Self-Steering for a Flicka
By Jobst Vandrey · page 2 · Winter 2001
Ten Things Every Flicka Own Should Know Ray Rippel
s/v MOTU sails from San Francisco Bay to Ventura Installing a furling system on s/v SHILOH
Cover Photo s/v SOLOMA in Galveston Bay, Texas. (Captain—Vickie Parrish) Photo by Hal DeVaney If you have a high quality photo of your Flicka and would like to see it on the cover, please let me know.
In my spare time this summer, I converted the Flicka Home Page from Adobe Pagemill to Microsoft Publisher and the “new” Flicka Home Page is approaching 250 individual pages. While the Adobe software would work well for the web, I converted Rod Bruckdorfer’s web pages to Microsoft Publisher. While some may view this as going backwards, Publisher offers a number of features most web publishing programs do not. Since I am the Editor for this newsletter and the WebCaptain for the Flicka Home Page, software was needed that would work for both. Since Publisher was already being used for the newsletter, and a newer version offered the ability to create web pages, it was an easy decision to make. Anything that appears in the
newsletter can put in the web page. Another advantage of Publisher is the ability to create postscript files that can be “distilled” into Acrobat PDF files. Besides reducing the Publisher files down from 15-20 MB to 100-300 KB, Flicka Friends PDF files can be placed on internet for all to download. Since they are in full color and are originals, anyone with a color printer ends up with the best results. I’d like to thank Bruce P. Bingham again for allowing me to reprint the FLICKA—A Happy Little Ship article. Since most new Flicka owners may not have access to the 1980 issue of Small Boat Journal, this should be a welcome addition to their Flicka files. Turning to a sad bit of news, a lack of sales has returned the Flicka to an “Out of Production” Status. See the story below for more information from Pacific Seacraft.
Flicka “Out of Production” The following information was copied from the Pacific Seacraft web page: Flicka 20
parts and technical information. Many of the Flicka components are no longer available and some of the suppliers are no longer operating.
Pacific Seacraft's Web Based Service & Support Policy—October 2001
Pacific Seacraft's support for the Flicka is exclusively web based.
Pacific Seacraft offered new Flicka's for sale in Spring of 2001 following a couple of years of the Flicka being out of production. No orders were received so the Flicka is being returned to "Out of Production" status.
PSC will continue to accumulate a Flicka knowledgebase at
Pacific Seacraft (PSC) will make its best effort to provide replacement parts and technical advice for the Flicka. However, minimal historical documentation, inconsistent tolerances, kit boats and the age of the Flicka limit Pacific Seacraft's capability to provide accurate
pacificseacraft.com. PSC will do its best to respond to email requests for information that is not available on pacificseacraft.com. Regrettably, PSC can not promise a prompt reply nor will PSC provide telephone support. All Aboard?
While not the record, having fifteen people aboard your Flicka is certainly uncommon. The record goes to the crew of s/v CORSAIR with twenty-four people aboard. By Tom Davison Since returning form the South Pacific, Charlie and Margaret Dewell have found considerable interest in their trip. Besides writing a book about their trip (KAWABUNGA’s South Sea Adventure), they have appeared on television, at marinas, colleges, sail gatherings and at the Flicka Fever Rendezvous at the Isthmus on Catalina Island. Recently, Charlie sent me an e-mail with several photos of s/v KAWABUNGA!. The first was of their “BABY,” (Pacific Seacraft # 169) at their boat slip in Marina del Rey, California. The other photo (above) also showed s/v KAWABUNGA in their boat slip,
but this one included a few friends aboard. With fifteen people aboard, the waterline dropped nearly one foot bringing the deck even with the marina dock. but there seemed to be room for everyone. Using the Coast Guard standard average of 150 pounds per person, this added 2,250 pounds to the displacement of their favorite little ship. Certainly a few more than might be legal, but it makes for a great photo. While this is more people than most Flicka owners have ever had aboard, the record goes to Jan Allen and John Westerholme. Their Flicka, s/v CORSAIR, had 22 other people aboard in the Sea of Cortez, bringing the total to 24!
A number of hulls were built by Nor’star and some were completed by Westerly Marine. The manufacturer of the bulk of the class is Pacific Seacraft Corporation who built more than 430 hulls in California. Flicka Friends is published on a quarterly basis, with issues being mailed in March, June, September and December. Articles, letters, comments and photos relating to the Flicka are welcomed and encouraged.
Copyright 2001 Dennis Pratt/Flicka Friends Dennis Pratt - Publisher 685 Spring Street, #191 Friday Harbor, WA 98250 (360) 370-5133 scamper@rockisland.com Tom Davison - Editor P.O. Box 922 Sutton’s Bay, MI 49682-0922 (231) 271-5111 flickafriends@nmo.net http:www.nmo.net/ ~flickafriends/index.html Distant Horizons By Rod Bruckdorfer When I first published the Flicka Website in April 1998, I was just hoping to meet sailors who had voyaged in this legendary pocket cruiser. I had no idea after three and a half years the web counter would exceed 185,000 visits. During the three and a half years, I have met and made friends via the Internet with many sailors and voyagers from all over the world. It has been a wonderful experience to share distance horizons, exchange information and help others masters these wonderful little craft. It is with sadness I relinquish command as the Flicka WebCaptain. Tom Davison, Editor of “Flicka Friends” has accepted the command. I will lend my support as a technical editor. Tom has been very supportive of the Flicka Website. The format has changed but the content remains the same. The Website under Tom's guidance has a strong future. The new WebCaptain will need your help. This site is only as good as the material and photos Flicka owners provide. I ask that as you sail this summer and fall, take photos and send them to Tom Davison. Keep a log of your day sails and cruises and share the experience with others. The Flicka is probably one of the finest pocket cruisers ever built but its following can only remain strong if owners contribute to publications, such as "Flicka Friends", the Flicka Website and sailing magazines. As many of you know, we sold our beloved Nor'star Flicka, African Moon and purchased a Canadian built Bristol Channel Cutter named IDUNA. It is time for us "to go" in a few years. We are not as young as we were in 1989 when we purchased
Rod Bruckdorfer’s Bristol Channel Cutter s/v IDUNA.
African Moon and started the rebuilding process and kindling the dream. During the five years of rebuilding, she taught us much and we gave her new life and a new future. After we launched African Moon in 1994, she taught us respect for wind and sea, we learned her spirit under sail and she kept us warm, dry and safe over several thousand sea miles. ..... “All day and into the evening African Moon sailed at ~2 1/2 knots under OTTO, our windvane steering system. She was gently heeled at 10 degrees, moving with an easy motion on a flat bay, with only the wind dimpling the water. Lunch came and went, the wine was sipped and she was a happy ship. We moved toward our destination and were lifted toward the Patapsco River and our marina in Rock Creek. The western sky became crimson as we sailed on a gentle NE
wind. Day became night - we sailed through that magic time called twilight. The water and air were quiet, a chill slowly moved into the autumn air - it was magic. Into the night we sailed - a tack here, a tack there, always moving toward home but hoping it would never end. We tacked to sail away from the Craighill Channel to avoid a ship and a barge as we sailed into the Patapsco River and eventually past the White Rocks in Rock Creek. For us it was beautiful - a never ending memory of the joy of sharing the cockpit of a "little ship" making her passage home after nine wonderful days on the Chesapeake and experiencing her many secrets and magic.” From the log of African Moon.
Fair Winds, Following Seas and Thank You. Rod Bruckdorfer Rod’s Bristol Channel Cutter s/v IDUNA moored at sunset.
These two photos show the tiller attachment and pulley arrangement for a self-steering for a Flicka. Self Steering for a Flicka Jobst Vandrey s/v Solar Wind A hand on the tiller is a satisfying feeling, however, there are times when some relief for the person at the helm becomes necessary. For single handers or those with an inexperienced crew, such relief has meant installation of an electric tiller mounted autopilot such as the Autohelm 1000 or one of it’s larger cousins. Others have installed a wind vane system such as the Monitor or Navik device. These steering systems have proven themselves well over time. However, the electric systems do not respond to changes in the wind direction without troublesome added equipment, and the transom mounted wind vanes are heavy.
s/v Solar Wind with Sheet-To-Tiller steering using the Mainsheet
From a cost perspective, electric systems will set the boat owner back from $450 to $1,500 while the Monitor type wind vanes will cost over $3,000 new and then require expensive installation. While these systems are commercially designed and are known to be effective, sailors have long known that there are simpler (and significantly cheaper) methods of self steering. The most common of these alternatives is called sheet-to-tiller s t e e r i n g a n d wa s o r i g i n a l l y popularized in a book by John S Letcher, Self Steering for Sailing Craft, ISBN# 0-87742-042-4, out of print but sometimes available from used book dealers). Simply stated, sheet–to-tiller self steering consists of a section of elastic tubing that pulls the tiller slightly to l e e wa r d o f c e n t e r w h i l e a n arrangement consisting of a snatch block attached to one of the sail’s sheets and some turning blocks balances the elastic and pulls to windward. The required steering force is supplied by the natural variation of the tension on either the mainsheet or the jib sheet caused by wind changes.
A similar set up on Hal DeVaney’s s/v KITTIWAKE. In addition to the reference book mentioned above, complete details with photographs of the sheet-to-tiller arrangement are found on several web sites including www.pocketyacht.com. Sheet-To-Tiller steering can be set up on virtually every tiller steered sailboat using amber latex tubing, a few small
blocks and bits of line. Total expenditures are around $100, the complete gear requires no electricity to operate, fits in a small pouch, and will work on every point of sail. Once set up, helmsman is free to move about the boat at will while the changing force of the wind on the sails keeps the boat on her correct course relative to the wind. YAHOO Flicka20 Group This should stop the constant flow of messages to your e-mail box and make your life easier. If should also stop all those commercials that are attached to the files. Hopefully, this will mean no more cookies. I’m waiting to hear from this person, so the jury is out. T o check the postings on the Flicka20 Group, all you will need to do is open the web page and view the ones you are interested in. You still will need to sign on to post messages and download Flicka Friends issues. That should not result in any direct e-mails, the YAHOO ads, or cookies on your computer. Maybe another bulletin board might be considered in the future, but for now the Flicka20 Group is the best option.
Vickie Parrish and s/v SOLOMA (Pacific Seacraft Flicka # 420) sailing on Galveston Bay, Texas. By Tom Davison Hal DeVaney started the Flicka20 Group in 1999. And the number of people using the bulletin board has grown steadily. Moving the Flicka Discussion board from the “old” Flicka Home Page to a Yahoo group appears to be taking off. While the ATT site was OK and allowed Flicka owners to trade information, there was one serious limitation; only one hundred messages could be retained. As the board filled up, Rod Bruckdorfer had to decide which messages were more important than other and then remove enough to allow new postings. The YAHOO Flicka20 Group allows messages to be retained along with a host of other options. The best might be the ability to include photos of
your favorite little ship. Hal agreed to place the Adobe Acrobat PDF files that contain Flicka Friends issues on the Flicka20 Group Page. This makes them available to all without any more effort than down-loading them. Recently, someone commented about the cookies and automatic messages from the YAHOO Flicka20 Group. As the default setting, you get the messages automatically sent to your email address. While this provides you with the Flicka information that appears on the Flicka20 Group, this may be more than you care to deal with on a regular basis, especially if you travel and can’t check your e-mail daily. You can turn off the automatic e-mails by going to the Flicka20 Group and “signing in” using your password. Go to “EDIT MY MEMBERSHIP” and change the setting to No E-mail.
Membership The Flicka20 Group continues to grow with the total now at more than one hundred and forty. Membership broke one hundred mark in mid-2001. Mutual Support Since Pacific Seacraft will not be providing telephone support for the Flicka and cannot guarantee prompt answers, current and former Flicka captains need to help keep our favorite little ships going. The mutual support network appears to be strong. The Flicka Sailboat Home Page, Flicka Friends, the Yahoo Flicka20 Group and the Sail Net Pacific Seacraft board will become the sources for Flicka information. The first Flickas are nearly 30 years old and a few of the brokerage photos show that some are looking their age. Please remain active and attentive to the requests for assistance. Everyone will need to rely on the experience of others to keep the Flicka fleet going through the years.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Flicka20 s/v KITTIWAKE and the Gulf By Hal DeVaney Sunday was a great sail for s/v KITTIWAKE. It marked the first time I was able to get her beyond the Galveston jetties and out to sea. Not far mind you, just a few miles, but what a nice ride it was! It's about 5 miles from my dock to the end of the jetties, and tide flow between the jetties can run as high at three knots. Murphy usually makes sure you are bucking it both ways! The weather was perfect with a fair 13 knot breeze out of the South East. Heading due east out the jetties and next to the busy Galveston ship channel I was making 7 knots under 70% jib and full main. According to the GPS. But the tide was running out at a good 2 knots! Once off shore, I noticed for the first time that there were Frigate birds in the Galveston area. I had only seen one before, but today they were everywhere, gliding at several hundred feet and seemingly never beating their 6 foot wings! After today I cannot wait much longer to get a bimini installed. I was cooked real good under the hot Texas Sun, despite liberal applications of Sun Block! Once I made it beyond the jetties I met up with Hans and Ossa, in their Flicka. They have owned their Flicka, since new in '82. It was a treat to see another Flicka sailing. A view of the end of the South jetty. At one time there was a light house there, and it stood about 90 feet high. Quite a famous land mark. It eventually fell over and now I see, the wreckage is being removed. The end of jetty won't be the same without it! After a few hours it was time to start back. The tide was running out full speed by now and slowed my progress to about 4 knots. Once near the marina, I powered up the OB and motored into the wind with the tiller pilot set.
Hans and Aase Dillmann aboard s/v SEA BOUND, (their 1981 Flicka) in Galveston Bay, Texas. Dropped the jib and commenced to do the main. As I was tying up the main sail I was shocked to see white smoke coming out of the cabin. Now, I admit I have this occasional cigar smoking habit so my first conclusion was that I must dropped it there. Jumping below and frantically moving every thing around, looking for flames, but there was none. Thankfully, it turned out the be the fire extinguisher. It had somehow gone off and now I have to clean up the dry powder it expelled everywhere! This was the first time I had ever heard of a malfunctioning extinguisher! A great sail it was. Can't wait to get back out there!
Removing the remains of the lighthouse that once stood on the south jetty in Galveston Bay.