Posted: November 17 2006 at 21:01 | IP Logged

OK, I have been on this forum for a few weeks now.  Granted, it is new, however, we have had hundreds of views and only a handful of posts.  Lots of somebodies are reading and not writing!  Lets start seeing some activity folks!  Boat US put this up for our benefit!  (Even though it is relatively slow loading).

Anxious to start seeing some activity...~~~/)~~....

Posted: November 17 2006 at 22:03 | IP Logged

Ok Doc

I agree!!! I actually posted a question a couple of months ago ( which I forget the subject of) & got no response. Anyway, I had "the system" keep an eye on the bulletin board for any posts & here you are.

I see that you have a Bristol 32. What year is she & where do you sail?

Our 40 is 1969 & we moor her in Blaine WA, so our cruising grounds are around the San Juans. Hoping to do a big trip to Australia in '08.

Posted: November 17 2006 at 22:30 | IP Logged

John,

I own a Bristol 29.9 that I used to sail out of San Francisco Bay.  When I retired I sailed her back to North Carolina (winter of 2000-2006).  If you're heading to Mexico first on your way West, joining in on the Latitude 38 magazine's "Baja Ha Ha" is a lot of fun and you'll find others headed West.   They leave San Diego on Halloween.  There were about 130 boats in the fleet the year I sailed.

I believe it way your question I responded to in this forum about converting to wheel steering.  Did you get it?  I'm not very computer literate so it may not have gotten through.

Let me know if I can assist with any questions regarding cruising.  I'll help if I can.

Eric Lind    S/V Lansa

Posted: November 17 2006 at 22:58 | IP Logged

Thanks Eric & yes I did get your reply.

Thanks for the info on Baja

Posted: November 18 2006 at 08:18 | IP Logged

Ah!  Activity!!

I have a 1976 B32.  It is white with a Kelly green dodger.  I was thinking about the bimini, which is referenced in an older post on this forum, (#3 of 5 messages). as the 40 is basically an 8' longer 32, do you have a bimini?  I sail in Raritan Bay, NJ-NY harbor area, and into Sandy Hook. 

Posted: November 18 2006 at 10:41 | IP Logged

I do have a bimini, but never used it yet, so I'm not sure how it attaches. I do know that it isn't tapered though. Our boat is a yawl & I guess increases the problem of interference.

I'm glad that I didn't have it up this week as we had horrendous winds on wednesday. 80-100 mph. 11 Boats had their furlers sucked out & destroyed. I dropped mine the next day...just in case. I live a long way from Blaine in BC & after that storm, I would have worried all winter.

Regards.

Posted: November 19 2006 at 08:31 | IP Logged

Wow, that is some serious wind!  We lost several boats from the area yacht clubs during hurricane Ernesto back in September.  No one predicted it to be bad, and no one predicted that it would hang out for 30 + hours.  About 75 boats all in all.

RE: the bimini, the price that I got from JSI was non-tapered also.  On our boats, that means significant overhang at the transom.  That can be a problem when coming into a slip, as it can easily be ripped off if it hits something.  Also, the darn thing is only going to cover the helmsman!

Posted: November 19 2006 at 13:01 | IP Logged

Doc, I wonderabout the value of bimini's if you do a lot of sailing. If one lives on the boat, there is probably good sense as it extends the living area, but they are a pain in the neck when under sail. I like to keep an eye on the wind indicator & the trailing edge of the jib in relation to the side stays, so having something that impedes that view is annoying.....it might be cheaper to buy a large sunhat Doc.

Regards 

Posted: November 19 2006 at 21:30 | IP Logged

John,

Eric here again.  about the bimini.  I felt the same way as you but the further South I got I realized that in the tropics you have to have one.  Luckily, I had brought the pieces from my old dodger frame and in Acapulco I had a machinist make attachment fittings. (out there you can't just go in to a marine store and buy them).  I tied some canvas on the frame until I got to Golfito, Costa Rica where I had local guy (a tailor) fit one on the frame.  He came to the boat three times to measure since he had never done anything like that before.  I supplied the material (a cloth painters tarp from Home Depot I had aboard).  He charged me $20 and it lasted two years.  I had him make an opening which was closed with velcro that I could remove when seeing the windvane was necessary but I learned to just use the dial on my windspeed indicator.  When cruising you won't change tacks for days sometimes so you'll find you won't be trimming all the time.  After a time you can tell just by the way the boat feels.

Eric Lind,  S/V Lansa

Posted: November 20 2006 at 02:21 | IP Logged

I gues you're correct Eric...I haven't been in that envious position of days on end on the same tack....& I sure haven't been sailing in the tropics.

Hopefully that will change at some point. Just got to make that decision to GO.

I'm  planning an extended trip to Australia (where I'm from) in '08. Thats why I bought the Bristol.

Regards

Posted: November 20 2006 at 19:59 | IP Logged

That's the way Doc...put the onus on them as wants it.....

Do you sail in the winter?

I've put our boat to bed.....even dropped the furler the day after the last storm..just so I can sleep at night.

Regards