Jump to content

Aphers

Members
  • Posts

    203
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    14

Aphers last won the day on July 12 2023

Aphers had the most liked content!

Recent Profile Visitors

1,147 profile views

Aphers's Achievements

Collaborator

Collaborator (7/14)

  • Dedicated Rare
  • Reacting Well Rare
  • First Post
  • Collaborator
  • Conversation Starter

Recent Badges

37

Reputation

  1. Looks great! It's such a huge transformation. I painted my boat with it in two halves, hanging from overhead beams. This let me access almost every part of the boat in one go, instead of having to do it in stages. My paint supplier said I didn't need primer. I only actually did two coats initially, but I generally add a full coat once a year now that the boat is in daily use, plus patch repairs where necessary.
  2. I've never had a problem with it tbh. My first boat was a Wayfarer (16ft dinghy) and it used a bolt rope. It was pretty easy to put a reef in. I suppose sliders would have kept the bunt of the sail a bit neater but I had eyelets with lashings for that. I'm sure that on larger boats it would be beneficial to use sliders.
  3. So today I tried out the new rig. Windsurf mast with dinghy sail. Long story short, it's not going to work out. The mast just isn't stiff enough. As soon as you put any halyard tension on, the mast bends like an over ripe banana. It's a shame, because I'd put a bit of work in to this setup, and I was hoping for some good performance with a light enough mast that it would be stable enough to be left afloat rigged. But I guess I'll just stick with my trusty windsurf rig...
  4. If I add eyes to the luff, whether for sliders or lacing, what spacing would be suitable? Using just bits and bobs I already have in stock, I'd be looking at 49cm between eyes. Is that a bit too far apart?
  5. What's the advantage of slides over a bolt rope?
  6. One of my rigs has a track and a halyard (btw I'm not sure I see any benefit to slugs over just using the bolt rope?). The other is sleeved. Both work pretty well. A lighter version of the tracked rig would be great. But the sleeved one is fine. Only once have I found myself unable to 'plant the flag' when I was trying to rig in a stiff breeze. With that rig, I often just roll up the sail loosely and tie it to the mast. It has a full length top batten so it does still have a bit of windage, but it works very well if I'm just making a quick stop to pick up laundry etc. I generally put the sail tie on a slip knot so setting off is a case of jumping aboard and pulling the tie; one pull on the sheet and the sail unfurls and we're away. If I'm being pinned on to the dock by the breeze I can usually give a hefty enough push at I get aboard to get clear and start sailing. It's all very drama free. If I convert my tracked sail to laced or sleeved, is there anything preventing me from having it open at the top, and using a halyard?
  7. Over the couple of years I've had my Spindrift, I've managed to collect a whole assortment of different sails and spars, which have been effective in varying degrees. Current rig of choice is from a windsurf, with a wishbone boom. Perfectly happy with its performance, and the four piece mast stows away to nothing. But the wishbone is not the easiest thing to set up if you're already out at sea. The sail is also getting very tired- it's had an awful lot of use, almost daily for the past year or so. What I'd really like to do is switch to a more conventional rig. I've got a great sail from an OK class dinghy, which has a bolt rope. The mast I have for it is very heavy aluminium tube with a track. I want to use a windsurf mast instead, bit of course that has no track. I think my options are: - rivet and/or epoxy the track on to the grp mast (not sure this is structurally a great plan) - get a sailmaker to sew on a luff sleeve (I'm guessing this is the best, but costliest, option) - install eyelets along the luff, and lace the sail to the mast (very DIY friendly, low cost) I'll need to figure out how to make a gooseneck but maybe a simple plastic claw (rowlock?) would work. I'm hoping to avoid a trip to the sailmaker partly for cost and partly because, as a full time cruiser, I don't like having to be tied to being in a certain place for any length of time.
  8. That has to be one of the fastest builds I've seen. Well done. If you think rowing is fun, wait until you get your rig sorted
  9. I used a two pack paint called Lustre, from a company called SML in the UK. It was brilliant. They recommended that I could use it directly on to the epoxy without an undercoat, and a 2.5l can easily did the whole boat with a bit left over. Two pack is fantastic compared to single. Far more durable. Since leaving the UK I've had to switch to Perfection, as that's what is available. I generally touch up every 3-6 months depending on how badly the dinghy has been treated, and about once a year I've ended up doing a full recoat. The boat is in daily use and bumps happen. Perfection is a good product but the hardener is highly hygroscopic. Once you've opened it, you've got a few weeks to use it before it goes to jelly. It's particularly bad out here in the Caribbean with the heat and humidity. International do not sell the hardener separately. I now have three tins of the 'A' part and have just opened my third and final 'B'. I've heard that the Awlgrip 'Awlcat #3' hardener is the same chemical, and is available separately, but it's wickedly expensive. And presumably it has the same problems with going off after opening. Interestingly, the tiny bit of Lustre hardener that I still have remains liquid in the can, so whatever they are using is more suitable for long term storage. Despite the drawbacks of two pack, I would not use single pack on a tender.
  10. You're resisting the temptation to leave anything bright, then? I couldn't quite bring myself to cover every last bit of wood, so I left the dagger board case capping varnished. And it's a bit of a pain trying to keep on top of it . Sometimes I think it would have been nice to have left the transom varnished. Maybe on the next boat...
  11. Depends on how much of the time the boat spends disassembled. Ours goes on deck for long passages only.
  12. My method was to use thin but stiff plastic (I used laminated sheets of paper) inserted in to the gap between the two halves, and sticking out by an inch or so. Where the two halves meet there is a slight radius and it looks better if this is filled, so the plastic gives you an edge to work to. I used microfibres and was a little generous, over filling slightly. After it had cured, I removed the plastic and then carefully sanded the filled area to ensure that it was a perfect match both sides. I was really pleased with how this turned out, with a really good crisp edge and almost invisible join line.
  13. Is there a risk that changes in temperature/pressure will cause damage to a totally sealed tank? I often hear a strong hiss when I open mine up. For that reason I've put a partially crushed plastic bottle, with lid on, inside each tank. The idea is that it will absorb any changes in pressure. Maybe it's totally unnecessary but it's not doing any harm.
  14. I added bilge strakes, or runners if you prefer. Three good reasons: - they stiffen up the floor - they protect the hull from damage - they gave me a solid place to add through bolted eyes for lifting the dinghy in davits Mine are on the aft half only so don't interfere with nesting. I'm not the only person to have done this, Sailing Florence of YouTube fame did the same. https://messing-about.com/forums/topic/12813-spindrift-11n-build-in-scotland/page/2/#comment-111096
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.