S3#24. Racing to beat the next Atlantic Storm. Atlantic Crossing on Leopard 50 Catamaran

[@nickcooper14]

Great info John, we use the bunjee to take up the slapping or slip in the shrouds when the mast unloads that side🤟🏼🤟🏼🤟🏼🇦🇺

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

You're exactly right and he does it to reduce repetitive stainless movement that leads to metal fatigue and fractures... Well done! I presume you didn't see Rob Thompson's comment that was the first in and you are the second!

[@davidnichols147]

Loving the continuous progress reports. The bungee cords attached to the inner & outer shrouds are to reduce the temperance during sailing off wind.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

You probably do have it right assuming with "temperance" you are referring to movement of the shrouds that leads to stainless fatigue.... Another preventative measure of Pauls.

[@drgonzo5967]

Love the explanations of the equipment onboard!

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Glad you liked them!

[@MrJerobona]

Hey guys, only perseverance will make you catch fishes! So go on and continue!

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Thanks Jero - Oh we are persisting, don't worry!!!

[@billydaniel900]

Don't give up, that's why they call fishing. lol 👍

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

You got that right Billy! And thanks for honouring us with some words this time!!!

[@gbsailing9436]

My limited physics knowledge has me thinking that the bungee cord stops the two carbon fibre stays from being effected by "Barber-Pole' turbulence or spiral turbulence which can occur between two fixed and/or spiralling poles. Since carbon is strong in either axial compression or tension but not in lateral directions (unless built for that specific purpose), you don't want it to start wobbling from effects of the wind rushing between the two poles. The bungee then will help break up the effect of the wind between the poles and also help keep in some tension stopping them from vibrating so wobbling doesn't occur. But I'm just having a wild guess. Another great episode this week John. Thank you Eli for your update. I hope you can keep us informed each week as well. I'm looking forward to you both getting back together and sailing back in the Med. asap. Fair 💨 and following 🌊 for you and the 👨‍👨‍👧‍👦!!!

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Hi Garth, the stays are stainless with a plastic cover over them. You are getting close to the right answer by accident with your wild guess but it's nothing to do with wind turbulence or anything like that..... Well done! I won't tell the full answer and see if anyone else gets it right.

[@gbsailing9436]

@@barefootdoctorssailing8567 OK all good. ! I'll stay tuned for the right comment.

[@MrJerobona]

It is wonderful to see you Elie!

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

That's sop nice of you Jero!

[@geoffhunwick9151]

The bungee is there to stop hysterical vibration in the lines

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Good try - close...

[@kellyj7450]

The bungees, being tied to the shrouds together, changes the natural frequency of each shroud , thus diminishing the harmonics(NVH). Think Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Kelly

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

That is certainly correct and it does stop any shroud humming - but that is not the reason Paul did it...

[@Foxhaunter21]

Bending the shrouds together with a bungee increases the pre-tension on them, wich results in a more stable mast. This is a new boat and the shrouds will 'work'. I think this is a pretty good solution, if you don't have a rigger on board. 😀

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Good creative thinking Fox, but that's not it. Its an interesting point point as to how often the rigging tension should be checked though as I'm not sure... Certainly not required on passage though.

[@Foxhaunter21]

@@barefootdoctorssailing8567 Thanks for the answer. Then it can only be a clothesline to hang brassieres on to keep the crew's structural morale up. 😂 Thanks for all the good content and good luck on your further way.

[@georglorentzen]

Preventing resonance, as a damper.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

That’s a very good idea and it probably would help that… However Paul’s reason is much more structural!

[@richg3555]

Great episode John, really enjoying following your journey, safe travels!

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Thanks very much Rich!

[@ianfirth-clark5975]

Always an interesting video on the passage and the interaction of all the crew.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Thanks Ian!

[@Seagole]

So how is it been back on a Leopard 50? u seem fairly at home althought Eli was saying to give u some fishing hope so one day me n my brother where fishing at the mouth of the Pioneer river catching butter fish n Greg asks me for a cigarette n my licence disappeared out of my shirt pocket into the sea, never sore it again so I had to get another one 🤣. Iv bean smoke free since 2010, Hope u catch a Marhi Good luck 🤞 Oh is the bungie to help with slapping? Proably not?

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Wow - that takes me back! Congrats on giving up the fags and yes we have finally got a Mahi! No not slapping ...

[@totallyleftfield]

I'm guessing that the Bungee cord is to keep the two shrouds stiff and working as one. love your video's and tell Eli we say "Bonne Journee" from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Cheers! =)

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Good creative thinking but that’s not it…!

[@robthompson7174]

Also re the lack of fish dinners, it's more productive to use "teasers" which create surface disturbance that draws predator fish up to the surface from deeper in the water column where they cruise. Try stringing some empty beer cans on a length of VB cord. Poke a small hole in the curved bottom of the can and use big knots behind the hole to drag them with the curved bottom facing forward. Put your lure a few meters behind the teaser.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Thanks for the suggestion Rob. Mark actually have a purchased teaser that we are using - a "bird" looking thing with two strings of squid behind it.I like that idea as it can be done without any cost!

[@robthompson7174]

And the cans leave a better bubble trail and work in all sea conditions. The bird style are good in fairly calm conditions in my experience.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

@@robthompson7174 Great info , Rob - thanks!

[@seawench555]

Hi John, I think it's to stop wind wobbling the carbon fibre shrouds., adding some tension to try and hold them stable from the wind, that's my guess ha ha. So looks like Gori props are going on our Portofino John? Oh and a Rainman too me thinks. Thanks for the update, it's really nice being able to walk around the boat and see how efficient she is. Good onya Neil, Mark cleaning the stainless gotta keep her looking her best. Speaking of, Eli u look gorgeous today. Seems like the tides gone out in ur backyard, bet u get some nice size flathead there. Mark I've sent a wee message to King Neptune about the fishing issue and he has replied with a guarantee that the crew of Seasential will be eating fresh fish very soon, oh he mentioned possibly changing the lures to brighter colours. Take care much love from Aussie.🇦🇺🌈😲🤣 John, I'm a Sunrise Woman as well, there's nothing better.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Amazing Karlene - you have most accurately explained it so far with the first sentence! Thanks for sending your energy to get assistance from the Universe!!!

[@seawench555]

@@barefootdoctorssailing8567 Your joking, really, all right I'm a happy girl, the Universe is awesome, I'm glad I'm just a little speck of Stardust. Hurry up and get ur butt to Annapolis. 🌈🤣👅

[@marktaylor484]

Continuing to enjoy your progress as usual and learning from all your inputs' as someone who passed my YM Shorebased a little over a year ago. Had to google the shroud question, obvious when you consider hoisting a spinnaker (not yet done personally). As a former climber (Dupytrens) nice to see the figure of 8 used in PB's slipknot.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Congrats on your YM quals Mark! I presume Mr Googel did not have the answer about the bungees either!!! Nice to pose a question that cannot be answered by the little square of knowledge...

[@marktaylor484]

@@barefootdoctorssailing8567 Thank you and indeed.

[@SVSeaChange]

Reading through these comments and your answers, I find it hard to believe that your leeward shrouds would be slack enough for a bungy cord to make a difference in terms of preventing vibrations that might then cause wires in the shrouds to break at the lower swages. I have a 34-year-old monohull with original rigging and the shrouds and the backstay all started breaking wires at the bottom swages during my South Pacific passage last year. That it occurred at the backstay as well indicates it has nothing to do with such vibrations as the backstay is always highly tensioned. And since breaks only occurred at the bottom swages but not the top swages, this implicates salt-caused corrosion there. In agreement, I had no wires breaking at the forestay bottom swage, which is inside the furler and thus is not exposed to salt water. If of interest, I replaced the bottom swages all around with long-stud Sta-Loks, which perfectly replace the swages and should be impervious to salt, not to mention are new. The wires of the shrouds and stays all seem fine, as do all the top swages, tangs, and chainplates (confirmed by an actual rigger, not just me!). And thanks for the slip figure-8 knot, I'll try that on my fishing lines. BTW, if you are willing to catch small fish, surface swimming mahimahi and tuna can both be caught regularly with a simple homemade lure consisting of a 2-3 inch long white nylon tubing stuffed with two hooks at 180 degrees to each other. String a small weight at the head of the lure.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

It seems you are over thinking it - very simply when the rig is upwind or beam reaching the leeward shrouds are slack and flop backwards and forwards as they are NOT under tension. The soft tension of the bungees, keeps them pulled towards each other and when they come under tension again they straighten out. That repetitive flopping when slack is prevented so the fatigue is reduced.. To reduce rusting from water and salt in the swages, some people melt candle wax into the ends (or vaseline) to keep the salt and water out.... Wow, that lure set up is really interesting! When the shops sell them for $20-30. Do you have a photo please so we can share with everyone?

[@SVSeaChange]

@@barefootdoctorssailing8567 Okay, your rig is much looser than mine. I have an old monohull and even when hard pressed sailing upwind the leeward shrouds do not flop around. I guess catamarans are different. Anyway, on the lures. Here is the current set I run out the side and back of my boat. Note that I have removed all the triple hooks that usually come with the purchased lures as they often bend or break, and replaced them with more heavy-duty single or twin hooks. The homemade lure is on the left, copied from ones the locals use in Panama. In this case I am using a purchased twin hook, but usually just have two robust hooks back to back in the tubing. In Panama they used tubing with reinforcing threads in it, which might make it more attractive. The small lead sinker helps it troll properly. But this only catches small fish, entirely tunas and mahimahis so far, which suits me as I am single-handed. The commercial fish lures unfortunately sometimes attract larger fish and I have lost a lot of lures and lines to them as my gear is pretty light. drive.google.com/file/d/13egU0Nf6EfGrZwV2qPzVVNNo3MHUPswx/view?usp=sharing

[@robthompson7174]

If a cat is not built very stiff, or if rigging tension is too loose, the leeward shrouds with be loose enough to "work" the fittings, causing more wear & tear on them. So bungy takes up the slack while reaching and minimises rig wear. An added benefit is it also gives the boobies better footholds.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Congrats Rob - you seem to have the idea of what he was trying to do. In "wear and tear" I presume you mean repeated stainless flexing resulting in risk of the strands cracking.... Cause that is the correct answer!!!

[@robthompson7174]

@@barefootdoctorssailing8567 Yep that's it, the wires flex right at the swaging as the shroud flogs back & forth & can get fatigue cracks. Excellent vid on dousing the Levante. If you run the downhaul dousing line through an LFR that is softshackled down to the back of the tramp, you get better leverage pulling the line up using your bigger back and leg muscles, and also if a big gust hits and reinflates the sail, you won't be pulled up off the deck.

[@MikeJohnson-bu4gl]

hte to break it to you Ellie, but it is called Fishing for a reason, not CATCHING!

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

LOL

[@nicovanzyl2059]

boys , early in the morning and just before last light the fish will bite .

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Thanks for the help Nico - we do put the lines out at or before dawn and in after dusk… We will keep trying!

[@robthompson7174]

Re the fishing, make it easier for the fishing to know you are passing by and use "teasers". This draws them up to the surface from deeper in the water column where they cruise, usually 5 to 15m down. Do you have cans of beer or soft drink aboard? If so poke a hole in the centre of the bottom and string several on some VB cord or similar, towing them with the curved bottom of the cans facing forward. Space them out with big knots in the cord behind the hole in the bottom. Causes lots of surface splashing and bubble trails which the fish think are bait fish. Run your lure a few meters behind the teaser.

[@rickcreel3657]

Bungie minimizes the chances of jackass penguins flying between the shrouds. softens the shock of the shrouds to the deck

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Interesting Rick about the penguins but that is not Paul's reason...

[@rickcreel3657]

@@barefootdoctorssailing8567 proud member of the brains trust. stops wind howling between shrouds. stops flying penguins.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

@@rickcreel3657 Glad to have your inspiring brains on board with us, Rick!!! LOL!

[@gregvaughn4286]

too keep the lines from flagging

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Good try Greg!

[@garryparkes9121]

Whistling noise reduction system.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Good guess Gary - it would help that as on some boats like my Leopard 45, I get humming when the wind hits 20 knots and this is from resonant frequencies which the bungees would stop. However this Leopard 50 has not had any humming yet and Pauls reason is much more a structural preventive measure. Several folk have got close in commenting on what the bungees reduce but not said the actual outcome of that action. So the very serious matter that Paul wants to prevent has not been stated as yet...

[@jamieweyndling1861]

It’s not true that you save that much fuel with the overdrive. To make the boat go through the water at any given speed you need a set amount of energy regardless of the speed the engine is turning at. You are probably saving a few % of fuel not 20% and that is because the the gearing allow the engine to work more efficiently.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Thanks for the info Jamie...

[@aytacercen944]

Eli. Just give us their address. Rather than give them any fishing tips, it maybe easier to ship them a fish at this point.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Thanks, thats very kind of you!!!

[@AmerinDay]

So, your wife said you haven't caught anything as of yet. Well, stop thinking about it, stop wanting it, stop complaining about it and when it is meant to happen, it will. It's sort of like life. Everything happens in due course. Being a Dr. of all people you should know this. As the Beetles sang, " Let it be ", and when you least expect it, it will happen. Enjoy the weather and ask Poseidon to grace your journey. I believe that some mariners take a toast to Poseidon and then empty one of the glasses over board for the God of antiquity himself. Maybe you should do the same. It's all about respect. The End. Good-Luck and Good-Bye. AD.

[@barefootdoctorssailing8567]

Thanks Amerin! You are right and it will happen when it happens - but I don't think we were complaining about it at all (it was Eli that made the comments), just with such good gear and top range lures, we did expect a better result.... I did say to Mark that if the fish are not there to see your lures, you will not catch anything. I also do not consider myself to be a skilled fisherman by any means, I just put the lines out the back and cross my fingers.