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I've just finished a racing season in which I raced Spinnaker Fleet on Thursday evenings and White Sail fleet on Tuesday evenings. Tuesday evenings went better than Thursday evenings with one less crew and much less hassle. So, I have decided that at my age, I will not be racing in the spinnaker fleet next year - Also my foredeck man now has his own boat and wants to sail in the White Sail fleet against me ( Isn't that gratitude for you!! -LOL) .
As a consequence of all this, I have a couple of tri-radial racing sails ( #1 and #2) which will be surplus to my inventory next year.
Anyone have an interest??
Clare Jordan, Aragorn
Brockville Ont.
If your cradle is the original one, it was intended by C and C as a shipping cradle for the boat back when the boat was manufactured. It's amazing that it's still together! The usual point of failure is at the holes at the ends of the wooden pieces where the bolts are located.( The metal will rust here , retain moisture and rot the wood at these points).
A few years back I saw a boat that had just been placed in its wooden cradle only moments before, roll onto its side in gravel parking lot when a rotten cradle beam collapsed. The damage was 'cosmetic' but it was heart-stopping to see it happen. Many/most Yacht clubs and Marinas have outlawed wooden cradles -- too risky.
Clare Jordan- Aragorn
Hi ,
A quick look at my PHRF web-site (Lake Ontario) shows two different ratings for Mk V boats racing here but the differentiation is only between inboard and outboard powered versions so if there are any shoal draft Mk V's in the PHRF-LO fleet here, they're having no better luck than you are, in looking for a more favourable rating!!
Clare Jordan- Aragorn
Years ago I had a 'formula' for a mixture that when mixed and added to the bilge for a few days, helped to clean it and to remove/reduce odours. I know the mixture had Isopropyl Alcohol, liquid detergent and water but I think there were a few other ingredients in the mixture but I don't remember what they were. Does anyone have a good "recipe" for a bilge cleaner/deodorizer???
Clare Jordan Aragorn
I'll echo David's comment. My original foil failed about 7-8 years ago. I forget what it's brand name was, but I replaced it with a "Tuff Luff" extrusion. It was an easy 'snap-on' installation done with the head stay in place and the unit has (touch wood) stood up very well to date.
Clare Jordan Aragorn
Hi Mike,
I don't know your cruising habits so hesitate to suggest an idea since the removal of your stove suggests to me that perhaps you're through cooking and no longer will need dishes but maybe that space would make a good area for storing your dishes and serving items leaving the space behind the stove for storing food items. I would suggest putting in a drawer for this purpose by opening up the front of the cupboard and using the commercially available "tracks" to mount the drawer in the cupboard. If you cut it out carefully, the piece of teak veneer you're removing for the drawer opening will become the drawer front. In this way, you can capitalize on the volume of the space which the stove used to occupy but leave the top of the cupboard as 'counter space' (something that's a little lacking in the 27').
Clare Jordan
Last year I bent my whisker pole during a blow while white-sailing and I did a temporary 'splice' in the bent portion by machining down a piece of Aluminium pipe to suit the diam. in a friend's lathe and I made-do for the rest of the season with the balky extendable pole, however the pole was actually "toast".
This winter I found this place (<A href="http://www.mapleleafcom.com/alum.htm)">http://www.mapleleafcom.com/alum.htm)</A> and here I was able to buy Aluminium tubing in two 'nesting' diameters, so I scavenged the fittings from the old pole, installed them on the tubing I bought and voila, a "new" pole for under $50.00 ( The Chandlery wanted just under $500.00 for a replacement pole !!!).
I don't know if 'Maple Leaf' stock (or could get you) the right diameter aluminium but this place located north of Toronto, gave me great service.
Clare Jordan
Hi Steve,
Mine's the same -- and my assumption has always been that the port-side vent provides "inflow" and the starboard-side "outflow" and to that end, I have the port vent hood forward-facing and the stb. vent hood facing aft so when the boat is moving there's an air flow through the bilge even without running the blower.
Clare Jordan
Re West Epoxy-- I built a new tiller for Aragorn 2 winters ago and after steaming and bending the Ash, Cherry and Oak component layers to shape, I epoxied them together. Instead of varnishing the new tiller, which would have required sanding and re-varnishing it, likely every couple of years, I coated the wood with three coats of West Epoxy. So far, it's standing up beautifully and I bet Dave's suggestion of Epoxy over clean , dry teak would work just as well as it has on my tiller. I know that varnish is suggested over epoxy as U.V. protection but I hesitate to add back the factor of maintaining the varnish--( I'd rather be sailing).
Clare Jordan
For the past 6 or 7 years I've been using a product called "Armada" . It was recommended back then by "Practical Sailor Magazine". It is a medium dark tone, cleans up with paint thinner or varsol and provides a medium hard finish of slight gloss. It's best quality , in my view, is that a scratch or scrape is easily repairable because the added material blends seamlessly into the original coat to mask the "scar" without having to scrape/sand and re-do a whole area to make a match. I stripped/sanded everything back to the bare teak for the first application.
If I remember correctly, I had to get "The Chandlery" in Ottawa to order in my last 1 qt. can 3 - 4 years ago and I still have 1/2 of it left for future touch-ups.
Clare Jordan
Hi Mike,
I live in Ontario Canada, so unfortuneatly, we haven't yet put our boats into the water. The new Tiller-pilot won't get a workout till about May 8th but I will give you a report comparative to my old "Autohelm" after that.
Regards, Clare Jordan
I just purchased a "Raymarine ST-1000 Plus Tillerpilot" to replace my old "Autohelm" for which parts were no longer available. I was interested to read in the owner's manual for the new Tillerpilot, that there was an accessory--
( a Windvane----part Z-159) which mounts on the stern rail and connects to the Tillerpilot to allow auto-steering of the boat to the apparent wind direction. When I tried to order this part, I found out that the manual is out of date and that the Windvane is no longer made.
Does someone out there have an ST-1000 Tillerpilot Windvane that they'd like to sell ????
Clare Jordan
I have nothing to base my opinion on, except my nose, but it is my impression that once I disconnected the raw water intake to the head, odours diminished 85%-95% . A few years back, I replaced the worn-out hand pump at the sink in the head area with an electric pump so its easy to "prime" the bowl for #2 with some fresh water using a large plastic glass-full and to follow a 'pump-dry' with a shot of fresh water to rinse the bowl and leave it clean.
Clare Jordan
For those who suffer similar frustrations with Alcohol ( in the stove I mean) let me offer a suggestion I implemented on Aragorn years ago. Buy a couple of new 'Kerosene' burners for your old Kenyon.-- The conversion is easy, with the tank, pump etc. remaining the same. The only 'pain' is that kerosene won't vapourize and light in a cold burner so you must burn a couple of teaspoons of alcohol in the burner cup to pre-heat it before opening the valve and lighting the kerosene. This small pain is little to pay for the gain-- more heat output= faster AND safer (much less chance of "invisible" flames consuming your eyebrows etc.)
Clare Jordan
Hi Warren-- I remeber you saying that you were doing some surgery on your icebox and your recent comment " There is a whole lot of wasted storage space under there!" has prompted me to ask you if it would be worth pulling off that front cabinetry, in order to place more insulation into that 'wasted space' ??
Clare Jordan
Hi Greg and others--
I think that the real "cool" part of all this discussion is that these boats, now 35 years old, are still around, are sailing well and are still giving us owners lots of pleasure !! It's a testimony to their skills as designers and builders but I wonder if Hinterhoeller, Cassian and Cuthbertson ever imagined that they (the boats) would 'live' that long?
Clare Jordan
Hi All,
I have already e-mailed a number of you photos and descriptions of the changes I made to Aragorn's cabin layout a few years back. Today, David Weatherston did a great job of posting the write-up and the photos into the "Black Arts" section under the title "Renewed Saloon". I'm willing to answer any questions you might have after looking there.
Clare Jordan -- Aragorn
I have now taken some photographs of the cabin modifications done on Aragorn, prepared a short descriptive write-up and I have e-mailed these things out to a number of people who had asked for them . Now that the hard part is all done, it is easy for me to send it out again. If anyone else is interested, I'm at <A href="mailto:bosco@ripnet.com">bosco@ripnet.com</A> Clare Jordan
Hi Guest,
I echo the sentiments expressed by "IRIS" but whenever the subject of stuffing boxes comes up, I offer my experience with EXTREME trepidation lest I immediately jinx myself by mentioning what's happened on Aragorn (1978, Mk 111). I bought her in 1984 and because it was my first boat with an inboard engine, I sought advice from an experienced friend about when and how to tighten the packing nut. His advice was - "Leave it alone" and that, amazingly, is exactly what I have done for these past 21 years. (As I write this, I'm knocking hard on my wooden computer desk).
Some people have the idea that packing glands should not leak-- Not So- They must have some leakage, at a controlled rate, both to cool and to lubricate the shaft/packing surfaces. If you over-tighten in an attempt to entirely stop the leakage, you will create problems.
Clare Jordan
Dave,
It's always a relief to find that you're not too short.
Clare
This is a question I haven't seen discussed here before and since I have the only 27' which races in our club , I've been pretty well left on my own to experiment and I've often wondered if I'm heading in the right direction on this issue. On my Mk 111, there is an older type "screw" with a ratchet handle by which the backstay can be shortened in length by ~ 2+ inches to adjust the backstay tension (and consequently the forestay tension) between 'loose' and quite 'tight' as the wind increases ( I don't do anything scientific in measuring tension-- I just do a "feel" thing).
I have the forward lower shrouds set somewhat tighter than the aft lowers and consequently, as the masthead moves aft under increasing backstay tension , I am able to induce a bit of mast bend in high winds to help depower the main a little. Works for me, but now, having shared my technique, I'll probably get some answers with dire warnings of impending rig failure.
What do others do about adjusting their stay tensions for racing?
Clare Jordan
Warren's comment about pre '73 boats not getting blisters and my experience with my non-blistering 1979 boat would lead one to the conclusion that "They don't build them like they used to" . My guess is that in the 60's and 70's when boats were layed up by hand by skilled workers, there were no ( or at least, very few) voids in the glass where moisture could collect and later react to cause blistering. The cost-cutting of the 80's construction methods later made it's effect known.
Clare Jordan
Hi Mike,
I have a good friend who seems to be able to quickly cut to the heart of any controversy. It is her observation that in matters like the necessities, such as food, shelter. transportation etc., we spend what is necessary BUT when it comes to discretionary spending such as buying things for our enjoyment, her rule of thumb is to ask: What's the F/E ratio* ???
We don't need a boat and how much we choose to spend is up to us. Some may choose to go "new" , some to buy a "fixer-upper" but the question remains , how much fun can you buy for the bucks you lay out??
Even if a boat costs very little but doesn't get used, the F/E ratio may be far too low to justify.
* In the F/E Ratio, F= Fun E= Expense
Clare Jordan
Hi Wayne and others.
When I read your note it brought that 60% number back to me-- That's the figure that was given to me by C & C when I checked with them. Apparently. in the original shipping cradle (which everyone universally used as a storage cradle for years) , the transverse beam carries about 60% of the weight before the two saddles pick up the remainder. That's why I stuck to using those saddles and the transverse beam idea when I built the steel cradle.
Clare Jordan
Hi Chris.
Asking $625 (Canadian) which is about 25% of replacement cost.
Clare Jordan