Plan for Improvements

or, what is it about boats that makes us want to load them with tools to drop overboard?

Of my original list--Tiller Tamer, jib furler, mainsail cover and lifelines--only the first is accomplished.

The tiller tamer is a godsend, as the boat tends to wander off if left unattended under motor power while I try to raise sails. (I think this is a defect in the current Body Mass Index of the owner, and a tendency to clomp around like a clog dancer, than any deficiency in the boat).

I have not broken down and gotten a furler, but I replaced a halyard and how use the old one as a down haul/furler for the jib. It tends to stay nicely bunched up on the fore deck with no sail in the water, and is helpful as I spend more time single-handing.

Not on my original list were halyards led after. This became my main second year winter project, and proved itself out in 2004. This again has worked great for single handing. I still have to step into the companionway to work the down haul or reef, but the trickiest part of raising the main--brute force hauling on the halyard, is now down inside the coamings and closer to the center line, making for a smoother procedure.

Life lines will have to wait. I don't know that I really need them, even single handing. Moreover, they might interfere with my ability to store the boat in my garage. If I decide I want to trailer to more open water (and would love to go to the Apostles or Lake of the Woods someday soon), I will reconsider. But I have a harness/PFD and a tether I found on the sale page of one of the boat catalogs, and believe I can keep myself in board without the lines.

The main improvement I will consider for the future (other than my soon to be delivered main sail cover, which will mean more time sailing on my weeknight jaunts to my 45-mile distant marina), will be considering a furler.

The (original) plans:

1. The Davis Tiller Tamer. One of the first things I discovered about the boat is that under bare poles and single-handed, the windage forward (me included) tends to cause the boat to fall off the wind while I'm trying to get the main up. After some research on various solutions (and how could a good Cajun boy from Louisiana resist a solution called the "Cajun" tiller tamer found in the internet) I decided to order a Davis Tiller Tamer.

   I have the part in hand, but now I'm confronted with how to install a quick release mechanism for the two lines. Some internet research suggests jam cleats with fairleads mounted vertically on the wall of the transom. But access to the backside of the transom wall on the port side of the Precision is going to be tricky. I hope to have the Tiller Tamer installed before the end of July, and report on my results in solo sailing.

2. Mainsail cover (and slide stopper). Need I say more? Setting up the sail on this boat takes me just a few minutes, but my wife is convinced that it's worth it to get out on the water that much more quickly. Who am I to argue?
3. Lifelines. From the chatter on the Precision mailing list and Trailer Sailor forum, I must own one of the few P-18s to get out of the yard without life lines. Personally, I find the foredeck more than adequate for handing the jib, dock lines, etc. However, my kids (11 and 8) of course want to spend some time alone up forward. It's an irresistible thing to do, even for me. I can reach from sh round/mast to fore stay, but its a real reach for them.

   I think that life-lines are really needed on this boat, not an option. Stanchions are available for $60 each on the Precision web-site, and I figure I can do the entire project for less than $300. However, this will be my first endeavor in making intentional holes in a boat (as opposed to repairing unintentional holes in a boat). Boat shopping at the low-price end has put me in a mighty fear of deck delamination, so I may consider having a yard do this.

4. Jib furler. This one is more of a maybe. I'm jealous of my neighbor with his CDI furler. It's that simple. It would be great to have now, when my crew are still about 80% passengers/20% crew. By the time I got around to getting one, maybe I wont' care any longer, having my daughter the 79 lb. dancer for foredeck monkey and my son the 110 lb bruiser for halyard hauler and railmeat. But for now, I think it would be excellent. I would want to rig it so that I could still have use of the storm jib that came with the boat. Sailing on the edge of the prairie, we can get some significant winds coming out of North Dakota and Canada.
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