Ray
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“does anyone have pictures they would share of boards between the main bulkhead and the forward bulkhead?”
Is that where most of the flex occurs? Exactly which bulkheads are the forward and main bulkheads?
I’d definitely be interested in something to stiffen fore/aft as well. I have trouble attaching my backstay until I drop the boat in the water. Once that’s done- stern and bow flex upward, and voila- connection. For some reason, though, I figured it would be a very long carbon fiber pole running from stern bulkhead to stem bulkhead and lashed to the mast, no?
Jason- I bought mine for $15.5k a few months ago and promptly documented it via uscg in Tucson, Az (my not-so-easily forgotten home of just a few years ago). California can assess a use tax, which thankfully, they don’t have here. Good luck, man! California seems desperate to tap into all sorts of taxes these days to make up for a deficit. I think I’ve heard of some boat owners having to resort to small claims court to get it settled.
I do have jockstraps, and they are plenty tight.. I probably couldn’t turn them without a screwdriver, but I haven’t tried. I think that’s ok, but I still have room to further tension the forestay at that turnbuckle. I still have no forward rake (and no lee helm, for sure), so I think I can shorten it some more. I know where we stand amongst our phrf fleet, so I should be able to assess the effect of any changes.. We’ll see.
Bruce- we raced last night, and I finally got a rigger on the boat this morning to see what’s up with our forestay. We had good moderate wind (7-8 kts) and on the upwind legs we had quite a bit of sag as well. I can’t quite quantify it (wish I’d taken a photo), but it was easily 6″ or so. Backstay was pretty much maxed out, but I’m guessing this is just the way these boats are sailed. The rigger suggested that these boats are so flexible, that you’ll never get all the sag out, especially in heavier air, and there is a reason we have 36:1 purchase for that backstay and that is about as good as it gets. If anyone here knows, please correct me if I’m wrong, but my crew is just amazed that we can’t achieve the knife edge we’re used to on J24’s. Apples:oranges, I know…
I know I’m one of the least experienced O-30 owners, but I can’t for the life of me figure that one out unless you have a disfunctional backstay. I had 2 feet of sag when I bought my boat (no lie), then went about tightening the turnbuckle up there to get it down to 5 or 6″ and have no sag when I haul on the backstay. It’s amazing how noticeable it depowers and powers up the boat compared to my J24. Maybe a picture of your backstay set up?
Sort of related- we were racing last night and a piece of wedge-shaped rubber fell down into the cockpit from above, and it looks like it may fit between the shrouds and the spreader tips. I know I have to replaces my spreader boots, but does anyone know if this rubber piece is what I think it is and where I might find the right sized boots?
Ray
Just ordered it– probably the fastest thing I’ve bought this year! That guy was really helpful, too.. Thanks for the rec, Bruce!
Well, darn- thanks, Dari. I’m off to Garhauer marine… again!
Take pictures and good luck, Jim!
I have a tang welded to the mast where the exisint vang attaches that looks like where the Garhauer model would be attached. If I don’t have to hack that off, all the better! I’ve already had to do things to this boat using implements of destruction I never thought I’d ever have to (ie. circular saw)…
Dari- by any chance, is the boom kicker still available? From the photos, it looks like I’d need to do a bit of modification to my mast (Ballenger), but I’m not 100% sure. Do you know?
Ray
Thanks, Jiri- I’ve got a can of McLube handy, too!
Question sort of related to this- do the bearings ever need re-greasing? Mine are a bit squeeky..
Ray
Thank you!
Just out of curiosity- what are you guys using for control lines like boom vang, traveler and backstay (type of line and diameter)?
Off topic, but I’m having trouble starting a new topic by hitting the button. Has anyone else noticed a similar issue with the forum? I’ve emailed the webmaster, to see what the problem is…
Ray
Jim- I just went with PlasTeak (high-density polyethylene, I think). Way cheaper at around $250. That was pretty much a no-brainer!
Hey, Lilya- I’m at irunbird@msn.com (for the CAD file of the elliptical rudder)
and- Thank you!Ray
I just got a reply from Brian Jones (BC Boatworks, in Maryland); he’s wondering about CAD drawings for the templates.. Does anyone just happen to have this laying around on their hard drive that they wouldn’t mind sharing? I think this might get fairly expensive, and even before going through our “house appropriations committee” (my wife) it’ll get vetoed by me… I had a local guy do an estimate for replacing the teak, and he came back with ~$1200-1500!
Sorry about the late reply, guys- I’m replacing all the wood on the boat with plastic and repainting the deck and cockpit, to name just a few odd-jobs… Wow- Al, you’ve owned 5 rudders? How many boats?? Jim, the idea of the stainless post came from this: http://www.olson30.org/the-boat/tips-and-tweaks/rudders . I figured it was a good idea, but evidently, it’s not made beefy enough if people are bending them… I have a message from someone who has one made of glass, so maybe I’ll just go that way if he’s selling it for sure (he’s not sure). I would prefer whichever is stronger, but I’m thinking now that the opinion from the tips-and-tweaks post was a bit premature (it’s hard to tell when it was actually posted). Now that I read Andy’s reply at the bottom, I guess I was premature in making my own mind up!
I may have located one, but it has a fiberglass post. I definitely need stainless, so unless they are easily swapped out, I may need to keep searching. Al, do you know if that’s possible?
Ray
Wow- I don’t think I’ll get that out of my crew, but they will readily complain of soggy bottoms!
One thing about the cleats on my boat is that they are screwed just to the top of the coaming with wood screws (not through-bolted), and are not really secure. I think I’m going to just through-bolt a Harken riser and have the coamings built to be just short of the cleat. Thanks, Bruce.
Quick question about cockpit coamings- has anyone shortened them and wish they’d been left full length? I’m replacing mine with PlasTeak and was just wondering about it…
Ray
Ha! I was almost tempted to bring an umbrella along at Charleston’s Raceweek 2 weeks ago- we had light rain on 2 days, and thought it might raise an eyebrow or two, so I left it behind.
The holes where the original spreaders were are absolutely huge, so I’m guessing that not only does it allow water in, it may also compromise spar integrity. I’d feel better reinforcing it with something, and I have the materials to do it.. just need Buzz’s permission. I’ll just squirt a dollop of RTV in there and see how it works- I’ll bet it fixes most of the problem, and if not, I can always remove it.
Thanks, Bruce!
Guys, I’m having a little trouble adding a new post to the forum- the windows (like this one) for adding a new post do not appear, so I hope you don’t mind my redirecting the old stanchion topic to this one related to the mast.
The question(s)- since my rig has been updated to a double spreader, there are very large holes where the old spreaders used to be, and a serious amount of water finds it’s way down below. I was doing a little work inside my boat a few days ago during a moderate rain storm, and watched as water dripped down from the aft mast track as well. I’m going to call Buzz to ask how to fix those holes (my guess is to rivet a stainless plate over a matching piece of plastic to prevent galvanic corrosion), but how to you deal with the track- can you simply fill it with silicone?
Ray
Sorry, Bill- I placed my order 2 days ago through Garhauer. Skip- I think they all should be straight, and here’s why- if they are bent (like the two center ones were, and were oriented straight up parallel with the mast) they tend to rotate outward with pressure on the lifelines (I would prefer no rotation). Also, I would think that if they were straight, they give a little more room for walking along the deck (outside the shrouds) when the boat is heeled. I’m partly guessing, but I think that’s correct. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.
Conehead it is- and yes, I still “consume mass quantities”…
Thanks, Bruce- yes, we have the boat in Charleston, so it’s salty, but freezing usually isn’t a concern. I thought of something last night- I’ll just pull and replace them all (since mine are 31″, and Garhauer only makes them 24.5″ long), clean out the sockets and dry them well, then place a dab of 4200 just on the bottom surface of each one before setting them in place with a small film of silicone around the circumference to help keep water from penetrating again.
