On the Declaration of Problems, Chafe Check and Wine
Day 131/9
Noon Position: 46 47S 172 57E
Course/Speed: ENE 7
Wind: W15-20
Bar: 1016, steady
Sea: W5
Sky: Overcast
Cabin Temperature: 56
Water Temperature: 50
Sail: Twin headsails, poled out
Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good: 148
Miles this leg: 1,117
Avg. Miles this leg: 124
Miles since departure: 18,372
“I know what your problem is,” says the man standing on the dock at the Hobart yacht club. “I’ve been reading your blog. You’re that Eight Figures fella.” The man is smiling. We shake hands. He’s happy to meet me. Then he tells me my problem.
“That double headsail get-up with those poles,” he says, pointing, “they’re not fit for the Southern Ocean. Those are for tradewind sailing.”
This is now common, being informed by strangers, admittedly sailors, that they understand my problem before any problem has been declared.
Another told me that my rig was too big. “Way too much mast for down here,” said the man, this just moments after he sat in my cockpit for the first time; just moments after I’d handed him a beer from my own stash.
Another stated that my draft was too deep. “You need one of those lifting centerboards, like the French boats have.” He said this with a nonchalance that suggested such a thing could be got at the local marine store just left of the magazine rack.
And finally, I was recently informed that my transom was too small.
All of which suggest a simple truth is not popularly understood: telling a sailor straight-away of his cherished yacht’s failings is like starting a conversation with, “Hey, but your dog sure is ugly.”
The last of these informants had the good graces to be correct, at least, and I was reminded of it today as I did chafe check on Lt. Wattsy (the hydrogenerator). There are so many christmas presents hung from the transom–boarding ladder, wind vane, hydrogenerator, life raft, outboard motor–and so little space on which to hang them that getting at any one can involve them all–and me nearly over the side, to boot.
In this case, Monte (Monitor Wind Vane) had to be taken entirely out of commission before I could even get at Lt. Wattsy.
The chafe check was just in time. I could see the wear on the lifting line, but what I’d not anticipated was the much worse chafe on the set line, used to keep the unit in the lowered/deployed position. This line runs under the unit for about a foot, a section not easily visible from on deck.
The chafe conveys an interesting lesson: expect dissimilar wear when using dissimilar materials. For the set line, I’ve used Dyneema core covered in a non-Dyneema material. The cover has worn through on almost all sides while the Dyneema core is still in great shape. If the cover had separated completely and slipped, well, that could have been trouble.
Fixed now.
Tonight stops the flow of my best house wine.
My pattern is, weather permitting, to end the day with a beer, usually around sundown, then to cook and eat dinner, and then to have a small glass of wine directly after. I’d have the wine with dinner, but boat movement disallows letting something stand idly by.
Upon leaving San Francisco, Mo was gifted a quantity of Amphora Wines by my friend Jim Walter, a wine maker there. The bottles have long ago been dispensed at boat parties, but the box wine has held out until now. www.amphorawines.com
Actually, the box is moldy and dilapidated, but the wine inside is beautiful.
Now I must move on to Chilean and Argentinian box wine, which I’m sure is most excellent for cooking.
Cheers to my friends at Amphora for the lovely Vino Tinto (as they’d say in Argentina).
Actually, on the line that chafed, 100% of the strength is in the core. The core is coated with Samthane, which is not only a UV protection but also mitigates chafe. Large tugs use this “core” material, albeit in a larger diameter, uncovered as tow line. Racers strip off the cover anyway, just to save weight. The core handles the chafe just fine. On other words, you can strip off the cover and not worry too much. However, when you are done with the practice voyage, you can carry some spectra chafe cover for round two…..