I’ve built a NE Dory with a balanced lug rig, and I’m finding it challenging to sail anywhere near the wind. I’ve breezed through a Reddit topic on this subject and read comments from sailors about how it’s important to keep the sail properly placed (halyard & downhaul at the right locations, nice & tight on the mast) to balance it with the daggerboard, and I plan to take this advice to heart the next time out. I also read that keeping the stern riding high helps (will also take this to heart). Granted, the last attempts were not ideal conditions (gusty winds on the ICW in NC, blowing directly up the channel, with the channel not very wide & sand bars on each side to run aground on; not to mention about 550 lbs of people in the boat, including in the stern seat). Any other advice is welcome, thanks!
So I have to ask, how experienced are you at sailing? Have you had any lessons? Sailing is a complex skill that you can’t really learn from watching videos. Many inexperienced sailors who build boats struggle because they lack the experience to properly set it up and even if set up perfectly, they lack the skill to sail it properly. The NED is an excellent design that will sail well if properly set up and sailed. NOTHING beats a few hours of instruction by an experienced sailor.
Definitely not very experienced; I’ve rented a few boats over the years, but just for vacation-concurrent outings. I doubt that I’ve spent 20 hrs sailing over the last 40 years! I’m looking into sailing lessons now (in the area of Columbus OH).
First, let me say that I’ve had my NE Dory for about 10 years now and sail it frequently. Also that I love the boat. Also, that I’ve been an avid sailor for nearly 60 years, thousands of hours sailing and racing all sorts of boats, including at least a dozen different dinghy/Portsmouth type class boats, and also a Grumman canoe with a sail rig. With the exception of my CLC chess 17 and its Windsail (which can’t even do 90 degrees relative to the wind, but isn’t designed to), the lug rigged NE Dory is the worst performing upwind boat I’ve ever owned, especially in wind less than 3 kts.. But that doesn’t mean it is “bad” - I can make about 45 degree tack angles with the lug rig. The boat also doesn’t come about easily - the high angle of the rudder pivot causes a lot of braking at high rudder angles. I, and others, have previously discussed this in the forum. Careful rudder, stearing, listing and sail trim techniques that help bring the boat about while tacking. So, I’ll say that even with the standard lug rig the NE Dory is a perfectly good sailboat, and will get you where you are going, no matter the point of sail. And I appreciate the trade-off the lug rig provides for ease of rig set up, and ease of stowing onboard while underway.
I’m sure the sloop rig NE Dory probably performs better upwind, though I’ve never sailed one. I say that not just because it is probably obvious based on rig type, but also because I’ve modified my NE Dory to be a gaff-rigged sloop. I used the top 1/3rd of a Flying Scot sail to recut it into a jib for the dory (luff wire in the jib serves as a forestay), and made a gooseneck to connect the forward end of my boom to the mast. I now have two halyards - one for the throat of the mainsail and one for the midpoint on the gaff spar. I added shrouds (sidestays), and still use the mast partner. My rig now carries more sail than the sloop rig, but I’ve had it out in 20 kt winds with the reef in the main. It wasn’t comfortable, but the boat handled it. I also modified the transom by adding a “fin” that changes the rudder pivot angle. With these modifications the boat changed from a good rowboat that can sail, to a good rowboat that also sails very well! The mods actually made sailing the boat a pleasure. But of course the rigging is more complex. The “good news” is that I was very careful to retain full lug-rig functionality when I modified the rig. I can set her up as a lug rig just as if she was never modified for the gaff-rigged sloop configuration.
Back to the point - you’ll find your dory will sail OK with its lug rig, but I think even a skilled sailor works hard to make it go upwind in a satisfying way if you are actually trying to get from point A to point B, and point B is upwind. So do get some help with instruction and get out on the water to develop some experience.
Wow- your mods are pretty impressive. Although I’m reluctant to try putting more sail up (I want to master the lug sail first, by itself), the ‘fin’ on the transom is genius! I noticed early on that the severe angle of the NE Dory transom tended to readily turn the rudder into a brake (or can lift it clear out of the water), so I’ve been trying to steer the boat with just small rudder angles. I may try the ‘Richards Transom Fin’ at some point soon. I’d be interested to see what your rudder ended up looking like.
Rudder mounting “fin” is just pressure treated fir from the lumberyard. I think 2"x6" , maybe it had to be 2x8 to be wide enough, I can’t remember. The picture shows the shape I came up with, it cuts down the vertical pivot angle by a bit more than half of the original angle. You can start the design of the fin by simply making a cardboard template - making and modifying several until things seem about right. I used two bronze wood screws through the transom to secure, along with epoxy. No need for clamps on installation, as the screws will draw it tight. I had to remove the rear seat to install the lower screw, but that’s easy. Don’t glue in place until all fit up is completed, including a full operational check of all clearances when (only) screwed into place. Prior to installation I fit up the gudgeons - used the same hardware, but bent each end over - they are inlet into the fin with a router, thus didn’t need to span the full 1.5 inch width of the fin. I also had to change the distance between pintals on the rudder due to the shorter length of the fin. Be carefull in positioning the fin (move it vertically up and down with the rudder attached to find the right spot) and check clearance between the rudder “stock” and the transom. I had to take a just slight bit off the corners of the sculling oar lock “horns” on the transom to allow full throw of the rudder without interference. As you can see from the picture, the top of the rudder head is now a bit higher than per original design, but that is “fixed” by my custom (longer/bigger/deeper) rudder blade. I gets a good bite on the water at all normal trim and heel angles. If you note in the picture, there is a big hole in to top of the rudder head. That is a mod I made during initial construction - I use a 1.25 inch oak dowell shoved through that hole as the tiller portion of the push-pull steering system. It gets lashed into place, and is easily removable so the rudder can store lying flat, no unweildy “L” shaped single-unit rudder to deal with as per standard/original design.
I live in an extreme NE patch of Columbus, five miles from the Maxtown Road ramp on Hoover Reservoir. Been sailing in a variety of boats for about 4 decades now, my only current boat being a lug rigged Passagemaker Dinghy. I might be able to help you if you want to try to get together maybe later in July. I’ve got some family coming into town here over the next couple of weeks, but after that I’ll probably be over there sailing anyway if the weather cooperates and I can otherwise get the planets to align. Be happy to help if I can.
Also, the folks at Hoover Sailing Club there off Smothers Road might have some certified sailing instructors who could help you out. Most folks think I’m “certifiable”, but that ain’t the same thing as being a certified sailing instructor. <;-)
Mike- I’m definitely gonna take you up on that kind offer. Been super busy lately but will probably be coming out of it later in July. Would welcome you for a ride in the boat and a diagnosis of the problems. Will also reach out to the folks at Hoover Sailing Club. Many thanks! My number is: 440-804-6065.
Gordon:
Happy to help! I look forward, hopefully, to meeting you soon. I hope, with time, you’ll like sailing upwind better than downwind. After all, any bozo in a bathtub with bedsheets on broomsticks can sail downwind, when you think about it. It’s going upwind which separates the spars from the broomsticks, the sails from the bedsheets, the sailboats from the bathtubs, and, yes, the sailors from the bozos. Not that having difficulty sailing upwind makes you a bozo, of course! You are a sailor who just hasn’t quite found his groove. I’m happy to help you look for it. I haven’t met anyone yet who couldn’t do it with a bit of coaching. <;-)
Michael R. Scheibeck
5952 Koenig Island Place
Westerville, Ohio 43081
614-586-5015
mscheibeck@sbcglobal.net
Yep- I’m definitely prime for some sail-coaching, and I’d welcome any critiques you might have about the boat itself. From what I’ve read, I think I’ve made errors when I’ve had people weighing down the stern and when I’ve had my lug-rig downhaul less-than-taut. Even with those errors, the boat can make some pretty good time on a beam reach, but trying to turn it just a bit upwind has been an exercise in frustration. And the rudder design is not good- you’ll know once you see it!