Recent content by Captain Sillyboxes

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. So far I have purchased PVC coated acrylic canvas, V69 and a #10 zip. And made templates for the pieces I need to cut. Now I just need to cajole my friend at the sailing club to lend me his heavy duty sewing machine :)

Gsailor, it is an open canoe. The design is "waterman 13". Sandy, I do have a garage but it takes up most of it and I would like to be able to use the garage for other projects!

A couple of years ago I built a plywood and epoxy canoe and to my shame I still don't have a cover for it. I am planning to make one, I think I can borrow a heavy duty sewing machine for this project. The idea is to make it from three pieces, port side, starboard side and top, with a zip up the...

I understand your idea Poignard. Although it seems that Tranoma's glued on bits of wood with eyes in them would keep the reefing lines closer to the boom?

Interesting point about maybe if I use my 3rd reef often I should have bigger reefs. One valuable thing about this forum is that you get answers to questions you didn't even ask! I like the glued-on homemade wooden fairlead suggestion too. Could have 3 bullseye inserts set in a single bit of...

I use the third reef quite often! By "solid friction eye with bullseye insert" do you mean something like a bullseye fairlead? I can see this working well but am loath to put 12 new screwholes into the boom. Re "Once the first reef is in, take the slack out of the others" yes I do this, but...

Thanks yes I can imagine sail tie material working well for this

My boat is a gaff cutter with a wooden boom. The reefing system involves 3 reefing lines each of which starts near the after end of the boom, passes through a reefing cringle in the leach of the sail, returns through a sheave near the after end of the boom, and finally runs forward to a cleat...

Hi Shuggy, just in case you don't get what you need from the Stripwood website... last year I stumbled across an ebayer called Nigel, his page is here SawdustandWax | eBay Stores. He doesn't always have anything listed on ebay but if you message him he can supply bespoke pieces of hardwood cut...

It is laced as in your photo. It has no parrel beads. Actually the gaff goes up and down very easily. But the main reason I have been putting lard on the jaws - apart from being under the impression that this is what one is 'supposed to do' - is that if I don't, and I'm sailing in the sort of...

On the subject of lubricating one's gaff jaws... I'm just starting season 2 of owning a gaff cutter. The previous owner used lard to lubricate the gaff jaws and since the boat came pre-supplied with a jar of lard I carried on using it. But now I've used all my lard and something in the back...

Just as an update I have found a rigger who is making me a stainless steel mast band (in two parts). I have cut the existing stays down and am awaiting the mast band and new stays. Many thanks to everyone on this thread who offered advice its really useful.

I've just had a conversation with my surveyor. He accepts the points about the wire itself being in good condition, less tension than a bermudan rig and so on, however the reason he thinks the rigging should be replaced after 10 years is that the stays are made with "Talurit Pattern" swagings...

I spoke with the insurer and read the policy today. They say they have no rule about the age at which the standing rigging needs to be replaced. But they do have a rule that the recommendations in the surveyors report are carried out. And the surveyor - having been told that it was 9 years old -...

Thanks LittleSister. I've just had an exchange of emails with David Cannell, who informed me that the original design for the Tamarisk 29 did call for a mast band. The swaged loops are a deviation from the design.