elixir: July 2016

rigging part 1

Since the standing rigging is 38 years old, we are replacing it. Same goes for the lifelines, which were twisted wire that was fraying in places. The old stuff is rod for the nonadjustable rigging and wire for the adjustable rigging and lifelines.

We are using Dymeema, which is synthetic rope that is stronger and lighter than steel and is normally used for fancy racing boats because it is expensive but IT WAS ON SALE at WestMarine, cheaper than rod or wire, and also we like to experiment. For the two running backstays, which flop around a bit around the head of whomever is driving when not being used, rope makes a lot more sense than wire. And similarly for when the lifelines are undone for getting off and on the boat, rope is nicer on the deck than wire. And then over a week we decided Dyneema everywhere.

This means that all the attachments for the rigging are different, and the expenses add up for that. But Jarred is hacking away at solutions for every connection, some purchased and some that he is making. And we are learning about splicing rope. So the next few posts will be closeups of small parts.

Santa comes in July - Dymeema rope, new clutches and cleats for lines.

splicing Dyneema according to instructions.

first small part: Dyneema and tang with that goes into a hole in the mast.

size

Elixir is as long as its neighbors, and about as tall when the mast is on, but that's about it.

date night

The boat is in Everett, a half hour drive from our house when there is no traffic. On Monday nights we head up to spend the evening on the boat. We do small projects and then there is cocktail hour and then I cook dinner and then we discuss next steps.

small project: same name, new decal

cocktail hour

dinner

mast off

The next thing to do was to evaluate/replace everything attached to the mast. The mast came off.

securing the mast for lifting by crane.

I got a phone call just as they started lifting the mast so I managed to get only this shot.

walking the mast to the yard.

mast in yard with other masts, hardware removed.

bare boat.

first yard visit

pressure washing.

We hauled out for the first time and spent about two weeks in the yard. I put about 30 hours into sanding the bottom paint off the hull and I scrubbed the topsides with magical chemicals. Jarred took off much of the hardware, gathering all the lines in a trash bag at the bottom of the mast, and ground most of the teak overlay off the deck. Except where it wasn't, the teak was glued down well.

in the yard at Everett.

Jarred also cleaned up the prop shaft, replaced the feathering prop with a new one, and added new zincs. It was our hope that our new feathering prop, sized better for the boat, plus a smoother hull would make us go faster under motor. It had been tough to push the boat over five knots under motor on the way to Everett, but this type of boat should do closer to six knots under motor. We don't motor often, but when we do... Jarred also put toilet ring wax all over the prop and shaft; he'd heard from a friend that the wax discourages things from growing on the boat.

new prop and zinc.

Grinding the teak off the deck was sad but necessary. Jarred injected all holes from the rivets and from previous deck hardware with epoxy so that the deck was no longer swiss cheese.