adjustments

With a little time on my hands, I set to making small adjustments to the rig where I see improvement. The first was the bowsprit hold down "Widow maker". The lower end interfered with the wench haul-up and roller, So I drilled a 3/8" hole through the stem and glued/bolted a 3/8" bow eye in a new spot just above the roller. With a quick shortening of the cable I reinstalled the unit and i'm pleased with the result. Strength not an issue. This will stay taught. From the first sea trial and the stay that broke loose, here's why it did so. Note the picture below and the uneven spacing of the jaws that grip the cable. It basically slipped out the side. Lesson learned.

It should look like this below if you can see my point. I removed the stay and brought it into the shop for reattachment. It won't break loose this time. I will do a once over on all the rigging tomorrow and make sure all the swaggless fittings are tight and secure. If there is little wind I'll set up the boat on the trailer and make my adjustments to the gaff. I already took it off the boat and did some prep work on the back end near the mast. The dry run tomorrow will test it.

Tomorrow... yeah A day off. Regatta Day in the city, the oldest longest running Regatta in North America.