Daniel Gross

Very nice Bob, It looks great.

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We finally got out on the water today, this was the second attempt at sailing Dark Wind. The first time I had steering issues, the control line was over wrapping itself causing it to only turn one way correctly. So I rewired it . I moved the hole through the steering shaft aft an inch and a half letting the line lead better, It worked great no overrides. We also put a battery in the companion way box for a trolling motor, turned out well but the main sheet got caught on the motor head a time or two. I'll have to find a work around that. Winds today were 15-18mph with gusts to 28mph, but dangit we were going sailing! So here are some on the fly shots, That last picture say's it all! All in all a good day, 15min set up, a two hour or so sail, 15min take down and an hour and a half talking about D.W. to everyone who stopped by too admire it, one guy even knew what it was. Fair winds Dan

Thanks Al, That sounds like a good way to do the lanyards, if I have any problems with mine I'll try your method. Currently mine are rigged more or less traditional and the loose end seized to the standing ones. I only have one seizing on now until they stretch some more then I'll put on a few more. I leave mine set and haven't had an issue with stepping the mast, I do it that way on my 22 footer too, one less thing to mess with at the ramp. dan

Thanks Al, I like the dead eyes too, turnbuckles just didn't seem right. If you have any pics of how you tie yours I'm always open to other ways.

We took D.W. to the lake yesterday, the wind was a bit much for a shakedown cruise 17mph gusting to 23. We just tied up to the dock for a photo shoot and to see if it floats :lol: I must have done ok on the sails, she wanted to take off! I am looking at later this week to get some time under sail.

Great job! Love the paint. Dan

Thanks, Pepe Cool vid. Dan

Thanks Carl, The Finn looks like a blast to sail. Good luck with it, don't be afraid to ask questions. The knowledge base here is awsum. :grin: :grin: Dan

Howdy! :grin: Dan

Watched that a while back, It is a cool little boat. :grin: Dan

no more excuses, gotta get wet soon. It will either sail like a witch or fail miserably, my gut says the first :D

More to follow:

Thanks, Jeff I know, it almost seems a shame but it's really nice tarp :D at least until I can afford blood red sail material. I plan on making my own. fair winds Dan

Thanks, Wes I just ordered the bright red tarp for the sails Dan

I can't hardly believe it's been over a moth since I last updated, so here ya go I got the mast box fixed to within 2deg, I'm ok with that. I finished painting, non-skid, steering, carved out the trailboards, made garboards, bolted on bits and pieces including the splash coamings. We've been busy, and it shows.

Thanks, Wes in Missouri ours has to be 3" block style letters, no custom fonts. your boards look great, I think I'll go the same route for now and tinker with them over the winter. Haven't been to Iowa or a university so probably a coincidence . Thanks Dan

wes, are your Registration Number Trailboards carved, painted or stuck on numbers? I'm going to make a set for my weekender, looking at options. Thanks Dan

Looking good John, keep it up. Dan

Sounds good guys Thanks Dan

A quick update, it seems that the further along I get the slower I get, I think I'm thinking to much :shock: anyway, the cabin and fore peak is painted finally had I thought about it before I put it all together I would have painted as much as possible before assembly especially the under side of the deck :mad: Oh well all sawdust under the bridge now. Lots of sanding and varnishing Lots of sitting and looking. Have been working out the colors for the cockpit and deck, the hull and cabin sides are black and the rub rails and hatches will be red, I am leaning toward a red cabin top and light grey cockpit and deck, it is currently under much debate one wants just black and red, and one wants gold cockpit and decks. It's a good thing I have final creative say in the matter :-D With all the talk of mast box angle lately I thought I'd check mine, cause I don't have enough to do already! I knew it was a little off after it was already too late to change it, I get ahead of myself sometimes. It is at 98deg, 5deg off oh well guess I'll be cutting a wedge off my pretty mast base tomorrow while paint is drying after laying it out on a spare 4x4 It looks like 5deg from the deck level of 21inches is about in the middle of the mast base at the bottom, seems a little much, is this pretty close? any advise appreciated, don't want the first sail out to be a flop. Thanks Dan

Thanks, Par Dan

Nice! You can almost hear it from the picture :grin: :grin: Dan

Just got my gooseneck from Duckworks, For those of you who have used it how did you attach it to the mast? The holes in the plate look a little small to me, I'm thinking about drilling them out and using larger screws bedded in epoxy. Any thoughts? P.S. Did a little more painting yesterday.

Good looking boat Steve, Have fun with it. Dan