>* Looking to purchase a new main halyard. Any recommendations? Anyone with
>a
>Baba 30 go through this recently? Size/Length?

I've recently replaced most of my running rigging on Shantih, and used
Sampson XLS Yacht Braid. I think I used 7/16" for the halyards, I'll check
the receipt when I'm down on the boat tonight and will confirm. As to
lengths, it kind of depends on your rig. I purchased a few hundred feet of
the XLS and then did my own splices (kind of fun if you're into that kind of
thing). My splicing kit included various figs, a pusher, and some waxed
whipping twine. I used a smaller line, 1/4" sewn end-to-end to the old
halyard with nylon thread, then electrical tape to smooth out the transition
from the larger to smaller line, then pulled the old halyard out, made the
new one, sewed the end to the 1/4" pilot line, then pulled the new one into
place. Never had to go up the mast. :)

>* Anyone ever wash sails?

No, but mine need cleaning too. Anyone have any advice for what to use and
what not to use?
Would love to soak the bronze hanks in some vinegar overnight to make them
shiny, but they're attached to the sail making that impractical.

>* Anyone ever use that super-duper-turns-dryrot-to-steel stuff? Obviously I

I caught the Captain Ron reference, in fact I quote the movie quite often
when taking out new guests. It makes me sound "salty"! Argh!

Where would one typically look on a Baba-30 for dry rot? I don't know if I
have any, and maybe I don't want to know!

>* Does anyone use those fender cages you see on stinkpotters? Seems like a

I've thought about those as well since I single-hand much of the time and it
would be quicker to toss the fenders into mounted cages on the stern rail.
But, like you, I don't think I've seen them on a sailboat before and there
are other items my boat bucks will go to first. On relatively calm days, I
usually put 3 fenders between the dorade boxes. They used to all fit in the
lazarette, but that's full of a hot water heater now. Mine get tied to the
stern rail for now, anyone else find clever storage places for fenders?

>Now if I can just get past my varnish anxiety...

I started on my teak reconditioning in earnest last Saturday. I'm
experimenting with Soy Gel

http://www.franmar.com/paint.html

(I have no connection to the company and am still testing it on my teak and
varnish...)

The gel seems to remove varnish fairly well, but it does require several
applications, in between which I'm gently scraping with a putty knife to
remove the softened varnish. I'm happy with the ease at which it takes off
varnish, but I'm struggling with how to remove the residue left on (in) the
wood. The residue gums up sand paper very quickly, so I'm experimenting
with different tactics such as longer drying times (you can leave the gel on
overnight), wiping the bare teak with acetone... I'll hopefully figure out
a system to get down to bare, clean, teak. Right now I'm just working on
the eyebrow, but if it works, the toerail is next.

I'm taking pictures along the way so that I can share before/after ...

Cheers,

Ken Pearce
s/v Shantih, Baba-30
Bellingham, WA

-----------------------------------------------------------
Baba Panda and Tashiba Owners Mailing List --
For more info, please check out the FAQ...
http://www.ballreich.net/hypermail/baba-l/faq.html
Received on Mon Apr 24 15:58:10 2006