Archive for November 2016
Painting the underside of the deck and cabin top has taken so long that I thought it would never be finished. It is not finished but all the lockers and painted inside and all the cabin ceiling side and under the decks is completed so we can screw on all the deck fittings. We had a busy bee today with the crew and screwed on a lot of fittings including the genoa tracks, cleats, mast base and halyard turning blocks, deck organisers and more stanchion bases. The quarter berth painting and V berth painting is completed and I have moved on to completing the glassing of the keel frames to the floor and the last of the epoxy glass lining in the water tanks. This does need a lot of preparation in sanding the gloss of previous coats of epoxy and removing all the dags and runs that would stop the new glass lying flat against the old surface. Another day should see the end of the preparation and some progress on the epoxy glassing. This job is on the critical path as I need to complete the floor before finishing the settee seats. One of the settee seats will hold the four batteries and I want those in place before I start the electrical work.
Deck fittings at last moving from the sun room to the yacht.
A good view of the mast base and Ronstan turning blocks
The title sums up our Wednesday Twilight race pretty well. There was a strong incoming tide with a difference between low to high of 1.8 metres so that was a factor in the racing.
We had a fair start in winds that were lighter than promised and then lost our way in Humbug blanketed by the fleet. When we did escape the doldrums we were well at the back of the fleet on a tight beat to Cockatoo Island. A couple of massive headers sent us towards the middle of the island and and a massive lift came just as we had to tack away from the island shore line. A little earlier of a little later would have been ok but it was our special knock for the night.
We made excellent progress up the middle of the course and came quite close to the leaders, Agrovation and Worlds Apart between Balls Head and Long Nose. We tacked away on a header while Worlds Apart kept going and got the better part of the lift. Agrovation was further up at Balls Head getting a massive lift on port while we were heading at least 30 degrees lower. When we tacked at the dolphins our luck returned and we had the better part of the starboard work all the way to the Goat Island navigation mark. The good bit was passing Worlds Apart along the Goat Island shore and then to go off chasing Agrovation.
The run back to Humbug was square and very light in Snails Bay. The fleet was coming up with wind from behind and it was difficult to find a clear lane. We struggled over square but near Long Nose the wind swung in our favour and we regained our second place with Worlds Apart trying to take our wind.
Into Humbug we were held high by the leeward yachts while Worlds Apart, French Connection and Farrst Company had better breeze and a sling shot from the tide along the Onions Point shore. It was amazing to see the speed of the yachts close in to the shore compared to our speed less than 20 metres out. It was all we could do to limp towards the finish line with the wind dead behind in all the meanings of the word. izzi from behind made sure we had all the dirty air we could get but we just held them out.
So from looking like a second fastest we were relegated to fifth spot which becomes a drop for the series.
The tracks from the evening tell the story.
Shifty conditions on our Wednesday twilight race
A very big thank you to the loyal crew who turn up rain or shine for the twilight races at Greenwich Flying Squadron.
My thanks is directed at the crew of Passion but I am sure the other skippers at the club feel the same way about their crews.
We had 52 starters on Wednesday night despite the rain forecast and actual. The lack of wind was a deterrent to some crews who decided that a dry spot in the warm clubhouse was to be preferred over a wet drift out of Humbug. Others hung on grimly despite the lack of wind and the wet but were defeated not by lack of perseverance but by lack of wind. My congratulations go to those crews who hang on in the hope of finishing before the time limit.
The combination of comfort seekers and wind less crews meant that only 25 yachts finished and at the prize giving afterwards even the last place in some divisions scored a well deserved prize.
For our part in Blue division we made a good start and went wide at the exit to Humbug to be in the lead group working to Goat Island. In the process we caught a fair part of the Black fleet that had started five minutes earlier and the Green fleet that had started ten minutes earlier. As a consequence of going wide we needed to take the lifts to cover Aggrovation and Worlds Apart but were unable to go up due to a Green fleet yacht with no steerage. We were not particularly stellar working to windward as Aggrovation and Worlds Apart pulled away and we found ourselves in the dirty air of a new competitor in a nice quick Elan 37 and with Izzi just to windward of them. Fortunately we negotiated the dead patch around the lee of Goat Island a little better and came out with our nose in front of these two but looking at Aggrovation and Worlds Apart in the distance.
Around Goat Island Farrst Company picked up some following breeze and made gains on the fleet to win on handicap. Luckily for us the fleet went high for the freshening breeze but then had to bear away with nothing behind them.
Entering Humbug we could see Aggrovation and Worlds Apart becalmed on the Woolwich shore so we went a little higher and kept better breeze so much so that by the finish we were close enough to Worlds Apart to beat her on handicap by a few seconds into third place.
A third fastest and third on handicap seemed an unlikely result rounding Goat Island but we are not complaining.
12, 8 mm bolts holding the chainplate in place. The bolts are cut to length so that most of the bearing on the frame is on solid shank and not on thread. The deck is sealed with Sikaflex and all the holes primed with epoxy.
Dome nuts on the chainplate backing plates for neatness.
Stanchion bases sit on epoxy glass wedges cut from the laminate I showed in the last post. The bolts go through 24 mm of plywood.
Milestones of sorts with all the underside of the deck and cabin top painted and the start of installing the fittings on the deck. All the chainplates that hold up the mast are installed and most of the stanchion bases. The final coat of paint has been applied inside all the main lockers and undercoat applied in the quarter berth. Five of the six coats of paint are on the toe rails so while there is not much progress to see there has been progress nevertheless.
Last Wednesday we managed a third fastest time and another sixth place on handicap but it was a surprise result considering where we were going around Goat Island.
We made a couple of mistakes. One of my crew suggested we needed a private blog for the crew and another for the competitors because the fleet seemed to have learnt from our prior blog that carting everyone up into the wind shadow in the lee of Greenwich is not fast. This week they all kept to the Onions Point shore and as a result we were blanketed. The real mistake was leaving the back stay on too tight. We need a degree of forestay sag to get the flow forward in the genoa. Indeed as the wind strengthens the sag becomes too much and then we need backstay but on last Wednesday I was concentrating too much on the mainsail shape to the detriment of our genoa shape. Apart from that it was not too bad a race. We made a couple of good calls where we passed izzi and French Connection and one bad one when French Connection went further into Goat Island and out of the tide. They had better wind angle and better speed going to the navigation mark at Goat Island and made a good break. Our luck was in the beat back through Humbug where we were behind French Connection and a big black fleet boat. French Connection called for water and I thought the big black fleet boat had called for water and said you tack. French Connection tacked immediately but the black fleet yacht carried on. We had already moved to go behind them so by the time they tacked we were right on Onions Point and heading right into the breeze. Now normally when the genoa is backed you think about tacking but I was sitting there hoping the tide would carry us around the point. Just as I gave up hope and called for a tack the wind lifted 30 degrees so we hauled the genoa back in and crept around the point ahead of French Connection and the black fleet yacht who had tacked away.
The other action that gave us third on handicap was Gwhizz going for a detour. They had sailed well for the night being as quick and often five degrees closer to the wind than Passion but they followed the Black fleet and by the time they decided that we were going the right way we were back in front of them. Gwhizz has been quick these last two weeks so I am sure they will give us a good run this week.
Full marks to Worlds Apart who gave us a sailing lesson and Aggrovation who kept them honest.
A familiar angle on our Didi 40 Cr but with the masking off the boot top
The next time we see the keel of our Didi 40 Cr it should be at the dock
Lots of toe rail cut and drilled ready for more coats of paint.
Epoxy glass wedges ready to be cut and drilled for stanchion packers and a plywood spacer for under the mast step
Elaine has surrendered her carport for the day while I epoxy coat more lids and locker bases. One of the bases is for the hot water system and I have to bolt the water tank to the base and then install them together. I think the same will be done on the fridge compressor base.
Progress seems painstakingly slow as there are no dramatic photos to show for the week’s effort. The daily trips to Somersby to fair the keel took up much of the day and painting under the deck the balance of the time.
By Friday afternoon the second side of the keel had three layers of filler sanded and faired and two coats of International Interprotect. On the underside of the keel there is now four layers of Interprotect and the first coat of antifouling so we can stand the keel on the base when we take it to the dock.
Now that the underside or the deck is painted I am pushing on with the bite and pieces needed to fit all the fittings to the deck and cabin top.
I have laminated up some epoxy glass wedged to go under the stanchion bases, sanded and pre drilled the toe rails and started making the packer for under the mast step. The epoxy glass wedges are three mm on the thin side and 9 on the thick side and will protect the deck from stanchion sticking through the hollow base.
I thought I had made good progress with the packer for under the mast but decided to add a second layer of plywood so that it does not taper to nothing at the rear edge. The extra layer has been cut and the glue will be cured by the morning ready to recommence shaping the taper.
Today I cut to length, sanded and pre drilled all the toe rails. The holes are at 200 mm spacing to make sure we get a nice bend around the gunwale. I had previously epoxy coated the timber and now they have a coat of pigmented primer. I suspect another two coats of primer will be needed as a minimum because on the plywood panels I am painting at the same time I can still see wood grain after two thick coats. I think it matter not whose brand you are using and the International recommendation of four coats of epoxy primer on the timber seems to be what is needed for areas subject to regular water contact. Yes the toilet pedestal is getting four coats of primer and then undercoat and top coat.
I do get some pleasure from looking at the top sides and when the wind blew the tarpaulin off the front of the boat during the week I thought it looked pretty smart so I took a photo for the blog.
I have finished painting the v berth area and the cabin top and sides of our Didi 40 Cr. There is four or five coats of paint depending on the area and the standard of finish I want. Under the berth it is all epoxy while in the living spaces I am using International Toplac. There is still a lot of painting to do. The lockers need a final coat of two pack epoxy gloss while most of the under deck area in the main cabin needs the last coat of Toplac. That still leaves the bulkheads and locker fronts to have their final undercoats and top coat but that will have to wait until the water tanks, settee seats, engine enclosure, fridge and kitchen benches are completed. This week should see enough of the painting finished that we can start bolting on deck and cabin top fittings, hatches and portlights and clear some of the rumpus room and sun room of fittings.
V Berth painting finished. Now I can install the varnished bunk tops.
The ceiling and cabin sides of our Didi 40 Cr are painted ready for varnishing the laminated beams.
The ceiling and hatch in the V berth ante room.
The clean underside of the deck painted and holed drilled ready for screwing on the genoa tracks