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Deck Stepping MR3125Andy Hayes details how he converted his NSM1 'Footloose', and how it performs now - Autumn 2003 |
PART TWO - It works!!!!
Well it has for the few times that I have managed to get out racing this summer. It took me longer to complete than I had anticipated due to other commitments. Hey but doesn’t everything.One of the most important items was the new post assembly, which carrys the vertical load of the mast and rig tension. This was made from mahogany with weight saving slots cut in it. This with tenoned into the original hog and the new top section made to fit in the old mast slot in the deck. The whole lot is Wested into place. Next the ali tube cross braces were added between the existing braces at the deck shroud exits and top of the new post. The ‘lowers’ control is then attached to these braces, and the new mast step fixed to the deck. The puller was installed with a turning block fitted through the original deck hole from the old strut, to avoid cutting any new holes in the deck! The puller, lowers and shroud systems are installed as per modern thinking between deck and hog forward of the strut. The original lightweight strut is retained, should anyone want to reverse the deck step system. The photos below show the boat rigged up with the new system. 
I also took the opportunity to change the lethal spiro pole launch system to twin carbon poles – what an improvement!!! What’s the cost? Well I reckon that with all the new cordage and ball bearing blocks etc, excluding the twin poles and mast it cost me about £300. The second hand M1 mast complete was £100. Selling the old hog stepped M7 effectively made the new mast free. So for not a lot of money the NSM1 is now deck stepped allowing a more flexible rig to be used and a better range of second hand high quality sails to be available to those racing on a budget. What’s it like on the water? It’s much more controllable in a blow. The M1 de-powers so much better and is lighter than the old telegraph pole of the M7. Although it’s still not like the carbon rigs, I don’t need a second mortgage to improve the boat tuning! On the weight front the removal of the very heavy stainless steel strut system and M7 mast verses the new post and wires has resulted in a net weight saving of 2kg – useful but not ground breaking, but at least the mods did not add weight. 
The boat speed is much improved when I pull all the ropes in the right order and I believe there is still more speed in the boat once I’ve got it sorted. At our club (Starcross) Footloose has shown some good bursts of speed against the Tales, but it is usually the nut on the helm that ruins an otherwise good result!I am very pleased with the result and given that the whole boat including the mods has only cost me £1500 I think I’m getting fantastic ‘bang for buck’!!! I hope that with more racing this winter it will only get better. So to all those guys sailing older merlins it is possible to upgrade the boat without spending a fortune and still get some good competitive club racing against the newer designs. I am curious to see how I get on in the open circuit next year. See also: PART ONE Dave Fowler's Deck-Stepping instructions Tuning Tips for Older Boats (getting the best out of an old rig) Photo Gallery - other DIY projects |