First day out

[Allatoona]

I sailed my newly purchased 1989 Mod 2 yesterday, for the first time. I was out with the local Sea Scouts, doing circles around the kids in the club boats trying to coach them.

I sailed a Mod 1 boat a couple weeks ago, so I purchased my Mod 2 last Monday. I really had a great time sailing my new boat yesterday. We had a couple of good gusts and I got to use my foot straps 3 times for a short time each. I probably sailed the boat for nearly 4 hours. I only turned it over once, I was trying to beach the boat and I tacked right at shore while I was trying to raise the centerboard. I caught myself on the low side and my jib sheet was cleated on the high side... splash. I was only in chest deep water, I had it righted and was back in sailing really fast.

I wanted to sail the boat "as-is" before I started making modifications. I was doing searches on the site and I found out what that eye-bolt on the stern of the boat was actually used for... I was clipping the centerboard bungee to the barney post and was wondering why the centerboard kept rising up. I saw a drawing on another post and saw that the bungee is supposed to connect to the eye bolt at the back of the boat. I'd bet it works better there.

Future mods:
1) replace the main/jib sheets with lighter lines.
2) change out to the mod 3 setup to raise the centerboard
3) replace halyard blocks with cam cleats.
4) remove about 4-6 inches off of the tiller extension. it kept getting hung up on me and the main traveler lines.
5) sand down the bottom of the hull... i read were 600 grit just right, possibly polish with a teflon polish - no wax.

Questions:
1) would it be safe to replace the bungee with a rope and block for a more sturdy hold down configuration?
2) the mainsheet block on top of the barney post, I need to take it apart and grease it up a little. It does not spin 360 degrees, is there anything that I can remove to make it turn 360? My block on my Catalina 22 barney post will spin 360. I found on the Capri, I would tack and the block would be on the other side and I had to spin it 270 degrees around the back.

-Robert
Catalina 22 1084
Capri 14.2 1989
webmaster for South Winds Sailing Club
http://sailswsc.org

 

[JGM]

Questions:
1) would it be safe to replace the bungee with a rope and block for a more sturdy hold down configuration?
2) the mainsheet block on top of the barney post, I need to take it apart and grease it up a little. It does not spin 360 degrees, is there anything that I can remove to make it turn 360? My block on my Catalina 22 barney post will spin 360. I found on the Capri, I would tack and the block would be on the other side and I had to spin it 270 degrees around the back.

-Robert
Catalina 22 1084
Capri 14.2 1989
webmaster for South Winds Sailing Club
http://sailswsc.org

Hi Robert,
Welcome! About your questions:

#1) You really need the bungee on the centerboard just in case you cross a submerged log or stump while sailing, or when you beach and forget to raise the centerboard.

#2) About your mainsheet block, it should swing/rotate through the aft 270 degrees. When you tack, the sheet gets tossed across to the other side and and the block swings aft when you grab the line. Are you forward of the Barney post during tacking? I'm a little confused...

Jim

 

[Allatoona]

bungy and mainsheet

1) I'll keep the bungy, it should work a lot better now that I know where it is supposed to attach.

2) I was sitting forward of the barney post many times. I was tack, work the tiller extension and the jib sheet, get myself onto the high side and reach for the main sheet. I would then have to push the block from the forward low side to the back and back around to the high side.

I feel that if I am racing or in some good wind, I don't want to have to worry about which way I need to pull the mainsheet, I just want the block to turn to me which ever way I pull.

I just put the boat into the shade, after it cools off a little and see what I can do with it. I might be able to cut off the two tab stops and let it spin 360 degrees. I'll take the block apart and let everyone know how it works out.

-Robert

 

[Allatoona]

mainsheet block mod

I removed the mainsheet block, and removed the bump stop. I needed to grease the bearings, but wasn't sure how to open up the block.... but while hammering on the block to remove the bump stop - it popped open and about 2 dozen plastic bearings scattered across my garage floor. I think I found all but one.

I am attaching some pictures to show the change. I should be able to get 360 degrees on the mainsheet block now.

Any suggestions on grease or lubrication for the plastic bearings inside the block?

-Robert

 

[fan]

Dry lub with spray silicon. I also like McLube SailKote but its pricey.

McLube Sailkote is specially formulated with Dupont Krytox, an easily applied environmentally friendly translucent liquid lubricant specifically designed for marine use.

It dries quickly to a hard, smooth, ultra-slick, hydrophobic dry coating that bonds tenaciously to almost any surface. And because Sailkote is a dry lubricant, it will not attract dirt or contaminants and will not transfer to other surfaces, or you.
Sailkote is typically five times as effective, and lasts much longer than, wax, oil or PTFE based lubricants.

 

[Allatoona]

2nd day out

I sailed today for nearly 4 hours on the Capri. The weatherman forcasted 10-20mph gust and had a wind advisory out for North Georgia.

The mainsheet block worked flawlessly with the bump-stop removed. I could pull the sheet in any direction, worked especially well after a tack trying to get onto the high side.

I capsized twice, once in the shallows trying to tack in gusty winds, I got the jib wrapped around the front wire causing me to get high sided and get dumped out. The other capsize was in deep water pointing high, a quick wind shift caught me high sided again.

It was an awesome day in strong winds. I had my GPS with me and was cruising mostly between 4.5 and 6.5 mph. I still need to adjust the rigging to be able to point a little higher.

-Robert