Category Archives: Customizations

2006, Customizations, Mainsheet, Winter Cover

Winter Covers

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Winter Covers
Richard Herbst & Warren Elliott

August, 2006 Hull #: 93 & 44

I know August is a bit too warm to think about this subject, but think about my perspective. It’s now June and quite warm here in southern NY, and I’ve just returned from many months in the warm Bahamas and southeastern U.S., so I really don’t have winter even vaguely in mind. But, duty calls! And when you read this, cold weather won’t be far behind, at least in northern climes.

This article was submitted by Richard Herbst, a C380 captain from N.J., where winters are real. This is for those looking for inexpensive protection for that prized sailboat.

Why Cover Your Boat?

In many areas, winter weather causes water to cyclically freeze/ expand and melt/contract.. Over time, this can lift and destroy various parts, including tabbing that holds bulkheads to the hull. The rate of

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2006, Customizations, Fridge, Fridge, Mainsheet, Repair/Replace/Maintain

Refrigerator Upgrade

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Refrigerator Upgrade
Bob Swanson

March, 2006 Hull #: 349

Bob and Janet Swanson onboard English Rose, C 380 #349, came up with a simple solution to an irksome problem. The refrigerator on most of our boats have a removable shelf near the bottom [unlike my older horizontal freezer version], with space for sodas, etc. underneath. Below-shelf access is troublesome at best, requiring removal of just about everything sitting on top of it.

Their solution, as shown in the photo: cut off the front part of the shelf [about 1/3], and reinstall it as a two-piece shelf. Removing only the front part of the shelf [requiring removing much less of the items stored above] allows reasonable access to all items below.

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2005, Customizations, Mainsheet

Companionway Door Options – Mainsheet August 2005

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Companionway Door Options Author:Warren Elliott
8/1/2005 Hull #: 44

Mainsheet August 2005

Hi C380+ Captains, Admirals and Crews–

Here in the N.E,. thankfully, the new season is in full swing, with nice warm temps and some fair winds. Trust you’re all enjoying sailing. But, if anything is preventing your getting-out-there boat-wise, please contact me or sign into our Sailnet.com email discussion list where there’s a lot of captains ready to help.

This Mainsheet issue is devoted to four companionway treatments, most of which are “doors”. I must confess that I received much of the info a couple of years ago, so some of it is a bit dated, but still applicable. My apologies to the four captains, who may have expected to see their handiwork “somewhat” earlier. The first article is a fairly detailed one from Tom and Barbara Lincoln, who were sailing in the Bahamas. Lately, they are “sailing”

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2005, Boom, Customizations, Mainsheet, Repair/Replace/Maintain

Dutchman Boom Brake Installation and Use – Mainsheet May 2005

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Dutchman Boom Brake Installation and Use
Kevin Murray
Mainsheet Date: 5/1/2005
Hull #: 88

The Dutchman Boom Brake is designed to control the speed of the boom as it crosses the boat during jibing. This can be a dangerous situation in moderate or higher winds. It also makes a great preventer for use when running downwind. As shown in Figure 1, this brake consists of three sheaves mounted between two plates in a triangular configuration; a line wraps around these in a serpentine fashion. The two upper sheaves are fixed and do not rotate; the lower sheave either rotates or is fixed depending on the setting of the control knob on the front of the device.

When the line running through the brake is tensioned, it grips the line with greater tension yielding more grip. By adjusting the knob and/or tension, more or less braking friction is in winds below

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2005, Customizations, Mainsheet

Genny Furling Line Controller – Mainsheet February 2005

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Genny Furling Line Controller
Warren Elliott
Mainsheet Date: 2/1/2005
Hull #: 44

How to control my headsail’s furling line? This was one of my first challenges with our new C380. It was obvious that some sort of block and cleat arrangement was needed in that port cockpit area; but then a secondary question arose: how to accomplish this without drilling any holes in that beautiful fiberglass, and still keeping the furling line out from underfoot?

Without the ability to simply ask our great Sailnet email group [Sailnet didn’t exist and I didn’t even have a PC “back then”], I set about scrounging through my voluminous “junk box”. [Much to the Admiral’s chagrin, I save all sorts of “stuff”]. I decided to concentrate on attaching “something” to the genny foot block, as it seemed to be in a good location. After quite a few visualizing exercises, a plan developed: use a

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2005, Customizations, Electric Winch, Mainsheet, Reviews, Tools

Affordable Cordless Drill as Winch Driver – Mainsheet February 2005

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Affordable Cordless Drill as Winch Driver
Roger Cheney
2/1/2005
Hull #: 132 

Faithful readers of this column [others are to be pitied!] may recall an earlier brief article [May ’03] in which Wallace Shakun [Morning Star, C380 #12] proposed using a heavy-duty cordless drill to drive winches. He put the idea into practice using a straight-drive 1/2″ Bosch drill together with an adapter “bit”, which he developed, that mates a standard 1/2″ chuck with our winch drive socket.

The idea sounded good to me, except that I felt a right-angle drill would provide an easier way to resist the high torques developed [about 500 inch-pounds]. Wallace indicated that the straight-drive version worked well, but that he was also considering the right-angle approach.

Milwaukee now has a hefty right-angle drill, which develops a “bit” more torque, and which costs somewhat more [$300 vs $200]. Roger Cheney [C380 #132, “2nd Wind”] has

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2005, Customizations, Dinghy Davits, Mainsheet

Weaver Davits

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Weaver Davits
Rick Beauregard

November, 2005 Hull #: 160

What To Do With The Dink

After another great weekend of sailing, snorkeling, barbequing, and general partying at Emerald Bay at Catalina Island, getting ready to go home is a drag. We start the routine around 11:30, to wait for the predictable San Pedro Channel trade winds to fill in. First, we retrieve and put away the flopper stopper, then I stow the Honda generator, and the eight horse Yamaha, haul the kayaks aboard, and uncover the main. Last but not least is the dinghy.

I used to tow my 10 foot inflatable Quicksilver and take care of it when I got to home port. But I didn’t like the effect it had on my sailing performance. I hauled it aboard and laid it on the foredeck a few times, but up there it gets in the way and is a

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2004, Customizations, Engine, Mainsheet, Repair/Replace/Maintain

Remote Oil Filter

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Remote Oil Filter
Earl Poe
5/1/2004
Hull #: 140

Remote Oil Filter

The oil filters on both of our fleets engine types [Westerbeke and Yanmar] are horizontally mounted, resulting in some oil spillage when changing filters. This remote adapter allows you to relocate the filter so that its feed/return end is up, avoiding any messy spills. Further, the filters location on our Westerbekes is a bit awkward, as Captain Earl Poe so aptly describes below, so the remote filter also allows for a much more “ergonomic” location. –Warren

The idea of a remote location for mounting an oil filter was first investigated by Tom Lincoln on Ridge Runner, so he gets the credit. The servicing of our oil filters is, to say the least, awful! Mounting the filter in a vertical direction on an easily accessible bulkhead would save time, knuckles, and the environment. Covich-Williams (800-833-3132) of Seattle sells just

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2004, Customizations, Fridge, Fridge, Mainsheet, Repair/Replace/Maintain

Automating Refrigerator Startup and Shutdown with a Battery Combiner

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Automating Refrigerator Startup and Shutdown with a Battery Combiner
George LaForge
2/1/2004
Hull #: 147 

We only run the refrigerator on Freebird when power is available from a charging source. That source is either dockside power or the engine alternator. I try never to run the refrigerator only from battery power. [George- maybe your fridge needs an insulation upgrade; Catalina has a procedure for installing expandable foam–Warren].

Not wanting to run down a battery, yet at the same time wanting to keep beverages cold, we developed a routine: as soon as the engine was started someone would need to go below and switch on the circuit breaker for the refrigerator. And after the engine was shut down someone would need to go below and switch off the breaker. Most of the time the problem was remembering to switch the breaker on when the engine was started.

One day while researching

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2004, Customizations, Drains, Mainsheet

Filters for Drains

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Filters for Drains
George LaForge
2/1/2004
Hull #: 147

Regular cleaning of the inline shower bilge strainer is a task that is easily moved down a to-do list. The strainer’s out-of-sight location under the head sink and the difficulty in twisting the filter can contribute to a lack of cleaning. A simple, next-to-nothing cost project to prolong the cleaning interval is to silicone caulk a piece of nylon window screen over the drain in the shower stall. A quick wipe of the screen with a piece of tissue removes materials and hair that would otherwise be trapped in the under sink strainer.

Measure and cut a piece of nylon window screen the same dimensions as the shower’s stainless steel drain cover. Run a thin bead of silicone caulk around the edge of the drain plate and a few of the bars in the grid. Press the screen onto the drain

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