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