Log of SV Free Spirit and ships company

The chronicles of the schooner Free Spirit and her crew, embarking on an open ended journey upon the great rolling heap. Free Spirit is currently pursuing humanitarian and commercial goals in the Dominican Republic, on the island of Hispaniola. Working under the Ocean Reach USA and Paradigm Research banners, she is serving as logistics headquarters, workshop, and development laboratory for many ongoing projects. This is the log of her journey.....

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Sunday, June 08, 2008

We Have Found This Key

Blayde and I lounging around on the back deck.... We had a perfect sail from the Dry Tortugas to Key West the day after Easter. We were in steady 15 knot winds with gust to 20, and we were able to make 9 knots heeled over at only about 12 degrees! For you non sailors - it was AWESOME! We were really impressed with her performance in those conditions. We have learned that she does not sail well in light winds due to her gaff rigged design, but shines like a star in heavy winds.



~ Due East~



Gettingclose to Key West, the winds picked up quite a bit and we were getting soaked up on deck from the spray! Happy Times!



Tamer and I took my Mom and the boys to Florida back in 2002. We left them at a resort and headed out for a 5 day cruise to Belize/Key West. We were on a cruise ship in this same port and we sat up on the deck and watched all the beautiful sailboats go by. We promised each other that 'one day' we would be watched sailing by this same dock so we could see Key West again, with the boys and our home. It was quite an emotional accomplishment for both of us!



Our first Key West sunset.



Free Spirit, settled at anchor once again. We will never tire of seeing pictures of her IN the water!



When the fishing boats came into the dock, the boys, and the kids from Pilgrim had a great time watching the birds get all the scraps.



The cruiser's parking lot..... We are the 3rd down on the right :-)



Having lunch with our new friends from Pilgrim.



Blayde, climbing the mast free hand.... I am sure that it had nothing to do with the fact that there was a 12 year old girl visiting from Pilgrim ;-)



Watching the kids climb and collect seed pods to give to friends in Alaska.



Playing like crazy, wild banshees that live on sailboats and have no room to really run.



Tag! Your it!



Every day at sunset there is a gathering on the boardwalk called the 'Sunset Festival'. It was a lot of fun, good entertainment, good food, and good friends ~ What more could a person want?



Another schooner heading out for a sunset cruise, full of passengers.



The great tight rope walker of the sunset festival. Our new friend Fritz, was called out of the audience to catch the performers props.



posted by CT | 1:21 PM

1 Comments:

Blogger Gayle said...

Every day you are blessed to meet fresh faces, see new places and learn more really cool stuff! You are so lucky!

3:12 PM  

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Introducing Propcalc 4.0

Use Propcalc to easily match your hull with your engine, transmission, and propeller
Put the known data in the top fields, then hit the Update button to get the answers.
Results, of course, should be verified by a Naval Architect or qualified surveyor.
Data is provided for three bladed propellers of average type
For two or four bladed props, use the modifiers shown below.

Fill out the fields as follows:

Vessel LWL (ft) = Waterline length
Vessel Disp (lbs) = Vessel displacement
(max) HP = Rated Engine Max HP
Engine RPM max = Engine RPM at Max HP
Engine RPM cruise = Desired or estimated cruise rpm
(Cruise or Max) Kts = Speed to work the calculations for
Slip = Propeller efficience. 45% is average for a displacement cruiser.
Gear ratio = 1: Gear ratio of transmission
SL Ratio Adj. = This value will be added (or subtracted, if a negative value) to the calculated S/L ratio.

Key information:

If the "hp required" is greater than the "cruse HP", you have your cruise RPM set too low for your engine parameters.
If the "hp required" is significantly less than the "cruse HP", you have your cruise RPM set too high for your engine parameters.
If the "hp required" is greater than the "Max HP", then your target speed is too high for your engine/hull parameters.
The S/L ratio is calculated automaticaly based on your input. It can be adjusted if necessary, but normally it should be left alone.
If the calculated S/L ratio exceeds S/L MAX, then the results are likely to be non-predictive. Try a lower speed requirement.
SL Ratios of 1.1 - 1.4 are typical of displacement hulls. Semiplaning or planing hulls can go higher.

Typical propeller slip values:

Sailing auxiliary, barges, etc less than 9 Kts............45%
Heavy powerboats, workboats 9 - 15 Kts....................26%
Powerboats, Lightweight Cruisers 15 - 30 Kts..............24%
High speed planing boats 30 - 45 Kts......................20%
V bottom race boats 45 - 90 Kts...........................10%


Note:

it is possible to get irrational answers by irrational input , I.E specifying excessive speed for hull type and length
Any attempt to exceed hull speed (1.34 times the square root of the waterline length in feet) with a displacement hull are likely
to fail unless the hull is extremely fine (multihull) or otherwise exceptional. In such cases, an S/L adjustment would be in order.

2 and 4 bladed props:


For two bladed propellers, multiply the diameter by 1.05, and the pitch by 1.01
For four bladed propellers, multiply the diameter by .94, and the pitch by .98
PROPCALC
  Inputs:
Vessel LWL (ft) =
Vessel Disp (lbs) =
  (max) HP =
  Engine RPM max =
  Engine RPM cruise =
  (Cruise or Max) Kts =
  Slip =
  Gear ratio = 1:
  SL Ratio Adj. =
   
    Solutions:
  Prop rpm max =
  Prop rpm cruise =
  Pitch =
  Diameter =
  Static Thrust =
  Cruise HP =
  Cruise HP% =
  SL Ratio =
  DL Ratio =
  SL Max =
  HP Required =