Flat Stanleys new owner

[Will_Lee]

You are the latest chapter in Flat Stanleys amazing story! Well done.

More like ice skating than sailing. Which is your club? BLYM?

Fixey fixey! Choppy choppy no no. (Please).

[ross_burkin]

Rob is based down in Southampton so Stanley will feel right at home in some solent chop! Rob, you WILL need fruit loops!

[Banshee Ambulance]

Looks like I will be able to pick him up on Wednesday next week. Ross, would you mind getting the trailer sorted and bolting those shroud points in? Cheers,

[ross_burkin]

No probs.

[Banshee Ambulance]

I am now the proud owner of Flat Stanley! Picked him up today.

Ross, it seems your bike pump made it into the back of the bus with all our other clobber. I'll do my best to get it posted to you.

Cheers, I cant wait to get sailing.

[Banshee Ambulance]

Stanly is coming on. Hull refit is well under way with a (thin) coat of battleship grey deck paint on the interior, dagger board support glassed over and transom support filled and glassed. New spin halyard fittings and pole out fittings. Foils fared and re sprayed in kitchen appliance white.  New (old) main in progress at Alverbanks.

Now I am turning my attention to the rig. I will be keeping the old mast for the time being until I have time to re fit the RS600 mast I have. My plan is to go for conventional lowers to the shroud base points and to have D2s running to the current lower points at 90 degrees to the mast. Anyone got any ideas as to if this will work? Anyone know where I can have rigging made up at a good price/

[Will_Lee]

Hi - Glad FS is coming together. Put up a pic!

The D2s are there to keep the lower mast straighter fore and aft. Having them out sideways like that will make them not work.

Because you have a foredeck strut pushing back on the gooseneck, the sideways lowers are fine though. One reason they are like that is ergonomics - that gap between the lower point and the shround point is really important!

D2s may well not be needed: You don't have uppers, so there is no reason for the spreaders to be far back. This means you can support the mid section of the mast by having the spreaders a bit more forward instead.

Getting shrouds made up: Bethnal Green Marine is excellent value for money in this regard. A sponsorship deal may be possible - you never know!

[Phil Alderson]

The strut is a tricky one, originally it would have worked to control the mast bend from the kicker going up wind and also to stop the mast from inverting from the symmetric spiniker pole pushing back on the mast and inverting it down wind.

With the asymetric there is less risk of the mast inverting, however it is still there as the hoist is quite a bit above the hounds.

If you go with more conventional lowers you could remove the strut, this lets the jib cross eisier in the tacks. I removed the strut on the Flying Kipper when it had the ali 1990's rig, however it was always set up with a slight bend lower down, to help avoid any disasters.

[ross_burkin]

Sounds like FS is getting the pimpification he deserves!

Bethnal Green marine is can only mean Roland and Hailey's garage. Get some PBO and splice it, that'll be a nice touch! As will says, D2's aren't nessisary unless you get a masthead kite.

Making a bag at the end of the chute would be a good addition. The kite flops around the cockpit floor unless the crew keeps stuffing it into the chute. It might be worth fitting out that 600 mast and learn how to sail Stanley with that mast, rather than learning how to sail the boat and then changing it, then learning how to sail it again.

Have you got a launch date?

Give me a ring if you need help with anything.

[Banshee Ambulance]

The main reason for going with conventional lowers is to get rid of the strut. It's more or less had it at the mast end and the mast fitting for it is missing. I also don't really like the way the lowers tie up at the moment, would far rather the chainplate and clevis pin system. Also getting rid of the strut opens the possibility for a self tacking jib should I so choose.

[Banshee Ambulance]

Forgot to mention, the hoist will be lower down as the mast I have is currently set up for a bigger kite.

[ross_burkin]

The blue bit of 'lecy tap is the marker for the hoist hight.

[Stuart Hopson]

If you want some wire lowers with T terminals making up give me a ring and i'll make you some up, can post them with the sail when we post that.

[Will_Lee]

The lashings are used rather than adjusters because they are lighter, cheaper, probably stiffer, stronger and have a better resolution. They are not repeatable, but that's ok because the lowers can live on the boat - you put them into the mast when you put the mast up. The 4mm resolution you get with a chainplate is not good enough. I know this because I made the very same mistake you are contemplating on LFC in circa 1996. Be a smartiepants and save the £17.28!

http://shop.pinbax.com/index.asp?selection=detailed&uid=12217&itemtitle=Vernier%20Adjuster

Struts protect the mast from gybe-related breakage. Many broken masts testify to its importance. Ross probably has the mast fitting you need. We have at least two carbon struts you can have, and probably the mast fitting too.

A self tacker looks groovy and speeds up the gybes, but it is heavy, expensive, difficult to set up, and on a small rig boat with no snout, you will pay a sail-area penalty. It also reduces one of the many really special things about Flat Stanley: Go sailing in anything, anywhere, and be having the time of your life. The reason for this is that a self tacker cannot let the jib flog straight out like a flag. After a big stack in big winds you don't want any obstacle to getting back upright again. A self tacker is such an obstacle. Also: What is the purpose of a self tacker? It's to allow the crew to take the mainsheet through the tacks. On FS the helm is not trapezing so will have the main - so no need for self tacker.

Very well done on the foils. Here's a GPS track of Ross and me in FS on KGSC, with the  foils all furry:

http://www.sailingsource.com/cherub/GPSAR/gpsar.php?filename=KGSC-20080126a.gpx&maps=maps/kgsc.maps

We top out at 17.2knots or so. You will get more at Netley!

[Banshee Ambulance]

Pictures showing the neatening up of the dagger board support with proper fittings instead of the nasty great hole in the foam. The bulls eye is for the spin halyard to drop through to the turning block on the floor and the thru deck block takes the pole out to the other turning block on the floor.

I'm still fairly keen on going with conventional lowers. If they will be lashed or pinned I don't know until I get the rig on the boat.  A self tacking jib is not really in the pipeline at the moment as Will says, its a little pointless.