Monday, May 16, 2011

Main sail, off to the loft...

While we are preparing to replace all of our standing rigging and are currently researching the many options of sail construction, we decided to send our old tatty main to the loft for some much needed repairs. I sort of wish that when the sailmakers applied a patch, the used a brightly colored patch. if this was the case, our main sail would look like a beautiful crazy quilt. Since we are still very much in the learning to sail category, we figured we'd use the old main while we make our myriad goof ups. This way, our "OH POOP" moments won't be as heart wrenching as they could be when say, you rip out a reef point on a brand new sail because you neglected to adjust the luff when reefing. Much better to do it on the crazy quilt sail. Don't ask me how I learned that lesson. That was so 2 years ago...

Occasionally, I do actually do some boat chores. Here is evidence of this fact.

We could have used a bigger dock cart.

Any marina has its positives and negatives. Our marina is conviently located right smack dab on the entrance channel into Galveston Bay which saves quite a bit of time when going out for a sail. It also has many bars and restaurants nearby. Unfortunately, this means it is swimming in a sea of asphalt with no clean grassy area to fold sails. Fortunately, there are a few open grassy areas just a few blocks away. Unfortunately, we have a small car. Here we have an example of sail packing, Clampett style.


We did manage to take the main to a nice empty lot, fold it neatly and get it packed into the sail bag to take it to the loft for repairs.

6 comments:

  1. I never saw a bunch of work that sounds so tedious look so beautiful!

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  2. It was fun Jill and in my skill set since it is technically a job where in the point is to make a mess, at least in the beginning.Hope to see you Saturday!

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  3. I love this series of photos. And I love the idea of a patchwork quilt sail. YES! I am excited for you guys... baby steps.

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  4. Oh it was great to see you! It was so funny to hear Ray's enthusiasm about your trip - I really thought he was only humoring me by listening and that even his sympathetic ear had run its course. Apparently there's still some hope I could retire to the water. :-) :-) :-)

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  5. Great to see you and The Guy Who Knows a Song About A Chicken! Oh and you and Ray should go look at catamarans for what you want to do. :)

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  6. Fantastic idea about quilt sail. Thanks for sharing.

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