JennyMorgan

Shhh, was trying to save Polly her blushes!

Fixed! That could be problematic Re those naughty splices, long splice, short splice, eye splice, round splice, antigallican splice, back splice, crown splice, side splice, span splice, double loop splice, chain splice, ring splice. All seem pretty innocuous to me, perhaps I've missed one or two.

Warp, seriously for a moment, try altering the rake of your mast. See also: http://johnellsworth.com/writing/nautical/balance_helm/balance.html

But does he have high heels on?

The Waterside café and tearoom at Rollesby, near Great Yarmouth, is an extremely pleasent, quality venue albeit a tad pricey. Probably the right formula for Wroxham. I'd go, at least once.

To meet iain's challenge I will add to the above 'and put some serious strain on her **** blocks'! Now, will the auto censor kick in? Yep, challenge met!

Such as giving the old girl a good thrashing to windward?

Whatever Bewilderwood wants Bewilderwood gets. Alan, I'd go further up the food chain for the one lacking in common sense, the workman was only doing as he was instructed. Next week he might be told to take it down again, it's what keeps food on his table.

Re weather helm, maybe Brilliant needs a nice new balanced rudder?

There was me thinking that you often sailed pretty close to the wind!

Iain, is that a challenge then?

We have them on Spray. She's old, 1908, and exceedingly traditional, she came to us with backstays. Using them has become second nature and when belting downwind I really do appreciate them. I don't suppose I could gybe the stick out of her but I certainly feel that the sail sets better in a downwind blow and I'm not straining the old girl.

Really can't think right now, know he's also got a couple of stainless rhond anchors as well as a smart, dangly bow fend-off

'As for a stainless steel mud weight, I think not.' Quite right, just so ostentatious!

Another 'stinkey' to relish! So SUNDAY IT IS, glad that Scott has told us. Incidentally the skipper of Sarah Ann used to play in the Moody Blues so any fans out there, take your autograph books along!

Nice one, Strow, spot on. Many years ago my father & I used to go fishing off Lowestoft in a boat with a long foredeck using just such a set-up. If the tide was running we just nudged the engine ahead to take the strain off the anchor line thus making it easier to bring it back to the cockpit. If there is no bow fairlead I suppose the mudweight line could be attached to the towing eye on the stem, if one exists.

I suspect that you will need, if you haven't already got, some form of stemhead fairlead or roller. Strow has suggested a sensible solution but I would go even simpler, just a rope with a loop in it that the mudweight rope passes through. I would lift and lower the mudweight from over the side. When lowering just let the boat swing until the weight is on the bow fairlead. When lifting just pull on the rope with the loop that the anchor rope passes through until the anchor rope comes to hand then simply hoik the weight in over the side. Strow's drawing gives you the basics but I wouldn't bother with the continuous rope myself. Either way, one slightly complicating the issue I think, you have a perfectly viable solution.

On my Drascombe I have just one halliard for hoisting the main, great, couldn't be more simple but I can't adjust the peak. I need the throad halliard bar taunt & the peak just goes where it goes, no adjustment. On Spray, for example, I need to be able to adjust the peak independently to suit the wind. I suspect that Vaughan, like many of us, hauls his sail up with both peak & throat halliards together, fastens off when up then tweeks both halliards independently, that makes sense. However, having the peak halliard led aft might mean that hoisting the sail becomes a two position task, just as Vaughan suggests. The more I think about it the more problematic it becomes. The topping lift, yes. The peak halliard, no, not for me. Vaughan has highlighted the obvious!

Re 4, turn the volume down to nil, it's confusing the issue! I have to say that the noise is incidental but I could be wrong. It would be easier to sweat the halyards against the mast rather than on the cabin top. It wouldn't be a priority for me, unlike backstays. Brilliant, like Spray, is a relatively small boat, I wouldn't complicate the issue unless you really do see a need. Topping lift maybe.

Video 4, all is clear now. Wooden but could be synthetic/metal cheek block on the tabernacle, lead aft through 'eyes' similar to those on your jib sheets leading to jamb cleats on the aft edge of the cabin top, simple. Tube cleats, arghh, agreed, not a good idea. Lack of backstays, think that I'd wet myself, hurtling down river, squall hits, mast top goes forward of the chain-plates, whoopsy-doo! Not only that, your sail might set better going downwind in anything above a four. http://www.norfolkmarine.co.uk/shop-online/barton-maxi-cleat-fairlead-plate-p-13365.html

Polly, if you want traditional then go here: http://www.classicmarine.co.uk/boatstore/prodtype.asp?strParents=0,186&CAT_ID=148&numRecordPosition=1

Poll, re a purchase, a simple 'gun tackle' would probably be more than enough: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_and_tackle#/media/File:Tackles.png This could be either side of the cheek block on the tabernacle, e.g. against the mast or across the cabin top.

Cheek block here: http://www.norfolkmarine.co.uk/shop-online/barton-alloy-cheek-block-51mm-p-10466.html I feel a waddle around the cruiser moorings at Horning or Wroxham coming on. I'm not sure that you would need ratchet blocks though, hellishly expensive for one thing. If you need a greater purchase then you can always introduce an additional single as perhaps you have on your backstays. You do have backstays, don't you?

Pauline, a link to the relevant Hunters video would be good. I'm guessing that they have cheek blocks on the tabernacle so halliards can be lead aft, surely made out of beech or galvanised iron, Hunter's style. The alternative is eyebolts in the deck. Personally I'd send the crew forward, body weight pulling down is simple and effective and the crew will then be ready to moor up.

http://www.norfolkmarine.co.uk/shop-online/barton-barton-clutches-deck-organiser-c-1006_1060_1119.html It would mean having strings running along the cabin top which could be a trip hazard. On Spray it would also mean crossing the lifting and sliding part of the cabin roof which could complicate the matter. No reason why such bits of frippery couldn't come along the cabin side though. On balance we have the roller furling gear coming aft so why not the peak halliard and topping lift?