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I can't comment on gel vs. non-gel as I've only had non-gel.  I top it up once a season so it's not a lot of work.  It's been submerged a few times in both salt and fresh water and so far no ill effects.  (wish I could say the same about me).

I only have the one battery.  It runs VHF, Chart Plotter, depth sounder/knot log and lights.  I also use it to run the bilge pump when I don't feel like pumping.  I have never had it run down.  I charge it up once a year and then let the 6A generator on my motor take care of it.  I know battery experts may say this isn't the best way to treat a battery but what can I say?  It's not on the "A" list    My battery is about 8 years old.

One thing I'd advise is to make sure your battery is well secured wherever it is.  If you go aground or get knocked down you don't want to lose your electrical system because your battery terminals have come off.  You'd be without lights and may not know where you are - not at all cool. 

Welcome to the wonderful world of CO26.  I ooh and ahh over the interiors of Beneteaus and Hunters compared to my somewhat shabby, home-made interior.  I enjoy the majestic lines and impressive speed of those giant european boats.  But no other boat makes me happy like my Contessa.

I like to sit at the bow with my son.  That means giving the tiller to my wife or someone else.  This is usually ok until the person on the help wants to go do something else.

What if I ran two lines via block from either side of the tiller up to the bow and steered the boat from there?  Kinda like a remote "Tiller Tamer". 

This seems to make sense in my head but I haven't actually seen anything like this.  What do you guys think?

It's 6 amps.  V x A = 72 watts.  Daytime draw is 2 watts.  Nighttime is 40-50 watts.  So I've got some headroom.  Will the battery act as a bit of a black hole?

I'm thinking of an auto helm this year or next.  The ST1000 is rated for boats up to 6600 lbs.  I'm wondering two things 1) does this mean the boat with out people and their gear?  2) given the large rudder of the CO26, should I only look at the ST2000 which goes to 10000 lbs?

The previous owner of my Contessa used jumper cables clipped to the shrouds and dangled over the sides.  Thudersorms are rare here.  In Ontario we would often see more in a week than we'd see in years here.  In 5 seasons of sailing here I have not once sailed in a thunderstorm except way off shore in the gulf of maine so a temporary solution (ie something deployed for a couple of hours) is fine with me...if it makes sense!

Does dangling jumper cables make sense?

Are you guys having a prayer meeting?

My contessa is so plain it didn't come with anything...not even an interior.  I'm starting to wonder how many other things like cubby holes there are that I could add.  First priority is some sort of storage below.  I have a bare hull from the quarter-berth cusions to the headliner.

Maybe the pet peek should be mounted on the sides of the boat!   But seriously...while I like the idea of steering inside, practically speaking ther reason I want a hatch is I want to be able to stand up while I cook and I want to get more light down below.   I did not consider the width needed to get a foot of height.  Perhaps a standard hatch supported on four sides with clear lexan walls would suffice.  Might be slightly ugly though.

I see several people mentioning roller furling.  It seems to me that most sails aren't constructed to be reefed using a roller, in fact I think it will damaged them.  I like being heeled over for a bit but the novelty wears off.  The weaterhelm is irritating, the wear on the rigging is greater, and, in my opinion, performace suffers (though I understand others think differently). 

In terms of excitement, people I sail with appear to have much more fun when I send them forward to change a headsail than when the boat's heeled over and they're staring at the water.  After that it's much easier for them to participate in what's going on (e.g. trimming a jib that's not flogging), bring me food, or enjoy the scenery. 

On women and sailing I have this to say: of all the people I've ever taken sailing, more women than men seem to have the natural sailing ability.  I know this is statistically irrelevant...or can anyone corroberate?  I was particularly moved when sailing with a woman a couple of weeks ago.  It was only her second time and she turned to me with emotion stongly showing in her eyes and said "I was born to be a sailor".  After 35 years she figured it out.  I don't know if she'd have been able to feel that emotion so strongly if she'd be scambling to hold on while we heeled way over.

Mine is also a 1974.  Hull #125.  Thanks for the good advice.  I didn't want to haul her out until the end of the season (meaning I didn't want to spend the $75, the time off work, etc).  I have access to dive gear so I was planning to do that and use my underwater camera.  If that is inconclusive I will definitely haul.  I usually leave her in a bubbler but had already decided to haul her this year.

I did sail her back from Sambro (about 5 hours) in stiff wind and even at 6.5 kts there was no wobbling or other weirdness.  The bilge is also very dry.  One thing I did notice is that the gel coat is scraped off so I can see light coming through the hull in a couple of places above the water line.  No sign of stress fractures around these areas though.  My interior was not built in the factory (in fact the boat appears to be completely home made inside complete with hockey sticks used for framing.  Completely different from the what yours looks like) so there are many places where it's easy to see the bare hull from the inside making inspection fairly easy.   I'm somewhat concerned about the keel but only because I can't see it.  Is there a place where it could seperate from the hull? 

Any advice on what to use to repair gel coat?  I know you can use gel coat but I also heard about some other options.

Thanks.

Maybe it's a dopey Wednesday afternoon but I can't find "tech notes".  I also searched for the phrases "designing a mainsheet traveller" and "Traveller on Rhiannon" and couldn't find anything.  Where should I be looking?