Thread: GIS - Sacramento

Bob,

You know that you're the first person in the world to ever sail with 2 GIS in one party?

It was something I was gunning for this year, but it didn't occur. Apparently, Mik hasn't seen this or he'd be posting up a storm. Congratulations, Bob! Momentous moment with photo-graphic evidence!

Additionally, You should make more Burgees, I would buy one.

Been catching up on ya Bob! Thanks for the pics, and I'm happy to see that you have adopted the shackled throat method and gone for good adjustments at the peak and clew.

On flat water you don't need too much depth in the sail, so you were likely spot on. About fingertip to palm at the base of the thumb is about right. (Is that a rule of thumb?) Too much curve in the sail causes the air to detach on the leeward side.

Probably the biggest performance killer when racing is sitting too far back, ie. on the floor when sailing alone. On the mid seat is about as far back as you need to go as this lifts the transom off the water by an inch or so and reduces wetted surface, and therefore drag.

What amazed me when I sailed with Mick in a strong breeze is how far forward we could sit and the bow was still clear of the water. To windward Mick could sit quite far forward in the crew position and I was adjacent to the mid seat. At speed the rocker still had plenty of power to overcome our weight and lift the bow. I know we are relative lightweights, but this was the case with my brother too who weighed 85 kg at the time. You only need to sit further back while reaching or running in a strong breeze and the waves are big.

For cruising though, the floor and high sides are comfy!

It was great to see two Goats out there having fun

Originally Posted by callsign222

Bob,

You know that you're the first person in the world to ever sail with 2 GIS in one party?

It was something I was gunning for this year, but it didn't occur. Apparently, Mik hasn't seen this or he'd be posting up a storm. Congratulations, Bob! Momentous moment with photo-graphic evidence!

Additionally, You should make more Burgees, I would buy one.

Hello,

I am afraid not so. The first time 2 goats were sailing in one party was in the Netherlands by undersigned and Ab (SOLing) :

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f169/f...uccess-102790/

But good to see more goats sailing together. Should really happen more often!

Best regards,

Joost

MIK mislead me!

Originally Posted by callsign222

MIK mislead me!

Well, it is most likely the first time in the USA, North America, the Amerca's (and the second time world wide).

We must try in the Netherlands to get the record up to 3 boats (we have 3 in the South of the Netherlands not to far from each other).

Best regards,

Joost

Most likely 1st in USA, I'd agree. Maybe I heard wrong back in June when I was with MIK in Mystic. Also, Joost, your sail was 2 years ago! I can't even remember yesterday with much certainty. So olde MIK gets a smooth pass.

Thanks for mentioning before I opened my big mouth even more....

Thanks everyone!

It was great sailing with another Goat at Paulina and, again, this weekend at Sail Oklahoma. John Goodman with his GIR and me in Karen Ann. So I have now sailed with two other Goats in the last two three weeks. Photos will be posted soon (John is on the road headed to Texas and I'm on the road headed for Michigan.

The Epic West Coast Road Trip was a spectacular success - so much so, I'm already making plans for next year. Sail Oklahoma is definitely on the must attend list.

More later.

Originally Posted by BobWes

John is on the road headed to Texas and I'm on the road headed for Michigan.

And the burgee? In which direction did IT head...?

John sailed GIR a lot: across the lake and back for Friday's lunch excursion; Saturday's exploration of the lake and Sunday's multitasking sail (sailing with a full sail in 20+mph gusts; tending the tiller; holding the sheet with his teeth and taking videos - all of which resulted in his capsize and recovery demonstration). John also took many many photos and videos throughout the weekend.

I went for a sail on Friday but missed the lunch cruise. I reefed the sail but really wasn't happy with the shape or performance. Saturday I volunteered to "help" with the Race Committee for the Puddle Duck Races - and found myself running the regatta! I'm not sure how that happened but there were no major calamities and everyone had fun. Sunday I took one of the guys for a sail.


(Photo by John Goodman)

The sail was still reefed - and I still didn't like the shape but we had a good time. John followed us and soon chased us down taking photos and video. He asked me to pass behind him for a better shot. While we watched, The wind headed John (see his multi-tasking skills described above) and he capsized to windward. He was able to recover, rescue the boat, climb back in and begin bailing. We circled around to make sure he was okay and, what do you know, John stopped bailing to take more photos!

Back at the beach John commented on the shape of my reefed sail and was gracious enough to show me how to properly tie in the reef.

In light of John's efforts throughout the weekend, the Goat burgee went south with him.

GIS Box Boom Mark II

Having made it back to central Michigan to end my Epic West Coast Road Trip, I am settling in to a nice routine: cleaning up and organizing the shop (getting ready for a new building project); cutting firewood (except that what I am cutting now is for next year - hope we cut enough last year to make it through this winter!); getting ready for winter (yeah, foolish though it may be, I plan to winter over here) and working on the Goat.

One thing I noticed sailing my boat this year is that the boom ("highly experimental" hollow box boom) was pretty stiff in the vertical plane but sort of bendy (resembled a banana in some conditions) in the horizontal plane. For review, that boom measures 45mm x 65mm; has 6mm ply sides with16mm cedar top and bottom; weighs 2.18kg (4.8lbs [sorry John, my memory slipped when we were talking about the boom]); vertical deflection with 12kg hung at midpoint: 16mm (deflection in the horizontal plane was not measured).

When I built the boom I figured there would be later versions to improve on the design. There was discussion of using 4mm ply for the sides to further lighten the spar. The goal was/is to make the lightest, stiffest spars (I got side-tracked re the need for a stiff boom when using a loose-footed sail, but I'm over that now). So, during my EWCRT (more than 6,000 miles!) I had plenty of time to think about building a new boom. I decided I wanted to use the technique I used to build my yard: a hollow box using 1x lumber for starters.

Saturday I purchased two 1x6x12' pieces of rough cut (smooth on 3 sides, rough on 1) white cedar: White cedar because it is local and plentiful; 12' so I wouldn't have to scarf pieces together to get the needed length. I have found that, locally, timber is usually 3 to 4 inches longer than the specified length - don't know why that is, but it is useful when you want a finished piece at some specified length (say, 12').

I cut 2 pieces 35mm wide and 2 pieces 55mm wide. These four pieces were milled from 20mm to 15mm thick. When assembled (with plugs at the ends and middle) and glued, I had a hollow box blank measuring 50mm x 70mm.


New Box Boom for GIS by bob.wessel, on Flickr

Cross-section:


Cross-section of new Box Boom for GIS by bob.wessel, on Flickr

I think of this as a "birdsmouth mast" using 4 staves - hey, if an 8-stave mast uses (roughtly) 45* angles, it stands to reason that a 4-stave mast would use 90* angles.

After milling the blank through the thickness planer, the blank measures 45mm x 60mm and weighs 2.8kg (6.2lbs). This is encouraging as the edges have not been rounded-over and the ends have not been shaped/rounded so the final weight should be a little lower. While the final shaping will not significantly reduce the weight, I have come to the conclusion that stiffness is more critical than weight.

When I suspended 12kg from the mid-point of the boom, the deflection was 7mm in the vertical plane and 12mm in the horizontal plane. From this preliminary measurement, it appears that I have created a stiffer, albeit heavier, boom. I need to pull the original boom out to measure the horizontal deflection for comparison.

Tomorrow I will finish shaping the new boom and begin finishing it (sand, epoxy and varnish). I will also add leather to the boom where it meets the mast to reduce chafe.

Hopefully, all this will pay off with better performance next summer.

Originally Posted by Joost

Well, it is most likely the first time in the USA, North America, the Amerca's (and the second time world wide).

We must try in the Netherlands to get the record up to 3 boats (we have 3 in the South of the Netherlands not to far from each other).

Best regards,

Joost

Yes, AFIK, the first pair of GIS's to sail together in the Americas. Maybe next year we can get Mr. Goodman to joing us at Paulina Lake, or Timothy Lake. Three together would be a hoot!

That might happen... or... you could come to Sail Oklahoma. Just sayin'...

Originally Posted by BobWes

That might happen... or... you could come to Sail Oklahoma. Just sayin'...

Well... I would never say never. But... beyond the time & money issues any of us would face traveling that far - I served two years in Texas for grad school. I've no great longing to see more of that part of the country. Maybe Jerry would want to come. I'll mention it to him.

...ah, I see... reading between the lines...

I've no great longing to see more of that part of the country.

You were run out of Texas and told never come back if you know what's good for you... I understand... shoulda known...

If Jerry comes, tell him not to mention you by name... I mean Sail Oklahoma is IN Oklahoma but there is a fair number of Texans who attend... could get ugly in a hurry (although all the Texans I met were friendly.)