So, having sailed the boat a few times after getting it at the end of last season, a few club members commented that the rig didn't look quite right ... and the boom did seem low, often quite close to the hoop, and the boat didn't seem that lively  .. so I finally found a pleasant enough day to go and play with the rig.

I think it might have been a bit too much raked back.

I fitted the new Jib I had picked up from Geoff Wright, leveled the boat as per the tuning guide and hung a random weight off the end of the main halyard.  In its most upright position, rake was about 500mm at deck level! ... and, before you ask, the new sail has a luff wire about 25mm *shorter* than the old one.

I had to move the magic box a good 100mm or more down the mast to get the any tension at all with the mast vertical, and can now get suitable rig tension from 0mm to 400mm of rake.  I took the opportunity to number the positions on the quadrant lever and make suitable numbered marks on the mast too, so, hopefully, it should go a bit better tomorrow :)

I'll post some piccys of the boat layout on Picasa, Mags, you are welcome to put copies in the library if you think they are of interest. Its quite "modern" in design I think, with a low tank and quite a substantial bulkhead.

I also photographed the jib sheet positions .. perhaps someone could tell me if they look suitable to work with a "modern" jib. I'm still not actually sure of how the jib sheet is supposed to be rigged, we just have it going from the foot of the jib, down to the turniing block, over the kicking strap and then up to the cleat on the far side of the boat. It works and is sort of handy to use, but im not sure if thats how it was designed ..

Nice looking boat. The jib sheets should run through the deck sheeve and cleat at the shroud position. Doen't look like you've done that.
Love the toe straps, covers made from pipe lagging. You would need the 'jesters shoes' on to prevent the crew going overboard.

Im pretty sure I dont have any deck sheaves ... just a cleat on each deck, close to the shroud. I'll get you another photo of that area.

Yes, the pipe lagging isn't best, but thats what was there when it came. The crew can swim fairly well anyway :)  What woudl be the recomended toe strap padding? Or do people usually just use plain webbing?

Hi Robin, from what you have going on with your jib sheets at the moment, a move to continuous sheeting seems like a good idea.  Some pictures in the link show Rob Holroyds new boat from this site, and how the jib cleats are arranged - from the sail to the turning block, up to the side deck, passing the cleat to go to the other side.  Rob might comment, but it seems alot easier to uncleat this system when hiking out on the opposite side - somthing that can be an issue with deck mounted cleats.

It's sheeted inboard, and i'm not sure that this position has changed significantly since your boat was built compared with the new ones. There were a few oddballs around this era with the jib sheeted through the foredeck, but yours is conventional.

Current boats sheet down to the floor like yours, but then it goes up and through the side deck with a cleat nonted on a block of wood mounted on the inwhale. This is easily retrofitted, but on a boat as nice as yours it's something i'd tend to "have done" unless you're confident with your woodworking skills. There are plenty of boats to copy out there though.

That all sounds sensible .. we are continously sheeted, and it seems to work, I notice on Rob's boat he seems to be using the cleat on the same side as the sail is set, where are on ours, we cleat across on the opposite side, putting the cleat nicely to hand when the crew is hiked out.

I think I have a bit of epoxy fun coming up, a couple of old repairs seem to be opening up, the glue has turned quite white and "rubbery" in the winter damp in just a couple of spots where it has been reglued in the past. Im certainly finding it a nice dry home for next winter, these things are far too nice to leave out under a cover.

I would have taken some more photos today, but we managed to get a bit wet. Serves me right for cleating the main off hard and not paying attention :)