Date/time:                  Apr 22, 2006 12:00 local

Position at noon:        08025' N & 136024' E  at this position on this
date we are approximately under the sun's orbit and will soon have a
southern noon sun.  The days will continue to get longer until we turn south
from our "cross our trail position" at 650 30' N.

Noon to noon:            141 nm
Avg. speed:                5.9  kts
Miles to go                  570  nm
Course bearing:            0570 T
Sea state & wx:            NE 6' to 8', wind 15 to 20 kts
Crew                          Ben, Brad, Kevin & Kim Lofstrom
Goal:                          Guam by 26

Remarks:                As we got outside the Palau coral reefs a squall
came through with 34 kt winds and the sea got lively.  We let out our poles
and dropped in our paravane stabilizers (vanes).  We went from hanging on,
to going about our chores.

We put pictures of our system on our website and I'll give a bit of
explanation.  I really would have liked to do some testing on the actual
weight on the load line from the vane to the pole and also move the hole
that we are hooked to on the vane to a number of positions.  We didn't have
as much options as we would like, so its best guess.

Our poles are 16' 9" long and our vanes are 106 square inches each. From the
end of the pole one line runs forward to our forward cleat, one to the mast
to carry the vertical load, one to a block higher up the mast to left the
pole and secure it in its saddle, one to a block attached low on the hull to
hold the pole back and down.  The other lines are for the vane.  The
vertical load line is 4 mm Dyneema 15 feet long attached to a 7' long piece
of half inch nylon for a spring line.  On the back corner of the vane is a 5
mm dyneema which is 4 feet longer than the load line and it serves as both a
safety loss line and as our normal recovery line. There is a small block on
the recovery line and it can be pulled in to the boat to recover the vane
with the continuous line attached to it, or it can be pulled back out to the
end of the pole.

It is very easy for a 67 year old man to deploy or recover both the poles
and the vanes by himself.  Our vanes are aluminum with a lead nose cone and
it is easy to handle them without bumping them against the hull.

Our beam is 11' and displacement 32,000 pounds.  If I were to do it again I
would make the vanes smaller, about 90 square inches instead of 106 and I
would make them of 6 mm plate instead of 10 mm.

Sometimes the vanes or lines sing a bit but no one sees that as a problem.
Sometimes they don't sing, but without propper equipment it is impossible to
know what is causing it.

If you use a tow hole in the vane that is too far astern on the vane it will
cause the vane to wander.  Move the hole forward until it quits wandering,
then move it forward another half inch.

We have heard many stories about vanes coming out in a storm and flying
about dangerously.  Don't worry about that if you have them running true and
have them running deep enough. Even if they come out occasionally it is not
a major problem.  Beebe says 14' deep and I would say no less.  In a storm
is when you want them working and working right.  For us in a bad storm we
are best running at 3 to 5 kts with a storm drogue at 30 to 40 degrees off
the wind.  Off the port stern cleat in the Southern hemisphere and the
opposite in the north.  Leave it on autopilot with someone always on watch to
assure it is all working as you want it to.  Always have a spare drogue and
rode.

Questions are welcome but I am an observer only, not an expert.

Ben, Brad, Kevin & Kim

Ben Gray
Idlewild
Custom Buehler 55 powered by a 55-hp Kubota
Home port: Dunvegan, Alberta
http://www.idlewildexpedition.ca/
http://dieselducks.com/Idelwild.html
http://www.trawlersandtrawlering.com/

Where to follow Idlewild if you have Google Earth
installed: http://tinyurl.com/ksnhg
For the JPEG version: http://tinyurl.com/ovdt7

To Idlewild please

If you desire you can replace the cable that supports the paravanes with a
chain and you will completely eliminate and hum or whistle.

John Harris
World Odd@ Sea  (Nordhavn 46 with paravanes)