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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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Could you fasten a 2X4 to the dock horizontally to extend the dock's width a few feet, and lay the spare rig down, tethered as necessary to secure it? Three anchor points -- two on the dock to secure the base, boom, and/or top, plus one on an extended 2X4 to secure the clew out over the water -- might hold the spare sail down solidly if the wind doesn't reverse directions completely ... maybe even then. You could pad the dock where the boom rests to preserve the grip material, or raise the tip and base supports high enough that the boom would clear the dock. The tethers could be webbing and buckles, serious Velcro straps, tie-down straps with camlock buckles, etc.
I learned the hard way in 1983 that never having to share parts between rigs is invaluable. The time it takes to de-rig one sail to pirate parts to rig another, then reverse everything when the wind goes back to its original speed, is priceless and is lost sailing time we can never get back. One of our locals spends at least half his potential shred time assembling and disassembling piles of sails, masts, booms, bases every time the wind changes by a couple of kts because he prefers to use only the bottom quarter of each sail's range. We kid him about it because he can afford more hardware, but it's his choice.
Another local drives up, rigs according to the forecast, then rigs one smaller and one larger sail just in case. When the wind arrives, he's reddy to rip. It sounds like that's your general approach, and it's well worth the cost of extra rig hardware, a few 2X4s, some concrete, and/or a piece of pipe.
I rig as decreed by the wind, but since 1983, I don't rerig a sail until I load up and drive away. If it blows for several days in a row, I may have all my sails rigged for quick swaps, especially after sunset when some of our best wind and swell may materialize and there's not much daylight left.
Mounting mast bases into your dock permanently would work with vertical sails, but I haven't figured out how the rig could pivot 360 degrees around a boom-high post to which the boom front end is tethered. Besides, is the dock strong enough to handle the torque produced by a vertical sail over a season?
A floating rigging platform consisting of little more than some floats (e.g., inner tubes, styrofoam, PVC piping) and simple center support (e.g., tarp, plywood, tailgate webbing, more PVC) may be of use for rigging or may even be your daily spare sail resting spot instead of a vertical stand. I solve mysteries like this in two ways: I sit there for (windless) hours staring at the challenge until the light bulb comes on over my head, and/or I go to bed thinking about it and let my subconscious work on it. Both have paid off big time in many projects.
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gpadmos
Joined: 09 Jul 2009 Posts: 55
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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Bluefish1 - could you post a picture of the dock that would allow us to visualize the particulars, e.g., pilings, dock length, etc.? Does the lake level vary significantly during the season?
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U2U2U2
Joined: 06 Jul 2001 Posts: 5467 Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 9:20 am Post subject: |
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bluefish1 wrote: | I have to rig on my narrow wooden dock in the wind and it’s a difficult. The wind comes and goes, so if I had 2 sails fully rigged ready to swap out, one could stay attached to the board on a buoy, the other could be on a stand. No room for 2 sails in the water or on land. It’s a way for me to spend more time windsurfing. I could rig both sails in the morning and have 2 sizes throughout the day. De-rigging in the water is super easy.
I wish I could see how they attached the sails in that photo. It looks like a big setup. It also looks like the wind only comes from one direction.
Sorry, I’m just thinking I could make a simple design, like a giant weather vane to store an extra sail so I don’t have to rig on the narrow wood dock. |
WHY do you have to rig on the dock ? Why cant you leave the sails secured at the land end of the dock ?
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J64TWB
Joined: 24 Dec 2013 Posts: 1685
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 10:38 am Post subject: |
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There is a steep bluff with shrubs. I’ll try and post a few photos later, but last time I tried I had no luck.
I’m liking this pole idea. If I get a 10ft. pipe and sledgehammer it in the lakebed right next to the dock and bolt it to the dock, I am highly confidant it will be secure. As long as the rig can pivot with the wind to take the load off. This will be fairly straightforward. The dock is stable and heavy enough to hold a pontoon boat in the wind.
Then the tricky part.
What kind of pipe will be strong enough? Black pipe at Home Depot? What about rust?
How to secure the rig to the pipe? I’m thinking if I drill a hole through the pipe just above the dock, I can put a cotter pin through that spot to hold a giant washer of some kind. That would be the lower pivot point for the rig. The washer could possibly encompass a mast base holder or universal joint holder. Or I would have to make something separate to attach to the washer? Then it’s just a simple boom head strapped to the top of the pipe.
Imagine the flagpole idea. If your standing on the ground, how would you secure the rig to the flagpole just off the ground so it could swing around free off the ground?
Any design ideas for the mast base attachment?
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J64TWB
Joined: 24 Dec 2013 Posts: 1685
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 2:13 pm Post subject: |
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J64TWB
Joined: 24 Dec 2013 Posts: 1685
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 2:15 pm Post subject: |
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J64TWB
Joined: 24 Dec 2013 Posts: 1685
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 3:16 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry for the distorted photos. It’s hard getting less than 1MB photo. What you cant see, and I tried to take a picture off is the bluff going down to the dock. It’s steep and shrubbery. At the end of the dock it’s about 5 ft. Deep.
Also what you cant see are the neighbors docks. I can’t just leave stuff all in the water. I have a board rack on the stairs going up. Rigging has to be on the dock or in the water.
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swchandler
Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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Is the dock pictured in the first photo your private property? Does the dock path turning to the right lead to other docks owned by others?
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J64TWB
Joined: 24 Dec 2013 Posts: 1685
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:45 pm Post subject: |
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Private dock. Need a plumbers advice on a weld neck flange and a lazy susan design.
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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Lessee ... sturdy/professional private dock with metal framing + waist-deep water at its middle = multiple options to extend a platform to one side, not unlike that pair of rails off to one side. As glitzy as vertical storage sounds and looks, it seems to me to offer the wind a much greater chance of buffeting the rig around unnecessarily without a pretty elaborate structure. The lazy susan concept probably eliminates the vertical storage pivot issue. but doesn't provide a rigging area like a platform extension would. Widening the deck surface just 3-4 feet would probably give decent rigging and storage space, and if you kept your weight on the deck (i.e., don't walk on the extension), the extension could be light and easy to transport seasonally.
I'm trying to picture someone sticking a vertical 7.5 into a mast base when the wind starts gusting > 20.
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