The New Table

Posted on November 8, 2011 by captnmike
New-Boat-Table

The new table - ready for lunch

This is the new table I built for my boat.  My boat did not come with a cabin table which made eating below a bit of an adventure.  Some food was balanced a bit on the steps of the ladder, some on the top of the cooler and yet more sort of scattered around wherever there was an open space.   All in all a bit of an awkward solution.

I thought of many ways to do the table, some were long down the center of the cabin, others had legs that would be in the way or would have been easy to tip over.  My 23rd redesign was a two foot square table the hooked on the middle step of the companion way ladder and was held up with an angle brace to the step below it.

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Improved Fender Whip–Part 1

Posted on November 3, 2011 by captnmike

Improved Fender Whip on the left

This is an improved Fender Whip that holds knots much better than a standard Fender Whip and is much easier to handle than standard double braid or three strand line.  I got this trick from the Chief on a Coast Guard 41 ft Patrol Boat.  I was helping with a combined Coast Guard Auxiliary,  Coast Guard training exercise.  At the end of the day while we were going over what went right and what could have been done better.  I noticed that the fender whips on the Coast Guard fenders had the core stripped from the double braid line used to tie the fenders on the boat.  When I ask why, their response was that the knots held better.

That evening when I got home I took a piece of double braid line, removed the core and  tested the no core line with different  knots around different objects that simulated boat parts.  I found that knots in the double braid line without the core were more secure.  The double braid line with no core was also easier to handle.

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Mike’s Quick Rope Whipping

Posted on October 26, 2011 by captnmike
Mike’s-Quick-Rope-Whipping

Mike’s quick line whipping

This is the quick and secure whipping I use to whip the ends on double braid line.  I have not seen this in any book.  It has some of the elements of the classic quick temporary whipping but this method is much more secure  and almost as quick as the classic quick temporary whipping.  Properly whipped line ends in addition to keeping line ends from fraying also helps give your boat more “style points” and adds to your reputation as a knowledgeable sailor.

Whipping the ends of the line with this whipping is much easier for me to do than the classic regular whipping that has two frapping turns at 90 degrees from each other and the tough (for me anyway) ending knot and bury.  I use a single set of frapping turns to hold the whipping together with a quick secure bury of the two ends of the whipping twine.

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The New Non-Skid

Posted on October 21, 2011 by captnmike
Non-Skid-Bow-2 - non skid on boat

The New Non-Skid on the Bow

Here are a few lessons I learned from my Do It Myself non-skid project on the deck of my boat.

Paint: I used Interlux Interdeck, a Pre-mixed one part Polyurethane Non-skid paint which comes with fine non-skid particles already in the paint.  Interdeck has been “flattened” (gloss removed, low sheen) and is ready to go right from the can (more on this below).  I had used Interdeck on the cockpit sole and hatch cover several years ago and it had held up well and provided good non-skid properties when used with additional coarse grit added.

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Double Constrictor Knot

Posted on October 15, 2011 by captnmike
Double-Constrictor-Knot-Part-7-Finished

Double Constrictor Knot

The Double Constrictor Knot is another very useful knot that should be in every boaters skill set and is quick and easy to tie.  This knot can be used for emergency repairs and quick whipping on the end of a line to keep the line from unraveling until a permanent repair can be made. The Double Constrictor is a more powerful version of the Constrictor Knot   The Double Constrictor is a binding knot that is difficult to untie, many times it needs to be cut off and  can be tied either right or left handed. Continue reading →

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Constrictor Knot

Posted on October 15, 2011 by captnmike
Constrictor-Knot-Part-4-Finished

Constrictor Knot

The Constrictor Knot is a knot that should be in every boaters skill set.  This knot can be used for emergency repairs and quick whipping on the end of a line to keep the line from unraveling until a permanent repair can be made.  The Double Constrictor is a variation that clamps a bit harder.  The Constrictor is a binding knot that is difficult to untie, many times it needs to be cut off.  The Constrictor can be tied easily and quickly either right or left handed.  A Single Constrictor is a variation of the Clove Hitch with a single overhand knot tucked from the outside  to the center under the crossing wrap section. Continue reading →

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Coiling line using the Ballantine Coil on the Adventuress

Posted on October 3, 2011 by captnmike
Ballantine-coil-on-the-Adventurous

Line coiled with a Ballantine Coil on the Schooner Adventuress

On a recent evening sail with the Mountaineers Sailing Group aboard the Schooner Adventuress (Wikipedia, Adventuress Web Site) I saw the crew using the Ballantine Coil to coil the halyards when a sail is raised. With masts that rise over 100 feet above the water and using a multi-part halyard the halyards are quite long requiring very careful coiling to keep the lines organized so they will run free if needed and not become tangled. Continue reading →

Posted in Boating Safety, Mountaineers Sailing, Sailing and Boating Skills | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Coiling line using the Valentine Coil on the Adventuress

Posted on October 3, 2011 by captnmike
valentine-coil-on-the-Adventurous

Line coiled with a Valentine Coil on the Schooner Adventuress

My original article identified the coil as “Valentine” it should have been “Ballantine Coil” Zach from the Adventuress graciously corrected my error. I have made a new article at:

Coiling line using the Ballantine Coil on the Adventuress

that correctly identifies the coil. I have left the old URL intact for those of you that subscribe to my site, Leaving the old URL with a link to the corrected article will prevent you from the dreaded 404 Error – Page Not Found.

My apologies for the error.

c/m

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