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Interested in a boat for 2018 TransPac

OK you will probably have to do your qualifier locally. Still I would advise to get it done this summer!

I prepped my boat 3 times for pacific races -- Pac Cup 2012, LongPac 2015 and SHTP 2016, and you would think that the 2nd and 3rd would be no problem, but actually they were both a ton of work each...
 
I prepped my boat 3 times for pacific races -- Pac Cup 2012, LongPac 2015 and SHTP 2016, and you would think that the 2nd and 3rd would be no problem, but actually they were both a ton of work each...
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I'm starting to feel like Ray Liotto's character in Good Fellas.
 
OlyJeff said:
The qualifier is more difficult for me as I'm in WA state.
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I've given some thought about doing a qualifier from the PNW. It's not so bad. Get yourself up to Neah Bay, then 200nm out, 200nm back. Pick a reasonable weather window, which shouldn't be too hard to find in the summer. The plus of doing it on your on rather than Longpac is you can modify your start date to get "appropriate" conditions. You define appropriate. Obviously, you don't want to drift at 1 knot for 400nm and you don't want a storm either. Somewhere in between.
 
OlyJeff said:
I wonder if a checklist exist. Like all the steps needed to get ready. Lots to do and I imagine a year can go by fast.
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We bought a boat in November of 2011 and sailed it across the Atlantic in July 2012. When my wife went to the boat in June, ahead of me, there were 300 items on her to do list. Preparing for an ocean crossing is all about the lists. Getting to the start line is truly the hardest part, because if you aren't proactive and diligent you will find yourself with the start approaching and an impossible volume of to do's to accomplish. This is the great thing about the qualifier. It forces you to get a lot of things done well ahead of time. Then you are left with roughly a year and a reasonable list. Not being ready for a qualifier a year in advance of the start puts you behind the curve in trying to get it all done in time.
 
Well I didn't mean to scare anybody -- some of the things I did to prep for the 2nd and 3rd times were optional things I took on, "nice but not strictly necessary." And some people just seem to jump aboard, more or less. I guess I'm a little more paranoid than that. We did win the "best prepped boat" trophy in 2012 though.
 
pogen said:
Well I didn't mean to scare anybody -- some of the things I did to prep for the 2nd and 3rd times were optional things I took on, "nice but not strictly necessary." And some people just seem to jump aboard, more or less. I guess I'm a little more paranoid than that. We did win the "best prepped boat" trophy in 2012 though.
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Class of 2016 "best prepped boat" here. ;)
 
svShearwater said:
Yep. And congrats to you as well.
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Thanks -- on our year, they told us that they really only considered DH boats for this award, as the work load is the same for any boat but DH has a lot less manpower, and are not semi-pro programs like some others. Very nice of them.
 
pogen said:
Thanks -- on our year, they told us that they really only considered DH boats for this award, as the work load is the same for any boat but DH has a lot less manpower, and are not semi-pro programs like some others. Very nice of them.
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That seems plausible. In 2014 it was awarded to a DH Santa Cruz 27.
 
I hear that the Santa Cruz harbor entrance channel may open up this coming weekend.

I went to the boat for a "quick" stop and looked at running rigging for the main and jib. I noticed chafe on both halyards so I cut the jib halyard short. I'll need to learn to put a whipping on that halyard so I bought waxed whipping twine.

The main halyard is spliced on the main's head grommet so I'll need to learn that too. I don't have the kit to do that so it's yet another little something I need to acquire.

I noticed the roller on one of the jib cars (MERRIMAN) is damaged (slightly deformed) but it looks like I can't repair that. It'll likely still work as it is ... I couldn't find one used on eBay ...
 
Free advice, for what it's worth... One way of getting more life out of a halyard is to "end-for-end" the line. The tail end usually has had way less wear/chafe. Also, when buying new halyards, make them a little long. This makes it easier to end-for-end and/or cut some off.

Main halyards aren't usually spliced to the sail. That would be most unusual. Usually, they are spliced or knoted to a shackle. Depending on the type of line involved, splicing used line (e.g. double braid) is very difficult as the line has been "loaded" and the fibers stretched together. There has been a lot of testing and discussion about how much splices or knots reduce line strength. In my opinion this has been over emphasized. An advantage of knoting your main halyard to the halyard shackle is that then it's relatively easy to remove the shackle to either cut off a length or for end-for-ending. I have successfully used a version of "Fisherman's Bend" to attached halyard shackles.

As an aside, I once raced on a Columbia 50 out of Santa Barbara that had no shackles, snap shackles or otherwise. All halyards and sheets were tied on. I'm not sure why...

Halyard Shackle Knot.jpeg
 
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Dazzler said:
Free advice, for what it's worth... One way of getting more life out of a halyard is to "end-for end" the line.
Main halyards aren't usually spliced to the sail.
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End for end ... isn't it enough to cut 2-3 feet from the line (where the sail heads is attached)? Or is the idea that if I swap the line I get to use a part that's had little to no tension? It sounds like the best thing to do would be a combo of both approaches: cut 2-3 feet off a couple of times, swap, cut 2-3 feet off a couple of times?

Oops ... I meant shackle ... newbie ...
 
jamottep said:
End for end ... isn't it enough to cut 2-3 feet from the line (where the sail heads is attached)? Or is the idea that if I swap the line I get to use a part that's had little to no tension? It sounds like the best thing to do would be a combo of both approaches: cut 2-3 feet off a couple of times, swap, cut 2-3 feet off a couple of times?

Oops ... I meant shackle ... newbie ...
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All depends on how much line you have to work with and maybe the condition of the line (i.e. chafe and UV exposure). Often there's not a lot extra to cut off.
 
Actually doing both makes a halyard a lot less expensive. Swapping ends gives you twice the life. Cutting off a few feet and then swapping four times the life? I could go on. For a few extra bucks on the initial purchase you save a bundle in the long run.

I use the shackle/fishermen's bend on my halyards -- at the moment HALYARD.

But, when I had my Santana 22 I tied all halyards with bowlines; all the sails came off at the end of the day. Bowlines with the knots on the jib/genoa sheets tied so the "smooth" side of the knot was inward -- slid past the shroud

without catching.
 
Dazzler said:
As an aside, I once raced on a Columbia 50 out of Santa Barbara that had no shackles, snap shackles or otherwise. All halyards and sheets were tied on. I'm not sure why...

View attachment 2203
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Shackles fail. I've had 2 fail. Not fun in mid-ocean having your only main or spinnaker halyard at the top of the mast. I've become a believer in knots after learning the hard way. Twice.
 
Ragnar said:
Shackles fail. I've had 2 fail. Not fun in mid-ocean having your only main or spinnaker halyard at the top of the mast. I've become a believer in knots after learning the hard way. Twice.
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Just wondering ... Where a shackle failed ... Would the knot have failed too? I mean what makes the knot stronger? Was the shackle undersized?
Don't mean to highjack my own thread, which is now there to chronicle my slow progress :-)

When I said I was starting checklists ... Well, looking back those were not checklists ... I need to start planning ...

I won't be able to do the qualifier as right after I'm taking two weeks off for more Clipper training. I'm thinking of doing it just a few days before, starting Saturday and ending 4th of July. I'm asking around to see if anyone wants to tag along, for safety reasons.
 
A typical snap shackle on a spin halyard failed one beautiful evening. Spinnaker goes into the water. Halyard stuck at top of mast, of course. Not sure if it was the spring pin or the swivel pin that went. The second one was a main halyard shackle that looked a lot like the photo above. A big screw-in pin worked its way out after a week at sea and somehow bent. Main came down, halyard lost at top of mast. At night of course.

Knots are slower when making sail changes, but if your sail is going to be up for a week, I'll take slow.

Also, I've seen shackles get destroyed by the stainless rings on spinnaker heads, if they still make them that way. Apparently the shackle stainless was not as hard as the ring stainless.
 
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