billr

+1

7 come 11

Better to finish bold than finish last.

Does it come with an open transom? BBQ on the pushpit?

Thanks. I'm continually amazed at how good boats look in photos. Mine needs topsides and deck paint, but when touched up, compounded and polished, it doesn't look so bad (from 10' away or greater). It was pretty original when I got it but I replaced all the tired standing rigging (tossed the roller furler and have a carbo foil in front and a new cascading backstay). New mast sheaves, lights, wiring, halyards, b&g triton wind, depth, gauges, and chartplotter. Rewired about 80% of the boat (everything except engine) with new AC and DC distribution panels. Redid the deck layout - went from 5 decktop winches to two self-tailers and added backing plates to all winches and cleats. Rebedded the windows and cleats. Replaced stanchions and lifelines. New windward sheeting traveler. Fixed core in 5 soft deck spots and one in the hull around the depth transducer. Lots of interior painting. Oh, and 4 new Ballard sails. What I haven't done are the key structural changes you've added to Muffin: longer boom, deeper elliptical rudder, ring bulkhead, mast step and floors, and the beam under the deck. Based on what I feel I'm guessing those made a huge difference. Sure wish I lived close to CSR and Beiker like you do. Not sure there is anyone near by I'd trust. I still have all the flex (and it is worse with the carbon sails), and the downwind rolling with the sym up that gets exciting at 20+ knots. The old A sail in the photo came with the boat. We set up a tack line that runs back to the cockpit and run it off the pole with 5 lines. Works great. Also have a new A3 - mainly use these on longer races. For beer cans we still use the old syms. Maybe some day she'll look as good as Muffin!

Mine is a single spreader masthead rig. Original.

I just replaced the original 5 year old Raptor deck in my cockpit with Hydro Turf. The estimate for Raptor Deck replacement was over $600 (that is pre-cut and pre-glued). The Hydro Turf was $84 including shipping for two 62" x 40" grade B sheets. I had to cut out the pieces (not difficult - cuts fine with large sharp scissors) and glue it (2 coats of contact cement on both surfaces, also not difficult). By far the most time consuming and frustrating part of the project was removal of the old Raptor Deck. I waited too long. After three years I could have peeled most of it off easily. By 5 yrs it had to be scraped off bit by bit. I've heard the new Raptor Deck is more durable than the original but haven't seen any data. Too soon to comment on the Hydro Turf but so far I'm happy with it.

Pretty sure that's a black stripe, not blue, but I doubt that fixes it for you. The boat is in the harbor close to mine - I'll take a look at the color this evening. If you try to sand the stripe off you'll be left with a white hull with an off-white stripe. If you try to paint the stripe white you'll have a white hull with a slightly different color white stripe. You can, however, tape it off, sand it, and repaint it a different color - say red. Or as others have suggested you can break it up into different thin stripes. If that or any stripe is a deal breaker you can roll and tip the entire topsides. It won't look as good as a pro spray job but it will cost less. You'll still have to do all the prep work - lots of sanding and as long as you're willing to stay 10 feet away it will look great if you do a careful job.

He's not on Fiji with the rest of us.

In the past as soon as he is on land he switches to FB and posts from the Delorme stop. If he's stuck on a reef than its a different story.

Are you still on southeast Asian women?

Wait, isn't that the protest committee?

Rimas is an expert grifter. Watch and learn.

There is a small group of his friends who have been posting wind maps and realize he's drifting too far north for Fiji.

My dad was there in WWII.