CriticalPath

Bingo, that's what we did. Don't replace crap with crap...

We bumped up the spin hoist on our Aloha 30 which has the same rig and similar dimensions as the original Kirby 30 (Isomat NG31 with single spreaders). Added runners for headstay tension (they were originally a factory option from Aloha anyways but a PO had taken them off and lost them!), and jumpers for mainsail shape and side loads with the overheight spins. One benefit the Aloha rig has over the Kirby is the spreaders are swept 8 degrees so the runners are a tuning device, not a keep-the-mast-vertical necessity. We race against a K30 in a doublehanded racing series. That boat's well prepped with a second generation double spreader rig but factory dimensions. It can sail to it's PHRF (132 on Lake Ontario). Cheers!

Dude, your family had a '68 Country Squire? You musta come from the swank side of the tracks, we had a '68 Ranch Wagon - no woody treatment, vinyl seats, metal back, and cop hub caps! Only good news was the 390 Thunderbird under the hood. Handed down to me when I turned 16 in 1978, ran for about 2 months with a punk on the loud pedal, floor and trunk were rusted out, used a quart of oil every 125 miles, but still burnt out those whitewalled bias plys pretty sweet in the school lot!

I don't remember my old OS2 jacket requiring a break-in period before it felt comfortable, it just worked well from day 1. The new one feels kinda bulky, I heat up quickly if the weather's moderate, and my movement feels a little constricted in race conditions. It is still the jacket I reach for in early Spring, late Fall, and overnight, but for typical daytime use from June to September I think I'll be using the lightweight Race. I guess I'm saying I don't like the replacement as much as the original so think I'll be using it less for the type of sailing I do. I haven't seen the KB1 pants, and am on my second pair of OS2 pants. They don't feel as hot or constricting, but I tend to be the guy who doesn't mind getting wet from the waist down if it's daytime or not too cold. Ah, the benefits of sweet water sailing! Cheers!

I've had two OS2 jackets, bought the second last year and it is heavier, bulkier, and warmer than the earlier version (circa 2002). Great jacket for shoulder seasons on the great lakes, but too much for summertime. To compliment that choice I picked up a Gill Race jacket during the offseason to replace an old Ronstan dinghy smock. It fits a little oversized but lightweight and easy to move so I can layer up underneath if required. We'll see how that works out for summer use. From your description of uses, I think I'd choose the KB1 for a single jacket. I agree the OS3's a little light duty, and the OS3's just too much jacket for much of my use. Cheers!

Just. Don't. Do. It. I was there when the worst result imaginable took place while on a cruise with several other boats, many with young families, a lot of years ago... All it takes is a moments' inattention, or a few moments' false sense of security, and the unthinkable can happen. My friends, who may have been guilty of too much leniency in their young childrens' behaviour, knew their toddler son loved to climb, and the attraction of the mesh netting must've been so appealing when he found himself unsupervised and without any floatation for only a moment. In the split second (or minute?) when nobody was looking, he climbed up and fell over. Nobody heard the splash and we were only three boats away. It could not have been more than two minutes he was unsupervised, but they lost him forever. No safety device can overcome inattention. My kids were introduced to sailing at 5 days and 2.5 months respectively, and a constant regimen of attention, safe spaces, harnesses with tethers, and life jackets is what gave them a comfortable and safe feeling, and kept them onboard when they were young. My daughter fell in when she was 6, but that was off a dock so doesn't really count, plus she was wearing her life jacket and was back on dry land within 15 seconds due to her parents' vigilance. Wet, scared, and confused, but safe... Just. Don't. Do. It.

I could be worth considering the multi-purchase option. A quick disconnect for the coarse tune could make this workable. Thanks!

Hiya old school, the A27' system looks slick but it'd leave over 60' of runner tail lying along the side deck when not deployed plus the double length of bungee cord all the time. I think that'd create too much clutter for my cruiser/racer application. Thanks for the explanation Alex. So when de-rigging you pull the checks out of the floating rings and move them up to the mast? That' wouldn't be a benefit to me since it'd take a ridiculously large ring to fit over the fiddle blocks in my setup. Alex's system with Dash's setup looks like the current front-runner... Cheers!

Thanks all, a few more questions/comments: 2Savage: You've described my original idea but it's been suggested by a few folks around the bar that system works well for runners that terminate near the centerline, but not so much from the aft corners. Kack and JMOD: I've seen lotsa bungee systems led forward around the mast on bigger boats, but why isn't it popular on smaller boats? And JMOD's comments that they needed a floater to keep it clear kinda defeats the purpose. Much of my racing's doublehanded so we're looking for something that'll tend itself with minimal attention or likelihood of snafus. Another conundrum with leading the runner forward is I'll need a mile of runner tail at 4:1 purchase! Alex & Dash: I like this setup, especially being able to control the tension at deck level. Alex, is there a benefit to terminating at a floating ring rather than a fixed point at the upper block like Dash does? Fleetwood: Thanks but I'm looking for something more permanent i.e. ready for use without having to rig it up each time. Kenny: I'm not worried about fastening shock cord to line. My question should've been is there a best practice for terminating or tying a loop in the end of a piece of shock cord i.e. to a becket? Cheers!

The fractional rig on our Aloha 30 has dimensions similar to the J/30 with less spreader sweep. Minimizing forestay sag in breezy conditions was an issue so we added running backstays as a tuning device - they aren’t needed to keep the mast standing. The runners are dyneema leading to an old-school 4:1 purchase using fiddle blocks. The tail leads to the windward primary winch but we haven’t found that necessary – man-power seems enough to set the rig. The lower runner blocks are shackled to the toe rail at the transom corners, and I’ve been storing them forward at the shroud chainplates when not in use. I’d prefer a permanent setup so they’re always rigged and ready to go but need a way to keep the leeward runner clear when maneuvering. The boom on the Aloha reaches within 6” of the backstay so there isn’t much space for clearance when jibing. I’m thinking of a bungee system to pull the slack runner up and away from the boom end. I know there are lots of setups in use with bungee cord running from the upper block to the backstay split, but then what? There’ll be some trial and error to finesse the final setup in the Spring, but it’d be nice if the starting point is something workable without reinventing the wheel. It’s snowy wintertime in Toronto so not like I can walk the docks to get ideas. Possible set-ups: Bungee cord from one upper runner block up through a small block at the backstay split then down to the upper runner block on the other side of the boat. This seems elegantly simple but will it be effective? Something like above but with additional bungee purchase? Or should I run each bungee individually, from the runner up to the backstay split, then down to the backstay chainplate? This’d provide enough length and easy access to adjust the stretch easily. Oh yeah, one more question – what’s the best way to do terminations on the bungees? Knots in shock cord can be unreliable… Cheers!

Sad day in the local sailing community that Brian contributed so much towards...

"Dave's not here, man." Very few sailboats but its been a very long time since that was the draw of the TO show. Saw lots of friends exhibiting and in the aisles both days, attended a meeting Saturday, and got some "us" time since my wife was down working our club booth on Sunday. Talked to some industry and distributor reps about new Harken and Gill kit, refrig, and an interested bit of snorkelling gear we might try out in Antigua next month (https://mintyssurfshop.ca/products/neopine-180-degree-full-face-snorkel-mask-with-gopro-attachment). It's been nearly 20 years since I attended a PHRF-LO AGM - well-intended volunteers trying to do the right thing, proposals to further complicate and add more layers of semi-scientific logic to an observational tool (argh), handicappers professing why their club's situation's unique and shouldn't have to operate by the same rules, and the odd self-promotion by volunteers and professionals alike. Yup, just like the old days! Saw a new record for a pontoon boat price - there's one at the north end of the Mariners Marketplace listed at $122,9k! Garhauer's standard display of attractively-displayed overweight and somewhat reasonably priced tractor hardware was at or near where it's been for several years, and about where they deserve to be based on the effort they make to present and sell themselves as a flea market booth. Yeah, I know, there's lots of good customer service stories with Garhauer, but when the owner can't hear or understand questions and won't even talk about his stuff I just don't get it... Cheers!

HOLD THE PHONE! Google "G&S 30 Slingshot" and some old Lake Michigan race results show up - Slingshot's sail number's 16976 and her PHRF's 159. That sounds more like the 1980ish 1/2 ton IOR design (the first of three G&S 30s originally owned by the Sissons named Zoo was this style). Several were built in epoxy wood at Shea, Berwick, and other WEST shops, there's one for sale at http://www.sailingtexas.com/sgs30100.html. I even found a pic of the original Zoo: So lautenan, is this what your boat looks like? I seem to recall the extreme frac rigs on these IOR boats were seriously noodly and technical with multiple spreaders, jumpers, runners, and checks - finding a suitable replacement may not be simple... Cheers!

Zoo2 was a 1990ish G&S MORC design. If I recall correctly, I think it won the Internationals in Duluth that year... The boat's been in Toronto for many years, typical MORC maxi 30 rig for that era - masthead, small foretriangle, triple spreaders, and checkstays. Cheers!

Geeze lads, the guy just ain't worth it... I`m still waiting to visit my buddy Carson on the island one day and see if his dockmate`s around - that`d be a funny scenario! So yeah, the show`s morphed into a shadow of what it once was but I`ve been going for 45 years and I`m not about to stop now. It is a great time to catch up with folks I`ve worked with and sailed against over the years, and where else can you cover half the boat`s wish list in one place? Not that I`m necessarily buying on the show floor, but at least I can see it, touch it, and talk to someone sorta knowledgable before making an educated decision. Cheers, looking forward to seeing many old friends!