Silva 70UN compass, Lazy Jacks and thoughts of summer

I think I have finally sorted out in my head my lazy jack arrangement, which when the weather improves, will the first thing I do to get Arwen ship shape and ready and for this coming season. I’m going to put a shackle on the port shroud tang high up on the mast from which a rope will run down the port side of the mainsail to the aft end of the sprit boom and under the loose sail foot. It will run through a fairlead on the bottom of the sprit boom and then back for’ard up the starboard side of the mainsail to a block on the starboard shroud tang, before running down the mast side to a cleat which I will mount on the mast side. Now I can splice in a line either side of the main sail off these mainlines which will run down under the boom and back up the other side. And hey presto...or at least I think so! What I’m secretly looking for are lazy jacks that work like these!! But I doubt it!


http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/11/howto/lazyjacks/index.htm

I have also bought a Silva 70UN sighting compass. I’ve been using my hand held compass up to now and this will be a good addition for those long passages Arwen and I do during the summer months. I expect I will mount it either along the top of the centre board case top or at the aft end of the centre case on a block which I will attach upright in the aft cockpit. I’ll need to check where the steel bolts and screws are......compass deviation would be somewhat embarrassing.

I have also been giving some thought to stowing the sails on the sprit boom when they are dropped. I use sail tie tapes which are fine but take time to sort out. I quite like this little trick from Harry Gordon and I just have to work out whether it could work or not on Arwen.

Now I have to wait for a spell of dry weather. Here it is raining and bitterly cold. Europe is in the middle of a deep freeze and more snow is forecast....where oh where are those lovely summer days?
Steve