New O'Day 25 owner

[Ward H]

I agree with LeeandRick's reason for the sliding gooseneck but disagree that a winch is needed to tension the luff if the gooseneck is fixed. Sweat the halyard and you can get pretty good tension. Then use the cunningham to further tension the luff.
I played with the sliding gooseneck for a couple of years. Sounds like a great idea but I finally figured out that when raising the sail not only was I trying to raise the weight of the sail but also the weight of the boom against the friction of the track.
Of course I had help coming to this conclusion with advice from this site. I was seeking help with sail trim and several suggested I fix my boom position and use the cunningham.
Works for me.

@John Tubb, duh, I should have seen that was your heave to position. And understand about the CB pendant being to short. Your having fun, thats what counts.

 

[LeeandRick]

I agree with LeeandRick's reason for the sliding gooseneck but disagree that a winch is needed to tension the luff if the gooseneck is fixed. Sweat the halyard and you can get pretty good tension. Then use the cunningham to further tension the luff.
.

I was speaking in general about larger boats with halyard winch. Most boats I've been around with fixed gooseneck had a halyard winch.

Ward, I do the same thing you do since I installed the boom kicker and have fixed the gooseneck. I sometimes wish I had a winch or purchase system so Lee could get the sail to full hoist (some luff tension) and I could kick back with a beer. Do you have any tips on your sweating procedure? We just take a half turn around the cleat and lean on the halyard but she always loses the slack she gained before snubbing the cleat and the sail drops back to starting position.

 

[Ward H]

How about another half turn around the cleat? I also situate myself for the best mechanical advantage. And sometimes I just can't get it. I have a new hi tech jib halyard I just couldn't get enough tension on. Every bit of gain I got by sweating the halyard I lost before cleating it down. Today I am docked in a quiet canal with no wind. I finally got that halyard tight but it took some work.
If all it took was installing a winch to get the Admiral to raise sails so I could relax with a cold one I would have installed mast winches years ago.

 

[JRT]

I actually have a winch on the jib side of my mast. Never used it, I thought it was for the jib only

 

[Ward H]

@LeeandRick , Here is a link to bracket for a Harken 150 cam cleat that should make sweating the halyard a lot easier.
http://www.apsltd.com/spinnaker-halyard-parking-bracket.html
Found it in the thread by Kings Gambit about jumping the main.
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...main-halyard-at-the-mast.185774/#post-1379260

Thinking about it some more maybe you don't need that bracket. You could put a Harken 150 before the cleat. The 150 cam cleat would hold any gain Lee gets while sweating the line until she cleats it off.

 

[LeeandRick]

@LeeandRick , Here is a link to bracket for a Harken 150 cam cleat that should make sweating the halyard a lot easier.
http://www.apsltd.com/spinnaker-halyard-parking-bracket.html
Found it in the thread by Kings Gambit about jumping the main.
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...main-halyard-at-the-mast.185774/#post-1379260

Thinking about it some more maybe you don't need that bracket. You could put a Harken 150 before the cleat. The 150 cam cleat would hold any gain Lee gets while sweating the line until she cleats it off.

Thanks Ward. I saw that thread also. I think your right that a standard cam cleat would do the trick since we have external halyards "not" lead to the cockpit.

 

[JRT]

With my son having a canoe at the boat now I'm considering options on how to carry it during our sailing adventures. Right now we tie it down to the deck on the bow, but at 12' it takes up a lot of space to stay their during sailing trips. We have been removing it from the boat before a sailing day and leaving it behind at our slip, but I wouldn't mind options to take with us and have secured to the boat out of the way to allow us full forward deck access.. due to the low freeboard of this hand mad canoe it cannot be towed behind us as it will easily be swamped with out someone in it keeping it straight. I've seen rack that attach to stations on larger boats and am thinking this might be the best approach. The port and starboard stations all have backing plates visible in the cabin and the deck is solid with no soft spots. This canoe is not a store bought one, it is hand made wood coated in epoxy and glass and weighs only 28lbs so the weight spread across the 2 stations would be in the low 14lb static. I'm considering bolting a horizontal bar at the base of the stations that the canoe would sit on it's side and then lashing it down by running a line or cargo strap from the base up and over the canoe and back to the same base attached a the 2 spots we use for attaching bumpers to the base of the stations. I don't know what those lop holes at the base of the station are called BTW.

Any thoughts or cautions? I could also replace the backing plates inside the cabin with a larger hardwood to increase the load spread back into the deck too.

 

[LeeandRick]

The biggest issue I've heard about with those stanchion mount racks is jib sheets hanging up even without a boat attached. If you do go that way you may think about taking a strap to the hand rail on the cabin to help eliminate the flex of the stanchion. One way to tow the canoe/kayak is to bring the bow out of the water and attach it to the stern rail.

 

[JRT]

Good point, I'll try the adjustment to towing it.

 

[JRT]

Learned a lesson today. Went to Easy to flip her around in the slip as the boat in front has a fresh paint job and I didn't want to risk adding the first mark next time out. One of the owner's of the marina was out checking boats that might be filling with water due to clogged cockpit drains and offered to help.

We started moving her around and he said the swing keel was stuck in the muddy bottom. Sure enough pulled it all the way upand she was free and easy to move around.

So I plan to dive under her next time out and make sure it looks ok under there. Hope she is ok and I didn't cause major problems.

 

[JRT]

Successful sailing adventure yesterday with my family and first time out with my Mom and Dad. The old O'day performed as expected and the new stern in orientation in our slip was the cat's meow for getting underway. Backing in was a new learning experience but I think will be fine after a few more times.

 

[JRT]

So I have a jammed centerboard, I know shocking on an O'Day 25! I plan to dive under her the July 4th holiday to try and pull her free as I'm not excited to do another quick haul by crane right now. I know the last time the marine said she came down with very little work, what should I plan to bring with me to get a grip on the center board to pull it loose? Any other ideas for this would be appreciated. Most likely it will be just my wife and I out on her when I do this too as the kids are gone for summer camps and grandparent visits.

 

[Jackdaw]

Your board probably has a crack in it somewhere and is swelling, causing the jam. If that's the case it will happen every time now that you lift it past a certain point. If you do not need to raise it all the way, mark a spot on the line that will still drop the board without you getting wet.

Getting the board out of a o25 trunk can really be a PITA. Often requires a haul, or a diver.

 

[jwing]

Hi John,
I don't have any advice for you regarding your centerboard issue, but I do want to remind you that swimming in a freshwater marina is a risky endeavor due to the potential of electric shock drowning.

 

[JRT]

Thanks, I was not going to swim in the marina. I was planning to take her out a bit and drop anchor to address the issue. This may turn into a cluster and all I get is wet but I figured it was worth a try first before hauling out again.

 

[LeeandRick]

John if the pendant tube is a straight run you may be able to pass a stiff rod through the tube and push the board down from the top. You have to pull the trim plug on top to gain enough space. I kept a gun cleaning rod aboard for this until I fixed the problem. On the 23 it takes about 4 sections of rod (2 kits) to get to the board. This was the stiffest rod of that small diameter I could find plus it would disassemble for storage. There are several different issues that cause it to stick 1) Like Jackdaw said CB swelling, 2) CB well housing collapsing, 3) Gunk on both CB and inside housing, 4) CB pendant hanging in a groove the old wire pendant sawed into the fiberglass (most likely) 5) Pendant shackle hanging in the tube at the top of CB well. This tube is actually larger in diameter at the top of the CB well for about 2" before it reduces to the tube you see going to the cockpit to allow for the shackle. Do you have synthetic or wire pendant?

As far as diving and pulling it down you will need about 4' of bailing wire. Form a long narrow loop open at one end about 3" wide and slide it up at the aft end of the CB until you think it's on top (trailing edge) of the board. Give it a pull. This is best done with the bow of the boat on a sandy beach and wading into the water. You have more body control with your feet on the ground. Good luck and put a mark on the pendant when the CB is almost completely up to the point where CB hangs up and enjoy the summer.

 

[LeeandRick]

Here is what a 23 CB looks like. Mine had a real snafu for the pendant attachment. When you get ready to replace it on dry land I'll show you a way to install the pendant with no shackle to hang up. D&R pendant would have never worked on my boat.

 

[JRT]

I'm wondering if I should rig a line that loops around the centerboard so that I can just grab it by hand down the road to pull lose? Of course an extra line wrapped around the board might also cause it to jam too. I usually do keep it partly down, but messed up and pulled it too far up this time.

 

[LeeandRick]

I'm wondering if I should rig a line that loops around the centerboard so that I can just grab it by hand down the road to pull lose? Of course an extra line wrapped around the board might also cause it to jam too. I usually do keep it partly down, but messed up and pulled it too far up this time.

The reason I mentioned bailing wire (about 16 ga or less) is there is not much if any room on the sides. If you attach something to the CB the action of pulling the board up, even at a dead stop, might cause the line to swirl up and really hang the board. If the pendant tube is straight try the rod method from the top. It worked for me for 8 months. You might be able to take a large screw driver and pry the board out from aft end of the well from under the boat.

 

[JRT]

The pendent tube is straight, I guess I can unscrew the plastic guide in the cockpit for room. Any guess on diameter and length for a rod?