New rigging and a splash in salt water

After the first sail on Chifley dam I decided that something needed to be done about the rigging. The turnbuckles all had nice bends in them and there was a huge kink in the backstay and all the strands had separated.

A friend put me in touch with a Jasen Cowling a rigger in Mosman. Jasen is more commonly at home working on something a bit larger than my 20 foot trailer sailer or crewing for a blue water classic, but he was more than happy to sort me out.

We parked my little trailer in the marina car park over shadowed by the masts of all the 'real yachts' and we set about resolving the sins of the past. Jasen took time to show me around my boat and explain why he shuddered at some of the previous rigging jobs. I went in looking to replace the stays and came away with all new standing and running rigging, but feeling much safer and confident in my little boat (it really did need it), if a bit poorer than I'd hoped.

To my surprise, a little yacht on a trailer in a marina car park attracted a fair bit of attention. A few of the pros based at the marina came out for a look and were very complementary. I'd recommend Jasen, he's not as cheap as a backyard job but he went out of his way to save costs and teach me about my boat and you do get what you pay for.

With a new set of strings holding the big pointy thing up and a good forecast for the weekend I was keen to get out on the water. So Saturday we made the arduous drive down to Tunks park in Northbridge (did I mention I live 5 minutes from the boat ramp?). After the experience launching at the dam I kept the trailer higher out of the water and tried to get more tilt to get her off. All appeared to be going well until the prop on the outboard touched the ramp (it was fully tilted but not high enough) and I lost all momentum. After a wade to tilt the outboard a bit higher and a few "helpful" comments from the guy powerloading next to me I tried again. This time the bow dropped off the roller and scraped on the frame of the trailer before floating nicely off.

We motored along Long Bay out into Middle Harbour. We then cut the motor unfurled the jib, hoisted the main and sailed North toward Bantry Bay. After a bit of time in Middle Harbour we turned into Sugarloaf Bay and tucked up into Crag Cove to relax for a while.

Back out into Middle Harbour we found the wind had picked up and we had a nice up wind run to get back to the boat ramp. I was very impressed by how well the Nomad pointed and how stable it felt, although a 30-something footer did nicely highlight the principle of hull speed by passing us several times as we worked up-wind and they trained.

At the boat ramp I was feeling confident about loading and thought everything went well. That is until I noticed that I had left two big scratches in the bow when I winched the boat onto the trailer. The bow dropped between the Retriever-mates and dug in as I winched. Looking at other trailers I saw a centre between the retriever-mates, on mine this roller is on the other side of the first cross-member. Probably something else to fix when I get to the trailer.

All up I was really happy with our first real sail on the Nomad and very keen to get out for more. I have also decided to put some effort in and fix her up properly so we can really enjoy her.

First time on the water

After the offer was accepted we made the trek from Sydney back up to Belmont again to pick her up. We carefully towed her back down to the F3 and Pacific Highway, and carefully is key here. Towing a 30 year old yacht on a 30 year old trailer on one of the hottest days in January (only a week before the car had boiled and a new radiator was deemed necessary) and on one of the most notorious roads in the country. But, in the end we made it back to Sydney without issue.

I decided to take the boat up to Bathurst to Dad's place for a good going over as we have a better workshop there than I do in Sydney. We also thought it would be a good opportunity to put a trailer yacht on Ben Chifley Dam.

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Ben Chifley Dam is the main supply for Bathurst's water and is more commonly used by water skiers than trailer yachts. There is dinghy sailing but not normally a 20 footer.

We waited until the afternoon when most of the skiers would be heading home and we headed for the dam. We turned a few heads as we rigged in the car park.

Did I mention the 30 year old trailer? We backed down the ramp and gave a good push and nothing happened. Various combinations of in deeper or shallower and pushing and tilting were tried. She had been sitting on the trailer for quite some time and wasn't too keen to come off so we enlisted the help of some skiers (who were keen to get us out of the way so they could retrieve).

Then we were off for a few laps of the dam under motor to see how everything performed (and check there were no leaks!

We even manage a lap under sail (jib only), ghosting along in the whisper of a breeze. Again, we attracted a few onlookers of skiers and fishermen. The local maritime inspector even showed up and was stunned to see a trailer yacht on the dam.

A look at the rigging showed a few potential failure points so that was put down as the next job, and an inspection of the trailer with the boat off showed a bit of rust (I guess that is to be expected on a 30 year old trailer) and a few bent rollers (the reason for the not so easy launch).