Passion X

We have been defending our first place on the progress score table at RANSA for the past two weeks while Alibi and Britannia have made big moves up and Allegro is lurking just behind.

Last week we had a bit of breeze and set the No 1 heavy genoa. Perhaps we should call this our No 2 genoa or is it a 1.5? From the running start we reached towards the top mark keeping pace with Agrovation and Love Byte but when the wind freed we tried to pole out the genoa without any success. In the process we lost a few boat lengths on these tow but managed to hold off the rest of the fleet. At the top mark Love Byte went deeper and perhaps deeper than allowed while we lifted well inside and stayed on Agrovations line. At Steele Point Love Byte took advantage of a knock to tack back on starboard and we were forced to go behind. Alibi was just on our shoulder and preventing us tacking but then she tacked away giving us options for our next move. On out tack back we had gained half a minute on Alibi.

The next move came around Shark Island when we gybed in a lull while Amante came through with the following gust. From there to home it was follow the leader with Agrovation a clear first and fastest leader from Amante and ourselves. Alibi did themselves a service with a fourth fastest and third on handicap. We managed 6th on handicap while Allegro had a drop and were caught on the leader board by Alibi. We were pleased with our third fastest and felt we managed the rig well in the conditions.

This week was a much lighter affair with a long work to windward for the first leg. We started on the pin and managed to keep ahead of the fleet for a few minutes until Britannia showed good boat speed and passed us to windward. Once clear to tack we waited for the first knock and found ourselves well clear of all the fleet except Britannia who were deeper into the lift. The shift put us up with the tail of the Division 1S where we found ourselves crossing tacks with Marloo. Looking behind we saw that Meridian had taken our stern and gone further North to takd advantage of the next shift and get a big gain on the fleet.

We made some good choices going to the mark but could not match the boat speed of Agrovation, Britannia, Foreign Affairs and Meridian. Crosshaven also caught us at the mark but we managed to get this back on the run to Steele Point.

The shortened course gave little chance for gains and we managed to hold onto our fifth fastest from Crosshaven, a fast finishing Allegro and Alibi. Amante was an uncharacteristic tenth. On handicap the front runners took the first four places, Crosshaven leapfrogged us into fifth while Alibi was seventh and Allegro eighth alloowing us to pull ahead one point but the big move was Britannia with a first place and dropping a 13th to be second on the leader board.

Now while we have not had any great places the handicapper has nevertheless seen fit to make life harder each week and it will be interesting to see how much harder he makes it this week.

Boatbuilding has been progressing at a steady rate with some assistance from the crew and Elaine. Ten days ago I had allmost all the deck sheets cut and trial fitted. Since then I have been busy cutting doublers for the fittings and for butt joins in the long sides of the 12 mm ply sheets. These are best done before the deck is fitted as the shapes can be marked off the stringers and the fits made very precisely. Almost all the 14 doublers have been cut and some fitted. The edges are chamfered at 45 degrees to make a neat fit to the single 12 mm thickness. I have to confess to getting the chamfers around the wrong way more than once but fortunately the two sides are mirror images so that has saved the doubler from the trash can more than once.

As of tonight all the 12 mm ply on the deck is glued in place as are a lot of the doublers. Tomorrow I will move to the 6 mm sheets on the foredeck and complete the doublers on the 12 mm section.

There is more to life than boatbuidling and so we enjoyed our time in Queensland with our family including a Christmas in July where all the families pitched in for a traditional Christmas feast. We had a surprise with the price of local prawns plummeting just in time for our contribution to the festivities. We are blessed that all the family are well and could get together for the event.
By coincidence the South Pacific Laser Masters were being held at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron starting on the day we had planned to drive home so we trailed the Laser all the way to Queensland for the event. It was a great event with a good attendance of New South Welshmen. The highlight for me was a 6th place in the final race we sailed and the first over 75 year old for that race. So strong is the competition in our age group it was only good enough for a 4th but it was good to get some time on the water ahead of the Worlds in Adelaide this coming February.

We arrived back home in time for the Winter Wednesday race at RANSA aboard Passion X. The race was sailed into a 8 knot sea breeze which was a pleasant surprise for this early in the season. Our start was impeded by a competitor crossing our bow to get back behind the line and causing us to take avoiding action. This put us behind the eight ball right off the line. Our closest rival in the handicap series, Allegro had trouble of their own costing them time with an unscheduled tack so we maintained contact in the fleet.

Up the windward work there were wins and losses where we made up some ground on the last two tacks into the top mark but on rounding the wind died and let the likes of Meridian, Allegro, Crosshaven and Amante float away while the fleet caught us from behind. Eventually the wind came down the course and we recovered our position in time for the reach from Steele Point into Rose Bay. Around the point we went wide keeping a close tail on Allegro and to our surprise we ran up to Meridian. Foreign Affairs was having nothing to do with the fleet having disappeared into another dimension but the rest of us were having a great tussle.
Allegro was not going to let us get away and tailed us to Point Piper. On the work around Shark Island they pinched up so that we could not tack. Eventually I created some distance so we could tack behind them and as We tacked so did they. We had let the main right out to get behid them and so their tack was most difficult for us but we recovered and in our turn gained bit or width going in the mark. As the breeze tightened at the mark they pinched and slowed so that we rounded ahead again and held that lead all the way home.
Now we reached up to Meridian again and followed her home never more than two boat lenghts apart.
In the concentration on Allegro and Meridian we missed what happened to Amante and Crosshaven but we presume they went in too close to Steele Point again.
Our fifth place on handicap increased our lead by two points but it is still very tight and a lot of races still to go.

Now that we are home I can insert some photos of the progress since the hull was turned.

So after a good break from boatbuilding we returned to finish the deck structure at the bow and two solid days or planing the gunwales. The Makita power planer is not the quietest tool in the shed and it created a lot of sawdust in the process so by Saturday it was back to hand planing.

Fortunately Elaine put in many hours vacuuming the sawdust over the last two days and that let me get on with the task of cutting and fitting deck panels. Don came around on Saturday and helped to shift the larger 6 mm sheet into position for marking and cutting and Elaine helped today with the full size 12 mm sheets so that for the last four days the progress looks impressive.

The trial fit of the panels has identified the need for some temporary support in the anchor locker to get the two sides to match as the hatch side is missing a stringer by design. Thinking thinking! Also it is an opportunity to check all the stringer angles for some last minute planing.

Tomorrow all the large panels will be fitted but before gluing them in place I will mark and cut all the doubles as it is easier to mark and fit them from above.
In the meantime what plywood is temporarily screwed to the deck is providing good support for the tarpaulins as the rain has returned.

Where has all the time gone since the rollover party?
On the sailing front the next race at RANSA was frustrating as we sailed well n the drifting conditions only to miss the finish time cut off by less than 30 seconds. Only Foreign Affairs and Amante escaped the guillotine and Amante was just in front of Passion X.
The rest of the fleet was becalmed way off in the distance but we scored the same.

The following week we set the No1 heavy when the prestart conditions were brisk only to have the wind die. Despite the handicap we sailed well to keep in touch with Allegro and Amante but slipped one place on Allegro to be tied at the top of the ladder. In the drifting conditions a backstay flicker would be a great advantage but I am saving that expense fot the new yacht.

This week Kevin and I are at Brisbane for the SPLM at RQ and the crew is boing boat duty for a certain 4th place.

Back at the new project the list of jobs changes with the weather but in essence I am working from both ends to waterproof the exposed hull as the task of pulling tarpaulins on and off detracts from my building time.
At the stern the boarding platform has been glassed, the gas locker panels cut, fitted, bogged to the hull and glassed internally. The cockpit cross support 35 by 35 laminated beam has been finished in clear epoxy and glued to the underside of the deck and the cockpit toe rails have been cut and installed. After a good clean up the cockpit floor was glassed.

Along the way the exposed top shelves in the lockers have been filleted to the skin so that these are waterproof.

At the bow the anchor locker was similarly filleted to the skin and a protecting layer of 435 gsm double bias epoxied in place. The two 50 by 22 laminated beams were constructed and glued in place plus the 35 by 22 central stringer.

Inside the hull the V berth tops have been installed and had a single coat of epoxy. The saloon starboard floor has also been cut and epoxied so that movement inside the hull is less hazardous.