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Far Reach Voyages

~ The sailing, maintenance, and upgrades of a highly modified and custom built Cape Dory 36 sailboat. Please visit our other website that documents the six year rebuild and modification of the sailing vessel Far Reach at www.farreachvoyages.com.

Far Reach Voyages

Category Archives: Equipment

A New Forestay Release Device

23 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by farreachvoyages in Equipment, Modifications, Uncategorized, Upgrades

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Dyneema Forestay Release, Low Friction Rings

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The Far Reach has a headstay and a forestay.  Until recently, the forestay was dyneema with a spliced bronze eye connected to a bronze turnbuckle.  It was difficult to disconnect the forestay and pull it back out of the way to make short tacking easier.

Cutter rigged boats like the Far Reach have a headstay and a forestay. The forestay is sometimes referred to as the inner-stay but it is correctly called the forestay as it supports the fore stays’l.

A challenge for cutter rigged boats is tacking with both stays rigged. If the slot between the two stays is narrow, and sometimes even if it is not particularly narrow, the jib can get “hung up” on the forestay as it passes through the slot from one tack to the other.  When short-tacking (tacking a number of times in rapid succession) up a narrow channel you can get into trouble if your jib fails to pass through the slot between the stays.  Occasional tacks should not  be a concern and every sailor should be able to tack their cutter reliably with only the occasional hiccup.

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Back in St Thomas

05 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by farreachvoyages in Equipment, Planning, Voyaging

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Eric looking aft and enjoying his perch as we sail towards Jost van Dyke.

5 Apr 2015, The Far Reach, Anchored Elepahnt Bay, St Thomas, USVI — We departed the North Sound on 15 March and sailed down to the baths were once again we picked up a mooring for a few hours and enjoys swimming off the boat in the clear blue tinted water.  Afterwards we sailed north about a mile and anchored over night off Spanish Town.  Next day, we weighted anchor about 0830 and had a fine sail running east downwind in the Drake Channel then reaching north through the Thatch Cut to Jost van Dyke.

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Cane Garden Bay, Tortola

02 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by farreachvoyages in Equipment, Voyaging

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The Far Reach anchored in beautiful Cane Garden Bay.

2 Jan 2016, The Far Reach, Anchored Cane Garden Bay, Tortola, BVI–We departed Jost van Duke this morning and beat up-wind (of course!) under a reefed main, working jib and stays’l to Cane Garden Bay on the west side of Tortola. The indications are the winds will slacken a bit to about 15-20 kts and it was a pretty comfortable, though short, sail.

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