winter projects - what have you?

[ndutton]

My step-father's Tartan is a keel stepped mast, but it has an anti-compression post (a rod) that holds the deck to the keel/mast plate as well.

That's a pan rod Shawn (aka tie-rod) and it is an essential structural component on boats with keel stepped masts. Alternatively a "mast partner" may suffice instead for this function to allow the mast to pass through but at the same time a beefy through-bolt goes through it and the mast in shear. Either configuration is there to keep the deck from pumping UP under sailing loads.

The Alan Gurney Islander 36 had a pan rod (clearly visible in the picture) while the Bob Perry Islander 32 had a mast partner. We called the I-32 mast partner a witch's hat because of it's appearance when held upside down combined with its black anodized color.

[sastanley]

Thanks Neil..that is exactly what I meant.

Halycon, Catalina Direct sells a plate for that purpose..when I pulled the rig down a few years ago to replace standing rigging, I briefly considered, but chose to keep the halyards on the mast.

The new-ish Farr 30 I race on has a halyard lock (think Hobie 16) for the main halyard...all to reduce upward deck loads & mast compression as much as possible. I've trimmed the mainsail on that boat...there are some massive loads on that bad boy.

[HalcyonS]

I ended up taking a 8"+- piece of 3/4" PVC pipe and cut a slit in it full lenght. Worked the pipe over the forestay, tied the downhaul to the pipe and added duct tape for that rustic look. It actually works quite well. The pipe slides well and seems to give even force on the hank so the hank is less likely to twist and bind.

Nice

> I did not move the winches. I just use the old DB57, thats me, to haul in the halyards. The luff is not as tight as it "should" be but I can live with that.


I do much the same thing with my jib. I haul the halyard around the cleat on the mast as tight as possible, then pull down the tack with a small handybilly shackled to the stem with a cam cleat - gets it nice and tight.

[sastanley]

HalcyonS, Sounds great. We ran a jib cunningham on J/24's back in the day..same problem..no winch for the jib and/or you couldn't afford to take weight off the rail if you wanted to adjust the draft with the halyard..so it was double ended to the bow guy near the shrouds. This also didn't affect the jib car (clew) position, which halyard tension does.

I like the anti-hank-binder too....great trick!

[Mo]

a few sticks in the fire

Boat show going ahead here in Halifax this coming weekend. Feb 20-23. It was this week in 2007 that I spotted Odyssey on Boats.com and bought her on the spot after talking to the owner...I was in the Arctic running a medical clinic, the boat was in Cotuit Mass.

It was just by coincidence that I put my old boat Volition, a C&C 24, on Kijiji the weekend of the boat show in Halifax. She sold by Sunday night, unseen except by description. Her new owner was a Chief in the Navy and had gone to the boat show...then went home and had a look at local boats on-line...and I guess word of mouth took care of the sale when he asked a few people about the boat and her price. She had all newer sails (within 2 yrs old) and well maintained. There were people with bigger boats for sale but he bought mine and we have been great friends since as well. I was only a two boat owner a couple of days.

This years projects have expanded a bit:
--Gauges and panel: I have a good friend who is a marine electrician and he has offered to put in my gauges / panel that has been sitting in the garage for 5 or 6 years...just may take him up on it.
--My good friend Brad is a sailmaker/rigger and he's giving my dodger a face lift. New windows, panels etc to bring it back from the brink.
--My 100% jib is getting a good going over ... Brad again.
--Life-lines replacement: Considered spectra and of course vinyl covered life-lines...Brad steps up and tells me put SS, no covering on them. It meets racing guidelines as well....so that will happen as well.
--Mast...paint is worn of from repeated abuse and use...will touch that up but no plans to take it down...will ride the rope on that one as necessary.

For a guy that put the boat to bed with little required it seems I've got a few little projects for the near future...as soon as it warms up a bit.

[hcrisp]

Lifelines

+1
I like the idea of bare SS lifelines.
H

[Mo]

SS lifelines

Howard,
Big thing is you can see bare SS lifelines and believe it or not corrosion is said to be less apt to occur...go figure.

[sastanley]

+1
I like the idea of bare SS lifelines.
H

Howard, I agree with Mo 100% that bare is better...the vinyl coating holds moisture = rust.

I just replaced all my lifelines this year with 3/16" Amsteel (dyneema). The breaking strength is 9,600 lbs!

The only issue here is chafe...make sure none of your stanchions have any burrs on them. csjohnson.com makes hardware compatible with soft lifelines.

People see my spectra lifelines and think I am weird, but the initial investment matched SS, and now the line will be much cheaper and I can re-use the hardware...it is fun splicing the lifelines on the boat at anchor.

[Mo]

Howard, I agree with Mo 100% that bare is better...the vinyl coating holds moisture = rust.

I just replaced all my lifelines this year with 3/16" Amsteel (dyneema). The breaking strength is 9,600 lbs!

The only issue here is chafe...make sure none of your stanchions have any burrs on them. csjohnson.com makes hardware compatible with soft lifelines.

People see my spectra lifelines and think I am weird, but the initial investment matched SS, and now the line will be much cheaper and I can re-use the hardware...it is fun splicing the lifelines on the boat at anchor.

My dock neighbor has a white hulled boat, pacific blue dodger and sail cover...he did blue spectra last year and boy does it look sharp...very sharp. I like the look myself but I don't want to do mine for a while again...so SS it is. My SS lifelines will be fairly inexpensive because Brad can use allot of the hardware I have on there already. He said that for a 30 ft boat it's about 26 feet of SS per run at $1+ a foot. 4 lifelines...he will come to the boat and bring his swage kit etc and we will do it over a few beers before she goes in.

As for the current lifelines on the boat: they are SS vinyl covered and its the ones on the gate and cockpit area that show rust right at the end of the vinyl cut. No burrs or strands showing but that is close to a swage and the rust is getting deeper in color...it's time.

[HalcyonS]

winter project - mast renovation

All the varnish had been blown off years ago. When I got it into my driveway I found rot in the foot (I suspected it). Removed all cleats, winches, lights etc. Sanded and ground it all back to clean wood. Filled splits and cracks with epoxy and wood flour. 3 coats linseed and turps, lean to fat. 2 coats marine penetrol.

On the mast so far, 4 coats cetol marine light and 2 of cetol marine gloss, sanding between coats. Several more coats of gloss to come. Masthead and spreaders painted white.

Today I replaced the masthead sheaves (thankyou Ernie Minney for having exactly 4 right tufnol sheaves for a couple of buck each ! ). To come - new steaming light, new masthead aerial, new halyards, and 3 ft of copper pipe to jam up the wiring hole at the foot (rot protection).

[sastanley]

Halcyon, looking good....way more work than I am willing to take on!

[joseph miller]

winter projects

just thought you might like to see my winter project. i bought a wreck and am now partial gutting and rebuild. Hope the pictures show

joe miller

[Mo]

Joe,

You bought a Grampian 30..cool. She'll be some boat when done!! For those of you that don't know you can remove the interiors of these Grampions and build the interior you want. Joe here is no slouch when it come to building either....can't wait to see her done. Hell of a winter to be working on her though Joe...allot of work but not overwhelming for the right guy doing it. Is she going in this year Joe??

[hanleyclifford]

You've got some good company out there: http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=83

[seapadrik]

Wow, There are some really ambitious projects on this thread...Nice !

I cant compete with the scope of some of these, but have an update for my AC wiring project.

The first photo is the old metal box that was my AC main. The other 2 photos are the ELCI Main panel ( front and back views ). Next up is to wire all new outlets in cabin.