Sadler 34 Sailboat

Optimum Route on GSC

colin bastable Leave a comment

Displacement boats, like Frank, rely on the length of hull in the water to counterbalance the wind in the sails & generate movement through the sea. Planing boats use forwards momentum through the water to lift the hull dynamically out of the water, reducing resistance and increasing speed with a direct transfer of wind power from the sails to the boat’s direction.

So a displacement boat has a speed limiter. Its length of hull in the water determines the max amount of wind power that it can convert into movement.

Great job by Philippe Delamare: he “has sailed only 800 Nautical miles in excess of the theoretical route with a “wastage” of just 3.2%”

https://globalsolochallenge.com/100-days-everest/

Mowgli.
Philippe Delamare ahead of the GSC pack.

New Sails

colin bastable Leave a comment

I bought this new fully-battened mainsail last year. These pics are from the local UK Sails guy, Doug Weakly, in Corpus.

Doug ran the mainsail up the newly-installed tracking, installed by Matt Sebring at Coastal Bend, who also arranged the sail making. UK Sails’ loft in in Houston.

UK Sails – https://www.uksailmakers.com/lofts/texas/

Coastal Bend Yacht Services: Matthew Sebring cbyscc@gmail.com 361-461-4067

The sail is strengthened to give protection against high winds. The full battens will provide extra stiffness. Hopefully I’ll get out to sea next spring, to try them out!

Stern View
View from Starboard

Radio GaGa updated Sept 10 2016

colin bastable Leave a comment

(Added the name plate with callsign etc to the vhf panel – pic below)

I had to replace the old VHF, as the mic lead had disintegrated in the heat of the Caribbean. Or… Mice?

The new one was a different size profile, and I only had a Dremel, so I made a bad job of fitting it into the “cubby”, as I was just trying to get everything ready to escape before Christmas.

I have made a new frame to fit the vhf, and bought a couple of adapters, so that it is attached to the fascia, rather than to a stand. The pics will explain. 

Note that slot cut into the inner hull side – you can see light through the hull. I am guessing that the original vhf was bigger and the installer cut into the inner hull and 2″ of foam, to give space to the radio’s heat sink.

A bit of varnish makes all the difference…shame I could not match the wood. I have ordered an engraved plate with Vessel Name, call sign (Mike Echo Charlie Whisky Eight), O/N 701429 and MMSI (too long).

A bit messy – someone else before my time added the white gunge, by the way. 

All set, and it works better too!