The Winklebrig Forum

Julian Swindell
Username: Julian_swindell

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Friday, December 28, 2007 - 06:11 pm:      
I have noticed that some Winkle Brig owners have fitted a sliding track across the stern to control the main sheet. Can anyone with experience of this layout say whether it helps at all? is it worth the effort of fitting? I also wondered if anyone has ever fitted a kicking strap and again, is it worth it?

geoffrey osborn
   
Posted on Wednesday, December 05, 2007 - 12:01 pm:      
Calidris again!
The hole in the mast was badly worn, partly due to the use of a machine screw whose full length thread had worn the wood.
I cleaned out the hole to a true cylinder and then fitted a short length of copper pipe. After fitting a new, slightly oversized, bolt the mast pivot has been fine ever since.

geoffrey Osborn
   
Posted on Wednesday, December 05, 2007 - 11:57 am:      
when I first bought Calidris the shroud, main halyard, and foresail attachments were achieved using eyebolts. Since a previous owner had also fitted (and wound up really tight) bottle screws rather than lanyards the eyebolts had bent and pulled through the wood to such an extent that rot had set in.
At the end of our first season with Calidris although I had replaced the bottle screws with lanyards the top of the mast broke off and brought down the gaff - luckily without further damage or personal injury.
A replacement piece of Sitka Spruce was turned down to my dimensions by a friend and mast bands (from Classic Marine) fitted after painting white. Removing the remains of the old mast top from the aluminium tube was a bit of a game though.
Any mast with eyebolts should be closely examined for rot where they pass through the
wood. If eyebolts are retained they obviously need sealing against water ingress.

geoffrey osborn
   
Posted on Wednesday, December 05, 2007 - 11:46 am:      
The main benefit that I see for cutter rig is that the bowsprit is not required for holding up the mast.
Are there any recommendations for the stemhead fitting, and attachment positions for the staysail. (I assume that the original foresail/jib should continue to attach to the same mast band as the shrouds)

David_owens
Username: David_owens

Registered: 04-2010
   
Posted on Monday, May 09, 2011 - 09:19 pm:      
Thanks David. Yes, I have inserted the washer as suggested. However, I don't yet have your system for lowering the mast. Many thanks for the excellent pics on this forum but I hope to see you on the Neath canal at the end of the month.

Owen Hines
   
Posted on Wednesday, November 07, 2007 - 09:27 pm:      
Advice please as I appear to have the only Winkle Brig that has a headsail system using piston hanks to attach the sail to the forestay.
I would like to enjoy the luxury of a jib reefing system and have been studying the Plastimo 406S in their catalogue. This comes with a choice of chainplates or turnbuckle just to add to the confusion. Would this be the best system and what connection do others prefer? Also would I need a new headsail or could I get away with removing the piston hanks which are in individual eyelets at present and keeping my existing sail?

Roger Parish
   
Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 08:47 pm:      
I dont think anybody has raised the question of the best mainsheet configuration to use on the brig. It is easy to try out many variations so what do you all think is the best arrangement? I moved away from the centre point fixing because when sheeting in hard to flatten the sail it pulls the boom too close to the centre of the boat. Not good for a gaff rig.
The answer to this is to use a rope horse as a traveller which costs nothing , use a metal horse or a dinghy type sliding track. The rope has the advantage of absorbing some energy in a violent gybe. But what about the dayboat arrangement? Why was this a different design in the first place? I have used this arrangement for some time and as the mainsheet block is fixed at one corner gybing is a much more relaxed manouver.(If you find the sheeting point strange on one side then a two ended sheet can be used as often found on traditional craft). This arrangement is also better in light airs when the boom cant decide which side to sit and the mainsheet block keeps crashing from side to side! What is your experience?

Adrian Evans
   
Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 03:42 pm:      
Peg doesn't have a sail cover at present. I have made do with a bit of tarp crudely lashed around, but I would be very grateful to see a picture of one laid out, perhaps with a couple of overall dimensions? There are a couple of wagon sheet makers in Huddersfield, and I could then have one run up.
many thanks

Adrian Evans
   
Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 03:39 pm:      
Despite being a hardened camper, I must admit to being foxed by the cockpit tent on Peggoty. I suspect that some lines and shock cord are missing, but would be grateful if anyone could run through the pitching/rigging procedure!
Many thanks.

My boom has the original jaws, with a rope downhaul stopping them sliding up too high when the sail is hoisted. But what is "too high"? I tend to set it so the boom jaws are pulled really quite high, about 12-18 inches above the cheeks the boom jaws rest on at the bottom of the mast.



This is becaue I am tall and it gives me a good view forward and saves a cracked skull in a gybe (gibe,jybe??) But I have noticed I get a lot of leach flutter these days which is really irritating. I have a feeling that if I lowered the boom jaws, this would tighten the leach. Is there an ideal height? I have plans to get a fixed gooseneck, but I don't know what height it should be fixed at.
I noticed when looking at some photos of Galway Hookers (God's own boats, believe me) that their main sail tacks/goosenecks are set very low and the booms angle up fairly steeply to the clew end.
Has anyone experimented with this and come up with any answers?

jeff@stjohnsegham.com
   
Posted on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 - 01:25 pm:      
Can anyone recommend someone to make a new set of jaws for the boom and gaff? I had a new pair made a year ago by Lakeland Wooden Boats (along with a new Tabernacle). However I have had two jaw breakages since then and I'm not sure that it will survive yet another epoxy and brass screw repair, so I would like to have a new, stronger set as replacements.

David Cawston
   
Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 08:22 pm:      
Here is a picture of how I lace the mainsail to the mast. As you can see the lacing is not wound around the mast but when it has gone through one eyelet it goes back around the same side of the mast to the next eyelet. This I believe is the correct way to lace a gaff as it becomes very slack when lowering the sail. Also the lacing, which is made up of 3 separate lengths tied on the mainsail at the top and the two reefing cringles, is tied off at each reefing cringle and attached to my parrel bead mast hoops (the beads come from an old wooden bead seat cover, I have many spare if anyone likes the idea) which means when you put a reef in you do not have to re-tension the lacing. The lower hoop is not at a reefing point but when detached from the sail it means the boom can be pulled well clear of the mast for lowering and raising the mast.

David Cawston
   
Posted on Sunday, April 01, 2007 - 05:52 pm:      
I would like to think I have got a very good system for raising and lowering the mast. It is all done from the companionway and can be done on the run. The secret is to have a running forestay with a block at the top of the forestay, one on the bronze fitting up the mast (oh what technical speak!) and a halyard running down to the middle of the starboard triple block.

The roller reefing drum and lower end of forestay remain attached to the bowsprit. They can be quickly detached and stowed inboard when trailering.

The roller reefing line simply runs back through stainless hoops.

The time consuming part of the operation is the lowering of the sail and getting the boom jaws to the side of the mast (I had to renew the jaws after breaking one) and mounting the mast support on the transom. Here is a useful tip, once you have lowered the mainsail, tie as many ropes as possible to the mast and it keeps things tidy with less chance of ropes snagging when hoisting the mast.

Here is a link to a bit of grotty moving picture taken with my stills camera which shows me lowering and raising the mast in 45 seconds. The file size is about 8mb and you will have to turn your monitor through 90 degrees ( or twist your neck). If anyone can compress this file to a decent size please let me know. (if this post is too long for the forum Julian please let me know)
http://www.cawston.eclipse.co.uk/preparingmarkie014.avi

David Cawston
   
Posted on Sunday, April 01, 2007 - 05:10 pm:      
What a glorious day up here in the Northeast, just right for getting 'Markie' ready for her first trip of the Year to the Trail Sail Association Norfolk Broads Easter Cruise. She is all ready and I have taken the opportunity to get the topsail off and here are the dimensions for all of you who are wanting a topsail. The yard (if that is the correct term for the wooden spar) is 102" long with holes 2" from either end and one hole 53" from the bottom, all in the same plane. The spar is 40mm x 37mm in the middle and 32mm x 30mm at the two holes near the ends with the holes drilled through the shorter dimension. The topsail itself has a luff measurement of 93", the foot (if you can call it that as it goes up at quite an angle) of 96" and the leech is 71". There are 6 small intermediate cringles for the lacing and the distances between cringles starting from the head corner are 17", 17", 11.5", 12", 11", 11" and 13.5". Why the odd spacing I do not know. My sails were made by Performance Sails, other makes may vary slightly. Could anyone with another make please check to see if these dimensions are a standard size.

Julian Swindell
   
Posted on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - 04:29 pm:      
I know hte basic rig is a sloop, either high peaked gaff or gaff and topsail. So far I have also seen at least two cutter rigs and a yawl. Are there any other variations?
I have just the one small image of a dutch boat with I think 6 sails flying, but how it was done I don't know.

Brian Kirkland
Username: Brian_kirkland

Registered: 08-2011
   
Posted on Thursday, October 20, 2011 - 10:34 am:      
WB30 came with a Mariner 4 as a replacement outboard (original had been stolen), seller apologised for it "not being right". Now, several years later, I recognise that he meant the shaft was too short. Julian's picture of his outboard on his old WB (see "Engine Aground" thread) shows the shaft clearly. Well on my WB the shaft is a good 2 inches shorter, and has caused hull damage. What length of shaft are folks using? I had planned to purchase "preloved" if I can find one, or new if I can afford it, a Mariner or Tohatsu 5 or 6 Sailmate. I understand these have a 'long' shaft as standard. Would "long" shaft be appropriate?

Martin_cartwright
Username: Martin_cartwright

Registered: 04-2008
   
Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2009 - 10:16 am:      
I have been thinking about replacing my rather heavy Tohatsu 6hp with an electric outboard, not only to reduce weight aft, but I also like the idea of silent running and a greener alternative to a petrol engine.
However, I don't like the idea of running out of battery power at the entrance of Southwold harbour or having a huge battery bank onboard.
I have therefore been reading with interest the blogs like this one :- (http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Forest/2727/flicka_diesel_electric.html) about hybrid technology whereby you could have a very light electric outboard in the engine well linked to a small diesel generator (positioned where the portapotti was designed to go).
Anyone any views?

Julian Swindell
Username: Julian_swindell

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 08:28 pm:      
The downside of keeping my boat on a mooring have been very few until yesterday. I rowed up to her, got ready to climb in and noticed a big empty well where the outboard should have been. Sometime in the last two weeks someone got aboard, cut the padlock with a pair of bolt cropppers and took the whole thing. Meant I had to go sailing without the engine, which was fine until I had to tow her home behind the dinghy in a flat calm against a foul tide.
Does anyone have any good ideas for engine security apart from just taking the horrible thing off each time?

Roger Parish
   
Posted on Thursday, December 20, 2007 - 10:16 pm:      
Julian, thought I would start a new thread with this one as it did not fit well under rubbing strakes! Over a year ago I was enraged by the threat of Windermere registration fees for a Winkle Brig rising to £80 that I looked for an alternative to the outboard.No charge for pure sail. At about same time an article appeared in Watercraft on building and using a Yuloh (issue54 Nov/Dec2006). For the unintiated the yuloh is a curved sculling oar which pivots in a transom mounted rowlock and the inboard end is restrained by a vertical lanyard. The oar is then waggled back and forth and the lanyard causes the tilting of the oar as in traditional sculling. It does the difficult bit for you! Clever the Chinese!
My Yuloh is 3 metres long and has a centre deflection of 150mm. The problem with Partan is the fixed boom crutch so I had to position the rowlock centrally and actually fitted it temporarily on top of the rudder. Ideally it would be fitted either side of the rudder. Yes it worked but I could only comfortably sustain a speed of one knot in calm conditions. Looked at another way it would take me 10hours to travel the length of Windermere on a calm day! In the article the author claims to have propelled a similar length boat at 3/4 knots. It was much lighter. The fees then went back to £5/yr so the problem went away but this week threat of new charges is in the news again. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the Yuloh in operation. If you cant track down the article then I could email pictures to you.

Julian Swindell

Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 11:25 pm:      
I've got a Yamaha 4hp 4 stroke. A bit heavy and can be a bit tempermental but OK. Would having more power make any difference? Could you use a less powerful and lighter engine without loss of speed? Any experiences in this area?