umop_apisdn

Thanks Barry. Correcting the mast angle made the biggest difference, followed by tightening up the rudder box. Now most of what is left to do is for convenience or cosmetic in nature. I've decided the next thing to do is the jib. A lapper, and a furler, and some hardware to make line management easier. I went out today an picked up some a couple fairleads and Splinlock PX Powercleats (you know, the ones that don't spin...). Not very "traditional" looking hardware, I know, but they will set and release very quickly, which will help when singlehanding. I'm trying to decide where to put the fairlead/bullseye. A track to mount it in would be nice. :-) but funds don't really allow for that right now. I am inclined to put on deck up by the foreward shroud, to help keep the jib sheet from getting tangled up on stuff. Would it give my jib a better shape if I put the fairlead farther aft? Thanks, Noel

Had a beautiful day sailing on Sat, despite light winds and being completely becalmed for about 45 minutes. But even so, I didn't miss a single tack all day. woo hoo! Ok, I am easily amused, but still that is the first time for that, so I thought I would share. Noel

And here you are indoors, surfing the Internet!! Noel

You could set up a bracket on your front bumper with a few hundred pounds of counterweights on it, like those tractor-backhoes have. Noel.

Dave, I saw a neat setup that may work for you if you have a tiller. The mainsheet runs from the starboard corner of the transom to the end of the boom, to the port corner of the transom, back to the boom-end, and then down to a block on the rudder box, and forward parallel to the tiller handle. You can hold the sheet and the tiller in the same hand that way. And all the lines stay out at the end of the boom, out of the way of your bimimi. If you have a wheel, maybe you could run the sheet back to the starboard corner of the transom, and forward into the cockpit, rather than to the rudder box. Noel

Barry, This is PNW specific, but we have a number of Weekenders here, so I'll go ahead and post it rather than PM... How necesary is a gas motor for the Puget Sound? I need to replace my motor this spring, and I'm debating the whole gas-vs-electric thing. Last summer I stuck entirely to lakes, but this summer I am getting out on the Sound for the first time (in a sail boat). I know there are some places in the Sound that will absolutely require a gas motor, but how many? If I go with an electric, how much of the sound is "closed" to me? Am I going to spend a lot of time sitting around waiting on the tide with an electric? I seem to recally someone on this board having problems with an electric out on the Puget Sound? Noel

Ahh!! :-D I know that feeling exactly. That is precisely why I am sitting up on the rail! I know you are supposed to heel them over a bit and let the leeward chine dig into the water good and deep, but I still can't shake the feeling that the boat is supposed to be a bit more... upright. So there I am up on the rail hiking out waaaay before I probably should be. (Which is why I added that it may be a bad habit). Noel

I use 3/8 inch soft braided poly. As far as interesting mainsheet ideas, I've developed a habit (possibly a bad one) of using my mainsheet as a makeshift hiking stick. The mainsheet comes off the boom in the normal place, and then takes a couple wraps around the tiller handle, and then I sit up on the rail and hang onto the end of it. Periodically I have to adjust the wraps on the handle to adjust for minor course changes, or variations in the wind. But if the wind is reasonably steady, this seems to work well. I'm sure it is less efficient than handling them independently. But I really like sitting up on the rail. If a strong puff comes up, letting out the sheet both spills wind out of the sail and turns the boat into the wind. Noel

Launching won't be a problem for him. And even retrieving may be ok, unless there is loose gravel or algae on the ramp. But by the time you know, it's too late to swap ends of the car. But yeah, you would want to plan your retrieval well, so you don't tie up the ramp while moving your trailer around. Those powerboaters get mighty ornery if they have to wait in line too long. ;-) Noel

I trailer mine around with a Suzuki Samurai, with it's massive 1.3L 65HP engine. Ok, I gotta move to the right for the hills, but other than that, no serious problems. But the low range 4x4 is nice for pulling it up the ramp. If your Saab is rear, or all wheel drive, I don't see any problems. If it is front wheel drive, the ramp may give you problems. I saw someone in a front-wheel drive minivan trying to retrieve a runabout up a wet ramp. Lots of tire spinning involved. They finally got it out with a couple guys helping push from behind. Noel.

Could you explain a bit more about what this means? (Unless it is a propriatary process, of course) Thanks, Noel

Except that they made a nice little anchor holder that keeps it from touching the brightwork. very nifty. Besides which, you NEED the anchor. I mean, you're not going to tie that thing up to a dock, are you!!??? :-D Noel.

Got it. Good idea! Although when I made new deadeyes, I was more concerned with my nasty deck banking up my nice new deadeyes, than the other way around. :-D Noel

The two biggest drawbacks I can see to it are: 1) I don't have enough space in the den to keep it, and 2) I can't get it up the stairs, out of the den, if I want to take it sailing. :-D Do you have any pics of it under sail? What kind of rig does it have? Noel

I am failing to visualize how they go on the boat. Do they trail behind the stay like a telltale or windsock? Or go around the bottom part of the stay? Are they cosmetic? Or do they have a deeper purpose? Thanks, Noel

I think the best choice depends on how the wood will be bent, doesn't it? It seems to me that B is going to be more prone to splitting if the joint is bent around a compound curve (say a rubrail), won't it? In other words, of you both twist and bend the wood, won't the rotational force cause the B joint to bend and break? (Which is why B is bad for plywood, it would break as soon as you bend the plywood) For the mast, though, I think B would be the superior one. Noel

Thanks Alda, Here in the PNW we are supposed to remove all milfoil from our boats when leaving most freshwater lakes. Not that many people bother... Noel

Sorry to threadjack, but what is the meaning of the "wipe down" message stenciled on the boat ramp? Thanks, Noel

Jeff, I think you should make that an extra credit question for your students. Have them build a Weekender and test it out as a lab assignment. How to weigh your boat if it sits on a single axel trailer: redistribute the weight in the boat until your trailer tongue has essentially no weight on it. Take a 5 foot long board, and mark it off in feet. Jack up one wheel, put it on the 1 foot mark. Put a brick under the 0 foot mark. Put a bathroom scale under the 5 foot mark. Read the scale and multiply by 10. Subtract tare weight of the trailer (which should be on the VIN tag? or at least on the title? If not, take the scale with you when you go sailing, and weigh one wheel of the trailer directly, and multiply by 3) Noel

Ideally, these will be the same thing, as that indicates that your boat is currently floating. When the weight of the boat exceeds its displacement, you start swimmming. :-D Now, when you throw the anchor out, does the water level in the lake rise, fall, or stay the same? Noel

Depending on the texture of the concrete, a putty knife and a wire brush bit in an electric drill may be your best bet. Noel

First a disclaimer: I know far more about physics than I do about woodworking. If you are using a butt joint for the splices, you are going to want them staggered randomly, with the joints for adjacent staves a considerable distance from each other. In theory, by stairstepping them like that, you are making your mast susceptible to rotational forces. Whether that matters in practice, I will leave to the woodworkers to answer. :-) I think that scarf joints would be far superior to butt joints for this, and then it wouldn't matter where you put the joints. Noel

I'm trying to guess and not give it away to everyone else if I turn out to be right. I don't know any more than the rest of you. Noel

I hear that. Although this week it has been pretty hard to focus on work. I really really need to get the bottom side of the boat wet for a change. Hey Capt. Jake, you wouldn't be planning on going after any salmon in that boat, would you? Will it be done in time for Sockeye season? Noel

Aaah.... I see that now. duh. :-) For some reason when I first looked at that pic, I thought the area between the peaks of the sails was empty, making it look like it had two headsails and no mainsail. But I see now there is no coastline in that spot. :-) Time to turn the resolution on my monitor down a bit I think. heh heh heh Noel