Interior

Starboard bulkheads and fridge box construction is underway. Once furniture is roughed in machinery installation, plumbing and wiring can begin.

Progress Photos

Port Townsend delivered anchor rollers and lifeline stanchions.

 

Forward Cabin Configuration

Also changing is the forward cabin layout.  The new design will allow the anchor locker, sail locker and head areas to work more closely as one cabin for machinery installation, toilet (but not shower) and storage of sails, tools, spare parts and ground tackle I willl also take out the existing portside cabinetry and move the toilet off centerline and over to the port side.  The bulkhead opening between the head area and sail locker will be enlarged.  The holding tank will mount on the port side of the sail locker, the AC compressor in a portside cabinet just aft of the head and the refrigeration compressor on the starboard side.

In contrast to the main salon and galley the cabin before the mast will be workboat like in style with exposed plumbing, easy access to machinery and open shelves for spares and tools.  And if I can get this Dell "all-in-one" to scan as advertised I will post a couple of drawings describing the new layout.

OK let's try this:

A bit rough but approximately to scale (no such thing).  A few labels would also help. Anyway, she will have a port side quarter berth for a crewmen not longer than 6 ft 1"; the pilot gets a 7 ft. starboard berth; the third crewman gets the sole and the fourth, if any, will be a daysailor who can hot sheet with the quarter berth occupant should he or she require a catnap. The Galley will remain to port with the nav station/fridge box opposite. The head will shift from centerline to the port side and face a storage cabinet cum workbench.

Changed my Mind

I should have been a politician.  I have become the king of the flip flop lately.  I have now decided to stick with the previous plan (actually I think it was the prior previous plan) and restore Sea Star as a gaffer. "Is that your final anwser?"  As a sailing friend of mine recently reminded me, "it's about the journey not the destination".  I think the sail plan will be a bit different than Dilkara and Precipice ( the only two gaff rigged BCCs that I have come across thus far). 

Boat Move

Sea Star moved to her winter home in San Leon this week.  This location may look familiar to the Bruckdorfers.  I understand that they spent some serious time in this same shed building a Flicka. 

Wireless Westsail 32

Colligo Marine brought a "wireless Westsail" to the Annapolis Boat Show.  Check out the aluminum bowsprit with no cranse iron.

Fore Triangle Sail Handling

I want a handling system that will not require any bowsprit sail handling chores, will allow me to tack or gybe a spinnaker thru an open fore traingle and set a trys'l and storm stays'l without having to thread the luff thru a furler slot. I think I can do this using a variation of Shanti's running rigging plan.

First off,  my sail inventory will consist of a main with 2 reef points, stays'l with one reef point and two jibs, a Yankee and a 130 genoa. For heavy weather I will carry a trysail and a storm stays'l, and for light air a drifter. The stays'l and storm stays'l will be hanked on to stainless steel wire inner fore stay ( or is proper term "stays'l stay"?) and rigged with a downhaul. The Yankee will be on a standard foil based type roller furler that can be reefed, again on a stainless steel fore stay.  The backstay (SSB antennea) and both forestays will be wire, all shrouds will be Dynamee by Colligo. The Yankee will be the default jib and will not have to be struck to set the genoa or the spinnaker as these two sails will be set free flying tacked to a bowsprit traveller.

I believe Gary Felton on Shanti sets all jibs free flying behind the permanent fore stay on a Facnor luff line furler using a two part purchase halyard. He cranks down hard on the halyard to get 1200 lbs of tension, enough so that the Dynamee synthetic line sail luff actually takes over the head stay's job. If the halyard did ever fail the fore stay is there to reassume its duties. Gary has field tested his new system and proven it to be plenty stout.  But some have suggested possible disadvantages to this system such as:

Head Plumbing

The plumbing circuit for the head will be straight forward with piping runs and valving kept to a minimum. I will sketch the plumbing circuits before I start buying the materials but first I will describe the system one component and/or line at a time.

The holding tank will have a 12 gallon capacity and will be installed on the port side of the sail locker high up on the hull and as far forward as possible. The top of the tank will be just below the main deck but with enough space to accomodate PVC fittings for pump out, inlet and two vent  lines. The bottom of the side hull tank will be above the waterline thereby satisfying the anti-siphon requirement on the discharge side. The two vent lines will be located on opposite ends of the tank and vent to the outside on port and starboard sides.