I had to cut my 3rd practice derby short due to a broken rudder bracket. At least I was able to figure out I had the problem and get to a beach to make some kind of jury-rig to then enable me to get back to the launch place. I was looking forward to going 20 miles, though. Perhaps next time. At least the rudder bracket failed in a practice session and not the actual race. I’ll have to make a replacement bracket part and then make a 2nd one as a spare to keep in the boat.
Tag Archives: triak
masthead nav-light
One project I’m considering is to install a red-green-white navigation light at the top of the mast. The only way it would work is with the spinnaker halyard installed to hold the orientation of the metal connecting bracket at a fixed orientation. With that held fixed, a bracket could be designed to mount the directional navigation light at the top. The mast would need to be dropped to turn the light on and off but this is easy with the Triak. The following picture shows what I have planned.
I would need to order the light first and then figure out the mounting bracket. A little bent aluminum, some epoxy, and some tinkering should do the trick. I’ll update this post if and when I do the project.
08/28/2012 Edit
I ordered the light and it came in. As a first attempt, I will use the most simple possible way to mount it. I will need to tighten the bolt down so that the base is oriented properly with the spinnaker keeping the top bracket at a fixed orientation. I’ll experiment with this when I have time. For now, the simple bracket looks like th following:
Practice Derby #2 NCC2012
I went out for a 20 mile paddle with a polygon course. It was a very light wind day so not much sailing. I paddled almost the entire course. I got a little wind right at the end so only got a free mile or so. Needless to say I was much slower this week compared to last week. I was much better operating the continuous loop line this week than last week. Every time I felt even the slighted hint of wind, I would deploy a sail… and then usually drop it again and get back to paddling.
Practice Derby #1 NCC2012
Video from my 1st practice derby for the 2012 NCC. I had loaned out my Spot so I had to use my handheld GPS to record the trip locations. I’ll get my Spot back in two weeks and will use it thereafter in all subsequent practice derbies. I did just over 20 nautical miles.
In this trip I experimented with using continuous lines for the mainsail furling/unfurling as well as a continuous line for the spinnaker halyard/retrieval lines. This keeps the cockpit less cluttered because there is now never a time when lots of excess line is gathered at the cockpit. It does take some time to get used to the new arrangement and I had a bit more adventure working the lines than what I was previously accustom to. I captured one moment where I almost flipped the boat while inadvertently getting one part of the line cleated when I didn’t intend to.
I used 18 feet for the continuous mainsail furling/unfurling line. 20 feet might be better.
I used 38 feet for the continuous spinnaker halyard/retrieval line.
[EDIT2: I tested it in my backyard and with the spinnaker set-up with continuous lines, the lines were just long enough to be able to drop the mast without disconnecting anything. It looks like this configuration will work for me for the NCC.]
Mockhorn Island / Chesapeake Bay Crossing
I went on my first over-night kayak camping trip courtesy of DogsLife organizing a little excursion across the Chesapeake Bay to camp on desolate Mockhorn Island. The group consisted of one Triak, three Hobie Adventure Islands, and one Prindle 18. We had high hopes for good wind this early in June but were not so lucky. The wind died on us and we were forced to paddle/peddle much of the way. At least the Prindle with its big sail was able to capture a bit more wind and didn’t have to paddle quite so much. There was one particular slog through a canal where we had to battle not only head winds but current as well. I don’t have video of that section but if I did, it would look like a still image since I was moving so slow.
The following video captures the trip as seen from my Triak wing.
Paddle Clip
When I use my spray skirt, I need some place to put my paddle when I am not using it (like when I am sailing). My previous strategy of putting one end of the paddle in the cockpit won’t work with a spray-skirt in use. I’m experimenting with using a light-weight ZRE canoe paddle. A canoe paddle will actually be preferable for use with the sail up if I want to sail and paddle at the same time. It is also easier to find a place to store it since it is smaller.
I found that it fits nicely right on top of the boat just behind the seat if I install paddle clips right on the hatch cover. This location will allow me to gain easy access to the paddle while I am in the seat whenever I need it.
A paddle leash will always be used. You don’t want to lose your paddle!
In these pictures, the wing is not in place but the paddle should easily clear the thickness of the wing.
One inch diameter stainless steel washers were used on the other side of the hatch for better support. The clips were positioned near the edge of the hatch were the material will be stronger. A little epoxy was added for good measure.
When using the spray skirt, I should now be able to easily reach back and put the paddle there or retrieve it while underway. When I don’t use the spray skirt, I will probably just keep the paddle with me in the cockpit for even more easy access.
Expedition Packing
This shows all my watertribe equipment being packed into my boat.
Floating Dock Launching
I was in Beaufort again launching from a floating dock on Taylor Creek.
My camera lens was a bit foggy today for my sailing video but you can see getting the boat on and off a floating dock and also launching and retrieving the spinnaker.
sea trial for rudder bracket improvement
I tested out my rudder bracket improvement. It seemed to work fine.
I also like the new rudder pull-down line I devised.
If any triak ownwers (or potential triak owners) would like to discuss the triak, there is a triak owners yahoo group started by a customer in California. Feel free to join.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TriakOwners
making a wing bolt
Since I sometimes put the boat together on a floating dock, a real risk is one of the necessary metal parts falling into the drink. If I lost one of these important parts a couple of days before a Watertribe event, I might not even make it to the beach.
I’ve been working to get spares for everything that could be lost or broken. This post is about the metal part that attaches the wing to the mail hull (the handle part if it is used to attach the ama to the wing). I found all the raw materials I needed at local hardware stores and West Marine. The video below shows how I made the part from the raw materials. I now have two spares in case I lose one or two.