Bought my first sailboat!!!

[GreenLake]

Here is how my motor will connect. There is an adjustable transom.

"transom" would be the whole back of your boat - what you mean is a motor mount, or bracket. A nice one, from the looks of it.

[IndianaSail]

There are a couple pieces of rigging I would like to replace, but don't know the exact specs. Could someone help me out with my options?

-Main sail tack pin was replaced with pin that currently has some surface rust.

-Jib tack point is currently a d-shackle with a screw pin, but I'm afraid of loosing that pin while connecting. Is there another option?

[GreenLake]

For the jib tack my preferred setup is a long D shackle with captive pin and a pair of holes for a retaining wire. The bow of the D is fed through the grommet on the sail, then SS wire is fed across the opening (strung between two small holes in the middle of what would be the "top" and "bottom" parts of the letter D shape. This wire prevents the shackle from coming off the sail when not rigged. (Having the holes to anchor the wire is nice, but not 100% essential) The straight portion of the D would be a captive pin. There are any number of designs for that, I'm using the kind that has a little "nub" at the end of the pin that fits through a small slot filed into the edge of the hole and locks with a quarter turn.

Something like this, although that one is probably overkill (and it has a nice pin instead of wire).
http://www.fisheriessupply.com/ronstan-halyard-shackles

Mine looks more like this, but w/o the fixed bar (otherwise I couldn't fit the shackle through the sail grommet). Instead of the bar, I just have the holes where it would mount and string a bit of wire.
http://www.fisheriessupply.com/race-lite-ss-small-boat-rope-halyard-shackles

The same supplier also carries locking pins that might work for your mainsail tack. (My gooseneck fitting has a captive pin that would not be easy to replace, but I've seen fittings where it would be possible to just use a locking pin (the kind with a little ball at the end and a push button to release).
What I am thinking of is called a "fast" pin:
http://www.fisheriessupply.com/qrp-inc-r-style-fast-pin.
There are other types of pins that do not lock positively, but that may be fine for the purpose (and would be cheaper).

[IndianaSail]

Here is an actual picture of the front forstay pin I would like to replace as well.



and the main sail pin picture discussed in the previous post. Looks like the hole has a slot for a certain type of pin. Any clues?

[jeadstx]

That should work for your gooseneck. The original pin had a pin in the end that would go thru the slot, but not fall out on the other side.

John

[GreenLake]

The first picture does not show a screw type pin. Why replace that?

[IndianaSail]

The first picture does not show a screw type pin. Why replace that?

It is for the bow forstay, so the on that I will have to disconnect the most frequently. I'd like a style that would less likely to lose. Ya just never know what will happen at the boat ramp.

I did get a chance to power wash it last night. The deck cleaned up really well! Any ideas on how to get rid of the white chalky stuff along the water line and below?

[GreenLake]

For all the stays, I've stuck with the cotter rings. In all those years, I've lost one, but I have one permanently attached to my key ring. These are the most highly loaded pins on the DS, and if they get loose while under way, the consequence can be a dropped mast. Both reasons to be very hesitant about "quick release" of any form.

[IndianaSail]

For all the stays, I've stuck with the cotter rings. In all those years, I've lost one, but I have one permanently attached to my key ring. These are the most highly loaded pins on the DS, and if they get loose while under way, the consequence can be a dropped mast. Both reasons to be very hesitant about "quick release" of any form.

Makes sense!

[jeadstx]

Since I have a hinged mast, my shrouds stay attached to the boat when I raise and lower the mast. During the 2012 Texas 200, the cotter ring on the starboard shroud fell off and the shroud came off the chainplate while sailing on a port tack. Since we were on port tack, there was no tension on that shroud. The clevis pin was still at the base of the chainplate and the shroud was attached. While trying get a new cotter pin in the clevis pin, we capsized, but we didn't lose the mast. Since that time I put riggers tape over the cotter ring.

John

[GreenLake]

Makes sense for extended trips or if the boat is kept on the water. For short day trips that's not as workable a solution, but the duration is so short that some failure scenarios may well not have enough time to lead to complete. The one time that a dinghy mast came down on the lake it was for some other failure.

[IndianaSail]

Well, IT FLOATS!!! We took it out on the water the other night. We put the mast up, but no sails, and tested the motor (3 pulls and it started right up). I haven't had tons of experience with loading and unloading a boat, but we did it! Also got to practice putting the mast up, which we are improving every time. It's taking us about a little over half an hour to setup and tear down each time. I will admit it was pretty nerve racking pulling away from the dock for the first time!

[GreenLake]

Looks like you are having a blast!

If you are really doing it in half an hour, I'd say you are fast..

But then again, not everyone has to fight distractions like a steady stream of these:

[affrey]

Congrats and awesome DS!!! It looks almost like mine. Did you and you wife come up with a name yet?
My wife named ours the moment I agreed to buy it. She called it a "Bad Idea"!!! It stuck!

[IndianaSail]

Just listed for sale. Please let me know if you would be interested.

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