Friends for life
Remember this post from the other day where I shared the wind forecast showing gusts up to 26 knots? And do you also remember the fact that I wrote on that post that if you want to know what the conditions will really be like, you need to add 10 knots to whatever wind speed they list? Well, this is what we really saw, wind consistently over 30 with gusts over 40. And that was in the lee of the island! Even yesterday, when we went out for a little day sail in the sunshine, we were still hit with gusts just shy of 40. Crazy!
Just one of many big gusts!
Our guest, Michael, raising anchor on Christmas morning.
Rhonda at the helm, doing a great job in the gusty conditions.
In addition to the gusty and squally conditions, there has been a fair swell effecting the west coast anchorages, making moving around the boat a tad… challenging. Being anchored in this swell got me thinking about flopper stoppers, devices that people lower off the sides of their boat to dampen the roll. While I’ve never used such a tool, I do recall someone just recently telling me that they work like a charm. A bit of Google Fu netted me this link from Cruising World that talks about using flopper stoppers. Any of our readers have any real world experience on using them?
Perhaps our friend Drew should research this subject.
After a fun week on the island, Michael and Rhonda left us this morning to return home to their families. Super fun folks, and no doubt new friends for life.
Hey Guys!
Merry Christmas
I read an article by Lin and Larry Pardee, and they extol the virtues of the flopper stopper.
I’ll forward the link later (at work right now)
Have a Happy Holiday in the meantime
“D”
Thanks!
http://www.zerotocruising.com/more-on-stopping-the-flop/
I have the kind of flopper stoppers that look sort of like orange highway cones with wide rims, or maybe like a very tall sombrero. They work quite well, especially if deployed off a boom pulled well outboard, with a whisker pole on the other side for balance. The farther off the beam of the boat they are deployed, the better they work, and the less sharp the jerk.
Like these?
http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/marine_product.asp?pnum=00352
Any week that ends with “friends for life” is a good week 🙂
It’ll be a little while yet before Katy and I can afford (or can find the time for) a trip down to see you folks, but we certainly hope it’ll happen sometime!
Merry Christmas, Mike & Rebecca. And thanks for bringing a bit of tropical cheer to our (admittedly rather tropical) Canadian holiday weekend.
Merry Christmas! Hope you have a prosperous and fun new year.
Mmmm,
I need one or two of those for my 6′ beam skiff. Maybe cut a square plastic cutting board in half diagonally and add the weights.
Let me know how it goes if you make them.
Hi,
Practical Boat Owner magazine did a very interesting test on flopped stoppers … may be worthwhile contacting them?
All the very best wishes!
Russell
Found this PBO link on the subject:
http://www.pbo.co.uk/practical-projects/make-a-diy-flopper-stopper-24531