Post Launch

9/9/06: first day back from Tom's wedding and the Jersey Shore. I'm not disappointed I didn't bring the boat to Jersey. I would have had only 2 potential days of sailing, and even though those were beautiful days, it would have been a long trip. Plus, I reconnoitered several boat ramps and either the Tennesee Ave. or the Corson's Inlet ramp would have been very difficult to launch from. No docks to speak of, and very narrow. Maybe next year.

Today I drilled holes in the starboard beams and attached a winch to attempt to get my beams lined up. The system seems to be working fairly well but it's difficult to get enough tension in the small Amsteel that goes between the shackle and the eye in the large Amsteel. Tomorrow I will try winching in even tighter, but I'm worried about something exploding on me. I may send the lines back to APS for shortening and use a turnbuckle instead of a lashing. Regardless, it should be a sufficient solution except for the niggling detail that the line could potentially trip somebody going from the cockpit to the tramp. On the other hand, who's going to go onto the tramp from anyplace but the beam?

I unfolded the starboard side in the yard. Quite an experience with Jerry and Tanya helping. There's a slight dent in the float side where it was resting on the fender for the last trip home, which is annoying, but no real damage. I touched up the paint and now that the waterline is painted properly I won't be embarassed to have pictures taken.

I bought a new GPS cable to attempt to download my track from the maiden voyage. Unfortunately all the track points were consumed in San Francisco so all I have are some very old ones.

The only thing I feel like I absolutely have to do before the next sail is fabricate the boom end topping lift/mainsheet assembly, so I can adequately roll the sail without messing with the mainsheet. Dwyer sent the tangs I need so I may be able to make progress on it tomorrow.

List of important tasks:

1. X tiller deadeye for tripping jam cleat, and eyebolts
2. X reinforce bow chainplate-roller bracket connection
3. X drill holes for beam-to-beam braces
4. X make washers for beam bolts
5. X figure out how to lower or replace outboard bracket. Maybe mount bracket directly on lower transom (above swim step). Test first with piece of plywood attached to existing bracket.
6. X topping lift bungee at mast.
7. X resolve outhaul and rolling issues.
8. X install beam compression pads.
9. X epoxy-fill and tighten beam bolt pads.
10. X aft mast support.
    A solution for the aft mast stay occurred to me. Just use plywood triangle plates, reinforced with carbon, bolted to the mast support tubes, to bring the roller slightly higher and aft of the tubes, say 12".
11. X Lower mast raising padeye about a foot.
12. Weigh boat @ Flying J: 3460 lbs boat+gear, 360 lbs tongue weight.

I'm starting to work on the bow tube. Need to prime and paint, figure out hold-up fitting, and rig stays.

On 9/11, I make some progress on the mainsail's roller furling system. I laminate an oak block, wrap a layer of unidir around it, and drill a 3/8" hole through the middle. If I could MIG weld Al I would probably have made a u-shaped fitting from aluminum instead but mine is probably the same weight. It's bolted to the boom end, and the two tangs from Dwyer are bolted to the end. I use two tangs because that lets the topping lift rotate independently of the mainsheet, which it's going to want to do anytime the boom isn't centered.

I also measure the lines I will need for my bow pole. The side stays will be from Precourt and the running pull-down line from APS. It's Dyneema with a polyester cover so I can cleat it on the bow cleats. It will run from a Dwyer boom fitting near the waterline on the bow, through the u-bolt on the pole, back down to the waterline, up over the mast raising roller, and back to the bow cleat.

On 9/16, Tanya and I spend our first night on the boat, at a campsite at Alum Creek. I reserve the campsite for 2 reasons: in case we can't actually sleep on the boat and because the campsites have power, so I can potentially run a cord down to the boat. This proves to be a good idea because there's no way my cordless drill is going to be able to drill holes for the beam bolt pads. I attach the last pad (aft starboard) after winching the beams closer again. Unfortunately the Amsteel beam alignment lines I had APS make are a bit too long to fit a turnbuckle, and the Amsteel lashing has too much stretch to keep the beams aligned. I'll have to get a smaller turnbuckle or have APS re-splice the line.

9/23: progress on the net supports, bow pole, and aft mast support. Problems with the "self-etching" metal primer for the bow pole: it simply doesn't work. I should have known, since the directions say "For best results use above 70 degrees", which really means "Doesn't work for shit unless it's broiling out." I applied primer and paint in about 65 degrees and the paint scratches off with a fingernail. At least the aluminum is bright and shiny underneath.

9/28: Replacement for the temporary aft mast support, finishing touches on the bow pole, drilled and filled holes in the beam flanges for the nets, and sewing sewing sewing repair patches onto the tramps.

I tried out the screacher and furling system, and it works great, at least in the yard. It will be interesting to see how it works on the water. I haven't figured out where to run the furling line, so I'll just cleat it at the bow for now. I might try to attach eyestraps along the hull. If I go underneath the beams, the line might be pinched when I fold, but if I go over the beams, I'll have to make sure it doesn't snag when I fold.

The system for using the screacher will be as follows: When launching, I will rig the pole but not necessarily attach the screacher. I will attach the halyard to the pole as a backup to the headstay. When I'm ready to attach the screacher, I'll uncleat the pull-down line (whose bitter end will be tied to the deck cleat or the pulpit), pull up the pole, and shackle the screacher drum to the pole. I will need a Schaefer or Wichard non-rotating snapshackle. Then I'll drop the pole and cleat it down. The furled screacher will run along the deck to the net. Then I'll hoist and away we go.

Running the screacher halyard was simple with the help of a bicycle chain. I attached it to a light nylon line and pushed it through the exit block. I raised the mast and it dropped right down. I fished the line out at the clutch exit plate, and cut it so the chain dropped to the mast base. Then I taped the line to the halyard and pulled it back up inside the mast. Just when I was wondering when the duct-taped joint between the messenger line and the halyard was going to snag in the mast exit block, it showed up in my hands. I also removed the backwards-facing jib halyard clutch and the out-of-reach spinnaker halyard clutch. I had to fish their backing plates out of the mast using a stick with a wad of duct tape on the end. I also had to re-rig the backing plates to use 1/4"x20 tee nuts buried in glass, instead of the metric nuts that came with the clutches. I have to remember to write on the mast, underneath the clutch, that the cap screws are english, not metric, in case I ever take them off again. I will also use 5200 to bed the backing plates, since the epoxy made a nice form-fitting pad but it popped off the aluminum pretty easily.

I re-painted the deck with non-skid. I used Interdeck, and since it wasn't exactly as white as my Epifanes, I covered it with the latter after a day. The granules are a lot smaller than those on the existing non-skid areas, but it still feels like it will work well, and it was far easier to do than mixing and stippling the powdery stuff.

10/22: Removed the main halyard clutch, since I installed it the first time with the handle facing the wrong direction, and replaced it. I thought I would want the handle to face away from the jib halyard, but I realized with use that it's confusing to have it face the opposite direction, and it won't tangle with the jib halyard anyway. It's probably not strictly necessary to have a backing plate behind the clutch, but installing it was easier than tapping holes in the thin skin of the mast. I also removed the spinnaker clutch since it was 7 feet above the deck but I haven't reinstalled it yet.

Next major project to think about is the head. I'm trying to decide whether to plumb any pump-out options other than a deck fill, and whether to build my own holding tank into the v-berth, or just use an off-the-shelf one. I think I will start with the deck fill, and a y-valve to divert overboard, and use my bilge pump if I ever need to pump out at sea.

Hardware I'll need:

• holding tank
• deck plate
• y-valve
• head
• pump
• inlet through-hull
• outlet through-hull
• inlet hose
• outlet hose (head->y, y->outlet, y->tank, tank->deck)

1. install wingnet supports on floats and attach hull supports.
2. X bolt mast base to mast
3. X run gps usb cable through galley, hook up galley drain, install shelves
4. X install solar charge controller and figure out how to attach solar panels to controller
5. X drill vent hole in head hose and attach pumpout hose
6. build short table legs for cockpit and inside
7. X main hatch hasp
8. X brace to lock forward hatch
9. X measure bow for nets and reinforce under deck for pulpit
10. X rudder kickup: install 3/8" wood dowel and move padeye and tripping cleat
11. X cockpit seating
    C Cushion $26/sqft = $468
    Bottomsiders $503

12. X tiller extension.
13. X bug screens
14. mount cooler
15. X reinforce and paint companionway ladder support
16. transom fairing at lower rudder bracket
17. • float vents, and replace screw-in plates with t-handle plates

18. ventilators in cockpit storage compartments
19. cockpit hatch covers and hinges
20. X check trailer brakes and hubs.
    

Long-term updates:

1. Jib furling: free-flying with Precourt or CDI?
2. Figure out an intenal sliding outboard mount. Use small boat traveler track diagonal from top of well to under CMM. Should I center it or put it just behind the starboard aft beam?
3. tillers on beams?