A few more Mirabella pix...

[Twister_Ken]

.. and once again apologies for not being able to post them directly - something stops me picking up images from my own website to post here. If anybody else can, please do so.

I'd expected MV to be big, but what I hadn't anticipated was how this would translate in sailing system terms. So here are a few pix which I haven't seen from others, that show a little about what the term 'effing enormous' really means.


Helmsman's control panel
Cap shroud, etc
Furler detail
Grinder's heaven

 

[tome]

Ken

Try renaming them with .jpg rather than .jpeg extensions (works for me)

Tom

 

[tome]

Here's Ken's post::
Alongside each helm position (this is the port outside one) there is a control panel, which allows the helmsman to perform all the normal string-pulling operations. I hope the labels are readable. The four drilled chrome jobbies right of centre cover switches which it would be best not to operate accidentally, in this case stay tensioners.

Gobsmacking.

First off, this chap is no shortarse.

The round object that comes to approx knee height is the cap shroud toggle. The shiny silver job that he could probably just about reach the top of if he stood on tiptoe is the bottle screw cover. On the right, coming from the 'coachroof' edge are two more shroud attachments. Running forward from his left foot is a foresail sheet track. One it, edge on to the camera is a sheave, again approx knee height. The darker of the lines coming down from the mast is a running backstay.

Headsail furler oil inspection window.

The headsail furler bodies on MV (3 of them) were apparently machined from solid ingots of s/steel. Each is well above head height, and broader than an all-black prop forward. Naturally, you wouldn't want anything going wrong inside them, so there is an inspection window. Actual size of this one is about 8 inches diameter.

We're looking into a compartment, portside, just forward of the mast. The compartment is big enough for a big bloke or two to work in and a ladder descends into it. This compartment communicates below decks with a mirror image partner on the stbdside. To give a sense of scale, the crate on the right contains a hardhat.

The big winch is the biggest that Harken offers as a 'stock' item, though I haven't seen one on the shelf in my friendly local chandlery. It's used for headsail halyards. As the pipery shows, its hydraulically operated. Not in the shot, but even more telling, lines coming to this winch lead over a sheave on the end of a hydraulic ram. When the Harken has done all it can to harden down the halyard, the ram can be used to put even more tension in the line.

The 'small' winch (which wouldn't look out of place as a primary on 45 footer) is used for - wait for it - tensioning the lazy jacks!

 

[Twister_Ken]

Thanx Tome. nm

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