Aphers

A full laser rig is pretty big. I'm thinking of a Radial or Zuma for my S11N, it would work out very close to the as-designed sailplan. But then again my little lug rig is so easy to use... it's really just when we have three of us aboard in light winds, or when trying to go upwind in very strong conditions, that the lug lets me down.

As Tim says, the Radial is a better fit. You're looking for just over 6m² sail area. I think the luff and foot measurements are very similar as well. Another rig that is a close match for dimensions is the Zuma. Personally I think the sail area is fairly generous. For a few years I was using a 5.5m² windsurf rig and it seemed like the right amount of sail for my tastes- but I use the Spindrift as my daily driver so capsizing isn't an option. I'm now using a 4.3m² standing lug sail and it is definitely a bit underpowered.

This still dependent to some extent on the legal jurisdiction that you are in. I can't speak for the US where I assume the OP is based, but just in case any Europeans are reading, it's worth knowing that the Recreational Craft Directive applies to any new boat, and certainly complicates the sale of a home build. AFAIK you essentially have to keep it for five years before you can sell it, but I'm not an expert. I know it hasn't been a particularly well received regulation.

Just catching up on your videos, keep up the good work. The hard dodger looks fantastic. You're making me miss the Caribbean! What was your finished weight for the dinghy? And did you sheathe with glass inside and out?

Glad I'm not the only one! How do you find this rig in stronger winds? One thing I've noticed is that, compared to a sleeved sail, in strong conditions (20kts+) I get a lot of mast bend and subsequently luff sag, which affects pointing ability. Other than that, very happy with my standing lug. A slight improvement I've recently made it's how the sail attaches to the yard. My first attempt was to simply lace it on with a continuous length of line. I've now changed that for individual ties, which I can alter to get a good sail shape. I can also adjust the tension along the yard, and slack it off when not in use. The remaining piece of the puzzle is sheet loads. I'm going to try finding a ratchet block which should help a lot.

The joys of being a nautical nomad... if things can be sent to an Amazon locker then life is easy. But a gallon of two pack cannot. I'll probably not be needing it until we reach the boatyard and I can get it sent there. Do you find that the paint has a reasonable shelf life after opening?

Thanks for the recommendation, that's a good price for a gallon. Do you know if it's available in a smaller size?

I'm already a big fan of two part paint. That's what I originally used on my Spindrift over four years ago. It's a daily use tender that carries bikes, kedge anchors, etc, do it gets bashed about a bit. I need the durability of two pack. Over the years I've picked up tins of whatever was available locally- in Europe I used International Perfection, and in the Caribbean I found a tin of Jotun Hardtop. Back in the UK I paid about £80 for 2.5l; in Spain it was about €45 for a litre, and the Jotun was about the same price. The International appears to have been discontinued, and in any case I found that the B component always went bad soon after opening, despite my best efforts.

My long distance cruising has taken me and my Spindrift from Europe to the USA. The little boat is coming up for a fresh paint job. In the past I've used Jotun two pack and I like it- the B component doesn't turn to jelly after opening. I can easily get Awlgrip but it's $$$. What brands/products am I going to be able to get in the US? I've been trying to search for things but my phone insists on showing me UK websites. I'll be in Virginia if that makes any difference.

Just arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, where were going to be based for a few weeks/months. We've got a Spindrift 11N. Just curious to see if there are any other B&B boat owners around in the area? Would be delighted to invite you aboard the mothership for a beer.

You could just mount the motor off centre. That's what I do with my 3.5hp 2 stroke, and it allows me to keep the rudder in place. For a long motor I take the rudder off as it's easier to just steer with the motor. I've found that they noisiest thing about my Spindrift when motoring is the captive rowlocks which rattle like crazy.

The main problem with Bonaire is the $35/day anchoring fee. Most people seem to make a fairly brief stop there for that reason, but I've heard that it's amazing.

At first, I picked up a buoy on approach to the bridge, and dropped the whole rig and rowed under. Then the next time I tried re-stepping the mast with the bottom section missing. Gradually I got a bit braver with it and would do it without picking up the buoy, but just drift down towards the bridge. Easier with my son on the helm. It did cross my mind that if the mast had jammed for any reason, things could have got interesting. I generally have an anchor ready to drop so that would have been my backup option. The way the boat is currently rigged, with a standing lug, all I'd have to do is let off the downhaul and let the yard fall level, and we'd get through. I'm not sure if we're returning to the southern Caribbean though- my wife found it too hot.

We sailed around that area a lot with our 11N and windsurf rig. To get under the Hog bridge, I would remove one of the four sections of the mast, which gave just enough clearance to get through. I always had to row going the other way though, no way I could short tack through there, especially as the sail wouldn't set at all properly with a quarter of the mast missing. Trips through to Secret were quite good fun. Le Phare Bleu was a pain because it was so shallow- I don't think I ever managed that under sail alone. Trips in and out of Woburn were generally pretty easy under sail. Ah, you're making me feel homesick for the place... even if the water was purple on distillery discharge day...

I haven't taken photos, but in the three years we've been cruising the Caribbean we've seen several other Spindrifts. I'm not sure if I can remember them all. We did meet one guy in Carriacou who has built both a 10 and an 11. The 11 might be the one with the stayed mast in the photo above. It was a big gunter rig, with the sail made from a dumpster find spinnaker. In Grenada we met someone with a 10, and took it for a quick row, then took him for a short sail in our 11. It was interesting to try out the smaller version, the extra foot makes an enormous difference. Another family who we met in Martinique had an 11N, and were using an 8hp 2 stroke. I actually own the exact same engine myself but never thought of using it on the Spindrift. Maybe I'm just being chicken. We've seen other Spindrifts at dinghy docks but not met their owners. I'm surprised how few of the ones we've seen were being used under sail. We sail ours almost every day, and we can go days or even weeks without having to get the oars out. I wouldn't like to be without them though!

I wouldn't use any sort of ablative paint on a boat that is going to handled in and out of the water a lot. It's unnecessary and will just make a mess. I've used standard two part polyurethane all over my dinghy and foils. Four years in and I've yet to notice a single blister. The dinghy usually stays out of the water overnight but sometimes I get lazy and it goes a few days at a time without lifting.

Weight is just one of the advantages of lithium. I'm talking here specifically about LiFePO4, not the more high performance and dangerous stuff like Lithium Polymer. You can use pretty much the whole capacity of a lithium battery (vs 50% for lead acid) so not only ate they lighter, you need half as many Ah to begin with. They hold up their voltage really well under heavy loads so no more low voltage faults from sensitive equipment. Lithium batteries do not reduce charging speed as they fill up. So no more watching for batteries to go on float at a trickle charge rate. When you're charging from solar or a generator, you don't have endless hours of charging time available. Even if you don't get them back to full, they don't care. Lead acid batteries must regularly get back to 100% to prevent degradation. You get far more charge cycles and many more years of use from lithium batteries. Cheap 'leisure' lead acids give you 150 cycles, high end AGM might get 500. Lithium is in the thousands, I've seen figures anywhere from 2000-5000 quoted. The first person to document fitting LiFePO4 to his yacht was Rod Collins, who after 13yrs has not been able to measure any significant loss of performance. My lithium batteries cost less to build than the deep cycle lead acid I had originally planned to install- and that was four years ago. It's really a game changer.

Sure, although bear in mind this is as my yacht's domestic bank rather than electric power for the dinghy. Each battery is four cells and a BMS, the first one was 271Ah and the second was 280Ah. Both BMSs are rated for 200A, so in theory I can draw 400A total from the system. The cells themselves could support 550Ah total current. However I have the system fused at 250A using a Class T fuse (an important point- other high amperage fuses are not rated for large lithium systems). Each lithium battery is separately fused with a 225A MRBF as well. The biggest draw is the 3kva inverter which can draw up to 240A, although I try to keep everything below 200A. As to physical size... I can't remember off hand, but each battery is similar in size to a 110Ah lead acid. Certainly far smaller than 'drop in' lithiums of comparable capacity. They're buried under a berth in our spare cabin and not easy to access, otherwise I would measure them. Assembling the battery takes a few days but isn't difficult. You need you charge the cells up to full and get them all balanced. I used a cheap adjustable DC power supply. Then it's simply nuts and bolts and a few crimps. I used threaded rod and plywood end plates to clamp the cells together, with the BMS mounted to one end. There's a lot of info out there on DIY battery assembly if you're interested.

I would never buy a lithium battery without doing due diligence on the quality. Ideally you want to see a tear down video so that you know what's inside it. I have built two lithium batteries from bare cells. It's not especially difficult. I did it primarily to save money, but it also allowed me to specify the type of BMS and the size/shape of the finished battery. The first one is approaching four years old and has been in daily use delivering hundreds of amps, powering an induction hob, air fryer etc, with zero degradation evident. It's remarkable technology.

As chance would have it, I've just replaced my pool noodle fendering. I tried making sailcloth sleeves for them but the old sail I was using was too UV damaged and started to tear when I was trying to turn it inside out after running it through the sewing machine. So it's naked noodles once again. The system I've come up with is to make up a webbing strap that is a couple of feet shorter than the noodle, and then use a long heavy duty cable tie to attach it to the eyes on the boat. You can barely see the cable tie because it's inside the pool noodle. Over time the noodle wants to sag, and you just take in a few clicks on the cable tie. Nice and simple.

I seem to have missed these posts at the time. Like you, I considered using a Laser rig on my 11N. However, being based in the north of Scotland, I couldn't find anything suitable within about five hundred miles. I ended up using a highly modified OK rig instead, which worked to some extent, but I think the mast was very heavy and this made the whole thing pretty unstable. See my thread on my various rig experiments for more details on that. I don't know if it's worth modifying the Spindrift to take a laser daggerboard. I didn't find it that hard to make the board as designed. I cobbled together various offcuts from the rest of the build, with copious thickened epoxy to fill the gaps. One more comment... I agree about the massive space in the 11N, but I would say that you're not really trying to fill yours yet... my record is six under sail (4 adults, 2 kids) and nine under motor (6 adults, 3 kids)!

The good quality batteries are safer than carrying petrol around. But the cheap knock offs are potentially very dangerous. If going the electric route, you need to know what you're doing. Correct cable sizes, good quality connections, and appropriate fuses are essential. There are many stories about fires caused by lithium batteries. In every single case these are poorly built or installed, and almost always a volatile chemistry like LiPo or NMC, rather than the much safer LiFePO4.

Will Prowse is an excellent resource and has helped countless people, myself included. There is definitely a lot of junk out there, I wouldn't buy any sort of lithium battery without doing thorough research first. Building your own from cells is the cheapest and most reliable route. I've done it twice now. It's not rocket science and anybody who is capable of building a boat is likely practical minded enough to take on such a project.

Will Prowse is an excellent resource and has helped countless people, myself included. There is definitely a lot of junk out there, I wouldn't buy any sort of lithium battery without doing thorough research first. Building your own from cells is the cheapest and most reliable route. I've done it twice now. It's not rocket science and anybody who is capable of building a boat is likely practical minded enough to take on such a project.

I'm sure you get what you pay for. Build quality was my main concern about the trolling motor I had. Perhaps if you ring it off in fresh water after every use it would be ok. If and when I try this again, I'll be looking over the new motor carefully and where possible upgrading all the plated mild steel components for stainless. I paid £100 for the motor (secondhand but unused- I think they are more like double that new) and £260 for the battery (in 2020... lithium battery prices have fallen swiftly since then). So overall far cheaper than a Torqueedo or ePropulsion, and the little battery has been useful for other things too. A friend has put together a similar system but with a bit more thought and effort. He has the battery in a watertight box with good quality connectors and a Bluetooth battery monitor, so that he can check his much charge is left. Added to the cost but it has made it useful enough that he no longer uses his petrol outboard. By the way it's pretty easy to cut down the shaft on a trolling motor, on mine it was just fibreglass.