Sailing reenactor
06-23-2009, 09:02 PM
Alright, first things first!
Since my last post on my thread in design/plans section I have been on the water twice.
The first was in the mid-spring when the wind was brisk but the water was still cold. Dad didn't want to go out because of water temp. so I was left by myself in a 15-20 mph steady wind. (stronger gusts) The boat FLEW along! However, it took me a minute to figure out how to handle the rudder and the sheet line at the same time. That minute was too long and I ended up laying the boat over in the water!:rolleyes: I have watched several you tube videos of people righting sail boats so within a few seconds I was back up and tearing through the water! John W. was right...I have got a liitle rocket of a boat. without the extra weight in the transom and with that good wind I was really moving. However, it took a second time in the water before I figured out that when the boat starts to tip I should LET GO of the sheet line; NOT hold it TIGHTER! LOL
Unfortuneately the wind was direct off shore so I was having much dificulty tacking back in. I let the sail down and tried to row back in, but the wind pushed me farther out and I made no headway! Then I decided to hoist sail and make another attempt, trying to make a small sand bar that stuck out from shore! (That way I wouldn't have to cut into the boat dock area!) Well, as I was getting ready to hoist the sail a large wave from a passing motor boat tossed the boat around causing me to drop the halyard and grasp the mast. The result was that the halyard blown by the wind fed back through the pulley at the top of the mast and dropped at my feet!:mad: Long story short dad got a motor boat to tow me back in.
Last week found me on the water again with a nice managable wind. The whole day was wonderful, except that once when we heeled over a bit, I lost a paddle. However, that time we managed to sail right up on shore, (against the wind) and when it came time to dock, I laid it right along side using mostly sail power and only a few paddle stokes. (The dock is behind a rock wall so I ran out of wind!) Overall it was a gentle learning experience.
Sooooo, now I am starting to fix the rotten mast step and doing some general overhall.
I cut the mast step out, which turned out to be some old rotten plywood. It was about like paper and just crumbled. I am going to replace it with a pressure treated (PT) 2x6.
The board that the mast fits through that is located above the step is also glassed ply. It will also be replaced with a PT 2x12. I do have a question about that though. When I cut the hole in the 2x12, should I line the hole with a steel ring to keep it from expandng when the mast rubs the inside of it? The other one seems a bit oval shaped, but it is only lined with fiberglass. Just wondering!
the next thing I looked into was the centerboard housing. It is wooden on top so that the pulleys can be screwed down, This last sailing trip the screws started coming out! So I started scraping glass off of the top and all of the wood on top of the housing is rotten as well. It was just some scrap 3/4 inch board that was used and apparently was not treated wood. So I scraped all of that off. What I want to do now is put a new PT 2x4 on top of the housing. This time using one whole piece and just cutting out the middle so that the centerboard fits through. What I am wondering is, the boards I took off were 3/4 inch tall. The 2x4 would be 1 3/4 inches tall. That would raise the centerboard up a whole inch. Is that going to effect the efficiancy of my centerboard?
Before I put a new board on top of the housing I want to reenforce it with a layer of glass. Then after I put the wood on I want to put another couple layers of glass on. The housing is about 1 inch thick but it is made out of some type of glass covered foam. What I want to know is, if I add a couple of layers of glass to the housing is it going to add too much weight to the boat. (extra glass, the wood on top of the housing and the mast step pieces all combined) I just don't know if that will affect the weight that much.
That's about all for now. I'll post pictures bellow of all that I am refering to.
My long term plan is to fix this boat up; make the refits mention, convert to all stainless hardware, and re-pain the boat with a high quality marine paint/enamel and varnish; then after enjoying the fruits of my labors or a while, sell the boat for at least what I have in it and use the money to build my first wooden boat! :eek:
Pictures gentlemen!
Thoughts??? Thanks!!!
Dave
Since my last post on my thread in design/plans section I have been on the water twice.
The first was in the mid-spring when the wind was brisk but the water was still cold. Dad didn't want to go out because of water temp. so I was left by myself in a 15-20 mph steady wind. (stronger gusts) The boat FLEW along! However, it took me a minute to figure out how to handle the rudder and the sheet line at the same time. That minute was too long and I ended up laying the boat over in the water!:rolleyes: I have watched several you tube videos of people righting sail boats so within a few seconds I was back up and tearing through the water! John W. was right...I have got a liitle rocket of a boat. without the extra weight in the transom and with that good wind I was really moving. However, it took a second time in the water before I figured out that when the boat starts to tip I should LET GO of the sheet line; NOT hold it TIGHTER! LOL
Unfortuneately the wind was direct off shore so I was having much dificulty tacking back in. I let the sail down and tried to row back in, but the wind pushed me farther out and I made no headway! Then I decided to hoist sail and make another attempt, trying to make a small sand bar that stuck out from shore! (That way I wouldn't have to cut into the boat dock area!) Well, as I was getting ready to hoist the sail a large wave from a passing motor boat tossed the boat around causing me to drop the halyard and grasp the mast. The result was that the halyard blown by the wind fed back through the pulley at the top of the mast and dropped at my feet!:mad: Long story short dad got a motor boat to tow me back in.
Last week found me on the water again with a nice managable wind. The whole day was wonderful, except that once when we heeled over a bit, I lost a paddle. However, that time we managed to sail right up on shore, (against the wind) and when it came time to dock, I laid it right along side using mostly sail power and only a few paddle stokes. (The dock is behind a rock wall so I ran out of wind!) Overall it was a gentle learning experience.
Sooooo, now I am starting to fix the rotten mast step and doing some general overhall.
I cut the mast step out, which turned out to be some old rotten plywood. It was about like paper and just crumbled. I am going to replace it with a pressure treated (PT) 2x6.
The board that the mast fits through that is located above the step is also glassed ply. It will also be replaced with a PT 2x12. I do have a question about that though. When I cut the hole in the 2x12, should I line the hole with a steel ring to keep it from expandng when the mast rubs the inside of it? The other one seems a bit oval shaped, but it is only lined with fiberglass. Just wondering!
the next thing I looked into was the centerboard housing. It is wooden on top so that the pulleys can be screwed down, This last sailing trip the screws started coming out! So I started scraping glass off of the top and all of the wood on top of the housing is rotten as well. It was just some scrap 3/4 inch board that was used and apparently was not treated wood. So I scraped all of that off. What I want to do now is put a new PT 2x4 on top of the housing. This time using one whole piece and just cutting out the middle so that the centerboard fits through. What I am wondering is, the boards I took off were 3/4 inch tall. The 2x4 would be 1 3/4 inches tall. That would raise the centerboard up a whole inch. Is that going to effect the efficiancy of my centerboard?
Before I put a new board on top of the housing I want to reenforce it with a layer of glass. Then after I put the wood on I want to put another couple layers of glass on. The housing is about 1 inch thick but it is made out of some type of glass covered foam. What I want to know is, if I add a couple of layers of glass to the housing is it going to add too much weight to the boat. (extra glass, the wood on top of the housing and the mast step pieces all combined) I just don't know if that will affect the weight that much.
That's about all for now. I'll post pictures bellow of all that I am refering to.
My long term plan is to fix this boat up; make the refits mention, convert to all stainless hardware, and re-pain the boat with a high quality marine paint/enamel and varnish; then after enjoying the fruits of my labors or a while, sell the boat for at least what I have in it and use the money to build my first wooden boat! :eek:
Pictures gentlemen!
Thoughts??? Thanks!!!
Dave