Forespar's Point of View

“Modern Man Struggles Against Nature” – WSJ

English Painter J.M.W. Turner’s (1775-1851) painting “Set Free” is currently on display at the Getty Museum. Depicting a raging sea and a ship caught in a deep trough between two surging hills of waves that surround the endangered boat, this famous scene reminds us that the ocean has drawn us in for centuries; some of our sea journeys are more remarkable than others.

Pat D.

Learn About Waterway Safety

Avoid sensitive areas and operating your watercraft in shallow waters or near shorelines at high speeds.

• Always launch at a designated boat ramp. Backing a vehicle on a riverbank or lakeshore can damage the area and leads to erosion.
• Always travel slowly in shallow waters and avoid boating in water less than 2½ feet deep. High speeds near shorelines lead to large wakes which cause shoreline erosion.
• Sensitive areas to avoid include seasonal nesting or breeding areas.
• Do not disturb historical, archeological or paleontological sites.
• Avoid “spooking” wildlife you encounter and keep your distance.
• Motorized and mechanized vehicles are not allowed in designated Wilderness Areas.

Hints Source: Treat-Lightly.org.

~ Forespar Point of View Team

Before A Trip On The Water … Educate Yourself

Educate yourself prior to a trip by learning rules and regulations, planning for your trip, taking recreation skills classes and knowing how to operate your equipment safely.

• Obtain charts of your destination and determine which areas are open to your type of boat.
• Make a realistic plan and stick to it.
• Always tell someone of your travel plans and file a float plan.
• Contact the land manager for area restrictions, closures and permit requirements.
• Check the weather forecast for your destination. Plan clothing, equipment and supplies accordingly.
• Make sure you have enough fuel and oil for the entire trip.
• Make sure your owner’s manual and registration are on board in waterproof containers.
• Always carry a Coast Guard approved working fire extinguisher and warning flares.
• Prepare for the unexpected by packing necessary emergency items.
• Carry a Global Positioning System (GPS) and know how to use it.
• Know distress signals and warning symbols. Know your limitations. Apply sunscreen, drink lots of water and watch your energy level.
• Take a boater education course to learn more about navigating waterways and safe and enjoyable boating.
• Make sure your boat is mechanically up to the task. Be prepared with tools, supplies and a spill kit.

Hints Source: Treat-Lightly.org.

~ Forespar Point of View Team

And While We’re Talking Digital – How About Digital Charts!

A new NOAA raster chart in digital format, called Fugawi Aboard, combines more than 2,000 NOAA charts and 600 Canadian raster charts into quilted regions for use on compatible chart plotters.

The result is coastline detail for the US and Canada with the look and feel of vector charts as well as the detail of paper charts – but that behaves like any other electronic charts with the ability for users to zoom and pan.

This digital cartography brings electronic paper charts to chart plotters everywhere. A downloadable version is available at: http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/raster/.

~ Forespar Point of View Team

Yes, Go Digital Onboard Too!

Now there are several digital options to keep track of and remind you or your crew of all your yacht-system service needs. This can include a ship’s log, maintenance history, and inventory of all parts and consumables normally kept on board.

Once all the information is gathered by its technicians, one of several vendors can create a customized program that is specific to your boat, not necessarily generic to the boat brand or model. It also has a less-expensive “customer implementation” option, in which the boat owner gathers and provides all the necessary information required. Once the implementation process is complete, all of your boat’s information and records are stored in the cloud and accessible via computer, tablet or ­smartphone.

Three of the top names in the rapidly evolving product category of yacht-maintenance management are My-Villages, Wheelhouse Technologies and VesselVanguard.  Hosted online, these subscription-based systems host data securely on a remote server.

These low costs systems allow you to avoid ­­spending your time flipping through manuals and to get maintenance needs off your mind. Boaters have more important things to think about, like planning that next voyage.

~ Forespar Point of View Team

Let’s Keep It Clean

The goal of the boater-funded BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is to educate boaters about safe and clean boating. The Foundation wants to fund Grassroots Grant projects that utilize new, innovative approaches that encourage safe and clean boating among the boating public.

Organizations with the best ideas will be awarded grants of up to $10,000 to implement their project. However, applications need to be submitted by January 15, 2015, and public online voting on the applications will take place in early spring 2015.

Groups wishing to apply for one or more Grassroots Grants may go to www.BoatUS.org/grants to view the guidelines and begin their application. Grant application submissions may include videos, photos or graphics or anything to potentially help increase the chances of funding. The applications that best meet guidelines will be posted to the Foundation’s website, BoatUS.org, as well as its Facebook page for public voting in the spring. Projects with the most votes will receive funding and will have one year to complete the grant project.

~ Forespar Point of View Team

Coast Guard Drops Type Code Labels for Life Jackets

The Coast Guard is dropping its Type I-V labeling system. This move is expected to lead to new life jacket designs and lessen confusion among recreational boaters. The plan is to drop the current life jacket type code scheme that has been used for years to label and differentiate the types of life jackets and their specific use.

These new standards will eventually simplify life jacket requirements for recreational boaters. The decision eliminates the Type I, II, III, IV or V label on a new life jacket label after Oct. 22. This coding tended to confuse boaters, limited choice and increase the cost of life jackets.

Boaters must still abide by the current standards when using older life jackets marked with the Type I-V labeling because they will remain legal for use.

More details are available at BoatUS.org/design.

~ Forespar Point of View Team

Sailing Downwind with Double Headsails

It sounds a lot more complicated than it is. All you need is:

• your usual genoa
• a second headsail
• a mast with two foresail halyards
• a whisker pole

Your course is deep off the wind. The breeze is light to moderate, and you’d like to be moving faster, but either don’t have a spinnaker aboard, or just don’t want to wrestle with it. Wing-and-wing isn’t working because your course isn’t dead down wind, or you just don’t want to deal with the constant trimming.

The usual solution is to come up on the wind, heat it up and get some boat speed, gybing your way to your mark. It’s more work, but it can get you there faster if you plan your gybes well.

Or go with two headsails.

Get the other sail on deck (it doesn’t matter if it’s your jib, another genoa, or in light air an appropriate sail). You can set a sheet for the windward side, or even detach the lazy sheet from the working sail, as long as you remember to re-attach it before any gybes. Get the free halyard and new sheet hooked up with plenty of slack, and the new sail tacked on.   Make sure the pole is ready to go. (We use a Forespar twist-lock pole, which adjusts to the right length for whatever sail we’re using).

Hoist the new windward sail, attach the pole as close to the sail clew as you can, adjust the pole length, and trim on. The rest is adjustment for the course and breeze. Then watch the boat go faster, especially in light air.

You can go faster and deeper, with less work. Some races even allow double headsails (we’ve had great success in “inside” races using a light 155 genoa and our drifter).

Try it on light days when you’ve got room to work, adjust and trim. It’s easy to do with two people, requires a lot less muscle.

Go sailing. Have fun.

Mike Dwight

What Good is a Dinghy Davit on My Swimstep?

The obvious benefit is the ability to hoist your inflatable dinghy up on the swimstep while it’s inflated. That way, you’re not fighting to unroll, inflate and float the dinghy using the limited deck space on a small to medium sized boat, and then reverse the process. Often, that means you’re spending as much time setting up the supposedly convenient dinghy as you did on the voyage.

Plan B is to tow the dinghy. For a longer trip, especially at sea, this can be an adventure of its own. Speed, tow distance from the boat, cleats (often not designed for those loads) and tow lines and yokes can be a real pain. We haven’t even mentioned the motor, gas can and cargo.

With the swimstep davit system, you can simply bring the dinghy alongside, clip it on and tilt/hoist it in.   A side and actually major benefit is overnight stays. By clipping the dinghy into the Davit, we can be sure that it sits quiet in the water. There’s no banging on the hull, drifting into the fairway, worrying about the painter, etc. Easy passenger boarding from the swimstep, and easy back onto the boat.

We’re using the Forespar QuikDavit ™version on two boats. One on the Grand Banks, used for hoisting and parking the smaller dinghy, and with the mounting pads the same distance apart for docking the bigger Caribe.

The Wellcraft uses the full QuikDavit kit as designed. It is easy for Pat (the real Skipper) to use, and was easy to install on both the wood step and the thicker step on the smaller boat. It makes for a much more pleasant cruise, and has proven to be well worth the money.

What is a Spinnaker Strut?

And Why Do You Need One?

A Spinnaker strut is a relatively short (usually aluminum) pole with one end fitting designed for mast attachment, and the other for running a line across a small internal pulley. Standard sizes range up to about seven feet in length and three or four inches in diameter. They look like this:

As its name implies, the strut is for use with a traditional symmetrical spinnaker. It will keep the afterguy (or the spin sheet you’re using as an afterguy) attached to the spinnaker pole away from lifelines, stanchions and other undesirable points on its way back to the stern.

The strut is usually attached to the mast via a padeye on the mast, and often held in position with a sail tie to a shroud

Sailors want a reaching strut because:

• With the afterguy riding across the sheave in the end of the strut, the pole is much easier to control and adjust. Eliminating the friction is important.
• The line will chafe as it rides across the lifeline, stanchions, etc. Decent line for sheets and guys starts at about 75 cents a running foot, and the good stuff at twice that. Unnecessarily replacing it gets old in a hurry.
• The load on the afterguy can be significant if it’s blowing. That can and will bend the lifeline and stanchions.
• Crew on the rail will be safer and happier without a loaded (and possibly weak) guy on their chests or backs.

And, more important – when sailing fairly close to the wind with the spinnaker, the pole is well forward. In a good breeze the afterguy or sheet is loaded. If that lifeline or stanchion (or both) bends enough, or breaks, the pole will slam forward into the forestay. Bad things can happen. Very bad things.

A reaching strut is easy to rig, and easy to use. Because it’s fairly short, it’s also easy to stow. And not expensive , especially when you consider the cost of a forestay or mast.