Tim Diebert

I hope you folks have an awesome time Bill. I will also hope you get the weather for it. I had a conversation or two with the man who designed and built Arcebus. What a fascinating project! Not for everyone mind you, but a perfect example of personal expression. This fellow (can't remember his name) once built a Nutshell pram. He loved that boat so much that when he wanted a bigger boat....a much bigger boat....he scale the Nutshell up! To like 20 feet! Here is a model of the project: The name kills me...like an ARC...but also like a Bus! This man has a great sense of humour. Glad to see he completed in time for the messabout. He also mentioned a trip down the Mississippi...? His website show great design and construction detail. http://arcebus.net/index.htm#So%20where%20am%20I%20with%20it%20at%20the%20moment? I hope you all have a riot....I would love to join you.

It's as though you had met this woman Stump....! Very perceptive. Actually the whole story is pretty interesting to me.....but I would be hijacking Mr. Mikes thread..... 8) Can't resist :twisted: Actually, she had just spent the whole day on this new large trailer sailer (a Sandpiper 565..?) with her husband. They just got the boat, and I think may have had a few lessons on a lake about two hours from here. First time sailing it in Christina Lake. I watched them all the way from home (Grand Forks) to launch, to sailing and retrieval. I don't know these people, it just worked out that way. Daphne and I were sailing for 45 minutes before that boat got wet and we arrived at the ramp at exactly the same time. Then it took him another 30 minutes before he any sail up. We sailed on different parts of the lake, I could occasionally see him in the North end through the glasses. They motored up to the the launch ramp at the end of the day same time as us. (we sailed in) His mast was still up when we drove out of there. When Daphne spoke to the woman on shore. She asked Daphne, "don't you find this boring?" Daphne just laughed and said she loved sailing. This lady seemed dismayed and shocked that this new hobby of her husbands was sooooo boring. I walked by the boat admiring her lines (great looking boat below the sheer line) and I said so, Mrs. said "wanna buy it?" "Cheap!" I said sure, but I don't have much on me. She said, "twenty five bucks and its all yours!" Another fellow walked by at that exact point and said," ya, and I bet you want that all in cash too". Mr. looked pretty uncomfortable. Lifes little scenarios. Lessons for Tim: Be very glad your best buddy loves to sail, be on the water and be with me. And don't be in a hurry to own a boat that is so much damn work just to sail. Oh, and back to the original thought. While I was sailing around this lady, her hubby and their new boat in a sturdy working breeze she looked a little shocked that you could actually do that in a boat with sails. I believe thats why she stood in the middle of the cockpit, spinning around as we circled the boat speaking. At one point she said, "you have been doing this for a while haven't you?" 8) Daphne just whispered...."showoff". hehe That's me. 8)

Presumably that anchor was on the bottom somewhere....how did Alexander recover it? :shock: Great shot!

I assume you have read some on the theory of sailing. If not, a good book or two can do wonders to open your head up to what's actually going on. And it gives you a way to work on your sailing skills will not having to actually sail...if you know what I mean. In the old days, I took the books out with me. (I learned on a very stable heavy displacement keel boat). What really impresses me Mike....is your age and the number of kids you have :shock: ...and that you have the patience and strength to take them all sailing on such a tiny boat :shock: You have my respect. I could not have done that with my two boys when they were little...hell, I couldn't do it now! (Or perhaps they were all Grand Neighbours?) Loosing your hat is a great drill. Man overboard drill....two sailing days ago I did the same thing. My toque ( wool cap or beanie to foreigners) was blown off. This toque was an old one I really liked and needed to get to it fast before it sunk, and I did. Best to use something bright and floaty for the drill though. Look it up in your book. There is a procedure that works well....and should be something you practice on purpose regularly. I never trust motors. Actually....now that I think of it.....might be because I never had one that was trustworthy. Maybe if I had a nice new one like yours I would have a different story eh? Oh, and another fun drill is to sail in circles. I did this yesterday while talking to another guy in a big(er) sailboat that was stowing his sails. Sailed right around his boat four times....his wife was dizzy by the time I left. :roll:

Man, I never heard of someone getting burnt WITH a shirt on! :shock: Beaker...this one is for you man. Daphne and I got out today. It was around 80 degrees all day.....a light working breeze never stopped.....perfect wind when the first mate/stewardess is aboard. She had her own seat all day, never had to double up on the windward rail. When it came up enough to dip the rail, I eased the sheet a bit.....though I did have to try my new scuppers once...I am in love with my new scuppers. Survival mode, hot...frequent soakings to cool...wet hat etc. Cold beer. The new real lapper is awesome. I am in love with my new lapper. (though my guesstimate on the sheeting angles were a bit off...easily corrected) Got board with sailing (ya right) so we anchored and went swimming. First of the year. Damn good for Canucks. The top 2 feet of water was very nice, below that was interesting. The new folding swimming ladder works perfect. I love my new folding swim ladder. :roll:

Won't be me Barry. I decided today I very much like what I have going...for now. Thanks for the thought though. I like it when free stuff works well.....it goes with my skinflint nature.

Stump caught on... 8) Nope, no whaleses....and I have not seen a Nessy yet. But will be sailing where the Ogopogo in Lake Okanogan is seen very often. There are as many researchers there as Loch Ness. So I will keep my camera cocked and ready. If I get the right shot, I could be financing the next northern messabout. :roll:

I am with you on that one bud. Just so long as it doesn't get in the way of sailing. :roll: I love to potter about building new stuff and playing with things. Better yet, I like to plan the things that I am going to do. Even when I go sailing I take a sack of tools and spares and fiddle about. That is, as long as it is not a frantic day as my last two have been. Today I get to try out my stage II Lapper. Made the first one(s) out of poly. I recut the used big boat jib to make my lapper yesterday/ Turned out great...not pretty, but a good shape. I also converted the fore triangle to a different system that allows me to change headsails at will. Even though I had two headsails, I had to choose my weapon at launch or beach to change to a different sail. Now the forestay is fixed and slightly inboard of that I have a wired sail sustem where I can downhaul the tack and pull it inboard at the same time as slack the halyard...and bing, the sail is down quick as you can say it. Tie on your next choice, pull some strings and you off to the races. I have also created an inner staysail system with a wired luff. That is my next sail to make. But this one is meant to not be used as an combined staysl/jib (cutter) arrangement, but a stand alone storm sail. The only reason i did all this like this is because I didn't want to spend the money on a roller furler just yet. This is an old timey system that most boats with bowsprits always or often used. I will be trying it out on the water today....so I better shut up, buy some beer and get going. Bye. :shock:

Impressive Mike. Sounds like you are a natural! I have been talking to a friend lately who sailed once or twice 25 years ago....he figures there is no way he could sail again without help. I say it is like riding a bike, go for it. Don't forget a sail report on your first windy day. :wink:

I am with you on the whole longer mast thing. It is far too crowded in the hardware department up there. A lengthening of the mast is well up there on the list. Main intention is for the topsail....but wanting to get my gear up a ways is in there too. I was really hoping to get the topsail done in time for next months cruise....and may still get it. Got the industrial sewing machine to work well today making a new sail. That's because Daphne actually did it and not me.... :oops: So the sail part of the topsail program will be easy enough. Now it's getting the time to monkey around with the rest of it. My oldest buddy gave me two bags of sails last year....I will have enough sail cloth to last me years. :shock:

...and why not? You must get to know the true meaning of trailer sailing. Right, The Sail Report Coordinator requires it. :pirate:

Great stuff. I enjoyed the south sound report! Barry, that pic of you in Jakes boat reminds me of that guy Wilson....on that Tim the Toolman show (forget the name, not much of a tv guy) The glasses and the hat. This thread should stay constant all summer now. Good deal. I am going sailing tomorrow.....I hope to see some whales too!

Craig. Nice. Sounds like a perfect day. I would love to see a VAC in conditions like that. Oyster, still wiping drool off the keyboard. Barry, the pix and the sun were grand...too bad about the lack of moving air. Worked on mine all day today, tomorrow is sailing day....and I am afeared it will be much like yours. I am almost gaurenteed the afternoon thermals....but probably nothing steady. Dusting off the old bathing suit and going to try the new swin ladder for the first time. 90 here today, tomorrow the same. Melts Canadians that. If it is dead calm we might head for one of the beaches, drink beer, read and swim. :silly:

Wow, great sailing report! Excellent Mike. So another addition to the PNW fleet. Where in Oregon are you? So, you have never sailed before? How about your wife? So, you are saying you just dropped the boat in, hopped on and off you went? Super. The boat looks awesome. Nice little motor too. I didn't know Honda made a wee guy like that. Is it a four stroke? You are going to have a great summer! :shock: Perfect timing for completion.

Did you get some wind Barry?

Great stuff. Now we are getting somewhere. Thanks Jake and Barry. You guys have a grand day on Friday. Looks like there will be sun at least. Big high through the whole area it seems....though you coasties can get rain any old time I guess. You are so fortunate to have such a huge protected area to explore. The bigger boat looks pretty damn awesome to me Russ, I say get it. :shock: Just wondering why you got rid of your little WE? I guess you didn't know that you would miss it so much? Ray and I have discussed this quite a bit when I was looking at a larger boat. My wife and I came to the conclusion that if a larger boat...one that the two of us could cruise and weekend on....came into our lives, I would hang on to Annie. You could not get much $ for such a boat and would be more valuable for quick day sails and such. I may not have worked out that way for you, but around here it would make good sense to go with such a plan. Frank. Great shot and story. She looks so relaxed. For this reason alone it would be good to get a larger boat. 8) I know that's why Daphne would want one. Good thread. Maybe it will stay active with lots of adventures and sailing reports. Waiting on Orsters first sailing day with the new one. Should be lots of first sails coming up pretty soon. Stump sounds close as well.

Barry, is the south sound a specific spot/bay or a region? You are lucky to have that area to explore. Also, if you are getting roughly the same weather as me, all that rain and wind is turning into blue sky and warmer temps as the week progresses. I hope to get out maybe twice this coming weekend. Dave. Not out yet this year? Too busy with getting the boat ready eh? Nice to have a messabout to go to ....and Bill to sail, with as well. Russ. Sounds wonderful. Do you sail right through the summer...or is it too hot around there? A couple of my clients are in Florida and are always complaining about how dang hot it gets in the summer...and they end up staying indoors :shock: What boat are you sailing?

Nifty. Thanks for the drawing Barry. I figured it would be something along those lines...

Where's all the sailing stories? Is everyone here building or working on boats? I thought it was pretty cool that the Alaska Chapter were out sailing so early. Serious enthusiasts. I saw Mikes pix with his wife half froze in the VAC. I sailed on Saturday (solo) and had a wicked awesome day. It blew hard all day and never let up. I set the stock jib and one reef in the main and was still feathering the main to keep the decks out of the water. Went to windward for about three hours and covered ground in record time. I finally got to use my new (for Christmas) GPS and love it. I had the use of a buddies last year for a couple of weeks. It was an antique. I think the sampling rate was pretty slow. This new one is less than a second it looks like. Constant, accurate readouts. I managed, under that sail config, to go over 5 knots to wind. Not steadily though. Once I reached the top of the hill I came around for the run down the lake. On a broad reach I clocked 6.6k whilst surfing down a nice big wave. Dang that's fun. I like being able to trim sail and see if the input is actually working or not. After that I shook out the reef and went for it. Still broad reaching. Still blowing steady 15 and gusting....but I couldn't beat that speed. I took on more water than ever before. The rails collect all that water on the side decks and it ends up on the bench seats then down in the cockpit. I was bailing all day. It was so wavy and so windy that it was impossible to stay dry going to windward. So today I made scuppers. I tried two versions. One easy and ugly on the strbd side...one nicer looking but time consuming on the other. Perhaps this, along with some coamings of some kind will help keep my butt and my feet a bit drier. There is no way I can keep the rails out of the drink...it is too much fun. The big dagger board may be a big part of this as well. More energy going to forward motion rather than slippage me thinks....I read that somewhere.... Oh, and the new rudder and rudder location has worked out very nice. I finally have the balance I have been after. Perfect weather pressure on the tiller, and enough to tell you when to luff the main a little. Most of the time it is around one degree or two. Nothing like how it used to be. The boat was being slowed down by excessive weather helm almost all the time, other than in light air, and always too much pressure to deal with. I am still playing with sail/helm balance with some shock cords for self steering. The boat feels totally new, so all my old settings don't work. The wake or look of the water after the rudder is so peaceful and so much quieter as well. I am quite pleased so far. At the end of the day after sailing for over five hours, it was getting dark and time to get off the lake. But it was still so windy! I hated to 'waste' it. I dropped the main, adjusted the tiller lines, slid the daggerboard forward and trimmed headsail to beam reach back and forth across the lake and the wind. I sat on my butt in the cabin with my back up against the centerboard case (off center) and had something to eat and daydreamed. :sleeping:

It cannot be any worse than having double the lines laying over a greater area. I believe the horse trick would be way less clutter and foul less as well. With my old system, it was a standard part of a gybe to unfoul the main sheet lines from the motor and cleats. I have sailed only once with the new rope horse, but had one foul all day in steady heavy wind for 6 hours. With a solid traveller, it would be even less. Barry....what a story...what a life you have bro. Amazing. That sounds like quite the rig....though maybe not a good idea to hang anything extra over the side of a WE as the freeboard is minimal as it is. Funny, after we started talking of the sail flattening aspect.....it got me wondering if anyone ever extended a traveller past the rail of a boat to get a firmer purchase on the boom. Wild stuff. And the whole tilting tiller forward of the horse deal. What a great idea. What was the mechanism or joint used for this Barry? Now I am thinking in this direction. I had also thought to use galvanized parts....or copper plumbers stuff. I had done quite of bit of plumbing lately and figured I could get all the material locally easy enough. Great info all around. What fun.

...oh, so you are a surgeon as well as a maytag man? 8) Ms. Merrimange...that would be Dave that made that observation. And it is easy to tell us apart....here's how..... I don't expect to ever be dashing off to surgery Unless I am the one being worked on. :roll: I second his statement though. Even in Annie with 250# of ballast, you need to be PDQ with the main sheet if you don't want to get wet. Sometimes even rounding up isn't fast enough on those wicked puffs. Mind you, I cleat my mainsheet.

I also recommend Max. If you have an old outboard, he is the man. He has helped me a bit as well. Mr. Yo. Yes the transom has a 3/4 ply outer support piece and a mating inner 3/4" support piece. The one on the outside of the transom is about 2" longer and wider than the bracket, hollowed and shaped to mate with the curve of the transom. The outer piece is painted inside and out. This piece is bedded and screwed to the transom...then the inner 3/4 piece is also curved to match the transom, but goes tight from the deck carlin down to the doubler at the base of the transom, over to the hull side transom joint, but only a third of the way across towards the center line. This one acts like a big washer. Everything is through bolted with 3/8 stainless carriage and nylocks on the inside with fender washers. I guess that means the transom, at this point is actually 1 3/4" thick. That is what I did, though if I had built the boat from scratch I would have beefed up the actual joints. As it is, I have re-glassed most of the outer joints when I removed the sternpost. That should hold it for a month or two. There are two more 3/4" inner pieces, one down the center and a bookmatched version of the port side inner doubler on the strbd side. The inner being to support the rudder gudgeons and the strbd to support the swim ladder. In all, I think there is are two 1/2" wide vertical areas where there are no doublers back there.

Yes, you have in mind what I have in mind. So far, to adjust my rig...as it is temporary....is I have used a slip knot in the mainsheet at the horse....then included another line to the slip knot. This line is wild, with this I can then cleat it off to the windward side... at the location I want the knot. It works, but without a mech advantage, not really easy to harden up when going to wind unless I pinch up. But that, as you say, is easy enough to sort. Part of the reason I though I would like this layout, is making it possible to keep the main as flat (less twist) as possible. Using Jakes system with the open end, you could flatten it right down...slide the block all the way over to the lee side...and that would be about as lower an angle as you could get. With my loose footed main, a vang would not do it's usual job me thinks. Another byproduct is windward sail shaping possibilities. Just more strings to play around with. By the time I get back from my ten day cruise next month, I should have sorted some of these issues or at least created something more suitable anyway. I enjoy playing around with this stuff. I envision what you are trying to put across, so no need for the sketch, ....unless you are Maytagging today. I had read about those ratcheting blocks in the Harken book, but wasn't sure if they actually had that 'braking' effect. Cool. So you are not able to actually cleat in the mainsheet and pretty well have to hold it always?...but the ratchet helps by taking some of the strain? I had looked at a ratcheting snatch block somewhere the other day(on line), it was for 3/8" line I think and cost $250! Reminds me of a 'thing' I bought for my road bike about 28 years ago. A Campagnolo Nuevo Record rear derailier. At the time it cost me nearly $100. It took me almost a year to actually mount it on the bike. It was so well made and so beautiful....I just kept it on my coffee table to look at and play with. If I bought one of those ratcheting snatchblocks.....it would be the same deal. They are beautiful pieces of gear.

Great link Greg. I had a site I found a couple of years ago with animated knots....but this one is waaaaay better. Very cool. Now if I could find the same kind of thing, but for splicing double braided line I would be a happy fella.

I checked both hoses, both female hose fittings and the pickup tube for blockageness. All clear. So I hunted around town and managed to find a new bulb....oh wait a minute...I already said all this above. :shock: So OK, sailed yesterday, blew like crazy all day, but did use the motor for about mile just to test the fuel system and it worked great! Although, when I cranked it up to full throttle, it did die after a few minutes. Though I don't usually run it that high (being a 6hp), I am still wondering why it did that. Either way, it is a vast improvement over the old deal. Thanks for the help folks. Knowing me, it will most likely stay this way until something else goes wrong. I also had a dry interior (of the boat) for the first time in a long time. What a luxury. I wish I had noticed it was a hull breach rather than assuming it was the case. DOAH! :x