Sails like a witch!

After a bit more fiddling and fettling we finally had Sneaky Shark sailing at the end of May and she goes like a dream.

We sailed in reasonably light winds with both full sail and one reef in (just to try it out).   I need to play with the reefing arrangement to make it easier but it all worked just fine.  It was very interesting to watch the rig flex and absorb/spill gusts as they hit and I’m starting to understand why some people really rave about the simplicity and performance of a well set up balanced lug rig.

There is a little bit of play between the rudder blade and the cassette that isn’t really a problem but would be annoying on a long sail so I will try and fix that with some thin rubber or foam glued to the top of the rudder blade.  I’m also going to get the sail modified a little so that battens are held in with Velcro (or similar) rather than sewn in as they are now with a stich at the end of the pocket.

Annoyingly my hectic schedule has not allowed any more time sailing the goat since this first sail but I have now signed up to take part in Raid England that is 5 days of sailing on the East coast.   I can’t wait!   With some luck I can also get some after work sails in although the British summer has been particularly poor this year, perhaps we are due a change for the better.