Chrysler Sailors Forum

So now... this hapi camper has finally gotten his
chrysler tail-feathers wet...

I have taken my boat to two different lakes, and the bigger lake, Lake Quachita has been monumentally wonderful. 5th cleanest lake in America, but I think that information is old... the water was scuba-gear clear to 15 or 20 feet. We are getting much better at raising the mast quickly (we trailer the boat everywhere), and the board-winch-rope'n-pulley system is working well, and quickly. Only painful thing is having to raise the mast 10 degrees once all the way back down, in order to get it released from the "finger" foundation on the deck.
My kids are beginning to shine on it, but haven't really caught the idea square yet... my oldest was steering the boat in what had to be near-ideal conditions... "suddenly" the wind moved to what I would consider true ideal conditions: bright sunny day, a steady wind raising waves maybe a foot high, a little better at times... the boat really began to perform... and the boat... ahem.... tilted. You know, that whole "sailing" thing. wind blows, boat tilts. yeah that.... Well my oldest panicked. he was wigging out, and I just kept looking around for what he was wiggin' on. What a whale in Lake Quachita? Nope. Giant Octopus? Nope. I'm thinkin' "whut?" the whole time. It was ideal. We tilted maybe 15 degrees... really nice sailing... and my son totally tosses the tiller, preparing to abandon ship. I looked at all the water, and asked him where he expected to go. To me, it was hillarious, because I was certainly oblivious. Perfect freakin' day. Beautiful. I told them, and told them, and told them.... sailboats lean over. At 15 degrees, they're losing it. It's good that I decided to get them used to sailing while the weather and wind is slow and calm.
Any comments on how to teach a kid to bridle his unfounded fears?
I'm not sure if they actually believe me still, that a sailboat simply tilts over.
Anyone ever truly lay a Chryler 22 on it's side??? I'd love to know.
We sail keel up (shallow shoals), and I haven't found a reason to put it down yet.
Chrysler... excuse me... "The dragonfly" is straight, true, and demonically strong downwind, but I've been having a little trouble moving upwind in light weather. Does upwind leg improve with stronger wind? Any tips, or tricks for moving upwind. It took a really long time.... speaking of which, is there an optical illusion involved while sailing on water? It seemed to take an enormously long time to sail what seemed "not so far away".

All in all.... the fun..... has begun.
Peace-out,
Bill

Congratulations Bill!

Sorry the kids struggled a bit but hey, we all have our concerns!

As far as sailing up wind, drop the keel and you will get much better performance assuming you do not go aground! LOL!

Optical allusion for distance on the water YES YES YES!!!!
Things always look closer than they really are! Good you have figured that out! Most people find out when they panic, jump over in hopes of swimming to shore only to find shore is 3 miles away not 1/2 a mile! BAD time to find out!


Hmm, as far as easing the fears, There is no practical way to ease an irrational fear. Some folks I can demostrate with model boats, articulating tables, and an undustrial strenght fan and they suddenly understand. Others however, no matter what you show, say , or do, simple fear the tilting boat. My bride for example, fly one of the hulls on my ole' 18' solcat and it was a blast! Heal Destiny 15 degrees and her eyes glaze over, knuckles get white, and a death grip is on anything she can grap! Yikes!

The best you can do, is understand they have a fear. Work very very slowly with them. Do not force the issue. Simply slowly work slow calm days increasing the heal. Teach your son how to release the main and jib to immediately stop the healing. Show him HE is in control. Show him HE can heal more, or heal less depending on wind, sail position and boat angle to the wind. Once he realizes HE can control exactly how much he heals, he may feel better!

I had one lady on a 36' Crealock in near panic mode when she was at the helm and her hubby on the bow raising the staysle. She stood at the wheel as stiff as a board healing her body with the boat! White knuckled and wide eyed. I asked her what was wrong? Well she admitted she was scared! While I told her she was sailing the boat all wrong! Asked if I could take the helm and show her the proper way. She immediately said yes and was glad to be rid of the wheel! I slide over, sitting on the windward lazerette, put one leg left of the wheel, one leg right of the wheel propping my foot up on her table, kicked back, relaxed, yawned as I put one hand on the wheel and told her to let go of it!!! Yikes! She was looking at me like I was nuts! I was kicked back, relaxed, feet up, one hand on the helm, literally yawning and I wanted the helm! She did release the helm to me. I asked for some cocpit cushions. Hmm, we don't have any she said. How about a hammock? Nope don't have one of those either. She asked me why I wanted such things. Well, heck, sailing can be all out racing or . . . . .Kick back, relax, enjoy the ride! The boat is a better sailor than all of us! Trust the boat and its captain! After a few minutes I had her take my place at the helm. This time, she sat, leaned back, one hand on the wheel straddling it like I had. Being a nice lady she did not put her foot up. After a few minutes she looked totally relaxed! See! I said, you can sail AND relax!


Well, it took almost three months before I received another communication from her after our day of sailing. Happy it was! Her cockpit cushions had arrived, the hammock was in, and her sailing was much more comfortable! She thank me graciously for the simple help I provided!

Help your son relax! Show him you are relaxed! Never show fear or apprehension or they will see it! NEVER yell even in jest or just to be heard. Your confidence in the boat, in yourself, and you abilities is very easy to see. He will react and respond to your actions and fears. Be smart, yes. But do not show apprehesion when you have it. Just be the strong wise skipper your son needs!!


I'm SURE he will come around!

Scott

Bill

Boat in the water... sounds like fun. Think I'll try to get some more work done this weekend. (LOL)

Terrence
Wilmington N.C.
Chrysler 26' 1980
Pandora (for now)

First, get the keel down. The boat will heel less at all wind speeds and track better upwind. Think of an airplane, the wings need the tail for control. Second, when it starts heeling get everyone sitting on the high side. The boat weighs less than 3000 lbs, so any weight applied up high on the rail will reduce the heeling to some degree. Even on bigger boats the crew weight helps flatten the boat. My father has a Hobie 33, a very light monohull for its size and when we race, crew weight is placed strategically. Third, put a tiller extension on it. The skipper can then get into a more relaxed position in the seat or up on the rail. I just built a new tiller and put an extension on it, my back has been thanking me since!

Last weekend we had better (more) winds than we have had since we purchased the boat. My girlfriend, kids, and I were out in the ICW sailing south toward Clearwater Pass, the wind gets pretty gusty due to the spoil islands, bridges and condos. Had a lull for a few minutes and everyone was comfortable in the cockpit having a snack, then got a big gust. My girlfriend was sitting aft on the low side when it hit. I wasn't watching the water ahead or I would have seen the wind hitting ahead. My feet weren't braced when it hit and I had the mainsheet cleated so by the time I felt it, the boat heeled hard and put the toerail in the water. I ended up rounding up for a moment, then got it back under control and continued on. My girlfriend had quite the terrified look on her face when her shoulder went in the water. The kids didn't mind too much, but they have been on sailboats since they were little.

When I have a nervous crew, I always point to the spreaders and tell them to watch them, when they are in the water it means we heeled too much. Watch some racing videos on Youtube to show him what every other monohull does when it gets windy and show him the keel and explain its job in keeping the boat upright.

My Dad use to sell Chrylers in Tuscaloosa, Al. We took a customer on a maiden voyage over in Atlanta. A storm came up on the lake and at one point while I was down in the cabin the boat was so far over I saw water come by the windows. She held steady as my father told the client the boat was designed not to tip due to the keel weight..He bought the boat