Sunday, 6 November 2011
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Time flies?
Another week flies by and I haven't got out on the Farr. We have just sold our house, had an offer accepted on a new one and then went on holiday. I'm now running around like a nutter trying to sort my business accounts, survey's, solicitors and removal companies as well as trying to find time to finish pro-griping the Farr! Not to mention sailing it!
Still the holiday was great. If you like Fly or Lure fishing for Salmon, Sea Trout, Brown Trout and especially Sea Bass you have got to go here: The Thatch Cottage Ireland. Some of the best fishing around in some of the best scenery. Looked after by the best people. I'm booked again all ready!
Still the holiday was great. If you like Fly or Lure fishing for Salmon, Sea Trout, Brown Trout and especially Sea Bass you have got to go here: The Thatch Cottage Ireland. Some of the best fishing around in some of the best scenery. Looked after by the best people. I'm booked again all ready!
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Half a job
I only managed to get one side of ProGrip stuck on this weekend. Due in most part to house viewings, as we are moving house, and need to get a move on with finding one to buy! And I ran out of Evo Stick.
Monday, 10 October 2011
Going Pro!
The ProGrip has just turned up. Or should I say Algeofoam. Sheets of 2m x 1m for £7.50. If you are paying £60 from well know yacht suppliers you are get highly ripped off! Now for some sticky, sticky and then for getting wetty, wetty!
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Flip out!
Landyachting this weekend. The ProGrip hasn't arrived from the medical supplier. So no sailing for me this weekend in the Farr 3.7.
To say Landyachting was interesting this weekend would be an understatement. It is also slightly puzzling. It is the first sail in a decent breeze I have had in my Class 5. The morning session was great. The wind was on shore from a very slight NW direction. There was a healthy wind of around 20mph. I had a great time, the yacht was relatively stable, cornering well and front wheel grip was not an issue at the tacking mark. Speeds around the 50 - 55 mph were achieved.
The afternoon session was a different matter. Whether it was that I re-tracked and changed the camber on the yachts wheels and axels or not the afternoon was a nightmare. Unfortunately this was when our club racing was.
Lining up on the start line I was feeling confident. GO! A quick push and in. The yachts all screamed off. Instantly my yacht felt very different to the morning. Much more scitish. Keeping control on the straights was at times difficult. Now for the Gybe mark. Wide entry. "This yachts not turning like it did an hour ago!". A much wider turn, lack a little grip on the exit. Applying opposite lock to conteract the rear end dift. I caught a gust and the wheel lifted, I had to go with it. I bore away and sheeted out. The yacht came down, I was now off and away down the beach. Next the up wind mark.
It was a pretty lively leg down to the mark. As I neared the turning box my sail started to luff, I tried to sheet in further. The booms below my head! I attempted to turn into the mark, lost all front wheel grip. Missed the mark and sped past the box. I sheeted out, nothing, no grip, if anything worse! And then it flipped backwards! Luckily it came down and had scrubbed enough speed of for me to regian control. I turned and went for it angain.
This happened every time I attempted to get around the tacking mark. I tried different entry angles, sheeting in as much as i could without taking head off ( see chips out of my helmet for proof), and eventually sitting up to get my weight forward. But this last technique meant sheeting out more, not good! All ended in the same lack of front wheel grip, and some extreme back flips! I started to lose confidence and so came in to have a think.
After various chats with the other yachters, I think the cure is a slightly longer mast, so I can keep the sail sheeted in as well as keeping the boom above my head. Currently when I'm sheeted in the boom comes lower than my eye line. Also suggested was lead on the front axle. I will be giving this a go and I will let you know if it was successful!
To say Landyachting was interesting this weekend would be an understatement. It is also slightly puzzling. It is the first sail in a decent breeze I have had in my Class 5. The morning session was great. The wind was on shore from a very slight NW direction. There was a healthy wind of around 20mph. I had a great time, the yacht was relatively stable, cornering well and front wheel grip was not an issue at the tacking mark. Speeds around the 50 - 55 mph were achieved.
The afternoon session was a different matter. Whether it was that I re-tracked and changed the camber on the yachts wheels and axels or not the afternoon was a nightmare. Unfortunately this was when our club racing was.
Lining up on the start line I was feeling confident. GO! A quick push and in. The yachts all screamed off. Instantly my yacht felt very different to the morning. Much more scitish. Keeping control on the straights was at times difficult. Now for the Gybe mark. Wide entry. "This yachts not turning like it did an hour ago!". A much wider turn, lack a little grip on the exit. Applying opposite lock to conteract the rear end dift. I caught a gust and the wheel lifted, I had to go with it. I bore away and sheeted out. The yacht came down, I was now off and away down the beach. Next the up wind mark.
It was a pretty lively leg down to the mark. As I neared the turning box my sail started to luff, I tried to sheet in further. The booms below my head! I attempted to turn into the mark, lost all front wheel grip. Missed the mark and sped past the box. I sheeted out, nothing, no grip, if anything worse! And then it flipped backwards! Luckily it came down and had scrubbed enough speed of for me to regian control. I turned and went for it angain.
This happened every time I attempted to get around the tacking mark. I tried different entry angles, sheeting in as much as i could without taking head off ( see chips out of my helmet for proof), and eventually sitting up to get my weight forward. But this last technique meant sheeting out more, not good! All ended in the same lack of front wheel grip, and some extreme back flips! I started to lose confidence and so came in to have a think.
After various chats with the other yachters, I think the cure is a slightly longer mast, so I can keep the sail sheeted in as well as keeping the boom above my head. Currently when I'm sheeted in the boom comes lower than my eye line. Also suggested was lead on the front axle. I will be giving this a go and I will let you know if it was successful!
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Hot and sticky
It was the first full day of my landyachting clubs new season this weekend. We can sail all day from the 1st of October. So I was intending to be in the landyacht this weekend. But the unseasonal weather made me reconsider the weekend plans. Rather than sit in endless traffic jams on the M4 and M5, making my way to the beach with the rest of the UK's population. I decided to finish the side deck repair on the Farr.
Peeling off the old Pro Grip and getting rid of the old EvoStick took a lot longer than I was thinking it would. And a lot more thinners! But eventually the side decks were clean. I then sanded back the decks to achieve a key for the epoxy and laid up my carbon. It would have been glass but carbon was all I had to hand. I then applied peel ply for good consolidation and left it to bake in the ridiculous October heat!
I now have nicely reinforced side decks, all I need now is to Pro Grip them. Unfortunately the sheet I had wasn't big enough for the full length of the gunwale. So I'll have to do the progripping next weekend.
You never know I might get a decent sail in the boat before the lake ices up for winter! That is if the weed ever dies off!
Peeling off the old Pro Grip and getting rid of the old EvoStick took a lot longer than I was thinking it would. And a lot more thinners! But eventually the side decks were clean. I then sanded back the decks to achieve a key for the epoxy and laid up my carbon. It would have been glass but carbon was all I had to hand. I then applied peel ply for good consolidation and left it to bake in the ridiculous October heat!
You never know I might get a decent sail in the boat before the lake ices up for winter! That is if the weed ever dies off!
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Mr Fix it...
I've been fixing a small trap hook hole today that was made on the Y&Y Test sail day. Pete must have rolled in on the hook on one of his 2 capsizes. The decks are 3mm ply so care when getting back in from the water has to be taken. I have been getting in over the stern as there is a nice, hard carbon transom tube that takes the trap hook knocks that are inevitable when getting back in.
The good thing about having to do this repair is that I am going to take the opportunity to put a layer of glass (maybe carbon) on the side decks. As this has made me realize that when I loan out the boat to less experienced youth sailors that this is likely to happen regulary. So adding some protection now should help make the boat more robust in this situation. Adding the glass shouldn't add much weight and visually it will not spoil the look of the boat as I intend to cover the side decks with Pro-Grip, covering over the glass.
Today I came up with a neat way of keeping tension on the string that held the plate that I stuck under the side deck hole and then filled.
Having cleaned the hole up in the ply, I sanded the edges to a 45^ angle to make a bigger contact area for the epoxy filler. I then shaped a bit of carbon plate to fit into the hole on the diagonal. This allows the plate to have enough overlap to be stuck to the under side of the hole. I drilled a small hole in the middle of the plate, threaded a small length of plastic coated garden wire through the hole and the applied my mixture of epoxy filler to the plate. I posted the plate through the hole and pulled up on the plate to stick the plate to the underside of the ply side deck. To keep tension on this I cut an old plastic soft drink bottle in half, made a hole in the lid and threaded the wire through the hole and applied tension and tied of the wire. A neat way of keeping the tension on the plate without tying string to garage rafters etc. Especially helpful if you are doing this sort of repair at your sailing club!
The good thing about having to do this repair is that I am going to take the opportunity to put a layer of glass (maybe carbon) on the side decks. As this has made me realize that when I loan out the boat to less experienced youth sailors that this is likely to happen regulary. So adding some protection now should help make the boat more robust in this situation. Adding the glass shouldn't add much weight and visually it will not spoil the look of the boat as I intend to cover the side decks with Pro-Grip, covering over the glass.
Today I came up with a neat way of keeping tension on the string that held the plate that I stuck under the side deck hole and then filled.
Having cleaned the hole up in the ply, I sanded the edges to a 45^ angle to make a bigger contact area for the epoxy filler. I then shaped a bit of carbon plate to fit into the hole on the diagonal. This allows the plate to have enough overlap to be stuck to the under side of the hole. I drilled a small hole in the middle of the plate, threaded a small length of plastic coated garden wire through the hole and the applied my mixture of epoxy filler to the plate. I posted the plate through the hole and pulled up on the plate to stick the plate to the underside of the ply side deck. To keep tension on this I cut an old plastic soft drink bottle in half, made a hole in the lid and threaded the wire through the hole and applied tension and tied of the wire. A neat way of keeping the tension on the plate without tying string to garage rafters etc. Especially helpful if you are doing this sort of repair at your sailing club!
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