Rene & Angela Dirks (#352)

Hello everyone,
We are Rene Dirks (44) and Angela Snowden (44) and we bought Guido's Seahawk 17 #352 this season.
Before we bought it I did some reading on this website to gain more information about the boat.
We currently have a 8 meter (26') Westerly Centaur named 'Hush', located on the Wadden Sea/North Sea, but because of health issues we have only been able to use it one season in the last 4 years. Since this season wasn't going to work out either we decided to buy a small daysailer so we can at least enjoy a bit of sailing this year!
We plan on using the Seahawk both as a motorboat and sailboat (the surrounding area is a not so suited for sailing, but driving with the trailer is no problem, maybe because Guido fixed it up). Funny detail is that we took the boat 200 km back to almost the place where Guido got it from...
We want to equip the boat with an electric motor and therefor we have decided to rename the boat to 'Whisper', Hush's little sister.

Angela has been sailing for many years when she was younger, my experience is limited to the last few years, however, I do come from family who used to be freight shippers.

We know we are going to have fun with this cute little sailboat and I have to admit I am surprised about the roomy cabin!

At the moment we are having the sails fixed and then we will go out on it. I will try to post some more once we are using the boat.

Rene & Angela

Hallo Rene,

we seem to have almost the same boat. Yours is number 352 and mine is 358. I recognise the fastenings etcetera on the frontdeck. On my boat there is a strange way of keeping the lines for the jibsail. How is this solved on your boat? I can send some pictures later.

Hi Henk, sure sounds like it!
We got the boat last year, so not having a whole lot of experiences. However, we have the strange Moore's styles cleats as shown here (2nd picture under Moore & Sons):
https://www.seahawk17.org.uk/boat-description-rigging.php#jibsheets
As Greg describes: "Given that it appears rare to find a boat with this simple combination, it seems that most owners find this arrangement unsatisfactory, perhaps because the cleat is not aligned well with the winch. The majority of boats have additional gear fitted for managing the genoa."
Well, we have one of the rare boats with this simple combination...
It would be nice if the cleats were 90 degrees turned, now often (at least the times we've been out) the lines come out very easily.
I am thinking of turning the cleats or - if there is no room - moving them forward. That way they will be before the winch, but at least will be effective.  

Hi Rene,

I have exactly the same problem and the same layout. My biggest problem is that when there is pressure on the line it is very hard to get it into the clamp as it is situated in the wrong direction. I am looking for a solution and will post it after finding.