Messages

Ron, my mast is not bent. I was wondering if bending it was an option. After adjustments it still appears to lean forward even though it's aft surface is in contact with the deck. When I measured with a weight tied to the main halyard, the aft water tank was full, as was the fuel tank, and yet the weight was hard against the mast.

Finally had a calm morning and hung a weight from the main halyard and found the mast to be slightly forward of vertical. Since my mast is already in contact with the deck and appears to require even greater rake, I wonder whether mast bend is an option ? The mast section seems very rigid!

I was always bothered by the apparent forward lean of my mast.Last winter I shortened my back stay by 4 inches and moved the mast step as far forward as possible.I backed the fore stay off as far as I could. The net result is the aft edge of the mast is now sitting almost in contact with the deck.The mast appears more vertical but the best part is that I can point higher and there is much less weather helm . I'm thinking to shorten the back stay a little more since it is now "bottomed out" on the turn buckle without being as tight as it could/should be.Has anyone ventured into this area? I like the result but would prefer to see the mast more centered in the deck.Ours is a keel stepped mast, standard rig,wing keel, hull # 899.
                                     Marsh

Phil, I relocated my tank to the starboard side by building a shelf and mounting the box on drawer hardware so that I can roll it out to refill or exchange tanks.The spare is mounted on a rack on the same side outboard of the rails.It opened up a lot of storage space as well as giving easy access to the steering.    Marsh.

I installed 4 x 6v batteries forward of the hot water tank and wired them with a monitor so that they are always on stream no matter what the battery switch position. I did this because we chartered the boat and the charterers could never get it right . Aft of the engine is a dedicated starting battery, that is brought on line with a relay only during starting.All batteries are combined while starting. The starting battery is then recharged via an echo charger.The house bank is Trojan 108"s,and the starter is 1000 CCA automotive,no maintainance.This has worked well for several years.
                                                                                             Marsh

I have a 15x12  2 blade Vari Prop. Sailing speed has increased by about a knot at top end, prop walk has been elliminated , but I gave up a lot when powering into wind and waves.I should have spent the extra and bought a 3 blade.

We have to store the boat for the winter on its cradle and therefore never leave the mast up. Our marina has an electrically powered mast crane and my wife and I take the mast down and store it in a rack. With just the two of us the whole process takes about an hour.It also gives me an annual opportunity to do regular maintainance without going up the mast.
 

Susan, what was your source for the hinges?
                              Marsh

Is there a part number for the mast head sheaves or will Garhauer know what I need from the boat description?

Kerk, I had exactly that problem with my cradle and modified it by adding 4 inches of lumber under the keel to give me more room for pad adjustment and then added a 7th pad on centre at the aft end. I always go back midwinter to see how she's resting and make any necessary adjustments as frost will generally change "the lay of the land".This may be awkward for you so you should instruct the marina to do this for you.We also sail on,Georgian Bay and live somewhat locally so if I can help further let me know
                                        Marsh

We have the tufted topper and had to modify it slightly to keep it from shifting during the night. It's held in position with elastic stips at each corner and I tend to shift around a lot so we added some more to help anchor it. We also purchased their custom sheets which we really like!Top and bottom sheets are one piece, sewn at the foot and fitted over the cushion so it stays put.

I tried Vertglas and liked when first applied. However you must not use detergent or any harsh cleansers afterward for routine cleanups as they ruin the finish.A friend uses the product annualy on a 1986 hull and it looks great ,but he's very careful about how scubs the waterline.

I also had fuel in the bilge and discovered the clamp for the vent line loose at the transom through hull, and because I had a full tank and with heat expansion it was dripping!

We just completed our spring launch and in the process the lift operator remarked that our boat weighed in at 14000 lbs.Both water tanks are empty, waste tank is empty , fuel tank is full, mast is still in storage,and the guage is said to be accurate.Can this weight be true? Its an 89 C34 with standard rig and wing keel, hull # 889.

Thanks for all the response.My understanding is that some forward movement of the mast will be a little help which was all I'm after. I always reef fairly early and generally fly only a 110 jib. Now that the Canadian dollar is worth a little something I'll be replacing the rudder next spring.