waiting and things just not going the way you want.”


Brad Kurlancheek Bear Creek, PA


CARBON FIBER MAINTENANCE I really enjoy the magazine—keep up the good work.


One thought for a future article: Carbon Fiber Epoxy Maintenance and Repair.


I know we’re all about wood and fiber- glass and this is heresy, but carbon fiber parts are becoming more prevalent (e.g, Sage 17 carbon fiber deck, NorseBoat 17.5 carbon fiber mast, etc).


Online information is in scarce supply regarding how to store, how to repair nicks in the coating, periodic re-coating, etc.


Anything would be helpful. Tanks!


Joel Busby Coppell, TX


Good idea, Joel. We’ll see what we can do to address that topic soon. —Eds


MAST RAISING IDEAS I read with some interest the letter in the Nov/Dec issue of Small Craft Advisor from David Murphy entitled “Catboat Mast Raising.” I recently acquired a Devlin design Eider and found the mast was impossible to raise by myself. After considering the price of carbon fiber masts, the aesthetics of aluminum masts, and the time involved in building a hollow birdsmouth mast, I came up with the following solution which may be of interest to Mr. Murphy.


First of all, I built a crutch that was as tall as I could liſt the mast in the cockpit.


I then built what, for lack of a better term, I will call a “gin board.” I took a 2 x 6, cut an inverted “U” notch in the bot- tom that exactly fit on the tongue of my trailer. I also cut a smaller notch in the top and inserted a pulley sheave. Setting the gin-board on the trailer, the lower notch straddling the tongue, I cut a hole for the bowsprit to protrude through. Finally, I mounted a cheap Harbor


SMALL CRAFT ADVISOR


Freight hand winch on the gin board.


Te bottom of the gin-board is “stopped’ by a fixture on the trailer tongue and the upper end is stopped by the bowsprit fixtures. A simple u-bolt over the trailer tongue in an appropriate position would work fine to stop the bottom of the gin board.


With the mast lying on the tall boom crutch, I ran the winch cable over the gin board pulley and attached it to the mast forestay which lays loose when the mast is down. Cranking the winch, I can raise the mast, lock it in the tabernacle, detach the forestay from the winch cable and attach it to the bowsprit. What is es- sential is that the angle between the mast and the gin board is less that 90 degrees, therefore the tall crutch in the cockpit. Once the mast is up, the crutch and gin board go in the pickup, the boat goes in the water and hopefully floats as I haven’t yet gotten to that part...


I am recently into sailing, very much enjoy your magazine and have made some strong hints to my wife about how nice a Christmas present a subscription would be.


Jeff Mauger Port Angeles, WA


EASY-TO-RIG TRAILERSAILERS I’ve sold my Potter 19. I loved how she sailed, but I’m looking for a replacement boat that is easier to rig. I need to shorten the time from arrival at the ramp, to sailing. Te Potter averaged an hour and 20 minutes from arrival to sailing, not encouraging for daysailing. Also, on over- night trips I hated the intrusion of the keel into the cabin’s usable space, includ- ing making the Porta Potti inaccessible.


My search has come down to the 17- foot Sun Cat and the Sage 15, both being quick mast raising operations and having open cabin designs. My primary use is pocket cruising. The Salish 100 (details next issue—Eds) exemplifies the types of solo trips I typically make. Open passages, with the chance of weather changes.


I’ve read reviews of both, but would appreciate hearing from someone who


has actually sailed these boats. If you can assist or direct me to a good source of feedback I would greatly appreciate it.


I’ve chosen these two boats due to their construction quality and sailing attri- butes, not being racers but offering good sailing performance for a pocket cruiser.


It appears the Sage 15 would be a fun, re- sponsive boat, with the ability to change sail configurations to match conditions, and ballast where it counts (down low), but with the light-displacement how does it respond to beating into larger waves? Will 4 hours of sailing in15-18 knot winds wear you out?


Te Sun Cat has limited sail configura- tions and low ballast to displacement ratio. Is it reasonable to expect to do any sailing if the wind gets up to 15-18 knots? I also observed that the mast hinge is not near a strong as I had antic- ipated.


Any help is appreciated.


Jim Harris East Wenatchee, WA


Hi Jim. We’ve sailed both boats for review of course, and we think you’ve narrowed it down to two good ones.


As we often point out, the lighter boat will almost always require less total ef- fort—whether it’s launching, rigging, maintenance, or just pushing it away fom the beach. Tis would obviously favor the Sage. However the Com-Pac Sun Cat’s tabernacle mast-raising system, with just a forestay to attach before hoisting sail, is exceptionally simple.


While heavier boats typically offer smoother rides than lighter craſt, we think you’d find both boats comfortable enough in the conditions you describe. Te Sun Cat is arguably a little under-canvassed—cer- tainly by catboat standards—so it likes a little more wind. The Sage is plenty sea- worthy, too, and would offer better light- air performance.


Good luck. We don’t think you can go wrong either way. Maybe readers will want to share their own thoughts on your question. —Eds


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