Finn sailing

[Sneaky Duck]

Thanks. It's a Newport. And I'm thinking of doing the Toilet Bowl. It's the same weekend as Star Districts for me, but at $320 for a weekend regatta.... I think I'm going to skip that one.

Much appreciated for the info!

 

[Bill5]

How’s the fallout in the Finn post Olympic dismissal?

 

[onepointfivethumbs]

How’s the fallout in the Finn post Olympic dismissal?

110 boat Gold Cup in Malcesine, "reports of my death are greatly exaggerated"

 

[GER308]

110 boat Gold Cup in Malcesine, "reports of my death are greatly exaggerated"

130 registered for the Masters, not huge but considering Helsinki is quite far and expensive for many it's not too bad.
I think most expect the Masters and Gold Cup will merge and there will just be a Gold Cup with Masters devisions. Just sailed a 65 boat Swiss Championships and will do a probably 70ish boat German Championships/Travermünde Woche in July. The class will not go anywhere, there will be some rethinking of things like Rule 42. The average age has gone up but I hope we can keep atracting some younger sailors.

 

[Sneaky Duck]

New toy! I’ll start back on page one and get caught up on how to rehab this old girl. Newport Finn haul number 702 if anyone knows anything about her. Took it for my first sail in a Finn today and I’ve got to be honest…. I’m pissed at myself for waiting this long to get one. This is the best trade I’ve ever made!!! Gave a buddy a Digital compass for it. (IM sure he did it to see her get used and go to a good place.) sooo excited to get her back on the water!!!

 

[surf nazi]

New toy! I’ll start back on page one and get caught up on how to rehab this old girl. Newport Finn haul number 702 if anyone knows anything about her. Took it for my first sail in a Finn today and I’ve got to be honest…. I’m pissed at myself for waiting this long to get one. This is the best trade I’ve ever made!!! Gave a buddy a Digital compass for it. (IM sure he did it to see her get used and go to a good place.) sooo excited to get her back on the water!!! View attachment 523393

Best of luck with your new ride. Welcome to the finn class. Best thing to do is to show up at a finn regatta and everyone will help you with info, tips and techniques. Look on the us finn website for schedule and great info. The toilet bowl regatta is in august near you and then the north american masters are in rochester in sept. Feel free to message me for finn info. again, welcome.

 

[Shift Happens]

So, after a long ass delay, my Vanguard is about to finally get on the water. I believe it is hull # 1066 (if memory serves) and as I was doing some gelcoat work I noticed it was once named "Pump Rocker".

I am dubious of how well my fix on the foot of the round carbon (Willets?) mast will hold, but I think it is pretty strong. Mast was shortened at some point and then lengthened with a section of pvc pipe wrapped in carbon that was too thin for the cup. I jammed on a section of fiberglass pipe with a good overlap of the mast then used 'fiber fix' to fatten it up to correct diameter. It is tight now and just has enough clearance to turn smoothly. The carbon sail tracks have some chips in them that worry me about cutting into the sail, not really sure how to fix that other than dremel them smooth and hope they still hold.

Have been occasionally browsing newer masts for sale but literally am currently buying a '96 Hunter 240 in good shape with trailer, sails, and Honda outboard for $1000 LESS than a freaking used Finn mast goes for!! Guess I will just use what I have! (Fucking hell, those Hitt masts are high $$$)

One thing I am still trying to figure out is how the reinforcement for the mainsheet block works on this boat... Ian guessing by the serial number that it is a 1979 boat. I asked Marcus about it by email since his Vanguard Finn refit seems the most definitive thing I can find online. However, after putting a plumbing camera under the deck from the rear inspection port, the main block does NOT have a metal plate under the floor... there is a fiberglass 'hump' coming up from the hull that the deck is glued to under that block and whatever the screws go into is under that and totally inaccessible. The corroded screws that held the old stand up base in still thread in and out and they are machine screws (rather than the "wood screws" that the eye straps holding the hiking strap hardware use to screw into the fiberglass so I THINK I'm good and based on the corrosion, I assume there must be an aluminum plate under there rather than steel. If my swivel base pops out on my first sail, I guess I am proper fucked tho.

If anyone knows anything about this vintage of Vanguard construction I would greatly appreciate input.

 

[View from the back]

So, after a long ass delay, my Vanguard is about to finally get on the water. I believe it is hull # 1066 (if memory serves) and as I was doing some gelcoat work I noticed it was once named "Pump Rocker".

I am dubious of how well my fix on the foot of the round carbon (Willets?) mast will hold, but I think it is pretty strong. Mast was shortened at some point and then lengthened with a section of pvc pipe wrapped in carbon that was too thin for the cup. I jammed on a section of fiberglass pipe with a good overlap of the mast then used 'fiber fix' to fatten it up to correct diameter. It is tight now and just has enough clearance to turn smoothly. The carbon sail tracks have some chips in them that worry me about cutting into the sail, not really sure how to fix that other than dremel them smooth and hope they still hold.

Have been occasionally browsing newer masts for sale but literally am currently buying a '96 Hunter 240 in good shape with trailer, sails, and Honda outboard for $1000 LESS than a freaking used Finn mast goes for!! Guess I will just use what I have! (Fucking hell, those Hitt masts are high $$$)

One thing I am still trying to figure out is how the reinforcement for the mainsheet block works on this boat... Ian guessing by the serial number that it is a 1979 boat. I asked Marcus about it by email since his Vanguard Finn refit seems the most definitive thing I can find online. However, after putting a plumbing camera under the deck from the rear inspection port, the main block does NOT have a metal plate under the floor... there is a fiberglass 'hump' coming up from the hull that the deck is glued to under that block and whatever the screws go into is under that and totally inaccessible. The corroded screws that held the old stand up base in still thread in and out and they are machine screws (rather than the "wood screws" that the eye straps holding the hiking strap hardware use to screw into the fiberglass so I THINK I'm good and based on the corrosion, I assume there must be an aluminum plate under there rather than steel. If my swivel base pops out on my first sail, I guess I am proper fucked tho.

If anyone knows anything about this vintage of Vanguard construction I would greatly appreciate input.

Your boat is the boat at the gas station? That’s a Newport Finn, not a Vanguard. 1066 is my old red decked ‘82 Vanguard, originally owned by Kimo Worthington.

 

[Shift Happens]

Your boat is the boat at the gas station? That’s a Newport Finn, not a Vanguard. 1066 is my old red decked ‘82 Vanguard, originally owned by Kimo Worthington.

No, and I guess i misremembered the hull #.
It is a teal blue vanguard with yellow stripes. Looks like the later mkI (open behind the cb trunk under foredeck to cockpit, but drilled originally for jam cleat control lines) I think it has what I understand to be the factory installed floor pan.

It is fairly difficult to find details about variations in vanguards online, the last digits of the serial # is the year, right?

 

[Xeon]

New toy! I’ll start back on page one and get caught up on how to rehab this old girl. Newport Finn haul number 702 if anyone knows anything about her. Took it for my first sail in a Finn today and I’ve got to be honest…. I’m pissed at myself for waiting this long to get one. This is the best trade I’ve ever made!!! Gave a buddy a Digital compass for it. (IM sure he did it to see her get used and go to a good place.) sooo excited to get her back on the water!!! View attachment 523393

Congrats . The most surprising thing in the pic to uk eyes is the amount of mast overhang your towing with . We would get pulled over straight away by the police

 

[Jethrow]

Congrats . The most surprising thing in the pic to uk eyes is the amount of mast overhang your towing with . We would get pulled over straight away by the police

Towing an I-14 from Annapolis to Toronto one time, somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania, and a copper pulled us over.

He said in these exact words, "You cain't drive through my county with yo fishin' poles hanging out the back like that". We said we always drive with them like that with no issues but on getting out of the car found the lashings had come loose and the carbon mast was hanging about 8' out the back of the trailer.

He didn't give us a ticket as it was a kiwi passenger & an aussie driving and the paperwork would be too hard, but probably did us a big favour as we weren't planning on stopping for a while!

 

[Shift Happens]

Double checked, my hull is 1045, and the mainsheet base was held in with wood screws through the deck and into a thickened fiberglass bit on the hull like the hiking strap attachments were. Makes it difficult to reattach since the old screws rusted and the same size thread does not grab after taking out the original ones. I can not go up more than one size thread due to the hole diameter of the new base.

Wondering if it would be better to fill holes with marine Tex and then pilot drill them and use new screws or if it would be better to use epoxy or even wet marine Tex on the screws when I put them in and let it cure in place after attaching.

Advice on that really appreciated.

 

[couchsurfer]

Double checked, my hull is 1045, and the mainsheet base was held in with wood screws through the deck and into a thickened fiberglass bit on the hull like the hiking strap attachments were. Makes it difficult to reattach since the old screws rusted and the same size thread does not grab after taking out the original ones. I can not go up more than one size thread due to the hole diameter of the new base.

Wondering if it would be better to fill holes with marine Tex and then pilot drill them and use new screws or if it would be better to use epoxy or even wet marine Tex on the screws when I put them in and let it cure in place after attaching.

Advice on that really appreciated.

IIRC, that was a '79. I was 2nd owner of 1049. Vanguards of that vintage still had a simple panel on the floor of the cockpit. Any sealed ones were custom work, of various standards of excellence.

 

[Couta]

41 boats entered for the Queensland State Champs this coming weekend....the class is booming here in Oz...thanks to the effort of El Prez, "Pencil" and the trusty "Bully"....great blokes making a difference!

 

[Jono]

Joined in for the NZ Finn Masters over the weekend. Smaller fleet than normal with no Wellington / SI boats. Weather and school holidays the 2 big reasons. 13 boats sailed. I was lent a boat to make up the numbers - an old Marten.
9 races over 3 days. I stayed upright and didn't come last. Not quite ready to trade out of the Laser yet but good fun. Serious boat porn with all the NZ Olympic squad boats now sold to "normal" sailors. They are so nicely detailed.

 

[Couta]

42 boats on the startline for the Queensland Finn States last weekend....great to see the NZ boys jump the ditch... and so many from interstate...the sailing was tight and fiercely competitive...but the Legendary Lunch was EPIC!! Can't tell you how much fun was had....and good to catch up with so many mates...old and new! The QLD boys know all about hospitality...!!

 

[Sneaky Duck]

Congrats . The most surprising thing in the pic to uk eyes is the amount of mast overhang your towing with . We would get pulled over straight away by the police

Oh, I'm sure i would have gotten in trouble if I had passed a cop. I really should have had a flag on the end of the mast too.... oh well. Took back roads home. added 45 minutes to the trip, but, less likely to pass a cop.

 

[Couta]

Special mention to Phil Chadwick who has done an incredible job of building the Finn fleet here in Oz...He arrived at RQYS in QLD to a fleet of just 3 boats and in a few short years has 40 plus at a state event!! He did the same in Melbourne when he was based there. His "secret" is simple....make the social side as lively as the sailing side...get everyone enthused about getting together (for the racing and for the laughs!). He is a powerhouse of networking, but his formula is replicable and simple...reach out to anyone who might be a prospect and invite them for a chat, a coffee, abeer...or a sail. It works!!

 

[OKsailor]

Just returned from Helsinki Masters Worlds, 120+ boats on the start line, great races with a highly competitive fleet. Really good to see more ex Olympians, Olympic medalists and past Gold Cup winners sailing the Finn again! Next years event in Kavala Greece promises a return in fleet numbers to 250+. The class is in great health.

Congratulations to PJ for taking out both the Gold Cup and Masters titles!

 

[Couta]

Kavala is on the list....