wrote in message
...
"Capt. JG" wrote:
Started out in a bit of haze, then it burned off. Proceeding toward Angel
Island, we encountered the nearly 300-boat annual Vallego Race. They were
running downwind from San Francisco toward the Richmond/San Rafeal Bridge
when we got there. Fortunately, we didn't interefer at all, having
perfect
timing... we were at Raccoon Straight when they passed, so had a
wonderful
view from the stern of Excalibur. No pics, as the camera was down for the
count.


That's a shame, I bet it was a grand sight.
SF Bay is always an interesting place to sail with a lot happening.

BTW if you need a new camera, check with Martin B


.... When
I asked him if it could possibly get better than this, he hollered over,
"no
f*cking way!" And, we both smiled and kept going.


Some people apparently find other things to do with their lives, but I
don't see why.


Fresh Breezes- Doug King


Coincidentally, our lousy (read old - only had it 6 years) Nikon Coolpix
5000 died, but I now have a very nice D40. Got a great deal locally.

There should be some pictures in the next couple of days on
http://www.latitude38.com/index.html.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

On Mon, 05 May 2008 11:32:56 -0400, Martin Baxter
wrote:

Richard Casady wrote:
On Mon, 05 May 2008 06:18:30 -0400, wrote:

We have a problem sailing here in the off season. The water gets too hard...

People do sail on ice. At speeds of over a hundred.

If you have to put an insulating jacket on the beer to keep it from
*freezing*, it ain't sailing!

You can get clothing designed for snowmobiles at a reasonable price,
and it will do the job. Wear a full coverage helmet with a face
shield. That will keep the wind off the head. Keep the beer in a
cooler, and it will stay cool. Merely cool, not frozen. You can't
really drink at those kind of speeds, the wind will blow the beer
right out of the can. I learned that at speeds of fifty or so, skiing.
There is such a thing as electrically heated clothing, and unlike with
skiing, carrying a big enough battery is not hard. Its like ice
fishing, and it seems the fishing is real good in the winter. In the
summer you dodge the fisherman, in the winter, the same. Ice is not
pavement, you won't get road rash if you wind up sliding on it at
speed. There are some real sailing junkies out there, obviously.

Casady

Isang tao pinangalanan, nagsulat:

Cut

We have a problem sailing here in the off season. The water gets too hard...

Here's an idea you might want to consider:
http://www.canoe-kayak.org/pages/a93.html

--

Who am I?

http://www.froerup.dk/claus

On 2008-05-05 16:32:38 -0400, (Richard
Casady) said:

Wear a full coverage helmet with a face shield. That will keep the wind
off the head. Keep the beer in a cooler, and it will stay cool. Merely
cool, not frozen. You can't really drink at those kind of speeds, the
wind will blow the beer right out of the can.

that isn't sailing, just surviving.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

wrote in message
...
On 6 May 2008 11:10:01 -0500, Dave wrote:

On Tue, 06 May 2008 10:57:59 -0400, said:

The Sail Cradle (variation on lazy jacks) worked like a charm, and she
marveled at what a help it will be when I'm single handing, or we have
to strike the main in rough conditions.

Just curious why you chose lazy jacks over the Dutchman system. Older
sail?

Dave T.

What I have is a bit different from traditional lazy jacks. Self
adjusting, no modifications to the sail or the sail cover, stores
alongside the mast except when being used, no marking of the sails or
chafing issues. I've seen the Dutchman system on a few boats, and it
just didn't impress me. Some people like it, but I'm just not one of
them. My main is a fairly new Kappa. The two upper battens are full,
but the two lowers are partials. That isn't especially desirable for
use with the Dutchman system either.




It's a very individual thing dealing with stowing/deploying sails. I find
the Dutchman works great, but I always have the impression that the main
won't flake properly, even though it does. I got sick of the lazy jack
system on a big cat with full battens, mainly because the battens had a
tendency to catch, but for less than full battens, I'm sure they would work
fine. I know they make lazy jack systems that move the lines out of the way
when you raise the sail, but it seemed like yet more stuff to have attached,
and I like the clean lines of the Dutchman. One of my constant concerns is
someone will damage/break one of the fishing line-like runs.. not that it
would affect raising or lowering the sail. I just don't want to have to
replace them. The Dutchman certainly isn't a panacea for all issues
raising/lowering/flaking sails. One of the best things I like about them is
that they'll work significantly off the wind. If I had full battens, I know
the lazy jacks wouldn't work.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Alan Gomes" wrote in message
...
Capt. JG wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 6 May 2008 11:10:01 -0500, Dave wrote:

On Tue, 06 May 2008 10:57:59 -0400, said:

The Sail Cradle (variation on lazy jacks) worked like a charm, and she
marveled at what a help it will be when I'm single handing, or we have
to strike the main in rough conditions.
Just curious why you chose lazy jacks over the Dutchman system. Older
sail?

Dave T.
What I have is a bit different from traditional lazy jacks. Self
adjusting, no modifications to the sail or the sail cover, stores
alongside the mast except when being used, no marking of the sails or
chafing issues. I've seen the Dutchman system on a few boats, and it
just didn't impress me. Some people like it, but I'm just not one of
them. My main is a fairly new Kappa. The two upper battens are full,
but the two lowers are partials. That isn't especially desirable for
use with the Dutchman system either.




It's a very individual thing dealing with stowing/deploying sails. I find
the Dutchman works great, but I always have the impression that the main
won't flake properly, even though it does. I got sick of the lazy jack
system on a big cat with full battens, mainly because the battens had a
tendency to catch, but for less than full battens, I'm sure they would
work fine. I know they make lazy jack systems that move the lines out of
the way when you raise the sail, but it seemed like yet more stuff to
have attached, and I like the clean lines of the Dutchman. One of my
constant concerns is someone will damage/break one of the fishing
line-like runs.. not that it would affect raising or lowering the sail. I
just don't want to have to replace them. The Dutchman certainly isn't a
panacea for all issues raising/lowering/flaking sails. One of the best
things I like about them is that they'll work significantly off the wind.
If I had full battens, I know the lazy jacks wouldn't work.


I have a full battened main and use lazy jacks. I keep them stowed at the
mast when I'm raising the sail and under sail and only deploy them before
I drop the sail. (IOW, they just stay stowed at the mast except when I'm
actually dropping the sail, and remain deployed for the short time it
takes me to get back to the dock, at which point I stow them back at the
mast for next time. It never catches when dropping the sail so I've not
had a problem with them.

--Alan Gomes


Can't imagine they would catch the battens coming down. Our problem was
catching the battens going up.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Alan Gomes" wrote in message
...
Can't imagine they would catch the battens coming down. Our problem was
catching the battens going up.


Precisely. I often read of people who complain about the battens hanging
when raising the sail. But that's why I installed mine so I could pull
them to the mast, just because of the problem you have mentioned. I only
deploy them for dropping the sail, which is when I need them anyway. I
guess the issue with some setups is that they cannot be pulled forward to
the mast and kept out of the way; they just stay up all the time.

--AG

Ah... ok. Made me nervous. LOL This is the reason why I chose the other
system... yet more stuff to do. Do you have help or do you single hand?

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Alan Gomes" wrote in message
...
Capt. JG wrote:
"Alan Gomes" wrote in message
...
Can't imagine they would catch the battens coming down. Our problem was
catching the battens going up.


Precisely. I often read of people who complain about the battens hanging
when raising the sail. But that's why I installed mine so I could pull
them to the mast, just because of the problem you have mentioned. I only
deploy them for dropping the sail, which is when I need them anyway. I
guess the issue with some setups is that they cannot be pulled forward
to the mast and kept out of the way; they just stay up all the time.

--AG

Ah... ok. Made me nervous. LOL This is the reason why I chose the other
system... yet more stuff to do. Do you have help or do you single hand?

I usually single hand. Sometimes even with non-sailing guests it amounts
to the same thing. :-)

It is true that I have to go to the mast to release the jacks before
dropping the sail. Takes less than 30 seconds. But it really does help
with flaking the sail, and actually keeps it secure enough so I could
dispense with sail ties until I get into the dock. But typically I put on
a few ties to hold it and then pretty it up when I'm back at the dock,
before I put on the sail cover. So while not perfect it is definitely a
net positive.

Alan Gomes


Yeah, I pretty much do the same thing with the dutchman. I pop the halyard,
give a couple of tugs to get the mail all the way down, then one tie with
the halyard captured underneath it. On the way back to the cockpit, I flip
the clew end of the main onto the boom, and it pretty much stays. If the
wind is really up, then I'll put another tie on near the leach.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Alan Gomes" wrote in message
...
Capt. JG wrote:
"Alan Gomes" wrote in message
...
Capt. JG wrote:
"Alan Gomes" wrote in message
...
Can't imagine they would catch the battens coming down. Our problem
was catching the battens going up.


Precisely. I often read of people who complain about the battens
hanging when raising the sail. But that's why I installed mine so I
could pull them to the mast, just because of the problem you have
mentioned. I only deploy them for dropping the sail, which is when I
need them anyway. I guess the issue with some setups is that they
cannot be pulled forward to the mast and kept out of the way; they
just stay up all the time.

--AG
Ah... ok. Made me nervous. LOL This is the reason why I chose the other
system... yet more stuff to do. Do you have help or do you single hand?

I usually single hand. Sometimes even with non-sailing guests it amounts
to the same thing. :-)

It is true that I have to go to the mast to release the jacks before
dropping the sail. Takes less than 30 seconds. But it really does help
with flaking the sail, and actually keeps it secure enough so I could
dispense with sail ties until I get into the dock. But typically I put
on a few ties to hold it and then pretty it up when I'm back at the
dock, before I put on the sail cover. So while not perfect it is
definitely a net positive.

Alan Gomes


Yeah, I pretty much do the same thing with the dutchman. I pop the
halyard, give a couple of tugs to get the mail all the way down, then one
tie with the halyard captured underneath it. On the way back to the
cockpit, I flip the clew end of the main onto the boom, and it pretty
much stays. If the wind is really up, then I'll put another tie on near
the leach.


Though I've never used it the Dutchman sounds like a really nice system.
What do they cost? I was able to install my own lazy jacks quite
inexpensively and it was easy to do.

Alan Gomes


The biggest issue is getting the holes made in your sail, which needs to be
done by a sailmaker familiar with the system (pretty easy to find). As I
recall, it was about twice what a LJ system would cost if you bought it,
including the sail modificiation. Unlike the LJ system, this would have to
be done every time you switch mains. The first question I asked Quantum (who
did the mods) was, "Is it worth it for my main?" This was sort of a loaded
question, since they're in the business of selling sails. One of the
sales/tech guys took a look and said it was worth it, given the good
condition of the main.

Here's a promo video... http://www.mvbinfo.com/dp_03_SF_brochure.html

Here's an article on sailnet:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-m...an-system.html

Here's a pro/con by the Dutchman maker:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-m...pros-cons.html

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Alan Gomes wrote:
Capt. JG wrote:
"Alan Gomes" wrote in message
...
Capt. JG wrote:
"Alan Gomes" wrote in message
...
Can't imagine they would catch the battens coming down. Our
problem was catching the battens going up.


Precisely. I often read of people who complain about the battens
hanging when raising the sail. But that's why I installed mine so I
could pull them to the mast, just because of the problem you have
mentioned. I only deploy them for dropping the sail, which is when
I need them anyway. I guess the issue with some setups is that they
cannot be pulled forward to the mast and kept out of the way; they
just stay up all the time.

--AG
Ah... ok. Made me nervous. LOL This is the reason why I chose the
other system... yet more stuff to do. Do you have help or do you
single hand?

I usually single hand. Sometimes even with non-sailing guests it
amounts to the same thing. :-)

It is true that I have to go to the mast to release the jacks before
dropping the sail. Takes less than 30 seconds. But it really does
help with flaking the sail, and actually keeps it secure enough so I
could dispense with sail ties until I get into the dock. But
typically I put on a few ties to hold it and then pretty it up when
I'm back at the dock, before I put on the sail cover. So while not
perfect it is definitely a net positive.

Alan Gomes


Yeah, I pretty much do the same thing with the dutchman. I pop the
halyard, give a couple of tugs to get the mail all the way down, then
one tie with the halyard captured underneath it. On the way back to
the cockpit, I flip the clew end of the main onto the boom, and it
pretty much stays. If the wind is really up, then I'll put another tie
on near the leach.


Though I've never used it the Dutchman sounds like a really nice system.
What do they cost? I was able to install my own lazy jacks quite
inexpensively and it was easy to do.

Alan Gomes

Dutchman can get expensive as they recommend your sailmaker and rigger
do the work. It requires some holes punched in your sails.
It is a nice system. http://www.doylesails.com/dutchman.htm

Gordon