Recent content by SteveP

BoaterJoe: Thanks for the reply. Since making the above post I have invested in a pair of gloves from West Marine and I agree that they are great for working with the boats rigging while reducing the stress.

I also added a hobby bob to the top of my mast last fall after I turtled. Fortunately, I haven't capsized since then so I can't say how well it works but I feel a lot more confident now without having the worry of turtling if I do capsize. I hope you enjoy your boat as much as I am enjoying mine.

It is hard to say what was causing the problem however, you might consider a few things such as: 1)make sure that you shift to the windward side of the boat as you tack, since you are most of the ballast in the boat you really need your weight on the correct side of the boat to counter the wind...

I went out this past weekend and sailed in fairly light winds for about 4 hours. I definitely needed the Jib in the light winds to get any kind of speed, however, the boat handles well in light winds. I found that having the furling Jib made it much easier to get back into the dock since I...

I bought my Capri 14.2 last spring and had a great time learning to sail (I still am learning :) I mostly sail single handed and have just added a furling roller to the Jib. I will let you know when I finally get a chance (hopefully this weekend) to try out the furled Jib. I second what...

I ended up buying the equipment offered by Ross last fall. With the holidays and then the weather I never got a chance to install it until a couple of weeks ago. The hardware works great using the standard Jib sail which saved me from having to buy a new Jib. Attached are a couple of pictures...

Since I solo much of the time I have on several occasions wished that I could furl the jib. I have a mod 1 that doesn't have a furling jib. Any suggestions about whether or not this is a good idea? I looked online and it looks like the hardware I need will run about $250 plus a new furl jib...

Sealing the mast won't prevent turtling. My mast is sealed with expanding foam but the boat still turtled on my last outing. The problem comes from the hull of the boat acting as a giant sail with the wind pushing on it causing the boat to roll. After I recovered the boat, towed it back to...

Thanks for the suggestion. I already ordered the replacement shrouds and will replace them shortly. I previously replaced the forestay when I discovered after pulling the boat on the trailer for several miles that the end of the forestay had found its way out of the self drain hole in the...

This discussion about de-masting has me concerned. I have had my boat out 20 times in the last 6 months and the last time the connector that holds the starboard shroud in place on the spreader, broke. Gratefully, it occurred while it was on the trailer heading home and not while it was on the...

Has anyone tried to launch a Capri 14.2 from a beach? Specifically, I was thinking about getting a kayak dolly, sliding the boat off of the trailer and onto the dolly and rolling it over the beach to the water. West Marine has a kayak dolly that can handle 300 lbs and looks like it might work...

I was out on the Potomac today and ran past another Capri 14.2 around noon (just south of the Marina entrance.) I was running north against a rather strong wind with the sails down and using the iron sail to see how well it would perform going against a head wind and current. Were you out on...

I don't have the APS mast float but do have a float that I attach to the top of the mast before I raise the mast. I purchased the float from swindonwatersports.co.uk which cost about $15-20 (depending on the exchange rate.) I had it on the mast the one time that I went over and it worked...

Wild Bill: What does the gas cap look like on the outboard? My outboard has a black cap that you have to open to add gas but it also has a smaller white top on it that has to be loosened in order to allow air into the tank and thus prevent a vacuum situation from preventing the gas from...

Saturday (22 June 2013) was a beautiful day to be sailing. I loaded up the boat and headed down to Gravelly Point Park (at the end of the runway of Reagan National Airport.) The wind was steady at 5-10 mph. Of course the wind was even stronger at the boat ramp/dock as the jumbo jets took off and...