Maiden Voyage

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I am finally going to put my Sidewinder in the water. No it's not complete yet, but it should be functional enough.
I'll post some pics as well as let everyone know how it goes when I get home. Wish me luck!!

Here are some pics from last summer's work.....

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Joe
Sidewinder #327



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2011 03:05AM by Joe.

Here's the update of how today went......

After fillling out what seemed like enough paperwork to buy a firearm, I was free to rig my boat and finally put her in the water. For being only the third time rigging it, it went pretty good. Or so I thought. Using my wife's 03 Eclipse, I backed it down the ramp. After unstrapping it and floating it off the trailer, I pulled it to the side of the ramp and had to drag it onshore. I was a bit apprehensive since it was mostly small rocks. It seemed to sit pretty light and is easy to lift using the handle on the bow.

My first step into the boat was a bit nerve racking. Initially it seemed pretty unstable. It floated well and I was able to paddle it one-handed without any problems. It went surprising quick under paddle power.

I found out I'm not quite coordinated enough yet to raise the main while underway. That and the fact it is quite crowded in the cockpit with the boom, main sail and all associated lines and sheets. I did finally get it raised, but after sailing around awhile I realized it wasn't all the way up. If it's not high enough the jib sheets catch the fork on the front end of the boom whenever you come about
.
One thing I forgot was to unwind the roller furling line completely after mounting the jib. Not doing this made the return line wind up on the furling reel when I pulled the jib out. This left me with no way to refurl it. So there I was....my main was up, my jib was out and I had to go up front and unwind and restring the furling line. After doing this without dumping it over, I got a better idea of how stable or unstable it is.(Actually I finally figured out where I could and shouldn't go.) I sailed around the marina for about 30 minutes then headed for my shoreline slip. Once onshore, I raised the main completely and tightend up the downhaul line. It's much easier raising the main onshore.

My second trip out was a little less stressful. The wind was becoming a bit fickle, and was coming from multiple directions depending on where I was. With 15-20 more minute on the water I headed back in.

I decided to tear everything down while I store it. This way I can keep the jib and rigging out of the sun and rain. I made a cradle that drops into the mast hole to hold the mast, boom and jib. When covered with a 16' boat cover from Walmart, the cradle, boom and mast keep the cover raised enough to let water run off.

I was happy to find that after 45 minutes on the water, the hull had no water inside. This is much better than when I first bought it.

Sorry I have no pictures, but I was a bit excited to get it in the water. Next time out I'll get some pictures of the cradle and the marina I will be keeping it at for the summer.

I am happy to say I'm finally in therapy, and excited about my next visit

Joe
Sidewinder #327

Just wait till you get it on a plane in 15 to 20 mph winds. It is a blast. The Sidewinder was my first boat back in 1971. I had more FUN on that boat than any I have owned. I bought anouther one last year to teach my grandaughter to sail. Enjoy your boat SAIL ON.

Kevin

Great story there, Joe! All that hard work has paid off. Now relax and enjoy your summer!

Thanks for posting so much on the website. It is preserved for others to follow.

Paul
Webmaster: sailmfg.com

I made it out to my boat today, here are some pictures of the marina and the cradles I made for the mast and boom.

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You can see in the last picture, I found some carpet to put underneath to protect it from the rocks.
This coming Tuesday will be my next trip out, wish me luck!!

To get an idea of the lake I have it on, you can look up Percy Priest Lake at this link.....
[en.wikipedia.org]

Joe
Sidewinder #327

First off, I'm jealous. I was hoping to have my Whip in the water by now. However, this afternoon, I read through your previous thread on how you got to this point and you definitely deserve some water time. Congratulations!

I definitely concur with your dislike of heat. That is why I'm reading through your posts instead of outside working on my Whip. I have to wear rubber gloves to mix and apply epoxy and it's no fun when a steady stream of sweat / condensation is running down your arm from inside the gloves.

Your repair posts have inspired me to go update my centerboard repair.

cas



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2011 11:50PM by cas.

Thanks cas, I had to laugh when I read the sweaty glove comment. Been there many times.

I'm glad I was able to help you get inspired. When I was creating the post, I wasn't sure my work would be of any help to anyone.

I'm honored to contribute to something that could very well go on for years to come.

Joe
Sidewinder #327

It floats!!!!!

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Now I need more wind!!!!

Joe
Sidewinder #327

Well, today I finally got some wind. After spending all day working under a tractor in a field, I was able to sneak out an hour early. I told my boss, "I'm headed to the lake." When I got there I rigged the mast, jib and rudder. I held off rigging the mainsail since a storm was brewing from the afternoon heat. I watched it for 15-20 minutes on the radar and seen it was beginning to break apart. I went down and rigged the main and headed out. I've gotten pretty good at rigging everything. It only takes about 10-15 minutes. The trickiest part is placing the mast in the socket. With it sitting on the ground it has a tendency to rock back and forth while I'm fighting to keep the mast balanced. This could be a problem for someone who doesn't have much upper body strength. This may be too much for me if the wind is too strong.

The wind in the marina was coming directly into the entrance, meaning tack, tack, tack. Did I mention I had to tack? I can't seem to get it to sail very well "close hauled?" After about 8 tacks, was able to get into a little stronger wind along with more room to manuever.
Once I got past the no-wake bouys, things really got fun. I would guess the wind was 7-10 mph. There were a few times the leward gunwales ended up running in the water. Forgeting I had my self bailer open, I started hearing this strange noise. My bailer had sucked out all the water from the cockpit and was sucking air.

I don't know if I ever got it up on plane, but it was going pretty fast for my experience. It is very responsive to any changes you make to sail trim, body positioning, etc. Once you get a good steady wind it seems very stable, definately more then I thought it would be. I can see this boat is going to be great fun this summer. I may look forward to those 15-20mph winds later, but for now I'm content with 10mph while I get comfortable with it.

After putting over 5 miles on it today, the hull is still dry. So apparently my repairs were good enough.

Joe
Sidewinder #327