Chick Ludwig Posted January 27 Report Share Posted January 27 Old codger says he wants to copy your component ideas. He espeially likes the one in the forpeak. Hope ya have a fun visit in my old home state. we'll look forward to a report and pictures. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PadrePoint Posted January 28 Report Share Posted January 28 Don’s latest photos today… busy guy!! A canopy… more effective than the tarp that we tried last summer. (A bracket for the spare wheel was put on earlier. A couple more keel rollers: A board for the centerboard (with a bumper to help me when I forget to raise the centerboard to load onto the trailer. New today… some electrical stuff… and outlets on the new bulwark racks. This winter storage plan is working out great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted January 29 Author Report Share Posted January 29 I love that Vulcan anchor you sent us. Can’t wait to get it dirty! I leave for Florida on Wednesday. Woo-hoo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted February 1 Report Share Posted February 1 Don, I can't thank you enough for chronicling your work. I just finished watching the video Alan had made of Carlita's modification and your photos and I'm ready to start. Luckily, I hate jammed c-boards so mine is a bit sloppy to begin with which I think is good in this case. I didn't see in your post much about the downhaul, but one of the pictures makes it look as if it's there. Can you confirm? And what did you do for tackle? I think a release like is used for the kick up rudder is in order, but I don't see it on the plans. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 @Steve W— I did not install a downhaul. I haven’t found it to be necessary… yet. It can be retrofitted, if necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 I’ve been sailing Avocet for about two weeks now. I’m here to report that she has neutral helm (when desired)! I prefer a little windward helm most of the time. I really need to do something weird to get leeward helm now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted February 20 Report Share Posted February 20 Thank you for the report. I'm planning on modifying Skeena once the weather gets less snotty. I have to order some Okume as surprisingly I don't have enough laying around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted February 20 Author Report Share Posted February 20 @Steve W— I had the same problem! Fortunately, Ted (Padre Point) had some, and sent it to me via the USPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer Posted February 21 Report Share Posted February 21 Steve, I am sure that we can find enough okume ply scraps if you want. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha Ritchie Posted February 23 Report Share Posted February 23 Padre Point and Don, The boat looks fantastic! I especially like the companion way storage units. Our boat is never going to be as beautiful, but your work gives me something to aim for! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted Saturday at 09:20 PM Author Report Share Posted Saturday at 09:20 PM There was one big area of changes that I have failed to mention. The reason was partly because I wanted to make sure it worked, before I broadcast it to our little world. These were the issues that we had with the rigging. 1. One of PadrePoint’s complaints was all the “spaghetti” that was on Avocet. Yes, there are a lot of control lines on a mark 3. I thought I could improve that a bit. 2. Because of the builder’s clever way of reefing the leech of the sail, the reef lines either needed to be threaded on each time, or left attached, and the sails rolled on the sprits. The latter was how I received the boat. I thought this was awkward. And besides, I didn’t have a vehicle big enough to stow the furled sails on long sprits out of the weather. (Plus, I think sails should reside in sail bags.) 3. The clew of the sails attached to the sprits with snaps, which kept shaking out. This is what I did. First, the reefing needed to be detachable from the sprits, but hold up to heavy use. I lashed an eye-strap to the leech block. It goes in end-for-end, and “locks” in place. Sometimes, they lock in so well, I need to apply force to get them out. (I like that.) The end product looks like this. You might also notice that I have replaced a soft shackle for the snap at the clew. These hold very well. The length is 6”. The only problem is that they are a loose part, and can be misplaced. I made extras. If you zoom in on the sprit hardware for reef #1, you’ll see that the bitter end is attached through the eye strap with a stopper knot. The block is attached with a 4” long soft shackle. At the forward end of the sprit, I added two-sided velcro ties, to tidy up the excess cordage. This is especially useful, if Ted decides not to rig one or both of the reefs for a daysail. Lately, we added recleaters to the clam cleats. They kept cleating when you raised the sails. This is the mizzen, rigged properly. (Not like the above photos. Oops!) I made some sail bags, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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