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Can you still remove the tabernacle?

Doug

[dbeck]

Doug,

yes. The clamp is bolted through (!) the bowsprit. Taking it off just requires to unscrew two nuts below the bowsprit. Removing mast and bowsprit requires removing the two pivot bolts at the tabernacle. The 'difficult' part is to remove the five bolts that fix the tabernacle to bulkhead #2, which is much easier with a helper inside the cabin .

Dietrich

[dbeck]

As our build is finished, I'd like to report on the 'final' deviations from the manual. Most of them concern the rigging.

Synthetic rigging. Shrouds and bobstay are made of 5mm dyneema.

There are no tracks and cars at mast and gaff, we used trim line instead. We did not like drilling holes into the mast and prefer the classic look. This solution works very well, saves weight and money.

Why is it called gaff rig? 'Gaffel' is a Dutch or Frisian word meaning 'fork'; we did not want a metal gooseneck but a classic wooden fork - ours is made of ash that was steam bent.

At the gaff, the attachment of the block for the peak halyard at the gaff is not implemented with an eyestrap but via a bridle made of dyneema. Both ends of the bridle have spliced eyes holding the gaff (no screws!).

Today many boats implemented a jiffy reefing but we implemented reefing differently, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uOwJQ_5X7M . We like optimizing aft and front reefing separately. Close the mast, the aft reefing line(s) run through a servo cleat followed by a block attached to the boom. Aft reefing just requires to lose the main sheet and to pull that reefing line; during that step the halyards remain cleated. The forward reefing is more complex as it requires to ease and tighten again the two halyards of the main. On our last trip, I used that system successfully a few times.

At our first trials we realized a tiller lock is badly needed; we have implemented what is called 'Huntingford Helm Impeder' (google) which is popular amongst cruising dinghies in Europe. We used a few meters of trim line, some bungee cord, two shackles, a small block and a cleat. The holding force is easily adjusted in between entirely loose and strong by altering the tension of the bungee cord. On our first trips this proved to work very well.

My co-builder made a very nice tiller extension from the same wood combination as the tiller itself; such an extension is extremely useful as it allows steering while standing on the deck when motoring in a marina or sitting in a forward position in the cockpit while sailing.

For bowsprit, mast, boom, gaff and tiller we switched to two-part varnish.

We were oscillating between building or not the boom gallows. Presently we just have two topping lifts (one on each side of the gaff). At its bottom, each lift connects to a bridle attached to the boom. The bridle(s) act as a simple lazy jack. After two short trips we realized NOT having a boom gallows has a big advantage: In many marinas the boat is not attached alongside a pier, but perpendicular with its stern only (the bow is typically hold in position by mooring lines attached to poles that are 7-10 m away from the pier). One has to leave or enter that boat over the stern. Keep in mind this requires a big step as the transom skirt is far away from the pier due to rudder and outboard. With a boom gallows, this would be difficult.

We started our build in late November 2021 and finished in August 2024. Our log claims 1392 hours build time in the workshop.

2024-09-03_22-39-24.JPG (209.48 KiB) Viewed 943 times

2024-09-14_10-05-02.JPG (250.13 KiB) Viewed 941 times

2024-09-08_17-17-17.JPG (127.97 KiB) Viewed 940 times

[slash2]

Beautiful boat and congrats!

I always enjoy seeing customizations of the Pocketship.

[Pasi in Finland]

Hi,

As I'm about to start on the rigging I'm very interested in how did yours and your feedback on them.

Your reefing systems seems simple and practical, but I don't quite understand what the cleat on the boom does. In the middle picture it looks almost like the cleat is the wrong way.

Would you mind explaining, perhaps with some more pictures, how you've done the reefing?

Pasi

[dbeck]

Hi Pasi,

the original idea was to use (for each reef) two separate lines. But then it turned out the lines for the aft reefing points are long enough even for the front reefing points. So we decided to leave it like this for the time being. We have reefed a few times and actually I like to control the aft and front reefing separately.

Reefing is simple. Don’t touch halyards yet. Just ease/losen the main sheet and do the aft reefing by pulling the line at the block at the very front of the boom. This takes 1-2 seconds. It’s automatically cleated by the servo cleat. (the boom rises; yes you are correct: the lines should go the other way through the block). Loosen both halyards and fix the front reefing by cleating the reef line at the tabernacle. Tighten the throat halyard, then tighten/trim the peak halyard.

We did not want to go for full jiffy reefing, as the required blocks/cleats are pretty expensive and might entangle with each other or s.th. else. We believe it’s easier to control the outhaul tension with separate aft reefing. My impression is that most of the time is spent by managing the two halyards.

Cheers,

Dietrich

[Pasi in Finland]

Thanks Dietrich!

I think I get it now. Looks like a good system, I might copy it . Do you have the reefing line go through a block at the sail or only through the reefing hole like in many dinghies?

Happy sailing!
Pasi

[dbeck]

Pasi,

we just use the ‘hole’ in the sail. Blocks only at the boom.

Dietrich

[dbeck]

Hello fellow builders,

in this topic we have presented our modifications to Pocketship. After our launch late August, we have spent a couple of days and eight nights (five at anchor) on the boat. I'd like to share my first experience about our mods.

- We created a small storage place on the port side between bulkheads 1 and 2 (at the place were other builders install their electronics). Very useful for storing paper towels, cookies, first-aid kit and other stuff (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1096&start=10#p5478).

- The widened footwell as proposed and implemented by Brent (https://idahopocketship.wordpress.com/2 ... r-braydon/) is brilliant. Besides having more space while sailing, we can even fit our small Porta Potti and the galley box in there during the night. This turned out very useful to create more room, when two persons sleep in the cabin.

- The floor boards received an additional lift-out section between bulkheads 2 and 4. Little extra work and plenty of additional space for internal ballast, toolbox, food/drinks ...

- Inside the lazarettes, the sidewall of the footwell got extended towards the floorpanels. This seals the lazarettes from the space below the footwell. It is much easier to remove dirt and water, which accumulates in the lazarettes after a trip of a few days. As a bonus, I regard the separated/sealed volumes as a safety feature (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1096&start=10#p5517).

- We use mushroom vents instead of dorade vents. Inside the 'dorade' boxes we installed a draining tube for the anchor well. Now, the boxes are always dry and became my default location for storing things like car key, wallet, mobile phone ... (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1096&start=20#p5673). Ventilation still works.

- We modified the port lights (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1096&start=30#p5902). My head appreciates NOT dinging to acorn nuts when spending time in the cabin.

- I like our brass rudder fittings (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1096&start=30#p5920). Even with swell/waves, the rudder hinges are quiet during the night.

- At the companionway, the hasp and staple were mounted upside down. Good.

- Instead of mooring chocks we have hawseholes at the anchor well, and there is just one big mooring cleat mounted onto the bowsprit. I like this setup. The hawseholes turned out useful for guiding the straps when fixing the boat to the trailer. And the hawseholes might be useful for lifting the boat - just in case.

- We have seadek on the cockpit deck and in the footwell, embossed, stormgrey. Everyone likes it. Anti slip. Knee friendly. Comfortable to sit even without cushions. It looks more cosy. On a cold day, it feels warm. A must-have in my opinion. Expensive in Europe.

- We used KiwiGrip on the cabin deck and the anchor well. This is a cost effective solution. No issues so far but I don't recommend it for the cockpit. I like the 'white' deck on the cabin deck.

- At the sides of the cabin deck, we made handrails instead of toerails (using the material contained in the kit). The low profile matches the size of the boat. This was time consuming work, but it looks beautiful and is very handy for attaching things or grabbing the boat from the pier.

- Dyneema shrouds and bobstay are a big plus. Easier to bend/stow for transport; more friendly to sails, lines, fingers ...

- At the rigging, we implemented some things differently. No tracks, no cars. A real gaffer fork instead of a gooseneck. Right now, we don't see a reason to change the setup but we need to gain more experience.

- In addition to the 'foil' at the bottom of the rudder, we have a reboarding step at the transom. This makes it easier to reenter the boat after a swim. For me this is fine but my wife would prefer a real ladder. Hm.

- We don't have a boom gallows as the boat would not fit into the garage. Instead we have a topping lift (with two lines it serves as a simple lazy-jack too) at both sides of the boom. I even discovered an advantage: When moored with the stern to the pier, one needs to enter the boat from over the transom. Easy without gallows in the way.

The design of Pocketship is excellent. None of the mods is required, and everyone has different ideas and demands. Most of them could be added towards the end or after the build, except one: I recommend to widen the footwell, which must be implemented early in the build.

The only issue so far: When cleaning the cockpit, water gets into the lockers through the drainholes. I already had a wet book. If I had to do the lockers again, I would do the drainholes through the transom.

Dietrich

[Pasi in Finland]

Hi Dietrich,

Thank you for all the info! I will be finishing my Pocketship this winter, and I'm following with great interest especially all the rigging related stuff.

Where did you get the Seadek from? It seems a bit difficult to source at least here in Finland. Which thickness do you have?

Pasi