English Rose

A name change from Kismet to Osprey to English Rose.  The new girlfriend decided that the name of my Seahawk was due for that change and decided that English Rose was fitting for a beautiful boat she is. After finding her in a south eastern Sea Island coastal swamp several years ago through an uneven restoration and tropical storm that snapped the mast she finally set sail this evening in North Florida on the St Johns river.  Accompanying me was Captain Jack Feeney of the American Sailing Academy and my significant other Deb.  We actually sailed from the dock to the open waters of Bulls Bay for the trial run noting deficiencies and remedies to be applied tomorrow.  The weather was cool off the water with the temperatures in the low 80's Fahrenheit at 7pm eastern standard time.  She handled well and was stately in her pirouettes, tacks and jibs.  She was well behaved when heaving too. All in all a successful first sail. I'm thinking it's been several decades since she has had any wind pushing her across a body of water... I think she's going to like her sub tropical home.  I'll post up pictures of the resident alligators the next time one cruise by the dock.

Great to see her sailing again Tom!  We are sailing in the high 60s so cold by your standards but balmy by ours.
Couple of tips - make sure you tilt the motor so the prop is out of the water. It makes a big difference to how the boat sails in light airs. Your mainsail is perhaps around 10% smaller than the original design so important to reduce drag as much as possible.  
Are there full length battens in the sail?  If so you might like to try some shorter battens to get a better shape in the sail.  

Take her out in a force 4 to 5 wind - then you'll see how these boats stand up to their canvas and really fly ;)
All the best
Brian

The engine being on the opposite side of the boat that we here in your former colonies are used to is only temporarily affixed. It cannot be raised at the moment. That will be assessed in the next few day with a different engine mont for the 3hp. Other minor tweaks are need too.

The engine being on the opposite side of the boat that we here in your former colonies are used to is only temporarily affixed. It cannot be raised at the moment. That will be assessed in the next few day with a different engine mount for the 3hp. Other tweaks are needed too.