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Thread: New Boat 4 Sled

  1. #51
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    Sleddog, weather.gov says it's gonna be dumping rain in Santa Cruz on Saturday. Let us know what the plans are. If you're gonna launch, rain or no, then I'll be there.
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

  2. #52
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    Hi Alan,
    Rain or shine, the boat is being launched Saturday, 12-2 pm .... hope to see as many friends as possible.
    ~skip

  3. #53
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    3/25/12

    Yesterday's launch of WILDFLOWER was a most happy event. The rain held off, and 50-60 attendees enjoyed food and drink. Annie Kennedy christened the boat. Dave Wahle operated the hoist, and after splashdown, we took Harbor cruises with 10-12 crew aboard (1800 pounds), temporarily setting WF a bit over her lines.

    Attendees from out of town included Bill Merrick, Synthia Petroka and GF, Sylvia Seaburg and Tom Condy, John Foster, Jan Brewer, Robert Flowerman, Alan Herbert, Phil and Joanne MacFarlane, Ed Ruszel, Jonathan Gutoff and Christine Weaver, Cathy Sy, Cris Todd, Marilee Allan and Tom Ashkenas, and several inquisitive sea otters.

    Annie and I conducted initial seatrials today. The wind was initially 2-5 knots until 3 pm, when it filled from the west at 14-16. WILDFLOWER felt frisky, and we skimmed along at 9-11 knots under plain sail according to the Velocitek.
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    Last edited by sleddog; 03-25-2012 at 10:06 PM.

  4. #54
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    9-11 knots under that rig, in 14-16? Yeah, that seems "frisky"! She's a wonderful little cruiser, Skip...you guys are gonna have a blast.
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

  5. #55
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    Skip, we are so happy for you. Wildflower is an awesome little boat and we wish you many many happy adventures with her.
    Last edited by Phil MacFarlane; 03-27-2012 at 08:34 AM.

  6. #56
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    More shaking down today on WILDFLOWER. Good fun with Howard, the designer aboard. We found with outboard and rudder hard over, the boat spins on its daggerboard axis with no forward advancement. This may prove invaluable in tight quarters.

    We flew the spinny for the first time and did several inside jibes in 14 knots TWS. Jibing was easy, even without a sprit. Just have to remember not to roll the lazy sheet up in the jib furler ;-) Howard had her going 10.3 on the thrill meter and was impressed with the control of the centerline RudderCraft rudder http://www.idasailor.com/catalog/default.php
    Last edited by sleddog; 03-26-2012 at 07:01 PM.

  7. #57
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    4/2/12

    Congrats to Ronnie and Ruben and all finishers of DH Farallones.

    Sunday's big swell has closed Santa Cruz Harbor, creating a perfect tubular wave for surfers across the entrance. The dredge will be hard pressed to punch out before salmon season opener this weekend.

    Some have asked about WILDFLOWER's jib boom.

    The jib boom was chosen both for self tacking, and for self vanging at wide angles. Although intrigued by the Hoyt jib boom, we couldn't afford the weight, space, and expense. Howard fashioned a better deal with a Hobie boom and some SS tube. The vang is a piece of curved Windsurfer boom. This supports the jib boom as well as vanging it. The jib boom's vanged height is adjustable.

    To date, the jib boom is a success. At AWA 140, the jib retains nice shape, obviating the need for bigger sails off the wind, a blessing for this cruising cat with its senior crew. Best speed to date on the Velocitek was 11.8 under main and jib with TWS of 16 and AWA of 100.
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  8. #58
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    Hi, can you comment on the design with straight underwater chines, with the transoms apparently well submerged at rest? What was the idea behind this?

  9. #59
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    Name:  IMG_9792.jpg
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    Quote Originally Posted by jubatus View Post
    Hi, can you comment on the design with straight underwater chines, with the transoms apparently well submerged at rest? What was the idea behind this?
    What began as a cruising cat design ended as a cruising cat design. As co-designer Howard Spruit is wont to remind: "speed, comfort, cost. You can only have two..."

    The chines are not straight. The ends of the boat were submerged about 1" at launch, which is about 5" below the arbitrary blue waterline stripe. At launch we managed to sink the boat to or above the blue waterline stripe with 11 well wishers aboard. (Each vertical inch of immersed hulls floats approx.334 pounds.)

    The 3/24 launch photo in an earlier post shows 7 people on deck, with reportedly 4 more below as we motored away from the dock on a short Harbor cruise. The above attached photo shows floatation, sans rig, with two people aboard.

    To date we've enjoyed 7 shakedown sails off Santa Cruz in winds to 18 true. But the entrance is shoaled and passage is risky.

    At speed, WILDFLOWER seems to float lighter, leaving only one stern wake, from the leeward hull, while sailing upwind at 6.5 to 7. Though we've tried, knock on wood nothing has broken.

    WILDFLOWER is currently back home in the driveway as we prep and load for the next adventure, a road trip with the boat to the Pacific NW. Jim: where is HAULBACK berthed and what is your contact?
    Last edited by sleddog; 04-13-2012 at 07:02 PM.

  10. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    Name:  IMG_9792.jpg
Views: 994
Size:  66.6 KB

    The chines are not straight. The ends of the boat were submerged about 1" at launch, which is about 5" below the arbitrary blue waterline stripe.
    At speed, WILDFLOWER seems to float lighter, leaving only one stern wake, from the leeward hull, while sailing upwind at 6.5 to 7.

    WILDFLOWER is currently back home in the driveway as we prep and load for the next adventure, a road trip with the boat to the Pacific NW. Jim: where is HAULBACK berthed and what is your contact?
    Hi! Thanks for commenting. I was referring to this pic, looks pretty straight to me. Name:  IMG_9789_2.jpg
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    Not very much hull volume below that chine. But I guess this is sufficient in view of the extraordinary lightness of this boat. What a great accomplishment! And I am really impressed with the looks, which is certainly not easy to achieve in small cruising multis.

    Have a nice trip up north!

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