So gentlemen,
AW bailed as crew due to injuring himself sailing one of those 20th century craft with masts and attendant sails etc on Saturday. I’ll let him fill you in on the detail. At short notice, Marcel agreed to crew.
There’s really not much to report – you all have far better things to do than read this drivel…..but, in case you’re interested:
Planned experiments for the day:
• Pump up and drift launch LEI from deep water.
• Test new rigging – barber haulers to leeward end of rear beam rather than leeward end of main beam. Objective: remove lee helm.
Preparations:
• Over the last week, try about 5 different versions of purchase systems to allow helmsman to easily control barber hauler.
• Eventually rigged 3:1 from carabina, which attaches to outside of leeward beam, to kite tow point with return to where mainsheet is normally cleated (centre of rear beam).
• This necessitates moving the carabina from tack to tack and kite pilot passing bar over barber hauler and going underneath it…not ideal, but worth trying to assess effect on helm. Slow gybes!
• Rigged 50m lines and separated them.
• Pulled in safety about 6m, wound lines onto bar (standard procedure), kept lines separated with orientation matching bar for subsequent attachment to the kite.
• Towed to Manly ramp and launched.
• Planned to drive out of marina around to kite beach and drift launch well off the beach near high tide while on anchor.
Results
• Drove through marina fine
• Hit very heavy chop when in the leads
• Outboard started wobbling on its mount (this would be the mount which Ken told me “needs beefing up” …”just try it in the river to be sure it sits right”)
• Quick addition of safety rope (which had been forgotten!! Could easily have lost the o/b), turn around and head back to ramp.
• All the palava of getting boat back on trailer etc!
• Taught Marcel’s kids
• Tested the drift launch with prepared lines – albeit with a 5m kite and standing in 500mm of water
• That worked fine – kited for 15 minutes with 5m kite and 50m lines smoking across the flat water in the bay south of the marina. Long lines – very nice.
No entertainment next Monday – I’ll be in Perth on the weekend. Though I’ll try to take the prototype actuator, new launch system and 2.5sqm SS kite. That could be amusing seeing me try to control that little kite with an actuator…but you gotta start somewhere.
Regards,
Kitecat nut.