David Enticknap

Hello SeaHawk Forum,

I am the owner of Prue (from other posts on this forum from Harry I believe the boat was called Lulubella previously). We collected from Teignmouth and transported to ou home in Berkshire where her first outing was on the Thames after a steep learning curve in launching from the trailer. We have had to replace bearings on the trailer wheels (I suspect lucky escape on the M4/M5 as there wasn't much left of the bearings). Prue has now returned to Devon and we have a mooring in Salcombe. This being my first yacht, we are still learning how to rig and sail; it's a steep learning curve and I will search the forum for advice; I think she is nearly ready to sail but my major concerns are:

1. The boat has no drop keel (this was sealed up by previous owner). Is it safe to sail?
2. I think I have the yopping lift correctly fitted but haven't yet worked out the main sail uphaul.
3. Are the shrouds and forestay tight enough?

I hope that I can work on the boat over the winter and I admire some of the other cabin internal fit-outs I can view on this forum.

Any advice well received and in anyone is hanging out in Salcombe in the next week and feels like dispensing some advice, I would gladly buy them a beer.

best

David

Hi David,

Welcome to the forum. I have upgraded you to "Member". You are no longer restricted to posting in the "Introduce Yourself" area and should now be able to post virtually everywhere on the forum.

David Enticknap wrote

1. The boat has no drop keel (this was sealed up by previous owner). Is it safe to sail?

She's certainly safe, in the sense that there's no reason for her to sink or capsize because of the lack of having no keel plate to lower. Indeed, boats such as the Pedro and Ace of Sails are built using the same hull and they have no drop keel. However, those boats don't sail to windward as well as a SeaHawk, so she won't win any races and in extreme situations pedants might argue that the fact that she won't sail to windward well could make it less safe than if she had a keel.

2. I think I have the topping lift correctly fitted but haven't yet worked out the main sail uphaul.

There's a topic Boom topping lift  on the forum that shows where the halyards (main and burgee) and topping lift should go.

3. Are the shrouds and forestay tight enough?

We need some good photos of the boat sailing to windward to answer that. Step 11 in the original instructions for rigging a Reedcraft boat doesn't give any indication of the tension required.

I'm sure there are more technical ways to do the job, but my approach is this... All four shrouds need to be set short enough so that the mast cannot possibly go forward of the vertical. The forestay should then be hauled as tight as you can get it and secured. Now, go sailing! If, when sailing to windward, you find the lee side shrouds go slack and develop an obvious curve then you need to tighten the forestay further.

I dare say coastal sailors, particularly racing sailors have a more refined approach for tensioning the lines, but those of us who sail on rivers will be dropping the mast regularly to pass under bridges and there's little point in getting over concerned about the science of stay tensioning. We just get used to looking at the shrouds to check for an inadequately tightened forestay. As I understand it, all that matters is that the tension is sufficient tp hold the mast straight in all winds. Experience teaches me that it is easier to see a bend in the shrouds than in the mast.

Hi Greg, very many thanks for your response and for the advice. She did sail well and a friend that came sailing was impressed with how comfortable she was. I checked the topping lift when we de-rigged her and I think I had this right, but the ends of the topping lift halyards are both balls so it's a fixed length. I couldn't get videos or photos of her sailing but maybe in October we'll get her back on the water.

I have a couple of other questions and will post either here or in another area of the forum. In the meantime, it was an interesting learning experience and I look forward to the future.

best wishes

David