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Hello
I'm completely new to this forum but am thinking about buying an OceanDog.
I have a couple of questions, hope you can help:
- does anyone know anything else about the OceanDog (33' ketch, Reg Freeman design, long keel)? It appears to be identical in layout to the SeaDog.
- how well do Sea/OceanDogs sail? I really don't want to rely on the
engine and was a bit concerned to see them described as motorsailers. When I viewed the boat I was led to believe that it was sail only and that it could cope with anything!
SeaDog Name (if owner or crew) considering becoming an OceanDog owner
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Eric Richardson
Apr 24, 2011 - 9:59AM
Re: Sailing performance of Sea/OceanDogs?
Hi Chrissie
The Seadog 30 comes in two forms, the triple keel version and the deep dog which has just a long keel ie no bilge keels. Naturaly this is a faster boat because it does not have the drag from the bilge keels. Being heavy boats they need a bit of wind to get them going but are very good when the going gets a bit tough. As far as I am aware the Ocean Dogs have only been built in wood and although I have been aboard one back in 1988 it was ashore so I do not know how it performed.
I would expect it to be as good as any other heavy displacement long keeled ketch. The design was stretched to 34ft 6in and built by Halberg Rassy as the Rasmus 35 some of which were then fitted out by Reg Freeman in the UK and sold as the Nab 35. they were built as Sloop or Ketch. I have one of these and am more than pleased with the way she sails, again modern light weight boats can leave me behind in a breeze but when it gets to 4/5 I find that they are reefed down and having a hard time and I am sailing past them in reasonable comfort and not on my ear.
It depends what you want out of a boat, in my book I like to sail but its good to have a big engine in a boat that will get you home when you get it wrong, I am sure that the Ocean Dog will do that, but not sail like the French light weights.
Hope that helps.
Eric
David Nixon
Jun 1, 2011 - 9:00AM
Re: Sailing performance of Sea/OceanDogs?
It was my first Seadog outing in a blow last Saturday. I was really impressed with Gina’s stability. Although, with just a few rolls in the genoa and a full main and mizzen, she was possibly over canvassed. Eventually, we backed the genoa, tied off the wheel, and there she sat, hove to in winds gusting 38 knots, while we made tea.
Mind you I’d rather not have had to retire from the “race” but I really couldn’t coax the old girl to point up as far as we needed to make any decent headway.
For most of my time I’m a cruising sailor with safety and comfort in mind, but once or twice a year I like to join in with my club for a fun day of racing without an engine.
I'm never going to win, but I'd like to finish! I’m sure my lack of progress this time is down to my inexperience. Can anyone offer any ketch/Seadog sailing pointers?
Regards,
David
SeaDog Name (if owner or crew) Gina
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SAI NILGIRI
Jun 23, 2011 - 7:36PM
Re: Sailing performance of Sea/OceanDogs?
Hi! I was reading this thread and had copied a web document some time ago on Ketch Rig sailing. Hope you find it useful.
Also please check the web link below:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/seamanshi … dling.html
Ketch rig
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Trimming sails on a ketch is like most boats you start at the bow and trim aft. Ketches generally are pretty low tech rigs with wide shroud bases. As a result it is pretty hard to very hard to over trim a genoa on a ketch upwind. Next comes the main which should be trimmed so that the Batten teletales flow. Since the mizzen represents a sizeable percentage of the overall sail plan, you need to be careful upwind not ot over trim the mainsail and dump extra turbulent air on the mizzen. Mizzens often end up being over trimmed to take the luff out. A little luff can be tolerated.
As the breeze bulds the mainsail traveler should be lowered to leeward and the genoa lead moved slightly aft.
As you crack off of the wind, a ketch begins to come into its own. It is important not to overtrim the sails on a reach. Use you vangs in the mainsail and mizzen as twist generally means that the foot of the sail ends up being too tight and sends back too much dirty air onto the mizzen.
Once you start to broad reach the mizzen begins to blanket the mainsail and theirs not much you can do for it except rig a mizzen staysail.
As every one noted, in heavy air you can drop the mainsail and sail jib and jigger. Most ketches will hove to Jib and jigger as well.
Mizzen staysail are flown on reaches. They typcially have a halyard at the forward top of the Mizzenmast and their tack is lead to the deck about even with the base of the main mast. They are rigged in a number of ways but typically they are attached to a pad eye to weather of the mast base on the deck or even at the rail. Occasionally you see their tacks rigged to a pad eye at the base of the mast or to the genoa sheet tracks. They typically have a single sheet that is usually lead to snatch block on the deck near the leeward corner of the transom.
The sail is flown on longish reaches and is dropped and raised on each jibe since sail prevents the mainsail from beingable to jibe. These are real workhorse sails adding a lot of speed in the right conditions.
SeaDog Name (if owner or crew) ~SeaDog Enthusiast
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Eric Richardson
Jun 24, 2011 - 4:15PM
Re: Sailing performance of Sea/OceanDogs?
Hi to all
That last item on sail trimming was very good, just on the question of set up with a mizzen staysail. I used to tie the foot down to a staunchion base, and take my sheet back to a pulley fastened to the end of the mizzen boom, the sheet then being taken round the aft cleat on the cockpit coaming. That seemed to work ok but I dont doubt there are many other ways of doing it. I never had good results using the pad eye on the coach roof supposed to be for that purpose.
Eric
SAI NILGIRI
Jul 2, 2011 - 8:16PM
Re: Sailing performance of Sea/OceanDogs?
ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SEADOG...This is an extract from an article on the web -
Sailing Today: http://www.sailingtoday.co.uk/seadog/seadog-30
I have edited a part of that article for readers' ease here.
Rig
The rig of the original boats was conservative in size and construction, creating a yacht that was underpowered in light airs. Models with deeper fin keels had larger rigs and some of these were subsequently fitted to the bilge-keeled versions.
Sails
The three sails offer great versatility in reefing and balancing the Seadog. Such balancing ability is needed, because the small rudder means that she can carry significant weather helm. Some owners have fitted a bowsprit, to set a larger foresail, or fitted a cutter rig. Others fly a mizzen staysail.
Performance
Closehauled
With the breeze hovering around Force 2 it was hard work battling the flood tide, but the’ seadog’ did her best, responding to the gusts and picking up speed surprisingly well. This is not a light airs yacht, nor is she close-winded, but there are plenty of reports of Seadogs surviving harsh conditions with relative ease. Expect to use the engine if the wind is light or on the nose and you need to reach port in a hurry.
Reaching
We made 2kn, but with a F4-5 the boat will plug along quite happily averaging 4.5kn. With all the sheets easily to hand in the small cockpit, this is an easy yacht to single hand and two examples have been taken around the world solo. The wheel is linked to a small rudder via solid steering gear from a Jaguar Mk10 and with little feel to the steering it is easy to be heavy handed at the helm. Later boats, after hull 50, had larger rudders.
Downwind
The three keels give the shallow draught Seadogs good stability downwind and their weight adds to predictable handling. There have been at least six Atlantic crossings and this would make a comfortable, if sedate, ocean cruiser. The seadog was happy to goose wing and the relatively small size of the sails made gybing and tacking simple.
Engine
With a long keel and small rudder the Seadog is never going to be nimble, but she turned tightly and was responsive to the helm. Going astern she was hard to control and we had to try to get plenty of way on before going into neutral and remove prop walk from the equation.
SeaDog Name (if owner or crew) ~SeaDog Enthusiast
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