Re: Fertile as a Turtle Larry... <G>

Gordon (hlg@pacbell.net)
Sun, 17 Jan 1999 10:10:30 -0800


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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>In a message dated 1/17/99 0:20:36 AM EST, hlg@pacbell.net writes:
>
><< Have you considered converting your P19 to a lateen yawl, using two Sunfish
> rigs? No more sail slides, stays, jibs, jib halyards, jibsheets, downhauls,
> jib furling, and all that other unneccessary stuff. And you wouldn't need
> such a heavy keel. I'm offering that as a free suggestion, and it is well
> worth the price. >>
>
>Hello Larry, wondering about that Yawl Suggestion. I was recently offered a
>couple of piles of sunfish junk parts and that thought did occur. I DO like
>simple but wonder if the Pair of Sunfish Sails would generate enough power
>compared to the basic Sloop Rig.
>
>Were you, in short, serious or poking fun?
>
>Michael
>P19 Traveller
>Columbia SC

That was me, Michael, not Larry. I wasn't too serious about the Sunfish
P19, but there might be a germ of an idea there. It would be a cheap
experiment since you already have the hardware, but I doubt if the total
150-160 feet of sail would be sufficient, especially in light air, and I
have no idea if there are practical locations for the mast sockets. I was
fortunate to get my lateen mast in the perfect location the first time on
my 14-footer, but balancing a two-master would be a more complicated design
problem. I suspect converting a P19 would be more trouble than it would be
worth. Better to trade for one of the modern unstayed cat rigs, but I don't
know what's available in a P19-size trailerable.

In the Oakland Estuary, the ship channel between Oakland and Alameda, the
larger sailboats motor out against the prevailing wind, but I saw one
skipper, looking very relaxed as he was tacking about a 30 footer up the
channel. He was sitting back, apparently singlehanded, tending only the
tiller. He had a modern, wishbone cat rig with unstayed, probably carbon
fiber mast(s). (I don't remember if it had one mast or two.) Of course, you
can do that on your Potter by using a self-tending, non-overlapping jib, if
simplified sailing is the main objective. But you probably want to simplify
rigging/derigging as well.

Anyway, that was an even-less-than-half-baked suggestion, mainly for fun.
I'm enjoying my simplified P14 and sometimes wonder if the concept could
somehow be scaled up for the P19. But I had not so much as looked at a
picture of a P19 to imagine where you would put two masts. Using one larger
lateen rig would require longer heavier spars, and the single mast would
probably be located where the forward hatch is, and would further divide
the vee-berth.

I just checked the sail area of a P19 (HMS18 actually) and it looks like
two Sunfish sails would be about equivalent to the P19 main and lapper.
Because of the much lower center of effort you could probably use a lighter
keel.

Naagh - It's a dumb idea. I don't want to think about it.

Harry Gordon