After supercrew Jon (alias Jon 711)  did his best to pull off every fitting on 3025 - including the quadrant adjuster on the shroud, the boat has been in the workshop getting something of a rebuild. 

I'm now looking for a pair of alloy spinnaker poles as supercrew cut his teeth in Merlins that are equipped thus. But, whilst all this work is going on, I've decided to restore the Smokers to the original set up with a mainsheet traveller mounted on the aft edge of the thwart.

So - in addition to the alloy poles, has anyone got a mainsheet track and traveller car stuck away in the back of the garage that they are willing to part with for an excahnge in drinking vouchers

Dougal

Hi David,

I have an old track and traveller knocking around somewhere in shed. I'll have a dig around tomorrow evening. If you want it email me your address and I will post it to you. 

ATB

Richard

David, I beleive the first part of the boat to make a bid for freedom was pulled off by you!! OK, I may be responsible for the other bits, that just slightly came off!!!

Jon

Pity, I saw a few alloy poles at Beaulieu on a dinghy bits stall. I was tempted but am banned from buying any spares as last time I bought a spare tiller extension, I then bought a Merlin to go with it :-)

Richard,

wonderful - that would be great. Where do you sail?

I've just seen that there is already another thread on travellers and their use.  Hmmm...food for thought! I sailed boats equipped with full width travellers back in the 70s and 80s and thought the idea was great. since then I've used strops and hoops and had all but fogotten the pleasures of sailing with a traveller (so what if it makes things uncomfortable for the crew....)

Last summer, I went out to Garda to do a fair bit of sailing on the new Devoti single hander, the D-One, which has a curved full width traveller as standard. Having reaquainted myself with the techniques of cleating the main and playing the car position, I was already thinking of making the change when the need to do a bionic man job ("we have the technology to rebuild this").

before everyone starts rushing to dig out a traveller system let me get mine in first... in the meantime, the search for two alloy poles continues!

D

Full width travellers, lovely (expensive) bit of kit.  You need the (more expensive) version that uncleats from the leeward side automatically otherwise you WILL forget to uncleat it and even then sometimes playing the traveller is not enough for gusty conditions and you end up going for a swim trying to grab the mainsheet tail.  Ever run a traveller car into your hand?

Hi David,

Yep, found it. When I sail, the 'when' being the operative word,I do so at Weirwood, which is just south of East Grinstead.

Anyway, if you want it, it yours. Let me have your home address and I can post it to you tomorrow. Email in last posting.

As you're going for the bloody uncomfortable full length traveller, has any one got some padded shorts for the poor old crew.  I've forgotten, how difficult it is to walk the next day, after having perched on a traveller for a day!! ;)

Jon

I suppose I could beat my exploits at Whitefriars and pull that off as well!!!!

Don't forget the shin pads too Jon :-)

Have got two poles complete with alloy superspars boom complete with string...any good ?

Rick,

Would love them but I'm not sure that I can take all the excitement! My traveller arrived today care of the one and only Mr Battey (thanks Richard, a freshly pulled pint of Wadworths 6x is on it's way to you now) - 2 hours later I'd removed the wrapping, that was some work of art with the brown tape. Then the wife came in and found me experimenting - I cannot see what all the fuss was about, I'd only lightly G cramped it to the dining room table!!

But back to the boom - a very big yes please. Where are you, I'll either whizz up and collect or find a way to get the whole thing back here to the Hamble! Get this done and I can go out and play with Tim Powell and co with 'Enchantment'.

The alloy boom is good too - the idea at present is to keep carbon out of the boat and avoid the handicap premium that they are giving it!!

But once again...many thanks - the boat will be afloat now very soon!

Dougal

Hi David,

My pleasure. Glad it arrived safely. Good old Royal Mail only posted it last night!! Sorry about the wrapping, got a bit carried away with the gaffa tape! 

All the best

Richard

I've ordered the plasters, but will need someone to apply them to my a**e after racing, however I am excited about the twin poles!!!

Jon

I believe the first Merlin Rocket centre mainsheet was on Brian Saffrey-Cooper's  Proctor MK XI 'Racketeer' no. 863 built in 1958. She had a full width straight track several inches behind the thwart - see photo on Vintage photo page. 

Alan Warren crewed for Brian in 1958 and in 1963 his mainsheet was attatched to a post behind the thwart on 'Cotopaxi' no 1584 with which he and Barry Dunning won the Championships in 1965. 

The discussion/argument about which system is best has raged ever since.

Although I've not seriously raced M/Rs for years I've always thought the the best centre mainsheet system was on my brother John's boat 'Baccarat' no. 2614. She had a strop attatched to two halves of a IYE carriage which were seperated by a 600 mm tube running in a track fixed to the thwart. It could be moved both directions along a track on the thwart.
 
I sailed 'Baccarat' for a couple of years and could position the boom over a wide range of angles.

Robert, are you sure that was Baccarat? That is exactly what we had on Tobacco Road (2926) when we got her, which I assume was your brothers idea. We kept it for a long time and it is a good system but ultimatly does the same thing as the modern hoop and track does. It fell apart a few years ago now and so we just have a strpo in her now which is still a good system but gets in the way a bit when crossing the thwart. I am planning on deck stepping her soon and I might avoid going the whole way and putting a track on the hoop and go for a small strop on the top of the hoop instead. A much simpler way of river sailing I think.

No-one else has ever copied John Dalby's flip-flop block on a stick, which looked a very neat way of tackling the problem though it still needs moving across for every tack.

David, ref. boom and poles, send me an email and we can discuss further. I am in Bath and sail at Chew Valley, best regards, Rick

Jeremy. If you look at the photo of me and another Jeremy sailing 'Baccarat' in the vintage photos you'll see that she does have a rope strop. However a close inspection of the origional colour print reveals that the ends are probably attatched to the thwart. Nevertheless it worked well and John had two places in the first six in Championships in 'Baccarat.'

Ah. Tobacco Road must have been a later development of that system then. Worked well for a while.

<<<<<>>>

That's what is on 2404. I could get a couple of photos if anyone's interested

Rick,

direct reply on way! A shame - given another 48hours I could have got Ed presley to bring them to Highcliffe where he is going to be contendering this weekend!

By that would miss me a trip to Chew, scene of so many happy days in 3199? Is there much of a Merlin Fleet there these days?

D

David, we have RS200s at Chew on Sunday for their open and Flying Fifteens/ Scorpions on May 15th/16th, if you can think of anyone travelling for one of those events....

Right, got the plasters on order, HELP ME!! TELL HIM, HE IS MISGUIDED!!! Unfortunatly I know he isn't..

The problem that has affected the Smokers is now clear! Choosing to work on the boat at the weekend rather than sailing, I started by removing the awful alloy hoop. The traveller is all ready to go on... but then I took off the port side jib sheet track and shroud quadrant. Bad mistake!! 


When I took the track and quadrant off, the 'bodger' who had done the earlier redecking and renovation of the boat had clearly made a mess of things. So, these crucial high load fittings had screws that were put back in with plastic masonry wall plugs. These I could pull out of the holes with my fingernails....

So there is the story- the Smokers was a disaster waiting to happen! In a way I'm glad it happened up on whitefriars, where the situation could be easily handled. Had this happened out in the solent it could have been a very different matter!!

I'm now trying to check everything BUT...is it time for another Hull? Think I'll try again to find 3199 Credit Card!

Dougal

I thought that it was my raw, unbridled strength that had demolished the boat!!  I was rather pleased with my strength!! Now very disulioned.  Must get down the gym, so I can pull the restored boat to pieces!!

Jon

has anyone got an old jib sheet cleat - the one that is mounted at Right angles to the track?

Dougal, 

   Please come and collect the project 3025 in question , i`m extremely bored of looking at it !

Ian....am over the week after next - can do it then! Can you organise a get together with Mike Field but it will have to be over a non-alcoholic drink!!!!!!
D

Venue 

  The Bugle , call me