End of season

Its been a while since I last posted, 

DY171 has been put to bed for the winter after her first season on the Exe.  Although I have not been able to spend as much time as I would like getting the boat as sorted as possible we have successfully put together a boat that works (Its a very different boat to the one we had a year ago). 

There is lots of work to be done over the winter but this is small in comparison to the work we have already done.

Here is a list of lessons learnt (and re-learnt) this year:

• Don't let people work on a boat if they are confused on what the words 'slot gasket' mean or how to fit one.
• A choice of sail can be very controversial indeed.
• Sailing requires lots of patience.
• Measure 64 times cut once
• Do not take the phrase champagne sailing literally!

On the whole its been a productive an fun start to sailing the yawl.

Happy sailing,

Rich

Fly away pole sorted!

Last weekend I made some changes to the fly away pole system, and now it works like a dream!

The photos I've added show the new system, the main difference is in the elastic. I have beefed up the diameter of the pole take up elastic which now holds the pole next to the sheath where it exits the mast when not under load. This keeps the pole well above the deck and stops it hitting the fore-deck on launch.

A great sail today!

We put the new sails up yesterday (friday) for the first time. It was unfortunately in it a bit of a hurry, in order to make the club racing. However I would have been better to wait and set the boat up properly.

Today we took our time and raked the mast back to counter the severe lee helm we had on the Friday nights race.
This worked a treat and the boat sailed so much more balanced.

I've added some photos of the new sails. I am still trying out different settings but got some pleasing glimpses of how then boat will sail when set up properly.

My girlfriend is learning quickly and seems to be enjoying herself, I'm not getting told off too much.

New sails

I've been very busy with work over the last few weeks but have had the opportunity to get sailing the yawl over the past few nights!

The first couple of tentative races have been great to get used to how the boat handles and also to gently introduce my girlfriend to the sport (her first ever sail being last friday!) Learning to sail at the top end of the exe is going to be challenging. A few navigational errors meant I hit the mud several times on our last race, which is not fast : )

Up until today DY 171 did not have her own sails, as I had been using a set that had very kindly been lent to me.
But as of this afternoon she has a brand new set! A few photos are attached below:

Sunny Weather!

A rare sunny day gave me the opportunity to do some more work on the yawl, tidy her up and take some photos: 

Happy Sailing,

Rich

Ready to sail

Final touches on DY171 are underway prior to her first sail, I have attached some photos I took after working in the rain all afternoon.


New additions include: A simple cleat on the starboard side of the mast for the cunningham and helm / crew toestraps. I have also adjusted the position of the genoa tracks. An optimum time race watch is mounted forrad near the mast. A "mast break" strop has been added this is a more accurate method of bend control than using chocks. The mast break strop will not be utilised fully until an aluminium mast collar has been added inorder to strengthen the area around this part of the mast.

Happy Sailing

Rich

Sails up on the new rig for the first time

DY171 is almost ready to sail again, I put a set of sails up on the new masts for the first time yesterday. These sails have been kindly lent to me while DY171s new set are on order allowing me to provisionally place the gennoa tracks (these may need fine adjustment once the boat starts racing) and adjust the length of the halyard and fly away pole line. The missen sheeting system is also finished and working correctly!


All I need to do now is finish putting the toe straps on and she will be ready for her first sail after her refit. (lots more small tweaks to add before competitive racing).

Happy Sailing,

Rich

Allspars photos

Just checked my facebook for the first time in ages and found some more pics of DY171 on the Allspars face book page

Happy sailing,

Rich

Nearly there!

I'm back to work on the yawl, she now has a shiny new cover, a (new to us) tender, and the bow sprit fitted and finished! Next, i need to:

• Sort out sails (I have been awaiting a decision by the local fleet on the status of the sail maker)
• Rig, the kicker, cunningham, main sheet, mizen sheet, put new genoa cars on the deck and modify the rudder stock to accept the new tiller angle.

I went to check on DY 171 (Goosewing) yesterday and took some photos:

Happy sailing,

Rich

Away yet again.....

I write this post sitting in an internet caffe, 9hrs flight away from home. I'm looking forward to my return this summer when I can finish off DY 171 and make the most of all the hard work both my after and I have accomplished during March. Fortunately I have friends and family looking after the yawl while I am away and my father who will be visiting to put her new cover on and finished bow sprit!

Until the summer, happy sailing!

Taking a look back.

March has been one of the busiest months on the yawl so far. It feels like an apt time to reflect upon the change in DY 171.

so here is a before and now shot

Before (top) and now (bottom)

During March the following took place (not any particular order):

Cut and west new floorboards

Finish and replace woodwork

Re-rig masts booms and deck fittings (2/3 complete)

Commission new bowsprit

Replace slot gasket, re-seal keel banding and fit refurbished centre-plate.

Move to the South West

Launch and place on mooring.

Happy Sailing,

Rich

In the water!!

DY 171 is now in the water!

Some photos!!

Here are some photos of the work we have completed over the last few days. DY171 is beginning to look like a boat!

On the way to Devon!

On the way to rig DY 151 this weekend in Plymouth, lots of work complete, lots of work to do!

DY171 finally has a new rudder.

Those of you who have read my previous posts will know that I have put a lot of thought into rudder design for DY171. I have finally bitten the bullet and purchased a rudder, this blade is pretty traditional and should provide a good base to start with. We will probably purchase a new blade next season as soon as we have had some time sailing the boat and when we have a better idea of what we want. 


The stock is wooden laminate and will keep the traditional look of the boat. The stock has an internal pulley system for up / down hauls which is very tidy.


The dimensions of the foil are roughly:


Width           254mm
Thickness   20mm
Length         655mm (usable foil below the stock)

Sailing....

Its all very well and good preparing boats and fetteling, but nothing beats a day on the water. I've had a brief break from organising the Yawl to go sailing today. I decided to have an explore and sailed from Starcross to Exmounth to Topsham and back to Starcross. Excellent force 3 conditions just enough to get fully out on the wire downwind and had a great broad-reach with spinaker for about 2/3 of the estuary.

I probably won't sail the skiff into Topsham for a while as its very hard to judge the sand banks, until I'm better versed with navigation in the North of the estuary I'll do best to look after my poor racing foils :  )

On the way home from the sailing club I picked up four Inspection hatch covers to go on DY 171's tanks and four U-bolts to stay her mizzen. Engine service is booked and the little 2.5hp mercury should be ready early next week. 

All in all a good day!

Rich

Fitting the bow sprit

In order to provide the best fit, epoxy was added to the hole in the sprit for the knuckle on the bow, this was hardly required as the pole was almost perfectly central and snug when we placed it on the boat.  The pole will now go back to Tim Coombe for final finishing. It should look great when it's complete!

(The cling film in the photo is to stop the epoxy sticking to the boat)

New Bow Sprit

Tim Coombe has been working hard on our new bow sprit, here are some new photos of it in its pre-epoxy or varnished state!

Back to work on DY 171

Im still here, and have not completely dropped of the face of the planet.


Although I have been away since the end of December work has slowly continued on the Yawl. I have the next month to get the boat back on the water and in a sailable state.


The plan is to rig her with Selden masts, booms and fittings ordered from Allspars in Plymouth.  The masts should be ready in the next three weeks, at which time we will fit her out. All rigging above the deck has been ordered, including a fly away jib stick system. I am however flicking through the Selden Marlow and Spinlock brochures trying to list all the parts that i will need for the various systems on deck. Its hard to keep to the KISS (keep it simple stupid) system of procurement when you have soo many options. 


As a compromise and to minimise costs, we have purchased a lifting outboard bracket, as opposed to the expense of getting a cut out on the transom (this would have taken a large chunk out of the budget, for little gain). The old bracket was in such a poor state it could not be resurrected.


Work on the centre-plate has been slow, but it is finally ready to be placed back into the yawl today.  In January the plate was lifted out of the boat at Streethay Wharf (a local canal boat yard near my parents in the west-midlands) and has been away to be shot blasted and sealed. A new slot gasket has been made and is being fitted as I write this post. In fact I'm giving fitting advice over the phone to the yard as I am currently in Topsham.


In two weeks the yawl will need to move from the West-midalnds to Plymouth then Topsham. If you have read the previous post about the journey from Pool up to my fathers house you can understand why we will be conducting a thorough inspection of the trailer and replacing the other wheel bearing as a precaution.


One other major task that needs to be completed is the removal of foam from the buoyancy tanks, for this job both my father and I have three days set aside.  In order to remove the foam we will be adding two new hatches on each tank as well as the hole we have cut in each tank under the centre thwart (this will be re-sealed on completion).  The hatches will provide a useful water proof stowage as well as acting as access to the buoyancy bags we intend to fit as a safety precaution.


The wood work is coming on well, the thwart and centreboard case capping have been completely stripped of the old varnish sanded and are now ready for us to seal. These will be placed back on the boat during the fit out proces in Plymouth as we need to measure distances for control lines and the main sheet ratchet and swivel cleat.


Well thats enough to be getting on with for now,
I'll post my progress soon,


Rich