Forum Replies Created

Viewing 15 posts - 526 through 540 (of 708 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • in reply to: A few carpentry issues…. #14545
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Yes,  she will be a Series 1,  built only a couple of years before the introduction of the Series 2 design.

    Side benches first.    These are secured at either end,  so even without any remedial action they should be structurally secure;   the primary problem in respect of the failed joint to the thwart is keeping water out,  in order to prevent rot,  and to achieve that objective you need to seal that joint in some way.    Epoxy is a marvellous tool,  provided you can apply it to clean dry surfaces,  but I am not convinced that in this situation it will be possible to meet that condition (i.e. clean dry surfaces),  or to achieve an adequate spread of the epoxy over the whole of the joint surface,  without dismantling first.

    So I suggest that you have two options,  either take out the side benches,  properly clean up all the joints,  and then reassemble,  bonding the cleaned up joints with thickened epoxy.   Don’t omit to thicken the epoxy.    Alternatively,  inject a suitable sealant into the gap between side benches and thwart,  in which case I suggest that for this application there are better (and incidentally cheaper) alternatives to epoxy (see end of this post).

    The first route is arguably the best one,  but it is also the longer and potentially the more complex.    If you decide to go down that route you will have to separate the joints at either end of the side benches,  between the side bench and the supporting knees.   In older boats these joints may or may not have been glued,  but will certainly have been secured by wood screws.   In a boat of your pedigree I don’t know whether the builder bonded the joint,  nor what adhesive he used if he did.   If he used screws (either on their own or as well as an adhesive) I would quite expect that the heads may be recessed and capped by circular wood plugs which match the surrounding wood.

    It would be worth a look:   if there are no screws visible look for circular wood infills where you would expect screws to be,  where either you can see the outline of the circle or where the grain probably does not quite match the surrounding wood.   If you can find these wood plugs you can carefully remove them (drill,  followed by either a very small chisel or a craft knife around the edge),  taking care not to damage the screws.   Then remove the screws.   If you are in luck at this point,  either the joint will not have been glued in the first place,  or the glue will have failed,  in which case the side bench will simply lift off.   If it won’t just lift off,  a smart blow with a mallet,  underneath,  driving upwards,  as close to the joint as possible,  may free it;   don’t worry unduly if that results in the break being not entirely clean,  and slightly splintered,  because when you reassemble that will glue up again strongly and almost invisibly.

    If even that fails to lift the side benches,  or if they are bonded in place rather than being screwed,  they will probably have to be cut off.   Cut horizontally,  as accurately as possible along the glue line.  The traditional tool for this sort of job would have been a dovetail saw (like a tenon saw,  but smaller,  and with finer teeth),  but I have heard of owners doing this sort of job very effectively with electric oscillating multi-tools,  and although I have never used one I think that would be my tool of choice for this particular job;  a very fine cut and probably easier to deploy in the somewhat obstructed space around that joint.    Don’t worry unduly about the thickness of the saw cut;   if necessary you can insert hardwood shims into the joint when you reassemble,  but my guess is that if you use the tools suggested you may not need to do so because the saw cuts will be so thin that there is a good chance that heights will match well enough.

    Once you have the side benches removed,  then clean up all the joints;  then reassemble,  bonding all the joints with epoxy.   Wood plugs,  if you need them,  are readily available in teak from many chandlers,  commonly in a choice of 8, 10, or 12 mm diameters.   Note that wood plugs are not the same thing as wood dowels;   quite apart from being made of a marine hardwood,  which many commercially available dowels are not,  plugs differ from dowels in the cosmetically important feature that the grain is across the plug rather than along its principal axis.   Alternatively,  if you buy a set of plug cutters you can cut your own plugs out of solid wood,  but be warned that I have tried this and I find that the diameter of the resulting plugs is slightly smaller than the nominal diameter expected,  so it may be difficult to find a drill size (for drilling the hole to be plugged) which matches accurately;  and certainly you need to cut your plugs first and measure them before you finalise the size of the recessed screw hole.

    Insert the plugs into the screw holes with the grain of the plug parallel to the grain of the surrounding wood,  bonding the plugs in with epoxy,  and leaving some of the plug standing proud;   then when the epoxy has fully cured cut off the surplus wood from the plug (plane or chisel,  possibly preceded by dovetail saw if there is a lot of surplus to cut off),  and finally sand it smooth.    I don’t know what wood your builder used for the side benches at that period;   their earlier boats used mahogany,  but in later ones he took to laminating the thwart and possibly also the side benches from contrasting light and dark coloured wood.   Teak plugs in mahogany are not a perfect match,  but by the time the job has been sanded smooth and then varnished,  and then had a season’s sunlight on it,  they will be barely noticeable.

    The alternative approach,  very much simpler,  is to force up the middle of the side bench so far as possible,  and then inject a sealant using a cartridge gun.    I have two recommendations for this;  either a polysulphide sealant or a sealant adhesive such as CT1,  which is described as a “hybrid polymer sealant”.   Either are more likely to be successful than epoxy in this situation,  and both are better than silicone sealant (and at about the same price).  https://www.sealantsonline.co.uk/ProductGrp/Ct1-unique-all-in-one-sealant-adhesive

    This same supplier also lists polysulphide sealants,  but I have no first-hand experience of them;   however back in the eighties I regularly used Life-Calk,  another polusuphide sealant,  on my vintage wooden yacht,  and I was so impressed with it and used it so much that I kept a cartridge of it as part of my permanent onboard spares & repair kit.   It is still manufactured,  but it is an American product and I am not aware of any current UK importers apart from Amazon;  and Amazon,  somewhat unexpectedly for them,  sell it in only minuscule quantities and at an astronomical price.

    In both cases,  the instructions may be summarised as “Ideally apply to clean dry surfaces.   If necessary apply to tolerably clean damp surfaces.   In emergency can even be applied underwater.”   Impressive!   Be warned however that it sticks to everything,  voraciously,  so try to avoid getting it where it is not wanted.    Clean up any gross surplus with copious quantities of kitchen towel,  and then when only a smear of excess remains use kitchen towel dampened in meths  –  and I would guess that acetone would work equally well.

    If using this sealant route,  you may wish to also screw the side benches to the thwart.   If doing this,  avoid brass screws;   although once popular for mass production boatbuilding they are not  a truly marine quality material,  and tend to dezincify,   leaving the metal not only badly discoloured by also structurally very weak.   The top quality alternatives are stainless steel screws,  which are readily available,  or bronze screws.   The latter are expensive,  but you will need only four of them.    Few suppliers stock bronze screws;   I get mine from Classic Marine:  https://www.classicmarine.co.uk

    Hope this helps.

    This is enough for one post.   I will try to respond later to your other two queries.

     

    Oliver

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    in reply to: A few carpentry issues…. #14540
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    We have a little confusion here;   is your boat built of wood or fibreglass?    Unfortunately your description “Don Marine Mk.1 12801 is contradictory,  and in order to best assist you we need to establish exactly what you have!

    Boats designated by Mark numbers (Mk 1 through to Mk IV and IVa) are fibreglass;   boats designated by Series numbers (either Series 1 or Series 2) are wooden.    Don Marine built in wood,  and I am fairly sure that they later also built in plastic;   but not as early as the Mk 1 boats so far as I am aware,  and the sail number does not tally with Mk 1.    Mk 1 was succeeded by Mk 2 in 1969,  with sail no. 7930.   Your sail number dates your boat at 1987,  at a date when the FRP plastic boats were being produced.

    If you can clarify what boat you actually have we will be very happy to try to assist you.

     

    Oliver

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    in reply to: Complete Beginners guide to the GP14 rigging #14532
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    The boat as originally designed had indeed no jib tensioning system,  other than the halliard.   That was entirely normal for sailing dinghies generally at that time.

    The usual way to obtain adequate tension on the jib luff was then to use one (or more) of three techniques:

    1. Use traditional horn cleats to secure the halliard,  and “sweat on” the halliard when making it off.   This entails taking a half turn round the cleat,  to provide some friction;   then pull hard on the tail of the halliard (after it leaves the cleat) while simultaneously pulling the halliard between the cleat and the mast,  in a direction at right-angles.      This will pull another half-inch or so through the sheaves.    Then very quickly release the perpendicular pull,  and pull the end of the halliard that further half inch round the cleat,  relying on the friction in the sheaves to help prevent the newly gained extra half inch from running back into the mast.   That is why initially you take no more than one turn,  and usually no more than a single half turn,  round the cleat.     Naturally enough there is a limit to how many times you can surge a little more tension into the halliard;   it is a law of diminishing returns.   But it is remarkable how much more tension this technique can generate,  as compared with simply a straight pull and then making off to the cleat.   Although the attached photo is for a much larger boat  –  it shows my godson back in the eighties hoisting sail on my then yacht  –  the technique is the same;  in the photo he is just about to apply the perpendicular pull,  while still maintaining tension on the tail of the halliard.
    2. The crew pulls the mast forward by means of the forestay while the helmsman makes off the halliard to the cleat.   This can be done either by pulling the forestay (at a convenient height) horizontally forwards,  or by using two hands (or a home-made wooden tool) to put an S-bend into the forestay.   In either case,  this can only be done while the crew is ashore,  which implies that either the boat also is ashore or she is moored stem-on to a jetty,  and close enough for the crew to be standing on the jetty.
    3. If you are doing this while afloat,   one person makes off the halliard to the cleat while the other person pushes the mast forwards (at a point as high as can reasonably be managed).   The use of this method should be restricted to occasions when you are afloat,  since it requires two people to both be inside the boat,  which is not recommended when she is ashore.

    However there are a number of very simple and cheap retro-fits available which will enable you to achieve higher tensions;   a Highfield lever,  or a toothed rack (perhaps on the centreboard case) perpendicular to the halliard (between the exit from the mast and the cleat),  or even a simple block and tackle.   You may even be able to pick up the kit second-hand,  either at a Boat Jumble or via eBay or otherwise.   Even if your boat does not currently have any of these systems it is entirely open to you to fit one if you so wish;    as a beginner you will probably not yet see the need to do so,  but once you gain more experience you will very probably wish to do it.

    However for a seriously early vintage boat you may decide that historical authenticity is paramount,  in which case you are left with no tensioning aids.    For my 1951 vintage boats historical authenticity is indeed paramount,  and although I have not yet got round to it I intend to make up a home-made wooden “spanner” to temporarily put an S-bend into the forestay to assist with getting tension on the halliard while making it off to the cleat.

    Hope these ideas help.

     

    Oliver

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    Attachments:
    You must be logged in to view attached files.
    in reply to: Complete Beginners guide to the GP14 rigging #14525
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    I run the GP14 Owners Online Community.  and Chris’s document (above) reminds me that several years ago I compiled a photo album of the various rigging systems that have been used on GP14s over the years,  and I put it on that site.    It is now on our archive site at https://gp14building.wordpress.com/about/photos/gp14-rigging-systems/ and you may find it helpful.

    I am not certain whether you can get straight into that,  or whether you will need to “join” the Online Community first,  but I would encourage you to consider doing that anyway.   The Online Community and the Class Association maintain warm reciprocal relations,  and each support the other;   and as a purely online operation it is free.   https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GP14_Community/info

    This may be helpful to you.

     

    Oliver

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    in reply to: Complete Beginners guide to the GP14 rigging #14487
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Dave,

    Well done with your refresher course;   congratulations on how much you remembered,  and I am glad that it boosted your confidence.

    I concur with your plan to sail her under main alone on this first occasion,  for the reasons you indicate.   It is sensible also to limit yourself to no more than moderate wind strengths until you have built up experience and confidence.

    Another useful exercise for you,  if you have a genoa,  might on another occasion be to try sailing her under genoa alone.    A GP14 will sail effectively under genoa alone,  on any point of sailing,  including to windward.   Occasionally it is useful to be able to do so,  and getting to know how she handles and what to expect is all part of your growing knowledge of the boat.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Stepping mast single-handed #14419
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    A work in progress:    I have now written an article on this,  and the first draft is attached.   (UPDATE   timed at 1223:  some minor editing now done,  and file re-attached.)

    This is very much a first draft,  and it could do with the insertion of at least one diagram,  and possibly with some tweaking of the text,  but I hope that even as it currently stands it may be helpful to you.

    You could be of assistance in the editing process,  by constructive feedback on anything in the text which is not clear enough.

    I will do some more on this article at my leisure,  and will then get it put into the Members’ Library,  but in the meantime I hope this is helpful.

     

    Oliver

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Oliver Shaw. Reason: Minor editing of attached file
    Attachments:
    You must be logged in to view attached files.
    in reply to: Complete Beginners guide to the GP14 rigging #14418
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Grovelling apologies,  my post a few minutes ago was in reply to the wrong topic!

    Hope I have deleted it successfully;  and I will now post it again to the correct topic.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Complete Beginners guide to the GP14 rigging #14399
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    There are probably a number of generic books,  but I am not aware of any class specific ones.

    However I suspect that it might help to make contact in person.   I am thinking of initially a telephone discussion,  more than one if it helps;   but if the boat is at Glossop Sailing Club you are not too far away for us to meet,  if we can arrange a mutually convenient occasion.    Please contact me,  via the Association,  so that we can set up contact details.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Stepping mast single-handed #14382
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    I know I have answered this question more than once in the past,  and thought I had written an article about it,  but I’m blowed if I can now find it.

    If time permits it is possible that I may be able to reply properly this evening;   if not then it will possibly be next weekend.  From tomorrow I am booked to do a delivery trip/cruise,  delivering an inexperienced friend’s yacht to his marina further along the coast,  and making a cruise of it,  and giving him some seatime and experience,  so all being well I will be away sailing until Friday  –  but at the moment the weather forecast is looking very “iffy”,  and final decision is lunchtime tomorrow.

    Feel free to remind me towards the end of the week if I haven’t replied in the meantime.

     

    Oliver

     

    in reply to: New Member restoration tips #14370
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Bad luck that you have to strip the entire deck.    Some further tips there.

    I used to use a chemical stripper,  and I insisted that the only one worth using was Nitromors Original.   However more recently,  following a recommendation from a friend,  I have used an electric heat gun (with all due care not to scorch the wood!),  and I find this equally effective,  and more convenient,  and with cheaper running cost.

    A seriously sharp scraper is paramount.   The late Ian Proctor wrote in his book Racing Dinghy Maintenance about how,  and how frequently,  to sharpen it,  and for many decades that was the practice that I followed;   but technology has moved on.    These days I use a silicon carbide scraper,  with replaceable blades.   I bought mine from B&Q.   The blades are double-edged,  and each edge remains sharp for a good length of time;  you might well get half your deck done before you need to turn the blade round (to use the other edge).    Once both edges have been used,  just change the blade.    But,  as with abrasive paper,  don’t persevere with a worn blade;  replace it.

    Third tip,  if going back to bare wood use an appropriate varnish primer on the bare wood before you apply the varnish.    I have had excellent results in the past with Universal Clear Primer (from International Paints),  but that has been discontinued and replaced with a two-pot product with an absolute mouthful of a name,  Clear Wood Sealer Fast-Dry.   Again I have had excellent results with it;   four coats of that,  followed by four or five of varnish.

    An alternative approach is to coat the wood in epoxy resin before varnishing.   That is widely recommended for new construction,  provided you coat all surfaces,  including those which are hidden,  so that the wood is completely sealed and water cannot penetrate anywhere.   That benefit is lost if you are only doing the exposed surface of the deck.    I have had mixed results doing that with WEST epoxy;   it is such a hard surface when fully cured that I find it difficult to sand it really smooth,  and as a separate problem I have on some occasions had subsequent coats of varnish reacting badly with the epoxy.   The solution to the latter is to be assiduous in leaving the epoxy a generous length of time to fully cure before varnishing over it  –  a minimum of 48 hours,  and a week is safer  –  and also to be assiduous in removing any trace of amine blush which can form on the surface;   warm soapy water and a Scotchbrite pad are recommended for that,  but then be very sure to get rid of all the soap (or detergent) residue afterwards,  and follow up with a cloth dampened with thinners as mentioned previously.

    A possible variant on epoxy which may be easier to use is Interprotect,  from International Paints.   I have never used it and have no experience of it,  but it is described as a two-pot epoxy primer,  and I think it is clear.   As a product specifically designed as part of a painting (or varnishing?) scheme it might be a lot easier to use;   WEST epoxy is designed for a wider range of purposes.   A telephone discussion with International Paints’ Helpline might be useful if you are considering this.

    Hope this helps,

     

    Oliver

     

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    in reply to: New Member restoration tips #14362
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    A few other tips.

    One of the biggest problems in painting or varnishing a large area is maintaining a wet edge,  and if you brush over a part of the finish which has already started to set it will “pull” and will not flow out again.    With the hull there is no major problem if you paint the bottom and the sides separately;   whether you are doing the sides or the bottom you can start at the transom and work forward along one side to the stem and then back down the other side to the transom,  or vice versa,  and you never have to meet up with the region you painted first.

    If you wish to do the sides in one operation and the bottom in another you can make a neat and barely perceptible join along the line of the chines;   but if you use masking tape to separate the two operations allow at least four days for the paint to fully cure before applying the tape.   Then once you have painted the second region,  remove the masking tape while the paint is still wet.

    If you wish to do sides and bottom all in one operation you may perhaps have an issue with keeping a wet edge.   It might then pay to have an assistant,  if that can be arranged,  and perhaps one of you do the bottom while the other does the corresponding side;   but you would be working in immediate proximity (because working on opposite sides defeats the object),  so there is the risk of getting in each other’s way.   One alternative technique for two-man working recommended by International Paints is for first person to apply the paint by roller,  with the second following up immediately (before the paint has started to set) “tipping off” by brush;   I have never myself tried that with two-man working,  but I can confirm that I have not been able to adapt it successfully to one-man working.

    Varnishing the decks presents a different challenge.   Wherever you start,  you necessarily work round in a circuit,  and return to a point adjacent to your starting point.  It is absolutely vital that your final work butts up to but does not trespass into your initial work,  and it therefore pays to choose your starting point with care,  with that in mind.   Start with a clearly defined line,  and it also pays to choose different starting points on successive coats.   Options for that starting point include any of the four joints in the plywood (e.g. at either end of either side deck),  taking great care not to trespass the wrong side of the line in the ply either at start or at finish;   there are four such joins in the ply,  so you can vary the start point between successive coats.   Another option,  less well defined but very much shorter (so any imperfection will be less noticeable) is the very narrow space between the end of the wash board (the so-called spray deflector,  much better named deck water deflector) and the rubbing strake.

    I have found that if I include the washboards when varnishing the decks,  however careful I am not to apply the varnish too thickly there is still a tendency for some to run downwards off the washboards onto the deck and “pool” a little on the deck.    Next time  –  I am still learning after some 60 years  –  I shall use masking tape,  and do the decks and the washboards in separate operations,  at least for the final few coats.

    There is much else that could be said about general techniques,  but a lot of it will be found on the paint and varnish manufacturers’ websites.

    Hope this is helpful.

     

    Oliver

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    in reply to: New Member restoration tips #14357
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Congratulations on your acquisition;   enjoy!

    Choice of varnish:   to a large extent you get what you pay for.   If the boat is your pride and joy it is well worth using a top quality marine varnish,  but if she is merely functional and there is little pride in ownership then domestic quality paints and varnishes may well satisfy you.

    First set of questions are what age,  is there likely to be any movement in the wood (any at all …),  and is the existing paint and varnish likely to be two-pot?    If the boat is reasonably modern,  there is absolutely nil movement in the wood (e.g. edges of the ply …),  and if you are absolutely certain that the existing finish is two-pot,  then go for a two-pot polyurethane yacht finish.    International’s Perfection (paint) and Perfection Plus (varnish),  or the equivalent from other marine or yacht paint manufacturers (e.g. Epifanes,  Hempel,  Blakes),  is the stuff to use  –  but only if all those conditions are met.

    If any of those conditions are not met my gut feeling would be to use good quality one-pot conventional materials.   I know the International Paints range best,  but other manufacturers (as above) offer equally well thought of equivalents.   Toplac (paint) is a top of the range finish which I use regularly,  and it will not disappoint.   My personal favourite conventional varnish is Schooner (NOT Schooner Gold,  which seems not to flow out as beautifully),  but International also do Schooner Gold,  and Original,  and perhaps others.   The attachment shows my Series 1 Strait Laced in 2005,  finished with Toplac and Schooner,  and I think this speaks adequately to the quality that can be achieved with these products.

    Having said that,  there is a half-way house in the form of one-pot polyurethanes.   These came out in the sixties,  and I used them extensively at that time,  before eventually deciding that they were a poor compromise,  and I went right off them.   However last year I returned to them,  for the first time in many decades,  using Epifanes Monourethane on the topsides of my small yacht,  and I was most impressed with how easy it was to apply,  how well it flowed out,  and the quality of the gloss.   The jury is still out on how long it will last;  it hasn’t had enough time yet to demonstrate that quality.

    Four varnishing tips which may help.     First, if you find (as I did when I bought Strait Laced),  that there are localised places where the varnish is damaged you may be able to repair just the damaged areas in isolation,  going back to bare wood if necessary in those localised areas,  using an “artist” paint brush for very small areas,  and building up to a reasonable number of coats there.    Then sand down the entire area,  and put two or more coats over the whole of it.    Whether that is a viable way forward,  rather than stripping the whole deck (and transom?) back to bare wood and starting afresh,  will be a judgement call,  and it will depend on how localised is the damage.

    Second,  the old traditional dictum is that flatting down paint or varnish had to be done by hand,  no power tools,  because it had to be done wet,  using Wet Or Dry paper (silicone carbide paper) used with plenty of water;  regard 240-grit as medium-coarse,  and about 400 or finer for finish sanding.   However for the last dozen years I have consistently found that I get excellent results sanding down dry,  using a power sander (oscillating sander);  and the choice of grit numbers needs to be very different from WOD used wet and sanding by hand.   For an oscillating power sander,  regard 150 or higher grit number as medium-fine;  indeed that (or 180) will probably suffice for finish sanding,  and it is rare to find higher grit numbers available.    Don’t stint on replacing the sandpaper when it ceases to cut easily;  your time (and energy) are vastly more valuable that the cost of a few extra sheets of abrasive paper,  and it is just not worth exhausting yourself (and taking longer over the job) by continuing with paper which has lost its initial sharpness!

    Three,  having sanded,  thoroughly remove all sanding dust,  and all other grot and debris;  either by brush or vacuum cleaner,  or whatever.   Then wipe over the surface with a cloth damped with the correct thinners for the finish you are intending to apply,  and allow this to dry off;   if in any doubt that the surface is pristine clean,  repeat this step until such time as the cloth comes away clean.    Finally,  immediately before applying the finish wipe over with a decorator’s “Tack-rag”.

    Four,  and finally,  provide (or choose) the optimum environmental conditions,  particularly for the final coat.   Absolutely crucial are temperatures within the correct range (material,  and substrate,  and ambient);   absence of wind (if possible do the job indoors);   excellent lighting (so that you can look along the surface and see the quality of what you are achieving and ensure that you don’t put the finish on too thickly,  and that you don’t miss bits);   humidity not too high;  and (of course) don’t use paraffin heaters or anything else which will produce fumes which could affect the material as it cures.   Typically I like a temperature range of 15 to 25 deg. C,  but some finishes are OK down to 10 deg C, and others down to 5 deg C.   Temperatures much too high will result in the material starting to set so quickly that you have difficulty maintaining a wet edge.   The most important environmental conditions may well be specified on the can,  but I would encourage you to download the product data sheet from the manufacturer’s website.

    International Paints operate a telephone Helpline,  which on the isolated occasions when I have used it I have found most helpful;  top quality advice,  usually from their Technical Manager in person (or maybe I have just been lucky).    I would expect that the other manufacturers offer something similar,  but I have no first-hand experience.

    Hope this helps.

     

    Oliver

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    Attachments:
    You must be logged in to view attached files.
    in reply to: Gp14 rigging questions #14282
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    An interesting post from Chris.

    “I suggest you try both and see which works best for you – like everything, there is “more than one way to skin the cat” – it’s just a matter of preference! The main thing is “enjoy your sailing!””

    Agreed,  absolutely.    But if you choose the method that Chris suggests for hoisting the main,  do make absolutely sure that you hoist the head fully up to the black band,  in order to achieve the correct luff tension.   All too often I have seen sails,  usually I think in the hands of less experienced skippers,  with the head of the sail a couple of inches (or more) below the black band   –   and with the then inevitable numerous horizontal creases or even downright folds in the sail.   There is a derogatory expression which I think it better not to use on the forum,  referring to elderly ladies’ underwear,  to describe how the sail then appears to be setting!

     

    Oliver

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    in reply to: Gp14 rigging questions #14257
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Excellent.

    Follow up on fitting a decent reefing system;   it can often make life so much easier,  and in extremis it could save your life.

    Incidentally racing and cruising are not only different,  they are also complementary,  and there is a place for both.    I reckon that I learned much of my boat handling and most of my boat speed skills from racing,  and much of my seamanship from cruising.   Both sets of skills are useful.

    And there is a classic definition of a yacht race;  any two sailing boas in sight of each other!

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Gp14 rigging questions #14255
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Choice of rope for the main halliard:

    Material;  dyneema will be effectively almost completely non-stretch,  but pre-stretched polyester has a lot of benefits and is likely to be good enough.    Certainly pre-stretched terylene (which was a trade name for what I think is the same material) was a very popular racing choice several decades ago,  and more recently I have used pre-stretched polyester and been unable to detect any stretch in it.

    Avoid nylon for this purpose;  this has more stretch than any other type of rope,  which is why it is the preferred material for anchor warps and mooring lines,  but it is no use for sheets or halliards.   Non-prestretched polyester comes somewhere between the two,  but I gather that it stretches almost as much as nylon.

    Diameter:  On early masts 3/4-inch (circumference) rope was the standard,  which approximately corresponds to the modern 6 mm (diameter);   however that may be too fat for the sheave boxes of some modern masts,  since they are often designed for wire halliards.   I used 6 mm dyneema when I had A Capella built,  and it worked well,  but when I later had to replace the mast (another boat in the dinghy park blew over onto my one during a storm) although this same halliard worked in the new mast it had an undesirable amount of friction.   On my previous boat I used 5 mm pre-stretched polyester,  which worked perfectly in all respects.    I have also known some owners use 4 mm dyneema.

    My personal choice would by 5 mm pre-stretched polyester,  for ease of handling and for good tolerance of tight radii (something which dyneema won’t tolerate  –  see the recent RYA Safety Advisory on that topic),  but before committing yourself try a small sample in your sheave boxes.

    Hope this helps,

     

    Oliver

Viewing 15 posts - 526 through 540 (of 708 total)