Corbin 39 in Sailing Magazine

This photograph of Jakatar was featured in a "Used Boat Notebook" article published in Sailing Magazine. The writer David Liscio contacted me, through the Corbin 39 Association, and I made some observations about Corbin 39 sailboats which he included in the article.

Another shot below, now with a solar panel instead of the wind generator. I much prefer the solar panel. No noise, nothing moves and, hopefully, nothing breaks down. 

Sailing Magazine's Used Boat Notebook is meant to give readers summary information about a sailboat's merits. This was David Liscio's summary conclusion: "A sleek, rugged, bluewater cutter, the Corbin 39 merges sea-kindliness with comfort and proves ideal for a cruising couple or small family."

What about the interior, you may ask. The video below takes you on a tour of Jakatar's interior. Note that Jakatar is a model of simplicity, perhaps excessively so. Even so, it's very spacious and cozy, especially if you like wood finish...lots of wood.

I'm planning to visit the boat in the coming days to spend a week of lockdown time aboard. Lockdown, in this case, is a 5-day nationwide ban on the crossing of municipality borders.

Jakatar, a Corbin 39, Wins the Peniche Regatta

Jakatar won its last (2019) regatta in Peniche, in its last year in Peniche, just before sailing off to the Algarve, maybe forever!

If you can read Portuguese, you can read the Newspaper report about the regatta, or you can translate it on Google or, even better, you can skip it.

I won because I had painted the bottom weeks before and because I decided to be a racer instead of a cruiser for one day. This means that I actually concentrated on winning. A Rival 38 came second while the supposedly modern fast boats finished way behind. We had winds of 10 to 15 knots and the legs implied sailing in nearly all points of sail.

The photograph below shows Jakatar about to overtake two of the fastest boats participating.

Also note the ugly stripe, which I started to repaint between the haulout and the race, but only got as far as removing most of the oil-based paint with a heat gun and paint scraper. A real pain in the butt job that I performed with the boat in the water...meaning that I worked on my knees with head and arms hanging over the side. Then there was the sanding, taping and actual painting. Not to be repeated in any circumstances.

Before the bottom job:

After, a slippery bottom perfect for winning races:

Coming up in the next post: Building a concrete mooring on site on the boat and launched from the boat. 

Performance Pocket Cruiser Review no. 1 - Etap 26i

Candidate no. 1 - Etap 26i

Downloadable Owner's manual (pdf)

Aesthetic appeal

The Etap 26i was love at first sight. I'm enamoured with its looks, layout, construction quality, and unsinkability. It can be sailed with a hole in the hull, but what I really like about this feature is that a leak will not sink it when docked or anchored (dealing with a sunken boat is a huge logistics headache).

Another thing I really like about the Etap 26i is its interior. The cabin is flooded with light, and you can look where you're going and up at the sails while making lunch. A small boat interior can't get much more cheerful than this.

The stern has a very inviting swim platform which also looks like a dream for stepping into and out of the dinghy. Although it's a modern production boat, it has the look of a serious cruiser (which it isn't).  

The interior plan is standard for an modern 8 m sailboat, which is good. I don't see how anyone could significantly improve the layout in this size of boat. Perfect for a solo sailor.

Hull, rig and engine

The Etap company has closed, but this is what they used to say about the Etap 26i

- The only unsinkable Yachts in the world

- Condensation free

- Highly thermal and acoustic insulation

- Double-skinned deck and hull give stable structure

- Interior in sound structural polyester

- High resale value

Etaps aren't merely unsinkable, they can still be sailed even when holed. Here's a report in a Yachting Monthly article about testing a flooded Etap 21i:

"Gert, the Etap representative onboard, has done this a few times, most notably in a 24-ft Etap, crossing the Channel twice in a day with the boat flooded. He estimated that flooding slows the boat down by 1 knot, not bad considering he reefs to reduce strain on the rig."

Note that the following photograph is of an Etap 21i.

The bunk locker lids were barely awash when the water ingress stopped (Etap 21i). ~ Courtesy of Yachting Monthly

I don't like the saildrive configuration, and the 10 hp power engine may be under-muscled for motoring against waves, wind and current on my way back north. Sailing solo between ports (with legs up to 60 miles), I don't have the luxury of tacking my way up the coast when the wind is on the nose. There is too much traffic to take naps and too many fishing net markets to motor at night. I've been trapped twice already, and diving in to cut the boat and prop free is no picnic.

I don't know what to think about Etap's that come with a shallow tandem keel. If the tandem keel works as well as the designer says, what's there not to like? If they don't perform as well, and I happen to buy one, a shallow draft has a number of advantages.

The tandem keel consists of two short keels joined by a bulb.

Etaps with a fin keel are, I presume, more efficient upwind, but the tandem keel would be great for anchoring closer to shore where it's less crowed and for exploring shallower areas in the coast of Algarve where I don't dare go with my current Corbin 39. It would also make it easier to careen the boat on a sand bank to scrub the bottom, scrape he prop, change the anode or just for fun!

My first impression is that the sail plan and rig seem to be more suitable to day-sailing than for my cruising trips along the Portuguese coast, which is known for its somewhat boisterous trade winds and severe conditions at various capes, particularly on hot afternoons.

I need a boat that sails well downwind (when I go south) and reasonably well upwind (when I return sailing north). I hate motoring unless there's no alternative, then I live with it.

Here is an Etap 26i sailing:

The Bergstrom rig on the Etap 26i has no backstay, which is compensated by its swept-back spreaders. This also explains its large main sail with a generous roach and small self-tacking genoa.

I've noticed, such as in the above film, that some owners upgraded to a larger genoa. I would suspect they were unhappy with the smaller sail's performance. But since the rig was designed for a small genoa, could a larger genoa pose a risk in stronger wind?

The boat's setup raises at least two key issues: its ability to sail downwind efficiently; and its capacity to cope with strong wind on a beam reach, particularly with its ballast  displacement ratio just shy of 30%.

When sailing downwind, the swept-back spreaders prevent easing the mainsail far enough for optimum performance. This problem could be overcome by employing a smallish and easy to handle asymmetrical spinnaker. After all, I'm not trying to break speed records, I merely want to sail from port to port fast enough to arrive before dark rather than having to motor and/or motorsail.

The problem of not being able to fully ease out and depower the main sail in strong beam-reach winds is more worrisome. And believe me, if you cruise Portugal's coast and its nasty capes where winds can escalate from a breeze to vicious storm-like winds in minutes, not being able to depower a large main could put a huge load on the rig and sails and even lead to a wind-and-wave induced broach. In this scenario, a solo sailor also has to struggle to maintain his balance in a steeply slanted and unstable cockpit at at time when he must act fast to bring the boat under control, especially since the autopilot will almost certainly be overpowered.

Reef, reef early and deeply, the experts say. I say it too, but sailing is not always that simple or logical. I don't always follow this advice on my current boat, a Corbin 39, but that's because it's built for hell and high water.

On the other hand, the small genoa combined with the battened mainsail may be great for upwind sailing...at least that's what I think and hope.

Price

Ads in February 2017:

Year of build       Asking prices in euros
1995                    21,570 / 24,000 / 26,000
1996                    25,000
1999                    26,000
2004                    33,000

And what are the forums saying about this boat:

"I have an Etap 26i (as opposed to the older 26) fixed keel (not tandem) and she's a great boat. The self-tacking jib makes for a stress free time in busy waters and as an etap owner already you'll know the benefits of the double skin and buoyancy (although ok, storage can be less). The only thing I would say is that due to the Bergstrom rig with swept back spreaders, you have to gybe a bit more as a straight down-wind jaunt puts the main onto the spreaders... my next step is to look into a spinnaker to sort that out."

"I owned one for 5 years after upgrading from a 22 Etap. Great sailing boat. Can't think of any negative aspects. I sailed with our family of 4 kids , later bought a 30 Etap so sailed etaps for 15 years. Couldn't afford a 35 so switched brands."

More information may be added to this post. In the meantime, It's a boat to take seriously in my quest to be a happy sailor.

Owning a Sailboat that Makes you Happy

This is my current sailboat, a Corbin 39.

Jakatar sailing upwind along the Portuguese coast.

I bought the unfinished Jakatar in Canada 18 years ago and sailed it to Europe in 2002. It's ridiculously overbuilt and has never let me down in nearly 10,000 ocean miles, including a nasty mid-ocean storm.

Now that Jakatar is almost finished, this solo sailor is dreaming of a smaller boat. Jakatar was designed for a larger and perhaps younger crew dreaming of going places - maybe crossing oceans - or even living aboard.

I began this blog solely as a process for deciding which boat I want to buy - the best sailboat for coastal cruising on a budget. It's also a way to commit myself to the process, to create momentum, excitement and to set the dream on fire again. Without commitment and momentum, nothing is going to happen.

Future posts will deal with topics such as:

Why do I want a smaller boat

Where will I be sailing it

Why size is crucial

Hull type

New, used, classic or in need of repair

Budget
Equipment

etc.

More information about Jakatar, my misadventures and musings can be found on my other blog zentozero.

Any comments, suggestions, confessions, opinions or even rants are welcome.  

Pussy Sailors

Yesterday, in a very popular sailing blog I read that sailors who lead all their lines into the cockpit are mostly pussy sailors who don't venture more than 5 miles from the marina. The "expert" blog also listed all the merits of keeping the halyards and reefing lines at the mast. It sounded good in theory, and maybe it really is good, but I like my system better, only from experience you understand.

Except for the topping lift, I lead all my 17 lines into the cockpit:

• 3 halyards
• 4 reefing lines
• 4 sheets
• 2 preventers
• 2 running backstays
• 1 boomvang line
• 1 mainsail downhall

That must make me the biggest sailing pussy ever!

Sailing upwind during a regatta.

I'm no sailing hero. And to be honest, I didn't even learn much when I crossed the Atlantic from New York to Portugal, which included a rough 3-day storm (9 m waves). On the other hand, I have learned a few things on my annual sailing cruise from Peniche to the Algarve (12 times/years), either solo or with relatively inexperienced crew.

It's not the notorious Portuguese northerlies, the fog or the fish-net buoys that make sailing this coast challenging - no, it's the damned capes. In summer the wind near the capes can pipe up from 5 kt to 40+ kt winds while you're having a pee in the head. 

But after a few trips, hopefully you learn exactly when, where and at what time to reef and prepare for the fury. I say "time" because a cape can be sleepy calm in the morning and furiously wild in the afternoon on the same day.

The problem is when you're expecting bad and, instead, get a taste of hell.

Almost every year I sail solo from Alvor to Sagres in late August. It's only a 20 mile trip, and by the time I have breakfast, go ashore and get ready, it's nearly lunch. Normally there's no morning wind in these parts, so it makes no sense to leave early anyway.

So you leave with a nice north-northwest breeze all sails up, go past Lagos between Ponta da Piedade and the fish farm sipping on a cup of coffee and enjoying the view. Later, as the air over land starts to warm up and rise, the cooler ocean air rushes in to fill the gap, picks up speed and blows a stiff breeze down the cliffs on the southern side. The wind increases progressively and you start feeling uneasy as the boat shoots forward under sails drawn hard and tight.

That's when I go through the paces of putting in the first reef in the main and then roll in a third of the big genoa. As I sail toward Sagres, it gets even hotter and and more windy. Soon I've put in the second reef and also furled the genoa to half its size.

Sooner than expected, and without warning, the shotgun blast comes thundering down the cliffs making the water boil. The mast creaks tight, the boat heels sharply, and my ears are full of wind as the boat picks up even more speed. I'm sailing a Corbin 39 and it's built for the fight.

When the hydraulic autopilot starts struggling against the weather helm, I ease out the main and then slowly roll in the genoa all the way while slacking the sheet. The hank-on staysail always stays up no matter what.

I pull in the main a touch to keep if off the spreaders. I've still got weather helm, but it's manageable. Then I cross an invisible line into hell and the blast rips the hat off my head, the boat lunges over and, shit, you know its going to get worse. I ease out the mainsail, this time to the spreaders, and manage to roll in the genoa all the way. My ears are full of howling wind and I'm gritting my teeth and curse for never having installed the third reef line...and I probably never will.

In the distance I see a sailboat motoring toward me with no sail up and heeling, and I also see the surface froth over the dark ripples. The Rutland wind generator is whining insanely like a low pitch siren, then breaks into a loud free-spin swisssssh when the thermal cutout is triggered, only to repeat the whining-swisssssh cycle over and over. When the wind generator does that you know you're in over 40 knots.

My mouth is dry and I have to act fast. I tap on the autopilot "+10 button" 3 times, the boat slowly turns toward land, stabilizes, and I tap the "+10 button" once more. I release the mainsheet and the main sail almost goes limp, the boat straightens to nearly normal and my mouth is getting drier than dust.

I release the main halyard clutch, pull on the downhall line until the sail is nestled in the lazyjacks, not too neatly but good enough, and I cleat it off. Now I press the autopilot "-10 button" 4 times and continue sailing toward Sagres with my staysail and hardly heeling.

I relax in the spaghetti-filled cockpit which I haven't stepped out of and cross paths with the sailboat that is motoring. I can't help notice that they have winches on the mast and no sail up at all - pussy sailors!

Mid-life Crisis - Unfaithful

I'm not a rock star blogger, but I'm rock solid. ~ Martello Mateus

That's the best I can say about my sailboat too - rock solid. 

I was looking at Jakatar from the transient dock and sadly noticed that it's dirty below and above the waterline, has a ridiculous mast rash, looks naked...abandoned. Besides, I fell in love with a cute Frances 26 that is not only rock solid but also beautiful, cheap, and easy to please. I think I'm going to have a mid-life crisis!

Naked, dirty and peeling...and check out the "no parking" sign.

Even the fenders are beginning to look like trash.

Then there's the Frances 26. I can see it's small. I realize it's cramped inside. I know it's not as fast. Yes, the water tank won't last 2 or 3 weeks, or the diesel for a year, like Jakatar. But look at it; it sets my boat hormones on fire.

The FRANCES 26 is a classic cruiser with a traditional profile built in hand layed-up fiberglass using the best materials and craftsmanship. She is the ultimate combination of comfort and sailing ability in a pocket cruiser for coastal or offshore sailing.

The original FRANCES was designed and built by Naval Architect Chuck Paine for his own use. He decided to reduce the size of the well known Colin Archer double ender and, as such, also reduce the problems (crew requirements, maintenance costs, original cost, restrictions to cruising waters due to deep draft) inherent to larger blue water cruisers. But the features that have gained acceptance, as necessary for safety and comfort at sea - heavy displacement, a double ended design, and sufficient ballast - were retained. The FRANCES is an alternative for sailors seeking quality and economy in a modern yacht.

Small is beautiful. Small and beautiful is even more beautiful. Small, beautiful, practical and affordable is incredibly beautiful. 

Sailing a Dirty Bathtub

The first sail of the year on my boat was like sailing a dirty bathtub in sloppy waters.

Family visit from Canada: my brother Luis (a sailboat owner) and my nieces Erika (a sailboat owner) and Michelle (an adventurer).

We motored out of the port nose-punching the waves at 2.5 kt, raised the stay sail, unfurled the jib, killed the engine, after which Erika shouted, "Yeah, we're doing it!!" But we were doing it so slow I had to start the engine to tack.

Erika has a sailboat on Great Slave Lake in Yellowknife Canada where it's so inhumanely cold I can't even imagine doing anything there other than complain until they ran me out of town in disgust.

Anyway, except for some sunshine, the conditions were all wrong (unless you compare it to Yellowknife): 10 kt SSW wind; lumpy west seas; a dirty bottom and and an encrusted propeller. We had fun anyway. After all, day-sailing is more about doing it than speed. 

Changing the topic - or maybe not, depending on how you look at it - I fell in love with a Frances 26, online of course, despite the fact that I'm already married to a Corbin 39. 

I know she's small, but big enough, full of style, easy to handle and built for cruising...and affordable to own. There's a Morris Frances 26 for sale in Portugal with an asking price of €29,000. 

I wish I could say more, but I have work to finish. In the future you might be hearing more from me because a small but significant change has happened.