Evanston: furled and anchored
Evanston: furled and anchored
I picked up my modified jib yesterday at the sailmaker and drove north to set it on GANNET.
Because the luff is new and stiff and I was out of McLube, which I spray on luff tapes to ease their way up and down foil slots, the sail was more work to hoist than I expected; but eventually it was.
The recut sail is small, but will do for the remaining few weeks this year and as a back-up in the future.
When I went to furl it, I saw that I’d have to move the spare jib halyard and the spinnaker halyard away from the bow and back near the shrouds to prevent them from wrapping around the furling foil.
Furlex provides everything needed with their furling gears, including a new headstay, furling line and stanchion fairleads.
I bought a Ronstan ratchet block to replace one of the provided leads and a Schaefer genoa track cleat.
I use two of these on THE HAWKE OF TUONELA as midship cleats for spring lines.
When I bought her, GANNET had only two real cleats on deck, those for stern lines. Since then I’ve added two at the bow. All the other cleats are jam-cleats, which are not satisfactory for a furling line.
The former owner re-cored GANNET’s deck into which water had seeped. I believe he did a good job and that the deck is now dry. So I am very reluctant to drill unnecessary holes in it, particularly when I’m uncertain of the final genoa track arrangement. At present GANNET has three separate short pieces of track. Next year I may replace the two of those aft of the shrouds with a single track, but that will depend on the correct lead for a new furling jib I’ll have made over the winter. Until then, the Schaefer cleat on one of the existing tracks provides a secure place to tie off the furling line.
With the furling gear sorted out, I sat at the bow with a catalog of bow rollers and a tape measure and quickly realized that I can fit only the smallest of rollers anywhere near the bow.
So I ordered a simple roller 2” wide, a 15 pound Delta anchor, and a rode consisting of 230’ of ½” 8 strand braid spliced to 20’ of ¼” chain. The roller will probably not keep the anchor from hitting the hull as it is raised--I’ll have to hold it off myself--but will provide a lead for the line and chain.
I still like Spade anchors. As some of you may recall my primary anchor on THE HAWKE OF TUONELA is a 20 pound aluminum Spade.
The proper size Spade for GANNET weighs 10 pounds and costs a startling $483. The 15 pound Delta at an end-of-season sale cost $105.57.
Deltas are good anchors. I sometimes used one on RESURGAM, and have a 35 pound Delta, as well as a 33 pound Bruce, on THE HAWKE OF TUONELA. I set the Delta as a second anchor when a tropical storm passed over us in the Florida Keys in 1994.
With her light weigh and low windage, GANNET will be very easy on an anchor. The difference of five pounds between the Delta and the Spade is not worth a difference of more than four times the price.
I have used many types of anchors over the decades.
My very first was a Danforth Hi-Tensile, which happens to be the anchor that came with GANNET. I may keep it, but I don’t like what are known in other parts of the world as “sand anchors.” They have great holding power when set in sand, but are difficult to set and useless in many types of bottoms. Also they have a pivot point. Anchors with pivot points, including CQR’s, are potential finger smashers. Thus for decades, I’ve used Bruce, Delta, Spade.
The ½” anchor rode is oversized for GANNET. ⅜” line is more than strong enough. But, again, the prepackaged ½” rode at an end-of-season sale price was considerably cheaper than buying ⅜” line and chain and splicing them together myself. And thicker line will have a little more tolerance for chaff.
CHIDIOCK TICHBORNE was the last boat of mine that didn’t anchor on all chain. I don’t recall what size line I used on her, probably ⅜”, but with a 15 pound CQR, she was pound for pound possibly the most securely anchored boat around. A few times I almost pulled her bow under trying to break the CQR out.
Anchor, rode and roller should be here this week. As may be an anchor light.
I still have hopes of sailing down to Chicago and across the lake this year.
Small steps. But steps.
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The photograph of the entrance to North Point Marina was taken on a day when a Small Craft Advisory was in effect and 10 to 15’ waves predicted. As you can see, they weren’t, although the wave at the breakwater did occasionally break.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011