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Oliver Shaw
ModeratorIt seems that you have an “interesting” job on your hands.
Thankfully I have never had to tackle that sort of a task, but from your description your reasoning seems sound, and use of a router may well be a sensible way forward.
I think it fairly unlikely that the original would not have been marine ply, but not all marine ply is to the same standards, and this boat seems to have suffered prolonged abuse. My <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>guess</span>, for several reasons, is that the ply might be at the bottom end of the marine ply spectrum, and very probably Robbins Elite. That is not for one moment to denigrate a very good product; but the manufacturers specify it with only a 15-year guarantee, as contrasted with the 25-year guarantee of their more expensive Super-Elite and Super-Elite Plus. Their Elite range is very popular for dinghy decks, and is designed as a comparatively lightweight ply; to quote their website, “<span style=”color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;”>Due to its excellent strength to weight ratio, it is also very popular for dinghy construction and racing boat building.”</span>
Since Robbins are possibly the biggest headline name in the marine ply manufacturing business, my guess is that your deck may well be either their Elite or their Tiger-Elite; the latter is effectively the same product, but with a stripey sapele outer surface. This may help you in finding a match.
5 mm sounds a very likely thickness. 4 mm is the class minimum, but a great many builders prefer 5 mm because it is that much stronger and less vulnerable, and with modern timbers the boats are still coming out under weight even with 5 mm decks.
Sadly I doubt whether you will ever achieve a perfect visual match, if only because the existing deck will have faded over the years whereas your new insert will not. However if you think it worth the effort you could get some way towards a match by stripping the existing varnish back to bare wood and power sanding (but only in moderation, and with great care) to get through the worst of the faded wood. But that will be a big labour …
Hope this helps.
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorJust a thought; you said that you were taking the halliard to a mast pulley rather than Highfield.
I am not entirely clear about your present arrangement, and indeed a number of different arrangements are possible, some of them very different. But if your wire halliard terminates in a wire loop and you then have rope looped through that, which is the usual modern method, it is essential that the rope is used only for hauling, and not for transmitting the full rig tension. It absolutely must be the wire loop and not the rope which is hooked over (or otherwise secured to) whatever system you have for tensioning the rig. And, as Norman rightly says, ensure that the rope is not trapped between the wire eye and whatever fitting it is secured to; get it well out of the way, every time.
However if you make fast your halliard to a cleat to take the full load, as would be entirely consistent with the date of your boat, then you can’t use this sort of wire-plus-rope halliard, and the simplest (and probably cheapest) alternative is all-rope. Dyneema or Spectra is virtually non-stretch and is eminently suitable, but “in the old days” – contemporary with the build of your boat – a great many of us routinely used just pre-stretched terylene (polyester, in modern parlance), and the stretch of even that was not a major issue.
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorThe RWO drum normally works very well, although their top swivel has too much friction to work when you apply full rig tension to modern standards. But that is not the issue that you are describing.
When I first fitted headsail reefing, (full reefing, not just furling) I initially had the problem that you describe when I first rigged it, but I almost immediately found the cause; there was not enough clearance at the stemhead fitting to keep the forestay completely clear of the drum, and the tension on the forestay was tending to distort the semi-flexible housing of the drum just sufficiently to introduce friction.
Slacking off the forestay just a little solved the problem, for all time. If that turns out to be the cause of your problem also, once you have found the correct forestay tension for your boat it is very easy then to set it correctly just by feel whenever you step the mast; and it can normally be left set throughout a cruising holiday, and indeed throughout a full season at your home club.
It is a fairly critical balance to be found; too much forestay tension and it will impeded the drum, but too little and the forestay will wrap around the sail as you furl it. However trial and error before you launch will find the optimum setting within two or three minutes.
Hope this helps,
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorYou are almost right.
The usual method is to pass the rope through the wire eye, and form an eye splice in the rope, so you have two permanent interlocking eyes.
The difficulty with that is that if you are using braided rope, including most dyneema ropes, splicing it is totally different from splicing three-strand (which is fairly easy), and from my personal point of view it is not in my skill set. However I understand that it is in fact also fairly easy; but you do need the specialist splicing needle, in the correct size for the rope you are using – each splicing needle is suitable for only one size of rope.
A simple alternative for those of use who do not have the necessary kit, and have never learned to splice braided rope, is indeed a good tight seizing; preferably a racking seizing (figure-of-eight in section, going almost fully round each part of the rope in turn), with perhaps a simple seizing on top.
One problem, though, with any form of seizing is that the exposed end of the rope can drift outwards, and create problems in pulling the rope through a fairlead or a hole or a sheave. If that is an issue, a short piece of heat-shrink tubing may be the answer.
Hope this helps,
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorOfficially, building plans are available from the Association office.
Whether they still have the Series 1 plans I don’t know, but at least it is worth asking.
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorYou will probably find the book published by Bell Woodworking, Home Boat Building Made Easy, helpful. It is long out of print, but may well be available via the usual online second-hand booksellers. Alternatively there is a scanned copy on the GP14 Owners Online Community site, which I think is what you meant by the Yahoo site that you mentioned.
Another book that may be helpful, is by Ian Proctor; Racing Dinghy Maintenance. That is also a “period book”, and I suspect long out of print but again available via the usual sources.
And you will find a lot of help and support within the GP14 Owners Online Community.
Hope this helps,
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorYes; many people have done it. Indeed, most serious cruising GP14 sailors regard this as an essential part of the rig.
I would refer you to the paper on reefing systems in the Members’ Library on this site, which should answer all your questions.
Using your sail which is older than the best (or did you mean older than the rest?) as a reefing sail: yes, fine, but only if it is in good enough condition, and if it will set reasonably flat when reefed.
Oliver
(Erstwhile Cruising Rep; and a.k.a. “He who reefs”)
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorThere are a number of options.
Simplest, cheapest, and arguably the most flexible (and therefore the most sensitive), but not the most easily seen nor the most durable, are short lengths of wool or cotton thread tied onto the shrouds.
Alternatively there are proprietory ones in the form of narrow strips of very light cloth, sold in red and green pairs, which typically fit the mid-point round the shrouds and the two halves then stick together (self-adhesive or otherwise) close to the shrouds, leaving the “tails” free to waft in the breeze. I recently bought some of this general type from Speed Sails, actually made by Ronstan; these were not self-adhesive, but came instead with a small circular patch of self-adhesive material which one folds double around the shroud and which traps the tell-tales. The drawback with these is that in very light winds they are a little stiff, and also they are not particularly good on a run, since they are normally set up with the tails pointing initially dead astern, and thus on a run the tails have to deflect through 180 degrees. A choice of several on these pages: http://www.speedsails.co.uk/search.aspx?keyword=tell%20tales, http://www.purplemarine.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=tell+tales, or http://www.force4.co.uk and then seach on “tell tales”.
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorBeing a cruising man rather than a racer, I have a piece of shockcord stretched across the boat just beneath the tiller, secured beneath the decks. This is a very useful tiller brake when required; just lift it over the tiller, so that it now bears on the top of the tiller instead of being clear beneath it, and it will hold the tiller in position reasonably well. It is not as good a tiller brake as the “HuntingfordHelm Impeder” (you can Google that if you are interested), but on a boat as beautifully balanced as the GP14 (or, at least, she SHOULD be almost perfectly balanced) it is normally sufficient.
When rowing I leave the rudder in place, and just hook the shockcord over the tiller to keep it central.
Since you are new to the class, and sail in northeastern USA, may I suggest that you make contact with Bruce Idleman and/or Brian Scarborough. Bruce is President of the USA/Canada branch of the Class Association, and both of them are Moderators of the GP14 Owners Online Community. I am sure you will find them most helpful, and they are both in northeastern USA, but how local (or otherwise) that is to you is not for me to say! https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GP14_Community/info.
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorYes!
And the boat was of course originally designed for rowing as one option. Having said that, she is not the easiest boat to row, but it is a very viable means of continued propulsion when the wind fails.
Paddle/s, every time, for the very short burst; but oars every time for the long haul.
I always carry oars, but use them only when necessary. But on one of those necessary occasions, admittedly in my youth, the row when the wind failed was from Worthing back to Littlehampton, somewhere around 5 miles; I don’t remember whether we had the tide with us or against us, but I suspect that it must have been with us.
Buy the longest oars which you can physically stow in the boat. I think from memory that mine are 8-ft. I have found two options for stowage: my current choice is on the cockpit sole (or floorboards in a series 1 boat), as far outboard as possible, retained in position be either clips or shockcord. In that location they will not get in the way when sailing, but they are just slightly awkward to either stow away or to extricate when you need to use them. Fifty years ago I stowed my oars along the side benches, again as far outboard as possible, and secured in clips; compared with stowing them beneath the thwart they are much easier to stow and to access, but they do sometimes get slightly in the way when sailing.
It might be worth rigging a permanent topping lift, to support the boom in its normal rigged position when you drop the sails. Carry a few sail ties, and you can very quickly secure sail as well as boom where they are reasonably out of the way when you are rowing. Having the boom and mainsail lying in the cockpit while you are rowing is something of a nuisance.
Position the rowlock (more correctly crutch) holes comfortably abaft the thwart. Next time I go down to the boat I will try to remember to measure up the position of my ones. Most importantly, position them as far outboard as is reasonably possible, particularly if you let the plates into the deck so that they lie flush; failure to do this is liable to lead you to scuff the varnish of your oars and – much more importantly – that of your rubbing strake if the oar digs a correct depth while pulling.
Materials for the crutches (rowlocks): I have no faith that plastic is strong enough, and the manufacturers attempt to compensate for a weak material by making them very bulky. Hence my choice would always be metal. Unfortunately the choice then is either el cheapo galvanised ones, which are fairly utilitarian and mildly ugly, or comparatively expensive alternatives. Very nice polished stainless steel one periodically come up on eBay, but supplies are very intermittent. Polished chrome on brass can sometimes be sourced by a good chandler. Classic Marine routinely stock polished gunmetal ones, which are a very attractive option for a vintage boat. A “cheat’s solution” to the problem is to use galvanised crutches, but stow them out of sight when they are not actually in use, but polished stainless steel deck plates (let into the deck so that they sit flush) to plate tops of the holes; your local stainless steel fabricator should be able to make up a couple of deck plates for only a very few quid.
Hope this helps,
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorI confess that I had never given any thought to advising someone unfamiliar with the various transom sheeting options how to retrofit one to the boat. I have numerous photos available, and I think it would be worth putting a paper together, which I shall aim to do very shortly.
Meanwhile if you like to email me, via the Association Office, I can then send it to yoiu when it is ready.
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorGood luck with your quest.
If you want the sails for cruising, don’t be tempted with clapped out racing sails. A good cruising sail is a very different animal from a good racing sail; it will be cut flatter, of a very different cloth, it will better stand up to the sort of abuse which is inevitable in cruising (e.g. being sat on, being strapped down to the boom with sail ties, being crumpled, etc), it will be designed to set well when reefed as well as when full, and it will be more strongly reinforced.
Insisting on one with reef points – which you will need anyway – is a useful preliminary screening process even though it is not a perfect screen; some may be found which are “retired” racing sails which have had reef points added, and some excellent cruising sails may have never had them fitted. Nonetheless the balance of probability is that a second-hand sail with reef points is very likely to have been built as a cruising sail in the first place, and most cruising sails will have had reef points fitted at outset.
Another good clue to identify cruising sails is the manufacturer. Edge Sails are probably the headline name in GP14 cruising sails, and although they also make racing sails (mainly for other classes) they are not particularly known for GP14 racing sails. But they do seem to be the generally preferred sailmaker for GP14 cruising sails, and they do offer cruising sails as a speciality. Jeckells used to make GP14 sails, although not in recent years so far as I am aware, and outside GP14s they are well known for both their cruising sails and their racing sails.
I have the impression that many of the popular GP14 sailmakers of today produce only racing sails. Very good they are, for that purpose, but out and out racing sails do not make good cruising sails.
Beyond that, look for copious reinforcing, and a flatter cut than most racing sails.
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorBy coincidence, some months ago I wrote an article on anchors for my club’s Newsletter, which is derived from material that I developed for the Seamanship Course that I periodically run for the club. Checking through it today in the course of editing the Newsletter I realise that this article answers many of your queries.
If you care to email me, via the Association, I would be happy to send you a copy of the article.
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorSome good further queries. I will get back to you shortly, when time is less pressing.
Oliver
Oliver Shaw
ModeratorI think you are just about spot on, except that you may not need as heavy an anchor as 5 kg.
A great deal depends on the type of anchor you choose, as well as on other factors such as the type of bottom, and the circumstances in which the anchor is deployed.
When I started sailing GPs, in the sixties, with a home base in the Mersey (where spring tides run at up to 6 knots, and wind against tide can produce vertical walls of water), the usual standard for GPs in my club was a 4-1/2 lb Danforth and 15 fathoms of rope. In round terms that translates to 2 kg and 30 m. Few owners if any used chain as well. I never knew of one of those anchors dragging.
When I had my present GP built 10 years ago I bought a 2 kg stainless steel generic Bruce, with perhaps 2 m of chain, and 30 m of warp. That arrangement has been nominally on trial ever since, and I also carry a “Commando” system which comprises a demountable 1.2 kg Guardian with chain and warp. However I have never yet used the Guardian for any purpose other than as a second anchor when I have wanted two anchors in opposing directions, and the “trial” of my nominal Bruce has continued for 10 years (and effectively become permanent) because it has never yet let me down. I do carry, but have never needed to use, an emergency extension anchor warp, which is a further 30 m. Should I ever need to use that, the two warps are joined by interlocking eye splices (already spliced in), as I won’t trust knots in slippery synthetic ropes under water if my life might depend on it, and I say that as someone who has many times taught ropework.
Other points: be cautious of cheap “copies” of established designs. Although there are exceptions, many of them differ slightly (in order to avoid patent infringements) in details which make all the difference to either holding power or even structural strength, and do not hold anything like as well as the originals.
Some owners swear by fisherman anchors, others swear AT them! I think the fair assessment there is that they may be the best all-round anchor for a very wide variety of bottoms, including rock, but only if large enough, and that you would need one AT LEAST twice the weight of the Danforth that you would otherwise need to hold the boat; say a minimum of 5 kg for a GP14, and preferably larger. Then they are cumbersome to stow aboard unless dissasembled; if disassembled they are fiddly to prepare for use; and because the settle on the bottom with one sharp fluke sticking upwards they can be positively dangerous in shallow water. You wouldn’t want your boat (or someone else’s boat) to dry out on top of that spike, nor would you want a swimmer to suffer injury on it.
Avoid folding grapnel anchors; they are utterly notorious for not holding.
At the 2 kg size, one of the best is the steel Danforth, or the equivalent Guardian (a top quality Danforth-type in aluminium). Guardian (and Fortress) anchors are aluminium equivalents to the steel Danforth, and beccause their design is such that the area of the flukes is of more relevance than their weight they have very similar holding power to the steel Danforths but are very substantially lighter..
CQR anchors are excellent in yacht sizes, but I have found them unreliable in dinghy sizes, even on soft mud (which is possibly the easiest bottom for most anchors).
Independent comparative test results indicate that the Lewmar Claw, a Bruce-type in stainless steel from a very reputable manufacturer, performs surprisingly badly, so that tends to suggest that if choosing a Claw you need one perhaps twice the weight of a Danforth. Nonetheless that is effectively what I am using, and I am very well pleased with it.
“New generation” anchors are excellent. On my bigger boat I use a Rocna, and this and the Manson Supreme are arguably the best all-round anchors available, but the minimum size of the Rocna is 4 kg. I don’t know the minimum size of the Spade and the Delta anchors, which are also “new generation” anchors.
Oliver
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