Sailing Talk | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Sailing Talk

crankcall said:
Nope you are not wrong , knots are free , don’t scratch the mast or foil and are pretty bullet proof ( if you can tie a knot) .
We change headsails sometimes twice or three times a week , sometimes mid race . Nobody is fooling around with knots . But that’s us . My halyards are mostly spectra synthetic so they don’t really tie well into a knot . And my hobby is splicing so lots of loops on my boats .
We used to send people up the mast crane , then I got involved in management of the yacht club , now I yell at people even thinking about it . My life is managing liability…..


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Click to expand...

Mast crane is definitely a little more complicated / sketchy, but we double up on a halyard as well just in case. Not sure if my mast is designed to handle the weight of a person on it, I assume it deals with greater forces on the water but some people told me not to risk it so I haven’t tried 😬

Splicing your own lines sounds like a great idea! Another skill I should probably pick up some day.. I should probably start by whipping the ends of my halyards so I don’t have to force them through my jam cleats with a flathead screwdriver every spring.
 
So unfortunately forestay is off by an inch. Just can’t quite get it on. Looks like I need to sort out an extension plate or find a longer toggle.

Did the math and being one inch off is an error of roughly 0.27% over the entire length. So close, yet so so so far..
 
MaksTO said:
So unfortunately forestay is off by an inch. Just can’t quite get it on. Looks like I need to sort out an extension plate or find a longer toggle.

Did the math and being one inch off is an error of roughly 0.27% over the entire length. So close, yet so so so far..
Click to expand...
Do you want the finished length longer or is the 1" an impossible gap that you need to close to get the finished length right?
 
GreyGhost said:
Do you want the finished length longer or is the 1" an impossible gap that you need to close to get the finished length right?
Click to expand...
I just can’t get it fastened to the boat. I need another inch of length. Not going to pull the entire thing apart so just need a fitting at the bottom that is about an inch longer to get it attached
 
Hey @crankcall quick one for you!

I swapped all the cotter pins on my forestay with split rings, and split rings are were all over the standing rigging on the boat from the day we got it (shrouds, backstay, forestay). From what I've read everyone seems to strongly urge cotter pins over split rings, though I haven't had an issue yet, and pins seem like they would quickly destroy lines and sails (and people) moving about the boat. Wondering if you've noticed a difference at all between one or another?
 
MaksTO said:
Hey @crankcall quick one for you!

I swapped all the cotter pins on my forestay with split rings, and split rings are were all over the standing rigging on the boat from the day we got it (shrouds, backstay, forestay). From what I've read everyone seems to strongly urge cotter pins over split rings, though I haven't had an issue yet, and pins seem like they would quickly destroy lines and sails (and people) moving about the boat. Wondering if you've noticed a difference at all between one or another?
Click to expand...
I don't do big boats. On small boats, everything was split rings and I never saw a failure.
 
Cotter pins on stuff that never comes off ( top of furler to masthead) and split rings on everything else . I’m not crazy about side shrouds with splits , they can torque load on their own and need regular inspection, that said I use them, and they get inspected weekly . Most bigger boats are cotter pins . Short course race boats use pins with Velcro holders on shrouds so tension can be changed daily . White electrical tape on everything, everywhere , proper rigging tape if you feel wealthy . I tape every ring and cotter on the boat , even if it’s 20ft off the ground . They catch clothing, skin and worse ,lines and sails . Tape them up!

35 yrs ago if you had a 28-30 ft boat on Lake Ontario you were doing fine , seems now that’s an introductory boat. Some of my best days have been racing 24ft boats .


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
 
You can get toggles ( extension plates ) for the forestay at almost any chanderly ( boat supply store) , might need a longer pin but that’s easy .
It’s pretty common to put them in to change mast rake . If you pull the backstay is there no way to get the front pin in? I’m assuming some adjustability in the backstay . Putting a mast up , I’m mast on boat fitting , side stays on but sloppy , then forestay , then backstay .


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
 
crankcall said:
Cotter pins on stuff that never comes off ( top of furler to masthead) and split rings on everything else . I’m not crazy about side shrouds with splits , they can torque load on their own and need regular inspection, that said I use them, and they get inspected weekly . Most bigger boats are cotter pins . Short course race boats use pins with Velcro holders on shrouds so tension can be changed daily . White electrical tape on everything, everywhere , proper rigging tape if you feel wealthy . I tape every ring and cotter on the boat , even if it’s 20ft off the ground . They catch clothing, skin and worse ,lines and sails . Tape them up!


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Click to expand...
That all makes sense. I think in that case I will probably just stick to rings and inspect them before sailing. I may even have some rigging tape kicking around to neaten it all up!
 
crankcall said:
You can get toggles ( extension plates ) for the forestay at almost any chanderly ( boat supply store) , might need a longer pin but that’s easy .
It’s pretty common to put them in to change mast rake . If you pull the backstay is there no way to get the front pin in? I’m assuming some adjustability in the backstay . Putting a mast up , I’m mast on boat fitting , side stays on but sloppy , then forestay , then backstay .


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Click to expand...
If I install forestay before back stay, then I can only get one half of the backstay on (it's one stay, that splits into a Y at the bottom with a line and blocks to adjust tension). I'm about two inches off. The toggle fixed everything, but oddly enough I feel like when I tension my backstay the Y at the bottom gets quite small. Might try removing the second toggle one day, but I don't really feel like de-tensioning all of my shrouds for that experiment at the moment.
 
Next job is learning about my electrical system, as my battery died and I bought a new AGM. Realizing old battery was just a car battery and pretty sure the charger that's plugged into the 120 outlet in my starboard lazarette is also a car charger... quite concerning from all that I've been reading. Now trying to find documentation on hard wiring vs using a 120v outlet for the battery charging system (which only really exists on my boat to power the charger and an outlet inside the cabin I am pretty sure).

AC on a boat seems quite terrifying to work on, though I am almost looking forward to mapping out the DC system on my boat. I don't have much going on as far as electronics go, so I feel it will be a good first entry into 12V electronics (minus the minimal 12V experience I have on bikes, haha).
 
MaksTO said:
Next job is learning about my electrical system, as my battery died and I bought a new AGM. Realizing old battery was just a car battery and pretty sure the charger that's plugged into the 120 outlet in my starboard lazarette is also a car charger... quite concerning from all that I've been reading. Now trying to find documentation on hard wiring vs using a 120v outlet for the battery charging system (which only really exists on my boat to power the charger and an outlet inside the cabin I am pretty sure).

AC on a boat seems quite terrifying to work on, though I am almost looking forward to mapping out the DC system on my boat. I don't have much going on as far as electronics go, so I feel it will be a good first entry into 12V electronics (minus the minimal 12V experience I have on bikes, haha).
Click to expand...
What is powering the 120v system? Generator? Shore power only? 120v isn't scary or hard. Ask questions, understand how it works, be safe.
 
GreyGhost said:
What is powering the 120v system? Generator? Shore power only? 120v isn't scary or hard. Ask questions, understand how it works, be safe.
Click to expand...
It works off of shore power. I haven’t looked at the boat since digging into this so I’ve been trying to find diagrams of how shore power even works. I assume there has to be some sort of transformer as I know some shore power systems are higher than 120v - but don’t recall seeing anything for that on my boat just a single breaker for the shore outlet if I recall correctly.

Main weirdness is having an outlet in a lazarette that can very likely get wet while sailing, so debating on maybe just hard wiring a new charger when I figure out what to buy and removing that outlet for good. That said it also seems the grounding requirements and splicing of wires on a boat is drastically different than household stuff (for obvious reasons), so just a lot to get familiar with.
 
MaksTO said:
It works off of shore power. I haven’t looked at the boat since digging into this so I’ve been trying to find diagrams of how shore power even works. I assume there has to be some sort of transformer as I know some shore power systems are higher than 120v - but don’t recall seeing anything for that on my boat just a single breaker for the shore outlet if I recall correctly.

Main weirdness is having an outlet in a lazarette that can very likely get wet while sailing, so debating on maybe just hard wiring a new charger when I figure out what to buy and removing that outlet for good. That said it also seems the grounding requirements and splicing of wires on a boat is drastically different than household stuff (for obvious reasons), so just a lot to get familiar with.
Click to expand...
Shore power will be 120v. No transformers. It will be a glorified extension cord with protection. If you feel safer you could use an extension cord to the battery charger and ignore the built in wiring entirely.
 
Guy named Nigel Calder wrote a book about boat electrical systems , can get it on Amazon I think , it’s the bible . Yes AC power on boats is not like AC at home , and it’s a good idea to know the difference . I probably have a copy here somewhere I can mail you .

So when built your boat had a turnbuckle at the base of the forestay . You went furler that eliminated that adjustment . It used to be fixed backstay on , then tension forestay . Now you need an adjustable backstay , or a least a turnbuckle in there so you can get it to fit . One thing alway affects another , you need to plan for that .
Car battery is fine for what you’re doing , a marine charger would be a good idea . The cost of marine electrical fittings is pretty scary . Luckily there are a million boats being scrapped and used fittings are everywhere.


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
 
GreyGhost said:
Shore power will be 120v. No transformers. It will be a glorified extension cord with protection. If you feel safer you could use an extension cord to the battery charger and ignore the built in wiring entirely.
Click to expand...
I’d like to keep the shore power I think as the cord is super beefy and designed to be out in the elements. Also no regular outlets on our podiums I don’t think.

Maybe will just plug in a charger for now and eventually hard wire it to clean up the Lazarette, hopefully it’s not that big of a shock risk for the time being.
 
crankcall said:
Guy named Nigel Calder wrote a book about boat electrical systems , can get it on Amazon I think , it’s the bible . Yes AC power on boats is not like AC at home , and it’s a good idea to know the difference . I probably have a copy here somewhere I can mail you .

So when built your boat had a turnbuckle at the base of the forestay . You went furler that eliminated that adjustment . It used to be fixed backstay on , then tension forestay . Now you need an adjustable backstay , or a least a turnbuckle in there so you can get it to fit . One thing alway affects another , you need to plan for that .
Car battery is fine for what you’re doing , a marine charger would be a good idea . The cost of marine electrical fittings is pretty scary . Luckily there are a million boats being scrapped and used fittings are everywhere.


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Click to expand...
I’ve been flipping through the Don Casey book for now - has a book within the book on marine electrical. Lots to keep track of in there, feels like learning the theory is easier when you are tackling a specific job as opposed to abstractly thinking about it.

Checking scrap boats for fittings is an interesting idea! Though I don’t think I need many fittings, but I do want to keep some wire and terminals on the boat eventually. I think I have some new 16ga marine wire but wondering if just going 12ga everywhere would be simpler, if not a little overkill.
 
MaksTO said:
I’d like to keep the shore power I think as the cord is super beefy and designed to be out in the elements. Also no regular outlets on our podiums I don’t think.

Maybe will just plug in a charger for now and eventually hard wire it to clean up the Lazarette, hopefully it’s not that big of a shock risk for the time being.
Click to expand...
Shore power should be GFI protected.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom