his Shop Bot (plotter with a router).  The second most difficult part was an extra mast.  We found one down in Vancouver, Washington. (If you have to buy a new mast, a blank--no fittings is about $400 plus $200 or $300 shipping.)

I will explain the mast modification as the project proceeds.  I know this isn't just my issue.  Raising the mast and the cost of boats are the two most popular parts of this blog.  Lots of us must have trouble with this 31-pound, 24 foot piece of metal.  Wish me luck!

The to do list:
1) add hinged mast for easy raising with a gin pole
2) move halyards to centerboard cap; add cam cleats and a winch so it is easy to raise, lower, and adjust halyard tension underway
3) add additional blocks to traveler to gain 2:1 mechanical advantage so it will be easier to adjust traveler in brisk wind
4) add spinnaker pole
5) get new Genoa
6) paint deck, including filling holes left by previous owners
7) add new rub rail
8) do a little cosmetic repair to hull in bow area--somebody bashed a lot of docks
9) clean up trailer, paint, and new bunks
10) install cunningham with 2:1 mechanical advantage
11) refill the hardware box with shackle pins, rings, and cotter pins (lots of borrowing by others has depleted the spares)

That's a lot of stuff--but this boat is worth the trouble.  It is simple, roomy, easy to sail and very well- mannered.  Great design--crappy mast.

Today's Cliche:  Problems are just undiscovered opportunities.

Travelers for Tanzer 16's

Tanzer 16 Racing -- Travelers for Tanzer 16's -- August 17, 2014 -- Got an email from Ethan in Rhode Island.  He saved his money and convinced his dad to let him buy a Tanzer 16.  He wanted to know if he could improve on the rigid metal traveler on his boat.  It looks like this, and like all Tanzer things, it is simple and it works pretty well.

Simple but effective -- one of the nice things about Tanzer 16's.  Notice the 

nifty line to retract the rudder.  This photo is from the link "How to

make a rudder..."

But it could work better.  This arrangement won't allow you to loosen up the main sheet and still move the boom to windward.  The original plans show two different options.

Notice this drawing does not show how high the metal would have to be

to allow for rudder clearance.  I have never seen this arrangement.

Better, but they still had another option.

We had pictures of this arrangement when we viewed Ralph's boat in

July, 2014.

The class association manual shows what they call the Howe Traveler.  It looks like this.

I can see how this would allow you to flatten the main, but it doesn't look

like you can move the boom to windward.  I must admit that I have never

actually seen this particular arrangement in person or in a photo.

My boat had this traveler installed by Ron who sold the boat to me. I get a lot of control from this arrangement, but it is really difficult to adjust when there 10 or more knots of wind.  It really needs some form of mechanical advantage.  Maybe this winter we will add some two-part blocks.

This allows a lot of control and adjustment.  You can flatten the sail or

loosen it up, and you can control the boom position.

Truth be told--when we have to sail up to the launch dock on a super tight beat (a frequent occurrence in the evening when the wind comes out of the NW)  I just grab the boom and pull it to windward with my hand.

(Still waiting for parts to make my hinged mast--another winter project it would seem.)

Today's Cliche: The chances for failure increase exponentially as the number of people or parts involved increases  (one guy with a rock is far more reliable than a committee with a computer).
.

Tanzer 16 Racing -- Handicap Chart in the Boat

Tanzer 16 Racing -- Handicap Chart in the Boat  -- July 26, 2014  We keep several sheets of paper in the boat, Tanzer 1306 (no name as yet).  Of course they are laminated.  We keep them handy, attached to a clip board.  They include the race course chart and a nautical chart (yesterday) The starting sequence, a shortened copy of the rules (only a few rules), and today we added this.

It's an abbreviated chart of the handicaps relative to our races.  It shows the time owed by us or owed to us for the boats we see all the time. We used 15 minute increments for the calculations.  It can be  helpful to know that the boat you seem to be beating is really 15 seconds ahead of you, or that the boat that is kicking your butt is really behind you and doesn't need covering as you approach the finish line.  Not a big deal but improving is about taking care of all the little stumbles on your way up the escalator. (metaphor from the other day)

Today's cliche:  I remembered and forgot, or I forgot to remember, or I never tried to remember;  I can’t remember which.

Tanzer 16 -- Race Course Chart for Dinghy Sailing

Tanzer 16 -- Race Course Chart for Dinghy Sailing -- July 24, 2014 -- Read somewhere that sailboat racing is a lot like running up the down escalator. The winner will be the one who stumbles the least.  Finding the marks of the course wasn't a big issue last week since we had so many boats in front of us.  But it has been a stumble when we get a good start; sometimes it's hard to remember which dolphin and buoy are which.  We decided to make up a better chart to help us.

Here is the club issued chart of the marks. (1)

Here is the nautical chart of the area. (2)

Here is our own hybrid chart of the racing area--with a few helpful notes. (3)  It is laminated and kept in the boat with the nautical chart on the back side.  Budd Inlet has some interesting shoals and more than one race has included boats aground.

Today's Cliche:  If you don't care where you are, you're not lost.

Tanzer 16 Racing -- Odd Start -- Learning to Race Together

Tanzer 16 Racing -- Odd Start -- Learning to Race Together  --  July 18, 2014.  We finally got to race last night--our first time this year.  The wind was great!  We were not great -- not even a little.  The list of excuses is long, but bottom line we (me really) did not get the job done.  In the first race we beat three boats sailed by people who had no idea how to sail. In the second we did better, but finished last because the greedy helmsman (me) tried to beat 5 boats to the first mark and touched it--ouch-- one more inch and we would have cleared!

The start was weird as can be, and I didn't think we had enough experience to cut the line fine enough to get a good start on starboard tack.  That was a good decision because even a couple of very skilled sailors, pointing as high as they possibly could didn't cross the line on the upwind side of the starting buoy.  The Lasers are so interesting.  They just kind of idle by the line and then accelerate when the gun goes off.  Some of them will even capsize their boats to keep from moving over the line.

The only start harder than this is a down-wind broad reach start with lots of boats on a short line.
Only a few starboard tack boats made a clean start--we were not among them.

In our post-race debrief at the Fish Tale Brewery Tony asked me what we needed to do.  The list is long, but the summary is we need to do everything we did, but better.  I need a stronger arm so I can actually adjust the traveler when the wind is blowing.  Fred needs to work the mainsheet for me and keep it flatter on the upwind legs.  We need to tack sharper--it takes way too long to get the jib over, and I compensate by over steering to keep us moving so we lose about 40 feet on every tack.  I need to get us better starts.  Getting Tony a thinner life jacket will help since his jacket keeps getting hung up when he slides across the cockpit.

Some things we did well.  Before the race we practiced jibing in 10 -15 knots, and that is much improved. All the jibes were controlled and most were pretty darn smooth. The new sails allow us to point as high as all the competition.  There were times when we were gaining on 420's, O'Days and C-Larks on up wind legs.*    We gained on lots of boats going down wind.  Before and after the race, we were much quicker getting the boat off and back on the trailer.  Summary--pretty unsatisfactory performance--all on me., but we didn't look like clowns the way we did last year in the C-Lark.  This is a much better boat for old guys.  We will get better.  This is just part of paying our dues.  We came, we sailed, the wind was good, the beer wasn't bad--a pretty nice way to spend a Wednesday evening.

*All we did is adjust the sheets properly, keep the boat flat,  and I focused on keeping all the telltales flying the right way--sail fast--pretty basic!

Today's Cliche:  Never share a foxhole with anybody braver than you are--never marry anyone crazier than you are.

Tanzer 16 - Replacing Sail Slugs--Ouch

Tanzer 16 - Replacing Sail Slugs -- Ouch -- July 15, 2014.  You just have to hate this.  Spent the morning cutting off the bindings that hold the 11mm sail slugs on the brand new main so they could be replaced with 3/8 inch slugs using plastic shackles.  Darn shame--beautiful workmanship--super strong, but I didn't want to take the time to send the sail all the way back to Ben in Quebec to have it redone.  So now to pick up a couple of longer metal shackles at West Marine, and we should be ready to use the sail on Thursday.  Lesson for me here, I guess, if you are having your sail made far away, double check the slugs and bolt ropes to see if they really fit.  Sending some samples would have saved a lot of time.

Want to be reaaaally careful here not to put a cut in the sail.

You need to tap the shackles with a small hammer to close them.

Still trying to keep the sail clean.

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.