Wilbur Hubbard wrote:
"CaveLamb" wrote in message
m...
Try my boat...
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~capri26
IMPRESSIVE AND A WELCOME SIGHT . . .
That is indeed, a well-kept little yacht. Pride of ownership in apparent. I
particularly like the way you mounted the instruments so they swing out to
be viewed from the cockpit. The name and graphics are very fetching. The
exterior brightwork is outstanding. The cleanliness is superb. The
organization is well above average. Cabin-top traveler is practical and
functional.
Thank you, Wilbur.
I take that kindly.
The wood had been let go for way too long.
Cetol - Natural Teak on the exterior wood.
Beautiful stuff, huh?
And I'm trying out some automotive UV protection spray to help it last longer.
The name graphics I did myself.
Took about a week to draw it up the way I wanted and had the local vinyl
cutter make a set.
Things _I_ m not happy with (yet)...
The stock single-line reefing system is almost unworkable.
I need to get some pulleys where the fairleads are on the mast and try again.
As it is now, I have the reefing line run through the clew end only and use the
cunningham (8:1) to haul down the tack. It works well, but means going to the
mast to set the cunningham. Work in progress...
Things I don't like a
1) excessive beam for the LWL (must have a very choppy ride and a bit slow
to weather)
I like a beamy boat!
But my tastes in hull-form and maiden-form are not necessarily the same!
A bit of heave in a BIG chop, true, but a nice easy motion.
Not sharp at all.
And not slow to weather either.
In fact, with the new main sail, she points higher than I expected.
By GPS she can make 2.5 knots at 30 degrees off!
Add 8 degrees leeway on the ground track.
So she can pinch up if need be.
45 off, it's hull speed in 12 mph wind or better
Catalina calls her a "performance cruiser".
2) some of the more valuable space in the boat taken up with the head (I'd
gut it and make a library/chart table/storage out of it.
The new 250/270/280 etc all have this kind of head arrangement now.
The musty old V-berth arrangement is no longer used.
Heck, I couldn't fit in most of them anyway, so no loss here.
A porta-potti is
legal for that size boat and bathing can be done in the cockpit. Why
allocate some of the most valuable space in a boat to a place one only uses
once or twice a day?)
Girls...
Those soft, shapely, all-too-sensible of their privacy creatures?
I like having them aboard.
Keeps me young at heart!
The boat didn't come from Catalina with a head installed.
That was added by the original owner.
But if you wanted a porta-potti, where else would it go?
This boat seems to be a trial horse for some of the new ideas Frank Butler
came up with for the new Catalina line (the 3 digit boats).
And not just layout, but construction methods and materials as well.
There were only 318 built.
So the normal evolution of a long production run didn't happen.
There is actually a great deal of wasted space AFT of that under the cockpit
on the port side. It could be opened up if need be.
3) no mast steps (it shouldn't take a committee to ascent to the masthead)
When I was 25 or 30 I could free climb a mast with only hands and feet.
These days that foolishness is long past.
I'm saving up for a MastClimber rig.
Or maybe make one from scratch.
But steps on the mast would be really out of place on a boat like this.
Take another look at the rig. It's as aerodynamically clean as could be.
But I agree. It shouldn't take a committee to get to the mast head.
Specially when one sails single handed!
4) inadequate/poorly placed anchor cleats (actually they are dock line
cleats)
They are indeed dock cleats. But they work fine as anchor cleats in
sheltered water. If I ever get her to the coast I'll have to address
that matter. But for now it's ok.
5) useless roll-up headsail (no reason for roll-ups on a 26-footer)
Another point of agreement.
I put the new main om her last summer.
This summer she will (hopefully) get new headsails (NOTE THE PLURAL)- with
Wichard style hanks! They can be operated with one hand, and I may be able
to come up with a "magazine" mechanism so the all go on at the same time.
The roller furling line will become the jib downhaul, and I may even double
up with another one on the starboard side. My reasoning is that it would
help when changing head sails if the one coming down could be held down
while the replacement goes on. (all head sails will have a dedicated tack
pennant, so they will ride a foot (or more) off the deck. I see no reason for
deck-sweepers on a cruising boat!
The roller is convenient.
But (MY experience) it sucks bilge water as a reefing system.
And I've not mastered the art of swapping headsails on the foil under way.
Racers do it, but it takes the entire foredeck crew for that little evolution.
I'd have to heave-to and pull/stow one before sending up the next.
That's just too much to expect single handed.
6) that household faucet/electric pump is just plain out of place in a small
yacht. You should toss it overboard and install reliable hand pumps. Lose
the pressure water system.
In progress. And I've already removed the water heater.
120VAC is hard to find anywhere but the slip.
Water supply in any ship is limited as soon as you drop the dock lines.
Running a few quarts to get to the hot stuff is just plain wasteful.
And pressure water systems tend to be easy to abuse.
I've started collecting parts for a hand-pumped system.
The pressure pump is a bit too small to serve as a wash-down pump.
So it will probably come out and a larger pump installed for that service.
7) that one photo with the powerhead almost under water indicates that you
need a motor with a longer shaft mounted higher on the transom.
No, it's ok.
The bulge of the standing wave around the hull makes it look worse than it is.
What I'd _like_ to have is a Yamaha 9.9 High-Thrust. (yamaha Y9.9ELT?)
It has higher gearing and a larger(11"), flatter pitch, four blade prop.
8) vang is upside-down. It would be better to have the line along the deck
instead of hanging from above where it is more likely to tangle or snag.
Old pic. It has already been lead down to deck and aft to the cockpit.
9) oversized self-tailing winch is strictly for show and totally unnecessary
for small sails.
Huh! They ain't THAT small.
Specially in a blow!
10) you'd better actually measure the length of your mast. A forty-foot mast
on a 26-foot boat is not even believable. Try about 30-feet and you'd be
closer to the mark.
33 feet of mast + 5 feet to the top of the deck house...
Darn near 40 feet.
And when it starts to sway! Feels more like 50!
But, I suppose I need to view your fine little yacht more in light of her
purpose which seems to be week-end cruises on a lake. I suppose many of the
items mentioned above can be forgiven for a little yacht in that venue. The
dislikes are more a criticism of the yacht were she a coastal cruiser or
occasional ocean-voyaging vessel like mine.
Will, a Capri _EIGHTEEN_ made the trip from San Francisco to Hawaii.
The boat is seldom the issue.
It's usually a question of the crew.
Wilbur Hubbard
--
Richard Lamb
email me:
web site: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~cavelamb