RE: [Cal_Boats] Forespar Marelon Winches : grateful update

TL: DR\ I waxed the track and got it to raise and lower much easier and found a local winch replacement. Thanks! : ) Thanks for all the comments..input..replies..information. I’m reading it all. All of it. Old salt? Definitely not me. Eventually. The winch issue: Last night as I was walking through the yard, one of the guys pedaled by on his SWEEEET mountain bike. Nice unit..hand-made from ebay and craigslist parts..for cheap but looks so nice. I do mountain bikes also, motorcycles too. He asked how is my process coming...learning, sailing, etc. all of it. I told him about the winch issue. He chuckled and reminded me that he commented on it previously. OK..Fine Scott. You were right. Now, how can you be constructive? Oh..I have this used stainless #10 over here if you want it…how does $50 sound? DUDE! You didn’t mention that last time! You didn’t ask. $50 never flew out of my wallet so fast! Also, since that was my mission last night to get that understood..and addressed, I checked the track. It’s a “hat-shaped” configuration with metal sliders that are fastened to the luff. Kris showed a picture of the configuration. Cunningham? Who are you? Fonzie? : ) Yes, the there is one, I think and I have fiddled with it under sail but not enough to predict what impact varying the tension will cause in what conditions. But I applied paraffin wax to the tracks and ran it through the motions..up and down…several times and it seems that, along with another issue that I think I resolved, I can now blast the sail up to its fullest. I used two wraps on the winch to ‘help’ but no handle was necessary…at the dock, of course. Near zero wind made it easy. The battens hang up on the lazy jacks sometimes also. They might not be properly tensioned…I don’t know. I know that all of the rigging..the forestay and back stays all impact mast angle and thereby sail performance, lift etc.. A local yard guy said…tune your rigging from the lee side under sail. Make the lee looser and the windward tighter. Sure…ok. Next time. : ) I’ll print that long note and examine it on the deck in the daylight with the ASA book and another reference I have on hand. I also tied on some reef lines but although they will be functional, I do not believe they are optimal, however they will work until I determine a more proper method. There are lines that seem to correspond to a cringle at the clew and the tack on the boom but they are not attached to the cringle so I’m not sure how they are supposed to be strung. I know what they are supposed to do and I can make them hold the clew but I want stuff to be ‘correct’. : ) In time...in time. I hear you already…take a class or something. I am. This is it and you are all my instructors. I have enough of the basics to pass an ASA 101 class. I purchased all 3 books: Basic, Coastal and Barefoot and along with others and lady Google. A lot of this stuff is the details that almost require my own boat and hands-on. That is why I bought the boat. (I’m also studying Agile and Italian opera. A guy’s gotta have interests) I’m not careless or reckless but I am confident in my abilities and survival skills in life. I had a 20’ power boat in Hunt Beach that I ran back and forth to/from Catalina, but sailing is not even close, except it’s a vehicle that floats on top of the water and mistakes can put lives at risk and cause them to sink. Other than that…like guinea pigs and elephants: very different critters. I listen and I learn fast. I’m excited to be going out some time next week with some listers from Santa Cruz! Ed and Helen…bring all of your wisdom and guidance. I will have my ears on! Thank you. ..tom From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2016 11:03 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Forespar Marelon Winches : My review Sorry to hear those glass reinforced polyester winches aren't working out. I might have bought a pair had I not found, on Craigslist, a nice pair of Lewmar 6's which kinda looked a wee bit oversized for Shpritz. It's the size found on a Catalina 25 and possibly 27, and more robust than the pair on the MacGregor. I really miss the plastic winches that came with my Cal 24 because they were counter-rotating, meaning, the wound the sheet line from the outside. It took a while to get used to having both winches turning the same way...I had to think about what I was doing when I went to the port side of the boat! Thinking is not easy when you are 68 going on 69. My nice brown winches started to crumble, and I love the way the heavy bronze babes grrrrip the sheet-much easier on my calcium fiber reinforced organic backbone. Jerry Sobel-- Consort of the Queen Mother of Cals On Thursday, January 14, 2016 7:39 AM, "Grae Morrison gr… [at] gtmorrison.net [Cal_Boats]" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> wrote: Or even a chocolate teapot :) Grae Morrison On 14/01/2016 10:36, ccampbell cc… [at] lsnm.org [Cal_Boats] wrote: On 1/14/2016 10:26 AM, 'TomDressler' tb… [at] verizon.net [Cal_Boats] wrote: Hello, Nobody has asked but here is my recent experience with Forespar Marelon #6 winches. My 2-25 came with one deck-mounted for the main halyard. It’s a small, #6, synthetic. Isn't a plastic winch somewhat comparable to a cardboard come-along? Chris Campbell --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus