Sanibel/Com-Pac, Page 2 |
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Shoal-Draft Sailer.Centerboard up, the Sanibel can snuggle close to a beach or use the shallows as a place of refuge. Cabin amenities include 4 1/2-feet of headroom (top right) and hatch and ports for ventilation (bottom right). |
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Relaxing Sail
The midday winds were light and the Sanibel felt a bit sluggish, so we put up the 150-percent genoa. That did the trick. The Sanibel picked up her skirts and hustled right along, coming about smartly and pointing nicely. In sailing areas with light winds, the genoa is almost a necessity. In such places, I'd order the boat with a genoa and a storm jib for emergencies and never bother with working jib at all. In strong winds, you could always drop the jib and run on mainsail only, pulling up the centerboard partway to rebalance the boat. The good-sized centerboard pennant exits into the cockpit and makes board adjustments easy.
Under mainsail and genoa, we boiled down Tampa Bay and relaxed in the cockpit. Relaxing wasn't hard to do. The spacing of the wide cockpit seats made it comfortable to brace our feet, and the 10-inch-high coamings were easy on the back and wide enough to sit on. The Sanibel cockpit has two molded-in compartments aft covered with wood strips. The gas tank lives in one space, the anchor and line in the other. Unlike hatches that open into the cabin, there is no way a sea could find its way below with this arrangement. The Sanibel also has two oversized cockpit drains — the best drainage system of any pocket cruiser we've been on so far. For additional safety, we'd also like to see foam flotation at least as an option. The boat is light enough not to need much.
We found the minimal sail controls easy to use, although the jib sheet cam-cleats on the cabin trunk were stuck open much of the time. The mainsheet is yoke-rigged to the transom, close at hand and out of the way. As an added plus, we found we could lash the helm and the boat held its course into the wind, a singlehander's joy.
Toward evening, we found a protected corner near the mouth of Tampa Bay where we spent the night. The forward hatch and the opening cabin ports gave us plenty of ventilation — a must in southern latitudes. Plastic inspection ports mounted at the foot of each side of the cockpit footwell would, when unscrewed, provide some additional air at the after end of the quarterberths. Almost all boats with quarterberths could benefit from this addition.
Our one complaint about the layout of the cabin is that the quarterberths are mounted too close to the deck and therefore provide less foot and knee room under the cockpit seats than they should. Vital sleeping comfort could be gained by lowering the quarterberths and giving them a gentle sternward slope.* The oversized quarterberth is so nice to sleep in it's a shame not to make it perfect. Nevertheless, we found knee space under the cockpit coaming and were soon fast asleep.
The morning was calm and we started the day motoring with the 6-horsepower Evinrude. Its short shaft posed a problem. If either of us moved forward to raise the jib or raid the food locker, the prop lifted almost out of the water. A long-shaft motor designed for sailboats or a standard motor with a shaft extension is called for. Otherwise, the Sanibel is easy to power and 3½ or4 horsepowerwould have been sufficient.
Three Days In the Cabin
We ended up that night on Shell Key, just off the Gulf coast near Pass-a-Grille Inlet. The wind began to blow and lightning lit up the landscape as a weather front moved through. Nervously, we snugged the boat up against the leeward shore and let the falling tide secure us in place. Although howling winds shook the boat from end to end, we were safe. This is a great advantage centerboard boats have. Not only can they explore a beach but also use the shallows as a place of refuge in lousy weather.
Sunday, it rained. Leaving the forward hatch open a crack gave us a change of air. We pulled the head out from under the bridge deck and played Scrabble, read, snoozed, talked, and watched the clouds through the plexiglass companionway hatch cover. Without that cover, things would have been dark and gloomy below. The crowned cabin roof provided almost 4½ feet of headroom though the sidedecks confine sitting headroom to the center of the boat. If the vee-berth weren't used for storage, there would be enough space to sleep a pair of kids or one adult. After spending 24 hours in the cabin of this 18-foot boat, we give it high marks for overall livability.
For three days, the wind blew like gangbusters, whipping the Gulf into an impossible lather of surf and draining most of the water out of our lagoon. When the water showed no inclination to return, we enlisted some other marooned boaters to turn the boat around stern to the wind and facing the lagoon. Then we raised the sail. In what must have been the ultimate stress test of a three-stay rig, we sledded down the beach into the water, leaving a green trail of bottom paint in our "wake." When things eased a bit, we barreled out of there on a storm jib and reefed main. Given the winds we had, that proved an effective combination.
It was nice to have the time to give the boat not only a "sea trial" but a "cruising trial." After four days and nights aboard, we liked the boat, found it solidly made and well finished, and perfectly suited for what it was designed to do: easytrailering and launching, seaworthy sailing, and gunkholing. And though we didn't have a chance to trailer the Sanibel, her simple three-stay rig and 12-inch draft should make it an easy boat to launch and retrieve.
Editor's note: The builder has since altered the hull liner, gaining an additional 1½ inches of clearance between berth and cockpit seat.
