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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/23/2021 in all areas

  1. I've had that same setup on quite a number of boats. It's superior and also inexpensive. The nice part is there is no instruction required if you ask somebody to steer and you can nudge the tiller with your feet, shin or whatever to make course corrections.
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  2. You can also use a zip top baggie with a corner cut off in place of a frosting bag. I lay the putty in the corner the old fashioned way. A 1/2" wide stick (not rounded off) to apply the putty. Then go over it with a rounded one the diameter I want. Then a quick run along each side with a putty knife to remove the putty that smears out on either side. For me it all goes quicker than messing with a bag.
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  3. That's how I've done my tiller tamers for years. I use small diameter non stretch line attached under each inwale with a snap hook so I can remove it if I want to. It then loops through an eye bolt under the tiller and is controlled by shockcord attached to another snap hook. The tension is adjustable with the shockcord in a V cleat. The beauty of this system is that you can always override it as its just friction holding the tiller but you can set the resistance to match the conditions. I first saw this in a book about cruising around England in the 1930's. They didn't have shockcord but used surgical rubber. Cheers Peter HK
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  4. Todd— earlier, you were discussing tiller locks. This is the one I plan to add to my boat. The original idea comes from the Roger Barnes videos. This guy figured it out, and made this video. iI tbi k I’d add a bit of shock cord to ti, however.
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  5. I went skiing ⛷ early this morning for a couple hours on a first sunny day in many weeks (it is about 8 degrees... “fresh”) ?. Then, it was time for me to “punch in” with The Wheezer across the street. I assisted her for a couple hours this afternoon installing four of six outwale/gunwale strips (two layers on each side.) With left over thickened epoxy we made an initial small fillet on the underneath joint of gunwale and side. We’ll do the third strip-layer later in the build. A productive day. I find that the Spindrift 10 is becoming a very cute looking little boat. I enjoy looking at it sitting on its building cradle. Maybe The Wheezer will post some more update boat-build photos. (And, Amos, the frosting tube worked nicely for The Wheezer. Of course, I managed to have some of my typical messiness.) ?
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  6. If Graham said lower the sails, I believe he meant lower them on the mast, as in release the halyard a little and take up on the down haul. Certainly there comes a point where reefing is the answer. It also helps if you sheet out and/or bear off a little for speed right before tacking. If you tack while trying to recover from a header you are almost assured of failure.
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  7. I had some difficulty getting to wind in my 17. Mine is a Mark I, meanings the original design with no cabin and no water ballast. Wind was 20-25, estimated, with waves about 2 feet. I try to estimate conservatively. I asked Graham for some advice, and here is a summary of the Old Master's response, with my comments in (parens). I'm trying to summarize accurately, but I invite Graham to jump in if I misstate or omit. As the breeze freshens, first tighten the snotters to flatten and depower the sails. Then "lower" (assume he means reef) the sails "as much as I can get away with to reduce the heeling force." Then (and this was a surprise to me) "I raise the centerboard so that it rakes to about 45 degrees aft to raise the center of lateral resistance, also reducing the heeling force. "You do need to keep up some speed to make up for the smaller centerboard area." Then Graham adds that "the worst thing that you can do is to pinch, because the waves will stop you. Sheet a little further out than normal but not too much and try to sail her flat and full. I like a fair amount of weather helm in these conditions. My first reef is just the main. If I still cannot hold her up I will reef the mizzen. If you take away too much power, you will be slow in the lulls. Rather than feather too much in the puffs, you are better to ease the main for a few seconds and bring it back on quickly. If you have speed you can come up for the bigger waves as long as you fall back on course right away." He adds, finally, "sailing at large angles of heel is slow." I am eager to try all this, but my breezy sail was the last of the season and the boat needed some repairs after that trip and is now put away. That day, I had put in double reefs on both main and mizzen. I'm wondering now if I would have been better off with just a single reef on the mizzen. Finally, as others have noted: tie the reef points around the sail only, not around the sprits. And the sprits should be on alternate sides, just so that any effects of a "bad side" are balanced. Note again that this is for the Mark I, not for the water-ballasted Mark III that you have, where results and techniques may vary. But you certainly don't want to be out in a blow with lee helm. It's interesting to read all the comments. I'm confident the Core Sounds can go upwind in a blow because, among other things, Graham and Alan have done it. I think it just turns out that the groove is a little narrower than on other points of sail.
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