[C38] spinnaker moratorium

Wed May 26 11:04:56 EDT 2010

Dave's comment about his wife reminded me of a "joke."

So this guy dies and his widow calls the local newspaper about placing an obituary.  They tell her it costs $25 for 25 words.   She thinks for awhile and then says write,  "John Witherspoon is dead"  The clerk says, "Madam, that is only 4 words....you have 21 left."   She ponders then says add, "Sailboat for sale."

Patrick
Blue eyes
San Francisco Bay
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Charles B. Finn 
  To: Catalina 38 Listserve 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 7:21 AM
  Subject: Re: [C38] spinnaker moratorium

  My apologies for coming in late of several conversations, but I have been off sailing!  We folks who spend too much time "on the hard" can get quite excited about splashing the boat and getting in the first sail of the year...  So here goes on several of the posts:

  Blooper:  I have one loaned out to Bob Porter, who used it competing on the Great Lakes a couple years back.  I believe he had to give up 5 phrf to sail it....  Seems a lot, but flying this sail out front of our boats is a way to get "pulled" downwind.  I have flown these many times over the years and they are magical when the work.  A little scary too!  It is a light sail and I doubt it would withstand the kind of winds Steve is playing in.

  Speakers:   I have attached a picture of where my marine waterproof speakers are installed.  As you can see, they are high up in the cockpit and to be frank, I think their failure due to water in the cockpit would not be an issue.  They would hardly be underwater even in a totally "pooped" situation.   I am an an old "rocker" and this location works great for being at the wheel, going downwind!   I just got Joe Bonamassa's new CD and can't wait to hear it on the boat!  (note:  my wife is not a fan of the speakers... you can really crank them up and she considers this noise pollution, which means they are off when she is on the boat.  Also, I don't use them close to shore or on moorings).  

  Stainless welding:  Stainless welding is pretty much like any other welding with the exception that it takes a lot more sanding and buffing.  The stainless attached image shows the aft structure I built that supports my solar collectors and wind generator  (it could easily mount radar, but I choose high up on the mast where it does not get in the way of the sails (radar photo)).   I also rebuilt the port stanchion area which is in the photo.  Like several of you, this was damaged during some rough sailing.  I like to think of metal as a kind of "play doh," that allows much more forming and to be honest... allows for mistakes without cost!  Weld does not look good?  Grind it off and do it again!  Welding is much more forgiving than woodwork!   Any MIG machine can handle stainless (you need different gas and wire, but that is no more expensive than the regular gas and wire).  If you want to save some welding shop money, you can offer to do the buffing yourself.  I can furnish anyone interested with where I get my buffing wheels and compounds, which should eliminate the "extra" costs a shop might want to add.  
  By the way, forming stainless tubing is again pretty simple.  A lot is made of using "pure" rollers in the forming machine, but a good cleaning of steel rollers, with a liberal application of grease works just fine.  Every muffler shop has this equipment and they are usually experts at making bends.  Draw out your template on butcher paper and they should be able to form your rails for a very reasonable price.

  Chuck Finn
  Vice Commodore
  Mighty Quinn  #114
  Great Lakes

  On 5/25/2010 10:52 PM, D McC wrote: 
    Reading all of these comments about the wife not too enthralled about sailing just when the sailing is getting good makes me thankful that Herself is the first one on board to whoop when the sailing gets good and I'm thinking about reefing. 
    As for the spinnaker, we fly it whenever we can but when Herself and I are double handing we often tack it to the anchor roller and avoid sailing too deep. Not too efficient but fun.  With a full crew we rig the pole and go for it ... still avoiding going too deep ... our boats sail like beach balls with rudders when sailing deep or dead downwind ... We are rigging a reaching strut this year to avoid deforming stanchions when we head up with the chute still flying. 
    Another question: Whatever happened to the blooper ??? It is now banned in class racing, but my understanding is that it was developed to counteract the tendency of IOR boats to yaw and round up/down when sailing downwind under spinnaker.  I have considered rigging one (if I can find a used one on the cheap) to see how the boat sails close to and dead downwind. More research on this one..

    Fair Winds,

    Dave

    C38  #148 ~ Pretty Lady 

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

    Common Sense is a rare gift from the Gods.
    Most people have only technical training! 

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

    The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span those hours spent in sailing. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From: Steve Smolinske <SSmolinske at rainierrubber.com>
    To: Catalina 38 Listserve <listserve at catalina38.org>
    Sent: Tue, May 25, 2010 1:37:24 PM
    Subject: Re: [C38] spinnaker moratorium

    My wife wonders why we need to spend money on sails when the motor works just fine..

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From: listserve-bounces at catalina38.org [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org] On Behalf Of Steven Ribble
    Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 1:20 PM
    To: Catalina 38 Listserve
    Subject: Re: [C38] spinnaker moratorium

    ...and I thought I was the only one with a nervous gal! 

    Steve 

    On Tue, May 25, 2010 at 12:18 PM, PAUL NOTTE <panotte at shaw.ca> wrote:

      At least your wife will get on board with your sails raised . My wife gets very nervous when the engine is shut down as soon as that happens she starts donning every piece of survival gear on the boat. I recognize this is probably my fault so we have signed her up for sailing lessons this summer. The lesson is I am a crappy teacher.  
        As for speakers in the cockpit I enjoy the sound of the water streaming past the boat far to much to install them.
        Paul

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    Steve Ribble
    207/852-0971

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