Howdy all!

I'm a new sailor and I'm looking at buying a Prindle 15 with trailer for around 400 dollars. It's a bit used, but I actually just took the boat out today for my first sail with it. The club I'm buying it from actually rigged it up with a jib and it was a really windy day today. You may be skeptical, but we actually got 4 college sized people on it today with great success.

I've read a bit about Prindle's on the message board before posting, so I had an idea what to look for today when sailing it.
1. The rudder castings were in great condition, and the rudders performed really well.
2. The undersides of the pontoons were actually in great shape (I read the Prindle has a sharp point underneath and are given to wear after a while).
3. It was a great fun to sail!

The only downside I saw to the Prindle was hoisting the mast. What is with the ring at the top of the sail that needs to be hooked into hook at the top of the mast? Is it possible to rig the sail up without tipping the boat over and physically clipping the ring into the hook?

I plan on using the Prindle on a Lake with max 2 persons. And I hope it's not too much to handle with only 2 pairs of hands.

Any tips on a new boat or any suggestions are welcome. I hope to hear from some of you, and I look forward to sailing! Thanks!

I was out on my Prindle 18 today, alone, in 17 gusting to 25 winds. Once you get used to the boat you should be able to singlehand a P15 no problem, in just about any wind, two up, even better, but 4 guys on a P15? Must be -light- guys!

On the mainsail halyard ring, you shouldn't have to tip the boat over to hook it up when you are raising the sail, simply pull up the sail with the halyard and the ring will slip up over the hook on the mast.

Now...the "Tricky part" is when you get done sailing and want to drop the sail. You first have to point the boat (bows) about 45 degrees off of dead into the wind, then pull the halyard UP (to raise the ring up off the hook) and while still holding the halyard very tight to keep the ring up, with your other hand/arm, rotate the mast into the wind so the mainsail head (and halyard ring) want to spin off the hook, and while you are still holding the mast rotated, let go the halyard and pull down on the mainsail itself, at the tack.

Next time you have the mast down, wash out the track where the mainsail slides up, and then spray your mainsail bolt rope with teflon dry lube, available at any auto parts store for about $3.00 a can. That will help the sail slide up and down the mast.

The Prindles are known to be a little fussy at the mast hook so you may have to try it more than 2-3 times, before you get it unhooked. If all else fails, then you'll have to tip the boat over and unhook it.

I had to do this just the other day on my P18, first time in about 5 years I've had to do it, but every once in a while the ring just won't come off, usually because the knot from the halyard is binding up on the hook, which is what happened to mine last week.

Where are you located? Someone in your area could probably show you how it's done and then you'd be all set.

Timbo,

Thanks a bunch for responding. I appreciate the quick and helpful reply. I'll definitely give both of those tricks a try next time I take it out. I'm going to go ahead and purchase the boat. Hopefully take it out again this coming Friday. I'm buying boat from Lake Bryan in Bryan, TX. But I will be mostly sailing it on Lake Livingston, north of Houston, TX. Any posters around Livingston?

Thanks again, any other help/advice would be appreciated.

A good why to remember which way to turn/rotate the mast so you can unhook the mainsail ... is to turn the "luff" track in the direction of the hook.

On my P19 the hook is on the left/port side of the mast .... therefore to drop the sail I do as discribed above ... pulling on the halyard to raise the ring higher so it is no longer in the hook .... rotate the mast by using the mast rotator as a "handle'lever" to the left/port side of the boat ... now you will find that you need to rotate the mast so the mast rotator is over or even slightly in front of the front crossbar ...(we call that "over-rotated"). Please note that I usually drop my mainsail w/ the boat "head to wind" or maybe a few degrees off .... If you have the boat 45* off the wind then you may need to rotate the mast even more ... and the sidestays/shrouds will limit you ..... it depends on which side of the mast the hook is mounted on ... one direction will help to "over-rotate", the other direction will hinder.

My educated quess is that ... the halyard hook is mounted on the left/port side of the mast then set the boat so it's on a slight "port tack" ... now over-rotate the mast ... and the wind will keep the mainsail from rotating w/ the mast ... the ring should now clear the hook when you drop it .... (you only need to keep the mast over-rotated until the mainsail drops down to clear the hook ... maybe 1'....)

To extend the life of your mainsail consider loosing the battens especially if you will not be sailing for awhile. Also fiqure out which way your mainsail rolls best .... some roll best bottom ===> top ... others top ===> bottom.

Please let me know if I'm correct about the halyard hook being on the left/port side ... I'm only familiar w/ P16's, 18's 18-2's and 19's ... I have no experience w/ the P15 ...

Harry
H18Mag/P19MX

Hello,

After many years on a P15, I designed and built my own version of the famous P15. See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9dcmhmlk4E&feature=channel

Your problems with unhooking the mainsail sounds very familiar. But a few years ago I discovered by accident that the solution is very simple: Just change the special twisted shackle between halyardring and mainsail for a normal straight one. Keep the halyard rope tight when hoisting (and the rope for the mastsleeve on the open side of the masthook in the top!!)and let the ring slide up the mast also with the open side towards the masthook in the top. You will see that a simple twist of the mastrotator will hook and unhook the mainsail.

ronald reeder

This may very well work, but there are another few items that may help, or a combo of them.. i have had 2 boats with this system and they can be very fussy at times.


It was said above about which way to rotate the mast when you are trying to lower the sail.. against logic ... mine seems to want to go the "other way". Also my boat wants me to really pull my main halyard pretty hard and then rotate my mast with conviction.... (hard) or it wont come down.

On my TheMightyHobie18, and current boat, my system works best with my stopper knot away from the mast, despite several long term TheMightyHobie18 sailors disagreeing

So be willing to try all options to find how your cat best works

1- pull up the halyard to the ring is off the hook
2- rotate the mast while tension is still on the halyard so the the hook goes out of the ring.
-if it doesn't work one direction, try the other direction.
3-pull down on the sail while the mast is still rotated, so the the ring goes past the hook on the mast.
4- then ease the rotation and lower your main.

It doesn't always work best in only one direction of mast rotation, regardless if the hook is centered, of slightly off to one side.

Nice boat, nice tramp.

Was that once a P15? The rudders looked like prindles.

Are those Whirlwind sails? (looked like their logo)

You hanging out with Wouter?

hello todd,

No, I build the cat all by myself completly from scratch.
It has massive foam hulls with a epoxy laminate skin (glass carbon kevlar) and fixed beams from wooden cores also with carbon/epoxy enforcement.

See for the details somewhere in the homebuilt section of this forum.
The rudders and the casting are also homemade from wood enforced with carbon. They work roughly the same as the prindles.
The sails I ordered in USA indeed from Whirlwind.

Finally I'm a solosailor, so I'm not literaly hanging out with anybody else.Or did you mean hangingout socially? Sorry for my english. It's just me with a helmetcamera.

Thanks for your interest.
Who is Wouter????????