RE: [Cal_Boats] Jackline installation (Chris S and Sabine dEmO)

Ya know, this last email just triggered the old light-bulb. So tell me how low-watt this light-bulb really is. I single-hand almost all the time. I always tether myself whenever I feel there is risk. Figure it's better to stay with the boat than not. BUT, I am aware that if I go over, I ain't getting back on. Here's the idea - make a tether that is also a ladder. This would also help recovering MOBs who are concious even when not single handing. This could be refined. The latter could be built such that it would not be a problem. Imagine one 'upright' of the ladder being about four inches wide, with velcro running down both sides. The other 'upright' would be plain webbing. Initially, the plain upright and the rungs would be laid on the wide side, and the wide side then rolled into a tube, held closed by the velcro. This way it would just be a fat tether. Further refinements - such a tube is not very flexible - but could be if there where gaps in the wide side with no velcro. Thes gaps would be just the width of the webbing that would be the underlying 'upright' on the wide side, and would be only about half an inch high. The gap woule be immediatly above the rung, so that rungs would be hanging down into a pocket formed by the tube, but the tube would be very flexible at the gap. A ripcord that would open the whole thing might be better than velcro - easier to open - especially if wearing gloves, or by crew still on board. Could possiblly be may self opening on immersion. Maybe should be fastened harness high up on shoulders on back, so that default 'towing' position would be face up with back to boat - avoiding towing under problem. Ladder actually needs to be doubled in two lenght-wise when in 'sock'. This would ensure a long enough bight of ladder to get feet into to start climb. Don't want to depend only on arm strength! So maybe imagine a web tether 6 feet l0ng, and a ladder 12. The tether is fastened between boat/jackline and harness, ladder attached to either end of tether. Now picture "top half" of ladder. right upright being thether, got the picture. When overside, held tether length from boat, but there is extra ladder longer that teather. Further, both ends of extra lenght are attached to tether to body attachement. This means easier to get feet into ladder maybe. How about better ideas? I think I am going to play around with building one for myself Or am I nuts Thomas Downing 87 Aloha 32 'Telyos' Ex Cal 2-27 From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Bob Walden Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 11:15 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Jackline installation (Chris S and Sabine dEmO) another factor is where to put the aft tie-down point of the jackline. At first, I ran them the full length of the boat. But someone realized that if you went in the water you'd tend to be dragged back all the way aft and wind up being towed behind the boat. Seemed like it would be better to be alongside, so we started tieing off the aft end of the jl at about the front of the cockpit. But on some boats, this could leave you distressingly near the prop. So I guess it depends on the boat, it's design, etc. I suspect it's also unlikely that you'd slip back very far; the first stanchion would be likely to halt your aftwards slide. bw From: Rog Jones <mailto:ro… [at] nvsailing.org> To: Cal_Boats@yahoogrou <mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> ps.com Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 8:06 AM Subject: RE: [Cal_Boats] Jackline installation (Chris S and Sabine dEmO) You know, never tested the pull-out or break strength nor the likelihood of chafing with the flush ring pulls, but I've been using them since the '60s when we bought them for Jensen Marine from the old Southern Supply. There are still a lot of these as original hardware on the boats we built. I've never heard of one chafing through a jackline or otherwise failing. The big ones are very beefy and are capable of lifting at least 15,000 pounds and there are multiple fasteners to distribute the load. Anecdotally, we picked up the ass end of a Cal 48 at Roseanne's Shipyard one time when we were in a bit of a hurry using only one of these ring pulls the sole lifting point - another story for another time. Mostly, though they are strong and when not is use are flush and not another protrusion to bruise you when you crawl over it, snag a sheet or to trip over on the foredeck... For my boats, I'll stick with the flush ring pulls. As mentioned in the first post, I figured there would be a lot of different advice on this subject. That's why we have the list. There also may not be consensus on this, either. With the loss of Laura Gainey from the Picton Castle yesterday, the subject is even more timely, though it doesn't seem she was wearing a PFD, harness or was tethered. What a shame. \Rog Cal 29+ #1 Swiss Navy Cal 2-30 #77 St. Lori's Comet DISCLAIMER: Important Notice ************************************************* This e-mail may contain information that is confidential, privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not an intended recipient of this e-mail, do not duplicate or redistribute it by any means. Please delete it and any attachments and notify the sender that you have received it in error. Unintended recipients are prohibited from taking action on the basis of information in this e-mail.E-mail messages may contain computer viruses or other defects, may not be accurately replicated on other systems, or may be intercepted, deleted or interfered with without the knowledge of the sender or the intended recipient. If you are not comfortable with the risks associated with e-mail messages, you may decide not to use e-mail to communicate with IPC. IPC reserves the right, to the extent and under circumstances permitted by applicable law, to retain, monitor and intercept e-mail messages to and from its systems.

This is similar to something I've considered if single-handing: having boarding ladders set up on each side with a line hanging over. The lines would allow you to deploy the boarding ladder. These would be simple rope ladders with rigid steps, lashed down, and the pull-line just undoes a slip-knot to let the ladder unroll down the side. I'd set these up at approximately where I think my tether would put me, if I went in the water and slid down the boat to the end of the jackline. This is another reason not to put the jackline aft end too far aft. Still not good odds, a lot can go wrong. If you're way up at the bow, go over the side, odds are you'll not slide down the side of the boat--the tether will bind up on the first stanchion you hit. One fix for this would be to run extra jacks down the sides, outside the lifelines, and slack enough to reach from the water. Wear a 2-legged tether, if you go in the drink and need to slide further down to your boarding ladder, clip on to the outer jack and cut the other tether leg, slide down to the boarding ladder. Might work. Hope to never try it. bw ----- Original Message ----- From: Downing, Thomas To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 9:56 AM Subject: RE: [Cal_Boats] Jackline installation (Chris S and Sabine dEmO) Ya know, this last email just triggered the old light-bulb. So tell me how low-watt this light-bulb really is. I single-hand almost all the time. I always tether myself whenever I feel there is risk. Figure it's better to stay with the boat than not. BUT, I am aware that if I go over, I ain't getting back on. Here's the idea - make a tether that is also a ladder. This would also help recovering MOBs who are concious even when not single handing. This could be refined. The latter could be built such that it would not be a problem. Imagine one 'upright' of the ladder being about four inches wide, with velcro running down both sides. The other 'upright' would be plain webbing. Initially, the plain upright and the rungs would be laid on the wide side, and the wide side then rolled into a tube, held closed by the velcro. This way it would just be a fat tether. Further refinements - such a tube is not very flexible - but could be if there where gaps in the wide side with no velcro. Thes gaps would be just the width of the webbing that would be the underlying 'upright' on the wide side, and would be only about half an inch high. The gap woule be immediatly above the rung, so that rungs would be hanging down into a pocket formed by the tube, but the tube would be very flexible at the gap. A ripcord that would open the whole thing might be better than velcro - easier to open - especially if wearing gloves, or by crew still on board. Could possiblly be may self opening on immersion. Maybe should be fastened harness high up on shoulders on back, so that default 'towing' position would be face up with back to boat - avoiding towing under problem. Ladder actually needs to be doubled in two lenght-wise when in 'sock'. This would ensure a long enough bight of ladder to get feet into to start climb. Don't want to depend only on arm strength! So maybe imagine a web tether 6 feet l0ng, and a ladder 12. The tether is fastened between boat/jackline and harness, ladder attached to either end of tether. Now picture "top half" of ladder. right upright being thether, got the picture. When overside, held tether length from boat, but there is extra ladder longer that teather. Further, both ends of extra lenght are attached to tether to body attachement. This means easier to get feet into ladder maybe. How about better ideas? I think I am going to play around with building one for myself Or am I nuts Thomas Downing 87 Aloha 32 'Telyos' Ex Cal 2-27 -----Original Message----- From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Bob Walden Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 11:15 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Jackline installation (Chris S and Sabine dEmO) another factor is where to put the aft tie-down point of the jackline. At first, I ran them the full length of the boat. But someone realized that if you went in the water you'd tend to be dragged back all the way aft and wind up being towed behind the boat. Seemed like it would be better to be alongside, so we started tieing off the aft end of the jl at about the front of the cockpit. But on some boats, this could leave you distressingly near the prop. So I guess it depends on the boat, it's design, etc. I suspect it's also unlikely that you'd slip back very far; the first stanchion would be likely to halt your aftwards slide. bw ----- Original Message ----- From: Rog Jones To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 8:06 AM Subject: RE: [Cal_Boats] Jackline installation (Chris S and Sabine dEmO) You know, never tested the pull-out or break strength nor the likelihood of chafing with the flush ring pulls, but I've been using them since the '60s when we bought them for Jensen Marine from the old Southern Supply. There are still a lot of these as original hardware on the boats we built. I've never heard of one chafing through a jackline or otherwise failing. The big ones are very beefy and are capable of lifting at least 15,000 pounds and there are multiple fasteners to distribute the load. Anecdotally, we picked up the ass end of a Cal 48 at Roseanne's Shipyard one time when we were in a bit of a hurry using only one of these ring pulls the sole lifting point - another story for another time. Mostly, though they are strong and when not is use are flush and not another protrusion to bruise you when you crawl over it, snag a sheet or to trip over on the foredeck. For my boats, I'll stick with the flush ring pulls. As mentioned in the first post, I figured there would be a lot of different advice on this subject. That's why we have the list. There also may not be consensus on this, either. With the loss of Laura Gainey from the Picton Castle yesterday, the subject is even more timely, though it doesn't seem she was wearing a PFD, harness or was tethered. What a shame. \Rog Cal 29+ #1 Swiss Navy Cal 2-30 #77 St. Lori's Comet DISCLAIMER: Important Notice ************************************************* This e-mail may contain information that is confidential, privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not an intended recipient of this e-mail, do not duplicate or redistribute it by any means. Please delete it and any attachments and notify the sender that you have received it in error. Unintended recipients are prohibited from taking action on the basis of information in this e-mail.E-mail messages may contain computer viruses or other defects, may not be accurately replicated on other systems, or may be intercepted, deleted or interfered with without the knowledge of the sender or the intended recipient. If you are not comfortable with the risks associated with e-mail messages, you may decide not to use e-mail to communicate with IPC. IPC reserves the right, to the extent and under circumstances permitted by applicable law, to retain, monitor and intercept e-mail messages to and from its systems.

Great idea. Go for it, Thomas! \Rog Cal 29+ #1 Swiss Navy Cal 2-30 #77 St. Lori's Comet

Roger - please send your phone number. Joe DeMers Sound Marine Diesel LLC www.soundmarinediesel.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Rog Jones To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 2:00 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Tether ladder (was Jackline installation) (Thomas) Great idea. Go for it, Thomas! \Rog Cal 29+ #1 Swiss Navy Cal 2-30 #77 St. Lori's Comet

--- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "Rog Jones" <rog@...> wrote: > > Great idea. Go for it, Thomas! My boarding ladder folds up in the gate, mounts on the toe rail track and could probably be modified so it could be unfolded from below with a line and a block mounted. The ladder has two sleeves that hold it folded up. I would think someone who wanted to modify it for MOB purposes could do so. It extends below the water when unfolded and has two steps without teak treads at the bottom, then three with teak treads for above the water. I had them modify it by removing the bottom treads to avoid slamming against the hull when on the mooring with the ladder down. Here it is: http://www.bosunsupplies.com/products2.cfm?product=TOPS-Amid Mike Kennedy Conquest Cal 40 # 96 > > > > \Rog > > > > Cal 29+ #1 > > Swiss Navy > > > > Cal 2-30 #77 > > St. Lori's Comet >

Has anyone tried these flexible boarding ladders? E.g Wichard emergency boarding ladder http://www.landfallnavigation.com/swbl1.html Sabine P.S. With regards to jacklines - for the time being I will probably go with the a prefabricated jackline, hooked to the u-bolt at the foot of the forestay and tie it off to cleats at the stern and to the stanchion in the middle of the boat. Once I get it from the mooring into a slip (temporarily) modifications will be easier - but definitely thanks for the multitude of good ideas. > > Great idea. Go for it, Thomas! > > My boarding ladder folds up in the gate, mounts on > the toe rail track and could probably > be modified so it could be unfolded from below with > a line and a block mounted. The > ladder has two sleeves that hold it folded up. I > would think someone who wanted to > modify it for MOB purposes could do so. It extends > below the water when unfolded and > has two steps without teak treads at the bottom, > then three with teak treads for above the > water. I had them modify it by removing the bottom > treads to avoid slamming against the > hull when on the mooring with the ladder down. > > Here it is: > http://www.bosunsupplies.com/products2.cfm?product=TOPS-Amid > > Mike Kennedy > Conquest Cal 40 # 96 > > > > > > > > > \Rog > > > > > > > > Cal 29+ #1 > > > > Swiss Navy > > > > > > > > Cal 2-30 #77 > > > > St. Lori's Comet > > > > > Inbox full of spam? Get leading spam protection and 1GB storage with All New Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html

We blasted to San Diego last Friday and found our Christmas lights in good order. Attended the marina party, won nothing, took down the lights and said, "let's go sailing." Saturday was a bust, so we rested. Sunday had many of us chomping at the bit, as 15 knot winds were reported on the bay, maybe a bit of rain later. But the sun was out. Our retired Navy sailing guru dock mate announced we'd been invited to go aboard a Valiant 42 to check her out, but quickly added we would all be better served to take a rain check and get out on the water in our own boats. He claimed that if we let this one pass, we would fall into some pattern of passing on the windier days. Right . . . We all scrambled to get out there ASAP. Remembering Rog's comments to reef the Cal 28 early, and not to over power her, I began preparing the only remaining jib I had, my blue and white 150 genoa. Never having reefed before, I thought I'd forego that and just pay very good attention to the main sheet and place the traveler as far over as I could, remembering to move it all the way to the opposite side after each tack. My dock mates all objected in front of Debbie, who was then scared. I listened, remembered Rog, and then, for the first time, reefed my main. My only other jib was a lousy storm jib, which really sucks. They all convinced me to hoist it anyway. I did. It had no sheets, so I had to take them off the genoa, making me last to get on the water. Did I tell you the storm jib sucks? I normally wait to clear the narrow channel before hoisting sails. But there was so much wind, I thought, why not? We soon changed back to power because the wind angle was not ideal, and because the storm jib sucked. I noticed that weather helm again and then discovered why the outboard kept moving about. Turns out, the remaining thruster fin (recall one broke off in an earlier adventure) was now attached with but one bolt and was moving about and acting as a second rudder to the outboard. I kept an eye on it, but the long shaft was too far away to easily remove (see attached photo). We were just getting into a rhythm and enjoying the camaraderie of the Valiant 42 and the others on the radio and water when our main ripped along a seam. We decided to abort, lowered all sails, and headed back into the marina. We missed a great day of wind and sun. Did I mention the storm jib sucked? No one else was flying a storm jib, so they cruised on by us. I think they wanted it that way. Before the main tore, we came about a few times. Each time the boat fell way off, almost doing a 360 before recovering and coming back on to the proper tack angle. I attributed this to the jib. Made for a very lousy short sail before the tear developed. I think my dock mates are older (wiser), very out of shape, and could not imagine playing with a genoa out there. I will never use the storm jib again, except in a storm. Sailing with the storm jib was like sailing a completely different boat. I like that genoa! Bruce Stirling

I have not tried the nylon boarding ladders. However, just by looking at the photo I can tell it would be extremely difficult for the average person to emerge from the water on such a ladder unless the boat was not moving at all. Even stationary, that climb would be too much for many people. We made the mistake of buying a portable ladder at West Marine before investigating. It is the kind that has two curved tops that are too narrow to attach to our cockpit. When mounted by a person, the ladder angle conforms to the hull of the boat. Unless you are a rock climber used to climbing while angled away from the cliff, you are going to be in for one ugly experience. The guy in the photo shown is about to experience the same thing. I could barely haul my sorry self out of the water. The line ladder would be even worse, in my opinion. Bruce Stirling From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of . . Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 1:03 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Re: Wichard emergency boarding ladder - Tether ladder (was Jackline installation) (Thomas) Has anyone tried these flexible boarding ladders? E.g Wichard emergency boarding ladder http://www.landfallnavigation.com/swbl1.html Sabine P.S. With regards to jacklines - for the time being I will probably go with the a prefabricated jackline, hooked to the u-bolt at the foot of the forestay and tie it off to cleats at the stern and to the stanchion in the middle of the boat. Once I get it from the mooring into a slip (temporarily) modifications will be easier - but definitely thanks for the multitude of good ideas. > > Great idea. Go for it, Thomas! > > My boarding ladder folds up in the gate, mounts on > the toe rail track and could probably > be modified so it could be unfolded from below with > a line and a block mounted. The > ladder has two sleeves that hold it folded up. I > would think someone who wanted to > modify it for MOB purposes could do so. It extends > below the water when unfolded and > has two steps without teak treads at the bottom, > then three with teak treads for above the > water. I had them modify it by removing the bottom > treads to avoid slamming against the > hull when on the mooring with the ladder down. > > Here it is: > http://www.bosunsupplies.com/products2.cfm?product=TOPS-Amid > > Mike Kennedy > Conquest Cal 40 # 96 > > > > > > > > > \Rog > > > > > > > > Cal 29+ #1 > > > > Swiss Navy > > > > > > > > Cal 2-30 #77 > > > > St. Lori's Comet > > > > > Inbox full of spam? Get leading spam protection and 1GB storage with All New Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html

After blowing our main sail on the bay Sunday, we opted to blast up to Minney's Yacht Surplus to check out available replacement sails. Going to Minney's has long been a dream. Debbie was a bit fooled, I guess. She thought it was just up the road. Guess she had no clue where Newport was. We finally got there and found a brand new sail for $495. The only problems appeared to be that the foot was about one foot shorter than the published Cal 28 spec, and the luff was about six inches shorter. Thinking we would probably never again see a new sail so cheap, we went for it. We were also aware the sail was pretty light, a 4. something, instead of a 6 or 6.5 dacron. Still, it was new, and we plan to blast about the bay for a while yet. The only other problem is that it came off of a MacGregor. Big ugly "M" on the sail. Not sure what to do about it. Lady at Minney's said acetone and other chemicals would damage the sail. I do not like MacGregor sailboats. Question: another sailor present said the changed size would have an effect on the sailing characteristics of the boat and contribute to more "weather" in the helm. I already have plenty of that. He commented that should not be the case, and that if I already had a weather helm, then I should have a rigger check it out. So we bought the sail anyway. He agreed he would do the same in our position. He commented he spent six months watching the sails at Minney's before he finally found something, and he said we would never find another new one any where near that price. He said if we waited to talk to someone, the sail would be gone in days. I think he worked for the store. . . . Oh, yeah. One more problem. It has rope attachments, and we have the metal track mast. Anyone know anyone who can convert the rope to track in the San Diego area? Did I make a mistake? Thanks, Bruce Stirling

Bruce, Acetone does a wonderful job of removing the symbols from the sail. I've used it several times without incident to change sail numbers. When I first started racing, I couldn't afford new racing sails, so I purchased used ones off other boats and changed the numbers. The different size mainsail will give your boat a different balance. Your genoa will now carry more load than the main. In light wind this may not be noticible, except as a reduction in speed. As the wind increases and the sails load up, the boat may develop a tendency to fall off the wind. Pressure on the mainsail causes the boat to point higher. Think of the mast (and a vertical line from that down through the keel) as being close to the pivot point for the boat (not quite exactly, right under the mast, but close enough for this discussion). Heavier load on the genoa will push the bow away from the wind, converseley heavier load on the main will help round the boat into the wind. A well balanced sailplan will leave the boat with a relatively neutral helm or some people like a slight weather helm to windward, so the boat will gradually round up and go into irons if the tiller is released (aka a solo sailor falls overboard). To get your sail converted to fit your mast, choose any sailmakers loft in your area. They can modify the sail for you. Such lofts as North, UK, Ullman, Haarstick, etc would be able to do the job. My only real concerns for your boat are ultimate performance of the sail (reduced size powering your boat) and the weight of the mainsail cloth. Lighter cloth will blow out more easily in a storm or heavy weather. You didn't mention how many reef points the sail has or what configuration of battens. If there is only one reef point, you may consider having the loft add a second reef point. Cheers, Scott ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Stirling To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 8:53 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] New Main Sail Question - Wrong Size After blowing our main sail on the bay Sunday, we opted to blast up to Minney's Yacht Surplus to check out available replacement sails. Going to Minney's has long been a dream. Debbie was a bit fooled, I guess. She thought it was just up the road. Guess she had no clue where Newport was. We finally got there and found a brand new sail for $495. The only problems appeared to be that the foot was about one foot shorter than the published Cal 28 spec, and the luff was about six inches shorter. Thinking we would probably never again see a new sail so cheap, we went for it. We were also aware the sail was pretty light, a 4. something, instead of a 6 or 6.5 dacron. Still, it was new, and we plan to blast about the bay for a while yet. The only other problem is that it came off of a MacGregor. Big ugly "M" on the sail. Not sure what to do about it. Lady at Minney's said acetone and other chemicals would damage the sail. I do not like MacGregor sailboats. Question: another sailor present said the changed size would have an effect on the sailing characteristics of the boat and contribute to more "weather" in the helm. I already have plenty of that. He commented that should not be the case, and that if I already had a weather helm, then I should have a rigger check it out. So we bought the sail anyway. He agreed he would do the same in our position. He commented he spent six months watching the sails at Minney's before he finally found something, and he said we would never find another new one any where near that price. He said if we waited to talk to someone, the sail would be gone in days. I think he worked for the store. . . . Oh, yeah. One more problem. It has rope attachments, and we have the metal track mast. Anyone know anyone who can convert the rope to track in the San Diego area? Did I make a mistake? Thanks, Bruce Stirling

I have one of these for my Cal 25. I can't board from the sides, but actually hand the ladder over the transom. On the 25, the curve of the transom is much less pronounced than that of the freeboard along the sides. Not sure if that's feasible on your boat, but might be worth a shot. Scott ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Stirling To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 8:37 PM Subject: RE: [Cal_Boats] Re: Wichard emergency boarding ladder - Tether ladder (was Jackline installation) (Thomas) I have not tried the nylon boarding ladders. However, just by looking at the photo I can tell it would be extremely difficult for the average person to emerge from the water on such a ladder unless the boat was not moving at all. Even stationary, that climb would be too much for many people. We made the mistake of buying a portable ladder at West Marine before investigating. It is the kind that has two curved tops that are too narrow to attach to our cockpit. When mounted by a person, the ladder angle conforms to the hull of the boat. Unless you are a rock climber used to climbing while angled away from the cliff, you are going to be in for one ugly experience. The guy in the photo shown is about to experience the same thing. I could barely haul my sorry self out of the water. The line ladder would be even worse, in my opinion. Bruce Stirling -----Original Message----- From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of . . Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 1:03 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Re: Wichard emergency boarding ladder - Tether ladder (was Jackline installation) (Thomas) Has anyone tried these flexible boarding ladders? E.g Wichard emergency boarding ladder http://www.landfallnavigation.com/swbl1.html Sabine P.S. With regards to jacklines - for the time being I will probably go with the a prefabricated jackline, hooked to the u-bolt at the foot of the forestay and tie it off to cleats at the stern and to the stanchion in the middle of the boat. Once I get it from the mooring into a slip (temporarily) modifications will be easier - but definitely thanks for the multitude of good ideas. > > Great idea. Go for it, Thomas! > > My boarding ladder folds up in the gate, mounts on > the toe rail track and could probably > be modified so it could be unfolded from below with > a line and a block mounted. The > ladder has two sleeves that hold it folded up. I > would think someone who wanted to > modify it for MOB purposes could do so. It extends > below the water when unfolded and > has two steps without teak treads at the bottom, > then three with teak treads for above the > water. I had them modify it by removing the bottom > treads to avoid slamming against the > hull when on the mooring with the ladder down. > > Here it is: > http://www.bosunsupplies.com/products2.cfm?product=TOPS-Amid > > Mike Kennedy > Conquest Cal 40 # 96 > > > > > > > > > \Rog > > > > > > > > Cal 29+ #1 > > > > Swiss Navy > > > > > > > > Cal 2-30 #77 > > > > St. Lori's Comet > > > > > __________________________________________________________ Inbox full of spam? Get leading spam protection and 1GB storage with All New Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html

Bruce Stirling wrote: > > > Question: another sailor present said the changed size would have an > effect on the sailing characteristics of the boat and contribute to > more "weather" in the helm. I already have plenty of that. He > commented that should not be the case, and that if I already had a > weather helm, then I should have a rigger check it out. A smaller mainsail, other things being equal, should tend to reduce weather helm, not increase it. It tends to move the combined center of effort of the sailplan forward. As to removing stuff from the sail, 3M adhesive remover from Ace Hardware seems to work the best, "best" being a relative term. I needed one more session of scrubbing away to get the last stickum out of my new main, but then winter arrived here and there has been no opportunity. Acetone and MEK seemed to have no effect on the sail (and not much on the stickum, either). Chris Campbell