NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Heath Hezzanith question
From: Lu Abel
Date: 2007 Oct 22, 11:56 -0700
From: Lu Abel
Date: 2007 Oct 22, 11:56 -0700
Full keel sailboats (such as Slocum's) track better on all points of the wind than fin keel boats, but fin keel boats are significantly more efficient, especially to windward. That's why most current single-handed boats depend on an autopilot of some sort. Most common (for reasons of electricity conservation) is a windvane sort of device either steering the boat independently (which makes for a great emergency rudder) or via the boat's rudder. Larger single-handers with on-board electrical generating capability (even just for battery recharging) may use an electronic autopilot. My 36' fin keel boat tracks very well with the wheel locked going to windward. Off the wind, though, it does not track and requires reasonably constant attention to the helm. But even then the attention required is not so intense that one couldn't record time and sextant readings. Been there, done that. Alex's point is well taken, though. There was a case in New Jersey a couple of years ago where a 40' sport fisherman ran down a 19' open boat, killing the latter's three occupants. The skipper had his boat on autopilot and "went below to get a cup of coffee." Subsequent reconstruction of the accident proved that he was below, with nobody keeping watch, for at least 15 minutes. Lu Abel Peter Fogg wrote: > > > Alex asks: > > Who is in charge of the helm then? > > > A sailing boat should not need constant attention to the helm. Once the > appropriate sails are set and balanced the craft should hold a steady > course at most points of sail. My little boat certainly did. > > I know that many boats are not so good at this. I guess this spurred the > invention of self-steering devices, such as those regulated by a wind > vane and also electronic units. Joshua Slocum had neither. His boat > seems to have sailed itself very nicely. > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To post to this group, send email to NavList@fer3.com To , send email to NavList-@fer3.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---