Joe Anderson

Great to see your progress Jay. Looks like you used a different technique for the flip. You and Carol are amazing!

Jay Looks like a fun, comfortable boat. And fuel efficient! Yeah it will be fun to see how that dinghy gets into position.

Looks like a great route. I am looking forward to following your progress. What a worthy cause to raise funds for. It checks a lot of boxes, self empowerment, community support, education, and awareness. Fair winds and not too many bugs.

So inspiring to see your boat and to sail on her. You and Carol have done a beautiful job. Thanks so much for leading the way with this build.

Weezer Congratulations on your build. Ritalou looks beautiful. I love the Spindrift 10. She is a very fun boat. Ted is right she moves easily in light air. You are wise to be selective about the wind conditions. Get lots of practice in gradually increasing winds. I have found a tiller extension very useful for allowing me to shift weight forward when necessary, also in stronger winds the extension is necessary to allow you to move up onto the gunnel. Pay attention to which way the dagger board goes in. It can be installed frontwards or backwards. Backwards will still work but not very efficiently and the board will be much more easily damaged if you touch bottom with the board in backwards. Happy Sailing.

Yes my S 10 mast is just over 17 feet in three sections. I don't have access to the plans but I think stock is three sections of aluminum, but you could do it a number of ways depending on storage or transport issues. Two sections of aluminum and douglas fir CP is good. I like Alan/Graham's idea of having the mast partner swing out of the way, then you could pivot the mast up and secure it by swinging the partner closed.

Pete McCrary https://messing-about.com/forums/topic/12029-spindrift-10-1329-seabiscuit/page/3/ Lots of good info on a Spindrift check it out.

I think Alan's idea to install a FG tube between the upper mast partner and the mast step is good, might make the most improvement for the time and effort. My mast partner is too tight so it tends to bind unless I have it aligned just right. My S 10 mast weighs less than half of yours which I think could make a difference. The stock mast is constructed from three pieces of 6068? aluminum tubing which I think will ship UPS. The upper section of my mast is hollow birdsmouth but that is a lot of work for minimum weight saving. The most difficult part of constructing the stock mast is making the FG bushings to join the mast sections which are of decreasing size and I think will nest inside each other. I can not think of the gentleman from Northern Virginia who built a S 10 last year or so and has lots of good info.

Here is hoping you get some fair winds soon. In the mean time it won't hurt to thoroughly test auxiliary and other systems. Kalos looking sweet on the water. I guess the Messabout is not that far around the corner.

Thanks for the reminder. My Spindrift 10 mast is 5.2 meters slightly over 17 feet. I only had a bathroom scale to weigh it on. The mast weight is about 7 lbs or 3 something kg. My mast is 3 sections. The bottom two are aluminum the upper section is hollow wood.

Very cool video Alan. I like the close up and also the zoom out where you can see the entire expanse of the Neuse River. Looks like you were moving along pretty well with a nice swell. I see one shot wing and wing so you must have a little more video. Did you fly the drone at other parts of the course? Congratulations to you and Chief and the other tribers. Chief must be especially pleased, beautiful looking boat.

Good to hear you are enjoying your Spindrift. I should be up in RI in a week or so and I can get the weight and length of my Spindrift 10 mast to you for comparison.

I had to Google where Lake Catherine is and I need to download some more detailed charts of the area. Looks like an intriguing area to explore. Going out to Cat Island? Someday I would love to sail with you down there. We have fond memories of our cruise to Portsmouth with Southern Express and Carlita.

Great work Jay. You are a detail person and it shows. Just stunning. Even the game warden looks pleased!

I only knew Don by his first name so at first I was not sure, but now I can remember speaking with him at a couple of Messabouts. I am sorry to hear this, but thanks for letting us know.