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Subject: RE: [worldcruising] Singlehanding Coastal, Techniques
From: Rick Kennerly (nh2f@XXX.XXX)
Date: Sat Nov 24 2001 - 22:23:45 EST
=
=Sometimes, those new-fangled contraptions really work!
=
I remember your friend Hal Roth actually used a SL555 to winch Red Shoes (a
Pacific Seacraft 34) across a reef in the pacific. It took him a couple of
days, but he was driven so far up on the reef initially that he couldn't go
back, so he went forward and over to clear water.
After our mostly uneventful passage from Annapolis to Puerto Rico, we ran
Xapic aground near the mooring field in Roosevelt Roads harbor while we were
trying to figure out the gas dock. We were going at a pretty good clip when
we struck. One of the down sides of the W32 underside is that slope of the
keel is so rounded that you can get a goodly amount of boat up on a reef or
mud bank before you stop, so we had Xapic well up on the mud in a falling
tide and we couldn't power off in reverse.
Of course it was mid-day during the work week, so there was no one around to
help (because "I have always relied on the kindness of strangers," my first
impulse is to flag down a passing boat--just call me Blanche Dubois). But
none were around. So I rowed out a 45-lb CQR (with a 20-lb danforth tied to
the crown of the CQR to get a double bite) on 200 ft of chain at a 90 degree
angle and started winching for deep water. Bar taut and in low gear we
winched Xapic off, link by bloody-blistered-handed link.
As the tide ran out we had a pretty good tilt on deck, but never had the
sides of the hull down in the mud. Still, the strains of pulling that much
boat around were considerable and the SL555 did great. Frankly, I don't
think an electric winch could have handled the job--I hear a lot about them
popping circuit breakers under heavy load, which means they quit just when
you really need them.
If I had my choice, I'd like to mount a light electric on deck for routine
anchoring duties in deep water--maybe with the switch back in the cockpit so
I could set and retrieve by myself (in Bermuda the anchorage was crowded, so
we were forced into the deep water anchorage-- 6.4 fathom (40-ft) times 5:1
scope = a lot of manual winching). But I'd keep my SL555 for when things get
tough.
Besides, our manual head pump, our ,manual coffee grinder and the manual
winch are about the only exercise we get, so maybe we'd better keep them.
Rick Kennerly
----------------------------------------------------------
Rick the Mouseherder - nh2f
Westsail 32 Xapic, Hull #438
Cabo San Juan, Puerto Rico
A small boat and a suitcase full of money
beats a 40 footer tied to the Bank.
Creative graphic solutions in vinyl for your boat lettering & designs
http://www.mouseherder.com
Visit our Westsail 32 Xapic
http://www.mouseherder.com/xapic
The Westsail Owners Assn. Homepage
http://www.westsail.org
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