Post by JohnV on Jul 14, 2016 8:02:56 GMT
Was out yesterday with a mate on his old gaffer yacht, (We occasionally go out supposedly "fishing" .
What normally happens is that we drop down the river a few miles, anchor up for an hour or so with a cup of tea, drown a few worms, catch a few crabs and start to get bored. The standard conversation normally goes on the lines of "I've just been rigging a new topping lift, I haven't tried it yet so do you fancy getting the sails up and trying it out"
This trip was no different except that the new bit of rigging was a "Lazy Jack". It was a decent fresh breeze but a bit variable in direction. We blasted off down the Crouch in great style.
There had been a few changes to the sail plan since I last helmed her and she was a hell of a lot easier to handle than a couple of years ago. At that time she griped on a reach and you needed a heck of a lot of strength to hold her on course. Now the sail balance is much better and you can manage the tiller with one hand.
I was very impressed with the way the old girl flies, We went barrelling past a couple of small modern bilge keelers (partly reefed ...... wimps !!!")
A fantastic day out, incredibly lucky with the weather as there were thunderstorms all around but we missed them all !!!
The only downside was that the lazy jack didn't work properly and when we dropped the sails I still ended up trying to not get bashed on the head by the boom and gaff and desperately trying to clear some of the main so I could see where to clear !
003 by mudlarker2, on Flickr
The only problem is that today ............ I Ache all over !!! .......
What normally happens is that we drop down the river a few miles, anchor up for an hour or so with a cup of tea, drown a few worms, catch a few crabs and start to get bored. The standard conversation normally goes on the lines of "I've just been rigging a new topping lift, I haven't tried it yet so do you fancy getting the sails up and trying it out"
This trip was no different except that the new bit of rigging was a "Lazy Jack". It was a decent fresh breeze but a bit variable in direction. We blasted off down the Crouch in great style.
There had been a few changes to the sail plan since I last helmed her and she was a hell of a lot easier to handle than a couple of years ago. At that time she griped on a reach and you needed a heck of a lot of strength to hold her on course. Now the sail balance is much better and you can manage the tiller with one hand.
I was very impressed with the way the old girl flies, We went barrelling past a couple of small modern bilge keelers (partly reefed ...... wimps !!!")
A fantastic day out, incredibly lucky with the weather as there were thunderstorms all around but we missed them all !!!
The only downside was that the lazy jack didn't work properly and when we dropped the sails I still ended up trying to not get bashed on the head by the boom and gaff and desperately trying to clear some of the main so I could see where to clear !
003 by mudlarker2, on FlickrThe only problem is that today ............ I Ache all over !!! .......
