08-16-2018, 10:48 PM
Looks like I'm overnight in Calgary instead of Edmonton for the rest of this month Tom, but I'll see if anyone wants to switch days with me. I'll keep you posted.
08-16-2018, 10:48 PM
09-09-2018, 05:59 PM
Ok Keith. I may give it a go on Thursday myself it looks like it's going to be cold and wet, so I'm not sure sure if want to. I would just like to see if she floats! Here's the pictures I took of you setting the rigging for the sail. I've added the eye bolt on the mast, added the cleat on the back of the tiller box, purchased but not installed the deck plates/covers and purchased thinner rope for the sails if I want to change them over. I also found the problem with the oil leak on the trailer wheel. I need a new cap. Should be an easy fix. Thanks Keith for all your help.
09-09-2018, 08:23 PM
Hi Tom, That was August's schedule I was talking about. I definitely will be in Edmonton this Thursday. I'll send you a "text message" on Wednesday. "Cold and wet" is relative. 
09-10-2018, 06:04 AM
Relative, yes! You are the one who has sailed the Great Slave lake in November. See you Thursday Keith.
09-29-2018, 03:18 PM
I have posted some pictures and videos of Spiritwind. For the first time since Barry Pyeatt starting building her (2008?) she has been splashed. Keith who has been a great help getting the rigging organized and helping along the way was there once again to help with the launch. Thank you Keith. I have not sailed a boat for many years and to tell the truth I was concerned with just about everything. Would she steer properly, would something break, would we run aground, or get stranded (we launched with no motor). Keith in his calm manner got in, we pushed off and in seconds he was sailing her across the lake. No problems at all. It was very exciting for me to feel the movement of the Weekender across the water with very little breeze. We were on the water for a few hours and Keith showed me how to sail her. We had one surprise though, the freeze/thaw cycles that Spiritwind had gone through contributed to some cracking on the bottom of the hull where the sides and bottom join. This cause a couple of leaks and water was pooling in the cabin. A couple of rags and a bucket was all we needed to keep it under control. I am very satisfied with the way everything worked and I am really excited to take her out again. First I'll inject some epoxy in the seams where the cracks are. That should seal her up enough for another sail. Over winter I plan to flip Spiritwind over and tape the edges for a more permant fix. The weather has been less than ideal because an early cold fall has arrived. My next sailing opportunity will be October 20/21 providing the temperatures stay above freezing.
I hope this link works. These photos and videos are in no particular order. They are the ones I took on Sept 27th, at Wizard lake in Alberta Canada.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1w3z1k4ptanlq..._sxLa?dl=0
I hope this link works. These photos and videos are in no particular order. They are the ones I took on Sept 27th, at Wizard lake in Alberta Canada.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1w3z1k4ptanlq..._sxLa?dl=0
10-02-2018, 07:42 PM
Thank you for giving spirit wind the love and care it deserves! It makes me happy to see it live on rather than rotting away waiting for the boys and I to get motivated to repair it.
10-03-2018, 06:55 AM
Looks just like she should. What a great little boat. I am always impressed how weekenders accelerate out of a tack. One of the things that I like to point to people is what a great light air boat weekenders are. Properly managed, they will frustrate quite a few sailors who have no use for one.
One question. Is the foot of that main captured in a slot? I didn't notice any lacing around the boom.
Al
One question. Is the foot of that main captured in a slot? I didn't notice any lacing around the boom.
Al
10-04-2018, 12:17 PM
Brian we were thinking about your Dad as we sailed the boat he built. I am sure that she has gone to a good home and she sailed just like he imagined she would.
Al, out of the sails that came with the boat (Tom got a couple of suits) the nicest ones were the brand-new ones you see in Tom's pictures. The main doesn't even have eyes in the foot for laces. It was obviously intended to be loose-footed. Barry installed a track on the boom with which the foot can be tightened or loosened via a lanyard that goes through a cleat on the boom. We found this to be very effective in controlling sail shape.
Astonishing how the boat blasts away after the tack in that video eh? It would have been even nicer if I was used to the tiller and various ropes and stuff. She's just different enough from my boat that I get a bit tangled up with the rooes being in different places than mine, plus the tiller is a little different.
Barry installed quite a few interesting features into this boat's rig. The gooseneck can be raised and lowered, on a track with about a foot up or down. A peice of cord on the gooseneck attached to an eyebolt below it can be used to tension the luff and adjust the height of the boom. There is the track on the clew which can be used to tension the foot. As well as the standard adjustments to the peak and throat, which are led back to the cockpit. It's really an extremely adjustable boat. The lack of lacing on the boom makes the mainsail able to take any shape you want. I would love to experiment with it in a steady wind.
Perhaps the most mysterious thing about the boat is the headsail. It is clearly not a regular Weekender headsail. Its chord is at least a foot wider, as it "laps" about six inches aft of the mast. It is a powerful sail and I would love to know where Barry got it. It fits perfectly on the Weekender, although the sheets need to be led outboard of the shrouds rather than inboard the way they are on mine.
Al I remember you had some thoughts on "lapper" headsails. Do you know anything about where Barry could have got this one? It fits Tom's boat perfectly. I think I'd like to try one on my boat.
Anyway, I greatly enjoyed helping Tom get "Spirit Wind" in the water. The little yacht does indeed have a great deal of spirit and it was a very moving experience to see her dancing on the water after such a lengthy building period. I feel like I know Barry Pyeatt a little after helping Tom rig up his boat, and Tom did some excellent and very sympathetic work getting her fixed up and into shape for launch. It's my hope that she brings a great deal of pleasure to her new owner. AND I hope I get to drink rum on her someday.
Al, out of the sails that came with the boat (Tom got a couple of suits) the nicest ones were the brand-new ones you see in Tom's pictures. The main doesn't even have eyes in the foot for laces. It was obviously intended to be loose-footed. Barry installed a track on the boom with which the foot can be tightened or loosened via a lanyard that goes through a cleat on the boom. We found this to be very effective in controlling sail shape.
Astonishing how the boat blasts away after the tack in that video eh? It would have been even nicer if I was used to the tiller and various ropes and stuff. She's just different enough from my boat that I get a bit tangled up with the rooes being in different places than mine, plus the tiller is a little different.
Barry installed quite a few interesting features into this boat's rig. The gooseneck can be raised and lowered, on a track with about a foot up or down. A peice of cord on the gooseneck attached to an eyebolt below it can be used to tension the luff and adjust the height of the boom. There is the track on the clew which can be used to tension the foot. As well as the standard adjustments to the peak and throat, which are led back to the cockpit. It's really an extremely adjustable boat. The lack of lacing on the boom makes the mainsail able to take any shape you want. I would love to experiment with it in a steady wind.
Perhaps the most mysterious thing about the boat is the headsail. It is clearly not a regular Weekender headsail. Its chord is at least a foot wider, as it "laps" about six inches aft of the mast. It is a powerful sail and I would love to know where Barry got it. It fits perfectly on the Weekender, although the sheets need to be led outboard of the shrouds rather than inboard the way they are on mine.
Al I remember you had some thoughts on "lapper" headsails. Do you know anything about where Barry could have got this one? It fits Tom's boat perfectly. I think I'd like to try one on my boat.
Anyway, I greatly enjoyed helping Tom get "Spirit Wind" in the water. The little yacht does indeed have a great deal of spirit and it was a very moving experience to see her dancing on the water after such a lengthy building period. I feel like I know Barry Pyeatt a little after helping Tom rig up his boat, and Tom did some excellent and very sympathetic work getting her fixed up and into shape for launch. It's my hope that she brings a great deal of pleasure to her new owner. AND I hope I get to drink rum on her someday.
10-05-2018, 04:48 AM
Loose footed with a lapper, that is about as powerful as you can go. Scoot your butt up to the bulkhead and you will really take off. Get rid of the motor, and that's it. The fastest I have gone was with all of the above plus just keeping the toe rail out of the water on a beam reach, 6.7 mph. A little more wind, and who knows? My Duckie really likes those beam reaches.
As far as lappers go, it doesn't take much to make one. Failing that, the working jib from a CP 16, II will work like a charm. If you are reluctant to fly one in gusty wind, just let the main go and let the lapper carry you through, no fuss no muss. I saw an English guy do that with his gaff cutter on Utube once in 30 knots. Worked for him too.
I'd like to see a bunch of pics of the rigging on this boat. I could use a few pointers.
Al
As far as lappers go, it doesn't take much to make one. Failing that, the working jib from a CP 16, II will work like a charm. If you are reluctant to fly one in gusty wind, just let the main go and let the lapper carry you through, no fuss no muss. I saw an English guy do that with his gaff cutter on Utube once in 30 knots. Worked for him too.
I'd like to see a bunch of pics of the rigging on this boat. I could use a few pointers.
Al
10-22-2018, 06:09 PM
(10-05-2018, 04:48 AM)Al Stead Wrote: [ -> ]Loose footed with a lapper, that is about as powerful as you can go. Scoot your butt up to the bulkhead and you will really take off. Get rid of the motor, and that's it. The fastest I have gone was with all of the above plus just keeping the toe rail out of the water on a beam reach, 6.7 mph. A little more wind, and who knows? My Duckie really likes those beam reaches.
As far as lappers go, it doesn't take much to make one. Failing that, the working jib from a CP 16, II will work like a charm. If you are reluctant to fly one in gusty wind, just let the main go and let the lapper carry you through, no fuss no muss. I saw an English guy do that with his gaff cutter on Utube once in 30 knots. Worked for him too.
I'd like to see a bunch of pics of the rigging on this boat. I could use a few pointers.
Al
Al, what pictures would you like to see. My wife and I had Spiritwind sailing this past weekend. I could have taken a bunch of pictures and video for you. I may have another opportunity to sail her this week. if I do I'll take a bunch.