Thanks brizzydave, I wanted to try and share my love and frustration of cruising in a sail boat. Iv been very lucky with my time living on Valkyrie, winched that anchor up 1000's of times and drifted along. Seen our beautiful coast from the outside looking in and been in touch with nature. And there is my boat and all the attention she needed, and with each improvement I got to know her a little better.
So Cast off those lines and set your boat free everyone, never know what is going to happen tomorrow.

I like Brizzy's idea Dezman, but it's a bummer mate. I've got to say though, sounds like you've lived a bit (a lot more than most).

Made a cover for the back seat of my yacht.





I used weather tex material which is still a new product I guess, its light and more washable. A bit slippery to sew but a normal house machine will do the job. Costs $30 a metre off a 1.5 metre roll, brought from sail contender near Pitt water 'a whole saler'.




Wish I done this years ago! I took the seat out of my vitara and just happen to try it on top of the bench seat across the davits.
Very comfortable and folds down easily, the cover will do for rain and light conditions when sailing. Or I can place it atop of the wheel house seat out off the weather when things are wild.

Well not quite my boat but my mates new one old one! "Vivaldi" has 5 Sydney Hobart's under her keel.....so I arrive to check her out and convince mate to take her and her garden for a motor and perhaps pull some headsail out if the furler works!

Anyway as we motor out into the marina basin heading for the leads he informs me he has released the pressure from the hydraulic back stay...so I check and it had no weight on it.....this rig was not swept back spreaders! So I grab the jack handle and pump up the fluid to take some tension.......BANG blew the back stay righto I say we are now not going to motor out the heads into the 1.2 m chop righto jury rig backstay and then spend next 1 hour motoring round marina with a cold beer........!!

Can you imagine how dangerous this situation was?

Oh I worked out why it was still standing! The new black 10mm $50 mainsail halyard was attached to the end of the boom as no topping lift evedent and I cranked the main sheet on hard before we left the berth...lucky didn't pull the traveller out of the deck!

The buhk ran like clock work, did not see the ram under the compression post but there are 2 other pump stations on the main control I think one said inner forestay and didn't bother to look at the other. She's a beamy boat I think it will sail rather well once he cleans the hull and get the rig sorted. There is a boarding ladder on the transom you can see in the pics I posted. Anyway it was a scary moment and could have been very expensive! It may have helped if the runners where also in place! The mast really is not such a racing stick as I expected with only double spreaders and quite a heavy section....I would think the hydrolic gear has been fitted for lazy sailors!

It was only luck that no damage or injuries where sustained ......one would not expect a backstay (that holds a must up) to explode I guess it found its own fault I just controlled the situation by running a jury rig halyard aft . And it was luck that the main halyard was used as a topping lift!

Sailed back to Manly from the One Mile in perfect conditions

Installed a boom brake this morning. Its a copy of a Fleming GybOmatic or a Walder. I turned up the alloy body from a pump flange. The rest is just stuff from the work shop. Fair bit of labour but cost virtually nothing.


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Nice boom break ramona, its a gift to be able to work with your hands.
Hey I see a wind rush cat in the back ground too, how about a pic and story?

Very practical ramona and good value too.

I took my Valkyrie for a sail today to Newcastle, and left the butterfly's behind.
I'll put her on the beach New Year's Day for some hull maintenance and finish of painting the decks.
I will post some pics of her standing on her keel with ropes tied off the mast! It's more easy than you know, and save some slipways cost too. Oh before anyone jumps on me read 'leave only clean water in your wake' rules first.

How's your anchor holding up, keensailor? We r in Bantry Bay, Middle Harbour, and bloody glad we have a public mooring after this big southerly hit this morning. Even so, tied a second line to the buoy in case that kink in the RMS line gives out.

Saved a power boat yesterday. Watched him try to anchor next to us in a fresh northeaster. Must have been putting out only about 2:1. He's dropping, dragging by us and nearly into the $$$ launch on the next mooring. Finally gets it to hold. I'm below when my wife, reading in the cockpit, says, "He's going back again". I come up and he's flying past us and nowhere to be seen. Hes about 10 seconds from impacting the oysters. A few loud whistles and a couple of full volume yells and he's back at the helm in his budgies, kicks it over and keeps her unscathed. He waved and left the bay.

It's all experience for this newbie.

By the way, I haven't yet tested motoring this 31-footer (with a 25hp and about 6 kts max) in a blow. How many knots do you think I should wait for it to drop to before I attempt to motor upwind to the Spit Bridge then through the lifting bridge in a cross wind, then back through the harbour?

DrRog said...
How's your anchor holding up, keensailor? We r in Bantry Bay, Middle Harbour, and bloody glad we have a public mooring after this big southerly hit this morning. Even so, tied a second line to the buoy in case that kink in the RMS line gives out.

Saved a power boat yesterday. Watched him try to anchor next to us in a fresh northeaster. Must have been putting out only about 2:1. He's dropping, dragging by us and nearly into the $$$ launch on the next mooring. Finally gets it to hold. I'm below when my wife, reading in the cockpit, says, "He's going back again". I come up and he's flying past us and nowhere to be seen. Hes about 10 seconds from impacting the oysters. A few loud whistles and a couple of full volume yells and he's back at the helm in his budgies, kicks it over and keeps her unscathed. He waved and left the bay.

It's all experience for this newbie.

By the way, I haven't yet tested motoring this 31-footer (with a 25hp and about 6 kts max) in a blow. How many knots do you think I should wait for it to drop to before I attempt to motor upwind to the Spit Bridge then through the lifting bridge in a cross wind, then back through the harbour?

It's lucky we were in close to the shore at black wattle bay (between the yellow bouys). Even then we were getting seriously buffered around in a 27 foot 2200kg boat. I was really surprised we didn't drag, although I had a lot of anchor out.

We are in castle cove Middle harbour tonight after an 8:30pm bridge.

Are you heading back to the harbour the fireworks.