26

(9 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)

27

(9 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)

Onto the shroud? surely you mean onto the forestay?

Not recommended if you have a genoa furler as it can kink the foil if the spinnaker fills with a bang.

Every sailmaker's instructions for flying one loose with just a tack line say to get the tack line turning block on a strong point as far forward as possible.

I'd look at getting an eye big enough to attach a block with a swivel snap shackle welded to the top edge of the bow roller  port side plate.

28

(9 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)

29

(9 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)

The deck light is only used for short periods.  It doesn't really matter if that section is LED or not as the power savings on 5 minutes or less of usage per hour are negligable.  Its usually a 10 or 20W 12V halogen spot light bulb with a bi-pin base available off the shelf in any good hardware store. 

An all round white at the masthead is difficult to pick out against shore lights and may not be seen in time by fast small craft overtaking from astern.  They are looking at the water where they are going, not up in the air.  I certainly wouldn't eliminate the dedicated steaming light, though I do have the bow light + masthead all round white wired on the selector switch for backup use or if I'm motor-sailing sufficiently far out for shore lights not to be an issue.   I also don't use the tricolour if sailing inshore for the same reason.

30

(9 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)

It takes a lot of cable ties to effectively stop the cables slapping.  Also it makes it very difficult to install the cables if there is limited access.   N.B. if there are *ANY* internal halyards the cables *MUST* be effectively secured clear of the halyards and cable ties left long are NOT a good idea.

31

(9 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)

I assume you mean a combined masthead tricolour and anchor light  and also a combined steaming and deck light on the front of the mast at approximately spreader height.   Both can be wired with three core cable, sharing a common negative return for the two functions in each unit. In the case of the masthead light, you never have tricolor and anchor on at the same time so the voltage drop in the common return wire is no greater than for a single light.   For the steaming and deck light, the only time both get used together is when the engine is running and the higher charging voltage is enough to compensate for the extra voltage drop due to sharing a common wire.

I replaced both without removing the mast base.   The old wires unfortunately had been secured with globs of expanding foam so they came out in pieces with considerable effort and the chunks of loose degraded foam were a real PITA to  break up and remove through the tiny access holes I had.   Replacement wasn't too tricky as I have a permanent mousing line through the mast from head to foot so I could use it to fish into place two lines, one to pull each cable through to its correct hole.   I put pairs of cable ties with the tails left long at approximately 3' intervals as I pulled in each cable to stop them slapping around too much.

However your mast cabling may be fixed in a totally different way - some makes of mast sections have an internal track for special conduit or to take slides fastened to a cable bundle at intervals so before doing anything you will need to figure out how the existing wiring is secured.

Depending on the amount of wear on the rivet holes you may need to go up a size and they will need to be Monel or stainless which require a significantly higher capacity rivet gun to set than aluminium ones do.  Also if the mast base is not already loose it may be very difficult to remove without damage.   Talk to a real rigger before doing anything too drastic . . . .

I presume he meant cranked but didn't fire.  That usually happens when the corrosion gets bad enough that the exhaust valve is failing to seat cleanly, but can also be a symptom of low compression from other causes or air in the fuel system or injector or injection pump problems.   If it starts in hot weather but not cold, the compression is marginal.

"The head was sent to a shop who pronounced it dead on arrival thanks to corrosion, clogging, etc so it was tossed out."

Uh-Oh.  I hope the previous owner stripped the rocker assembly, injector and pre-combustion chamber from the head and kept them before sending it off.  Otherwise its all extra costs.   The next thing you need to do is have a good look at the cylinder bore with a good light and an inspection mirror and the piston right down at BDC.  If you've got a friend who rebuilds any sort of engines, get them to take a look.  If its got more than very light traces of flash rust (that just wipes off) it will probably need honing + new rings or even boring and a new over-size piston.  That's a job for a specialist.

Not running the engine much wont kill the head.  However sailing downwind in heavy weather without some way of stopping the exhaust flooding will.  As I am not a purist, I frequently find it more convenient to run the engine rather than stuff a foam rubber ball on the end of a cord up the exhaust outlet in the transom to keep the waves out.

As my marina is fairly deep with pontoons on piles, I am able to run the engine in gear at full throttle in the slip without the wash causing any problems for anyone.   If I haven't given the engine a good run recently I try to run it up to around 80% for half an hour continuous every month or two. That is long enough I can be sure everything reaches full operating temperature, it helps dry out any condensation in the oil and does a lot to control cylinder wall glazing.  A good run at longer intervals is far more beneficial than short runs more frequently.

If you are in winter freeze territory, winterize properly and leave the engine at TDC with the exhaust and cooling hose disconnected from the injection elbow and its interior sprayed with anti-corrosion oil and seal with tape and plastic with a fresh non-corrosive dessicant sachet stuffed up it.  The air intake also wants sealing + a dessicant sachet.

Treat the injection elbow as a wear part.  It tends to develop pinholes  where the injected water hits the inner tube.   Inspect carefully annually.

It depends what you are hoping to achieve.   You will be lucky to get more than a couple of knots in smooth water and an offset small outboard + a long keel is fairly marginal for manouvering in marinas unless you have a crew member squatting on the stern deck manning the outboard controls and steering it.   You will need to remove it and stow it inboard in heavy weather or it will get drowned.    You then have all the issues with stowing petrol aboard.     

How 'removed' was the old inboard?  If the shaft and sterngear are still there consider reinstalling an inboard.  If on the other hand, everything has been ripped out and the shaft log etc. glassed up, it is a far bigger job.   Do look at costings closely.

37

(9 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)

I belive you are planning to go off blue water cruising?

The other issue I would be concerned about is the vulnerability of your new stemhead fitting to impact damage and the single point of failure it represents.  It's obviously built like the proverbial brick outhouse, but if you ever prang that bow roller badly, you will be worrying about the rig coming down and will have great difficulty jury rigging a secure forestay attachment or even getting the fitting repaired in smaller/more remote ports.   

Consider going back to Stainless Outfitters and getting a carefully fitted strap down the stem added so the forward edge of the fitting can be effectively through bolted.  You cannot afford to rely on undersized fixings that far aft with the amount of leverage the bow roller has. Without the stem strap, I'd want at least 7/16 bolts with some of them out near the corners.  As-is, I'd be worried about the potential snatch loads on the roller riding out a bad storm in an anchorage.

You might want to get a suitable attachment point for an assymetric added at the sme time, even if you currently aren't planning on carrying such a sail.

38

(9 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)

I don't recommend using a bow shackle.  They are significantly weaker than the ordinary U shaped ones.    What load is the swivel snap shackle rated for?   

The other easy way of stopping the snap shackle beating up the deck is to add a loop of very light bungee through its closed eye and round or even through the bottle screw.  Do NOT use cord as you don't want it to strain the bottle screw if you drop the jib and lash it to the guard wire.

In the bad old days, you would have a number of snap shackles on different length wire strops to suite the different tack heights required for one's smaller sails, but nowdays it is easier to splice a loop of Vectran or Dyneema single braid direct to the tack of the sail to get the height where you want it.  Any foresail with an extension strop on the tack should also have a small shackle through the tack eye or loop to go round the forestay so the sheet tension transferred through the foot doesn't pull the tack away from the stay, putting an unfair strain on the bottom hank.

You are likely to experience chafe on the foot of your No.1 Genoa.  Plastic covers over the guard wires from the first stanchon forward to the pulpit help. If you have pins securing the wires to the pulpit, put the ring clips on the outside, NOT the inside, and tape them well.  Even so, expect to have to add an anti-chafe patch to the sail once you see where the wear is.  Your smaller foresails probably have a higher cut foot and can be used with a strop so wont have a serious chafe problem.

39

(10 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)

40

(10 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)

CO26 tubular spreaders are a lot stiffer vertically than flat spreaders.  Mine certainly aren't seized and there is no evidence that they have ever been seized.

Also there is a lot of difference between good practice  with galvanized wire + wooden spreaders, and stainless wire + aluminium spreaders.

A simple seizing on stainless wire could create exactly the conditions required to cause crevice corrosion - a void full of concentrated brine with no free oxygen.   I've seen a crevice the size of a grain of cooked rice develop in a stainless steel pump shaft under a lip seal where it sat for the winter excluding oxygen from the metal surface.  A similar problem with a shroud would have eaten away three or four strands.

41

(1 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)

Whatever you use, it mustn't promote crevice corrosion.  As the wire isn't oil free, you are *NEVER* going to get perfect adhesion from any setting caulk and that's asking for trouble.   My first inclination would be to go with a 50/50 mix of Lanacote and Duralac, but lets see what the experts say

42

(5 replies, posted in For Sale)

Sounds like a #1 genoa.

43

(5 replies, posted in For Sale)

There's something wrong there.  A #4 headsail is a heavy weather sail smaller than a working jib but bigger than a storm jib.

The numbering goes in the opposite direction to the sail area. #1 is the largest genoa you can carry and #5 is a storm jib.

Perhaps if you posted the actual sail dimensions we'd know what you were offering.

44

(12 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)

It very much depends on the sheaveboxes.   Mine are welded into the masthead and are constructed of aluminium plate with a divider between the main and genoa halyard sheaves so there is no way of adding a third sheave unless I was to go down to under half width sheaves.   Also you are vastly increasing the risk of a halyard jumping its sheave and jamming not only itself but the adjacent sheave as well.

Your topping lift and spinny halyard ropes blocks and fittings should all be strong enough to go up the mast on if you have to, and if you ever need to be towed off a shoal by a small workboat or a RIB, you will worry a lot less if your spinny halyard and block have the same breaking load as your cap shroud.

45

(12 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)

Got an edge on view of the sheave?  It *may* just be possible to clean out the wire groove then build it up with epoxy and Kevlar roving to an acceptable profile.   

Otherwise any competent machine shop could duplicate the sheave in Tufnol with a press-fit Oilite bronze bushing.   Unless the pin is in excellent condition, it needs replacing at the same time as if it is worn the new bushing will rapidly degrade due to uneven loading.

Be aware the pin may not be true in the sheave box and this can result in a new or rebushed sheave jamming under load or even the need to increase clearances excessively to get the sheave to turn freely. You may need thin washers cut from UHMWPE sheet (preferably molybdenum disulphide impregnated UHMWPE) to take the side loading and prevent jamming.

DONT make end caps out of oak or PVC as the crushing load on them can be extreme.  My original end caps are cast aluminium plugs with a vertical groove for the shroud in the protruding end (which is the same diameter as the tube exterior). The shroud is retained with a stainless strap with two right angle bends to fit round the end of the cap and through bolted horizontally with two bolts right through the strap the side of the tube,  the plug, the other side of the tube and the other end of the strap..    Anyone with a lathe could turn one for you out of aluminium bar stock quite easily, and the shroud grooves you could cut yourself, finishing with a round file fractionally larger than the shroud diameter.   Don't forget vinyl tape under the strap to isolate the dissimilar metals and Duralac bedding everything to prevent rapid  corrosion. 

The sockets at my spreader roots originally had rubber collars or something similar.   The spreader is through-bolted vertically through the sockets.   I found that offcuts of white heads intake hose was the perfect diameter and resilience to replace the decayed remnants of the collars, with more Duralac under it to prevent poultice corrosion.

47

(2 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)

Possible as-is if moored in still water directly between two boats with the same height or higher masts with strong enough spinny halyards + a competent team under the direction of someone with an appropriate background in high load handling by traditional ropework.

Personally, I wouldn't care to tackle the job that way as I don't have enough high load overhead handling experience to cope with the unexpected elegantly.  Get it wrong and you put the team and the other boats.at risk. 

Otherwise you need a pivot at the mast footwith a safe working load at least 5 times the mast weight  (or preferably a tabernacle) and a substantial A frame.   It is possible to use the boom as a gin pole, but the bridles for lateral support must be substantial, very low stretch and taken to high load pivot points that are dead in line with the axis of the mast foot pivot.

By the time you've got the gear to do it, unless you are going to use it often, craning is probably cheaper.   And Yes, I have sailed a yacht with the A frame setup and used it to drop and raise the mast for fixed bridges while underway.

My very early J Rogers boat has two gudgeons, above waterline, above the prop  + a heel fitting on the keel that a pivot pin on the bottom of the rudder locates into.   The heel fitting is a shoe over the last 3" of the keel which is recessed to take it,  bedded in on epoxy and with bronze rivets right through it.   All the below waterline rudder fittings had to be replaced when I got the boat and I was lucky enough to be able to buy the last heel fitting Jeremy had left over from the original production run.   As there are fairly large external stainless straps holding the fittings on my rudder, I have various 2" diameter anodes on the heel fitting and pintle strap to reduce the risk of electrolysis which had contributed to the original failure.

In your case, I would look at getting a lower gudgeon made up that wraps around the sides of the keel a bit.  If the bottom corner of the keel isn't solid, you don't want to through bolt or pin - too much risk of an inaccessible leak. I'd look at lacing Kevlar roving throgh a matrix of holes in the sides of the fitting then epoxying it into place and glassing over to fair and reinforce.

49

(8 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)

Two Rolling hitches or a Prusik loop done with flexible cord approx 1/3 the stay diameter will hold reliably on 1x19 wire.   Pop the toggle at the top corner through the loop and push it up the stay to the desired height.  A half hitch round the stay just below the flag holds it close to the stay, and if the tail is thin enough, two rolling hitches will hold the flag taut, otherwise use another Prusik to tie off to.

N.B.   Take the Prusiks off the stay when you take the flag down when you leave the boat - you don't want a buildup of dirt excluding oxygen from the stainless surface as that can cause crevice corrosion.   

P.S. If you clamp anything round a stay use Duralac to reduce the risk of  corrosion.