The first race of the 2024 season was held this past Sunday. Unfortunately there was a bit of a wind problem, where did the wind go from the previous two weekends? Thanks to the competitors that hung in there and completed one race. Thanks also to Paul Hemker and Bernard Normand for their race committee duty.
BLSA will be passing these flyers out showcasing our simpler social event schedule that will hopefully make it easier for anyone to attend!
My “main” 2023 winter project was to order a mainsail kit from Sailrite and build my 1980 O’Day 23-2 a new mainsail. I believe the one that came with it was the original and its quite baggy!
last year I purchased a Sailrite LSZ-1, have done a few projects but was ready to tackle the mainsail kit. The kit comes mostly complete minus a few pretty specific tools required to complete it. I purchased those also. All the Dacron is precut with printed lines showing all the seams. They send along a detailed set of instructions (printed out) and there is some fantastic YouTube videos to watch/re-watch, and re-watch to help insure everything is going as planned.
The hardest sewing part was once the sail started getting larger, getting the reef patches sewn since the LSZ-1 is definitely not a sail loft sized machine, rolling/stuffing all the sail through, and around to get the patches on was quite a feet. But overall the actual main sewing went quite smooth
Finishing work once all the panels are together includes installing the leech line, the bolt rope on the luff and foot of the sail, creating the holes for the tack/clew, reef points, the header board. And of course the, I believe 12 , holes and grommets for the sail slugs that slide into the mast track. All this work was not specifically difficult but it was quite time consuming. I did have sore fingers after wrapping the tack,clew, and reef SS rings that are the grommets with waxed twin before inserting the brass sleeve.
One remaining thing I would like to do, is get the O’Day emblem (big O) for the sail cut out of some adhesive Dacron that I also ordered. I’m not yet sure to get these cut out smoothly so that is TBD.
Below is a recipe contributed by Heide and Paul Hemker
Below is a link to a great article explaining mainsail trim
We have lost a dear friend and past Commodore, Bill Ralston. We will miss you. Fair winds and following seas. May you rest in peace.
