Tuff...

This model sailboat was designed to sail in rough weather that the other models I have just can’t handle.
Too many times I have relied on weather forecasts calling for light winds....and its turns out to be more like a gale. I usually have four or five models with me when out for a day sailing. All are tucked into a sports bag,I take this model with me all the time now, just in case.

Sailboats on a cruise may carry small sturdy sails called ‘try sails’ that are used when they get caught in ‘a blow’. The normal sails would either cause a knockdown or be torn apart. ..Although not quite as small as a try-sail, this model has a modest sail area that still makes it go in light winds .

__The sail_________________

You need a hassle free rig when sailing in rough weather, things get fast paced with no time for adjusting stays and jibs. Here we have single stay-less sail with a straight leech (no battens), the plastic used is a bit heavier than the lightweight shopping bag thickness. The sail has a low CE that helps to reduce heeling. The boom rises upward from tack to clew to keep the clew free of the water when heeling on a reach.

There are many ways to rig a sail onto a mast, here is another one for the collection. The sail is attached to the mast using sections of plastic straws cut just a little bit longer than the width of (matte) clear tape. Lengths of tape are wrapped around the sections of straw, gripping the sail on each side.

The advantage of this method comes from the sail swinging (along the luff ) from one side of the mast to the other as the boat changes tack. Just like sails that use mast rings, only here we have short tubes instead. This minimizes the turbulent air bubble, and is much less trouble than laced on sails to remove and adjust.

The straw needs to be larger than the 1/4in dia. mast. I used a clear straw that lets the color of the mast show through, at a distance you cant even see the straws.

Tip -- Cut a strip of paper to find the length of tape you need, the length should go all around the straw sections and grip onto both sides of the sail with at least one half inch contact area.

To keep the sail in place, a short length of line with a stopper knot, slips through the straw at the head of the sail and attaches to the mast head, and at the tack it gets pegged into the hull with the mast. This only works if the straw is slightly larger than the mast in circumference, and the stopper knot will keep the line from slipping through. If the straw is too large, you can loop a length through the straw and attach as above.

Note: a peg was used on the deck to position the mainsheet under the sail's clew.

__The hull______________

The hull has a 60 degree a chine that cuts in along the bottom half of the hull. The chine sweeps from the stem to stern, on an arc, that gives a bit of bulk at the beam. The shape provides plenty of lift forward and run at the back that reduces drag.

At the stern, the hull’s ‘run’ has been increased to reach up to half the thickness of the hull. I faired in the chine and the run into the hull using a bench sander, wood planes will do the job without the noise and dust, but it will take a bit more time.

A few thin coats of spar varnish is applied over the hull and centre board, nothing fancy about this model, just good looking wood. I made the rudder with an angled leading edge, to keep it from catching debris (sea grasses). In light wind debris slows you down, when the sea is rough, you get knocked down. See dealing with debris

The photos show a particularly miserable day, with high winds coming directly onshore. There wasn’t much choice but to sail windward, (to the point of pinching) besides, any other point of sail resulted in a knockdown!
Into the wind meant wading deep, (not too deep, you can hardly wade at all in chest height water!) into the oncoming seas.

Sailing out in the beach face with light winds on a hot day can be a mellow experience bordering the sublime. But when it gets rough, it takes intense focus on the instant, and on the impendent, such as oncoming waves. And you must tread carefully, on calm days you can see things like big rocks. Everywhere around you there is movement, wind, water. Add to this, being chilled to the bone, fumbling around with numb fingers, all make a few minutes of sailing feel like a personal victory. (Unfortunately, it also results in crummy pictures...)

The sailing strategy is to take a wave head on (or directly on the stern) so that you have the length of the hull for stability. Wind and waves travel in the same direction, as you can sail windward, you will have to turn into the wind just as the wave approaches, this leaves you in a stall situation that you have to quickly come out of.
Once you have made it to the crest, you then turn to catch some wind, sail along the crest and down the face of the trough until you have to turn into the next wave.

Tuff was nimble enough to out manoeuver oncoming waves (most of the time :-)

rating - the model was designed for stronger wind, so in lighter wind speed -fair
stability - very good
crafting ease - moderate,
due to the hull, the sail is a bit tricky at first, easy once you get going

tip: try not to touch the sticky side of the tape unless you intend to dispose the part that you touch, use the tip of a toothpick or a pencil to move and position the tape instead of your fingers.

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