buck Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 The first NZ meet of the summer will be on the 20th December at Karitane in NZ's South Island. Wayne is bringing his wonderful little ship down to meet mine and high tide is around 2pm so we'll meet at midday. So all are welcome, I know its too far away for most of you but there's alot of lurkers on this board! We will off course post photos! Quote
capt jake Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 The first NZ meet of the summer Just have to rub it in eh? He he! As I sit here typing with cold fingers and a jacket on. I hope you have a great summer! And a great sailing season! Quote
waynemunro Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 he he, I am quite looking forward to it, just got fingers crossed on the weather being nice... You will also be able to show me how these things should be sailed buck, preparing me for my assault on a number of the southern lakes over the xmas period. cheers Wayne Quote
Frank Hagan Posted December 12, 2003 Posted December 12, 2003 Take some pictures to post for us in the frozen north! We live vicariously when you guys are down there in the warm sun, sailing and having all sorts of fun. Quote
ROBBO Posted December 12, 2003 Posted December 12, 2003 Hi guys, what a great idea, I wish I could join you. However as the good people of New Zealand insist on travelling through the air over this particular weekend, I have to work. (It is part of the deal I have with my company. I work, they pay me, I can therefore finance my weekender building aspirations). I hope that you have a great day, and that I will soon be able to join in. ( I have already gone 3d) Cheers Quote
buck Posted December 14, 2003 Author Posted December 14, 2003 Summer is just starting here, after listening to all your inspiring sailing stories all through winter. Nows our chance. We'll post some pictures! Robbo where are your 3D pictures? I never get sick of seeing these boats built. Sad you can't be with us. When are you off? Quote
ROBBO Posted December 16, 2003 Posted December 16, 2003 Hi Buck, the roster dude (who really does control my life) has not been kind in short term. My first weekend off is the weekend of 31 Jan/1 Feb 04. As luck would have I am also not working WE 7/8 Feb and not working 21/22 Feb. Next would be 6/7 Mar. Whenever you have a spare week I could explain my shift cycling to you. If anything could be available on these days It would be great and much appreciated. Robbo Quote
waynemunro Posted December 16, 2003 Posted December 16, 2003 hells bells Robbo, thats a while to go without a weekend off I guess that gives you plenty of time to be working on that boat.. hows the schedule going ? hopefully by the time I return from my holidays I will be a more experienced (and hopefully confident) weekender sailor and we'll be able to head out for a spin on the harbour, have to admit that at the moment I feel a little incompetent. Wayne Quote
John B Posted December 16, 2003 Posted December 16, 2003 Gidday guys. another NZ 'er here. Lurking mostly. I sail a gaff keeler in Auckland. Compliments of the season to you. Cheers. Quote
Johannah Posted December 16, 2003 Posted December 16, 2003 John B, you are being disingenuous. The truth is you are fully occupied building dinghies on the dining room table as Christmas ornaments for the gaffer. :shock: I wish these other guys would traipse up to Aukland and inquire whether your wife knows about this use of the dining room. Quote
John B Posted December 17, 2003 Posted December 17, 2003 Aww Jo ! it's built ,and I've only been varnishing in the living room. and a bit of light sanding before that. there was the dremel tool name carving incident I suppose, but no one knows I dropped it or saw the incredible reactions I possess( when motivated). Quote
waynemunro Posted December 21, 2003 Posted December 21, 2003 Hi John, good to see some more Kiwis appearing here I gotta respect varnishing in the living room.. if you don't use houses for whatever you want to do in them then what is the point in having them but on to the main business.. the first NZ meet ! it was a resounding triumph !! I was up at 6 am, to hit the road by 7:10, and made it down to Karitane at 11:30 (a bit early, but I was not too sure exactly how long it would take me to get down there). Buck soon arrived and we went round to his wonderful shed and prepared his weekender for sailing. It was very cool to see the two boats beside each other... they are so obviosly of the same ilk, sharing their sweeping curves. The wind was light (phew), but predicted to turn southerly later, so we tottled around in the eastuaqry rather than heading out to sea. The boats both sailed beautifully and I think we both gained from having another there to watch while sailing. We swapped boats for a bit and I got to try the tiller while Buck tried my wheel.. I think I can see merits in both systems. A great day was had though, so thanks Buck for taking me sailing, I gained a lot of much needed confidence, and now feel ready to get in some serious practice over the next few weeks on the southern lakes. so without further delay, here are a collection of pictures from the day: http://www.waynemunro.com/grw/wayne/2003/2003_12/karitane/dir_med_70.html [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote
buck Posted December 21, 2003 Author Posted December 21, 2003 Fantastic photos! Waynes boat is a little beauty, its so fast and light and well set-up , I was very impressed. As you can see on the photos I have no clubfoot, well thats going to change. Its great how you can tune boats with 2 boats. I learn't an awful lot about Weekender sail design as Wayne happily left me standing dead a few times. From my dinghy sailing days I've always gone for high aspect rigs, this tranfers to my weekender having a low halyard and a high peak. Which makes the sail a bag. Well watching Waynes flat sail swoop by me a couple of times really made me think. Likewise when one of us healed the boat in the light breeze there was an instant increase in speed. Wayne is a great person to go sailing with, very generous and alot of fun. It was a very pleasent afternoon watching those two boats bob around together, My motoer eventually refused to start and as the tide ran out we called it a day. So ROBBO hurry up and finish your boat! Quote
Barry Pyeatt Posted December 22, 2003 Posted December 22, 2003 What great fun! Nice way to spend a day learning about the two boats and comparing the differences. Good photos and a great experience. Looking forward to more reports from the "downunder" bunch. Gets me excited all over again. Thanks to both of you for sharing with the rest of us. Have a great Holiday! 8) Quote
Frank Hagan Posted December 22, 2003 Posted December 22, 2003 Take some pictures to post for us in the frozen north! We live vicariously when you guys are down there in the warm sun' date=' sailing and having all sorts of fun.[/quote']Frank!!?? Isn't the weather always compatible with sailing where you are at?? Or do you hail from Northern CA? Or is 60's and 70's a touch to cool to go sailing... HMM? Enquiring minds want to know. It is good for sailing here in the winter, but then you have to actually GO SAILING ... something I haven't been able to do for a while. I need to fix my outboard (easy) and a mast hoop, right at the top of the mast (which requires all the hardware to come off). I've really been procrastinating and I should just fix the darn hoop and get back on the water! PS - it is cold here, for SoCal ... about 65 or so. I'm hoping I get to hook up with Graham while he and Carla are out here this week. Quote
Frank Hagan Posted December 22, 2003 Posted December 22, 2003 Not a bad idea at all. The plastic hoops I made do worry me, especially since I drilled a hole in them for a spacing line (forget what its called) to help them get up over the hinge when hoisting the sail. The old hoop failed at that point, so I suspect that's now a weak spot on every one of the hoops. Quote
ROBBO Posted December 22, 2003 Posted December 22, 2003 Buck, I'm on it, a little each day. But I'm sure that you appreciate life has a nasty habit of getting in the way of Wekender building. But I'm getting there, and am as anxious as ever to me and Jeroboam wet as soon as possible. Robbo Quote
waynemunro Posted December 22, 2003 Posted December 22, 2003 Good Man Robbo, yeah a little bit each day is all that is required i reckon.. all goes pretty fast. Buck, I was thinking about the difference in the sails, and your topping lift.. I remember reading now and again that the weight of the boom is important to setting the sail shape in the gaff rigs, but if you have the topping lift on while sailing then that is holding the boom weight, rather than the sail doing it... of course I know very little about this stuff. raining here now, though really looking forward to getting up to the southern lakes at the end of the week and getting some serious practise in. Quote
Barry Pyeatt Posted December 23, 2003 Posted December 23, 2003 Once you get a little used to how the boat handles and you are used to the basics with it, you will have a lot of fun with sail shaping and fine tuning under varying conditions. That will make a heap of difference in performance. Once you reach that point, you will find that small differences in tension on various parts of the sail will make significant changes in performance. Using the clubfoot until you are used to the basic handling of the boat makes good sense. You don't need to worry much about the jib when tacking and adjusting it is down to one line. You will find that with poly tarp sails you can make all sorts of changes in the basic sail shape to make them a little baggier or change the way they react under different wind conditions. All at very little cost and time expended. Then you will have a better understanding of what works for you and what doesn't in your area and the conditions that you sail in. So get used to them and play with them under all conditions and points of sail. The fun is just beginning. Quote
buck Posted December 23, 2003 Author Posted December 23, 2003 Thanks your comments Guys, I went sailing again yesterday this time with some much needed improvements. I made the sail much more flatter (like Waynes) The wind was stronger so I was flying anyway. I rerouted the topping lift back to the cockpit and replaced the cheap rope on my peak (its now much smoother) I also put a roped together all the mast hoops so the sail goes up a lot smoother. All works well, you're right Wayne the sail does sit alot better when the topping lift is out the way. I don't think it was my imagination but I'm sure it went better to windward. Now for the club foot! One thing I did notice sailing Waynes boat, its easier to heel with the wheel. The tiller gets alot of pressure on it when you're sittting on the leeward side, Food for thought! The tiller does get you alot more forward though. I will be at (around) Marahau from the 6th to the 20th January, the first 3 days will be a cruise around the Able tasman national park, which I'm really looking forward to! Wayne could you make it up one of those weekends? Quote
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