Today, with my husband offering to take the kids to the movie, I was faced with
the first sunny day in over a week, a perfect brisk wind, but no family to sail
with me. I decided I was ready to get out on my own in "Ceto", my M17.
The good news is, due to the boltrope system on the main, I am finally ready to
publish my "Alaskan Profanity Encyclopedia"! Ha ha. With no one to keep the
boat pointed into the wind, I had a *really* annoying time trying to get that
sail up! The $60 pre-feeder we bought awhile ago was a total failure. The
sail got mashed up in it worse than it gets fouled up in the mast slot. I
think it was designed for a stiffer sail.
On the bright side, I was able to try out the 150% genoa, without kids to
scream "MOM! We're at 30 DEGREES!!!!" (My 11 year old daughter has taken to
monitoring the inclinometer as though it were a heart monitor.) I had a 10 k
or so breeze for the first hour of beating my way through a narrow passage,
then broke out into this huge space where I had tons of room to do anything.
That was good, because I had that big genoa out, and the wind picked up to
about 25 k, so I could really test the close hauled abilities of the boat.
I was heeled about 25 degrees for about 45 minutes straight, and one question I
have for you guys is, how typical is it, for the centerboard to bang around
while close hauled? We got used to it banging when we'd run downwind (then
we'd reel it up), but is it normal for it to bang around while beating into the
wind? How much stress can the pins and cb slot handle? I did have a wild
current pushing against the wind, and some crazy washtub like wave action, so
with the strong heeling, I was thinking the waves must have been pushing the cb
around more than normal?
This was such an amazingly fun sail, even if I was alone. The genoa dragging
into the bright, sharp waves, the sunshine, the slice of the hull against the
saltwater...aaaahhh. It was awesome!
Danelle
"Ceto" M17 #378
Ketchikan, AK
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