Procrastinator sails

reefmagnet · Jul 20, 2001

Congratulations on the relaunch! It must feel great to have it
underway, my experience with backing is one of "practice makes somewhat
perfect", It is the achilles heel of the Vega.

Dale Hedtke wrote:

reefmagnet · Jul 21, 2001

Dear Dale,

1. how much rake? Depends on the altitude of the waves I would say. In
rough weather 3-4 inches is not enough I would say.

2. Tips on backing up. You hit the hammer on the nail. One of the
disadvantages of the Vega is that
motored backward can be a problem. Its the boat who decides which
direction she will go backwards.
Once you have enough speed it will be no problem. So be very careful when
you back out of your slips.
Have some people ready with lines to have full control.

Maybe a few tryouts will also help.

Regards,

Henk Jansen
Le Cygne V 1782
Naarden Neth.

reefmagnet · Jul 23, 2001

On going astern. I've found that the trick is to want to go in the
opposite direction of where you need to go. If you need to go to port, think
really hard, STARBOARD STARBOARD STARBOARD. The stern will then go to port.
More seriously though, wind and tide/current have a significant effect.
Consider them when backing up. It's helpful to have your crew on the dock
push the stern in the direction you want and then pull on the bow line just
as the bow is clearing the dock. They should board over the lifelines as the
bow is clearing the end of the dock. On light wind days we've been known to
push the boat out and while holding on to the bow line wait a minute or two
until the boat take the time for the stern to be swung around. As a last
resort you can use longer lines to turn the boat from the dock into the
desired direction. Engine torgue will also have an effect, the Dashews have
a video on their Deerfoot yachts that show them spinning the boat on it's
axis by revving the engine. It works on Vegas also (but not very well).
On fuel tanks. The monel gas tank in Lyric was under the starboard
cockpit coaming. The Plastic disel tank from Sonia (aka Oops) was in the
bilge under the engine. One of the reasons I bought the wreck of Sonia was
to add her tank to Lyric. It didn't work. Changes made at the factory were
the bilge was widened and deepened. Lyric's bilge was to narrow to accept
Sonia's tank. Sonia's bilge was much deeper than Lyric's. I can reach down
to the bottom of Lyric's bilge but couldn't on Sonia. The tank in Sonia was
elevated above the bottom of the bilge and was sitting atop a fibreglas
box. We were able to fit an 11 1/2 gallon Tempo model 640020 tank under the
cockpit sole and behind the packing gland but it took condsiderable
modification to the fuel fill.
On engine mounts. A machinist friend installed a Yanmar in his boat. To
so he built a mock up out of 1/8" plywood and was able to measure underneath
it for his stringers. The glass stringers in Lyric were broken and we
replaced them by laminating 5/16" oak. We were able to use our friends
mockup to determine the measurements then laid the first boards of the
stringers on the outboard edge of the engine compartment. We glued them in
with an Epoxy and West System #406 colloidal silica mix. They were braced
until they set and then additional stringers were glued and clamped to them.
The process was repeated until the stringers were about 3" thick. Glas matt
was then built up against the sides to further reinforce them. Finally the
tops and ends were glaased over. The engine mounts were attached by drilling
into the stringers and threaded rod was glued in with epoxy. We also
fabricated a fibreglas pan to fit under the engine to catch any oil drips.
Around 500 hundred hours on the engine now and it is holding up well.
Mast rake. We built a backstay tensioner and can adjust it as we see
fit. Easiest way would be to get one of the devices from Johnson Marine.
Page 916 of the 2001 West Marine Master Catalog. You'll need to attach a
double or a fiddle block under it. Attach a single block with becket to one
wishbone of the lower backstay and a single without a becket to the other.
Run a line from the becket up to the block on the adjuster and down to the
other single. Back up to the adjuster, through the second sheave and back
down and through the first block. Attach some kind of small cleat to the top
of the coaming and you're done. The blocks don't have to be very large and
the adjuster will only work on wire to 3/16". If you went oversize on your
rigging there are oter ways of doing this. This should work for most people
and is fairly inexpensive. Good luck and good sailing. Walt

Procrastinator sails

Brian Hofler

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reefmagnet

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reefmagnet

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reefmagnet

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