Just heard back from Quantum. The bill for the three working sails will be $976. Well, hrmm… James said anything under a grand would be a deal, so i guess i oughtta feel satisfied with that. The quote was for a worst-case labour scenario, and may end up less. Still, at that price, i should just get them to make it a $1000 even and get ’em to make up that tops’l while they’re at it. Hell, for that much money, why should i set needle to palm at all? Damned if i’ll let ’em charge me extra for my pennant either.
Kevin has relented, and now supposes that 3.8-ounce will be heavy enough for the jib and stays’l. He’s still leaning towards 5.9-ounce fabric for the main “for longevity”. But on a sub-50-square-foot sail? Well, they’re the experts, not i.
The best part of the news is the arrival time! i’d been expecting several weeks, but it looks like the sails could be ready as early as next Monday. Overall, dealing with Kevin and Dave has been a pleasure; they’re totally willing to accomodate all my little sail needs (tiny panel widths, weird mitres, shaped patches, miniature hanks, unusual beckets, etc.). Dave wants me to be there for the latter stages of construction, to make sure all the details are just as i want them, and to see what finishwork it may be better for me to do on my own. They are definately NOT a traditional sail loft, but pretty stoked about the project.
This is the first gaff sail they’ve ever built here! Normally, i’d be a little concerned by that, but they’ve figured out a great way to get around any problems. Instead of trying to traditionally cut the sails (read: edge curves, broadseams, tapers, etc.), they’re getting their Annapolis office (which has done a few small gaff sails) to mold the sails on their 3-D software, then cut shaped panels on their laser table. This way, not only are Dave and i spared some serious head-scratching, but Dave can also sew constant seam widths (which is certianly faster). This also makes it easy to accomodate two other unusual requests of mine: First, i wanted narrow panel widths; sailcloth these days comes in wide widths (50+ inches for the specialty tanbark sailcloth i’m using), but i wanted narrow panels (
September 19, 2005
sail on
September 13, 2005
woohoo!
Kevin from Quantum came by today to measure the boat up for sails! Okay, with a 4-6 week wait now in the offing, i ought to curb my enthusiasm a bit, but… woohoo! i feel like things are really in the home stretch now!
Got a bunch of things checked off the list these past couple days; outhaul rove, self-tending stays’l rig completed, mast step cross-pin got in, new mainsheet block lashings (the old ones were too tight), um, tops’l jackstay cleat installed, and many many whippings on bitter ends…
i have learned to overestimate running rig lenghths; i bought 120′ of line for the running rig (20′ more than i estimated i’d actually use), and have already run out! Still to install: stays’l halyard, tops’l halyard/sheet/tackline, and jib sheets. i think i’ll use something smaller for those last couple.
Of course, there’s a few other small hardware issues, as well as how i’ve left a few bits to be installed after the sails are here; thataway, if the sails aren’t exact, i han jiggle things to fit without much hassle. For instance, the stays’l boom will almost certianly require much tuning once sailing!
stepped
Woohoo! Mast is stepped, standing rigging is up! Still in a pretty rough state of tune, but i’ve left the tails long on the lanyards to allow easy adjustment. still much work to be done on the running rigging, though; i got in the main halyards, mainsheet, jib halyard, and running backstay tails before pretty much running out of line. Still have to make up the fores’l sheet, jib sheets, and tops’l lines (sheet, halyard, and tackline). A small snafu with the length of the forestay came up; i’ve changed a few things to compensate, and ditched the inner bobstay, which (given the diminutive scale) was probably entirely unneccesary anyways.
With everything else up and in place, the only thing that looks at first odd is the 3′ of unsupported topmast above the upper shrouds, but in practice, the tiny tops’l ought not to deflect it much. Just playing with the two runners and mainsheet, i’ve found i can easily pull the truck 6-8″ inches (loads for a 14′ mast) aft or to either side without much effort; this bodes well both for support against the forward/leeward pull of the jibstay/halyard, and for tuning “on the fly”.
The sailmaker is scheduled to take measurements this week! Yay!
September 9, 2005
sailing rattitude?
Paul M. and i got into a hotrod/custom motorcycle discussion a couple days back, and he ended up dropping off a pile of chopper mags here at the shop for me to look through. i’m into most anything that is simultaneously technical and creative/artistic, so cars/bikes/trucks have nearly as much appeal to my eye as boats. i got to thinking (and later talking) about so-called “rat-rods“, and the parallels to some (few) boats.
It seems these days that modern boats are thouroughly “bolt-together” and pre-fab. Does that “custom” piece of hardware from Harken really count? Classic and traditional boats have a bit more attitude, as more things are actually hand-crafted just for a specific application on a specific boat. Still, those who can typically afford such custom work certianly don’t care to see cobbled-together bits, no matter how functional.
In my eye, functional is beautiful. Take a look at this example, and this one here. Here we have a few uses of not-made-for-this-boat sails, and while neither example fits into what most folks think a set of sails is supposed to look like, both are great, beautiful examples of creative use of resources at hand.
No great hardware picture examples handy (anyone with one?), but i can certianly say that there’s a few creative uses of hardware on my new dinghy. i can afford “proper” hardware, but it’s so much more satisfying to see what one can come up with out of spare bits of bronze plate, stainless rod, etc, in a well-equipped shop. Hell, with a good supply of bronze, and nothing more than a tap & die, a hacksaw, and a few files, it’s amazing what you can come up with!
i see these “Loups” getting more and more use on modern boats. Shucks, anyone with a little skill and patience can pull off a similar thing, albeit in lower-load applications. Look at a lot of real salty traditional boats, and you’ll be hard pressed to find too many shackles; everything is a lashing or a seizing. A decent lashing in Spectra or Vectran smallstuff has got to be just as strong (or stronger) than a shackle, and certianly more flexible; don’t even get me started about weight! Most importantly, it’s not something you have to buy, but rather just sit down and do yourself.
i’d like to see more examples of “sailing rattitude”, fun little hotrod/cruiser/custom sailboats that rely on owner ingenuity, skill, and patience rather than just falling out of the pages of the West catalogue. i’d like to see more people actually out sailing, in whatever they can find, rather than agonizing over getting just the right hardware installed. One fellow in our boatyard has a natty little (twice, yet managed to sink over $5000 into it. Frankly, the boat was ready to head back across the pond when he got it, but i guess it just wasn’t ready enough for him.
i’m all for preparation and prudence on the water, but sometimes enough is enough, and you just have to throw down and get out there. i guess that’s what i admire about “rat rods”, with their primer paintjobs and minimal interiors, yet well-tuned mechanical systems, served up hot out of backyard garages; just doing what needs to be done, enjoying the hell outta it, and leaving off all the excess trappings.
