First sail

[jimbo]

Finally got the beast on the water off Raymond island. First trip was a quick blast to sperm whale head under power only. With ballast in place 16knots by GPS at WOT. With 5 on board 14.5 knots.
4 other 26M also in town. Got some great tips.
Sailing in the afternoon. Main was at first reef as this was first sail. Genoa a problem. No tracks suitable for a genoa so had to run it part furled. Can not grasp what the PO was thinking or me for that matter in not checking duh!. Another item to add to the list ie add genoa tracks. Few white caps around. Nice breeze on lake king. Great fun. Quite a heel but I was expecting that. Wheel very light and quite responsive. Not sure on heel angle but probably over 40 degrees. My reputation sealed as i tipped the porta potty off its perch. Long story there going back to fathers yacht that was also water ballasted. By GPS doing 5 to 5.5 knots at this point. I do not think full mainsail would have been smart although the wind dropped off after 6pm. Great fun and looking forward to tomorrow.

[Oskar 26M]

Congratulations on your first sail jimbo!
May it be the first of many happy days on the

[Mac26Mpaul]

Good on ya Jimbo.

Geez I'm glad my head is bolted down, Tipping a porta potti over on my boat would cause all hull to break loose (and I'm not just referring to the contents of the potti!!)

[jimbo]

The potti thing was unused so all cool but now lashed in place nonetheless and better half has warned me about degrees of heel. As for genoa tracks red face here. It is called rtfm. What threw me was the pulleys mounted on the jib sheet tracks and not on the genoa tracks aft. But have since bought swivel jam cleats to make things a bit easier at least I hope. Not installed and used yet. Another experiment over Easter. If anyone sees the worst trimmed genoa on the lakes you will know who it is.

[jimbo]

After pottering around the Gippsland lakes over Easter have learnt many new things. The new swivel jam cleats work well on the genoa but not in heavier winds. Rope burn to one hand testifies to that. Have to figure out or read some more on how to set this up better. Need at least one pulley in circuit. For now need to use the pulleys and winches in heavier air. Interesting that the genoa alone will drive the hull to 5+ knots with no main up. The auto steer works when sailing but not when motor running even though was calibrated successfully with motor running. I suspect interference. To be investigated. Very impresed with the ease of launch and retrieval. But the slip was kind. Whilst de rigging after retrieval today on Raymond Island David Pearson of Powersailer Marine walked by and during a long chat he very helpfully pointed out the many setup errors in the M as she stands today. Advice was very much appreciated. Yes probably a case of RTFM again on my part or lack thereof as David kind of hinted at when he asked me if i had the manual. I have many small jobs to do now. Great Easter break all up. Anzac Day long weekend (well one day leave added) coming now.

[StokerJock]

Hi Jimbo,
I'm fairly new to sailing the M26 also, I had the same issue with the Genoa on a roller furler 1st time out. I rigged the lines via the Jib pulley so could only unfurl to 2/3s of the sail. Next time out I had run lines back via fairlead & roller cleats from outside guard rails not sure if it should be inside guard rails Appreciate any feed back on that.

I got 5.5 knots on GPS in 10 - 12 knots wind so I'm happy with the sailing speed, still have not clocked up 20 Hrs on the Suzi 60HP 4 stroke so have not done a a WOT run yet. I'm getting 13 - 14 Knots at 4900 rpm so should get another Knot or two at WOT.

[jimbo]

Hi Jimbo,
I'm fairly new to sailing the M26 also, I had the same issue with the Genoa on a roller furler 1st time out. I rigged the lines via the Jib pulley so could only unfurl to 2/3s of the sail. Next time out I had run lines back via fairlead & roller cleats from outside guard rails not sure if it should be inside guard rails Appreciate any feed back on that.

I got 5.5 knots on GPS in 10 - 12 knots wind so I'm happy with the sailing speed, still have not clocked up 20 Hrs on the Suzi 60HP 4 stroke so have not done a a WOT run yet. I'm getting 13 - 14 Knots at 4900 rpm so should get another Knot or two at WOT.

Outside the rails for sure to the pulleys on the genoa track then back to the winch then back to the jam cleat near the winch. Swivel jam cleats on the genoa track much better but as stated not in any wind as have lost the pulley reduction and although sheet can be hauled in on a tack using the swivel jam cleats, if try to release will not be able to hold the sheet and rope burn will result == mucho ouch. Will try the pulley way back and the swivel jam cleats at the front of the track working via the pulley next. Might be the go.

My to do list over anzaac break:
Dump the second 12 gallon tank and re-use the space for stuff that should be in the cockpit. Apparently the one tank will give fair range at 7lt per hour if I keep tacho to 3000 to 3500 (approx 10 to 13 knots) ie 12 gallons is a fair number of hours.
Move the bolt on the steering arm from vertical to horizontal as it should be.
Fixed the rudder ropes - pulldown is working off the pullup hole at present.
The shrouds are reversed on the chain plates
Retension the rig - way too sloppy at present
Look for misalignment of the rudder pulldown tube with the riser from the rear of the rudder (leaks from rain)
Try to extend the same rear riser on the rudder to a higher height
Dump the stupid under sink water tank and replace with a temporary 20liter tank in the locker space under the sink. Permanent solution bits are arriving slowly.
Fit new anchor.
Fit lazy jacks although might consider waiting till get boom bag.
Oh and go sailing weather permitting