Re: Glueing in some extra battans!

Well, last nite I glued in two more, 39" battens, parallel to where the folds appear, which is pointing down hill towards the stern, I'll report back the results. As far as I know the battens don't affect PHRF rating, ha ha especially on a 45 year old sail that I've beaten to death during the last ten years. Captn Solar Solar

I love it when people think outside the box.... Gerry, maybe you should just make a solid wing, and call it good? From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Gerald Sobel Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 11:54 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [Cal_Boats] Re: Glueing in some extra battans! Well, last nite I glued in two more, 39" battens, parallel to where the folds appear, which is pointing down hill towards the stern, I'll report back the results. As far as I know the battens don't affect PHRF rating, ha ha especially on a 45 year old sail that I've beaten to death during the last ten years. Captn Solar Solar

Hey dEmO (and all), My mast (42') is down . I am replacing wiring. Rigger was recommending RG8X cable for the VHF. Looks light weight, maybe too light? What did you use on California Girl? Mike Robinson The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian.

Hey dEmO (and all), My mast (42') is down . I am replacing wiring. Rigger was recommending RG8X cable for the VHF. Looks light weight, maybe too light? What did you use on California Girl? Mike Robinson The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian.

Mike It was a long time ago.. but I'm confident that we installed the RG-8U as I had room in the mast. The installation checked out well with my SWR meter... and we typically have a very good signal. (we used Ancor brand coax). You rigger is suggesting a coax with nearly double the signal loss... I used the soldered connectors, soaked Lanocote into the ends, and then shrink wrapped with glue liners, each connection. dEmO

exquezzz-me..... but if you don't mind another opinion, i mite suggest a totally differently method of reducing signal loss in typical VHF blow-boat antenna installs. the first thing is to get the stick off the top of the mast, and on one side or the other of the stern. buy the very-best high- gain two-piece stick "Shakespeaere" makes. and then use a good automatic "heal-neutralizing" device to mount the stick on. the stick will come with the best-quality coax money can buy already on it. use the highest quality SS ratchet mount to for the base of the stick so it can lay down if necessary. and then hire a FCC certified radio man to connect and test the VHF. sorry guys, fiver quit years ago..... but in all honesty, this is how BB-54 will be. ************************************************ --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, <timmothy.lessley@...> wrote: > > Mike > > It was a long time ago.. but I'm confident that we installed the RG- 8U > as I had room in the mast. The installation checked out well with my SWR > meter... and we typically have a very good signal. (we used Ancor brand > coax). > You rigger is suggesting a coax with nearly double the signal loss... > > I used the soldered connectors, soaked Lanocote into the ends, and then > shrink wrapped with glue liners, each connection. > > dEmO > > From the West Marine Site: > > Coaxial Cable > ________________________________ > > Coaxial cable (coax) is designed to transfer your radio transmitter's > energy to your antenna with as little loss as possible. It is precisely > made, with the correct impedance for VHF installations. > > We offer three kinds of coax cable for VHF radio installations: RG- 58, > RG-8X, and RG-8U. As a rule of thumb, use the largest coax you can fit > to reduce signal loss. Here is the reason: Almost all VHF radios start > with about 25 watts of transmit power. As soon as the signal starts down > the coax cable, it begins to lose strength. This loss is measured in dB. > High gain antennas cannot recover this lost energy, but they can focus > the remaining energy across the water so you come through with as much > punch as possible. > > Bigger coax reduces signal losses between the radio and the antenna, > which increases power at the antenna. This chart shows the effect of > using different sizes of coax: > > > Coax Size vs. Signal Loss in dB > Cable: 20' 40' 60' 80' 100' > RG-58 -1.2dB -2.4dB -3.6dB -4.9dB -6.1dB > RG-8X -0.9dB -1.8dB -2.7dB -3.6dB -4.5dB > RG-8U -0.5dB -1.0dB -1.6dB -2.1dB -2.7dB > > We strongly recommend that you use Ancor coax cable unless your antenna > is supplied with cable. Ancor cable has a very tightly woven shield > braid and uses tinned wire for greater corrosion resistance. > > One of the best ways to reduce your radio's performance is with a poor > splice to your antenna cable. Splices made without the correct > connectors can reduce your transmit power by a factor of ten or more. > When it is necessary to splice a coax cable, like at the base of a mast, > use PL-259 connectors and a PL-258 double female connector. This method > will reduce losses compared to simply soldering or crimping the > conductors together. > > One drawback of connectors is that they can allow water to get into the > cable. Water tends to "wick" inside the braided shield on the cable, > which quickly corrodes the copper into a green crust. You must protect > all coax connections from water intrusion, especially in the bilge area, > masthead, or where exposed to water. > > For connections that are open to the elements, we recommend Ancor heat > shrink tubing, after coating the connection with silicone grease. Many > turns of waterproof tape is an acceptable, but less desirable, > alternative. > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On > Behalf Of Michael Robinson > Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 4:22 PM > To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > Subject: RE: [Cal_Boats] VHF antenna cable > > > > Hey dEmO (and all), > > My mast (42') is down . I am replacing wiring. Rigger was recommending > RG8X cable for the VHF. Looks light weight, maybe too light? What did > you use on California Girl? > > Mike Robinson > > > > > > ________________________________ > > The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by > Experian. <http://g.msn.com/8HMAENUS/2755??PS=47575> >

Ahhh, success, sorta. My 45 year old main is looking a mite better. It took too long to get the pop rivets through the batten ends so we missed tonites race, but the delay gave us a chance to take onboard one of our friends and gangway mates who has an O'Day 27 a few slips down. I was fun and he was anxious to learn and do and help. Plus he brought along a couple of 24 oz brewskys to celebrate. The sail looks better but the upper intermediary is a bit too long and now we'll have to splice it to reach the luff of the sail to eliminate the folds at its end. The sail recut had done last fall is adversely affecting things, as it was only the mid part of the sail and not the entire luff, so I'll have to take in the sail between the reef point and the tuck. I'm just going to tuck in and glue it together with epoxy, super glue, or contact cement. Jerry I'll be putting in two more battans but I'll make sure they are shorter this time. Hey, the sail's looking great and the boat, despite low wind conditions, seemed to glide along nicely. Meanwhile the race was abandoned by the fleet for lack of wind on the return leg. Huge ocean swells from the south, were breaking over the south jetty. My tag along suggested we return back thru the north entrance to stay out of trouble....which we did. I noticed the returning fleet motored back in the north entrance as well