Around the World from West coast?

[Tchoupitoulas]

Is it a California Gull?

 

[jamottep]

Is it a California Gull?

Don't know anything about that

If you prefer going straight to YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwEANckghhNKon14TZLzXq67JzYoWoYO7&feature=share

 

[Dazzler]

If you haven't checked out Kathi's video of the largish bird resting on PJ's head and nesting in his hat on their delivery of CHANGABANG to HMB, itsa hoot. Good images of the deck layout.

What kind of bird is that anyone? https://pjsails.com/a-blog-about-sailing-around-the-world/

I’m no bird expert, and at my best identifying Big Bird, but thanks to living with a scientist we have an excellent library. Per THE SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS, there are 27 species of gulls in 5 genera. Sibley goes on to say, “Gull identification represents one of the most challenging and subjective puzzles in birding and should be approached only with patient and methodical study. A casual or impatient approach will not be rewarded.”

Luckly, we have been provided with an excellent collection of photos. Based on those, I believe it’s a Black-legged Kittiwake (p. 229). Kittiwakes are pelagic gulls that nest on cliff edges and are found at sea.

 

[Wylieguy]

My only hope is it's not an albatross, but if it is no one harms it. We don't need another ancient mariner wandering through our literary lives.

 

[jamottep]

Well, I had big plans but things turned out differently. Forecast looked good for having an overnight fun trip, light winds today, building up tomorrow. I drove to CaB, spent more time doing small jobs, and finally mustered enough energy to get going. Pushing CaB off the docks and casting off solo worked just fine. We motored out, hoisted the big mainsail, and turned off the engine. The plan for the day was to try the Code 0. There is no trying, only doing, says the tiny one.
The Code 0 came out of the bag, the tack went to the furler, the head to the halyard, and sheets to the clew. And that's where things stopped working cleanly. Twists in lines caused all sorts of mess:
1. When I pulled the tack to the end of the bowsprit I noticed that the tack line was getting all twisted on its own. Also the furler had been rigged incorrectly and the exit was facing forward instead of aft. Oh well ...
2. Next I hoisted the sail. More twists went up the halyard as I hoisted the sail but I did not notice.
3. I unfurled the sail, turned a bit downwind and we took off. Ah, the fun of this boat picking up speed!
Now I was left with the obvious problem that I was going South, that the wind was going to pick up, and that I wasn't sure what to do with the sail now. It looked like I was not going to be able to furl it back. So I spent some time riding the tip of the bowsprit and ultimately was able to roll the sail up.
It's now that things really got problematic. I tried to douse the sail by easing the halyard, and it wouldn't come down.
I decided to turn around and head for port. Someone was going to have to go up the mast and figure out what was going on.
Lucky me, before leaving, I came across Michael LG, with whom I worked in the past. As I was motoring back, I hit him on LinkedIn asking for his help to get me up the mast. And he gracefully accepted! He saved the day really! I couldn't let the sail up with the expected wind on the forecast.
So up the mast again, only to discover that because of tons of twist in the halyard, it was wrapped around itself (the code 0 is on a 2:1 halyard). And the friction in those wraps was enough to prevent the sail from coming down! I eased the sail down, spent another several hours getting the boat back in order, and finally drove home.
A long day ...
If anyone knows of a way to remove twists from a 2:1 halyard without taking it out ... let me know ...

 

[jamottep]

If anyone knows of a way to remove twists from a 2:1 halyard without taking it out ... let me know ...

That was done yesterday, well, I think it was. We'll see the next time I use that halyard ...

Today was a lousy day. Got a mobile diesel mechanic to help with the throttle cable. He didn't seem to be much on top of his game ... After 4 hours nothing was accomplished. And now I can't even use the jerry rig I had in place since the cable is gone. He owes me a part number but has now gone silent.

And while he was poking at the engine downstairs I tried to fix the ripped seam on the forward zipper of the mainsail cover. Only to find out that when I was done and I tried to zip it closed again, the seams on the other side of the zipper let go ... A lousy day ...

 

[WBChristie]

What do mechanics cost down there in the big city anyway?

That was done yesterday, well, I think it was. We'll see the next time I use that halyard ...

Today was a lousy day. Got a mobile diesel mechanic to help with the throttle cable. He didn't seem to be much on top of his game ... After 4 hours nothing was accomplished. And now I can't even use the jerry rig I had in place since the cable is gone. He owes me a part number but has now gone silent.

And while he was poking at the engine downstairs I tried to fix the ripped seam on the forward zipper of the mainsail cover. Only to find out that when I was done and I tried to zip it closed again, the seams on the other side of the zipper let go ... A lousy day ...

 

[Intermission]

What do mechanics cost down there in the big city anyway?

A few of my friends recommended a diesel mechanic that charged $130 an hour with a three hour minimum.
I try to do as much of my own maintenance as possible, but that was some of the best $390 I've ever spent. He not only fixed a bunch of problems, he left me a list of stuff I could work on. Diesel boat engines is all he has done for 30+ years.
I hope to use him again this year before going down the coast in the Fall.
I am afraid he is so busy that he wouldn't travel farther than the East bay (Richmond, Berkeley, Alameda), but I guess you could ask?
Anyone who wants to know the name of this diesel genius can PM me.

 

[tiger beetle]

If anyone knows of a way to remove twists from a 2:1 halyard without taking it out ... let me know ...

Hi Philippe - I have a 2:1 pole lift in the rig (the lift does double-duty for hoisting and tensioning the vectran storm jib stay), with the bitter end spliced onto a padeye set in the spar. That lift will get twists in it, just as you describe for your halyard. The twists are put into the halyard based on how the line is removed from the halyard winch - normally people will do a careful series of wraps around the winch and this is like winding line onto a spool of thread, there's no twist in the line. The twists are then inserted into the halyard after the hoist, when the line is pulled straight up off the winch and now there are as many twists in the line as there were wraps on the winch.

To remove the twists you first need to work out which way the line is twisted (clockwise or counter clockwise), then you're going to full hoist the halyard (with a tag line attached so you can pull it back down to the deck), put as many opposite twists in the tail in your hand that would normally be on the winch, then pull the halyard back down via the tag line - while pulling the tag line back down try to prevent the twists you just added to the halyard from un-twisting (e.g., keep rotating the halyard tail as it feeds back up into the mast). Keep doing this working the halyard up and down, eventually the reverse-twists you're adding to the halyard will work out through the mast sheave and you've untwisted the halyard. It can take me 8-10 up/downs to clear all the twists.

Once you've done that, keep track of how you're taking the halyard off the winch to see if you're adding twists to the halyard - I watch the flecks on the halyard cover to see if they are running straight on their way into the mast or if they are rotating (which means there a twist in the halyard). I try to remember to put the reverse twist onto the halyard as I load the winch prior to hoisting, that tends to counter-act what happens when I take the halyard off the winch after the douse.

- rob/beetle

 

[jamottep]

- rob/beetle

That's exactly what I did to remove the twists I think it took 3-4 hoists.

I'll keep an eye on what happens at the winch going forward. I'm guessing that when I remove the line from the winch I then need to straighten out those twists out before dousing. If they are inserted on the winch then they should just go away. Or maybe there is a way to load the winch without putting twists on the line, which would seem the smarter thing to do?

Diesel business ... So the guy left with my cable and the end bits that fit the shift and throttle control so he could tell me what to order. He tells me to order a universal part so I'm like nope. I drive to Helmut Marine to get the proper Volvo Penta cable and ask him to return my cable. He does so reluctantly, tells me it's waiting for me on Changabang. I go check it out ... All that's there is the cable. He kept the end bits with all the screws and what not to attach the new cable. How bad can this get?

 

[jamottep]

New cable in place, was one foot too long but seems to be working. Will see what happens in the long run ...

 

[AlanH]

You didn't use the rollerfurling on the way up the coast?

 

[jamottep]

You didn't use the rollerfurling on the way up the coast?

Allow me to share a few details about the sail arrangements on Changabang (CaB for short). I'm not aware of everything since I've not tried everything yet.

1. Mainsail: Dyneema/Black Technora, square top, lazy jacks, 3 reefs, on a Ronstan mast track/battcar system.
==> There is also an old Dacron mainsail that I'm trying to refurbish for practice.
==> It would be nice to do a full maintenance on the track/battcars, considering that this is what erminated Alex Alley's attempt.

2. White headsails:
2.1. Solent aka genoa: sits on the headstay with soft/Dyneema hanks. Same material, supposedly reefable with zippers but the zipper system is dead. There are reef grommets as well.
==> It would be nice to have a backup here. The invoice of the new one is about $10,000 ... That's not in the budget

2.2. Trinquette aka staysail: sits on a removable headstay with soft/Dyneema hanks. Same material. Not used yet.
==> There is also an older Dacron staysail that I am having refurbished, and which we used on the way up the Coast.

3. Storm sails: one trysail (which I'm not sure how I'll attach to the mast owing to the fact that it uses grommets), one large storm jib (appears unused), one smaller storm jib (appears well used, and needs a bit of repair too).

4. Free flying headsails:
1. Code 0 on 2:1 halyard with continuous furler; 2009. Looked ok when I used it although I didn't look at it much as I had other things on my mind!
2. Gennaker same as above. 2007.
3. Masthead spinnaker; 2017; with sock.
4. Fractional spinnaker; 2007; supposedly reefable; with sock.

Voila ... More to come as I get the sails out in the air doing their thing ...

 

[jamottep]

Without wanting to boast or doing the "don't jinx it" thing, I would like to highlight a couple things. When I bought Double Espresso I first motored in the Santa Cruz harbor. Those were very timid steps, and the learning curve was steep.
When CaB arrived in San Diego, I had to take possession of a boat mostly 100% new to me, in the slings of a crane, and a few things went wrong. But we managed as a team, and CaB got safely to SGYC.
Then we mostly motored to Oxnard in a boat still new to me. Then we sailed to HMB, two of us, in the conditions that we know.
And a few days ago I went solo, casting off and trying new things.
I am just amazed at the distance I have covered since those early days with DE.
For sure those early successes are a strong reflection of the boat's quality.
And the learning curve remains very steep, especially wrt boat systems, navigation and heavy weather handling.
I'm gratefull for all those who helped me along the way.

 

[sleddog]

........~~~~~/)~~~~~~
And a few days ago I went solo, casting off and trying new things.
I am just amazed at the distance I have covered since those early days with DE.
For sure those early successes are a strong reflection of the boat's quality.
And the learning curve remains very steep, especially wrt boat systems, navigation and heavy weather handling.I'm grateful for all those who helped me along the way.

+1 We appreciate your candidness and reminding we all can learn, any age. Thank you.

 

[Steevee]

I read your thread and I am inspired. Thanks.

 

[jamottep]

To remove the twists you first need to work out which way the line is twisted (clockwise or counter clockwise), then you're going to full hoist the halyard (with a tag line attached so you can pull it back down to the deck), put as many opposite twists in the tail in your hand that would normally be on the winch, then pull the halyard back down via the tag line - while pulling the tag line back down try to prevent the twists you just added to the halyard from un-twisting (e.g., keep rotating the halyard tail as it feeds back up into the mast). Keep doing this working the halyard up and down, eventually the reverse-twists you're adding to the halyard will work out through the mast sheave and you've untwisted the halyard. It can take me 8-10 up/downs to clear all the twists.
- rob/beetle

Well, although it looked like I had remove the twists when using a messenger line, when I tried to hoist the code 0 again, the halyard was again twisted on its own 4-5 times. I'm not sure what it is. I may try again to remove the twists like suggested, but with the sail attached this time (will need a day with no wind . A next step could be to take the line out completely and straighten it out. I wonder if it could be such that the cover and core have different twists in them.

 

[jamottep]

Rant: all the headsail halyards have major chafe damage, except maybe the solent's. The staysail, masthead spinnaker, and 2:1 code fractional spi/code 0/ gennaker have their cover chafed 4/5 through. All because the boat was put away with the halyards brought back to the mast base. Buying new halyards is not in the budget. So I'm looking for good used ones and repairing these. How do I repair? By spending countless hours sewing a chafe sleeve over the damage. And I mean countless hours, it takes me about two days to do one! If you thought splicing was hard ... Try sewing a 48 plaits chafe sleeve on a well used halyard. These lines are so hardened, after sewing 1/3 of the plaits it gets really hard to sew more than one at a time! I can only hope it's not wasted time ... If someone has experience with this pls step in
That was not on the list ...

 

[tiger beetle]

Is the age of the halyards known? You definitely don't want to be headed off across the pond and having halyards break as you go.

- rob/beetle

 

[Intermission]

How long are the halyards? How long are the tails?
Can you cut a few feet off and move the position of the chafe?

When I bought the current boat, she had a chafe patch on the main halyard. After about a year and a half, the chafe patch/sleeve bunched up, at the mast head, and I damned near couldn't get the sail down. When I took the halyard into Hansen for repair, Glen took the it off, saying "no bueno".

If you forgo color coding, a spool might be the cheapest?