Maiden Voyage
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:53 pm
Well, I made my first trip out on my SJ today.It was cooler than normal for the Carolinas, lower 70s, and the wind was awesome, 11-14 knots. As i was rigging i was actually nervous watching the wind build since i was really looking for a boring day with light winds for my first day. i had the kids and wife coming along, so I was worried about excessive heel that might scare them off the whole endeavor. i actually went ahead to the marina where i am keeping the boat to rig and called them to come when i was ready. The boat itself is in great condition for its age, but the standing and running rigging, including blocks, will get replaced this winter. There is a homemade furler on the forestay, which i couldn't figure out and will remove ultimately as i don't see the point. the forestay has to be bent in order to trailer with this setup and it makes be nervous because the cable has been compromised there. i may buy a real furler down the road, but for now, i will just leave the jib off in big wind. i ended up just flying the main today and it was perfect. When i called the wife to come she was running behind, which was fortunate because it gave me time to check the keel winch. i removed the observation plate and played with the winch. it turns out it was wound the opposite direction from how it should have been. i could pull the cable with my hand and it would unwind. i was doubting myself, thinking, "if they sailed it like this, it must be right", but finally decided the physics were just all wrong. i re-wound it and it turned out to be the right thing to do. i am afraid that if i hadn't, the keel would have just dropped like a stone when i floated it off the trailer. retrieving it would have also been a problem, scary.
Nevertheless, we got her launched with the wife pulling the truck up the ramp. unfortunately, this marina has no dock, only a beach and i had to pull the boat up on the beach to load the wife and 2 kids. I got everything set up and we were off. it was a blast. my wife asked if she could try and ended up sailing about half the time! she loved it, which is good, since she is the CFO. Everyone calls these 'dinghies' in terms of their sailing characteristics, but it was very smooth and the gusts we had were nothing. sure the boat heeled, but i am used to actual dinghies, so this was very gradual and quite comfortable. our sail shape was abysmal, but i was looking to de-power anyway, so it was fine. the kids loved the cabin and the heel that i feared would scare everyone turned out to be nothing. Anywho, here are the questions that i ended up with for the collective knowledge you all have:
1. how long should the forestay and backstay be? i have read most of the jim hubbard archives and it seems most answers to this question are, "the same as the old one". however, even with the backstay turnbuckle fully tightened, neither shroud was very taught. i would never be able to achieve the vaunted mask rake i know i will want with this set up. therefore, i am thinking one or the other has been replaced previously and one is incorrect, disallowing any tension.
2. the keel bolt also did not fit well. i am suspicious that the previous owner never lowered the keel since "repairing' the winch (see keel winch repair above) and just found the largest bolt that would fit the hole where the pin goes. it should be smaller i believe. does the bolt have to be very snug when inserted into the keel or can i get a big enough one that won't sheer, but will easily fit the hole in the keel? i shoved a large screwdriver in either side today as a jury rig and obviously won't do that again.
surprisingly, that is all my questions for now. i found plenty of things to fix, but feel pretty comfortable in doing all of them. I am glad i bought the SJ and am excited about all the time i will spend on her in the future. thanks again for all yall's help.
PS: i plan on sewing my own cushions for the interior and will document the whole process as a "how to" since i have struggled to find a specific thread on this.
kuriti
Nevertheless, we got her launched with the wife pulling the truck up the ramp. unfortunately, this marina has no dock, only a beach and i had to pull the boat up on the beach to load the wife and 2 kids. I got everything set up and we were off. it was a blast. my wife asked if she could try and ended up sailing about half the time! she loved it, which is good, since she is the CFO. Everyone calls these 'dinghies' in terms of their sailing characteristics, but it was very smooth and the gusts we had were nothing. sure the boat heeled, but i am used to actual dinghies, so this was very gradual and quite comfortable. our sail shape was abysmal, but i was looking to de-power anyway, so it was fine. the kids loved the cabin and the heel that i feared would scare everyone turned out to be nothing. Anywho, here are the questions that i ended up with for the collective knowledge you all have:
1. how long should the forestay and backstay be? i have read most of the jim hubbard archives and it seems most answers to this question are, "the same as the old one". however, even with the backstay turnbuckle fully tightened, neither shroud was very taught. i would never be able to achieve the vaunted mask rake i know i will want with this set up. therefore, i am thinking one or the other has been replaced previously and one is incorrect, disallowing any tension.
2. the keel bolt also did not fit well. i am suspicious that the previous owner never lowered the keel since "repairing' the winch (see keel winch repair above) and just found the largest bolt that would fit the hole where the pin goes. it should be smaller i believe. does the bolt have to be very snug when inserted into the keel or can i get a big enough one that won't sheer, but will easily fit the hole in the keel? i shoved a large screwdriver in either side today as a jury rig and obviously won't do that again.
surprisingly, that is all my questions for now. i found plenty of things to fix, but feel pretty comfortable in doing all of them. I am glad i bought the SJ and am excited about all the time i will spend on her in the future. thanks again for all yall's help.
PS: i plan on sewing my own cushions for the interior and will document the whole process as a "how to" since i have struggled to find a specific thread on this.
kuriti