New Boat 4 Sled

[talonf4u]

Did someone say small boat race?

Mine's the blue one.

 

[Philpott]

My first boat was a plywood "Melody." I raced on Santa Rosa lakes with the Santa Rosa Sailing Club - and was consistently last. Most sailors were kids at a 100# or so. Me, 32 years old and 160#. Towed it to the Delta for years and had lots of fun sailing the sloughs. I still have the mast as a flagpole.

Hard to believe you were ever consistently last, Pat! Your sailing club's Alameda sail is a wonderful incentive for me to trim the lemon tree and enable that poor lido to escape from my tiny city backyard (Free at last! Free at last!). June 15 is it for us. Thank you for the invitation.

 

[Wylieguy]

Jackie, You, and other SSSers, are most welcome. My place on the SRSC Wall of Shame was even worse when I graduated to a Laser. Now 170# and the kids didn't seem to gain any weight.

 

[sleddog]

Back in the day, we used to load up the car and drive to Yosemite Valley on Friday after class, arriving in the dark. We'd camouflage the car and sleep somewhere in the woods, hoping the smokey didn't spot us on his patrols.

My first climb was Lower Cathedral Spire. Tennis shoes made things spicy, as did 3 strand goldline for protection. Psychedelic perlon rope, climbing slippers, and chalk, to dry fingers and sweaty palms, hadn't been invented yet.



After safely ascending Lower Cathedral Spire, on the east side of Yosemite Valley, it was time to attempt the traditional right of passage, Royal Arches, on the west side, directly above the Awahnee Hotel.



About halfway up Royal Arches was a fallen Jeffery pine, about one foot in diameter, that spanned a chasm at 45 degrees. It took 2 pendulums (rope swings) to reach "rotten log" and make its ascent, always the crux and most memorable part of the Royal Arches climb.



What was enduring about "rotten log" is that everybody had to go through the same process as the First Ascent party in 1936. IE taking considerable risk and committing to the grisly and knarled trunk. Technology and time offered no comfort in the face of the log's continued decay.

There were many techniques employed in shinning up the "rotten log." as well as visions of riding it to the ground like Slim Pickens on the Atomic Bomb in Dr.Strangelove. In this case, had the "rotten log" broken, you'd fall 1,000 feet and likely land in the middle of a wedding party on the Awahnee lawn. You were unlikely to win an Academy Award, like Alex Honnold in Free Solo, for such a descent.



"Rotten Log" lasted until 1983 when some well meaning person pushed it off, a little piece of Yosemite history you may not have have known.

 

[Howard Spruit]

" It took 2 pendulums (rope swings) to reach "rotten log" and make its ascent,"

I must remember, the pendulum swingers are not to be considered "HOT DOGERS"

 

[sleddog]

Say what?



Down the road from the Capitola Boat Club, a man was arrested Sunday for riding a horse while intoxicated, authorities said.

The horse or the man?

According to the sheriff’s office the rider, not the horse, named SORAYA, was "evaluated."

“He was eventually arrested for being drunk in public by CHP,” the sheriff’s office said. It is illegal to ride a horse while intoxicated in California. It is illegal to not only drive a vehicle under the influence, but also a bicycle, motorized scooter, hoverboard, and a horse,”

According to the sheriff’s office the horse went home with a family member, . The rider was remanded to a "sobering center."

Good thing the rider wasn't texting.

Happy Spring Equinox.

 

[sleddog]

Will the owner of a blue sailboat rudder please identify yourself to an SSS agent?

Actually, there was a message attached to the rudder: "It was fun to disassemble this. Unscrew this bolt, then that one. Turn everything this way and that like a monkey looking at an unfamiliar piece of fruit, detach that, smack it with a mallet and then shove it down into the water. Then it bounced back up and hit the bottom of the dock!! Fun times. Glad it didn't sink."

Could this be the first stage of an unusually thorough 2020 SHTP emergency rudder demonstration?

 

[BobJ]

I recognize the rudder, the style of writing in the message, and the dock.

I hope Philpott has DM's new rudder ready to install.

 

[Philpott]

Will the owner of a blue sailboat rudder please identify yourself to an SSS agent? Could this be the first stage of an unusually thorough 2020 SHTP emergency rudder demonstration?

hahaha! I guess I'm the only one dumb enough to disregard the advice: "Don't try this without adult supervision." Yes, there lies Dura Mater's rudder. Poor DM. She is rendered unsailable and I with her. I don't know how I'll get through the weekend :-(

I made a little video of the experience, but need to remove all the bad language before posting it. Tried to find a "How to remove your rudder while in your slip" video on YouTube and couldn't, so I did it myself and videotaped the process. Only tried it at all because Ronnie Simpson once wrote that he had done it on his own
Cal 2-27. This was, of course, before he removed his boat's engine to install multiple surfboards and then sailed it to New Zealand. Sigh. That guy. Hey, Ronnie! When are you coming to town?

I have persuaded a local hotshot sailor friend who knows about such things to come give me an opinion about DM's above-mentioned rudder. Given very expensive examples of rudders that have failed on international stages recently, I'm feeling better and better about mine. After all, it didn't disintegrate upon removal and it floated to the surface instead of falling into the Richmond mud.

And I finally met Matt Peterson/Fast Bottoms, in person. He will come help me re-install the rudder if it's deemed reliable or, if not, until a new one arrives. We chatted about our shared appreciation of Electric Light Orchestra, his first album purchase when he was 16 years old, and my go-to music anytime I'm on the water.

 

[Daydreamer]

Ha!
Good times Jackie!

Yes, my rudder was surprisingly buoyant, especially considering it's weight once removed from under the dock. Yes, me too.
The bigger PITA is getting it back in whilst in the water. I used a combination of lines, ballast, and an extra set of hands on a winch.
Good time to replace rudder shaft bushings too.

Drill a small 1/4 in hole in the bottom (easily plugged with epoxy) to check for saturation, and check the shaft where it enters the foil for corrosion.

 

[Philpott]

Good time to replace rudder shaft bushings too.

Drill a small 1/4 in hole in the bottom (easily plugged with epoxy) to check for saturation, and check the shaft where it enters the foil for corrosion.

Thanks, Greg! Boy, I wish I had watched you do that. Of course you did it all yourself over there in Marina Village.

Yes, Skip has suggested I do that, too. And I will. Don't see that I have a rudder shaft bushing, just an extension of the fiberglass tubing from below, which I will strengthen with that woven fiberglass drenched in West system epoxy. However, I am interested in replacing this:



is it a washer? Can't find anything like it online yet. Tried googling "washer shaped doo-hickey for rudder" and couldn't find nuthin. Skip also suggested I weigh the rudder on a scale. I can do that, too. Just for fun. Any bets on how heavy it will be? A prize to the closest guesser. Not Closet Guesser, closest guesser. We're upfront on this site.

 

[BobJ]

43#

 

[Daydreamer]

58#

The washer would be there so the rudder and tube don't wear against each other.
The material looks to be the same as old blocks were made of. Can't think of the name.
Could be replaced with delrin or nylon.

 

[DaveH]

but what does this do?

 

[BobJ]

That's what she used to extract the "washer shaped doo-hickey for rudder."

 

[sleddog]

It appears the washer is a spacer the keeps the top of the rudder from binding on the bottom of the hull. As suggested earlier by Greg.



My suggestion would be to have Steve Seal come take a look. I'd bet he's encountered similar, and could possibly simplify whatever happens next.

My guess is the rudder does not have top or bottom bearings. Also guessing it weighs 60 pounds.

 

[BobJ]

Now that I can see a close-up shot, may I change my vote? Is the shaft solid stainless or tubular? (From the 70's: "That's TUBULAR, man!")

Ragtime!'s old rudder weighed 38# and was larger than DM's, but it had a carbon shaft. The new rudder was much lighter!

 

[Philpott]

Now that I can see a close-up shot, may I change my vote? Is the shaft solid stainless or tubular? (From the 70's: "That's TUBULAR, man!")

Ragtime!'s old rudder weighed 38# and was larger than DM's, but it had a carbon shaft. The new rudder was much lighter!

Yes, of course you can change your vote. All votes must be received by 6 pm Sunday evening. No mail in ballots accepted, this Forum is your only option. I took my bathroom scale down to the slip and weighed the rudder in the rain. Yeah. Seemed like the thing to do. Why not?



Remember that there is a prize for the winner. It is not a chicken dinna.

 

[JohnS]

The washer shaped doo-hickey for rudder appears to be made of phenolic sheet of perhaps 1/8 inch thickness (or maybe 1/16, hard to tell in pictures). This is good stuff and readily available and easy to work. Should not be too difficult to fabricate a replacement for RM's rudder prior to re-installation.

I guess 45 lbs. And now I really want to see if my rudder floats and then weight it...

 

[Philpott]

The washer shaped doo-hickey for rudder appears to be made of phenolic sheet of perhaps 1/8 inch thickness (or maybe 1/16, hard to tell in pictures). This is good stuff and readily available and easy to work. Should not be too difficult to fabricate a replacement for RM's rudder prior to re-installation. I guess 45 lbs. And now I really want to see if my rudder floats and then weight it...

Thanks, John! That's really good information. It is beautiful material in its own right. And your guess has been recorded:



Carliane has offered me her diving weights to re-install. I wonder whether she might come over and help? Now that would be fun.