Paul356

I'm not sure how it will work on your rig with the tabernacle, but since my main mast steps thru the deck, I'm able to leave the two reefing downhauls lying with extra slack on the deck (with the hooks in place). Then when I hoist the main, there's no extra tension. I pull the slack out of downhauls once the sail is up. You're right that it all adds some minutes to setup and requires some care, but for me the peace of mind is worth it. So is the knowledge that my little ship is properly rigged.

I put mine right rear for some of the same reasons you described: tried to imagine where things would feel most comfortable as I sat and operated the motor. So, whatever works best for you and your layout, I'd say. Once away from the dock I usually keep the motor fixed and steer with the rudder. But I would not link them in case you need to do some quick maneuvering, when youd need to swivel the motor.

I did a lot of drilling, screwing, unscrewing, refilling, etc., etc. As recently as last week after 4 yrs on the water. No shame in realizing some adjustments might work better. Best of luck to you.

I cleat my clew reef lines to the boom, like you're showing. I don't run them forward first; just up from the boom, through the reef clew, back down to the boom, thru a turning block forward and into a clam. I do that on both main and mizzen sprits. I hadn't thought too much about the line that accumulates, but I guess I'd just coil it up in a bundle, clove hitch it, and let it hang from the sprit. BTW, I treat the cringles at the main mast like you do: rig a hook, lead the line up, down and then back to the cockpit. The whole reef takes easily less than a minute. The mizzen holds the boat's head sufficiently close to the wind while I reef the main. For the reef at the mizzen mast, I just reposition the mizzen downhaul hook, since it's right there. I have tied the loose sail up with reef lines when possible, for instance if I reef before setting out, but I have not found it to be a crucial step. It's more for visibility than anything. I would make an extra effort to tie up if i was going to be sailing reefed for a long period. If I have a crew on board and reef, the crew has (thoughtfully) tied in the reef points. I have not tried moving the sprit to the next cringle. On my boat, at least, I would worry some about the forward extension of the mizzen sprit catching in something in the main sail rig, but I have not measured it. That is, as noted, I leave the sprit shackled to the sail in at the clew and, as described, use the clew reef lines to pull the sail down taut.

Sounds good. And all the best to Mom.

Made it. Great sailing on Lake Mendota, Madison, WI. Met up with a group of small boat and canoe sailors for their annual rendezvous. (Miss Q the 2.5 Suzuki started on first pull, no huffing required.) 20200613_095711.mp4

Ready to head out.

I find it does start more quickly (<156 pulls) if I am able to let it sit for a time after I turn the gas valve to "on." 5 min is not too long. So, Chick is probably on to something. Get that gas down to the carb. Or he's a human chicken bone.

Yep. Hoping next pix will be sails, breeze, water...

Your initial thought sounds right to me. You might try putting the epoxy into a syringe applicator, which would help to get it down into the opening. But epoxy plus screws should do it. I'd thicken the epoxy with West 403 or 406 or comparable, to about like ketchup consistency. Make sure everything inside is dry first, using heat gun or hair dryer if needed. My thoughts.

It's a sailboat, right? So why do we spend all our time fussing with motors, batteries, trailers.... But at least today, little Miss Suzy Q started right up. One more thing to check off the list for the first trip of the season with the CS 17, planned Saturday to Lake Mendota in Madison. 20200610_170617.mp4

And tip your final.

Well if it works, yes! Congrats.

Those cricks are the pits. I have one in my knee to go along with the one in my neck.

Fwiw: the telltales on the rear of the sails help me, which I didn't really expect, not having had much luck with same in the past on other boats. Keep 'em flyin'. And in a bit of serendipity, I found that when I put the fish-like turtle ball from b&b on top of the mizzen last summer, it acted like a windex, too. All good. Also, I found that adding the turtle ball to the mizzen only added literally a minute to setup at the ramp. So maybe you want to put your vane atop the mizzen and screw it on each launch.