thank you Merill.
27 2005-09-27 07:36:58
Re: C26 for sale (17 replies, posted in General Questions/Comments)
Hi smh,
sorry for posting there, I couldn't find your e-mail anywhere on the site.
Yes, please post it on the For Sale page. The boat is in Montreal.
thanks,
Christian
29 2005-09-26 07:50:41
Re: WINDVANES (22 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
I have a Cape Horn that I bought 2 years ago. I steered in all conditions for 2000 miles on the Atlantic this summer. No negative remarks at all.
Mine is for sale now, either with the boat or without. It's slightly bent after land transport this summer but Yves Gelinas will fix it for me.
30 2005-09-14 07:35:11
Re: Contessa 26: Cape Horn (40 replies, posted in Technical)
I agree with you too, Christopher. That's the beauty of it. I think smh's comments were very smart, based on rational and sound judgement combined with the voice of experience. You too are right.
I believe the boat would make it but we are the weakest link in the system.
People often make 2 mistakes when they go offshore: they're not in good shape and they didn't sail their boats enough.
Being in good physical shape is a prerequisite here, because physically this is the Everest. Mental strength is THE MOST decisive factor in all this. A solid inner structure is required in an individual here, because obviously this is not a place for the faint-hearted.
Patience is another virtue, the lack of which could kill you, pushing one into making stupid decisions when no decision may be necessary.
And most important of all, we have to want to be there and nowhere else. When this becomes a necessity rather that a fluke, it helps us mentally to go through the tough moments we will encounter, simply because we are where we should be.
31 2005-09-13 15:21:45
Re: Prop Shaft Dilemma (11 replies, posted in Technical)
What's S.O.P. by the way?
32 2005-09-13 15:20:45
Re: Prop Shaft Dilemma (11 replies, posted in Technical)
Mine were crosswired and yet it happened. I even sank 2 holes in the shaft so they had something to catch on. Yet it happened.
I tightened them to the max, yet...
Maybe they don't go all the way down the thread?
33 2005-09-13 08:04:22
Re: Prop Shaft Dilemma (11 replies, posted in Technical)
Guys,
what on earth can be done about the prop shaft wanting to slip out of the boat and mess up everything?
During this trip from Halifax to Bermuda this summer, the propeller turned for about 1300 miles while sailing so one sunny day I hear a squeaking sound from the bilge. As I need to lay down every time I exert my intellect, I went into my bunk and pondered on the source of that disturbing sound. Seconds later I pictured the stainless steel clamp I put on the shaft (as a safety against such mishaps), carving into the nut of the packing gland (sorry if the lingo is not right here).
I quickly jumped in the cockpit, opened the access hatch et voila,
the shaft is only milimetres from leaving the flange, with the key precariously hanging above a deep bilge, and the clamp eating away at the bronze nut of the packing gland.
I find the 2 screws in the flange that are supposed to hold the shaft are a joke. The twisting force of the propeller through the water when covering such distances is too much for them.
For the rest of the voyage I locked the prop in reverse and thus lost 0,5 knots (12 miles per 24h!) of precious boat speed. Even so, we did 800 miles in 8 days which is not so bad for this little boat.
Any ideas how to make a more serious safety system for this potentially dangerous problem?
34 2005-09-08 12:37:17
Re: Contessa 26: Cape Horn (40 replies, posted in Technical)
Yes, this summer I launched at Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron before departing for Bermuda. Beautiful place indeed.
35 2005-09-07 14:08:00
Re: Contessa 26: Cape Horn (40 replies, posted in Technical)
Good stuff!
So it seems the most intrusive mods would be the keel and the rig, in that order.
Then comes the rum tank...
37 2005-09-06 07:39:07
Re: Contessa 26: Cape Horn (40 replies, posted in Technical)
Can you pump three hundred gallons of Gosling's to the high-side and use it as rum ballast on those rainy days?
38 2005-09-02 08:00:16
Re: Contessa 26: Cape Horn (40 replies, posted in Technical)
Excellent! A pro will always be a pro.
No. 11 is already taken care of, then I'll start going backwards.
But Merill, is it necessary to have the chainplates to outside of hull? What about reinforcing the knees and bolting some mega chain plates with backing plates in the existing place and then have 8mm uppers and forestay wire?
What about the windows? Shouldn't we have Lexan or 1/2 inch Plexiglass and a fiberglass door (submarine type, as seen on the French Open 60s) with big handles so we can close ourselves in when it gets a bit windy out there?
As for the rest, hats off.
39 2005-09-01 07:58:22
Re: Contessa 26: Cape Horn (40 replies, posted in Technical)
Hello Gents,
since it's been a bit quiet here lately, here's little creative assignment for you folks, just to liven things up a bit.
You get this crazy idea one day to sail from Vancouver to Halifax around the Horn. You'll sail first to San Francisco, then straight to the Marquesas, then, Tahiti, Bora-Bora, Moorea, then Easther Island, down to the Roaring 40's around the Horn, onto Falklands, Mar del Plata, Rio, Carribean and back to the east coast.
You smile at this first, then you drop it, but the incubation process started already and while you keep denying it, in your subconscious, it forms into a plan.
What would you do to prepare the boat for such a voyage?
I don't want to hear "buy a 65 foot steel cutter" or go onto a ship as a cook or any other such nonsense.
You HAVE to sail your Contessa 26, you have no choice, let's say you've been convicted to a 1 year around the Horn sailing probation.
So start using your experience, instinct, creativity and make this boat safe enough to bring you back.
There.