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Squib Class pages maintained by
Ken Davis.
Introduction
Racing
- beating
- reaching, running, the spinnaker
Equipment
- the depth sounder
- rudders
Care of the boat
- cleaning the underwater hull
On the mooring
- rudder setting
The Rig
- the main outhaul
The Medway and the courses
The Crew's view
Roller reefing and furling
Seamanship
- leaving the mooring buoy, and returning to it
Introduction
The following are notes sent in by Squib Fleet members aimed at helping Owners new to Squib sailing and those who perhaps may have not sailed at all.
A Squib can be said to be a big dinghy with a keel, but Squib racing is different in many respects from racing a dinghy, especially with regard to setting and adjusting the rig.
All fleet members should feel free to contribute to these pages. Send your input to Ken Davis (SCARAMOUCHE) by e-mail.
Add your name or a ‘pen-name’ so that, if needed, reference can be made by other contributors to the subject.
Opinions vary on the best way things should be done. If you think there is a better way, make a comment in the fleet FORUM page, it might give the original writer a chance to rethink (and rewrite !!)
There is plenty of very good ‘go-fast’ advice available on the National Squib Website, these notes are intended just to help with the basics.
It has to be assumed however that you know roughly where the sails should be set in relation to the direction the boat needs to go and the wind direction.
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Racing: beating
It is generally agreed that races are won ON THE BEATS, on kite runs and reaches one can aim to not to lose places and then try to gain places when you are back on the BEATS.
Beating is almost all CONCENTRATION. Having found a foresail setting that gives best boatspeed, with the main not backwinded and the main telltails flying correctly, the crew sets the foresail and LEAVES IT. The helm sails with his eyes fixed and CONCENTRATING fulltime on the foresail lower telltail and steers so that the lee telltale is flying horizontally and the weather one is lifting up to about 30deg. The wind direction often oscillates and the boat should be steered, using minimum rudder movement, so that the telltails fly correctly all the time.
Another thing to aim for is that the leech of the foresail should be about parallel to the shape of the lee of the mainsail and the wind should exit the foresail at about mid height in a line parallel to the boat's centreline. Whilst keeping the foresail lower telltail flying correctly the crew should make minor adjustments to the barbers and sheet to try to make the upper telltail fly similarly for as much time as possible. Adjust the foresail halyard and the tensioner at the beginning of each beat leg to give about 2" sag in the foresail luff and use the foresail Cunningham so that there are very small sags in the foresail luff between the connectors.
When beating the main should be adjusted, using the mainsheet, horse car and backstay so that, all the time, the two lower telltails fly horizontally indicating that the air is leaving the sail in line with the surface of the leech. By the same means the helm should try to have the upper telltale flying similarly for a minimum 30% of the time.
Many books have been written on how to achieve those magic words “sail-setting to give best boat speed”. A good basic start is to study Christian Brewer’s Tuning Sheet on the NSOA website. That plus say a season’s experience should get you started.
Because the helm has to concentrate on steering to the telltails he has to rely on the crew for most other things for the safe navigation of the boat. In addition to hiking out if there is a breeze the crew must keep a sharp lookout and warn of approaching craft (especially if the boat is on port tack), warn of obstructions, suggest when to tack (at the correct place to lay the mark taking into account tidal influence and pointing ability), keep a check on the upper telltail, call the depths in shallow water if the helm cannot see the echo sounder display and start to set the rig for the next leg as the mark nears.
A Squib sails best with about 5deg heel to leeward, so the crew sits down to leeward when there is little or no wind. Conversely any more than 5deg in windy conditions will give you weather helm which will slow you down, so hike out and get rid of the weather helm !!!
Note,
‘Weather helm’ is the condition that obtains when, in order to keep the boat sailing to the telltails (either because the rig is incorrectly set or the boat is heeled too far to leeward) the tiller has to be kept pulled up to weather (the direction the wind is coming from) to correct the boat’s tendency to turn into the wind.
(Similarly ‘Lee helm’ is when the tiller has to be kept held down to leeward).
If the rudder is continuously at an angle two things result a) a small good thing which is the rudder creates a small force tending to push the boat back up to windward and which, to a very small extent, offsets the tendency to drift down to leeward caused by the wind against which the boat is beating, which is what the keel (centreboard with a dinghy) is intended to minimise. This is offset by b) the greatest effect of the offset rudder is DRAG which absorbs some of forward motion energy produced by the sails and so reduces speed.
SO – if you feel a continuous pressure on the tiller – you are doing something wrong !!! (L/witch)
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Racing: reaching, running, the spinnaker
Be sure to release the backstay completely and re-adjust the foresail tension to 2” sag when the kite goes up on a reach – the boat will go much faster.
When, on a broach reach, you feel a gust about to hit, the instinct is to steer up into the wind to prevent being knocked down. The opposite should apply, bear away and the tendency for the boat to ‘fall over’ will disappear. As soon as the power has gone out of the gust, luff up back on to your proper course. Bearing away on to a lee shore would, however, be disastrous!!! (L/Witch)
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Equipment: the depth sounder
A depth (echo) sounder is a MUST if you are to race with an easy mind on the ebbs in the Medway. Nobody wants to be stuck out all night especially if you have youngsters on board.
The usual one is a Nasa Target 2 available from Pirate’s Cave at about £80. Mount it on a box (containing the batteries) under the cuddy just aft of the mast where it is shaded but where the helm can see it. 2 x 6v =12v dry batteries are needed or a rechargeable m/cycle 12v battery and an on/off switch.
A (shed downspouting type) plastic tube of inside diameter just larger than the unit transducer and of sufficient length to extend about 50mm above the buoyancy space ply top needs to be bonded to the inside of the hull on about centreline in the for'd buoyancy space. The tube must also be bonded watertight where it passes through the buoyancy space ply top.
(Very necessary if the boat is ever swamped).
Dry the tube out, then fill to about 50mm depth with Glycerine of Thymol B.P. oil. Gently lower the transducer into the oil.
It is important that no water ever enters the tube because the unit will cease to function, so the top must be sealed. This can be done by a tapered softwood plug in two vertical halves with a hole at the centre of the two halves that is a tight fit on the cable. Make the plug watertight in the tube and the cable in the hole with waterproof sealer. The above method, if done properly, will ensure that the most important buoyancy space in the boat does not leak and remains effective when the boat is swamped.
Another way is just to bond a short tube to the hull inside the b/space. A hole has to be cut in the b/space top through which the transducer can pass and ( to ensure 100% watertight integrity of the b/space) the hole must be closed and sealed and the cable hole sealed.
One way to attempt to make a cover and seal is to cut a piece of 80 x 80 5mm ply in two halves and make a hole that is a close fit on the cable in the edges between the two halves. Secure the two halves to the b/space top hard up to the cable with plenty of waterproof sealer all round.
Bonding the tube to the hull is best done ashore in mild air temperature. Water (and hence hull surface temperature) rarely becomes high enough to make bonding afloat a viable proposition.
The method whereby the tube is bonded through the b/space top, whilst more trouble, ensures the watertight integrity of the b/space remains total if the boat is swamped (except if the construction is defective elsewhere).
When the space top cable entry is sealed as described above then there is a good chance that the seal around the cable will have been disturbed during the year and, if swamped, the space will gradually fill and the boat will lose its most important means of remaining afloat. The cable sealing should be cleaned off and resealed every winter.
(It depends on how you view these things of course) (L/Witch)
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Equipment: rudders
All serious racers have two rudders.
One for use when racing and one for use on the mooring.
The racing rudder should be removed after the race, cleaned off and kept inboard when on the mooring, preferably in a rudder cover.
The modern special lightweight rudders are about 30mm in thickness including the coating, whereas older rudders are 35 to even 38mm (the Rule maximum !) thickness, so owners having a heavy hardwood type of rudder might think about reducing the rudder thickness.
A note of caution here, the new rudders are made from spruce or equal which is flexible, but some hardwoods tend to fracture when stressed.
The resistance created by a correctly proportioned rudder, (provided no weather/lee helm) is, broadly speaking, in proportion to the vertical cross section of the blade so a reduction in thickness should produce a broadly proportional reduction in resistance.
Reducing the thickness of the stock and fitting packing pieces in way of the gudgeons plus changing the timber tiller for an aluminium tube will reduce weight which is important at the extreme ends of the boat.
To minimise drag caused by the rudder an optimum shape is vital:
a) the outline must be to within Rule limits (available from the NSOA Technical Adviser)
b) the leading edge should be straight in the upper part and, in section, radiused to about 1mm.
c) the horizontal section should be equally streamlined each side with the maximum thickness about 40% from the leading edge
d) the trailing edge should be fined down to a feather edge
e) the blade surface should be perfectly smooth with all hollows filled with filler and sanded smooth, and
f) from bare wood, the blade paintwork should be a primer followed by u/c and gloss with the gloss finally wet and dried down to eggshell finish. Paint the stock as the blade but, for appearance, leave the gloss as a gloss finish.
A dinghy type retaining spring clip fitted just above one of the gudgeons is usually sufficient to stop the rudder jumping of if the boat touches the ground. The lower pintle is usually drilled for a split pin but you can forget to put these in and they can bend and fall out.
(The Milanes type rudders are a special case and these notes do not apply.)
The mooring rudder is best made of 16/20mm waterproof ply or equal. Weatherproof ply or any other man-made timber product will soon disintegrate with continuous immersion in water.
The tiller can be a broom handle or old alloy tube.
The support fittings can be large dinghy fittings or even galv. ring bolts.
If you use dinghy fittings these have to be large enough to allow the pintle hole to be drilled/filed out to suit the Squib pintle diameter without unduly reducing the wall thickness around the hole and if the pintles on your boat are the fabricated stainless steel type you have to cut away the leading edge of the rudder below both gudgeons to clear the pintle supports.
The immersed blade should be about 200mm wide by about 400mm. length.
Paint as for the racing rudder except that the final coating of the immersed part should be two coats of anti-fouling. (L/Witch)
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Care of the boat: cleaning the underwater hull
A serious racer will need to clean the slime and growth from the underwater hull about every four weeks maximum. (Some Dragons wash weekly). Slime presence and marine growth are more prevalent, for obvious reasons, in the spring. In the Autumn, growth is much reduced.
The boat is floated over the Squib trolley which has been lowered into the river. Trolley and boat are then pulled out of the water and the club high pressure water hose is used to clean the hull.
The hose gun should be held not closer than about 300mm from the hull, any closer and the water pressure will remove the anti-fouling as well as the growth. Work carefully over the whole area.
Barnacles must be removed with a scraper.
The Club has rules to be adhered to during the process.
Three ‘WIRE ACROSS’ notices must be placed, two on the public right of way and one where the winch wire crosses the club concrete apron.
One person, usually the winch operator, must verbally forewarn any member of the public or club seen to be approaching the wire, especially when it is tight and raised above the ground.
Only trained persons may use the winch. Steve, the club Bosun will give a short training session.
Owners wishing to clean off must first obtain the agreement of the Bosun and then notify the office.
If the club rules are to be complied with, it is best to have two persons, one to handle the winch and look after wire safety and at least one to handle the boat.
A soft long handled brush should be carried on the boat and between ‘washings’, before each race, it is a good idea to manually clean off the underwater hull as far as can be reached from lying on the deck.
A ‘dirty’ hull will slow you down badly. (L/Witch)
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On the mooring: rudder setting
It is a club rule that, when the boat is lying on the mooring unattended, the tiller must be firmly lashed so that the action of the tidal flow on the rudder turns the boat to port i.e. the tiller must be lashed towards the starboard deck side.
The boats then all lie in the same direction and if any one boat is not moored correctly then will lie in a different direction causing contact with nearby boats and damage. (L/Witch)
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The Rig: the main outhaul
If the main outhaul purchase cleat is under the boom the crew pulls downwards and aft - and the cord has a tendency to fall out of the cleat.
If the cleat is sited on one of the upper faces of the boom, a downward and aft pull LOCKS the cord into the cleat and there should be no tendency to slacken. (L/Witch)
A MUST in sailing is means of preventing running rigging ropes (such as halyards) running away irretrievably.
All three halyards, the main and foresail sheets, the twinning lines, backstay control, spinnaker sheets, the foresail barbers, pole up and down controls and anything else that can run away MUST have a large knot, or better a small plastic colour-coded ball at the inner end.
If a knot, it MUST be large enough so that it will not pass the hole it must go through before it disappears.
A simple way of connecting the halyards etc. to the sails (and avoiding the use of shackles) is a plastic ball retained by a knot in the end of the hauling rope. Press a loop of the rope through the sail eye, pass the plastic ball through the loop and heave tight -- simpler and lighter - and no fitting to lose. (L/Witch)
The Medway and the Courses
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The Crew's View !!
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Roller reefing and furling
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Seamanship; leaving the mooring buoy, and returning to it
If when you go to board your boat and you see that the wind is in the same direction as the tide (as frequently happens at Upnor, i.e. strong ebb and westerly wind) and the boat is lying to (i.e. facing) wind and tide, in this situation raising or lowering the sails and leaving the buoy presents no problem.
The same applies to an easterly wind associated with flood tide when the boat will be lying with its head downriver.
Leaving the buoy when the wind and tide are in the same direction is straightforward. For obvious reasons it is best to sail from the buoy towards mid-river. Plan your routine for proceeding to mid-river before you cast off. To illustrate one way, if the boat is lying to wind and tide and facing up-river, set the barbers for beating, make sure the foresail sheet is released then push the main well out to port and turn the rudder so that the boat has to turn to port. The wind on the 'back' of the main will push the aft part of the boat round so that the bow is facing towards mid-river. As soon as the crew lets go, in a couple of seconds harden the mainsheet in, grab and set the foresail sheet and sail out through the most easily accessible opening in the next outriver trot. Aim for the upper end (remember it's a strong ebb!) of the space between the two moored yachts outriver of you, this should avoid drifting down on to the next moored yacht.
If, when you return from your race, you see that the boats on the Squib trot are still facing wind and tide, then it should be safe to make the approach with both sails up.
The routine is to approach on a tack in a line that will allow room for you to head up dead to wind just before the buoy. Ease or harden the sail sheets on the approach so that the boat has enough speed to just reach the buoy when the round-up is completed.
When you near the buoy the crew goes and lies on the foredeck ready to grab the dinghy/mooring line/ buoy whichever is easiest.
It might take a little practice but it will become easy in time.
Bring the sails down quickly, the wind direction can change suddenly leaving sails ‘thrashing’ which damages them.
BUT, it is very different when wind and tide are from different directions.
When the wind is in a different direction from the tide then the boat will lie at any angle to wind and tide depending on the conditions and this angle may change frequently as you prepare to sail the boat.
Hoisting the foresail in this situation, providing it is allowed to fly loose until you leave the buoy, will do no harm (except if the sail is allowed to ‘thrash’ for too long) but if the main is hoisted in a breeze, the wind coming almost certainly from aft of abeam, will overpower the tide effect and the boat will try to charge off in all directions dragging buoy and mooring chain out of line and/or the boat can charge up to the next boat causing contact damage.
So if the boat is not lying head to wind the main should not be hoisted on the buoy. You must hoist the foresail, sail to mid-river on the foresail, turn the boat head to wind and hoist the main.
This is not the easiest thing to do so here are a few things that will make life easier a) before you leave the buoy connect the main halyard to the sail and b) insert the main in the mast track and pull it up enough so that it cannot fall out but is not presenting enough area to be affected by the wind c) the boom end will be lying on the aft deck, make sure it can be lifted with one hand easily so that the tiller can pass under and you can steer the boat d) make sure the main halyard is visible and free of knots e) sail well to the windward side of the river before you start to hoist the main, leave plenty of room for the boat to drift backwards while you hoist the sail without fouling an obstruction and f) watch out for wayward motor cruisers, ships and keep clear of other class’s start line.
If, as you return from your race in a breeze you see that the adjacent boats are not lying to (i.e. facing) the tide because conditions have changed then the approach should be made under foresail only.
The procedure is the reverse of that used when leaving the buoy. Go to a windward shore with plenty of room to drift downwind, free all mainsail controls except the sheet, pull the sail down and make for the buoy under foresail only. Release the foresail at the last moment and slide quietly up to the buoy. Remember to allow for the tide which you will need to carry you towards the buoy and not away.
One can (and most of us have to admit to having done so) get away with not dropping the main in near calm conditions. But it needs some simple planning, the main must be completely free to drop (halyard laid out and no knots) before you reach the buoy and the main must be on it's way down within a couple of seconds of the crew having a secure hand on the mooring i.e. before any sudden puff has time to take charge and the boat starts charging around the buoy. NOT TO BE RECOMMENDED !!!! (L/Witch)
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