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The Adventures of Tarka the Sailing Dinghy
United Kingdom
Registrace 5. 05. 2020
I may be a hopeless optimist, but I have dreams of idyllic sailing and camping adventures with my family in true Swallows and Amazons style. I have a family, and I have a boat. How hard can it be?
Coniston Water, Peel Island, and the best little harbour in the world?
Tarka's first trip to one of our absolute favourite places. Including another attempt to sleep aboard, and, well it just wouldn't be Tarka if there wasn't something to fix!
0:00 Intro
1:56 First sail of the holiday
5:33 Will Tarka survive a week afloat?!
9:08 A night in the harbour
22:11 A wet voyage south
22:55 Farewell to Peel Island
Music from Epidemic Sound www.epidemicsound.com/
Jon Bjork: A Day Together
Raymond Grouse: Heaven's Getting Closer
Plain Strolls: Up the Hill
David Celeste: Old Norse
Lama House: Secrets of the Earth
Dinghy Cruising
Lake District
0:00 Intro
1:56 First sail of the holiday
5:33 Will Tarka survive a week afloat?!
9:08 A night in the harbour
22:11 A wet voyage south
22:55 Farewell to Peel Island
Music from Epidemic Sound www.epidemicsound.com/
Jon Bjork: A Day Together
Raymond Grouse: Heaven's Getting Closer
Plain Strolls: Up the Hill
David Celeste: Old Norse
Lama House: Secrets of the Earth
Dinghy Cruising
Lake District
zhlédnutí: 575
Video
Tarka's first voyage on the East Coast Rivers: a beautiful dinghy cruise up the River Deben
zhlédnutí 695Před 3 měsíci
We might have got a bit lucky, but somehow it all came together as we took Tarka on her first trip of the year, and probably the first of many on the rivers of East Anglia. This video also features Stewartby's Old Gaffers' Day, my first attempt to sleep on board Tarka, and a quick maintenance update. For anyone who might be planning a cruise on the Deben and would like to know more about the de...
Tarka's Sea Trials. Plus, 'if not duffers, won't drown': how I am trying to avoid being a duffer...
zhlédnutí 1,3KPřed 4 měsíci
After a long winter of repairs and modifications, it's finally time to get Tarka on the water, test those 'upgrades' and give her a good shakedown sail. I think it's fair to say the cobwebs were well-and-truly blown away! While sailing I muse over how the feeling of responsibility involved in taking my family out dinghy-cruising, sometimes alone and without safety cover, has grown in my mind an...
Tarka's back!
zhlédnutí 460Před 4 měsíci
The long-awaited return of Tarka from the boat-builders, with good news and bad! Just a quick update before, hopefully, some Tarka sailing very soon! Music from Epidemic Sound www.epidemicsound.com/ Jon Bjork: A Day Together Jon Bjork: A World of Possibilities The Fly Guy Five: Stop That Train!
In the wake of the Swallows and Amazons: Sailing down Coniston Water to Wild Cat Island
zhlédnutí 2,4KPřed 8 měsíci
Join me in full Swallows and Amazons mode for a breezy sail down Coniston Water in the Cornish Coble 'Sea Bear', a sightseeing tour and pilgrimage to the Arthur Ransome books which inspired me, and thousands of others, to learn to sail. We start close to the jetties and boathouses below Bank Ground Farm, which became the model for Holly Howe, and sail down the lake to circumnavigate Peel Island...
Dinghy Cruising Winter Jobs, Part 1: What to do while Tarka's away
zhlédnutí 488Před 8 měsíci
With Tarka away at the boatbuilders and frost in the air, what can I be getting on with to prepare for next season? I this video I assemble what kit I have accumulated so far to equip Tarka, and consider choices of rope and, um, bathroom facilities. I also talk about Frank and Margaret Dye's book 'Open-Boat Cruising'. 0:00 Intro 1:35 Assembling and considering kit 3:27 'Open-Boat Cruising' by F...
Making an eye-splice in 12-strand dyneema rope
zhlédnutí 128Před 8 měsíci
In my first attempt at a 'how-to' video, I try to demonstrate making an eye-splice rope. #dinghycruising #sailingadventures #sailing
Traditional Norfolk Broads yacht cruise - but will we bring Tarka here?
zhlédnutí 1,7KPřed 9 měsíci
Sarah and I hire a traditional Norfolk Broads cabin yacht called Wood Anemone from Hunter's Yard for two days. Part of the reason for doing so is to scout out the Norfolk Broads as a potential place to bring our sailing dinghy Tarka and the kids. Is it the perfect place for our camping adventures afloat to start? Hunter's Yard instruction video on scandalising the rig: czcams.com/video/lxCXNpHC...
Amazing anti-sink device!
zhlédnutí 1,9KPřed 9 měsíci
In a follow-up to the capsize video, I try to investigate the distinct possibility that Tarka would have floated much better if her hatch covers had been properly sealed, and wonder if I am the only person to have overlooked this apparently vital component? Sorry this video is not very a polished production at all in some places - hopefully the quality will improve as I acquire better kit and, ...
Capsizing Tarka, our Westray 16 sailing dinghy
zhlédnutí 4,8KPřed 10 měsíci
We put Tarka, our Westray 16 sailing dinghy, through a trial capsize at Stewartby Lake. We would like to see what might happen if we ever suffered an accidental capsize. The results are a bit surprising, but do we have serious problems? 0:00 Intro 0:38 Why am I capsizing Tarka? 5:21 The capsizes 11:55 Immediate post-capsize thoughts #sailingadventures #dinghycruising Music from Epidemic Sound w...
Introducing Tarka the sailing dinghy
zhlédnutí 23KPřed 10 měsíci
Meet Tarka, our Westray 16 sailing dinghy. Find out why I chose her, come on a little tour of the boat, and hear about a few of the issues on my long list that I need to solve before she is really ready for our family adventures. #dinghycruising #sailingadventures 0:00 Intro 1:00 Why I chose Tarka 10:00 Tour of Tarka 18:08 Trying to fix the jib furler Music from Epidemic Sound www.epidemicsound...
Looks like a sliding gunter! Thats what I have on my catspaw dinghy. It's from one of Herreshoff's books. It works really well. I was very interested in 4 sided sails before sailing my sliding gunter.
That was very educational.. Thank you!
Great video, thanks! Especially at 23:15 - to see such a young child confidently taking control of a sail boat; fantastic! Also, one cause of center board vibration is eddy shedding from the trailing edge, and a cure can be to bevel the edge so that the flow is biased to one side and becomes stable. It will have no effect on sailing because it is to tiny, say 2cm deep all the way down, but it encourages the eddy at the aft end to stay on one side instead of flipping back and forth like in an organ pipe. Looking forwards to following your adventures. Best wishes.
That’s a really interesting suggestion, thank you, I’ve never heard anything like that before, but it makes sense! Just accessing the trailing edge of the centreboard is very difficult, but something might be possible over the winter. Glad you liked the video! 🙂
I live locally and have a share in a half decker.. it would be tricky taking a small boat through Yarmouth, mainly because of the very strong tides. Multiple trips, to the northern and southern rivers separately, would probably be the way to go. (And definitely read Coot Club!) There's a campsite at Reedham Ferry, by the pub, and moorings there too.
Thanks very much for the suggestions! I think you're right about multiple short trips. We have one planned for Hickling area later this summer. Great to have a campsite recommendation for the River Yare, maybe we'll do that next year. And read Coot Club to the kids over the winter perhaps!
Not a good recovery in that you beached her in order to bail. Non watertight buoyancy tanks would probably keep her unsailable. However, you did find a potentially fatal flaw in your boat. Replace seals annually and vaseline around the seals on the bulkheads. Consider to install a sealable entry valve for an air pump. Use a pump with a gauge. Each tank to withstand 2 bar test air pressure for half an hour. Well done.
Thanks, sounds like good advice! She was afloat just off the beach for baling, not aground. With the seals fitted, I’m happy now that the tanks are watertight enough for our purposes, but if we were to go for something really adventurous I would probably consider buying buoyancy bags to put into the tanks and possibly under the benches in the stern, for 100% leak-free buoyancy 🙂
A very fine, slow and lovely video. Perfect dinghy cruising inspiration. Thank you 😊
That’s very kind of you, thank you. Glad you liked it 🙂
Admiring from the US, not sure why these types of boats are so uncommon here.
Thanks very much! There aren’t many boats of this exact type in this country either. A fair number of cruising dinghies of various types but in general they are I think a small niche in sailing world dominated by yachts and racing dinghies. Being part of a small niche has benefits and problems, as I am discovering!
Hello mate Robin from stewartby with the K1. Your furling problem is you need a spinning attachment at the top of you jib to allow the forestay to spin? At the moment your unwinding the forestay in the sail and you will knacker the wire if you continue to use it. If you have a chat with me at the club I can help you with most problems cheers 🍻 from Mr Gadget p.s every one knows me there.
Hi Robin, thanks for watching, and for the suggestion! I don’t think the problem is exactly what you say, as there is a fitting at the top of the jib which spins freely - you can get a quick look at it on 26:01 in the video about the trip on the River Deben - and there is no forestay, the jib has a stitched-in luff rope. It’s working ok at the moment but I’m still not 100% happy with it, so open to all suggestions! Hopefully see you at the club soon 🙂
Really nice video, thanks for sharing your adventures with those of us a little more Stewartby bound! I enjoyed learning some of the history of Wild Cat Island and of Collingwood. My reading list grows ever longer! Thanks again!
Thanks Jack! Let me know if you want to borrow a book!
Thank you for this video. Two questions : if I understood well, Peel Island used to have inhabitants ? Does it belong (nowadays) to somebody or to the State ?
As I understand it, some remains, or evidence, of ancient buildings, suggesting possible habitation, were discovered on the island in the 19th century, but they are buried again now. The island now belongs to the National Trust, which owns and manages a lot of the Lake District and many other beautiful areas of coast and countryside in the UK, plus historic buildings and other precious old things, including the steam yacht Gondola which also appears in the video! www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/about-us/about-the-national-trust-today
Saludos y los mejores deseos para ti y tu familia, from Chile.
You could improve the uphaul of the center board by putting a turning block on the mast then lead the uphaul aft and have the tackle alongside the centreboard case.You do end up with more tackle and rope floating around. Its a system I have used on a few boats and it makes recovering a heavy centreboard quite easy.
Thanks for the suggestion Mark 🙂 It does need a bit of a heave but to be honest it’s not too bad. The new cleat has made adjusting it much easier, and the new fairlead has stopped the rope cutting into the bottom of the thwart. Like you say, it’s a compromise between ease of use and too much clutter. The current setup will definitely do for now.
Great clip ! Lots of innovative ideas Joel. Keep posting. Waldringfield is lovely spot….happy memories!
Thanks Iain! You’ll have to tell me more about those memories soon! 🙂
Thank you for this video. I was about to ask you if you had no problems with the wheel bearing ("sinking" the trailer in the salt water). But you answered the question : you take them off after each sailing, to clean them !🙂
Yes, before we left for Suffolk I cleaned and re-greased the hubs, and I took them off at home after we got back, but I also took the grease gun with us to Suffolk and before we started the journey back I squirted some grease into the hub. The grease that came out of the centre of the cap was clean, a good sign that the grease around the bearings would be ok too. Possibly if you keep the grease in the hubs topped up there is no room for water to get in, but of course it’s still better not to immerse them if you can avoid it!
This was special watching this as I am looking for a Westray 16 and I lived in Woodbridge for many years with moorings at The Cut and Waldringfield. This is a perfect river for a boat of this type.
Thanks, glad you liked it! It really is a very beautiful river. We are looking for to exploring more of the rivers in the area, but it may be a while before we have a day as good as that one. Mind you, half as good would still be a success!
Hi, did you experiment with lowering your point of attachment for your jib block so that you could keep the jib away from your forestay when furling it? Or did you just go straight to doing away with the forestay? When things go wrong having your mast very secure is reassuring .😊
Hi Phil, I have done away with the forestay, for now at least. I will always be looking out for how other boats do things at that end of the boat though, and I may well look again at your suggestion again. The current arrangement is nice and simple, I’m happy that everything between the stemhead and the masthead is strong enough not to need a back-up 🤞🙂
Lovely looking boat, and plenty of flex in her mast 😮😁
It’s impossible to get much tension in the rig, so the leeward shroud will always be quite loose when sailing upwind in a breeze, if that’s what you spotted?! 🙂
hm, yes the kicker / boom vang would probably be a great idea to have a lot more control over the main. Regarding the capsizing and overboard situation: I'm a lot aware of this. If I capsize I wear 50nm baltics SAR aid (not an inflatable one) because I want freedom to move to be able to get the mast back in the air. And if I go overboard, the boat is slightly trimmed to luv into the wind. That way it just shoots into the wind and stops when the tiller is free.
There are probably good reasons why Tarka doesn’t have a kicker, so I have no plans to add one. I was quite glad not to have one when I broached! I haven’t got to know Tarka well enough yet to be sure how quickly she would drift if I fell overboard on any point of sailing. I will experiment by letting go of everything on suitable occasion. But for now I’m going to stick with the lifeline just in case she’s too speedy for me!
I was thinking that. One traditional solution to the overboard problem is to have a little bit of weather helm. The boat should round up into the wind. I'm pretty sure my traditional wooden dinghy would, or the sail would swing downwind, and it would weathervane. It's cat rigged.
Thank you for this video. When you lowed the main sail, may be a simple home made lazy jacks would be useful ? It would prevent the two "pieces of wood" (the boom and the .... don't remember the name in english) to separate and go out of the shell.🙂
Thank you, it’s a good idea and I will definitely give it some thought. I’m trying to keep rope to a minimum, so will probably only add lazy jacks if it turns out I really need them! ‘Gaff’ I think is the word you’re looking for, although I have also heard it called a yard.
@@joelwalker81 Thank you for the english course !🙂
Hi, did you experiment with lowering your point of attachment for your jib block so that you could keep the jib away from your forestay when furling it. When things go wrong having your mast very secure is reassuring .
I am still trying to find one of these to buy and I am interested in the internal fit-out. Also, most of my sailing is single-handed and you seem to be doing fine in that breeze. Look forward to many more of your videos.
Thanks, good luck with your search! The internal fit out of this boat was definitely a large factor in why I chose her. Much more versatile space than in the Cornish Coble I sail which is a similar size.
Nice one Joel. Hope to join you soon in the Oyster.!
Yes! It will be great to have the boats on the water together, can’t wait! 🙂
Thank you for this vidéo. It was funny to see your children painting the rudder. It remember me when my two daughters were painting my little boat : we dressed them with old adult's pyjamas, like this they were not afraid to durt their clothes... (they were under 10 years old at the time)🙂
They did get a bit messy in the end. It was all going well until James finished painting the rudder and started painting himself 🤦♂️
Hi, glad to see your Westray back from the builders. I also have a Westray, no: 18 same from the outside but a bit different inboard. Peter Stent (original builder) gave me some info on the boats when I wanted to make a few alterations & was most helpful. Pretty much all were built within the buyers spec, hence the differences although I haven't viewed any others. Look forward to your next video - they've been highly enlightening, well done. Cheers Tim Davis Dorset)
Thanks very much for your comments Tim. Is Peter Stent still contactable? Sounds like he could be very useful. I’ve never seen another Westray in the flesh - I’ll looking forward to hopefully seeing some of the variations as Tarka gets out and about a bit more. If she does go in for a complete re-decking next winter that might be an opportunity for a few more tweaks…
Ez Az ..Szabad. Élet..dingy..
Lovely boat. Did you ever fix the vibrating centre-plate? What would this boat be like for a single-hander in a force 4?
Thanks! There has been some progress on the vibrating centre plate but I haven’t tested it yet. Single-handed in a force 4? Fine with a reef I reckon. Very stable boat.
Do you still have your Westray 16?
Yes I do, Tarka is still at the boatbuilders at the moment making sure she is in good shape for the new season. Hopefully she'll be back and on the water soon!
The reason I ask is that I am interested in the Westray. I have followed your posts since buying Tarka last year - I was also interested in her at the time - and wonder what sort of repairs or improvements you are having done? I have heard about problems with rot to the fore and side decks and also your problem with leaking buoyancy tanks. Any information that you can help with regarding points to look at when inspecting a Westray would be much appreciated. Many thanks.@@joelwalker81
Apologies - I didn’t spot this comment at the time you posted it. Hopefully recent videos have answered some of your questions! Interesting that you’d heard of rot to the decks being a problem. The boatbuilder said he thought she had been re-decked, but maybe the ply is original. Decision to be made over re-decking later this year. Maintenance aside, I love the boat, feels like she uses her interior space much more effectively than other similar size cruising dinghies, and performance seems quite good 🙂
When the wind fills the jib, it will pull the last bit of tension from the furler. You don't need to worry about it.
I'm sure you're right. It's just a bit annoying in light winds - looks untidy even if it makes very little difference to performance! Hopefully my tweaks will reduce the problem, but I'll try not to worry about it too much!
I haven't used dyneema for standing rigging but have spliced it for other uses. Just wanted to mention that the tapered bury is not just for aesthetics it actually prevents a sharp angle where the bury finishes which can cause a reduction in strength (I've read up to 20% reduction). Also even with a brumell splice because dyneema is 'slippy' compared to a lot of lines commonly used in sailing its best practice to bury a decent length to prevent it backing out when not under tension. For the non brummeled adjustable loop ('whoopie sling') you were showing on your winter video the recomended bury is at least 3.5 x the correct diameter fid length for the line you are working with if you don't want to rely on the half hitch to stop it slipping. Apologies if I'm teaching you to suck eggs. Some testing and advice here if you are interested - hownot2 (dot) com/post/are-tapering-splices-that-important-in-dyneema-hmpe
Interesting stuff, thanks! I had no idea the tapered bury adds strength. I’ve given up trying to understand what causes a reduction in strength, and what doesn’t! Happy to take other people’s word for it! I don’t know how much the splice in the video reduces the strength of the rope, but I’ve never had one fail, I’ve always had to replace the rope because of wear in other spots before the splice has failed - I guess dyneema is so strong that I’ve probably never got close to its breaking load (mostly used it on racing dinghy control lines). The main advantage of the tapered bury for me has been allowing the rope to run smoothly if there’s a turning point close to the eye. I had not heard any advice on how long the buried end should be (or the terminology ‘brummeled loop’ if I’m honest!) but I must say I have sometimes used a much shorter one than in this video (to keep the double-thickness bit from running through a block was the reason I think) and never had one look like it’s trying to work its way out. For the adjustable loop - I’d have to think about whether I want to to a longer splice and get rid of the half hitch. I used to use the setup I showed here for course adjustments on trapeze lines, but it might be worth doing it differently for Tarka’s shrouds…
Just been making my way through your previous videos and thoroughly enjoyed this one due to my love of the Arthur Ransome books. I was actually going to comment on your Norfolo Broads video that Coot Club/Big Six might be potentially books (when your children are a bit older) that might spark an interest in sailing on the Broads. Admitedly they are of a bygone time, but that was the case for me when I read them in the 80's 😊
Fantastic thanks for sharing, cheers Paul
I would dare say your issues with the furler are both overblown and caused by the sail itself. I saw overblown because when sailing in any sort of breeze, the sail will be kept from furling back onto itself. The fact that it is curling back up is from it being stored in that position for some time. I have a furler on my GP14 that after a long winter's nap, will do the same for the first sail or two. Again the breeze keeps it all ship shape when actually out sailing. I happen to agree with user-cs1um9yf8z about finding a suitable piece of metal to fit in that box section of your trailer. On my Montgomery 17 (I have too many boats) the trailer is set up with a sliding tongue. Normally it is kept close, but can be extended if the depth of the ramp needs it to. This aids in towing by shortening the length of car and boat, makes it easier to store, but allows for the trailer to be completely submerged without soaking the car.
Thank you, I’m sure you’re right about the furler - it’s not a huge issue, just a little bit annoying to see the jib furling itself when sailing downwind in a light breeze. Maybe storing it differently will help. Your trailer set up sounds good. I will look into finding a suitable bit of metal for extending my trailer slightly - I think a sliding tongue might be a bit beyond me though! Thanks for the advice! 🙂
Really enjoying this sail along the lake. Reading the books as a kid I imagined the lake to be more expansive. Thanks for taking us along. I noticed also that the standing lug main is backwinded by the full jib when conditions are such that the mainsheet is eased. This is something I have observed on my own boat. I think that furling the jib, even partly, while moving the centre of effort forward, may allow the main to work more efficiently. Something you may not have to worry about on Tarka.
Thank you for this long video. It seems as if you were not realy alone on the water : a passenger boat (?), canoés, sailing boats from far. A little detail : my small sail and oar boat is a Northumbrian Coble !🙂 (Selway Fischer 12.5).
Glad you liked it! Yes there were plenty of people out and about in boats, but a sailing boat was the best choice on that day I think! A Northumbrian Coble sounds more ‘proper’ than a Cornish Coble I think, as they orignated from NE England I believe? The Cornish Crabbers co. have done a great job with their Coble-based design though - I’ve been so impressed with Sea Bear. Just not so great for camping!
Have you tried staying onboard with a tent ? I have a mid '70s coble by Westerly boats before they became Cornish Crabbers . Hoping to try camping this summer on her. Great video !
Cracking video J.! Sailing and history of a story we all enjoy ! Iain
Truly epic soundtrack!
Haha thanks, just needs some epic sailing now!
Great. Waiting for more, more sailing videos. I am very interested in this dinghy model..
They will come eventually! Planning to post a sailing video soon, but from before we had Tarka, hope you’ll enjoy it anyway 🙂
How about filling everything with liquid "buoyancy foam". No worries and super easy to apply.
Thanks for all the useful reminders !
Thank you for this video. I agree with you that, on a classic boat, light brown ropes are much nicer (looking nice is important an a classic boat...). An advice : it is better when the "rescue rope" in floating. You are asking a question about toilets. In France, at the moment, the fashion are the "dry toilets". You can make it yourself from an empty big paint bucket (with a black dusty bag in it) and a little bucket near it for the sawdust. People usually fix a toilet seat on this "toilet bucket" (more confortable).
Thank you Christophe! Great point about the floating rope. Yet another quality to consider when choosing rope! I guess floating rope is good for a rescue rope because it makes it easier for a person in the water to swim to, and it won’t foul a propeller. The dry toilet sounds quite similar to the ‘bivvy loo’ I have seen advertised. But much cheaper! I’ll have to think about whether I spend money for a purpose-designed loo, or a home-made option. Thanks again! 🙂
Such a spirited young helper you have! My biggest priority is to live long enough to pass on my love of boating/sailing to my soon to be 4 grandchildren! Already set the hook on #1 (seven years old) with summer overnights abourd our ILUR the past two years. Indeed, winter projects/proper maintenance so there are no issues on the first perfect spring day! Keep up the good work
Thanks, yes he seems keen! 🤞 Congratulations on those grandchildren, and I hope they all take the bait!
ferrygate camping is the place
Great video 😊
Thank you 😊
I sail on the broads all the time, to avoid the plastic tea tray motorboats go above Potter Heigham bridge ,its much quieter. There is a summer only campsite at the end of Martham staithe and you would be able to launch tarka from Martham developments boatyard.
Thanks very much Michael, that sounds ideal. I've just looked it up - is this the place? www.ferrygatecamping.co.uk
Thank you for posting this video. I fill my voids with empty water bottles stuffed into mesh bags for additional buoyancy insurance. The bottles are easily removable at the end of the season for any needed maintenance and allow air to circulate in the space to prevent mildew from forming on inside surfaces. Cheers
Sounds good, and pretty fail-safe! Reassuring to know there’s pretty much no way your boat could ever sink! I will consider doing that…
Hi. Looking forward to following your adventures with Tarka. Lovely sailing dinghy. I would love to camp in a boat like that myself. Just a friendly word to the wise, though. Would it be possible in your future videos to have less talking to camera and more footage of Tarka herself? Maybe you could do the talking as a voice-over while showing us video of Tarka actually sailing? I expect learning how to make the videos is a skill in itself, like learning to sail! Still very enjoyable to watch, though. Best wishes. 👍
@@joelwalker81That sounds great, Joel. I love your introduction to the video. Good choice of music, and some great shots of Tarka. It sets the scene and whets the appetite for what follows very well. Quite professional, like the start of a blockbuster movie! 👍
@@FunkyMonkey-p9c thanks very much! Glad you like it 🙂
Hi Joel, very enjoyable video again. Near the end of the video you mention a fitting on the gaff/yard possibly to keep it snug to the mast. As i understand it , if you are reefing your main with a gunter rig you should be lowering it completely and reattaching your main halyard to a slightly higher position on the yard, so it is not hoisted so high. This will have the effect of keeping it snug to the mast. On my boat i have 2 other attachement points, on the yard, to correspond to the 2 reefs i have in my main. Hope this is of some use and I'm not just teaching my granny how to suck eggs😊
Thanks Phil, and no you’re not at all! I have reefed Tarka a couple of times, hove to on both occasions, but never thought to lower the main completely and reattach the halyard to the higher fitting. The boom is always roughly the same height, so when I’ve reefed, the gaff has hung out from the mast by about 5-10 degrees due to the vertical distance between the main halyard sheave and the fitting on the gaff. From memory, I think the higher fitting looks less strong than the lower one, which might be partly why I didn’t think to attach the halyard there, but I suppose with it being so much closer to the peak, there would be a lot less leverage so less load on it. It is a mystery fitting no more! I’m a bit tempted to try rigging two halyards to the two fittings permanently though - would make reefing easier… 🤔
@@philj3727 That’s probably a much better idea than two halyards, especially as I want to keep the boat as simple as possible! I guess it just goes against my RYA training to lower the mainsail completely while reefing afloat, but that’s targeted at Bermudan rigs of course. Will experiment in the spring 🙂
Yes my brother and i sailed in our first dinghy national 12 from overy staithe north norfolk sailed many dinghy’s then children came along and then sailed a 12 ft tideway.with the children ,but as they got older they had other interests,over the years i moved to motor cruisers on the broads ,which i still own one and a twinkle 10 at overy staithe.i was thinking about your questions about the norfolk broad sailing.its much less busy on the southern broad and rivers,you could possibly launch from brundall bay marine,enquire at the tingdene office for advice .kind regards robert.
Your kids will be only too happy to be involved with every single thing you involve them with, until the reach 14, when, they will retell and relive their childhoods into a marathon of torture and generational misunderstanding. As they age they will forgive you and eventually they will take their children out on the Broads only for them (your grandchildren) to deride and belittle (your) children's attempts at child development (as they did yours) the merry go round of life. Camp your children on the boat whilst you and your good lady sleep in a nice canvas Vango force ten Mk3 (weights not an issue) We took our 8 year old son on two week long self sufficient hikes across incredibly barren parts of the UK, we did that for years and years, he now is nostalgic of those times even though the Army forced that and more onto him as part of his service. TLDR be the parent you want to be, not the parent you think you aught to be according to some self manual or an internet influencer says you should try.
The sentence 'until they reach 14' ... so correct😂
Having just bought a mark 1 wayfarer to get me back into sailing and give my young children some of the experience of sailing I had as a child, I am watching with great interest.
Excellent, keep me updated please! Is that a wooden one?