I took the day off today, called in and told my boss I was sick, oh wait! I am the boss, sweet.

Awesome day, temps hit 75F, winds 15, gusting 20, had set my rudders and they worked so sweet, no pull on the helm, everything clicked today. Hit the lake at 9.30 am, was in the water by 10.00 am, even setting up was hassle free, wind picked up steadily through the day untill peaking around 1.00 pm. Had a buddy with me and he was out on the wire as we buried the lee bow on loooong close reaches. The more I sail this p18, the more I enjoy it, definitely handles 2 adults better than my H16, had the sort of day where you could try out all those different settings with main sheet and traveler on all sorts of reaches, close, medium or broad, and even when close hauled.

All in all, a great day to end the sailing season, if the season is ending, you just never know, who would have thought that you would be sailing in shorts in the middle of November here in the midwest.



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TurboHobo
H14T
H16
P18
G-Cat 5.0
P16
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the ole prindle loves some high winds don't it! its like it can't blow hard enough sometimes. the rudders are sweet when they are right and they won't tear the transoms off if you run aground at speed. i still haven't found the limit of winds and seas that she can take...not afraid to find out either as we have been through 50+ kt winds and 7 ft seas. i have a buddy with a 5.2 nacra and he has a hard time keeping up in the gulf, not saying the 5.2 is a slower boat but he has a hard time keeping up!

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Quote

.not afraid to find out either as we have been through 50+ kt winds and 7 ft seas.

You have bigger cojonnes than I. My old bones along with my 5.7 would chicken out & run away from winds like that. Furl the jib, drop the main & hang on! If the wind is at a true speed of 50 kts for any sustained time vs a few seconds gust, well, that's hard to walk in on dry land. I couldn't imagine trying to control a 30' mast & sail in that. I went out once in 30 mph, a bit less than 30 kts, & it wasn't lots of fun solo. I was more concentrated on staying upright & not breaking anything vs blinding speed.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think being out in a real 50 kts in a beachcat, & coming home unscathed involves a modicum of luck. I think doing that on a regular basis would equate to $$, or perhaps buying a new Cat?



Edited by Edchris177 on Nov 10, 2010 - 09:42 AM.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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didn't mean to be out in the squall, believe me, but was finishin a race when it hit. there was a long list of casualties of boats who didn't finish(torn sails,busted comp tips,shreaded hooters,multiple flippers,etc.). i weighed at the time 240ish and my crew was 260ish so we had some ballast but it was no accident that we were able to finish and sail to the beach. i began sailing at 7 years old with an instructor who was an annopolis graduate and carrier fighter pilot who raced for the naval academy. i took sailing lessons every summer til the age of 13 or so and had much experience with racing hobies, flying scotts, and all kinds of larger monos. my mono experiences made me familiar with the "storm jib" technique. when the winds get out of hand(35kts. and gusting much higher) you point up tight and sail with the jib only. just so happened that that heading was for the finish line. if you try to use your main during these conditions you will definitely flip,rip, or snap something. thats why i don't like mono rigs, get caught in some nasty and you don't have a storm jib. the prindle is so stable and has a small jib, perfect for a storm jib. i told this story months back and lots of people though i was crazy...let them think it! next time we are racing and a squall hits i hope they furl there jibs and flip again while i sail across the line again!

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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wish we could all sail the same water instead of the cyber water!I dont care if its cold out I wanna go sailln Guess its time for a road trip.

I'll vouch for coastrat, I was there that day... he finished, I didn't.

Alas, coastrat, I was out a week ago when we had that blustery north wind + light whitecaps... solo on my H18. I did your technique, no issue... the main was about half backwinded, but even solo on the H18 (and I weigh 165 soaking wet) the boat was controlled.... hope I was doing it right.

I'll be out on Sat around the not-so-secret-OSYC/Deer Island spot, sailing escort for the Horn Island overnight flotilla....