Harrigami's progress 3
Newsletter from Rob Denney, Feb-2002
 On the trailer [Click to enlarge]
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G'day, Mast goes under the cockpit, sits on the lee hull. Boom could go on top, but the trailer exceeds the min weight required for brakes, soIi put it on the car roof rack. Saw horses are to allow the cradles to be wheeled off the trailer. A problem caused by the second hand trailer. Will look better with windows. Observe bend in the mast. These photos were taken in 5-10 knots of breeze, boat speed about 7 knots. Just before and just after we were well into double figures, although it would be hard to tell from photos. Been out on the river (4 mile fetch so the waves get reasonable) half a dozen times in breezes from 0-25 knots. Harrigami handles like a dream. Top speed so far is 14.8 knots, recorded on a broad reach with 3 people on board and full sail in 15 knots of wind, measured by the Bureau of Meteorology. So effortless that no one bothered to look at the gps, which fortunately has a "top speed of the day" function. In 25 knots we did easy 9-10 knots tight reaching, with only a reefed main. Plenty of scope for improvements in all wind strengths. The rudders work well, shunting is very easy, even without the jib, and/or in confined spaces. The sailmaker cut down the jib a little more than necessary, so the > >mainsheet loads are high. Needs 2 hands to sheet on with the 1:1 sheet, or a judicious luff. Without the jib, (used as the firstreef) a detachable 4:1 tackle handles the loads pretty easily. Tried angling both rudders to windward, and the boat achievednegative leeway, but at a high cost in speed lost. Should be enough to prevent anyone passing close to windward, or starting to windward of us. Changes so far include better hinges and locking system for the beams, although I think that single piece, demountable beams may be a better idea. The trampoline is a disaster as it keeps stretching, particularly when wet. Discussions with the supplier are ongoing. The mainsail halyard lock was excellent till it broke. I am still at the drawing board on this. Everything else is pretty much as designed. The paint job was done by Michael, from EcoCat R&D. It is instead of fairing and saved a lot of work and bog. We will be letting him loose on the sails when the recuts are finished. The "Ecocat R&D team" is a group of guys keen on building lighter, cheaper boats and components. They will build a Harrigami to sailing stage for $Aus20,000/$US10,000, plus materials. Freight to most major ports is about $aus4,000. Only problem at the moment is the mast, which is far too bendy. This makes decent sail shapes difficult, and in a seaway, the shrouds going from slack to tight really shakes the boat around. Apart from this, the motion of the hulls through the waves is very smooth. The mast problem is not easily fixable, so I have decided to build a new one, testing a technique which will enable amateurs to build them at a reasonable cost. More on this once it has been proven, but it should lower the materials (including plans) cost for a ready to sail Harrigami from $Aus20,000/$US10,000 to $Aus15,000/$US7,500, not bad for a 10.5m/35 footer with full accommodation. The Easyrig is still my choice for cruising, but I suspect that for racing, the lack of ability to sheet the main down the traveller without moving the jib track to windward is costing us some pointing ability. Consequently the new rig will initially be a windsurfer type. This will require a sheet winch, but will save considerable weight in the boom. The mast will not require shrouds and will be telescoping. This allows access under Perth's bridges, makes raising it on the trailer much easier, reduces windage on the mooring and when reefed, and will turbo charge the already impressive light air performance. |
Current plan is to build a minimal windward hull (partly for reduced sailing windage, mostly for easier trailling, it is a 4,000 mile trip) and maybe longer beams and take it, with the new rig, across to Sydney for AMOC (Aus Multis offshore champs) in October. Trailling is not yet perfected, due to the drawbacks of a second hand trailer. It will be much easier with a custom trailer and some practise. Took me 6 hours from arriving at the ramp to launch. Pretty lousy, but there were mitigating circumstances. It was 35 degrees C, I was solo and a lot of the fixings are still temporary. I also got into a bit of a mess raising the mast. With improved systems and an assistant, a 2 hour time will be possible. Sue and I slept on it last weekend. No problems. This
is not cruising, but there are no indications that it will be any
less enjoyable than Harry was. Havent got a motor yet, which accelerates
the sailing learning curve! In no wind, I can paddle (single oar,
sitting on the beam) it at 2 knots (gps) and about half this into
about 10 knots of breeze. In 25 knots (today), I haven't a chance,
had to drop the anchor and swim a rope ashore. Any questions, please ask, Regards, Rob |
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