'Triple Jack' rebuild...FU Irma!

[he b gb]

Yep, seizing wire, then nuclear duct tape, then finished with leather or plastic caps.
Mind you, something has to have gone very wrong for there to be enough slack for the stays to depart the spreaders.

What’s the old saying, ‘never show an unfinished job to a fool’, my apologies ha ha.
Just the same, weird things do happen to powered up rigs in lumpy seas. eg.I have heard of a couple of cases of rigs jumping off their steps and spearing through the deck.

 

[mrybas]

I met Frank Wood tonight on the beach in Georgetown Bahamas. He claims to be the builder and original owner of Triple Jack.
I told him there’s a mega thread about his boat on SA. Let’s see if he finds his way here!

 

[racinginparadise]

Ha ha, Frank Wood most definitely built and raced Triple Jack. We invited him on board for the Spring Regatta but he can't make it. I think he does Facebook via his partner's account but I'm not sure he's following this thread. He tracked us down before Covid when we were about halfway done, he's quite a character!

OK, the deck paint is completely done, the shed roof came down yesterday, winches are being renovated...halyards are ready to pull in, mast electrics go in tomorrow.

I'm starting to question how much heavier she will be. I mean, how heavy can you make a lewmar chrome winch? All our salvaged winches are heavy as sin. Hey ho, they were free so no complaints.

The forecast for early next week is plum for mast stepping and quite rare for this time of year. We will be ready on Monday, watch this space. As soon as the mast is stepped we will be guessing the rake and then hoisting the main. My fear is that I didn't cut the mast 'over long' and did not allow for the thicker carbon boom. It has to clear the doghouse close hauled, but even that has changed. I have made a 2" step extension block out of purple heart, that will start off in place but hopefully it can come out if clearance allows. The furler cannot be assembled until we have rake and mast height sorted, fun and games eh?

I was following the Caribbean 600, Tosca the gunboat was the standout multihull by some margin. That thing is fast! Would Fujin have taken them? I don't think so.

I can't find the post I made on TJ's displacement post refit. Fitting these damn heavy winches, fitting the inboard and buying wire/batteries and other heavy items makes me think we will be considerably heavier. It is what it is, no regrets, she has always been comfortable loaded up, and it will keep that rudder in green water!

Big week coming up.

 

[fukupananvil]

Ha ha, Frank Wood most definitely built and raced Triple Jack. We invited him on board for the Spring Regatta but he can't make it. I think he does Facebook via his partner's account but I'm not sure he's following this thread. He tracked us down before Covid when we were about halfway done, he's quite a character!

OK, the deck paint is completely done, the shed roof came down yesterday, winches are being renovated...halyards are ready to pull in, mast electrics go in tomorrow.

I'm starting to question how much heavier she will be. I mean, how heavy can you make a lewmar chrome winch? All our salvaged winches are heavy as sin. Hey ho, they were free so no complaints.

The forecast for early next week is plum for mast stepping and quite rare for this time of year. We will be ready on Monday, watch this space. As soon as the mast is stepped we will be guessing the rake and then hoisting the main. My fear is that I didn't cut the mast 'over long' and did not allow for the thicker carbon boom. It has to clear the doghouse close hauled, but even that has changed. I have made a 2" step extension block out of purple heart, that will start off in place but hopefully it can come out if clearance allows. The furler cannot be assembled until we have rake and mast height sorted, fun and games eh?

I was following the Caribbean 600, Tosca the gunboat was the standout multihull by some margin. That thing is fast! Would Fujin have taken them? I don't think so.

I can't find the post I made on TJ's displacement post refit. Fitting these damn heavy winches, fitting the inboard and buying wire/batteries and other heavy items makes me think we will be considerably heavier. It is what it is, no regrets, she has always been comfortable loaded up, and it will keep that rudder in green water!

Big week coming up.

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Hats off to you for an unfathomable repair/resurrection. A lot of that was beyond nasty work but you saw it through. Just astounding.

 

[Gone Ballistic]

Yeah, that's proper dedication and teamwork. She'll be fit for the next generation now too. Still my fave thread on SA despite her not getting the paintjob I demanded.

 

[racinginparadise]

A momentous mast day!
In perfect conditions it went up without a hitch with the full Wickham's Cay Rigging team in attendance. As planned, Steve and I looked at the mast beam on and called the rake. It didn't take long. We had to be mindful that when the diamonds are bar tight the full 5" of pre-bend will kick in sending the masthead aft, Deane didn't want this done until he had some tension in the upper and lower triangles.
In short order Deane spliced in the lower Cheeky receivers. There was only 2' of Colligo Dux left, a foot either side! To make the tensioning with 1/4" dyneema easier, he introduced a low friction ring on a loop from the chainplate, a very neat solution.
Today we will be hoisting the main to see if it clears the doghouse, if that is OK it's over to Deane's father Isaac to build up the new furler.
All in all, I couldn't be happier with the new rig. It just looks right. My schoolboy trig that I applied to shroud and spreader lengths worked. The angle of the spreaders looks set to induce the pre-bend we want...but did I cut the mast off too short? We will find out today when the main goes up.
With all the mast action going on we have also managed to finish priming and painting below decks (everything), lasered the waterlines and did the bottom job. Top that!

History, well, I have been in touch with Simon Forbes of MOCRA UK. We are a member once more after a 30yr lapse. I'm working with him to get our MOCRA rating updated, he reminded me that our last MOCRA race was the Plymouth Grand Prix in 1992 ish. The wind was so light we just raced around the Eddystone lighthouse and back to the breakwater. He also sent me this snap of Triple Jack exiting Millbay Docks, Plymouth at the start of the 1982 'Binatone' Round Britain and Ireland race. She looks so light! There's no way we are going to float on those lines when we launch.

 

[racinginparadise]

Here's the Facebook 'mast up video' link

 

[Son of a Sailor]

Awesome work!! Looking good.

 

[Wess]

Here's the Facebook 'mast up video' link

Wishing you much good luck and success!!

 

[Boogie with Stu]

This has been an amazing story to follow. So what's the T-minus value to splash down?

 

[racinginparadise]

So, when is the launch?
Well, the Round Tortola Race, which is part of the week-long BVI Spring Regatta, is on March 28th. We want to be there, it will be a good shakedown before the regatta starts proper on Friday 31st.
So the latest we can launch should be Friday 24th, that's 22 days away!
That will give us the weekend to gently load up the rig and get the stretch out of the new dyneema rigging. The main shrouds are not a big concern, they are Colligo dux heat treated dyneema, if you grab a bit and hold it skywards it stands upright like a storm stretched dock line! It's the lower triangle (all regular dyneema) and all of the lashings that give. We are already nearly block to block on the lowers. Fortunately, it is easy peasy to take splices out and shorten leads.

There is still loads to do, there's not a winch on deck yet! The devil is in the detail but there's nothing like a deadline. Now that we are antifouled everyone is expecting a launch!

 

[racinginparadise]

18 days to go.
Only moderate progress this weekend, Paul jnr stuck his head downstairs to familiarize himself with the wiring project. It's an open book down there, everything starts from scratch, that's usually easier than trying to sort out old wiring.
I set up the boom for its outhaul winch along with line stopper and cleat. There's a possibility that board controls may head to that winch too. The old system had board uphauls and downhauls led back to the cockpit. With the new coachroof that is not going to be possible. Hey, we might be going back to the spruce 'tamping pole' that literally hammered the board down. (and had graduations on it to determine draft!)

The boom is in the gooseneck and the main is ready to hoist. Tomorrow looks like it's going to be Harry Flatters. Once the boom to doghouse clearance is understood the gooseneck can be fixed in position and the headstay can be built...that will be the rig nailed, just some gentle sailing to gradually tension up the lower triangle and the backstays.

History? Well, that would be the finish of the 1998 Anegada race. It is a RBVIYC pursuit race and one of Triple Jack's first races in the BVI. Race Officer and Commodore Chris Haycraft had instructed race favorite Kevin Rowlette to call him on his approach so he could quickly zap back from the North side where he was having a long lunch, to station himself at the first red channel marker to perform his race officer duties. A good distance from the finish Kevin called Chris telling him that he been overtaken by TJ. Commodore Haycraft leapt into action and JUST made it to the finish line in time, doing over 50kts in his speedboat. This image captured by a microlight aircraft, no drones back then!

 

[Gone Ballistic]

The whole thing looks bloody awesome.

 

[PIL66 - XL2]

very exciting
While i'm thinking of it..... make some cheap shroud lashing covers as the sun will damage them over time..... ask me how i know

 

[racinginparadise]

A Milestone day, the mainsail went up!
I should have trusted my measurements and not made the 2.75" Purple Heart mast step extension 'fear fudge factor' part. We would have been fine without it.
It came from a fear that I had cut the mast off too short, not allowing for the new 9" deep boom. Today there was no wind, just thermal wafts from the East. We got the main up to full hoist matching photos we had from 2017. Knowing that our boom was set at less than 90 degrees to the mast I used a right angle to be safe and to make the trig easier. That in itself was a fudge factor. Also remember that the coachroof was trimmed downwards and the dog house had about 2" trimmed off. So, I should not have been worried eh? At the end of the day we decided for many reasons that it was not worth craning the mast again and dispensing of the 2.75" lump. Visibility is better, it's easier to scamper under the boom when tacking and when a new mainsail comes it can easily be made to take up 2.75" at the leech. Hey ho, the call was made, and we hand over to Wickham's Cay Rigging to make up the new forestay/furler tomorrow.

The mainsail itself is not in the best of shape. The taffieta side is still adhered but the crinkly flower wrap side is all falling off. A damn shame after only 3 regattas and 6 years in storage, never again will I buy a laminate sail. I re-tube RIBs for a living and see glue failures all the time. The Moorings famously bought a container full of Chinese PVC RIBs for charter use in the BVI. They must have got a little hot in there or it was just bad glue, PVC or all 3, but when they unloaded them the tubes fell off the hulls, all completely useless! Our sail was in a friend's loft, not air conditioned but not stupidly hot either. No point crying over spilt milk, we just need to see what life there is left in it, we have 3 dacron mains ready to go if it all goes pear shaped.

I just entered for Les Voiles de St Barths, we will be the 14th Multi, the competition looks fierce!

Inscrits 2023 - Les Voiles de St. Barth Richard Mille

Une régate incontournable dans les Caraïbes

lesvoilesdestbarthrichardmille.com

 

[racinginparadise]

Launching next week.
From a previous post #281 here was my discussion on weight.


...Like any multihull it's all about constantly reminding yourself 'add less weight'.
To be honest we are not sure how we have done in that department.
At her last weigh-in she was 4.157 metric tonnes, or 9,164 llbs.
Just over 4 Volkswagen Beetles.

The new engine and saildrive, (3GM30 with SD20) along with the extra laminations and the saildrive base itself have to be at least 550llbs.
Plastic fuel tank? Not much if empty!
The carbon mast and boom should be lighter than the originals but we have no idea by how much.
The rigging definitely so with Dyneema shrouds, lighter diamonds, babystay and headstay.
The heavy old rudder has gone, along with its SS stock and head.
The coachroof with its purpleheart beams? Hmmmm, heavier I would say.
New aft wings, beam reinforcements, foredeck...all heavier.
Chainplates? Definitely heavier....
Then you have the engine controls, batteries, wiring and more than a few gallons of paint.

Time for a sweepstake?
I'm going for 4,600kg

Ballistic came back with 4750kg

I have not crossed off as many items off that list as I would have liked...but here comes the weekend. Getting measured/weighed and launched will move things along.
To simplify the electrics it's going to be just one battery for now. It's a beefy one clocking in at 70llbs! The MOCRA measurement form requires battery type and weight to be declared, it's pretty thorough!

The BVI Spring regatta has 4 Gunboats, the G4 (so I guess that's 5) Nala (HH66) and Ocean Tribute entered. There doesn't appear to be a strong 'Sports Multihull' class so the corsairs may well join in the big boys, we'll see. So far it's a 37, 31 and 2 27's.

History? Well, this is still an 'Irma' thread so here's a picture of a random broken mast that was in the recycling pile. Imagine the force to pull a halyard or stay through a mast wall like this!

 

[Gone Ballistic]

I'm up for a sweep. Tenners in, 50% to the winner, 50% TJ Bar fund.

 

[racinginparadise]

Ya all better be quick, we are launching on Thursday afternoon!

 

[Boogie with Stu]

A big day tomorrow, best of luck with the launch.

 

[Irrational 14]

This thread has been a joy to watch. Sailed against this team a few years back at the BVI Spring Regatta... Was a bummer to see the damage Irma caused but love the way these guys put their head down and got it done.
Congrats on the launch!