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What kind of rig is that? I've never seen a sail layout like that before. Noel

What magazine would you guys recommend for good articles on the "how-to"s of sailing? I still consider myself a novice level sailor, so I am looking for something with educational articles. I subscribed to "Sail" during my daughter's magazine drive, and it has a few good articles, but lots of stuff that is obviously intended to be more entertaining than useful. I picked up a couple couple issues of "Sailing World", but it seems to mostly be about racing great big boats? Any other magazines I should consider? Any that focus more on cruising than racing? Thanks, Noel

Is this worth the subscription price? Thanks, Noel

These were originally made as a quick-and-dirty way to get the boat out sailing ASAP. I had the 1" rope already, so I tied these up and found they worked quite well. Really, the only thing I don't like about them is the little orange stripe in the rope. But it doesn't bother me enough to motivate me to buy pure black rope and tie up a second set.

I use rope hoops. I used 1" three strand poly, formed into grommets that are about 8 inches in diameter. The larger diameter helps them slide up the mast better, and the three-strand poly is very ridged, so it holds its round shape properly. on the side of the mast opposite the sail, I tied them all together with a line to keep them properly spaced, and to help lift them up over the hinge as I raise the sail. The end result looks very very nice, and the sail raises and lowers without a hitch. I'll find some pictures tonight after work. Noel

ooo! Physics questions! :-) Water weighs between 62 and 64 lbs per cubic foot, depending on how much salt is in it. So you added about 90 lbs of floatation. That is probably enough for a row/sail boat, depending on what your hull is made out of, how dense the stuff in your boat is, and how much falls out (or you are willing to toss overboard) in the event you overturn or swamp it. If you had a heavy motor firmly bolted to your transom, and batteries that are tied down so they can't fall out, you would probably want another cubic foot or so of floatation. Noel

Ken, I think you have some kind of illness.... :-D :-D (The fishing boat is in its own makeshift carport off to my right in that pic. :-D )

I discovered a leak in my soft-top. :-( Had to find some way to get it under cover. This seems to work. :-D

It seems to me these grates would be subject to a lot of wear and tear. What kind of finish do you put on the grates? Just varnish? do you "paint" them with epoxy first to seal them? carefully glass them over with teeny tiny strips of glass? :-D

Made of half inch three strand nylon rope, with deadeyes and lanyards (which probably aren't long enough to make three full loops through the deadeyes). These aren't pretty, but they would work to get your boat out on the water. I'd hate to just chuck them out. They are located in Bothell, WA. Send me a PM if you want them. Noel

Isn't that why they invented the bosun's chair? Noel

Propane is a very "wet" heat. That probably won't matter for the boat, but it might be rough on your tools, and anything else made of steel in your shop. Noel

heh heh heh. I totally know what you mean. That was me my first few trips out. You get over it. Although Tim will attest that there were a couple times last Sunday that I chickened out and let the mainsheet go in some gusts. I still need to replace the shrouds (currently made of some unknown type of rope) with either cable or some non-stretch rope. I am seeing way more flex in my mast hinge than I am comfortable with. Noel.

I am currently using the same 'inverted-v' setup pictured in Bud's link "Four-part sheet without traveller". It works well to keep the sheet up away from the tiller handle, but I still don't like it. The four-part purchase makes it so I have to pull too much line around when tacking. In theroy, I suppose you wouldn't have to touch the main sheet when tacking, but it never seems to work that way for me. :-) I always get wound up in what seems like yards and yards of mainsheet that I have to pull through all those blocks. I'll give this 'horse' setup a try next time, because it looks like I can quickly change between 4, 3, or 2 part purchase while out on the lake, and see what I like best.

Jake, Dave, It seems to me this "horse" setup (where did that term come from?) would make it difficult to sheet the main it really tight. I would think the block running on the horse would slide all the way to the leeward side, limiting how far you can pull the main in. How do you get around that? And also, a general question to everyone: Would there be any benefit to converting this horse into a full blown traveller by devising a way to lock the lower block in place on the horse? Noel.

Ok, sunday works for me. I will PM you my phone number, Tim. Any other boats interested in going out this Sunday? Noel

Yeah, I'm up here right off the top of Lake Washington. The weather looks like it will be nice on Sunday. Let me go ask the boss what is on my calander for Sunday. :-) Noel.

They have a good reason for calling that stretch of water "the Pacific Graveyard" Noel

I thought about weighing it down, but I wonder, does it really stay straight down when sailing? Seems to me unless you put a LOT of weight in it, it would still swing back a bit from water resistance. Or does it matter if the rudder swings back a little bit? Noel.

I hit something with my rudder the last time out, and did some minor damage to the rudder where the line lock attaches to the rudder. It pulled the line lock out, ripping out some wood with it. Has anyone experimented with using a pin to keep the rudder down, instead of the line lock? if it was relatively thin, and made of wood, it would sheer if you hit something, allowing the rudder to kick up. Noel

I have an account, and am logged in, and I too could not see Barry's pictures. Noel

Th original builder did not put them on my boat. I don't miss them - yet. I've only had water in the cockpit once so far, and that was a large wave that came over the transom. The splash combing wouldn't have stopped much of it. Noel.

Perhaps for THIS winter, you should make the addition of a "plank" a high priority? Noel