Archive for August 2022
For the Winter Wednesday at RANSA we had no expectations as circumstances conspired to leave us with just two men and two ladies on board. In deference to the crew size we had no option but to set the No3 jib and do the course as best we could.
From the gun it was apparent we were under canvassed for the run to the heads. Looking across the fleet we appeared to be last in very quick time. Some of that was due to the fleet being well to windward and getting first use of the breeze and some was just lack of sail area.
We did get a few gusts from behind to keep us in touch and as we approached the top mark we had a better angle which made up a little ground. The fleet was suprisingly closely bunched at the mark so we rounded wide and headed for the shore until we could call room to tack against the rocks.
This was our lucky break as the breeze lifted on port tack giving us an instant gain over the early tackers.. We were almost at Steele Point before the breeze knocked and Fidelis who looked hopelessly far below tacked and crossed. At this stage we carried on for clear air and when we did tack we were lifted on starboard.
Imagine our surprise to see Cuckoos Nest cross not far ahead and to find Joli and Meridian in close company. Somewhere in that leg we passed Allegro and Brittania. We did not have it all our way as Joli and Meridian got a good port tack lift into the mark at Rose Bay but we were happy to be close given our rig.
The wind was a bit fickle around Point Piper with an easy reach giving way to a very tight work to the mark. When we did round the mark a lot of the fleet was in the wind shadow and going nowhere. We went as straight out as we could considering the fleet with Cuckoos Nest deepest and when the wind returned Kevin held out our tiny jib to good effect. Years of sailing NS14s with tiny jibs seemed to pay off as we rounded the island ahead of Crosshaven.
This is the time when we needed a good rounding but our top battern caught on the backstay. Earlier in the day I had replaced the top battern because it was fractured and the replacement was a heavier one. It is ideal for 12 knot but at that stage of the race and in the shadow of the island it would not pop through. On the new boat we will have a very large backstay flicker but for now it is one of the problems we must manage.
Depite the battern issue we held our position in the fleet but lost ground to those who had rounded just ahead. The lightening breeze was not favourable to catching the fleet and we looked behind at Fidelis making good progress.
Congratulations to Joli for the handicap win and for winning the wrath of the handicapper. For our part our successive 12 places followed by a 6th has returned some handicap to us in time for the tail end of the season. Only Allegro who did not have a good day, fared better at the handicappers hands and so they will be hard to catch on the pointscore.
Meanwhile back on the boat building site I have been getting ahead of myself just a little. I was so keen to start the radius chine planking that I took off before finishing the painting in the water tanks. So now it is a race to see if the water tanks will be painted before the hull is planked from the stern to the tanks.
It seems that the planking is winning as of tonight the starboard first layer is completed up to the water tanks and there is still two coats of epoxy paint to go. For my penance for being impatient I spent the last hour today sanding inside the starboard tank. There is still a lot I can do before gluing in the planks. There is plywood to be cut to width and then hand fitted to the final positions. I have been preparing eight a side so that would get me past the tanks once the painting is finished. I am reluctant to do more as the radius is tightening up quickly and soon it will be too tight to plank with 6 mm and I will change to four layers of 3 mm ply.
I could not resist starting on the radius chine moulding before all my other fiddly bits have been finished. To be fair my list of jobs has been whittled down and the main outstanding item is painting inside the water tanks while the top and side are accessible. I want to leave the least painting possible for after the hull is turned as painting epoxy upside down inside a tank is not a pleasant task.
By starting at the transom with the moulded ply planking I should have enough time to complete the painting.
What I have finished includes fixing the water tank tops, filletting all the corners in the tank and glassing over the fillets. That includes glassing the fillets where the tank top, which is also the settee seat, joins the hull. All but the last glass has been sanded ready for the epoxy paint. While in the tank I filleted the stringers as it is easier while there is good access.
Before the laminating of the radius chine can begin the tangent stringers have to be faired to the radius. The layers of ply give a good indication that the bevel on the ply is even and a long fibreglass battern wrapped around the chine provides a good planing guide. For good measure the 12 mm ply on the tangent stringer can be eyeballed along the hull and a much longer fibreglass battern is useful for checking the fore and aft alignment.
It helps to have a very sharp plane and to that end I sharpened the blades many times a day.
I have been reserving the morning for planing the tangent stringers as it is a quiet task and gives the body a good workout before starting the noisy machines cutting temporary clamps and cutting ply strips.
At a rough guess with each plank 300 mm wide and 12000 millimeters of boat there are 40 planks a side for one layer so 160 planks to finish the hull. That is conservative for the from third will be planked with four layers of 3 mm ply to get around the very tight and powerfull forward chines. That adds 50 planks to the task so 210 planks in total.
I did look back at the photos of the build on Passion X and noted that this phase took three months. I think that I can do better than that but we will see.
Meanwhile back on the race track we are missing crew weight. Yes for the three crew we had on the rail we are down 0.2 knots in boat speed. Add to that the more challenging handicap we were dealt after a couple of wins and we are back at the rear of the handicap results.
Clearly I got ahead of myself giving praise to the handicapper a couple of weeks back.
The results on Wednesday were instructive as the two yachts with the smallest jibs for the day came first and second. Before the race I did say that Fidelis must know something and that something was that the wind would be stronger than forecast. On the hard reaching leg we lacked crew weight on the rail so I am looking forward to having the new yacht on the water in a couple of seasons where the extra 450 kg on the keel will compensate for the lack of crew on the rail.
Today I glued in place the last two 12 mm ply panels that form the bottom of the new vessel. It is a significant milestone as the sheets of 12 mm ply in the garage has dwindled down and the last five sheets will soon be stood up against the wall freeing up valuable working space. It is significant as the structure is now well protected from the weather and I have a dry place to continue the work.
Looking ahead there are lots of jobs to be completed before the two layers of 6 mm ply can be moulded around the radius chine. Foremost is completing the sealing of the water tanks around the keel floors and sealing the plywood inside the tanks. The interior of the water tanks are much cleaner than on Passion X as every floor has blocking back to the skin so there is less surface area and it is easier to coat. After the water tanks the tangent stringers all have to be trimmed to the radius and then the moulding can begin.
Having started by boat building career moulding Moths in my Dad’s garage I am quite at home tapering panels so that they lay flat on the stringers. I still have my trusty block plane from about 55 years ago and have been giving it a good workout on the 12 mm panels so the 6 mm ones should be OK.
This week Dudley sent through a Deck layout and that gave me a few evenings contemplating the changes and investigating the supply situation with fittings.
But it has been a big week. On Tuesday I worked a 12 hour shift to get two panels installed and cleaned up.
On Wednesday I took Passion X to JBC Engineering for a test run and confirmation of the drive train we will put in the new build. Everything stacked up well but we possibly need a bit more pitch on the propellor to stop the engine revving too high. That is a minor adjustment at the next lift out.
After the test run we had the Winter Wednesday at RANSA where we were fortunate to dodge the rain but that was about all. It was a pleasant afternoon with Elaine spotting dolphins in the harbour but the pleasure diminished when Allegro, Joli, Meridian, Love Byte and Brittania passed us as the breeze died. We did not do ourselves any favours by getting on the wrong side of a couple of shifts but we were in the mix and did not prevail.
Today I set myself the task of finishing the bottom ply comprising two panels from one sheet of ply. The full list of jobs comprised cleaning the weathering off the unpainted edges of the bulkheads where they will be bogged to the skin, adding doublers to the short stringers, cutting the short stringers to length and cutting the limber holes in the last bulkhead.
The final, final, fairing of the strongback to the bottom Vee took longer than expected but once done the panels could be cut and checked, edges routered, glue lines marked, screw holes predrilled at set spacing, screw holes counter sunk and then we could start the gluing.
It takes some discipline to keep the jobs progressing at a pace that will have the tasks finished before nightfall. After dinner and a break I finished the clean up under the tarpaulins and under the work lamp. There is so much white epoxy paint on the bulkheads and side panels that the light from the work light fills the interior and softend the shadows. Anyway I will clock it up as a ten hour day but a very satisfying one.
Just a couple more photos from the week.
Wednesday’s race at RANSA was a win for the handicapper with the majority of the fleet finishing within a minute. We were in the back end of the minute and so scored a seventh to keep out third place on the season pointscore.
We started the day full of optimism as the sun was shining and the northely breeze was bringing warm air over the course. A fresh breeze was forecast but on the water it was not so strong so we set our No 1 heavy genoa. The forecast wind direction had been very favourable for Passion X but the wind on the course was tighter than expected for the first beat and headed as the race progressed.
We started low on the line alongside Cuckoos Nest who were going faster and pointing higher so we pulled below for clear air anticipating the wind to trend back to forecast for an easy beat. An easy beat it was not for Passion X and at the top or the course we were the only boat to have to tack to get to the mark.
At this stage Agrovation was well gone followed by Crosshaven and then a close group including Allegro, Joli and Brittania. We rounded on the tail of Love Byte and did well on the broad reach to Steele Point. The leg into Rose Bay was very square and while we would have liked to go wider we were hemmed in by a port gybe yacht who refused to gybe away. This is annoying as Rule 14 requires us to avoid a collision and we don’t need the hassle of an afternoon in the protest room. As a result we gybed away onto port early while the yachts further out sailed around us. From Rose Bay to Point Piper we carried breeze and sensed we were closing on the fleet now that we were reaching.
Around Shark Island we made up a little ground but had Love Byte and Allegro just in front forming an obstacle. Avoiding a starboard tacker from the back fleet cost us a few seconds but despite this we drew alongside Allegro at the Naval buoys.
Now if you ask me we had an inside overlap but by pulling away at the mark Allegro just cleared our bowsprit and got the inside running to the favoured end of the line.
It was all so close at the finish which kept everyone on their toes and well done to the handicapper.
Back on the new build the keel floors were tidied up and the next two panels fixed to the hull. I was pleased to get the limber holes tidied up and thoroughly saturated with epoxy resin before the sheets of ply were fixed to the hull. Tuesday was a long day with work not finished till nine at night due to the need to clean up all the epoxy resin that squeezes ouf the joins and the large number of joins with the panels going over the keel floors. The very last job was to clear coat the floors to keep them clean for the rest of the build.
Today, Thursday, I finished planing the strongback all the way to the transom. Planing is never quite finished as I will check it again with the long hand plane before the final fix. The sheets of plywood behind the keel are the largest panels to go on the bottom so I will be pleased to get these next two done.
