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Yachting World has made a series of videos on heavy-weather sailing with Antarctic expedition skipper Skip Novak. It includes heaving to and may help clarify your thinking. Well worth watching.
http://www.yachtingworld.com/specials/535226/skip-novak-storm-sailing-techniques-part-1
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
I can answer that with a resounding, "probably". First, C&C tended to sweat details, then stick with a good thing when they found it until there was a reason to revisit the issue. Early spreader fittings look like late spreader fittings, and so are unlikely to have changed. Also, C&C had a large stock of 27 spars of earlier dimensions that occasionally were fitted to boats destined for windier regions. It's unlikely they would complicate issues by changing spreader fittings.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
To separate two parts that have sealant between them, pull a strand of wire (an unlaid strand of dinghy shroud is perfect) between the two pieces. The sealant is almost always the line of least resistance, and the wire will slit it without damaging either bonding face. Also, most sealants (including 5200) weaken or break in the presence of acetone.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
Measured with calipers, but with the cutless bearing in place, the opening in the p-bracket of a Mk I (and I have no reason to believe there was any change between marks) came out as 1.223 in. in diameter and 3.518 in long. Keep in mind that this was with the bearing in place, so measurement was half-visual, half jamming the caliber's points into the opening. In other words, the precision of the number may be spurious. Talk to a supplier and see if that value makes sense for a 7/8 shaft.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
For what it's worth, removal of the teak trim around the lockers is quite easy. About eight screws hold it in place from underneath (no plugs, etc.), and after you undo them, the trim pops off.
I was all set to cut back the fibreglass edge of the opening to pull my tank out, when I realized it wasn't necessary as the tank was cleaner than expected. Once the teak was back in place, the trimming of the glass would have been unnoticeable.
Nice when a job is simpler than expected.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
Not off the top of my head. I might be able to find out when boats start coming out of the water over the next few weeks, but the measurement will be from a bearing-in-place; I haven't heard of any owners planning to replace the cutless bearing (but it's not something many people discuss).
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
The shaft from a Mk IV is probably the same length as that for a Mark II because C&C lengthened the boat by adding onto the length of the cockpit at the stern, changing little else. That shaft is 35 3/4" overall and 32" from the engine end to the beginning of the taper.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
The Black Arts article was written about a year after the Sikaflex product appeared. The manufacturer probably revised its instructions based on experience in the field some time after we did our work, because I don't remember any mention of spacers. About five years later, both are still intact.
Both Kathy and I were re-mounting flat pieces of plexi, so if you are careful, I can't see that spacers are essential. On the other hand, I can see that if you were mounting a curved piece, such as the side windows, exerting an even pressure without them could be difficult. There would be a tendency to squeeze material excessively at the centre of the curve, so spacers would give assurance of a better bond.
If they don't make a specific recommendation, I'd look at those clear plastic discs or domes that hardware stores sell as bumpers for kitchen doors. They're small, they're clear and they're self-adhesive and so easy to handle.
I don't think I could hold something absolutely immobile for 10 minutes; I could, however, make the framing in 10 minutes, and apply it in one or two. It's insurance that the plexi won't move and spoil the bond; your decision.
Please let us know how it works out so the article can be revised if necessary.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
I've had work done by three plastics shops and their work has been uniformly fine. I think many of us are a bit daunted by plexiglass because it's unfamiliar, but to a plastics shop, most of the tasks we present are no more difficult than sawing a 2x4 to length (particularly if you give them the old part as a template).
With the encouragement of a friend, I made a cover over the engine controls, as Clare Jordan did. With that successful, I made a curved cover plate for some old mounting holes in the deckhead. An interesting project. It is advisable to have an understanding (or absent) wife when you put sheets of plastic in her oven.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
As you probably know, when the builders joined the deck and interior liner, they bonded the two with gobs of polyester putty. This, in many cases, often creates an impassable blockage to wire-feeding. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't. I tried for ages to force a path with an old fish-tape with the end cut off, but had to admit defeat and run the wires on the inner surface. That's all I can offer by way of consolation - you're not alone here.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
C&C didn't do "factory" the way companies now do (container-loads of sails from the Orient). Instead, they had deals with the major lofts for a suit of sails at different performance levels. You chose your loft and you got a slightly discounted suit of sails - which, remember, were locally made, with variations to suit the prejudices of the local sailmaker. What one customer got in Toronto would probably be quite different from what someone got in Rochester (different loft, different sail with - probably - different batten pockets). You're going to have to measure.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
Sylvain's tank reminds me of one a friend fabricated out of an old cardboard box and masking tape, which were free/cheap and easy to work with. He coated this with wax. Then covered the cardboard model with glass and epoxy (to make it odourproof) and installed it. The contents of the tank gradually broke down the cardboard and it came out with successive pumpouts. This gave him maximum volume for the small space.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
Further to my answer above. It occurs to me that the greatest risk to our rigs (especially in fresh water) is not within the rig but the supporting structure. Last year, a 27 at our club was found to have unexpectedly slack rigging; water had entered via the chainplate opening and rotted the wood of the bulkhead, allowing the chainplate to move upward 1/2". Fortunately, the owner was receptive to the idea that this was sub-optimal and had it fixed; had it been left, it probably would have pulled through the deck and the rig would have had a swim. Prevention is making sure the chainplates are water-tight at the deck. Inspection is pulling both the deck plates and the chainplates themselves to look at the wood underneath, which isn't as big a job as it sounds (we had a bad leak many years ago - took 2 of us about 1 1/2 hours with the mast already down, not working terribly hard).
Seaworthy (BoatUS publication) catalogue of failures and inspection methods.
http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/rigging/
A lot of this will be obvious to an experienced sailor, but it's a good checklist.
http://content.westmarine.com/documents/pdfs/InspectingAgingSailboat.pdf
A rigger's perspective.
http://www.bosunsupplies.com/Fatigue/‎
Dye penetrant inspection overview
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye_penetrant_inspection
As an addendum to Steve's reply, note that the Bosun's Supply article mentions that slack rigging is more fatiguing than taut, because it introduces shock loads.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
In fresh water, our rigging should last a long time, but as you suggest, no one knows if there is a "best before" date. I take my rig down every winter. I look carefully at all the wire, mainly searching for kinks. I found kinks in two lowers one year (someone screwing around with the masts after they were positioned on the racks - grrr!), so I replaced them all.
I give all the terminals a visual inspection for cracks, which is apparently where a failure begins. You can buy a special dye kit that will find cracks very effectively (crane people use it), but I don't know what it's called or how much it costs. Perhaps someone here will know.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
PS My understanding is that x-ray ain't cheap. I gathered from a plane owner that the need to x-ray all the terminals in control wires is a major reason for the cost of small-plane maintenance.
The head mechanic at the club recently told me that the problem with the current generation of lightweight diesels is that they are like Bic lighters - difficult to rebuild economically, particularly if you place any value on your own time.
The other issue is parts availability (forget cost - ridiculous). The cycle of availability of even engines that should be long-service, such as Volvo marine engines, has been dramatically shortened. An engine in a club boat, installed 2005, has been end-of-lifed, so a parts search spanned the world. Make sure you can get what you might need, at a price you deem reasonable, before you commit.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
Kats-Paw-1 was painted a couple of years ago and her colour was either Eggshell or Insignia White (there are conflicting memories), which is a very slightly warm, very slightly grey white. It's very close to the original C&C white.
Whatever you do, don't get a bright white - a friend got a mix called Arctic White and it's blinding.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
If it's not obvious from what Marcus has said, the copper swage and washer must be positioned below the spreader when the rig is up, or the spreader end will work its way downwards on the shroud. This will reduce tension on that side, which will exacerbate the effect. If left unchecked, this might lead to failure of the spreader at the inboard end and consequent rig failure.
If you see a C&C with the spreaders cocked down instead of up (anhedral rather than dihedral, in aviation terms) it is probably because the owner has mis-positioned the swages (or has replaced the shroud without replacing the swage).
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
If it's not obvious from what Marcus has said, the copper swage and washer [i]must</> be positioned below the spreader when the rig is up, or the spreader end will work its way downwards on the shroud. This will reduce tension on that side, which will exacerbate the effect. If left unchecked, this might lead to failure of the spreader at the inboard end and consequent rig failure.
If you see a C&C with the spreaders cocked down instead of up (anhedral rather than dihedral, in aviation terms) it is probably because the owner has mis-positioned the swages (or has replaced the shroud without replacing the swage).
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
When I speak of inventory, I don't mean just the sails, though they're an important part of it. I'm speaking of things like the fenders that won't hold air, the frayed lines and the unworkable line stoppers, the blocks that won't run under load and the cushions that give people allergies who never had them before. All these things are sorta/kinda elective, but good inventory contributes to a good experience, bad inventory to a so-so one. And all this stuff - even leaving aside major items like sails, furlers and wheel steering - costs significant money. It's worth paying a bit more at the outset to get a boat with decent equipment, because you will, as Chuck points out, pay a lot more to replace it or add it after the fact.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV