Vorpal Blade

Its a NO from me too. It appears someone has spend a lot of time and a lot of someone else's money to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Its actually quite simple - if they you want to heel when sailing get a cruising cat.

That's just age. An easy fix, taking out the grommet, unpicking the luff tape, making and sewing on some reinforcing, resewing the luff tape, new eyelet and then reattaching the plastic pop shackle if it too isn't UV buggered and has to be replaced - this times as many slides like this on the luff as they are all probably in the same state so have them all done. A time consuming repair that will probably double the life, or what's left of the life, in this sail.

No the VB is in exactly the same spot its always been, and yes there is a pontoon that the sea plane uses some times just N of me by 50m. I believe they park a plane on it when there is no room at wherever they put them usually. There is a sunken Spencer 30 (ish) ex-boat upside down on its mooring 50m south of Stealth Mission, its been sinking for a while and I think the last few days finished it off. That pontoon has proved to be a bonus this year, the seagulls seem to prefer landing on that rather than our bows...

On the day anchoring shape thingy, I personally don't do it as we are usually anchored shallow well inshore of multiple targets and don't really see the need but there was this one day.... My wife and I has the pleasure of being on the Frigate Waikato for the start of the Whitbread here in AKL race some time back and we were issued with all-access ID cards as part of my work. So invariably we were on the bridge with all the ships officers looking out over 1000's of anchored boats either side of Rangi channel waiting for the start and the 2nd in bridge command was quick to point out to the cap

AFAIK D28s were glass hulls with ply/glass cockpit, decks and cabin top. There was possibly a mold built for a glass cabin/cockpit very late in their production cycle.

D28's are great cruisers, if you go down this path you will find you have double the internal volume to use than the Cav, and its quicker too as a bonus! "Your" one is not as nice as this one - https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/auction-1518895386.htm?rsqid=f14a1f579f39424489b8221e9596fada but I know this one as it hauls out in our local boatyard I have seen the love ($$) it has received in the last few years. If you have the time to "invest" the cheaper one could ultimately be this one, or cost up your maintenance and out of the water time and see if its not better

Tank above motor is common practice on GBEs, 8.5 cats Turissimos etc and probably most cats with an outboard pod setup, the VB has this same system but the tank sits just in front of the engine underneath the saloon floor. Any fuel spillage runs down the pod and out just below the bottom of the transom clamps. The only issue I know of any potential disaster was on my first GBE - just after I got it. The previous owner had shoehorned the battery in the pod underneath the fuel tank (metal not plastic) and we had a small incident where the battery internally shorted out and exploded while motori

Here you go Dambo, about 30 minutes before the last pic you posted.....quieter times

Usually I don't do second hand sails but there was this one opportunity.... So our new, sorry, recently acquired and pre-loved #2 genoa is still a few hours work from being useable but I had to check how it all fitted before taking to it. Im going to make the the AC cats standard zip-on luff system fit around our rolled up #1 genoa and I will also make a new a storm jib using the same zip up system so we don't have to remove the big furler to change to other sails. Looking forward to trying it out.

Sorry Dalts but this is the stupidest idea I have seen for a long time, you have just lost me as an America's Cup fan. It was said the new boats were going to be more cost effective and more exciting than the AC50 Cats, - I cant see that as even being remotely achievable with these things.

Another solution to the pooling issue on stackpacks is simply to ease one side of the lazy jacks off so there isn't a horizontal surface on top.

So what you are saying then is its going to be in Italy somewhere.

Got 10 boats towed back into the environment before 10:30 this morning, waited until tide came in, floated off the cradle and went to the mooring only to find it had become an ecosystem all of its own in the last 5 months - there was so much weed growing on it I couldn't pull it up. After an hour of cutting/slashing I made it through to the bridle. Here we all are sitting on cradles waiting for the tide to come in....

I changed our 2 stroke 2hp Yam for a 4 stroke 2.5hp Yam. The difference is vast, while its heavier the 4 stroke has better grunt, uses less fuel and is a lot quieter. One of the few issues I do have with the 4 stroke is that is very specific on how it can be laid down and can only go on its back or on the throttle arm side, you cant just chuck it in a locker or on the cockpit floor any old way around like the 2 stroke.

And tramps, dodgy tramps are a quick way to having an unexpected swim. The front tramp on that particular GBE doesn't look like one to be trusted when you rush forward.

I think chopping out the soggy bit and inserting a piece of hardwood there would be the best solution, adding carbon in that region will only lead to different problems.

A well made Stakpak is not a cheap item and needs to be well made in order to be simple to operate, but they certainly make sail handling easier when combined with LJs and full length battens. Our mainsail is approx 48sqm and is easily raised and stowed from the cockpit - the only reason to go to the mast is to tuck the head in and close the zip. The underside looks like this.. there are battens across ways to hold the base of the cover open and keep the LJs apart. And heres the top view.

The other argument is that even if it's out of shape you can still go sailing so long as it's not ripped to shreds... More correctly ... Even if its out of shape you can still go sailing so long as it's downwind...

thats the other one i mentioned that used to be a GBE

At some stage in its life I think the basis of that boat was a GBE, much like the transformation of the cat Harry D that is on Trademe.

Hey KM, Ive found a great small diameter coving tool is knob end part on a motorbike brake lever, the spherical shape lets you cove around a right angle corner in one clean swoop. Cheap as from the wreckers in Barry Pt rd.

Booboo's cockpit speakers certainly kept most of the avian life within about 200 miles well away....

Last I looked its moved and pirated another mooring on the eastern side of the bridge, close to where Sonic usually is. A quick call to the HM usually sorts out that sort.

Maybe a radio controlled one, deployed when the NRC fan worm inspection dive team are spotted approaching.

]How about these. Im about to swap out our two rusty old ones for them. http://www.absolutemarine.co.nz/2-2kg-lpg-bottle-marine-gas-alloy-cylinder?search=gas%20bottle&description=true