Appraisal of
'Faith' my Paradox Sailboat
by Bill
Serjeant
It took a year and a half to
build my miniature coastal sailing cruiser. She has
some unusual features that appeal to me such as
chine runners and a standing lugsail that can be
reefed by rolling it around the boom. Another
aspect of endearment is her enclosed cabin with
all-round vision that enables the single-handed
crew to control the vessel from within so that he
can be protected from the elements, no matter how
tough the going gets. Although she has a flat
bottom with considerable rocker fore and aft she is
self-righting and her shallow draught of only 9"
allows her to sail to windward in 2' of water.
(While doing this her rudder must be raised in the
horizontal position.) An advantage of her flat
bottom is that when dried out on a beach she sits
upright.
This remarkable boat designed
by Matt Layden is only 13'10" in overall length and
has a beam of just over 4'. When fully ballasted
her displacement is 1410 lbs, of which 397 lbs is
lead ballast and 154 lbs is water ballast. Because
she is no larger than a medium sized dinghy she can
be transported on a road trailer. I actually use an
un-braked trailer towed behind my Ford Mondeo
family saloon and I have found this an admirable
combination. I took 'Faith' to Falmouth in the West
Country, a distance of well over 300 miles, plus
the return journey without difficulty.
My first test sail took place
on the River Crouch at Burnham where I launched the
boat from the fairly steep slipway of Burnham
Marina. On the first day the wind was light and I
found 'Faith' performed flawlessly on all points of
sail; tacking between the many moored yachts was a
delight and I felt great satisfaction with her
ability. Under those conditions of smooth water and
a light wind I could hardly perceive signs of
leeway, there being barely any wake, presumably
because the underwater sections allowed the boat to
cleave through the water effortlessly.
On the second day, conditions
were lively since the wind was in the region of
force 3 to 4 from the west with gusts of 5 or more,
and because the River Crouch is a West to East
river I had to do a lot of tacking. The flooding
current of 1 ½ knots was against the wind
which brought about short waves with breaking
crests and the length between them was
approximately the same as the overall length of
'Faith'. You can imagine the effect this had on the
boat and there was a moment when she failed to come
about when changing from the starboard tack to the
port tack. Fortunately I had sufficient room to
wear 'ship' by bearing off and running downwind
before gybing. She was very slow in coming around
because of the pressure of the wind on the sail,
but primarily this was because I had up too much
sail for the conditions. When appropriately reefed
she would even bear off when the sail was sheeted
amidships.
A noticeable characteristic
of Paradox is her slowness of tacking, particularly
when the water is choppy; she always needs to be
sailed around in a smooth arc - suddenly changing
the angle of the rudder will not bring her around
to the next tack as would be the case with a
lightweight dinghy; instead the rudder would simply
act as a brake. Because her mast is set to port of
the centre line and her sail is hung to the port
side of the mast, they cause a certain amount of
drag that can make tacking from the port tack to
the starboard tack problematical, but if the boat
is not tacked until she is moving fast there is
every chance the manoeuvre will be carried out
satisfactorily. I learnt from Al Law a technique
that he uses when the water is choppy - that's to
release the sheet as soon as the boat is headed
into the wind; at the same time he releases the
sheet he moves into the cabin to place his weight
on the starboard side. I'm not sure why this works,
but by releasing the sheet the sail feathers into
the wind and the crew's weight being further
forward brings the centre of lateral resistance
nearer the bow, which facilitates the completion of
the tack.
I next tested 'Faith' while
on a fortnight's cruise in the West Country. There
she was sailed under varying conditions when she
was fully loaded with provisions. At that time I
had not carried out modifications to the yuloh to
improve its articulation from side to side and
therefore I could only use it as a paddle. (Later
when I did get it to work properly I could generate
about half a knot in smooth water.) Al and I sailed
in company much of the time which led me to believe
his 'Little Jim' went to windward more efficiently
than 'Faith', but not always. Overall there didn't
seem to be much difference in the boats' performance,
because after sailing all day on the open sea we
would arrive at our destination together.
I found my Paradox behaved
wonderfully well in winds of force 4 to 5 when
sailing off the rugged coast between Plymouth and
Salcombe. There were times when our boats were
hidden in the troughs of the Atlantic swell and
when we entered Salcombe the seas were confused
because waves rebounded from the cliffs and from
the seabed as we approached the infamous sandbar.
After leaving Salcombe the next day, en route for
Brixham, when well clear of the Start Point Race, I
felt very secure as my little boat ran before the
wind. Unlike some boats I've owned, 'Faith' hardly
rolls when running before the wind and I believe
that's because of her flat bottom and chine
runners.
'Faith' has more than ample
room in compartments and bins for the storage of
provisions and water for a cruise lasting a month
or more; in fact there would be sufficient space
for victuals sufficient for an ocean crossing. She
can dry out on mud or sand and sit upright without
the need of supports. There's room on the floor for
laying out a full-size mattress and of course, one
does not have to erect a boom tent before turning
in, as it's simply a matter of sliding the
waterproof hatch to seal off the night air.
Condensation is not a big problem, because the
natural inflow and expulsion of fresh air through
the vents tends to eliminate moisture, and for
those who choose to insulate their boats with
closed cell foam it provides an additional measure
against condensation while acting as emergency
buoyancy in the unlikely event of the boat being
holed. In the lazarette section behind the
removable transverse seat there are bins for warps,
fenders, cooking pots, Wellington boots, wading
shoes and vegetables etc., and I have installed a
gimballed Gaz stove, the sort used by campers; this
can be used while at sea for heating water or for
cooking a meal while underway.
The tiller is attached to a
steering line that passes through blocks so that it
is within convenient reach of the crew as he sits
facing forward. Either side of the cabin, below the
steering line, there are handy shelves. Below them
there are compartments for bulkier items. Food is
stored under the floorboards. The battery is
located in a compartment on the port hand side in
the forecastle opposite a storage compartment on
the starboard side. Between the stem and the first
bulkhead there's yet another storage space,
probably best used for things needed infrequently.
I built a transverse table for 'Faith' that can be
set up before or after bulkhead 3. I find this
useful when having a meal while at anchor and for
when I want to use my laptop computer.
All in all, I'm very pleased
with my little boat believing she will suit me
admirably for the sort of sailing I want to do
during my retirement. Mostly I intend to use her
for day sailing and the occasional short coastal
cruise. In time I'll most likely fit her with an
outboard motor because of the limitations of the
yuloh that can only be used effectively in calm
conditions.
Bill.
Copyright
2007 Small Sailboats.
Site URL:
http://www.smallsailboats.co.uk
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