Cover Up

Cover up

My little Corribee ‘Trivial Pursuit’ needs a sail cover. The ultra-violet element of sunlight has a bad effect on synthetic sail-cloth and I have already patched her sail rather too much. (the gorgeous terracotta sail has a rash of bright red zits!) Some of the trouble is caused by battens chafing when the sail is reefed or dropped to form the romantically named ‘Bundle’, hence the sail cover thingy!
Now when I purchased TP back in early August the previous owner told me there was a cover but it was too small. I tried it and it seemed he was correct. So after a couple of all-in wrestling matches (which I lost) I stuck the uncooperative thing back in the stern locker.
Today the high pressure is fading, as is the memory of sun-glimmer on tranquil waters and rich blue skies and so I had a one-last-go at fitting the cover.
One thing the Junk Rig teaches me is that you must do things in the correct order. OK it’s easy to reef, hoist and trim, but forming a neat Bundle that is an art. Now at last I think I’ve got it!
Buoyed up with hope and copious amounts of string (an essential on a JR boat) I hauled the ‘Thing’ out of its den.
What I had deduced was that it wasn’t too small at all, it was the bundle which needed to swing back and line up the mast with the appropriate opening in the sail cover. (by now perceptive readers will have figured out that I’m stupid!) Only a quarter of an hour later, pushing and pulling, with the application of string and very little blood (blood doesn’t show on a terracotta sail!) and the job was done. Then it started to rain.

Going to Windward

Windward dreams

Today I determined to find out how well my Corribee ‘Trivial Pursuit’ sails to windward. It is the conventional wisdom that “Junks cannot sail to windward”  I have done a lot of sea miles since 1973, both coastal and offshore, using the ubiquitous white triangular sails that these days are regarded as normal. My three Trimarans tacked in 90 degrees (ok one of them was nearer 100?) but that never stopped  me getting to exotic destinations! My monohulls were a lot better, (well not the Gaff Cutter)  but unfortunately I never made a careful note of exactly how much better. So today we did take notes. It was a fine bright day with blue sky and cumulous clouds and the waters of the Holy Loch were stippled with a F2 fading at times to a F1. I wrote down the compass heading as soon as the boat had settled down on each new tack.
Here are the results.
70 then 150 degrees 90 then 160 degrees 80 then 170 degrees 75 then 145 degrees 70 then 150 degrees. Wow! I’m itching to try in stronger winds as I think she will not be as close winded, though I have sailed in a F3 with about the same results. (didn’t write them down, Drat!)
Well that proves it, Junks are such rubbish to windward!

Gentle Rain

Gentle Rain and Sea trials

Keeping the water, on which we are floating, out of the little Corribee ‘Trivial Pursuit’ is not a problem. Rain is another matter!
On the positive side the previous owner removed the sink, drain and filled the other two holes in the hull which were for the ‘Heads’. (boaty talk for Loo)
This leaves the cockpit drains and their seacocks. Problem: when it rains the cockpit fills with water which refuses to go down the drains. (except ashore, when they work fine!) Removing the bottom step allows me to lay on my side with my head jammed under the top step and my feet elevated on the forward berth. In this position I can unscrew the clips and remove the hose. (remembering to shut the sea

cocks off first!) Theory #1 the hoses are too long and loop causing air bubbles to be trapped and so stopping the drains from working.
Half a day spent in ‘the position’ cutting and refitting hoses and getting very wet from leaks (memo, shut seacocks first!) proves theory #1 incorrect. After sea trials (boaty talk for having fun) I tip buckets of water into the cockpit but it does not drain. Theory #2 we need right-angle drain fittings. Assume the ‘position’ get wet etc, all to no avail!! Theory #3 We need MUCH bigger drains!!!!!!
Tomorrow they say, there is wind and no rain. I’m going sailing!

Glue in my Beard

There is glue in my beard.

There is glue in my beard, in my hair and over the front of my shirt. Working on boats can be hazardous. The inside of ‘Trivial Pursuit’ is neat and clean, lined on the sides and the roof with an insulating material. Fixing a drooping area of the foam-backed lining, on the underside of the main hatch, was going to be a straight forward ’no problem’ job. Obviously I needed an impact adhesive, something I have used for 50 years. So I went to a local Aladdin’s cave of a place where one can get absolutely everything and got some. There is a scene in the Sci-Fi film Alien where the acid drool eats its way through the deck. Well  it was almost as scary as that! As long as I can remember impact adhesive has been thick and inclined to sit looking at you, challenging you to spread it. Not this lot. I reached up, pulled down the offending droopy bit from above my head and applied a generous amount of adhesive. It did not sit, it ran like monster drool, the long threads marching inexorably toward me. I could not retreat, jammed against a bulkhead with four foot of sitting headroom, I was helpless. Three days later I’m still finding glue on bits of me, but never mind, she sails like a dream!

Getting her wet

Getting her wet

Sailing  my little Corribee ‘Trivial Pursuit’ (I still don’t like the name!) is a delight. OK it was only a F1 on that first sail and not more than a F3 today. But the joy! The little boat with its terracotta sail catching every zephyr, lifted to windward, the helm light as a feather. Where comes this Junk rigs cannot go to windward rubbish?
Mind, I needed this! The day before had started in the gloom of the shed, then all of a rush, hauled out with a professional flourish. Mast up, boat in the water, sail aboard and up to you Mike! Then hours of torment. How can all those ’worm ropes’ I arranged so carefully just a week ago get in such a tangle? Slowly I established some order. The sail was hoisted and looking good. To hell with it! Start the outboard and cast off. Then an hour of gentle water-chuckling perfection. Oh yes, I like the Junk Rig.