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First Steps


ashm86

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Took a week off work to head up north to the cottage for a week. On the way up a tire blew on the trailer:

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After getting two new tires we were back on our way.

Got to the cottage and proceeded to get accosted by chipmunks every time we opened the door:

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Put the boat in on a local beach and set off for a sail in a sheltered bay:

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The next two days there were small craft warnings. I took her out both days :) I got to fly a hull both times. The lake is not that large so there is not chance for waves to build up at all. The boat would lift a hull and just sit there nicely. Very stable. WHAT A RUSH! All the time I put in was TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Issues:

My rudder system SUX! The rudders are not aligned. They do not stay down unless I bungee cord them in place. I did not notice a difference until I flew a hull, all of a sudden the helm became MUCH lighter and easier to steer.

Excessive hum/vibration. I am not sure what it was from, but once I surpassed a certain speed it stopped. But during that range, I gotta tell ya, my wife would have loved it ;)

Traveller needed. I needed to depower several times and a traveller would have helped a lot with this. As it was, I had to blow the vang and ease the main at times.

I dumped several times and had no real issues with righting, but the boat never turtled as I was so scared of it happening that I righted it as fast as possible.

Hiking straps too long. I had to tie a knot in them to shorten them up.

I am going to completely re-build the rudder systems. I got a cam kit and I am going to drill out the existing tillers and put in new pipes as the ones I have are cut too short (my arms are KILLING ME).

All in all, I had a great time and I am thoroughly hooked. I buried the nose a few times and the pucker factor was very high! I was sailing with a couple of 470's and few lasers. They could not keep up. Unless I had to tack that is, but once I got her back underway, I could overtake them without issue. IT was like they were standing still.

I got lots of compliments on the boat, it gave me some real pride as she was the fastest on the lake :)

Cannot wait to try the hooter once I get that kitted out!

Thanks to all for the support and encouragement!

Andrew

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Well Done Andrew

Just one thing I noticed first up was the boat sittting on the rollers on the trailer, I would really consider making a frame, so the boats supported by both beams. Having them sit on the rollers like that is putting all the pressure on four small points and would cause damage over time.

The tiller extension I personally would make 4ft or so longer.

The Hum could be from the rudders if they're not aligned properly? If you put the boat on the trailer and put the rudders on and down and measure below the rudder boxes centre to centre on the front and then on the back the distance should be equal, but some think if the front measurement is a fraction less it doesn't hurt (toe-in). Look along the keel line and see if the centreboards and rudders line up vertically or on the same plane.

And you would need the lifejacket more than the vang wink.gif

Regards

Matt

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Hi Andrew,

Many,many congratulations.

So good to see you really enjoying the "fruit of your labours".

AS Matt says, check your rudder alignment,

Hobie rudders used to be notorious for "hum", and could snap off just below the cheek casting, especially if they were the cheap sets. The rudder system on your boat does not appear to be a standard hobie

system and may be a modified set up.

Nevertheless , ENJOY.

pete smile.gif

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I will be building the frame o nthe trailer this week hopefully. I finally found a place that sells tubular aluminum.

I put the jacket on right after those photos, the kids were harassing me about it(rightfully so).

I would like to rebuild the rudder system to original Paper Tiger spec. I was looking at new rudder parts but am not sure if I should buy off the shelf or make them myself our of square tube.

Andrew

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G'day Andrew,

Congratulations on the launching. Great Chipmunk shots, too!

As mentioned previously and above, get that frame for the trailer sorted out ASAP.

Re the rudder alignment, I can see from the photos that they are not aligned. Set the boat up on the trailer with the rudders attached. Set up one side so that the blade (not the tiller) is pointing directly fore/aft. Wedge it into position (if it is likely to move) then check the other side. If it is not pointing directly fore/aft, adjustment is required. From the photo, I would say the tiller cross arm (the bar linking the two tillers) is too long, as the rudders are pointing outwards. You will need to shorten it to the length that will allow both rudders to be exactly aligned when pointing forward. This can be measured by disconnecting one end of the cross bar, aligning both rudders forward, then checking the bar to see how much needs to come off it to make it fit.

If it is close, but not exact, you can ease some bend into the tiller arm on one or both sides to adjust. Most PTs have inward bending tiller arms so that the tiller is not in the way when hiking behind the back beam. There is also a theory that this allows the inner rudder to turn more when turning the boat, which suits the tighter arc that the inner hull takes.

I would do my best to get this rudder alignment sorted before spending money on new gear. You may be surprised at how much difference this makes.

I would also do something about keeping the clew (rear end of the foot or bottom of sail) down near the boom. Simply tying some Spectra or other low stretch cord around the boom and through the eye-hole on the clew so that it is just above the boom will be fine.

It is great that people are admiring the boat. I would just ask that you specify to people that the hulls are standard Paper Tiger, but the rig is not. There are other Paper Tiger Catamarans in North America built to the class rules, so we don't want to confuse people about what a Paper Tiger really is.

All the best with it.

Regards,

Dave Stumbles

Secretary

Paper Tiger Catamaran International Association

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