Contemplating R2AK (Race to Alaska) 2016

[stumpy]

Quite a few folks on sailfar are likely aware of R2AK (last June marked it's first running), the 750 mile race up the inside passage from Port Townsend, Wa to Ketchikan, AK.  Sail, row, paddle, (swim???), any size big or small...two checkpoints to keep entrants honest...the only rule, NO MOTORS.  First prize, $10,000...second prize, a nice (debatable) set of steak knives.  The race website, www.r2ak.com is pretty entertaining.

I had planned on entering with my Electra last year, although the possibility of negotiating 18 knot tidal flows with sail and sweeps on her solo was a bit daunting. Unfortunately I fly fire tankers during wildfire season and things got busy early so no race for me.

This year I'm planning on going.  Vessels already entered range from F-27 trimarans, etchells 22's, and hi-tech oddities to kayaks and open traditional boats.  I'm still questioning my ability to row the Electra effectively, and I'm not sure I want to risk her anyway, although she'd be comforting in the potentially rough waters of Queen Charlotte Sound north of Vancouver Island.  I'm not concerned with "winning..." I just want to do it for the sake of doing it, in a boat along traditional lines, small enough to row, but with the ability to remain buoyant and sealed up in  rougher stuff....in other words, not keen on an open Whitehall, etc.  That being said I've defined my effort to be "small" and "minimalist."

So...yesterday a fella who's leaving the area asked if I knew anyone who wanted a "free" boat and trailer.  I foolishly said yes.  Now I have to decide on passing it along to a needy sailor or making a half-dozen mods I've already mapped out and using her as my mount for R2AK.  She's a little homebuilt  Weekender 16 gaffer...plywood and glass. Picture attached.

Not much for a keel, so I'm thinking of adding a couple pivoting leeboards if she requires them to claw upwind;  building some solid, doggable hatches; add at least one big cockpit drain (it's a real small well);  fabricate a removable rowing seat and two-piece sweeps; perhaps cast a shallow 100# +/- lead shoe to bolt on the keel....and of course strengthen the key structural and rig points.

I think she could fit my requirements...hopefully I can get her to sail to weather a bit; very rowable;  enough room to sleep out of the weather for short stretches and for minimalist gear stowage; beachable if absolutely necessary; small and light enough to require minimal ground tackle; repairable enroute within reason;  if I can seal up belowdecks in a solid fashion buoyant like a wood ping-pong ball;  and...frankly...she's EXPENDABLE.  (the Electra ain't)

I realize this plan is moderately nuts...but would welcome comments both humorous and productive, particularly regarding mods to the boat.  As Frank could likely tell ya, the route itself is as much about planning around tides and currents as anything else.   


   

[stumpy]

Having re-read my overly-long above posting, thought I should clarify a wee bit.
I'm very aware that these little buggers don't sail that well, lack real stability, and when they do capsize are purt-near impossible to right.  Their "salty" appearance is "faux-seaworthy" me thinks.  It's pretty much a flat bottom skiff with a pronounced keel and deck.

That being said, for this endeavor I'll be rowing sooner or later...and it might do that OK.  This one has been modded somewhat.  It needs more, hence the changes I outlined above...figured sailfar would be the place to go for more input.  Heck, if it can't be improved I'll likely take the Electra and be happier and live longer.

[Frank]

OK....I'm gettin older ....    That said, I'd be taking the Electra. I've seen what a strong wind can do to an opposing tide on Johnstone Straight and Queen Charlotte Sound.

Could you do it on the lil boat.....probably
Would I....nope   :o

And yep......using the tides/currents plays a huge role in cruising that area.
Difference between a good day and a bad one. I't's fun to see 4.5knt boat speed making 5.7+SOG

[Norman]

Stumpy, you may be an accomplished and very qualified solo sailor, but if you are going to race the R2AK, not just cruise while it is happening, take the Electra.

Make the adjustment to sail with a co pilot who is skilled in the PNW, maybe even try to recruite Frank.  With the relative comfort and additional speed of the Electra, you may even be competitive, and for sure, capable of much longer hours per day and daily run.  With another on board, pulling watches, 24 hour sailing becomes possible, easily doubling NM made good.  Meals under way can even be convenient, maintaining vitality and vigilance.

There must be many other small boat sailors in the NW that have skills similar to Frank's, the challenge is to find one in time for next year.  Starting now, you may find one, just remember, next year starts in about a week, and the race is just half a year away!

Your little day sailor will be a possible entrant, with its true minimalist capacity, and will make a very satisfying cruiser, challenging your skills and indurance.  Making race based decisions on so long a route will have you in very fatigued condition, and deciding to go a little farther, or stopping with more daylight left.  After deciding to go on, and the wind kicks up, and no suitable port near, you have a problem that would not have been there cruising.  Minimalist and racing do not go well together no matter how well prepared you are.

There were some truly awesome small craft in the first one, and many lasted far longer than most people expected, and that may be the subset you are targeting.  If so, I will definitely be cheering for you!

I am sure that your training and experience as a pilot, plus many years of sailing give you a much better decision history, but I am with Frank, do able in the little vessel, better in the Electra!
Norman
ASEL, COM, INST.

[Tim]

I don't want to be a naysayer, but the feedback from contestants and the race director,all pointed out that those starting with a new boat had a very difficult time of it, in fact I am not sure if any finished. The weather can be dead calm or blowing like a stink, with currents that will send you backwards if not capable of sailing right into them.
If you are going to be relying on sails, you need to know and handle your boat expertly.

[Godot]

I would never presume to tell you whether a particular boat is suitable to a particular mission. This is SailFar, after all. But I may have some insight...

Many years ago I built a Weekender. I loved that little boat. I took her all over Narragansett Bay, and even weathered 30+ knots and 60 foot seas. Ok...the seas weren't 60', obviously, maybe 6'; but from the little boat they looked huge! I spent a lot of time outside of site of land, while only a mile or so away, as the bottom of a moderate wave trough will be like a valley.



The boat is a dinghy with a very small cabin. I found the short keel was adequate. I suspect the hard chine helped a lot while heeled over. The boat definitely liked a little heel. In lighter air I often sat on the leeward side to induce some. Again, I think those chines really need to bit for it to sail half way decently. Without presenting a bit of a V to the water, some waves will stop the boat cold.

I wouldn't put lead on the bottom. I doubt it would help much unless you put in a much deeper keel to get a decent lever arm, and the extra weight would likely hurt the performance, which is not going to be stellar anyhow.



The boat must be sailed like a dinghy. That is, you never cleat off the main. It is very important to be able to ease the main in a hurry when a gust hits.

I never dumped the boat, even sailing in weather I had no business being in. Frankly, so long as the main isn't cleated and you are paying a little bit of attention, you will likely be OK. I almost got swamped by a large, fast, wake throwing, power boat; but barely held on. I did capsize intentionally, once, just to see what would happen. It wasn't hard to make happen. And it wasn't hard to right again. Unfortunately, while righting the boat wasn't a problem, it collected so much water that it became very unstable, and getting back in again without re-capsizing was a challenge. And this was in a flat calm lake. It holds enough water that bailing will take awhile. I imagine if you can keep the cabin sealed well enough (dog the hatch and hatchboards somehow?), a lot less water would make its' way inside and a capsize would be a lot less trouble.

I don't think the cockpit can be made self draining, any more than any other dinghy can be made self draining. A drain hole would likely let more water in than out.

She beaches fine. An advantage of the little stub keel.

I doubt you will have to worry about beefing up much. The gaff rig has low forces on it, and will probably be fine as is, provided it is in decent shape to begin with. Actually, being a plywood boat, the biggest thing to worry about is probably rotten wood. If the hatch does a half way decent job of keeping out the weather, I wouldn't even upgrade that, unless you really think you can make the cabin mostly water tight. Actually, along those lines, it might be worth filling any space you can with foam (under and behind the seats, for instance), or perhaps just sealing them off (or filling them with inflated boxed wine bladders), as the extra buoyancy might just help if you turn the boat into a bathtub. It is worth considering adding a reef point, though. I used mine a bunch (again, I sailed it in weather I had absolutely no business being out in).

For the first year or so I rowed mine. She rowed adequately; but I found it challenging to keep the rudder centered. If the rudder moves even a little, you will find yourself rowing in circles. It might help to have a little compass mounted at the stern to help you keep a straighter coarse.

I once met a guy who sailed his Weekender from (I think) Maine to Florida. Definitely an exercise in minimalism. And way outside the mission statement for the boat. The extreme shallow draft does allow taking detours through passes normal boats would never consider.

It's a great little boat. I miss mine a lot. I'm not really certain she is well suited to an adventure like you propose, though. Really, protected seas are where she belongs. But, I'm not one to tell anyone they can't do something. A reasonably rugged individual would have a decent chance of surviving the race in a Weekender. Probably.

[Frank]

Exellent post Adam!!!
Great points!  An M15 sailed to Hawia, Tinkerbelle at 13ft crossed the Atlantic, Shrimpy at 18ft "went around".  Yep....small boats can be very capable!!
The Straight of Georgia, Johnstone Straight and Queen Charlotte Straight can be kitty cats, but they can change very quickly too. If the wind happens to be against tide....it ain't pretty  :D
My 23 was probably about 4500lbs+ laiden in cruising trim. The times I got caught, even with the typically overpowering 12hp diesel cranked way up...speed would be down into the 2's at times with the odd wave almost stopping Emma B in her tracks. The short/steep waves (wind against current) would make Emma B's 20ft waterline hobby horse, slam down and clear the shelves. Had to check my dental fillings a few times   ;D 
Could a few of the situations I was in be done by a much smaller and lighter boat.....for sure.  Would I want to.....NOPE  :o
Ocean sailing is actually smoother than those short steep waves!!
Great looking small boat! Would be a hoot to sail!!!
Great pics!

[stumpy]

Fellas,

Thanks for the replies!  Pretty much agree with all the comments...my reasons for contemplating the weekender perhaps border on the realm of shock value.  Frankly, if I made Ketchikan with it I'd give it away, or give it a Viking funeral.  As she sits the boat is better suited to a calm lake...yes she could take more, but a person would have to be mighty careful with her on this run, mighty careful.

I put some effort into route and current planning for last years race with the electra in mind.  Concluded that I should hope for rougher weather than the other entrants if I were to stand a chance to maximize the boat's capabilities.  A couple of choke points going up the inside had me concerned...timing and luck would play a big role, and the weather gods of course.  Single-handed I'd planned to average 18-20 hours a day in the electra when possible...done it before...I'm a master of the "power nap," ha ha.

I'm a native PNW'er...have circumnaved VanIsle five times, and gone north past the Charlottes a half-dozen, all single-handed in vessels under 27'.  Know enough about the route to perhaps be even more concerned than entrants from outside the region.

In the electra, my main concern involved getting through a couple of narrows.  Heck, the round the island race stops at Seymour Narrows and everyone motors through.  Once past the Island the scenario is more straightforward.  I'd be hoping it gets a bit tough weather-wise in QC Sound to keep the lighter, less salty boats and paddlers in close to the shore mucking about.  Once I'm past Port Hardy it's rail-in-the-water.  That being said on any given day Queen Charlotte Sound, and to a much lesser degree Dixon Entrance to the north, can be the roughest stretches of water on the planet...open to the North Pacific and the Gulf of AK, and the sea floor shallows out as the open ocean ends...wave frequency gets tough when there's a storm offshore, I've seen it and it ain't healthy to be there.

Reckon I'm gonna temporarily lighten the pearson as much as I can, finish my two-piece sweeps (and make an extra), and start rowing practice.  The folks at Pt. Townsend were very positive about a boat of her type entering the race last year.

A pilot-friend of mine has a cabin on the lake near Sandpoint, Idaho and has no boat.  Reckon I'll trim the weekender's forefoot a bit, give a few feet of the keel aft six inches extension, add some floatation, and take it to him.  Then I won't be tempting fate beyond practicality race-wise.  I almost picked up a "Saroca" a few months ago for R2AK, planning to take the route in closer.  Mebbe do that in 2017, ha ha.

Just curious, anybody here ever used sweeps or seen someone using them on an electra, sea sprite, A22, etc?

[Frank]

There were several times I wished for a slack bilged boat like the Electra up in the straights. The firm bilged 23 would slam pretty hard in the short steep waves. The Electra is a fine design and I agree you would be able to keep going when others simply could not. Bonus is that it's a pretty boat too  ;)

"life is too short to sail an ugly boat"    ;D ;D