Mike Pennington Posted April 30, 2003 Posted April 30, 2003 A little Tinkering, a lot of saying;"HUH?" and I think I got the self furler thinky whooped. :roll: Tomorrow I am going to move the inner forestay back about a 8 to 12 inches. Depending on the club foot and the room between the sail and mast. This should give my outer jib sheat line more clearance. I am probably going to make another attempt at making a bigger sail with the clew a little lower and foot of the sail about two feet lower. I will see how this one works next week, I might like the foot of the sail up high so I can see ahead. :idea: Quote
Barry Pyeatt Posted April 30, 2003 Posted April 30, 2003 Sure Mike, Keep us in the dark. We are trying to figure out how to make this work for us and have spent the winter playing with ideas. And you whip one out with a little head scratching, tinkering and saying "HUH". Man, you got to take some photos in daylight so we can see what is happening. Yes, you will probably want to raise the foot up a bit so you can see under it. The sail gets too large to see around and unless you are ramming or spearing something with that bowsprit you will probably want to see where it is going. Quote
Mike Pennington Posted April 30, 2003 Author Posted April 30, 2003 Here is a pic of the sail rolled out almost all the way. The sail is 16 feet at the outer forstay, the total length of the forestay is 20 feet. I messed up on cutting the foot of the sail, I should have cut it after it was in place on the boat. The Furler does work well, though I am spoiled, I have used the real thing and the manual on is not the same. But with a little practice and crew to help out it should be fun. I am going to use the club foot for the inner jib, I should have it mounted tomorrow as well. Quote
Frank Hagan Posted April 30, 2003 Posted April 30, 2003 CUTTER RIG! 8) 8) Very cool. I've forgotten, how much did you raise the mast? Quote
Mike Pennington Posted April 30, 2003 Author Posted April 30, 2003 I have forgotten Too! 16 or 18 inchs, I think. I have lots of head room in the cockpit, it worked real well last year. The sprit is about a foot longer, I'll measure tomorrow, before I start on the clubfoot. Yeah, Cutter, I like the sound of that! I have been dreaming about it for awhile now, but it just hit me. CUTTER! WOW! I be tickled! Two good friends, wooden boat fanatics and curagous sailers, I might add, are going to test sail the Wolf next wensday on Big Lake, Alaska. I am going to have to install some fair leads some where, the lines are multipling like rabbits. Quote
Mike Pennington Posted April 30, 2003 Author Posted April 30, 2003 Oh what the heck one more pic to prove the dang thing works. I saw a pic of a cool cutter Weekended a few months back. Does anyone own up to it, or know of anyone else who has rigged the self furler? :roll: Quote
Dave R1 Posted April 30, 2003 Posted April 30, 2003 Pretty cool Mike. Now I got questions. I've been away for awhile so maybe you posted this stuff but I didn't see it. As Frank asked, how much did you increase the height of the mast? Did you lengthen the bowsprit? How long is it from the bits? What are the dimensions of your foresails? Also how did you make your furler? Well, that's enough for now. Thanks, Dave Quote
Mike Pennington Posted April 30, 2003 Author Posted April 30, 2003 I got the club foot installed and raised both sails, feels good. After I put a fair lead on the sprit the furler works even better, I am impressed with how simple and easy it works. Can't wait to try it next week. Post more later, I need to go buy some tires for the trailer and a deep cycle battery. Quote
Mike Pennington Posted May 2, 2003 Author Posted May 2, 2003 Three more work days and I start my first of four ten day vacations this summer. I have been busy, the furler works great after a little more fine tuning. The spool was probably the most difficult to attach without fouling the stay that runs through the center. Two bolts took care of that. I also did not glue the spool to the pvc 1/2 inch pipe the sail furls around incase I have problems later on. I used a peice of coat hanger to pin the two together, for quick removal. The wind has blown from all directions and both sails seem to fill well, I was a bit bothered that the inner jib would block the wind to the outer jib. So far, works great. I did have to block the wheels or the boat would have done the wind wagon thing. New tires on the boat trailer, $180 for two, tubes included. Glad I mounted them myself or they would have got me for even more dollars. I'll start on the ellectrical system today after I get off work, it is amazing how much I can get done when I know I am going sailing in a few days after procrastinating all winter. Quote
Johannah Posted May 4, 2003 Posted May 4, 2003 Somehow the boat looks huge with 2 headsails. I have your scrounged jib packed to mail this week. It looked big to me before seeing the boat again. Hope it has enough sailcloth to work with! Quote
Mike Pennington Posted May 5, 2003 Author Posted May 5, 2003 I saw my first Weekender this week. In comparison a good anology would be a Saint Bernard and a poodle. No offence I all ways did do things with jumbo in mind, though there are times when I wish I built a Weekender. Okay, I got my camera loaded, and I am off to the south to get the hull wet. I will be driving slow so maybe I'll catch a good pic or two of some wildlife for you, Johannah. I am playing around with the tarp sails to find the right size and shape for that material. Thanks again! Quote
Barry Pyeatt Posted May 5, 2003 Posted May 5, 2003 Been playing with a lot of ideas from others and yours is one of the simpler solutions to the idea. Kinda wondering about the idea of Duct taping the head to the PVC though to hold it. I know that the RED/GREEN School of thought prevails here but I just don't know if that is what I want to do. :roll: Been thinking about a thin kerf up the PVC pipe from the spool to the top with the wire stay set into the leading edge of the sail and then slipped into the slot. I'm concerned there about the potential for chafing against the edge of the kerf. My thinking is to ease the edges and make it smooth so there isn't a sharp edge to rub against. Then attaching the stay to a swivel top and bottom so it turns with the roller. Tension on the swivels is a concern for this as well and finding good strong, inexpensive swivels are the current challenge. :? Have a couple different "Ace is the place" freebee spools and one beauty from "Home Despot". Nice strong white poly with a good solid core. But I had to buy the rest of the wire that was on it to get it. That's OK, it is wire I need anyway for the electrical system. Was also concerned about the diameter of the pipe causing airflow issues over the sail. Paul J had mentioned that as an issue. So was looking at some nice CPVC in small diameter. It ain't white though, kinda that creamy yellow/beige. Maybe it matches my deck better. So I'm looking forward to a "sailing report" and followup. Quote
Mike Pennington Posted May 6, 2003 Author Posted May 6, 2003 Barry, I saw the smaller diameter pvc, that would work, too. I like the idea of running the edge of the sail up a sleeve, much neater. When I make a Dacron outer jib I'll certainly need a much cleaner, nice looking way to attach the sail. Almost all packed, new trailer tires, Too. I should be on Big Lake by tomorrow afternoon. Depending on weather, I'll see how many days I can live on board and sail. I got to find some one nieve enough to stay on shore with the camera, though. "Did you take fifty pics? Okay you can go sailing now." :roll: Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.