Before I go cutting some holes in my boat...

Kelpie

Kelpie

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This winter I'm fitting yacht legs (from yachtlegs.co.uk). I've read Vyv Cox's article on the subject, excellent as always, so just looking for any advice on where on the hull to fit the brackets.

You can see the underwater profile here:

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=4651

Obviously I will be beaching with the keel raised :)

First thought is to put the legs at more or less the widest part of the boat. I doubt that she will be inclined to tip forward or back due to the length of the keel. The downside to putting them at the widest point is that they will be a menace to anybody I ever raft to, as they protrude about an inch.
 
Kelpie said:
First thought is to put the legs at more or less the widest part of the boat. I doubt that she will be inclined to tip forward or back due to the length of the keel. The downside to putting them at the widest point is that they will be a menace to anybody I ever raft to, as they protrude about an inch.
Click to expand...

I've got 'em. The brackets aren;t an issue for rafting - a fender anywhere in the vague vicinity will keep a neighbour well clear.
 
She's never going to tip aft only onto her nose,
so I would tend to locate them in the vicinity of the aft lower attachments,
wherever its convenient to get at the bolts.

Plank
 
Have you ever dried-out against scrubbing posts or a wall? Avocet is also a long keeler but sometimes manages to fall on her nose when drying out. Max beam looks a fair way aft on that drawing.
 
No we haven't dried her out... If there was a wall handy then I might not be fitting legs :)
I see what you mean about tipping forwards. There's a lot of internal ballast fwd of the centreboard too.
 
Thanks for the kind words. As has been suggested, it's the keel shape that is the main influence in siting the leg sockets. Our first boat had a steeply swept-back keel and the boat tended to dry bow-down. A previous owner had put a bracket right in the bow through which he could place a scaffolding pole to keep her level. That's an extreme that would not be appropriate for legs but illustrates the problem. Our Sadler is the shallow fin version with a keel that is relatively long, so the boat stands upright easily and level. I put the sockets midway along the length of the keel on the hull and suspect that this might work even with a swept-back keel. With your boat I would think the same thing but it seems a very easy boat to dry level with your keel arrangement, so putting legs further away from the keel centre should not matter.

Edit: Have modified the text, centre of keel on hull, not ground, my mistake.
 
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Thanks, fwd of the beam it is. Probably just aft of the aft lower chainplates.

Vyv- I noticed that you just Sikaflexed your backing pads in place. I was wondering about glassing mine in, with epoxy and tape, tapering off around the edges. Unlike on your twin-skinned Sadler, I have space to do this. But maybe it's a lot of work for little benefit?

Oh, and would this be suitable as backing? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PHENOLIC-...t=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item1c2c0c756a
 
Kelpie said:
Thanks, fwd of the beam it is. Probably just aft of the aft lower chainplates.

Vyv- I noticed that you just Sikaflexed your backing pads in place. I was wondering about glassing mine in, with epoxy and tape, tapering off around the edges. Unlike on your twin-skinned Sadler, I have space to do this. But maybe it's a lot of work for little benefit?

Oh, and would this be suitable as backing? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PHENOLIC-...t=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item1c2c0c756a
Click to expand...

I fitted my legs when I first bought the boat, 1995. The pads have never moved since, despite considerable use including two winters ashore. Sikaflex seems to have been perfect. In engineering terms I have always been told to rely on the mechanical strength, i.e. the bolting, the adhesive is a bonus.

The Tufnol substitute looks ideal.

Note I have edited my previous post re leg position.
 
Avocet had sockets for legs. I'm pretty certain they were part of the original construction because they look to be glassed-into the original layup. They look to be massively strong - well over an inch thick and just aft of the main bulkhead (which carries all the mast load as there's no mast support between the coachroof and the keel). They consist of two holes maybe 3/4" in diameter, one above the other on each side. Obviously, there's no point in having them much stronger than the buckling strength of the legs (Which I guess would be the limiting factor in most boats?).
 
Just to update, my Tufnol eventually arrived yesterday. 25mm thick, 150x300mm pads. I was surprised by how smooth the faces of it are, though. I think some sort of keying might be in order, on the face that will be in contact with the hull. I doubt sandpaper would do much good, it's tough stuff. What about scoring some lines with a circular saw set to only dig in by a mm or so?
 
This thread seems to have passed me by.

I have fitted two sets of Yacht Legs and agree with all the previous contributions. I always thought the Deb 33 was a great type and deserved to do better in terms of sales. Of course we had the Dockrell 37 but I felt it never really captured the look of the Deb. Anyway.

Yes, I would rough up the Tufnol, taking off the surface glaze, perhaps with a hand held grinder. the grooves you propose would be fine as well.

Your boat is ideal for legs, and their position is not critical in use. I have some stuff on use and fitting of legs (a bit late now), not brilliant but if you would like a copy give me a PM with your postal address.
 
doug748 said:
This thread seems to have passed me by.

I have fitted two sets of Yacht Legs and agree with all the previous contributions. I always thought the Deb 33 was a great type and deserved to do better in terms of sales. Of course we had the Dockrell 37 but I felt it never really captured the look of the Deb. Anyway.

Yes, I would rough up the Tufnol, taking off the surface glaze, perhaps with a hand held grinder. the grooves you propose would be fine as well.

Your boat is ideal for legs, and their position is not critical in use. I have some stuff on use and fitting of legs (a bit late now), not brilliant but if you would like a copy give me a PM with your postal address.
Click to expand...

Interesting. We viewed a Dockrell 37 which had legs, and although the sale fell through it planted a seed, so without that we would never have found the Deb.
Think I'm all set re: info about legs, thanks for the offer though :)
 
So after some weather related delays, went ahead with a little trepidation and hey presto, I got to walk home from my boat this morning, just in time for the eclipse.
 

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I think the 'block' must be the two barrels full of water that I towed out with the dinghy. Allowed me to run a pressure washer. A lot of work getting the water out to the boat, I must think of a better solution!

Really quite pleased with how it all went. Given that I didn't have as much antifoul in the tin as I had thought, I will probably be doing it again quite soon...
 
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