[This page is for those of you who are interested in the more technical details of construction and rigging. Don't get too bogged down. You can skip it, skim it, or come back to it later for answers to specific questions.]
Hull
Construction basics. The single-chine hull has 10 transverse frames of 3" x1/4" flat bar steel to which are welded 1 1/2" x1/4" flat bar longitudinals on 12" centers forming a lattice-like arrangement. Keel shoe and stem are ½" plate. Keel sides are 3/16" plate. Hull and cabin sides are 10 ga. (.134") and cabin top and deck are 12 ga. (.105"). Rub rail is of cupronickel, ensuring that any dings there are cosmetic only. The hull is exceptionally fair, to the point where many people are surprised it isn’t fiberglass. The chine, visible at the stern, gives it away.
Corrosion protection. Hull is of mild steel, protected inside and out with the Devoe system: Catha-coat inorganic zinc primer (a 2-part cold galvanizing compound) followed by Bar-Rust epoxy barrier coat. This system has worked well. I have spec sheets for the paint. Hull stripped to barrier coat Summer 2006 and 5 coats Interprotect 2000E applied over barrier coat. (I’d had problems with getting anti-fouling paint to adhere to the Bar-Rust barrier coat (anti-fouling would fall off in places). The barrier coat, however, was in excellent condition with virtually no rust. I used the Interprotect primarily to improve the bond, and as long as I was doing it I applied the full number of recommended coats.) As of 2013, still some minor adhesion problems, but much better.
Insulation. Prior to construction of the interior, the whole interior was sprayed with 1 1/2" of polyurethane foam. The only exception was the bilge area. The foam adheres tenaciously to the metal and provides additional corrosion protection. In most areas, I sheathed over the foam with 1/4" plywood for protection. This makes the boat much better insulated than most fiberglass boats, cooler in the tropics, easier to heat in cold climates. It helps to deaden sound as well. The disadvantage of this kind of treatment is that you can’t easily inspect the foamed areas. To my mind, however, the increased corrosion protection the sprayed-in foam provides outweighs any theoretical disadvantage.
Other painting notes. Topsides were originally painted with Awl-Grip. This proved unsatisfactory from my point of view due to Awl-Grip’s tendency to absorb water which caused bubbling of the paint at the waterline. In 1996 I sandblasted a 12" strip around the whole boat at the waterline, primed it carefully, and recoated it. I then rolled and tipped a one-part enamel on the topsides, and I do that every 3-4 years now. It doesn’t look quite as good as Awl-Grip, and if you look closely you can see where I faired in the paint in places near the waterline, but if you weren’t looking for it you’d never see it. I have had no more trouble with the paint at the waterline.
Deck and Cabinhouse. Deck and cabinhouse are all steel, adding to the strength, watertightness, and overall solidity of the the boat. Treadmaster nonskid was applied to deck and cabin top. The eight ports in the cabin sides are non-opening (3/8" Lexan), also ensuring watertightness. Have never felt the need for opening ports, as the wind from the forward hatch blows through the whole boat. When the wind isn't from ahead, we rig an omni-directional windscoop.
Rig
Cutter rigged with single spreaders, running backstays (for use with staysail), and twin permanent backstays (one of which is insulated for use as an antenna). Mast is keel stepped. Standing rigging is oversize. Forestay and staysail stay are 3/8" 1x19, all other standing rigging is 5/16" 1x19, with exception of running backstays which are 1/4" 7x19. All wire terminals are Sta-Loc. Turnbuckles are 5/8" bronze. (A good selection of spares is on board, including spare Sta-Loc terminals, spare turnbuckles, and a length of 5/16" wire long enough to replace any stay or shroud.)
Hood Seafurl 5 roller furling on forestay (new 1998). Staysail uses standard hanks. Note that the staysail is set loose-footed--no staysail boom. Pole (3") for downwind use is stowed on track on mast, set up to make it easy and quick to pole out the jib. Winches are Enkes. Primaries and main halyard winch are self tailing. Jib halyard winch is two-speed. Staysail halyard winch is smaller single-speed. Staysail sheet winches are small single-speed. Reefing winch is two speed in the cockpit. Reefing clew lines and topping lift are taken to the cockpit (through rope clutches) to make reefing easier. Halyard winches are on the mast. (Under this set up, you have to go to the mast when reefing the main to pull down the tack, but the clew can be tightened from the cockpit, which greatly reduces the time you have to spend up on deck.) Plenty of pawls and springs are on board for winch maintenance.
The way I’ve handled this rig has evolved over the years. Originally, it was set up for non-furling Yankee and staysail. This rig worked well on offshore passages, making it easy to reduce sail by dropping either the Yankee or the staysail. I also like the fact that when you drop a hanked-on sail it comes down--there’s no worries about furling gear failure.
However, in the more variable winds of coastal sailing, roller furling has decided advantages, and I eventually converted to it. For the primary furling sail, I had a 115% genoa made, quite a bit larger than the Yankee though smaller than many coastal sailors would normally carry. However, that sail was of composite construction and the cloth eventually delaminated; I replaced it with a 120% dacron sail in 2007.
Both of these sails have worked well, but one result has been that I use the staysail a lot less than I did previously, sailing the boat much more like a sloop than a cutter. The only real drawback is the difficulty of tacking with the staysail stay in place (that wasn't an issue with the Yankee, which had a much shorter LP). Consequently, I installed a lever on that stay to make it easier to remove when I anticipate a lot of tacking. On offshore passages, though, I always leave the staysail stay in place, and the staysail is always hanked on and ready to go.
Hull
Construction basics. The single-chine hull has 10 transverse frames of 3" x1/4" flat bar steel to which are welded 1 1/2" x1/4" flat bar longitudinals on 12" centers forming a lattice-like arrangement. Keel shoe and stem are ½" plate. Keel sides are 3/16" plate. Hull and cabin sides are 10 ga. (.134") and cabin top and deck are 12 ga. (.105"). Rub rail is of cupronickel, ensuring that any dings there are cosmetic only. The hull is exceptionally fair, to the point where many people are surprised it isn’t fiberglass. The chine, visible at the stern, gives it away.
Corrosion protection. Hull is of mild steel, protected inside and out with the Devoe system: Catha-coat inorganic zinc primer (a 2-part cold galvanizing compound) followed by Bar-Rust epoxy barrier coat. This system has worked well. I have spec sheets for the paint. Hull stripped to barrier coat Summer 2006 and 5 coats Interprotect 2000E applied over barrier coat. (I’d had problems with getting anti-fouling paint to adhere to the Bar-Rust barrier coat (anti-fouling would fall off in places). The barrier coat, however, was in excellent condition with virtually no rust. I used the Interprotect primarily to improve the bond, and as long as I was doing it I applied the full number of recommended coats.) As of 2013, still some minor adhesion problems, but much better.
Insulation. Prior to construction of the interior, the whole interior was sprayed with 1 1/2" of polyurethane foam. The only exception was the bilge area. The foam adheres tenaciously to the metal and provides additional corrosion protection. In most areas, I sheathed over the foam with 1/4" plywood for protection. This makes the boat much better insulated than most fiberglass boats, cooler in the tropics, easier to heat in cold climates. It helps to deaden sound as well. The disadvantage of this kind of treatment is that you can’t easily inspect the foamed areas. To my mind, however, the increased corrosion protection the sprayed-in foam provides outweighs any theoretical disadvantage.
Other painting notes. Topsides were originally painted with Awl-Grip. This proved unsatisfactory from my point of view due to Awl-Grip’s tendency to absorb water which caused bubbling of the paint at the waterline. In 1996 I sandblasted a 12" strip around the whole boat at the waterline, primed it carefully, and recoated it. I then rolled and tipped a one-part enamel on the topsides, and I do that every 3-4 years now. It doesn’t look quite as good as Awl-Grip, and if you look closely you can see where I faired in the paint in places near the waterline, but if you weren’t looking for it you’d never see it. I have had no more trouble with the paint at the waterline.
Deck and Cabinhouse. Deck and cabinhouse are all steel, adding to the strength, watertightness, and overall solidity of the the boat. Treadmaster nonskid was applied to deck and cabin top. The eight ports in the cabin sides are non-opening (3/8" Lexan), also ensuring watertightness. Have never felt the need for opening ports, as the wind from the forward hatch blows through the whole boat. When the wind isn't from ahead, we rig an omni-directional windscoop.
Rig
Cutter rigged with single spreaders, running backstays (for use with staysail), and twin permanent backstays (one of which is insulated for use as an antenna). Mast is keel stepped. Standing rigging is oversize. Forestay and staysail stay are 3/8" 1x19, all other standing rigging is 5/16" 1x19, with exception of running backstays which are 1/4" 7x19. All wire terminals are Sta-Loc. Turnbuckles are 5/8" bronze. (A good selection of spares is on board, including spare Sta-Loc terminals, spare turnbuckles, and a length of 5/16" wire long enough to replace any stay or shroud.)
Hood Seafurl 5 roller furling on forestay (new 1998). Staysail uses standard hanks. Note that the staysail is set loose-footed--no staysail boom. Pole (3") for downwind use is stowed on track on mast, set up to make it easy and quick to pole out the jib. Winches are Enkes. Primaries and main halyard winch are self tailing. Jib halyard winch is two-speed. Staysail halyard winch is smaller single-speed. Staysail sheet winches are small single-speed. Reefing winch is two speed in the cockpit. Reefing clew lines and topping lift are taken to the cockpit (through rope clutches) to make reefing easier. Halyard winches are on the mast. (Under this set up, you have to go to the mast when reefing the main to pull down the tack, but the clew can be tightened from the cockpit, which greatly reduces the time you have to spend up on deck.) Plenty of pawls and springs are on board for winch maintenance.
The way I’ve handled this rig has evolved over the years. Originally, it was set up for non-furling Yankee and staysail. This rig worked well on offshore passages, making it easy to reduce sail by dropping either the Yankee or the staysail. I also like the fact that when you drop a hanked-on sail it comes down--there’s no worries about furling gear failure.
However, in the more variable winds of coastal sailing, roller furling has decided advantages, and I eventually converted to it. For the primary furling sail, I had a 115% genoa made, quite a bit larger than the Yankee though smaller than many coastal sailors would normally carry. However, that sail was of composite construction and the cloth eventually delaminated; I replaced it with a 120% dacron sail in 2007.
Both of these sails have worked well, but one result has been that I use the staysail a lot less than I did previously, sailing the boat much more like a sloop than a cutter. The only real drawback is the difficulty of tacking with the staysail stay in place (that wasn't an issue with the Yankee, which had a much shorter LP). Consequently, I installed a lever on that stay to make it easier to remove when I anticipate a lot of tacking. On offshore passages, though, I always leave the staysail stay in place, and the staysail is always hanked on and ready to go.