# Physics grad student with a new obsession



## ExperiencedInTheory (Jan 18, 2011)

I have never sailed until very recently (after my first boat purchase), but always thought it would be something I would enjoy, having spent a lot of time on lakes fishing with my father as a kid. I was casually browsing craigslist several months ago to get an idea for what was out there, when I stumbled upon a 1969 Newport (or Neptune...still not sure) 16 for an even grand, including the trailor, good sails, and a relatively new 2 motor.

I thought I could turn it around for at least that if I wasn't in to it, so what the hell. I have taken her out twice since (my only times sailing) in a small local lake. 

The second time, I was a bit brave, and was going single-handed in moderate winds with both sails up. A small lake ends fairly quickly when you are on a good downwind leg, and I was not quite prepared for the urgency with which I would have to turn. I didn't have time to drop the keel fully, and my very first accidental jibe felt like it nearly capsized the boat. The jib clew got snared on the mast and kept the boat heeled hard and I didn't have the option to turn down with the wind due to an immediate rocky shore, and was afraid to turn starboard due to the excessive heel to port. I had to wedge the tiller over with its extension, climb onto the bow and frantically drag both sails down. After jumping back to the stern and starting the motor with one hand while lowering the keel with the other I was finally back in control about 25 ft from the rocks. Reckless and indicative of inexperience, sure, but I ******* loved it.

I am considering my 16' Newport a training vessel, and I will upgrade after grad school. Nonetheless, the boat still needs a considerable amount of work. I was going to post pictures of the boat and some of its immediate needs, but apparently I need some more posts before I am allowed to do that. Anyway, this seems like a friendly place to gain some knowledge before my next trip out (which will be in a much larger lake, with a small crew). 

I have only really been sailing twice, and did not have anyone experienced with me either time. I have only read a text book and a popular book on sailing.


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## jjablonowski (Aug 13, 2007)

You'll appreciate the article, The Physics of Sailing, by Byron Anderson, _Physics Today_, Feb. 2008. Cookies Required


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Ex, dude, welcome to SN! Now, two threads you need to jump into...both of which have open questions regarding physics. We need your expertise...

The fluid dynamics associated with drogues:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/seamanship/48237-heavy-weather-sailing.html

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/722-jordan-series-drogue.html

The physics of railmeat:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/racing/70692-physics-railmeat.html

Help some brothas out!


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Theory, you can often find inexpensive "learn to sail" courses with a local Red Cross chapter, among other places. Or a good 3-day (two weekends) course with a sailing school.

Books are great, but sailing doesn't translate at all well or quickly from "seat of the pants" to "print". Once you've got the basics down, then the theory and the refinements make great sense on paper. but to get started?

You will NEVER regret the cost of a basic sailing class. If there's a local yacht club, boat club, sailing school...ask around, sometimes there are deals to be had, and sometimes folks will simply take you out and show you the basics just for the fun of it.

Pack a cooler with lunch and the odds are, someone will be glad to take you out on your own boat and show you how to do it. There are conventions and standard ways to do things that do make sense in the larger picture--but without someone to show you the right way to start, you'd miss all that too.

Simple things like coiling and cleating a rope. We all do it the same way, because that way eveyrone knows what to expect when they grab it.


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## FishSticks (Nov 16, 2007)

I'd say you have it exactly right. Keep on sailing that little boat in all kinds of weather and you'll likely learn something every time you go out. Your understanding of kinetic energy will be very useful for you are doubtless already aware that it's best to "always approach the dock at the speed at which you wish to hit it" in the words of one poster on this site.


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## ExperiencedInTheory (Jan 18, 2011)

Already a lot of great replies...I think I may end up with a new avenue to accomplish no work while in my office.

It may be blasphemy to some here, but I don't currently have any intention of taking lessons. The boat has done nothing to surprise me (in hindsight, in the case of the accidental jibe) and I am not having any trouble getting it around. Aside from having to execute urgent turns across the wind because the nearest lake is really too small for this, the only real problem I have is docking, but that is due to my motor. 

A tiny 2 hp motor actually moves this boat very well, but it has a centrifugal clutch that disengages the prop at "low" RPM's. As a result, you cannot move arbitrarily slowly with the motor; there is a minimum speed for the propeller, and it is enough to significantly accelerate the boat when you are trying to dock or trailer it. I have been cutting the power/dropping the sails about 60 meters out and finishing with an oar, which takes patience.

Due to the requirement of two posts before photos, the next post will have some photos of my boat and the work it needs.


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## ExperiencedInTheory (Jan 18, 2011)

Here it is in my backyard. I unfortunately have no pictures with it fully rigged.










The lower hull is good, aside from one spot above the water line where some apparent dock romance scratched through the gelcoat and slightly exposed the fiberglass. The upper hull has a lot of superficial cracks in the gelcoat, and in about four places, chunks on the order of a square centimeter or so have flaked off. Here is the worst such spot:










I was under the impression that this sort of damage to the upper hull can be taken to be largely cosmetic...if there is a pressing need to address this someone should let me know. I have noticed some cracks getting worse after I have taken it out, probably as a consequence of the boat sitting in the sun for two straight years before I bought it, and I have reinforced the hull in the front to try to minimize this. Notice in the above picture, that the winch, winch support, and cable were all replaced immediately before I purchased the boat.

When I bought the boat, the cabin had nothing more than a battery inside it, and looked like a neglected toilet bowl. The 70 pound deep cycle battery had a good mount in the far bow; its bracket was screwed into half an inch of laminated wood which was glued to the hull. I did not want to move it, but there was a lot of wasted space around it, so I built that partition, held in place with velcro, so I could stuff the life jackets up there as well. I am not sure how good of an idea it is to have something that heavy mounted permanently that far forwards in a 900 pound boat, but I don't know where else to put it. I have slept in here, and it has to be done with your head towards the bow so your feet can slide under the cockpit, but it is actually roomy enough for two platonic adults. For sharing it with a significant other, I cut another pad and some plywood, and built a small collapsible support structure so that the gap in the middle can be filled in flush with the rest of the berth.










Here is a view under the cockpit from the back of the cabin. There is supposed to be a lot of flotation foam back here...a quick estimate tells me I would need about 20 cubic feet to guarantee that the boat would float if flooded. I am not sure if I will end up piling some disorganized scrap styrofoam back here, or if I could find a place to custom cut some blocks so that they could also stiffen the hull and support the cockpit.










From the perspective of the previous picture, move forward about two feet and turn right. Here is the where the keel trunk meets the cockpit floor. This is not a good seal. The last weekend that I had the boat out, I motored seven people a short distance to a campsite, (not something I will ever do again) and the water line was very, very close to the cockpit floor. I had two inches of water above the cockpit in one place; the keel trunk is open to the water below at one spot in the cockpit and was completely flooded. I had two people in the cabin watching the floor for bilge water, and they never reported any, but I later sponged about two gallons of water from this area. The bolts for the keel are another place where water from the cockpit can enter the hull.










Another big problem with the boat, is that the piece of fiberglass forming the lower half of the cabin was meant to be sealed against the lower hull, trapping air for emergency flotation. I don't think there is any foam in there, but I could be wrong. The seam has come open though, and bilge water freely flows under the cabin. I had a picture but apparently forgot to upload it. As it stands, the boat would sink if I managed to capsize and flood it. This is probably not too much of an issue on a lake, but I would like to at least get some foam under the cockpit before the next time I go out.

Anyway, I need to stop thinking about sailing and start worrying about why my simulations of surface plasmon resonances stopped working properly. All opinions, good or bad, are welcome on the boat.

The mast was snapped and welded back together, and the rudder has been split and repaired. There is a tear in the mainsail that was also rigorously repaired, but I am quite happy with this thing for a $1000, especially since the motor apparently cost $800 four years ago.


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## FishSticks (Nov 16, 2007)

Good idea to not take sailing lessons. Why let someone try to spoil your fun? Ditching the motor will help sharpen your sailing skills quicker. Bring plenty of sunscreen and a good companion. You have the makings of a fine sailor. I can tell. If you want to sail a schooner someday send me a PM. I'll have some physics questions for you though.


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