Tanzer 16 More Little Improvements

Tanzer 16 More Little Improvements  -- March 10, 2015 --  We finished racing and sailing early last September, and we had a long list of little improvements we needed to make before next year.  Today the last ones were finished. These were little things over and above the big thing:  An easier way to raise the mast.

I installed some bags to hold the halyards that are now controlled back in the cockpit--and talk about little things--a sail stop for the main.

It just seemed like a better idea than having a bunch of spaghetti laying
down on the floor.

Granted not the biggest deal in the world, but a nice convenience.  This is
a stock 1/2-inch stop that needed a little grinding so it would fit in the track
The idiot string is to prevent dropping it overboard.

Here was the list we created at the end of last year.

1) add hinged mast for easy raising with a gin pole
2) move halyards to centerboard cap; add cam cleats and a winch so it is easy to raise, lower, and adjust halyard tension underway
3) add additional blocks to traveler to gain 2:1 mechanical advantage so it will be easier to adjust traveler in brisk wind
4) add spinnaker pole
5) get new Genoa  --  Waiting
6) paint deck, including filling holes left by previous owners
7) add new rub rail
8) do a little cosmetic repair to hull in bow area--somebody bashed a lot of docks
9) clean up trailer, paint, and new bunks
10) install cunningham with 2:1 mechanical advantage
11) refill the hardware box with shackle pins, rings, and cotter pins (lots of borrowing by others has depleted the spares)

In addition we 
12) Added a tiller snubber made of shock cords.
13) Improved the topping lift for the main.
14) Added turning blocks for the topping lift and the spinnaker halyard--if we ever get one.

Blue is completed.  Black means we'll have to get on it next year.

We are not naive enough to think that any one of these things are going to help us win races.  But we do think that every little iteration of improvement makes us more efficient and less distracted so that we can concentrate on the big things.  It's a lot easier to focus on keeping sails trimmed and the boat flat when you are not diddling with lots of little stuff that shouldn't be a bother--at least that's the plan.

Plus +++ Today I had the sinking feeling that a piece of plywood inside the port seat is broken.  That would explain why it oilcans so much more than the starboard seat. I will stick my little camera in there later and verify. If it is broken, it will have to get fixed before we paint.

All we need now is for our new Genoa to arrive from Quebec.  We'll add a set of sheets lighter than the ones we use on the regular jib.

I'll spend a day cleaning and polishing.  Then a little practice, and we'll hope for the nice winds we had last summer.