Jo has osteoporosis in the neck, and has increasing difficulty looking upwards. As such, she finds it hard to keep an eye on the spinnaker, which has me shouting 'tic' every time the leading edge collapses. She doesn't want to changes places. Anyone else got any useful ideas? Mirrors on the deck? Change to N12? Divorce & remarry?

Second topic concerns bouyancy bags. In 1620 I have the old Crewsavers, with a thin flexible tube for blowing up, which one can squeeze whist you insert the small push-in bung. The newer ones in 2988 have a larger dia screw-in bung. I find the internal flap which is supposed to act as a valve doesn't work very well, and am forever losing the pressure I just generated. Is there a trick, like keeping the bung in your mouth and screwing it in with your tongue? Possibly related is whether it is usual to release some air after sailing; I always do, fearing a heatwave, but maybe it isn't necessary?

Can't help with the neck but the trick with the big bung is to blow the bag up with the bung in your mouth and then when full, use your tongue to put bung in the hole and then hold it in place while tightening the bung with fingers.

I always let some air out of the bags after sailing especially when the weather is cold, just in case it gets warmer.  Also, air under the boat cover heats up much more than if bag exposed so seems a reasonable precaution.

Dear Ro & Jo,

Sorry to hear of the difficulties.

Just a couple of thoughts - is it possible to add a thin veneer of semi-reflective material to the foredeck to act as a mirror upwards?
A highly reflective varnished deck might do it ;-). my first thought is a strip of thin dark plastic (don't want too much light reflected...

Buoyancy bags - I've always hated the thin neck ones! With the wide moth ones, you need to grab the neck of the orifice, and scrinch the bag so that you physically push the inner flap against the ring. This closes the valve and allows me to inflate by mouth (blow, press flap closed, breath in, ease flap & repeat). Once the bag is mostly inflated, pressing on the bag will kep the flap closed as you inflate.

I've just deflated the bags in our Merlin - they stayed inflated for years!

All the best Colin

p.s. I've almost resisted comments about the tounge techniques!

Yeah, I had difficulty in resisting myself!

I bought an electric pump which operates off the cigarette lighter in the car and find that it is great for bow bags which are huge and take an age to blow up.  I also got an extension so that I don't have to get too close with the car!!  It also allows you to get the cap on quickly and the job takes seconds to inflate.  Also useful for camp beds etc and it came with a range of nozzles.  I believe there are rechargeable ones too which would be handy.  Bow bags are a pain as they are always tricky to get your head at them!!  Bought mine on ebay - see link

Let her sit on the windward rail, and you go down below, other merliners do it!!

i had the bag flap problem, but i ordered new ones from crewsaver, easy to fit and they seal ok

I used to blow up bouancy bags with the vacumn cleaner in reverse! Started because I have asthma.
As to trimming the spinnaker perhaps if she sat a bit further back and you further foreward to compensate and if running you to leeward she to windward?
There was good news on the medical front for the condition today, lets hope!

Yes, I caught the mention of soladronic acid on R4 this morning. She is already sitting on the windward side, something we always did in 1620 because there is no 'hole' for the crew to sit in to leeward. Actually, where we have trouble is mainly on the reach, where we are both to windward.

Maybe a spinnaker with leading edges that are easier to see would partially help. I have seen a couple of people with white spinnakers with a bright coloured leading edge. If the inside of the leading edge was a black colour and the outside was a bright orange then curling of the kite would be very visible in your crews peripheral vision. 

Just a though anyway.

good suggestion

Holt buoyancy bags have a narrow rigid tube and screw cap - easy to put finger over then screw on cap quickly. 
Other best buy is double action large capacity stirrup type pump from Jimmy Greens or Towsure - fills on both pull and push.
Add a tube of loctite soft plastic glue and some spare tent mudwalling for fixing and patching leaks and our ancient bow bag is serviceable again!

The other thing about the intravenous injections of soladronic acid is that I was concerned about what happens to the varnish when she perspires

Factor 15 should stop it peeling.

Tell her to wear a sun hat and continue with the second coat!!!

Had you thought about swapping jobs in the boat?

Yup, we've tried. It's quite exciting.

The spice of life!

Put pressure on the bag as you stop blowing. This will close the valve as you take your breath.

Sometimes it does; on other occasions it just causes the bag to collapse rapidly; this is what I mean when I say that the flap valve diesn't work very well; this is on both (new) bags.

Sorry, can't help with osteoporosis but I have a method for bags. Inflate very hard - till your eyes bulge - you won't burst bags or eyes. Hold bung close to mouth and move fast. The outrush of air seems to make the flap work a bit better and with luck you lose just the right amount of air to compensate for the sunshine later in the day. You can then leave them until the weather gets much hotter or colder.