June to July - August to October - November to 2008
Just need the weather to improve so we can get out of the marina! Actually, we have managed to get out at least one day of every weekend so far... The fastest speed so far hit (in mostly very lumpy conditions) is 13Kts under main/asymmetric!
We had an issue with the arm/hull pads, in that the Previous Owner (PO) had used a material that 'was not the best' and so we had about 0.5 to 1mm play in three of the four pads. I contacted Corsair about replacements - but gave up due to very poor customer service, (this was at the beginning of June and I still have had no reply).
After some research, UHMW seemed like a good material to use (LMP cars use it as rubbing strips on their underbodies). Getting a supply of it was not so easy until I remembered some old kitchen cutting boards I had... UHMW indeed! It was even the exact width and allowed me to get four new pads per board. Some time with the belt sander and Dad™ and I getting really good at unfolding/folding the floats, all four arm/hull pads are done, with no movement at all. I even now have some 1mm poly shims onboard "Just in case" :-)
Tacking the boat is pretty easy, just have to watch the waves so you don't run into slop as you start... The boat really does tack pretty easily, just have to be slower on the helm and kind of follow it around. But boy does it accelerate once the job is done! Gybing the asymmetric inside is really simple (up to 15Kts of breeze so far anyway) and the again the acceleration is fun. Yet to try an 'outside' as we need longer sheets - Ho hum.
Rig setup has been progressing... Took out about 50mm of the forestay to reduce mast rake (new S/S custom toggle plates) and tensioned the shrouds to reduce 'dangle' on the unloaded side when sailing... Looking pretty good. Added a block system on the bowsprit as it was lifting when we flew the asymmetric, currently got a 4.5:1 on it which is overkill, so that'll be reduced to 3:1 at some point - That was what the huge, bent stainless steel pole/rod thingy was for, boy oh boy :-)
So far, the weather really has been 'not good' with the sea state being uniformly choppy to sloppy and wind speeds from 5 to 25Kts and anywhere from the West to the East. Even so, this boat is proving to be the best one we've ever owned/sailed... I was looking at the GPS logs for all the trips out and, discounting 'to and from the mooring' we are averaging over 8Kts :-) And we are very much 'behind the boat', so more is easily possible. So much so that I feel we are on a learning curve so steep we need climbing equipment!
Had to replace the fuel tank/hose/bulb and end fittings for the engine... It either leaked or fell apart quickly in use, bonus is it now starts on the first or second pull and runs continuously without feverish squeezing of the bulb thingy to keep it going.
Jobs done so far:
Went out in a SW F4/5 and learnt how to go upwind: Pointing up is something we're having to readdress, way different from a monohull... Much more camber on the main than in any of our old race boats and some really weird main car/sheet settings - but we seem to have cracked it... 8-9Kts of boat speed and not much under a big monohull angle wise, speed wise we were at least 1.5X up.
I'd also taken up the shrouds another turn (39 on our rig tension gauge) and this seems to be about it... The leeward shroud 'just' goes loose (in a F5, 6ft waves) with a fully powered main/jib/spin... Any comments from other owners?
The downside was the rudder pintles (the hinge thingys) are way past their sell-by date - They always have been a bit sloppy, so much so that we tried (and obviously failed - with a big, big hammer) to 'fix' them before the launch. They were 'OK' up to today... Now, major slop and nastyness.
So, B&G Machining to the rescue: Dismounted the rudder assemby and stripped the foil/tiller off and ran it up to B&G... After them agreeing that the design was 'not the best way to do it' (See the Corsair parts site for the upgraded pintles) they said: "Leave it with us and we'll see what we can do, come back in a couple of hours"... After a visit with a mate not too far away, I returned to find the nasty bush things TIG'd to the frames, the bushes themselves reamed out and custom pins being made to fit, all for £30... What a brilliant company! Fitted them the next day and thought "Hmmm, that feels better".
I drew up some replacement 'Corsair F-24 MKII' graphics and the Name/logo... Local sign writter cut them for me in vinyl and after a stressfull 20 minutes they were on!
Went out today in a WSW F5/6... Big grins. The rudder assembly is perfect with no binding, no play and a smooooth action! That the boat was frollicing along at an average speed of 12Kts is obviously incidental..., and man did we get wet!
Hit 14.3Kts GPS on a very close reach under main/ jib and Dad™ did a very very nice job of driving us onto the mooring in quite nasty conditions - The git :-) The up side to all the big seas we seem to be out in is the hull/arm pads are perfect, no movement at all and the boat performs amazing well.
One thing I've noticed with this boat is that we are prepared to go out in much higher wind speeds than any of the monohulls we've had, (J-24 to Lightwave 395 with 1/4 and 1/2 tonners as a filling), from the point of view of: "We're not racing, we don't have to be anywhere and, this is just for fun".
Speed is addictive.
So, a round-up of the season to date...
Fastest boat speed in June: 14.8Kts in a F5 Northerly in fairly flat seas
Fastest boat speed in July: 14.3Kts in 25kts WSW and big seas
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Repair/maintenance: 28 + 63 = 86 Hrs to July 31st
After a great but 'slow' days sailing, we returned to the dock and found a Formula 60 Tri moored opposite our berth... She was being ferried from Italy to Sweden. Ended up chatting to the crew and having a tour of the boat - I want one! It's sooo flippin big, our boat would comfortably rest on one of the wing nets for goodness sake. It had a 30Mtr carbon wing mast and Dyneema standing rigging, two pipe cots, a single burner 'camping gaz' stove - minimalist or what :-)
Managed to wangle a better berth than the one we were on, which was a pain to get on/off, helped along by a couple of 'spanners' with a sport boat... "Wash? Dur, what dat den?" :-) So we finished the rest of the year in our own double wide bay, nice - oh, and a big thanks to the sport boat cretins - you know who you are.
Decided that the 6:1 main sheet system wasn't up to the task... So hunted around and finally got a very good deal with the UK imports of Easyblock kit, a rather swish 8:1 system delivered next day - pretty dang good! It makes 'such' a difference, you can even trim the main now rather than just about cope with on/off in winds of F5 and up - my poor hands :-)
The sea keeping qualities of this boat are amazing... I know it's been stated before but, we are going out is much higher wind speeds now, F6 is just about 'right' if the waves are long pitched :-) And we have yet to concider reefing. The boat gives great feedback as to what it's doing and, so far, has never felt hard pushed. It really is a windsurfer for the over 40s :-)
Ripped the spinnaker today... Damn thing got caught on the bow light bracket as we gybed in very little wind, just tagged it and the nylon 'unzipped', really annoying. Still, 24 hours later the local sailmaker had repaired our silliness and it was as good as new, except we both noticed that the head ring was just about to pull out. Oh well, better to find out now than to run the thing over in a F5.
Still having issues with the outboard... It's fine on the internal tank, but pants when using the big external jobbie. We think it's the pump diaphram/s have had it... Not a problem if that's all it is and it'll be added to the winter 'To Do' list.
Went out in a really impressive Northerly, Val™, Dad™ and me. The sea was nearly flat, but had a bit of a swell running and the wind was up around an F6, gusting F7. We chugged off the berth, sorted the sails out in the outer harbour and headed out past the sea wall.... The acceleration was like the flippin kit-car! we went from a sedate 3kts to 14 in the single (and collective) beat of a heart, definitely "and off we gooooooooooo!!!!!" Big, big grins all round. The boat tracks straight with little rudder input and just needs a tweak here and there to keep the course, the feeling when she takes off is Goose bump making, (and I have a PPL and an Aerobatics qualification - So I know from Goose bumps). The hull seems to rise up and float on ice - it's so smooth. A wiggle of the rudder and the boat reacts instantly - giggle giggle.... Sorry, can't help m'self. Why we didn't buy one of these years ago we'll never know!
Val™ was off to Spain for a week, so we had a quick jolly before she had to catch the plane out... in what turned out to be 32kts of breeze. Found out at what point the boat becomes 'a bit pressed', in hindsight we could have done with a single reef in the main, however, feathering the sail off was doable and the boat never felt like it was getting away from you... Man did we get a tad damp :-) Lunch at one of the Marina eateries was fun... salt set hair and silly grins all round :-)
Last 'fun' sail of the year in a SW F6 with a big swell running, highest boat speed of the year and surfing like a crazy thing, a great day!
So, after a great seasons sailing it was time to run the boat up the Newhaven and pull her out for the Winter. A sad day made fun by having a Northerly F4/5, a steady 10/12kts all along the coast in reasonable flat seas - a bit of a hoot.
Pulling the boat out was a breeze (sorry) and we even managed to pick the biggest tide of the year, could have almost sail her home :-) So, Berth to trailer to home in four hours - not bad.
So, another round-up of the season to date...
Fastest boat speed in August: 15.0Kts in a N F6/7 with a fairly flat sea
Fastest boat speed in September: 15.1Kts in a SW F6/7 with a large swell
We did Littlehampton and back in 4hrs, and played with the Dolphins off Newhaven... A great sailing year to date.
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Repair/maintenance: 23hrs - Total = 109 Hrs to Oct 31st
Right... List of the new stuff:
Bit the bullet and bought a set of Quantum sails, Main, Jib and Screacher - they're popping over in the new year to measure up and we'll take delivery the end of March... Should be good!
New outboard engine - It was such a good deal, honest. Ended up with a Tohatsu 5hp long with internal/external fuel.
New netting, Dad™ done the bow nets (hero!) and we've taken delivery of some 6mm x 40mm 'safety netting' in blue - Very fetching :-)
My mate who runs a scenery construct company made me up some boat stands so we can lift the thing off the trailer - Think: Axle Stands 'FOR MEN!' :-)
The list of jobs to do:
Christmas hols now, so no work until mid January...
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Repair/maintenance: 9hrs - Total = 118 Hrs to Dec 31st
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