first sail 24th april 2010

i arrived at swanage all eager to get out on straycat. unpacking was easy and moving the trolley wheels.
then the jnrs arrived and blocked the slip and beach. it wasnt untill 10am that i could get the boat on the slip. greg turned up and helped with the final rigging and gave richeard a good brief on the boat and what to do.
we launched into and easterly and found the boat good for tacking and then when past the pier starting hiting some waves. the boat bounced and richard commented about the bows . so the dart 18 is not as stable as mutley  no where near, every wave bounced the boat around. we went out to see a tall ship moored in the bay and got a good response from the crew as we circled the boat, richard gave me a full description of every sail and what it was called(ex navy man)
rich miller also showed up with his new 18 as well and then  i knew something wasnt right with stray cat
i think our sail settings were not right as richard was faster than us. only time will tell and plenty of pratice.
the wind wasnt particularly strong and soon died off.
new battens are needed as 2 of them were broken when we rigged the boat.

7.11miles sailed 4.4knts ave 7.21 knts top speed

Straycat 7128 ariving at Swanage 20th april 2010

 

The day started at 0530am and a drive down to swanage to pick up richard. we then headed off to sunny cornwall to st austell. We arrived at 10.30am. chris arived at about 11.30. the boat looked good on the road trailor, after checking the hull and the sails etc we then checked the superb job chris made of raising the mast high enough so that i could get the mast above the back of the van. the boat was in very good condition for its age and a bargain as well. i should have paid at least another 1000 for it. i lost on mutley going cheap  but gained on this one. after arriving at swanage the guys soon got the boat rigged for me. we were looking for the bits for the rigging and mike said have you got any spares, i said yeah in a big box, when he looked inside it was like wow lots in there come have a look guys, it was like christmas, even i didnt know what was in there. after putting the boat in its berth i could tell the difference already in the weight of the boat. i could lift the hull and slide the wheels back into position easy, the only thing that let the boat down was the cover. i did find one job on the right bow, im sure it can be fixed easily. overall im very pleased and look forward to taking her out for her first sail on saturday with richard.

straycat 7128

this is a blog about my new boat called straycat #7128

it will follow the same lines as spud & mutley192

more to follow