The Official "What Did You Do To Your Mac Today" Thread!
- Thread starter Sock Puppet
- Start date
Greengas,
As with many of my modifications, the trailer guide rollers are "custom". a friend of mine owns a muffler shop so I had him bend the arms from 2" aluminized exhaust tubing, then I welded in a 1/2" diameter axle at the top to hold rollers from the mowing deck of a riding lawn tractor. they work very well.
My interior is pretty basic overall. just a few home made do-dads here and there. I'm trying to create more efficient storage solutions wherever possible. efficient use of space wasn't one of the boats strong points from the factory, but it can be improved to suit your own needs with a bit of thought.
Good score on the mahogany BTW. I bought a clear 2x6x16 Western red Cedar a wile back for $54.00. yes that was for ONE! you measure three times before you cut one of those.
Cheers,
As with many of my modifications, the trailer guide rollers are "custom". a friend of mine owns a muffler shop so I had him bend the arms from 2" aluminized exhaust tubing, then I welded in a 1/2" diameter axle at the top to hold rollers from the mowing deck of a riding lawn tractor. they work very well.
My interior is pretty basic overall. just a few home made do-dads here and there. I'm trying to create more efficient storage solutions wherever possible. efficient use of space wasn't one of the boats strong points from the factory, but it can be improved to suit your own needs with a bit of thought.
Good score on the mahogany BTW. I bought a clear 2x6x16 Western red Cedar a wile back for $54.00. yes that was for ONE! you measure three times before you cut one of those.
Cheers,
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It was replaced today
I found it at Pep Boys; 2 for $7.99. I was quite surprised since the same bulb in most "marine" shops and auto parts stores go for $20. That is a weird socket, though.
You're referring to the plywood bulkhead??
The bulkheads, on my boat at least, have three 3/8" bolts in the bottom portion of the bulkhead that drops into the walkway, and one more on the lower corners of the companionway. the upper plywood sections are secured with small angled corner brackets screwed into the belt trim on the sides and I think the companionway door trim screws also go into the bulkhead plywood. I don't see any other support screws besides those.
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If they're anything like mine, there's an L bracket at the port and starboard extremities, the top fasteners of the companionway hatch board keepers, and the bolts at the top of the actual bulkhead with the winch.
Some pictures from yesterday (I almost trailer sailed my 26S for this day.. so "close enough" to be on topic here).. Also a little experiment as these pictures are hosted on FB and just linked to here (in case you cant see them)
The original S/S handle on the sliding hatch.
The new teak handle.
Of course, this was just a dry fitting, The handle came right back off and is getting several coats of polyurethane, and the sliding hatch will have holes filled and a good scrubbing.
Note to self- turn off that light before taking pics. It's a mess down there!
Looks nice MM. did you carve that out? or was it a pre-fab?
I cut and installed some of the rubber backed carpet runner under the table and down the hall today. I'm really liking this stuff (from Home Depot) because it lays down really well and stays where you put it. no sliding around, soft on the feet. easy to clean, etc. etc.
Also fabricated an extended nose guide, with some carpet scraps glued on for gouge protection. and then relocated the winch up about 2" so it pulls the nose straighter in to the V block, rather than down.
I cut and installed some of the rubber backed carpet runner under the table and down the hall today. I'm really liking this stuff (from Home Depot) because it lays down really well and stays where you put it. no sliding around, soft on the feet. easy to clean, etc. etc.
Also fabricated an extended nose guide, with some carpet scraps glued on for gouge protection. and then relocated the winch up about 2" so it pulls the nose straighter in to the V block, rather than down.
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It's prefab from Defender Marine. Carving something like that is way beyond my skill level and not something I'd like to try with an expensive piece of teak.
I like the carpeting. "Mistress" had a piece of blue indoor carpeting, but I pulled it out to mitigate mold growth. I saw the type of carpeting that you are using at Lowe's. I need something that doesn't show every piece of gravel that comes aboard while I'm working on her.
That nose guide looks robust! Good job!
What I've found to be a huge help in keeping the gravel and fir needles out of the boat was to cut a piece of old auto carpet I had laying around to fit on the cockpit seat where I step into the boat when working on it. that seems to catch about 80% right there, before it finds it's way into the cabin with me. an old floor mat at the base of the ladder catches a lot of it also.
Wearing flip-flops or slip-on shoes seems to work best for me. If it's warm I'll just remove my shoes before stepping aboard and go barefoot. If it's cold I'll change into deck shoes kept next to the boarding ladder.
I have a loose foot main with a 4:1 outhaul and use this fairly often. The 4:1 part works nicely but I wanted to improve the cleat so messed with this yesterday in the back yard. At one time I had ran the outhaul line back to the mast, down the mast, to the cockpit but I just dont like all the rigging hassle (personal preference..) so moved the outhaul cleat back to the boom. Pictures below tell the story.
Picture below. This is the change I just made. This is on the underside of the boom and when you need to tighten the main in high winds, there can be a bit of force involved so I wanted a nice fair lead with a direct mounting to the boom. The cleat is behind the fairlead which isnt completely optimal but the other way around causes some issue releasing the cleat. Anyhow.. this is what Im going with at least for now. The line out of the fair lead heads towards the back end of the boom.
Picture below. This is the part of the outhaul that works fine - been using it for a long time. It has 4:1 leverage.
Picture below. This is where I have the cleat for the outhaul (black arrow). This is the old cleat in the picture and the new one is just slightly aft - but essentially in the same spot. Having it on the boom makes rigging the boat easier since its always already rigged. If you put the cleat too far back, it can be hard to get at if the sail is sheeted out. Too far forward and you have to go too far forward to get to it. This spot works OK especially since I sit fairly far forward in the cockpit for sailing (tiller extension very often used).
Picture below. This is the cleat I just removed. Mostly worked OK.. just enough hassle to use especially when its windy single handed that I decided to try and improve things and get rid of this.
Picture below. This is an option I did NOT use. Its a standard high angle fair lead with cleat. It may have worked fine.. but I wanted a more robust fair lead and better leverage since you are going to be pulling the line down - and sometimes with a bit of force when tightening the main in higher winds. FYI, this is the furler cleat on my Hobie TI - shown upside down.
Picture below. This is the change I just made. This is on the underside of the boom and when you need to tighten the main in high winds, there can be a bit of force involved so I wanted a nice fair lead with a direct mounting to the boom. The cleat is behind the fairlead which isnt completely optimal but the other way around causes some issue releasing the cleat. Anyhow.. this is what Im going with at least for now. The line out of the fair lead heads towards the back end of the boom.
Picture below. This is the part of the outhaul that works fine - been using it for a long time. It has 4:1 leverage.
Picture below. This is where I have the cleat for the outhaul (black arrow). This is the old cleat in the picture and the new one is just slightly aft - but essentially in the same spot. Having it on the boom makes rigging the boat easier since its always already rigged. If you put the cleat too far back, it can be hard to get at if the sail is sheeted out. Too far forward and you have to go too far forward to get to it. This spot works OK especially since I sit fairly far forward in the cockpit for sailing (tiller extension very often used).
Picture below. This is the cleat I just removed. Mostly worked OK.. just enough hassle to use especially when its windy single handed that I decided to try and improve things and get rid of this.
Picture below. This is an option I did NOT use. Its a standard high angle fair lead with cleat. It may have worked fine.. but I wanted a more robust fair lead and better leverage since you are going to be pulling the line down - and sometimes with a bit of force when tightening the main in higher winds. FYI, this is the furler cleat on my Hobie TI - shown upside down.
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Walt, that's almost exactly how I set up my outhaul. Same cleat position and everything. I haven't had a chance to use it yet but it seems like it should work quite well.
I have a similar set-up for my cunningham only it's lead to the cockpit.
I have a similar set-up for my cunningham only it's lead to the cockpit.