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  1. wingssail

    Outboards for Dinghy

    Myself, I'd go with the Mercury. I don't perceive any reliability gap. I've had good luck with various Mercurys for 55 years (my current engine is from year 2000). Mercury and Tohatsu are made in a jointly owned factory and in most aspects are identical. They are good engines, as are the...
  2. wingssail

    Katadyn Repair Parts Policy

    Today I tried to order a seal kit for my Katadyn Power Survivor 35 watermaker. No Luck. No vendor I could find will sell them. Apparently this is a Katadyn policy. I called Katadyn and they said they cannot sell these kits because it is a "safety issue". Because of the life saving nature of...
  3. wingssail

    Cruising a Beneteau 40.7

    For sun protection on a boat with an end-boom mainsheet we have rigged a simple rectangular awning which goes from the mast to the backstay and the sides tie down to the lifelines. You have to adjust how you rig it depending on the point of sail. You also have to take it down to tack or jibe...
  4. wingssail

    Improving Bilge pump setup

    We have a similar problem and have used, for years, a whale gusher pump, installed remotely, with a long hose which we can stick where ever water accumulates. Leave your normal pump and switch in place for automatic operation when the water gets too deep, but otherwise keep you bilge dry with...
  5. wingssail

    IOR landfills?

    I had (have) a Stearns system on my yacht (after 35 years I now have Navtec cylinders and a Stearns panel). Four cylinders. It has been in use continuously since 1979, and raced hard. I have not found it to be flimsy. Yes, I have blown hoses and seals, but I get my hydraulic gear from the same...
  6. wingssail

    IOR landfills?

    I believe that the IOR lost favor was not due to the use of expensive materials. There were two reasons: 1. The designers kept finding ways to make the boats appear slower under the rule while maintaining all the speed potential. Consequently the newest designs often won the races under...
  7. wingssail

    Navigational Hazard Ahead alarms

    The problem is that the small scale vector charts they were using didn't have the details which are only present on the large scale chart. This is a problem with some, if not most, vector based charting systems. Raster scan charts, being essentially copies of paper charts, show everything. When...
  8. wingssail

    Sugar Scoop added to Olson 40

    David, What a beautiful job you and the team at Diversified Compositesare doing, the boat is georgous. Thanks for reaching out to us on the blog. Sorry, I don't know how to get back to you other than this. Obviously your ideas on what you want are completely in sync with our own, but your boat...
  9. wingssail

    Cathedral or jumpers?

    Honestly, Just keep the runners and check stays. They are not that tough to deal with. My wife and I have been sailing, many thousands of miles most have been double handed, and it isn't that hard. OK, there is the lack of support in the event that you find yourself with no runner set, (since...
  10. wingssail

    what was it?

    My first impulse was Stormvogel, having seen the boat out of the water in Trini in 2013. Seeing the photo of Cornelius Bruynzeel (in the white coat) nailed it for me, but I was too slow. Congratulations.
  11. wingssail

    Used sails

    If they are serviceable get them to one of used sail outlets, at a rock bottom price. There are a lot of sailors, mostly cruisers, looking for used sails. But if they are truly trashed, and I mean the cloth is falling to pieces, as a lot of old racing sails are, might as well dumpster them. I...
  12. wingssail

    Can you make a "PHRF cheater"?

    None of the improvements you discussed make that boat a PHRF cheater, it is simply doing what the rules allow. PHRF assumes you have a well prepared boat, so it's OK to prepare it well. Those owners who neglect all that maintenance and upgrading are giving away to the better prepared boats...
  13. wingssail

    TP 52 Deal?

    "to race that boat competitively will cost more per year than the buy-in.  Sail budget is 50-75K to stay in the game. here's some rough budget annual expenses sails  50K bottom 5-10k rigging and electronics  5-10K dockage and storage 20K insurance 5K  ?? crew, pro's, regatta transport...
  14. wingssail

    Dialing In The New Old Boat

    This is a sort of heavy boat for its length with a very short waterline, so it's not going to be fast, but 3 knots is way off the mark.  A bagged out genny seems like the main culprit, all the symptoms point to that. The sail might be able to be recut if the cloth is still good enough, a...
  15. wingssail

    Is The Thrill Gone?

    I don't know why some life long sailors just lose the passion for it, but some do. Lots maybe. They always look for the reasons; there are plenty, but it's just that you lose the need to do it. If you have to be sailing to know you're alive, you'll find a way around all those obstacles. I don't...
  16. wingssail

    Box Rule in the early days

    Ran across a fleet of these things sailing in Martinique. Seems everyone just loves to pile on sail.
  17. wingssail

    what is it?

    My wild ass guess is a club swan 42, maybe 48. Galley/Nav looks like enough headroom to stand.  Aft area less so (raised sole). Not particularly in love with the "dreadnought" bow or the chamfered sides.
  18. wingssail

    Bella Mente Broke Their Rig......Again

    That is not what's wrong, it's what is right.  For those who can afford it, and who want to test the extremes, there is no other way to do it. Hap is someone who can. I don't criticize them for pushing that quest to find the last possible speed gains. Others will benefit from his quest. Let him...
  19. wingssail

    Sail or Bail?

    I think there are a lot of folks here who couldn't afford an Opti making snarky comments about this boat. In my opinion it isn't worth nearly the price since there are a lot of nice boats out there for less. Interior of a 50 ft boat, looking home built, but that's OK with me, my boat is home...
  20. wingssail

    Changing fleets after the sailing is done?

    First I don't understand the "No rating Adjustment" comment. Don't you have spin and non-spin ratings? The 15 sec/mi credit, or whatever it is, should help your competitiveness in a spin fleet. Second, no need to make a fuss, but a congenial discussion with RC might have been worth while, at...


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