We've been putting in long days for the past week, working on all sorts of projects, but we're finally ready to shove off and go sailing for a few weeks.  We'll be looking for wind, as much as we can find, to test the new rig and sail plan.  Wind is often hard to come by in the Northwest during the summer, but we'll be hanging out in the most likely areas:  the Strait of Juan de Fuca, along with Haro and Rosario Straits.  I'll post some photos along the way.

Redesigned Rig a Success!

We finally had the opportunity to go sailing with the new rig, and it is a great improvement.  Mintaka is a completely new boat.  She stands up to her sails better, drives harder and points closer on a beat.  Beating upwind in twenty knots, we not only didn't have to reef, we were positively enjoying the ride.  When we decided to change the sail plan from a masthead rig to the designer's original plan, a fractional rig, we knew we were sticking our necks out, putting a lot of money on our experience with the boat over the years.  Although Atkin originally called for a fractional rig like we have now, all the Ingrids we have ever seen have had masthead rigs.  Well, we feel really good about it now.  The two pictures here are in light wind - not very dramatic -  but they still show the different rig.  We still have a masthead stay, as well as the two fractional stays, so we can fly a third headsail in addition to the jib and staysail.  That would be a jib topsail, a light-air sail to go with the mizzen staysail.  So, now we have the capability of flying six different sails at once - mizzen, main, mizzen staysail, main staysail, jib and jib topsail.  We may never have the right conditions to fly them all together, but we have many options to meet the conditions we do find.

For a variety of reasons, we're going to keep Mintaka in Washington this winter, instead of moving her down to the Bay area.  We're still on track for heading off across the Pacific again next May, though.

Hard Top Installed on Mintaka

Here are a couple of pictures of the hard top installed on the boat. Another project done, but many more to follow.

Making a Hard-Top

Someone asked for more pictures, so here's a few about making a hard-top for the dodger. All the way across the Pacific to New Zealand, we had no dodger. I designed one, and had it made there for the return trip to Washington. It was great to have, but I decided to replace the canvas top with a hard one. Over the past few weeks, I've been working on it, and it's almost ready toinstall on our next trip soon.

I started by laminating a couple of 1/8" sheets to a curve I made.

Then I glued edging, boom chocks, and nav light bases on the top, and various pieces on the bottom for mounting and structure.

Finally came sealing with penetrating epoxy, and lastly, paint.

I still have to attach the awning track for the cockpit awning, and the grab rails that I made from a nice piece of jarrah. Incidentally, jarrah is a much better wood for boats than teak. It is at least as rot resistant, but it weathers much better and is significantly cheaper. I'll post a final picture in a couple of weeks when I install it on the boat.

Mintaka Swims Again!

After sixteen months on the hard in Port Townsend, Washington, and after far too much driving, effort, hassles, and money, Mintaka finally splashed on Feb 8, and is now tied up in her slip in Brinnon, Washington, on the Hood Canal. She has two new masts, one wood and the other aluminum -- a long, sad tale, best told over beer -- as well as all new wooden booms and rigging.

There are yet more projects to complete this summer before we go offshore again. One of those is the fabrication of a hard top for the dodger. As I get older, I place more value on staying dry while on watch. I had to wait for the rigging to be up to make sure of no conflicts with the main backstays, so that’s the project I’m working on now. I’ll post a photo when I install it in April.

As the mainmast is now a bit taller, we no longer fit under the Hood Canal bridge, so we had to have them open it for us. Quite the feeling of power! This next bit, though, you just won’t believe. The slip we were heading to used to be occupied by cruising friends that we met in New Zealand, and who now live in Hood River, Oregon. Well, Steve was one of the drivers that was stopped by the bridge opening, and he recognized us. He hadn’t been in the area in several years, and had no idea that we had launched and were motoring down to their old slip, and we had no idea that he was in the area. So, as we were sliding into our berth in Home Port Marina, there he was, ready to catch our mooring lines. If he had gotten to the bridge only a minute or two earlier, he would not have been stopped. Robyn and I have had many small-world experiences over the years, some of them truly amazing, but this one ranks right up there.

We are hoping to sail down the coast to San Francisco in early September, staging her there over the next winter for a May 2013 departure back to New Zealand. We’ll be sailing around the Northwest as much as we can this season, working out any kinks in the new rig, deciding on any sail changes, and finishing up remaining projects. I’ll update the blog much more frequently now that we’re operational again, so check in from time to time.

Progress

Work is progressing well. Just got back from two weeks up there. Took the bowsprit off, refinished it, and replaced all the bolts. Got a bunch of other jobs done, too. Back home now, and all the rigging parts have arrived -- over 600' of wire, plus the terminals to make up 26 separate shrouds and stays. We'll be going back up there in a few weeks. Hope that's enough time to make up all that rigging, as well as build the three new booms, and do so some sail work. I think I'll be busy for the next few weeks.