Long Island Catamaran Sailors' Association
Sailing Tips & Helpful Hints
A very clever "A" Class beach/hard pavement dolly.
Click the picture to go to a cool sailing site.

The following sailing tips and helpful hints are for all catamaran sailors but especially for those sailors who are just getting started. They are intended to be low cost solutions to common problems. Hope you find them useful. If you would like to add your own solutions just email them to  LICSA and we will post them with your name, email address and a link. Fair winds and good sailing.
 
 

Humming Rudders?
Mainsail flogging on beach?
Cheap beach dolly?
Fast jib sheet attachment? 
Lower budget trailer beams? 
Which wind indicator? 
Want to go camping?
 Your idea here.
Jib blocks hard to uncleat?
Life Jackets?
Rusty Daggerboards?
 Boards hard to move up & down?
 
1. Rudders/boards humming?  The simple solution is to use a pair of scissors to put a nice V shape on the trailing edge of the rudder. Do this carefully since sharp scissors will take off material very quickly. Don't make the V too abrupt but rather long. (about 3 to 5 mm) You can square off the trailing edge just a bit so that it is not too sharp. No reason to cut yourself. Make sure that the leading edge of the rudder or board has a nice smooth U shape. Finish up this job with careful sanding. (600)
2. Does your mainsail flog like crazy while the boat is parked on the beach?    Ease your downhaul tension. This is like shutting off the motor. Also make sure that you disconnect your mainsheet blocks. This will help prevent the boat from flipping if the wind shifts. Rolling the jib around itself is also a good idea when parked. (Not possible for Hobie 16 sailors)
3. Having trouble pulling your boat up on the beach?      If you can not afford beach wheels, buy a pair of matching rubber boat fenders. Make sure they are not too soft since soft fenders (sometimes called bumpers) will not support the boat and will actually damage the sides of the hulls. Place one fender under each hull and pull away. Carry them with you and you can pull up anywhere it is relatively flat. This is a great way to help prevent hull damage.  It's not perfect but it works.
4. Is that 1/4 inch bow shackle that attaches your jib blocks to your jib beating your mast to death?   Get rid of it!  That's right.  Replace it with a simple rope set up that doesn't wreck the mast, holds like crazy, and is easy to connect and disconnect.  What follows sounds involved but with the materials in hand it is very easy. This is what you do:    
    • Remove the shackle and place it on the boat as an extra.
    • Attach about a 12 inch piece of 1/8 inch non-stretch line to one of the jib sheet blocks. I do this by passing one end through the strap/hole at the top of the block.  I then tie a figure eight knot in the line so that it can not be pulled back through the strap/hole. I pass the other end of this same line through the same strap/hole, but this time in the opposite direction. I tie another figure eight knot in this end of the line so that the line can not pulled back through the strap/hole. You should now have about a four inch loop of line attached to the block.
    • Use an anchor bend knot to attach one end of another piece of 12 inch 1/8 to 1/4 inch line to the strap/hole of the remaining block. No loop this time! Just attach one end of the line.
    • Place a figure eight type knot at the other end of this line. When you make the figure eight knot take one or two additional wraps around the line instead of just one before finishing the knot. This makes the knot nice and "fat".
    • You are now ready to attach your jib sheets to the jib clew without the shackle.
    • Push the loop attached to one of the jib blocks through the clew hole in the jib.
    • Thread the line with the knot in the end through the above loop where it exits the clew cringle. Pull the loop tight so that it locks against the line with the figure eight knot in the end. The loop should pull the figure eight knot up against the jib hole.
    • Your jib sheet lines are now connected to the jib without a shackle. You may need to adjust the length of the loop and the length of the line with the figure eight knot in it to suit your cat. Smaller line for the loop part and larger line for the line with the knot in it also works well.
    • To remove, simple push the loop so that the line with the knot can be removed.
    • I have been using this system on my catamarans for many years without a failure.  Just make sure that you check the lines on both blocks for wear and replace when necessary.
    • The above idea was introduced to Long Island catamaran sailors by Robbie Daniels.
5. Looking to set up a low budget trailer?  Purchase the bare bones standard trailer without the metal cross beams. Metal cross beams are at least $50 to $75 each. Rollers add even more cost. Instead, purchase two 2 X 10 X 10s for wider boats or 2 X 10 X 8 for most cats. Cut the longer length of lumber to 8 feet 6 inches. Treated lumber is OK but if you stain some nice fir it will last. Attach the wooden crossbeams to the trailer with 2 galvanized bolts, washers, lock nuts and a metal strap at each of the 4 places where the beams intersect the trailer frame. Bolts go through the top of the wood so that they exit very close to the sides of the trailer frame. Drill two holes in the metal strap to accept the two bolts. Place the strap onto the bolts and attached the lock nuts to the bolts to secure the strap. Add some fast drying indoor outdoor carpet where your boat's hulls will rest, two holes in the ends of each cross piece for rope tie down loops, and you are set.  If you want to add rollers to the rear cross piece that works too but more damage is done to fiberglass hulls but metal roller supports than any other cause. Mount the rollers in wooden blocks covered with carpet. I have been using this approach for too many years to remember. No scratched hulls! 
6. Which wind indicator should I purchase?   Do yourself a favor and don't purchase any! Attach a few pieces of recording tape or yarn to the bridle. Use it to get a general idea of where the wind is coming from. Use the telltales on the jib and the main and the sound and feel of the boat to sail faster. When you change sail trim and or direction, listen to and feel the boat for speed. You will sail much faster.
7.  A great solution for moving gear posted by J. Cupp   I camp on an island on upper Klamath Lake in Oregon. We have VERY COLD water here most of the year ( Elevation is 4500 ft)and with all that gear on the tramp it would be almost impossible to right a cat. I found that towing a rubber raft behind the catamaran makes the boat faster than putting all that stuff on the cat. I sail a Sol Cat and it's very sensative to weight. If you load the boat it won't fly a hull or make rooster tails off the rudders. With the raft I loose only a small fraction of the performance, I can still fly a hull and the raft tows excellent. Overtons dicount marine sells a wide raft designed just for that purpose, it even has a cargo net to keep all your stuff on if you really stack it high. The raft is called the "Space Shuttle MTV" or multi towing vehicle. Works great and having a tidy trampoline is great! Once you set up camp your free to sail without the raft. One more thing is use a long tow rope so that the spray from your boat won't soak all the stuff, I use a 50' of tow rope.  Have Fun Sailing/Camping   
J. Cupp 
8.  Are your jib blocks hard to uncleat on your Nacra 5.8, 5.7, 5.0, 4.5 or 6.0NA and 5.5Sl with the 4 way wire adjustment removed? (You know, that wire that crosses the tramp that you crew affectionately refers to as the meat slicer.)  Go to your local rigger or West Marine and make up two 5 inch lengths of  1/8 ss 1 X 19 wire cable. You need a thimble nicro pressed on each end. Make sure that the thimbles are large enough for the straps on you boat that hold the jib blocks. Attach one end of the cable to the jib block with a shackle and the other end of the cable to the strap mounted on the boat or the adjustable sliding car. Protect your deck with a piece of old 1/4 inch wet suit material cut into a rectangle. Make it about 8 x 12 inches. You put a small hole in the middle of the wet suit material and slide the cable through the hole before you attack the blocks. This will act as a cushion for the jib blocks and help to prevent the blocks from beating the heck out of the surrounding deck area. The pigtails raise the blocks and make it easier to uncleat the jib sheets from any angle on the boat. Attach a piece of shockchord to the fairlead straps on each block to keep the blocks facing the center of the boat. Your crew will appreciate your thoughtfulness and you will too.
9.  Life Jackets  If you are planning to purchase a life jacket try it on over your trapeze harness to make sure that the jacket doesn't totally block the hook. Further, do not buy blue or dark colors for your life jackets. Get a color that will be easily spotted from a rescue boat. Yellow seems to work very well. Safe sailing and always wear your life jacket. It can't save you if it is tied to the boat.
10.Rusty Daggerboards?  That's due to the fact that Nacra uses  non stainless steel nuts and bolts to secure that black knob preventer to their daggerboards. Either replace the bolt and nut with stainless or get rid of the knob completely.  If you remove the knob you will need to replace it with something that will prevent the board from going straight through the well. You will need a piece of 1/4 inch line about 8 to 10 inches long and two pieces of small diameter hose about 1 1/2 inches in length for each board. I used small diameter garden hose.  Pull the line through the hole in the board. Thread one piece of hose on to the line on each side of the board. Secure each end of the line with a figure eight knot. Make sure that the knot is tight and will not come apart. The hoses will prevent the line from jamming between the daggerboard and the daggerboard well.  No more rust or crushed fingers under the black knob. It is also easier to store the boards since there are no big black knobs 
to get in the way.
11.Nacra dagger boards hard to move up & down? This is because the Nacra factory setting of the shock chord (a loop) is way too tight. Remove the double loop. (You have to remove the shock chord ties, those little metal guys that hold the chord together.) Secure one end of the single piece of shock chord to the eye strap with a figure eight knot to prevent it from pulling through. Thread the other end of the single piece of shock chord through the Nacra supplied black roller. Tie two figure eight knots each in a different location on the end of the shock chord. The shock chord is secured by placing it in the hook type fitting that is secured to the deck near the well. The figure eight knot prevents the shock chord from pulling through. Adjust the two knots so that the first knot, when secured, will not allow the dagger board to move at all. This is the setting you use when launching or beaching the boat. Adjust the other  knot so that it will allow the board to move up and down easily. This is the setting that you use when you are sailing. This really works great and is a very easy modification. You can also glue thin strips of indoor-outdoor carpet along the top and bottom edges of the well to improve up down movement and remove the slop between the board and the well.
 
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