Arwen's meanderings

Hi everyone and welcome to my dinghy cruising blog about my John Welsford designed 'navigator' named Arwen. Built over three years, Arwen was launched in August 2007. She is a standing lug yawl 14' 6" in length. This blog records our dinghy cruising voyages together around the coastal waters of SW England.
Arwen has an associated YouTube channel so visit www.YouTube.com/c/plymouthwelshboy to find our most recent cruises and click subscribe.
On this blog you will find posts about dinghy cruising locations, accounts of our voyages, maintenance tips and 'How to's' ranging from rigging standing lug sails and building galley boxes to using 'anchor buddies' and creating 'pilotage notes'. I hope you find something that inspires you to get out on the water in your boat. Drop us a comment and happy sailing.
Steve and Arwen

Thursday, 28 May 2015

Checking my dimensions!

So I hauled out the plans and went all over them again.
The mast isn't short....it's the correct height.
The top boom and sprit boom are precisely the right dimensions.
The sail has been cut correctly although lacing eyes have been added by the sail mast even though they were not needed.
It has a Gunter yawl sail shape though and I can't find anywhere on the plans a sort of standing lug sail plan type affair!
Anyway, I reset where I had the reefing points on the sprit boom and moved them back a little so that when I pull down on them, the clew also moved back slightly....a sort of ouhaul affair.
Then I moved the sail up on the top boom. For some reason I had it tied lower down , don't ask me why. That should raise the sail a good 30cm further up above my head. I also replaced  the sail lacing. It has been on there for eight years!!

Eight years! Poor Arwen. She needs a new paint job definitely, a spruce up on the mast and booms, some screw holes filling on the sprit boom. Lots of little odd jobs.
Hopefully, when she rigs next time, the mainsail should go higher.
Oh! I also raised the jib attachment up another 30 cm as well so that should really tension the jib.

We will soon find out! 

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