Joe Anderson

Alan, The torsion rope I have looked at is expensive and heavy 9mm. The Ronstan 80 series has an optional lashing pin at the top swivel. To increase torque I presume you run the paired line to the outside? The series 80 lashing pin won't fit series 60 top swivel. Perhaps a lashing pin could be improvised. After rereading your post I see you are using a paired 3/8 inch line. It is difficult to argue that a single 9mm line is heavier.

Thanks for the update Graham. I put the photo of the swivel on my phone. I could check around here to see if I could find someone who could machine them. Is it just the core that we need? Is that 2 1/2 or 3 inches long? What size are the bearings? How many would you want? Probably would be massively expensive but it won't hurt to ask around.

Graham I am thinking about adding a furler to make it easier to deploy and retrieve my spinnaker. I have looked around and the top down furlers available are for larger boats. The Ronstan 60 series furler goes for around $300. but it needs an adapter swivel to make it top down. Are you still pleased with your modified Ronstan 60 furler. Did your adapter go into production?

Sunday afternoon Jay and Carol in Southern Express, Graham in Carlita, and Sally and I in Skorpa left for a four day cruise to Portsmouth and Ocracoke. Skorpa and Carlita rafted up for dinner in Riggs Creek off Bonner Bay Getting an early start for the crossing to Portsmouth Island Southern Express and Carlita heading to Portsmouth Island We made it! The Coast Guard station at Portsmouth Island Climbing to the observation deck. Looking West toward the mainland. Looking East across the Ocracoke Inlet After exploring Portsmouth we headed across the inlet to Ocracoke. We anchored in Silver Lake. Wednesday Carlita and Skorpa sailed back to Chapel Creek. Southern Express followed on Thursday.

Thanks for the trip report. Tangier is an interesting destination. Peter is pretty sharp to ask about your board position. I don't think the board needs to be all the way down, half way or even less will make a big difference.

Sally and I plan to stay a few days after the Messabout. We are hoping to get a couple of nights at anchor. We do not have a destination in mind. We will see what the wind and weather bring. Paul Totally understand the difficulty of the trip. We will miss you.

Somehow your dream of building a boat became your family's dream. Your success has become your family's success. As I watch that video I can hardly imagine how your son feels or his Mom. You have done very well in so many ways.

Thank Patrick for the photos. Hoping you will be OK over the next several days as flood waters work their way out. Take care.

Looks like you have some good hands on family support. Thanks for keeping us updated when you have the time. We will be thinking of you.

Super. You are in clover my friend. Good work. Joe

I think this thread is incredibly valuable. Not long after I launched my EC22 my wife and I capsized our boat while on a trip in April with no one in sight. Some tips that Graham had shared with me helped us right our boat and sail eight miles back to the dock. Wetter but a little wiser. That situation could easily have become miserable or tragic. B&B's knowledge and experience is broad and always growing. Thank you.

Well I have found that if I pay close attention as I am inserting the batten I can get it to snag on the elastic and fit properly. So were they properly inserted and slipped out of place or just carelessly inserted? Further testing required and there is a nice wind. On the left is the stock batten tip. On the right is a batten tip borrowed from a wind surfer sail.

As I was enjoying a sail in my Spindrift 10 I noticed that the trailing edge of the sail had a curl to it. At first I thought that the battens were too short. On closer examination I can see that the battens are slipping past the elastic at the base of the pocket. The pockets appear to be designed for a batten width of about 1.5 inches. The battens that came with my sail are about 0.6 inches. I think I have seen some battens with a hook on one end to capture the elastic. I don't know if that would solve the problem or if I should just get wider battens. Anyone else dealing with this problem?

I will lift a glass of grape juice to that. Many happy adventures for you and your family.

Graham I hope my clew looks better. Alan I like the pool noodle idea. I