I acquired CLC’s Faering Cruiser Hvit Skygge from Lazlo Morocz last fall and finally have it stationed on Whidbey Island, WA. I hope to make some modifications to possibly improve her slow speed maneuverability (simply coming about) under sail. I have tried a number of tactics including over-sheeting the main to maintain some drive into the turn, but that is clumsy and not always effective. I also did quite abit of research on mizzen set ups and am curious if anyone has some thoughts on that - seems to me to be a straight forward way to effect additional control. Also, although I doubt it will help much, I wonder if the early CLC Faering rudder design (kick-up) might aid in her ability to “come around” more efficiently. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
John,
Congratulations for getting it home. FWIW, John Harris could always make it turn apparently effortlessly and gave me quite an inferiority complex. When I raced it at MASCF with Dillon Majoros helming, we did quite well except for a spectacularly bungled tack (even so, we won 1st in our class). Dillon is a cutthroat racer with a lot of experience and success to his name and he thought that the problem was in the rudder.
John maintains that you cannot tack the boat like you would a dinghy. Instead, you need to sail it through the turn. Dillon says that it needs 2 rudders - the standard one for adventuring in shallow water and a deep one, possible a kick-up, for racing. I never got as far as modifying the rudder, but it was on my list to try.
Laszlo
Thanks, Lazlo. She is a blast to knock about in, but sometimes it is nearly impossible to sail through the turn; and there is little more frustrating than getting stuck in irons when you don’t have enough room to just pick up momentum and try again. Many times have I had to pull out a paddle to help her through in order to keep from jamming up against a pier or seawall. I really like the idea of adding a mizzen to help with swinging the stern around and/or heading into wind to reef, convert to row, or just lay at anchor.
Another question I have is related to maintaining the full 270 lbs of ballast. I noticed while rowing that she feels heavy - did you, or anyone else reading this, consider putting a battery powered ballast/bilge pump on board to allow for ballast adjustments? Or, is the 270 lbs not a significant enough change in displacement to warrant considering this?
Not only did I consider it, but I bought a 12v bilge pump, a lithium ion battery and other miscellaneous pieces. I was going to mount it all on a stick with an intake that would fit into the access plate and and exhaust that would hang over the side to pump out the water. To fill it up I was going swap the two and pump river/bay water in. Mounting it all on a stick to use as an electric bilge pump was supposed to keep me from having to put a hole in the boat and avoid the complications of an electrical system. As with so many projects, I never completed it.
What I ended up using was the wash-down hose at the ramp to fill it and a piece of garden hose to siphon it out again.
The change in displacement is considerable enough to make it worth the effort to empty the ballast overboard before switching to rowing, however you do it.
You might want to contact John Harris about the mizzen. Just identify yourself as FC #1’s new owner.
Laszlo
Thanks Laszlo! I am going to steal your idea and make a convertible bilge pump/ballast pump on a stick. ‘Drop it in the ballast tank to decrease ballast and over the side to add ballast. With a small 1100 gph 12v pump, I should be able to fill or empty in under 5 minutes.
Regarding the maneuverability; I am going to fashion a small mizzen similar to the one on the CLC Nesting Expedition Dinghy (simple tarp sail for the experiment), add an access portal in the aft cabin ceiling/deck fitted with a plug to hold the mast and a step on the deck of the aft cabin (plenty of room for my feet when sleeping). I have the idea 80% baked, now its on to give it a try!
You can’t steal what is freely given 
Just keep in mind that the cabin with the hatch shut gives you almost half your emergency flotation and all the rear flotation since the under-bench sealed lockers don’t extend past the cabin bulkhead and make that plug good and watertight.
Laszlo
Yes, very important concern. I plan to fabricate a tight fitting rubberized collar that will remain attached to the mizzen mast and fit snuggly into a standard 4” to 6” access port. I think a 4” will be satisfactory, but want to be sure that it is substantial enough to be able to clamp, sandwich, or wedge into the port to ensure a watertight seal. Again, I have some ideas in the oven, but have not fabricated a prototype yet. thanks for the continued feedback on these ideas. I hope to spend quite a bit of time with her out on the water this summer.
Hi, Laszlo. ‘Just wanted to say thanks again for the bilge pump on a stick idea. I gave it a try and it works like a champ. The only challenge is getting the pump with the hose through the little 4” inspection port it uses for ballast tank access. I may bump the access port up to a 6” portal on one side to make dropping the pump in a bit easier. It does not empty the tank entirely since the pump needs to rest on a flat surface at the lowest point, but it gets it down to less than 10 gallons of water which is negligible for rowing. If I get some extra energy, I will write up a bit on how I put it together and post it for others to consider.
Hey John,
Glad to hear that it actually worked. I guess that I was planning on using a smaller pump than yours. Looking forward to the write-up.
Laszlo