Well it’s time once again for an installment of Daddio’s Tech Talk. It’s been a while and even though you haven’t heard about it there have been some significant tech’s to talk about. Today we’ll talk about two issues.

Issue #1

First off, as you may know, Cannibal is very unusual in that she has two centerboards…or rather should have two centerboards. On Cannibal, the main board is located just aft of the mast and is used primarily for upwind work. The mizzen board or trimmer board is located further aft toward the after end of the keel. The mizzen board is used primarily for reaching and off the wind work to reduce weather helm. This arrangement is one of the things that makes Cannibal so special. She sails very well balanced at any point of sail if you have the boards adjusted right. While we were sailing from Mona Island to Ponce, the wire pendant that controls the mizzen board broke. “No big deal,” I thought, Read the rest of this entry »

Weather windows rule the “cruising” itinerary, you can “sail” in any weather, but to “cruise”, you have to take it easy and wait for easy going weather. “Type A” personalities have a hard time cruising. You can stick to a schedule if you are so compelled, but there is a good chance that you won’t feel like you’re on a pleasure vessel,  because it may not be very pleasurable in rough weather.

When we crossed the Gulf of Mexico in January, we sailed 800 miles in 8 days; 5 days of that time in very rough and adverse conditions. Of course, if we had waited for a week-long weather window we might still be in Texas. Since then we’ve come an additional 700 miles in about 80 days. We were “sailing” across the Gulf. Now we are cruising. Read the rest of this entry »