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ST129, Colby College January 1995
MTWTh, 12:30-2:30, Lovejoy 208 Professor Leonard Reich
(207) 872-3535 e-mail: lsreich@colby.edu
SAILING
History, Seamanship, Dynamics, and Design
"A small sailing craft is not only beautiful, it is seductive and full of
strange promise and the hint of trouble." E.B. White, "The Sea and the
Wind that Blows"
"It's ironic that sailing craft seem at last to be approaching a whole new
plateau of devel-opment, now that they have lost all trace of material
usefulness." Tony Gibbs, Advanced Sailing
"Nor was this sloop of mine purely an engineer's conceit. She was born of
song and sculp-ture, too. I could hear it in the hum of her rigging. I
could see it in the flare of her hull. She owed a debt to the epics of
Homer and the fugues of Bach. She was an eloquent fusion of the war within
ourselves, the war which tears us apart, the ceaseless conflict between
science and art." Richard Bode, First You Have to Row a Little Boat
"The motion of a sailboat properly tuned to her environment...I can only
describe as orchestral." Steven Callahan, naval architect
"No matter how long you have been sailing or how much experience you have,
there is no end to the lessons sailing can hold for those who are open to
them." Rod Stephens, Sailboat designer
"Go small. Go simple. Go now." Lin and Larry Pardee, cruiser/authors
The subtitle of this course describes its content. We will
undertake to study the science, technology, craftsmanship, art, and
technique of sailing and sailboats. Our purpose is also multifaceted: to
learn about the history of sail; about changing design, construction, and
use of sailboats; about how and why people go to sea, and what they learn
>from their experiences. Our tools to achieve these purposes come from a
rich selection of readings, videos, and lectures, listed below.
Requirements to successfully complete the course are as follows:
Attendance. Each student is expected to attend every class. More
than one unexcused absence will result in forfeiture of credit for the
course.
Synopsis. Choosing one book from the attached list of the
instructor's sailing library (or other approved book), each student will
prepare a one-page synopsis and analysis, due on the last Monday of the
term. The synopses will be duplicated and a packet of them made available
to all class members.
Design. Each student will design a sailboat, using either hand
methods or the computer-aided design program MacSurf. The purpose for
which the boat is intended will be determined first. The design is due at
the final exam.
Final Exam. There will be a final examination on the last day of
class. All students must pass the examination to receive credit for the
course.
Two books should be purchased for the course: John Rousmaniere, The
Annapolis Book of Seamanship (2nd edition), and a course pack made up of
materials from Richard Henderson, The Racing-Cruiser (2nd edition) and from
Danny Greene, Cruising Sailboat Kinetics. [Copyright permission has been
received for the coursepack materials, and students will pay a small
copyright fee as well as duplicating costs.] In addition, there are many
other materials on our reading list. They will be made available at the
reserve reading desk of Miller Library.
COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING LIST
Jan
4 Wed Introduction.
Final racing sequence from the film Wind.
The mechanics of the course.
DISCUSSION: Why do we sail?
VIDEO: Annapolis Book of Seamanship Video Series: "Daysailers:
Sailing and Racing"
5 Thu Hull and general design issues.
READ: Greene, Cruising Sailboat Kinetics, pages 5-50.
VIDEO: ABS Video Series: "Safety at Sea"
9 Mon Design issues and safety at sea.
READ: Henderson, The Racing-Cruiser, pages 10-75; Ben Emory,
"Magic in Numbers" (Cruising World, 10/94); Tom Cunliffe, "A Suit-able
Cruiser" (Yacht Racing & Cruising, 7-8/84); John Marshall,
"The Danger of Capsize" (The Hinckley Newsletter).
GUEST SPEAKER: Ben Emory (Licensed Coast Guard Captain and
free-lance contributor to sailing magazines)
10 Tue History of sail.
READ: Meade Gougeon and Tyrus Knoy, Sailboat Design - Yesterday,
Today and Tomorrow, pages 1-66; Howard Chapelle,
The History of American Sailing Ships, pages 273-93.
VIDEO: "Around Cape Horn" (1929)
11 Wed History of Yachts and Yacht Racing
READ: Charles Mason, "America's Cup" (SAIL, 1/95); Rich Roberts,
"Triple Defense" (Supplement to Yachting, 1/95).
GUEST SPEAKER: Jon Johansen (Publisher and editor, Maine Coastal News)
12 Thu Rigs and construction
READ: Greene, Cruising Sailboat Kinetics, pages 58-65; Henderson,
The Racing-Cruiser, pages 76-95; Roger Marshall,
Designed to Cruise, pages 48-83.
VIDEO: "The Friendship Sloop"
16 Mon Sails and sail trim
READ: Henderson, The Racing-Cruiser, pages 96-119; Rousmaniere,
The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, pages 68-101;
Tom Whidden, "Turning Theory and Cloth into Sails,"
The Art and Science of Sails, pages 151-69.
VIDEO: "American Challenge" (OSTAR, 1980)
17 Tues Multihulls
READ: Chris White, "The Case for the Cruising Multihull
(Parts I & II)" (CW, 5&6/88).
GUEST SPEAKER: Walter Greene (Builder and racer of offshore multihulls)
18 Wed Cruising
READ: Lin and Larry Pardee, The Capable Cruiser, pages 20-50;
Myron Arms, "A Mystery of the Sands" (SAIL, 8/94);
Magdeleine Perret, "The Treasure of Los Roques" (CW, 4/89);
Don Johnson, Cruising Guide to Maine, Vol. I, pages 140-43.
VIDEO: "Down East Presents: Penobscot Bay"
19 Thu Boat Design
READ: Johan Valentijn, "Are There Winged Keels in Your Future?"
(CW, 3/84); Jack Somer, "Classic Chuck Paine" (CW, 1/95).
GUEST SPEAKER: Chuck Paine (Sailboat designer)
23 Mon Weather and heavy-weather sailing
READ: Rousmaniere, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, pages 102-33
and 320-33; Richard Henderson, Sea Sense, pages 180-213.
VIDEO: ABS Video Series: "Heavy Weather Sailing"
24 Tues Single handing: design, technique, equipment
READ: Danny Greene, "Dodge Morgan and American Promise: Les-sons
Learned" (CW, 9/86); Herb McCormick, "A Triumph of Planning and
Preparation" (CW, 1/87); Dodge Morgan,
"Sailing Into Sanity" (CW, 1/92).
VIDEO: "Around Alone"
GUEST SPEAKER: Dodge Morgan (Single-handed circumnavigator)
25 Wed Piloting and navigation
READ: Rousmaniere, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, pages
196-299; "Global Positioning System" (West Marine '94
Master Catalogue).
VIDEO: ABS Video Series: "Sailboat Navigation"
26 Thu FIELD TRIP to SHORE SAILS (Yarmouth) and to SABRE YACHTS (South
Casco). Leave campus 9:00 am, return 4:00 pm.
30 Mon Offshore racing
READ: Philippe Jeantot, "BOC Update" (CW, 6/87); Rodger Martin,
"BOC Boats--What Can We Learn?" (CW, 8/87); Tim Jeffery,
"The Brutal Speed Zone" (Sailing, 9/94); Rob Humphries,
"The Whitbread: Prescription for Next Time" (Sail, 8/94).
VIDEO: "Whitbread Around the World Race, 1989-90" (ESPN)
31 Tue FINAL EXAM
1 Wed Fair Winds and Following Seas