The Winklebrig Forum

Martin Cartwright
   
Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 08:45 pm:      
I have nearly finished the thankless task of stripping many layers of peeling paint off my cockpit seats. Any views on the best way of re-covering them?

Adrian Evans
   
Posted on Thursday, June 07, 2007 - 01:12 pm:      
I would be interested to hear what people use for cooking. The modern single burner stoves which take a non reuseable butane/propane cartridge seem popular.
(These seem to be referred to as 'spirit stoves' sometimes, although I have always thought that the term properly applied to methylated spirit burners, like the Trangia.)
Is it reasonable to assume these cartridge stoves are safer than the traditional refillable bottled butane/propane type? I know, that, bizarrely, the non refillable cartridges are considerably cheaper than refilling a bottle!

I am probably going to use my trusty camping primus stoves, and build a cooker box, possibly gimbled, and source some low odour paraffin for the occasions when I might use it in the cabin.

Does the deck vent give enough ventilation for cooking, or is it necessary to leave one of the washboards out of the companion way?

Does anyone use a carbon monoxide alarm?

Also, I found this cartridge fuelled portable heater, which might be of interest.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=217710&C=Newsletter&U=07P06 -6T=-11219332

Not a woodburner, but there!

Martin Cartwright
   
Posted on Tuesday, June 05, 2007 - 09:22 am:      
In some conditions I get quite a large amount of water sloshing up from the engine well. I have made floor boards to keep my feet dry, and when at sea, I remove the engine and seal off the well. However I would be very interested to hear if anyone has managed to reduce the aperture with the engine in place. Any pictures would be interesting.

Martin Cartwright
   
Posted on Friday, May 11, 2007 - 04:06 pm:      
As much as I like the Winklebrig, I have always found that there is nothing to lean on (or for that matter to grab hold of)as the timber gunwhales are rather low (and vulnerable). I know this is not for the purist, but I have recently fitted a stainless pushpit which makes all the difference (and also gives added support to my mizzen mast which is a bonus).
The other stainless modification you can see in the photo is the rudder pintle 'handle' through which the tiller passes, preventing it from escaping inadvertantly and making it easier to remove and replace the rudder in a hurry.(It can also be tied on).

Julian Swindell
Username: Julian_swindell

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Sunday, April 01, 2007 - 10:07 pm:      
I read in a review that the pivot bolts for the bilge boards were "accessible from outside the hull". I can see no way of getting at them from inside or outside on mine. Does this refer to later hulls or was it just wishful thinking on the writer's part?

David Cawston
   
Posted on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 09:55 am:      
Roger touched on this in the old forum. How do you treat your wood? I am a die-hard Deks Olje man, I think of it as the lazy mans varnish. Although it does not quite produce that glorious deep shine from genuine yacht varnish, it does retain its good looks for several years, even if it does get damaged. No peeling varnish or water getting underneath. I generally only attend to the woodwork every time there is an International Festival of the Sea, ie every two or three years and even then it is a light rub down and a couple of coats of Deks Olje. As for the bronze, some like to let it 'go brown/green' whereas I like it to shine. Once the bronze is shining (a good bit of elbow grease with car paint rubbing compound and T-Cut)I apply Rylard's Incralac. After two years there is no sign of any tarnish and even the lower rudder fittings that have had a good dunking in salt water are still shiny bright. Finally to protect the woodwork when using an all-over cover I use very cheap pipe lagging placed over the bulwarks and cabin roof handles.

Yes there are cracks in my bulwarks, created in the days before I modified the porthole fixings so now I can take the bulwarks off without dislodging the portholes.

Tim Willey
Username: Tim_willey

Registered: 03-2012
   
Posted on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 04:10 pm:      
After reading Martin's lovely Winkle Brig Book I was particularly taken with the sections on motor sailing. I thought how useful it would be for me to sail just under mizzen and jib when I'm out sketching wildlife on the Norfolk Broads. Stealthily quiet but with an engine for back up, the cockpit free of clutter (on these occasions I would leave the mainsail, gaff and boom back at home) and a much less restricted view of the landscape.

Looking at a spare topsail I have, it does look about the right size and shape for a Bermudan style mizzen but I know there are important questions of balance to consider. I would obviously have to make a bumpkin and mizzen mast and find a way of stepping these somewhere aft of the tiller.

Anybody got any thoughts?

Martin_cartwright
Username: Martin_cartwright

Registered: 04-2008
   
Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2012 - 08:57 am:      
The only aspect of the Winklebrig which still frustrates me as a single hander is the mainsail and topsail arrangement.Shortening sail in a hurry is difficult, reefing lines and topping lift and topsail paraphernalia frequently get tangled, and detaching boom and all the lacing for lowering the mast is cumbersome.

Looking once again at the Thames sailing barges (designed for short handed sailing), it seems to me that they have solved all the above issues by having a spritsail see:-

(http://www.christinedemerchant.com/sail_sprit_sail.html)

As my mainsail is now in need of replacement and gaff spa has seen better days it might be a good moment for a radical change. A spritsail would certainly suit the Winklebrig's design heritage!

Anyone any views?

Tim Willey
Username: Tim_willey

Registered: 03-2012
   
Posted on Friday, June 08, 2012 - 01:15 pm:      
Ever since I saw David Cawson's video clip on raising and lowering the mast using a running forestay I knew that was the way to go. After a number of experiments I concluded that David was either super-human, I'm a weakling, or my mast is just unusually heavy. After meeting up with David and trying the system for myself I realised that it was a bit of all three! Well at least I could do something about the mast. I weighed mine in, and at 23kg it does seem heavier than most. It's made of a particularly dense timber probably a slow grown douglas fir or similar. To cut a long story short, for about £50 I sourced a 5-metre section of aluminium tube with just about the correct sectional spec. and sleeved it over a masthead and hinge turned in douglas fir. I've kept the original mast as I would be the first to admit, that aesthetically, a nice bit of wood looks so much better, but at just over 10kg it certainly makes that first lift a lot more bearable and to be honest with the varnished wood 'top and tail' it doesn't look too bad. I tried it out in a decent blow on the Broads and it seemed to hold up well. Certainly easier (and cheaper) than joining a gym.

Vipula De Silva
Username: Vipula_de_silva

Registered: 07-2011
   
Posted on Tuesday, June 05, 2012 - 09:20 am:      
Hello all

Unfortunately our plans to spend the bank holiday sailing the norfork broads were scuppered by a small disagreement with the boom jaws.

Can anyone recommend a good repairer near Norwich?

Vip

Vipula De Silva
Username: Vipula_de_silva

Registered: 07-2011
   
Posted on Sunday, August 21, 2011 - 03:50 pm:      
Hello all

Been playing with WB64 and getting to understand the rigging while she is safely on a trailer.

I think I have the basics of it clear, but I noticed that once I push the mast up, the only thing that holds it there is the forestay with it's roller furling jib. This in turn is held in place by the jib halliard running through the starboard triple block and cleated on the coach roof.

So if this rope was to break or the block attachments fail, the mast would fall backwards.

Am I missing some other way of holding the mast vertical?

Vip

Phil Shimmin
Username: Philshimmin

Registered: 11-2010
   
Posted on Sunday, December 05, 2010 - 12:16 am:      
Has anyone with a high peak gaff rig had a new mainsail made recently? I would welcome any feedback,re the maker and the performance of the sail, also the costs.There do seem to be a lot of makers on line, but maybe not for the smaller vessel.

George Billington
Username: George_billington

Registered: 12-2009
   
Posted on Sunday, May 16, 2010 - 09:25 pm:      
O Good People, please advise.

I bought Mortimer(WB58) at the end of last season. Having discovered a topsail - looks new and unused, I am trying to set it up. My simple mind (and few are simpler!) says that I should be able to raise the topsail with the gaff, having fastened the Clew to the Gaff outer edge, and a Lanyard to the Gaff Throat, with a Halyard from the centre of the Topsail Spar, through a sheave on the Mast, just above the Centre of the Topsail Spar. Is this the best option, which means if it blows up, then to remove the Topsail means dropping the Main i.e. Gaff. Has anyone worked out a better way as yet? All ideas welcomed

Roger Parish
Username: Roger_parish

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Thursday, April 29, 2010 - 08:00 pm:      
The lazy jacks on Partan are two 4mm lines attached to the top eyes of the shrouds. They extend for about half the depth of the sail on each side and terminate in a ring. I then connect two bungy ropes that pass under the boom and connect to the ring on the other side of the sail. When needed the bungy ropes are stretched along the boom and positioned by the two cleats on the boom and this creates a cradle for the sail. Some adjustment will be need to get the tension right as they need to be loose when sailing. When lowering the mast I stretch the bungys under the cleat at the back and bottom of the mast. This keeps things tidy but also ensures that the shroud eyes are always pointing down when raising the mast and not twisted.
I have now moved the topping lift along the mast to the position of the first reef eyes hoping that this will contain the gaff arm and the leech of the sail better. We shall see!

Martin_cartwright
Username: Martin_cartwright

Registered: 04-2008
   
Posted on Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 08:27 am:      
Has anyone tried tricing the mainsail?
Looking at the Thames sailing barges on the Orwell moored up with their gaff's and mainsails still up, it seemed to me that a useful way of 'scandalising' the mainsail would be to fit a tricing line from a cringle in the tack to a block under the gaff.

Keith Dennis
Username: Keith_dennis

Registered: 04-2008
   
Posted on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 01:02 pm:      
I believe that the shrouds on Winkle Brig 50 are the original. A friend, who is an engineer, is afraid that although they look OK, they will have been stretched over the years to the point where they have reached the limits of there elasticity. His fear is that they will fail under strain (he had this happen to him when he was sailing a hire boat on the Norfok Broads). Anyone any thoughts on this? How often do Winkle Brig owners renew their shrouds?

David Peck
Username: David_peck

Registered: 04-2008
   
Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 04:59 pm:      
Has anyone any views on the pros and cons of gunter rig as opposed to the prevailing gaff and topsail. My WB Cockle is Gunter rigged and maybe doesn't look as pretty as a Gaff and top sail, but is undoubtably easier to rig and sail. My experience of top sails was on a Morecambe Bay Prawner which I used to own (coincidently having a Eric Bergqvist fibregalass hull). I never did manage to make much of the top sail, usually too much wind to need it and too many ropes to launch and control it!
The gunter mains'l appears to be about the same sail area as the gaff main and topsail combined and therefore sails with more area than gaff mainsail alone, but effectively with a lower centre of effort than when the Gaff and tops'l are raised.
Has anybody any views? I'm willing to effect a change if there are any advantages in the top'sl and gaff rig.

David Peck
Username: David_peck

Registered: 04-2008
   
Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2008 - 07:16 pm:      
Anyone got any ideas for a good way of taking a wire up the mast for a nav light without it fouling the mains'l lacing?

martin Cartwright
   
Posted on Saturday, February 16, 2008 - 06:38 pm:      
For some time I have been concerned by the standard bowsprit fixing, as:-
1. I felt that it was very difficult to establish if the pin through the bowsprit stem was taking too much pressure, ie If I had correctly tightened the bobstay and forestay.
2.I also felt that it was a shame to have drilled a hole straight through the bowsprit as this must weaken the spar.
3.Removing the bowsprit is difficult and I thought it would be good to have a retractable one.(Anchoring, Marina mooring).
I was lucky enough to find a second hand stainless collar (£5) so I had a larger diameter length of stainless studding welded onto it and bolted this through the stem as a permanent fixture. I also slightly modified the foredeck cleat (taking the heel of the bowsprit) so that it can easily be removed to retract the bowsprit.
Not for everyone I know! But I enjoyed doing it and took the opportunity to lengthen the bowsprit (a section of an old boom a yard in Woodbridge was getting rid of)so that the rig is better balanced when sailing with the mizzen (I hope!)

Adrian Swenson
   
Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 - 09:33 pm:      
Continuing to refurbish WB100. Re the starboard bronze pulley block fitted to the cabin roof At some time one of the 3 white pulleys has siezed but a previous owner obviously never noticed because it was continued to be used and the line has nearly worn away one side of the pulley. What to do as the pulleys do not seem to be replacable. Any advice dear friends?