Quote: “Overall I get the impression that the boat is not inherently balanced under the current configuration, but seems to need continual rudder input to maintain a consistent angle to the existing wind.”
Quite the contrary; even in very heavy winds, I can take my hands off and get a drink of water, or adjusting the video camera etc. On the reaching legs you will often see me hunting for the fastest heading, an illusion that the boat is not stable. I did do a lot that I can control the boat even at extreme conditions.
Yes , there are many things that can be improved upon and I thank all those who wrote in
I made new main sail now with more round luff; and fine tuned the jib. Resulted with the ability to point quite a few more degrees closer to the wind.
Unfortunately there is no difference in broad reach or running.
But I am quite pleased with the close hauled speed meaning that I can get to the fun part sooner.
Also purchased a igotU GT120 GPS logger, now I know exactly how fast she is going.
On this breezy day, she could hit 10km/hr (5.3 knots ) easily, and max speed at 11.1km/hr (6 knots)
Here are 2 videos:
http://youtu.be/2GyV08U6NX8
http://youtu.be/SB_kEgXXabk
On this day, the wind was not consistent at all, but t water was smoot, and she hit 11.77km/hr (6.3knots)
http://youtu.be/r_Tp8vsgk_U
A few people asked me if my boat could go upwind.
Well, I guess if she cant go upwind first then she could not be going downwind; or unless I have a kayaker or a power boat to tow her there. But who would do that for me?
But here she is, in a long boring video close reaching at a steady 5.9km/hr (3.2knots) according to my GPS logger.
http://youtu.be/exwqSr0u8A4
Sailing at Squamish BC, world famous for its constant big winds. Very popular with kiteboarders.
Thanks to the skills of the kiters,they did not collide with my boat.
The wind conditions here changed from mild to wild in a big hurrey; and this is the biggest wind(about 18+ knots) that the boat had to endure.
Just by luck(or not), the rig broke at the very last planned run.
http://youtu.be/148Ewvetyfc
http://youtu.be/PE8PL0-aBwY
I went to Squamish BC Canada for the second time this year . The area that i first visted is the “Spit”, wind mecca of Canada. Wind blows 20-30knots daily.
I stayed near the bay, away from the area infested with kite boadesrs. The wind at theis spot was about 20 knots, and the water was calm.
I thought this would be the ultimate speed test of my boat, but the results were very disappointing; she barely reached 10km/hr(according to on board GPS), and occasionally she got overpowered by the wind. Another problem was the amount of obstacles that restricted the sailing directions. This is a very dangerous place to sail my boat.
http://youtu.be/M-Z2vRkpOCA
Unsatisfied with the outcome, I went to the other side of the river mouth, which is also a very dangerous place because of strong currents. The videos show that the boat was going at a good clip; but again she was doing just 10km/hr, definetely not her best.
http://youtu.be/U7WxJIOqnTM
I went back to the Squamish Ocean park where I sailed before; this time it was late the thae day, and the kiters were gone. Wind was blowing about 12-14knots, with a light chop.
The boat did not look very fast in the videos, but she reached 10km/hr every run, and peaked at 12km/hr. So this must be the optimal sailing conditions for this boat.
http://youtu.be/QFiQMZlApYc
Enjoy, and questions and comments are welcome
Upwind battle with a proa and lost
http://youtu.be/EkYyfu9xigw
Exciting local sailing, lots of wind and choppy waves
http://youtu.be/JRrR3boojDc
http://youtu.be/6N3nrbwSo-4