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Patrick
If you look closely I think you’ll see that the track begins and ends about where you describe. It appears that a short section of track may have been cut out to mount one of the stanchions. Its hard to tell from the photos.Everything on a boat is a trade-off. The existing inboard stanchions work for me and look good. They have the disadvantage of being mounted on a balsa-core deck. This invites leaks and softening of the deck under the stanchion. They do keep the toe-rail clear of obstructions. This is probably only of interest when refinishing the toe-rail. The 424 side decks are wider than most boats and I have no trouble getting even my fat ass forward and aft. The only place I have a problem is beside the dodger. This is where the gate is and where most of the wear occurs on the stanchion bases. One of these days I’ll replace the gate stanchions. I’ll give careful consideration to mounting the pair on the rail, but I’d be reluctant to cut my track. I almost never move the gennoa car. It seems that I’m almost always either pointing hard on the wind or running. More often than not its with the headsail rolled up and the motor on. If I lived where there were constant trade-winds and I could cruise in a constant direction with the wind off the beam it might be worth the effort to move the car. I leave the car positioned properly for pointing. IMHO, the 424 is a dog running unless you put up some kind of chute. Miniscule improvements that can be made by adjusting the gennoa sheet car don’t seem worth the effort. Now if I changed headsails, I can see moving the car. I’m not sure the forward two feet of track are useful with my sail inventory. I’,
Replacing the gate stanchions is on the list of things that aren’t right but aren’t quite broken. I may get to doing something with them after I’ve had a chance to fix everything else on the list.
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I got mine too.
Thanks
Rich
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Bob
The dodger frame can’t be moved. It would screw-up the dodger which is very important to me. 3-speed winches hey? Someone spent some bucks on those…Regards
RichQuote:<.. snip>Post generated from Pearson424 Forum using Mail2Forum
Thanks to all for the inputs. I was working on a 2-speed winch handle. After spending several more hours doing a patent search, I found that someone had already patented the idea; not exactly as I might have made it but close enough. They patented it almost 20 years ago, 5048799 . Their claim has expired. They were apparently never able to get any commercial interest. Too bad, since I really want a pair. It would give me the extra torque advantage I want when sheeting-in in heavy air.
I had a better gear mechanism that provides an easier way to switch the gears in and out, but I don’t think it’s sufficiently different from their patent. I wonder why nobody licensed the idea and produced one? I had draft mechanical drawings prepared and was working on the patent text. I spent quite a lot of time on it including sarching through several hundred existing patents. I had plans to meet with the lawyer next week to give him a check. Since its raining here today, I spend the day searching again for patents. I’m glad I found the other patent before I wasted my money. Nothing lost but my time.
Judging from the respose I got, there aren’t enough folks interested in adding a gear to their winches. Maybe that’s why nobody ever built it. Maybe this is all for the best 🙁This still leaves me with undersized winches. I checked my winchs and I have Lewmar 48st. My boat came without self-tailing winches. I replace them with the same winch size shortly after I bought the boat. Pearson made the 424 in three different rig sizes. My mast height is 48 feet, I suspect they increased winch size during the coarse of production. They may have even offered larger winches as an upgrade. Replacing the primaries would be very difficult. That’s the primary reason I didn’t go with a larger winch when I refitted with self-tailers. That and the extra cost. The hole pattern for the new winches wouldn’t match what’s cut in the combing. I’d have to fill in the holes and redrill, then raise the lifelines or put the winches up on a pedestal. Ideally, they should be mounted aft a little more. I couldn’t put them within reach of the helmsman because the bimini frame is in the way. A small spinnaker winch would probably fit there however.
Someone makes a winch handle that telescopes out to switch from 7″ to 10″. IMHO, this is pretty useless for two speed winches. 10″ is barely long enough to make a difference. You don’t have a ratchet action with a 2-speed winch. One direction is high-gear, one is low. I have 10″ winch handles and they are too long. If used, my hand hits the dodger when cranking. What I really need is a ratcheting winch handle. Then I could go with a 12″ handle and ratchet it back and forth with no fear of hitting my hand. It also would let me use a partial circle when cranking the winch. The regular handle requires full revolutions if you want to stay in low gear.
http://sailing.about.com/b/2009/09/28/the-search-for-the-perfect-winch-handle.htm
Barient used to make these. I think I may have owned one at one point in time but its probably at the bottom of the ocean. They even had one with a locking tab. I think Barient used to make a top-notch winch. Too bad they went out of business. Nobody makes these handles anymore and I can’t find one on the internet.
http://l-36.com/winches/wnchhndl.htm
Anyone have a connection at Harken, Lewmar or Garhauer? There’s a too obvious need here to be ignored.
Rich
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I hope folks don’t mind hijacking the mailing list. What I’m doing is directly related to the 424, but has a larger audience. I’m working on something. I can’t reveal too much until after the patent application has been submitted. If there were a way to retrofit your existing winches to add a third gear for about $300 each, would folks be interested or are they happy with what they have? The retrofit is seamless and can be done without removing the winch base. Before I write a big check out to the patent attorney I’d like to know if there is a market for this. I’ve done about as much as I can on my end. The lawyer wants a check to proceed. After the patent is pending, I promise to provide more information.
If I’m successful, I’ll try to get 424 owner’s a discount. I’ll have to get manufacturers like Lewmar to sign a license agreement and tool up for the retrofit. I don’t expect to be directly involved with the retrofit. I don’t know if there are enough potential customers to convince Lewmar into investing in the tooling required to keep the cost down. If about 10% or more of boats over 30 feet were interested, I think that would be enough.
Rich
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I’ve been reluctant to use engine anti-freeze. I use potable anti-freeze to
winterize the engine. For the engine, I use the -100f stuff. For the rest
of the water systems I use -50f stuff. I’m reluctant to pump poison
overboard.Rich
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Yanmar specifies Dextron. Anything else voids your warranty.
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Bob
It’s a slipstream 3-blade folding prop, $2grand.http://www.richardcarter.net/repower/Propeller.html
Rich
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Don
I use the outdrive paint because its in a spray can, easier to apply a smooth finish. My prop is stainless as is my shaft, so it might behave differently. I still get a little growth on the shaft, but nowhere near what it used to be. The prop seems to stay pretty clean.Rich
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Rich
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John
The oil leak is most likely from the output shaft seal. You really need to remove the V-drive to get at this seal. Its not expensive but it can be difficult to remove. Removing the V-drive can be done by most folks who are handy with wrenches and can lift a hundred pounds or so. Here are my notes.http://www.richardcarter.net/repower/Vdrive.html
Don’t spend a lot of money on the V-drive. If you find that it needs a lot of work just replace it. They are throw-aways.
Regards
Rich
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This happened to me once many years ago. I anchored in a tidal area one evening and woke up over a mile from where I anchored. The boat dragged over several sandbars and was in a relatively deep spot when I woke up. The nylon rhode wrapped between the keel and rudder, leaving the boat broadside to the current.
I anchor with all chain now. This can’t happen with chain. Yet another reason to go with all chain. A sentinel can help prevent this if you really want to stick with nylon.
Rich
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Sweet! Xmas is coming. Maybe I’ll buy one or two as stocking-stuffers.
One for my wife and one for my daughter 😉Rich
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Tor
So sad about Reeds. They had such a great nautical almanac. I found it
much easier to use than HO-214. I wrote some spreadsheets that use the
sunephemeris coefficients to automate my sight reduction. This is of little
use without the paper tables however.This may be the same information. Maybe they still print it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/071368996X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=48
6539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0713667303&pf_rd_m=ATVP
DKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0NPQ088VWJR7M8YPQBWTAlmost nobody uses paper tables for navigating anymore. They just didn’t
have enough demand to keep publishing the material. I even confess that I
didn’t bother to buy an almanac this year. I kept a tide table for the
summer months in my wallet, but nothing else. I use my computer for tides
and my GPS for navigation. I’d certainly get a new set of tables if I went
offshore again.Rich
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Alan
The tides and currents are out of phase. The current is not normally flowing at either high nor low tide. Max flow is typically somewhere near mid-tide. I suggest getting a computer charting program that displays Tides-and-Currents.Many years ago when I first met my lovely wife we cruised to Provincetown Mass. Being a lake girl, she had little experince with tides. She tied the dinghy to the town pier rather than the town float. A few hours later it was hanging in midair by the painter.
Regards
Rich
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