IOR 50 goes to NZ

[wkd928]

As described, the gf and I are sailing home to NZ setting off through the Great Lakes this summer from about the 20th June and heading for St Johns in Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic. Ive enjoyed reading these forums so Im adding something back both to titillate any merchants of doom who might frequent the site as well as hopefully gaining local knowledge from anarchists along the way.

Here is a link to the boats fb page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003254125310&ref=tn_tnmn&__adt=14&__att=iframe

We are in the process of packing up our lives into boxes with two weeks more of work before we go out to the boat and start on an improbable list of jobs which we cannot possibly complete before departure, but at least none of them should be show stoppers or things that cant be finished as we go.

Here is a link to a pdf from last years visit: Detroit 2011.pdf

I will post with more updates as we go but im not going to promise anything regular in advance - we wont be taking satelite tech (aside from the EPIRB) or even a pactor modem for the SSB.

If anyone wants to share local insight on places to stop along the way with a draft of 9'8" please do so!

 

[the_abandoned_brane]

with that draft, youre limited on erie. put in bay is however a doable nice stop. so is presque isle in erie p.a.

 

[wkd928]

Ive got copies of the lakeland boaters guides and it lists all the marinas and there contact details - very helpfully, the confusing part is the draft at the dock vs what i can see on the charts. Any suggestions about where to tie up in presque isle, is anchoring an option?

 

[Soñadora]

you damn Kiwis are pretty hardcore. Traveling 2/3 around the world in that thing doesn't look like my idea of fun. It makes me wet just looking at it and not the kind of wet that costs $20 at the strip joint.

 

[P_Wop]

Long distance offshore in a well-built IOR 50 isn't so bad, really. I did many thousands of miles delivering these things years back - pretty painless. But usually 4 crew not 2.

Pros

* you can go to windward quickly in about any weather - sometimes a major advantage when you're trying to seek shelter

* The boat will bounce and bang off waves, but you won't hurt it

* A poled-out jibtop and a reef is an awesome downwind rig in the trades and Southern Ocean.

Cons

* Aluminium construction can make things interesting inside on hot days

* Keeping the rig in column in heavy air

* Deck layout isn't ideal for short handing. But hey, Tabarly did an OSTAR on his Whitbread maxi ketch, so....

Enjoy - sounds like a fine endeavor.

 

[wkd928]

Thanks for the feedback guys We have managed to find a few people to join us for the different parts of the journey and so far we are between 4-6 persons all the way to Brazil. Ive seen the jibtop only once and it didnt look that heavy so i guess we will have to work hard to make sure it lasts into the Southern Ocean..

Any low tech tips for keeping cool in hot climates would be appreciated. As for the rig and keeping it in column - That makes me feel like Sons Id love to hear any sage advice from persons with experience of these relatively small section masts and heavy air.

As for what $20 gets you in the USA... i just dont think its fair that we pay more for gas as well!

 

[P_Wop]

A couple of heavy air rigging tips for noodle rigs. A little prep on these before you leave could pay dividends.

1. When sailing offwind in breeze, there is enormous load on the vang. With the boom squared off, this puts huge sideways load on the mast at the gooseneck - the vang is essentially trying to propel the boom right through the mast, and will be pushing it out of column here in a nasty way. The spinnaker pole will be doing exactly the same a bit further up, but in the opposite direction. The resulting S-bend is not a sight for the faint-hearted.

When Drum lost her bullet-proof Whitbread spar as she rolled over keel-less in the 85 Fastnet, she was re-rigged with her 'spare' mast, an inshore 4-spreader noodle from the maxi Xargo. Apart from a pair of temporary chicken stays out to the rail mid-foredeck to counter spin pole loads, she was rigged with a pair of temporary gooseneck-stays out to the chainplates. To further reduce the problem, a big webbing strop was run over the boom and via a 3:1 tackle back to a winch to act as a sort of vertical vang.

See the famous Rick Tomlinson photos of Drum surfing under poled-out jibtop in the Southern Ocean in 86 and you can spot all these bits. The rig stayed up all round the planet, and across the Atlantic twice afterwards too.

2. Next, runners and checkstays. Prebend is always good, but for your trip, not too much (perhaps 'one section's worth'), otherwise the runner loads become large. She IS a masthead, right? Worst of all is negative bend, i.e. runners on, and backstay off. Inverting the rig will very likely bring it down, or at least weaken it badly. So you need to be smart on the runners upwind. Less so downhill, as the mast will be a bit straighter with the backstay half off.

3. Gybing in very heavy air with two reefs in is also a big problem with the runners. This can be significantly helped if the headboard, when you have two reefs in, is at least a foot below the runner position on the mast, which is probably will be. You can then disconnect the checkstays from the runner block - change their attachment here to a big snapshackle - and set them up with a 4:1 tackle out to the rail. You can then set up both runners as you run downwind, and when you gybe, the main passes safely across below them both. All you have to deal with is the checkstays, which are far less loaded. This really adds peace of mind.

4. Use the babystay to reduce mast pumping in a seaway. And if you have a removeable inner forestay, use that too when pounding in a breeze.

5. When poling out a jibtop, rig a separate pole guy as well. Makes it so much easier to set up, and especially to gybe the jib off the pole if you have an emergency, as the sail still has two sheets (and two aftguys) on the clew, and the pole doesn't go flying around. Again, see the Drum photo.

Errr.... more later, and all IMHO, of course. But a good 80's style rigger who remembers all this will be a big help.

 

[wkd928]

Pwop - thanks for posting a pic as this helps me see what is being said - great pic too - i love all the whitbread vids from back in the day, i still remember the whitbread fleet visiting Auckland when i was a kid and walking over Peter Blakes Ceramco. Excellent advice about separating the upper and lower checks, i would never have thought of that or sheeting the main vertically to the rail.. Here is a pic of the boat at the dock - masthead with upper and lower checks - we will also have a cutter stay rigged before we go - using the topping lift for a halyard for the storm and number 4 jibs. What kind of tackle did you use for chicken stays?

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[P_Wop]

For the chicken stay for a 50 we used 1/4" 1x19 wire with a swaged T-terminal at the top, with the corresponding eye carefully put into the mast a bit below normal pole height - you want to be able to reach it by standing on the boom. Be careful to make them staggered vertically about 12" on the mast - you don't want a 'tear here' line of holes round the tube! If you don't like the thought of drilling big holes in the stick (smart chap) then bolt a good strong padeye (Wichard folding ones are ideal) on the side of the mast, angled at about 45° to the horizontal. You may need to carve a chunk of G20 to fit the mast for this. Then put a big snapshackle on the top end of the wire.

Bottom end gets a turnbuckle (one of the ones with folding handles is excellent) and another big snapshackle connected to a deck padeye, right on the rail edge under the lifelines, about 6-7 feet forward of the mast. This padeye should be rotated about 45° to 'face' the mast, and through-bolted. The Harken 689 is ideal. Also becomes a handy place to tie up the dinghy later!

The gooseneck stay is just like it, but shorter, although if you have shroud chainplates on deck with a spare hole anywhere, then the bottom snapshackle under the turnbuckle can get clipped into a D-shackle on that.

Remember, you only really need one of each piece of gear, as you'd swap it over after the gybe.

Hope this helps.

 

[the_abandoned_brane]

I'll be there this weekend, find out more info. I bought a boat there last fall and have to move it before the end of this month. I do know the bay itself has anchoring. unsure of the depth though.

 

[wkd928]

Pwop, probably this isnt helping me at the moment as its another thing to think about right at the time when my brain is already in meltdown mode with a million things to sort out before we go.. Lucky for me that Offshore Spars is just down the road from where the boat is so i will have a word with Mike and see what his view is - they made the spar so they should have a few ideas. Im wondering about dyneema and lashings instead of hardware...

As for Presque Isle, any info regards anchoring or docking would be cool. The charts i have dont say you cant anchor in the bay..

 

[Bryanjb]

Hey WKD, saw your boat over the weekend, everything looked fine.

Coming through Erie, stopping at PIB, do not attempt to go into the docks or to the fuel dock. Use the red top buoys, the eastern most row for 50 foot and up. If you need fuel go to Huron Ohio, 10 miles east of Sandusky, 30 miles east of PIB. The river is deep and the fuel dock has 13 foot or more. Next stop down the lake is Lakeside Yacht Club, you can lay on the outside wall, fuel and supplies are available. Erie Yacht club is another 60~70 miles. You can anchor in the bay and/or go into the club for fuel and supplies. All the clubs are good places to visit with nice facilities. Next stop is the Welland, sometimes it's easy to get through, other times you have to wait. Buy heavy leather gloves and round up some help, some people use hay bales for this trip but the down bound is not as bad as coming up. You need snatch blocks toward the bow and stern and will ease out the lines the canal provides as you are lowered.

Maybe we'll catch up at Sassy, good luck with the trip.

Joli

 

[P_Wop]

Pwop, probably this isnt helping me at the moment as its another thing to think about right at the time when my brain is already in meltdown mode with a million things to sort out before we go.. Lucky for me that Offshore Spars is just down the road from where the boat is so i will have a word with Mike and see what his view is - they made the spar so they should have a few ideas. Im wondering about dyneema and lashings instead of hardware...

As for Presque Isle, any info regards anchoring or docking would be cool. The charts i have dont say you cant anchor in the bay..

Actually, don't worry about the extra stays at all. You're cruising after all!

I think the 3 good takeaways are:

* reducing prebend (Offshore can help)

* re-doing the check attachments for gybing under the runners (Offshore can help)

* and a strop over the boom for a downhaul to take the vang load down (Offshore can help).

Have fun!

 

[wkd928]

Joli, thanks and yeah i hope we get to meet up. We arrive into DTW on the 23rd and are pretty much there for the duration, the gf is labelling the first couple of weeks the 'sandwich' cause we are tackling the undersides, cabin sole and then the deck..

Thanks again for the insight - i know youve posted this before now, totally looking forward to seeing these places for ourselves - great idea on the hay bales too.

 

[wkd928]

Pwop - I will get the Offshore Spars guys to look at how much prebend weve got dialed in - I know Mike said something about setting in a certain amount to negate the need for a babystay for most of the time. Definitely the check attachments with large snap shackles is a great idea. If we can rig something up to sheet the main to the rail this should reduce the loads on the mast and yeah i suppose if we see deflection from the spinnaker pole whilst short handed we might have other problems too eh?!

 

[v-max]

Your timeline is probably too tight for the Route Halifax St Pierre Ocean race starting in Halifax on July 8.

Linky

But you might be able to make the party on Friday the 13th of July in St Pierre.

The Ocean One Race starts the next day and heads to St John's Newfoundland.

Linky for that too

 

[Anson]

IN a quick Scan of the above thread I didn't see what boat this was? She looks like she might be the old Frers 50' Springbok, built for David Rosow. What was she in her prior incarnations?

 

[wkd928]

Vmax, yeah we are not going to make it for the races above but maybe we will be in St Johns as people arrive - I hope so, it looks like a friendly place

The boat started life as Windquest built for the DeVos family and first competing in the 1986 SORC shortly after launch, subsequently Allegiance and in the Great Lakes.

 

[roundtail67]

Hey wkd928, I PM'd you about the trip.