Bristol-Blue Lake Michigan Sailing Adventures

I discovered that my Mirage 24 fore triangle set up is very similar to that of a J-24. So I was able to pick up a good condition used racing sail for cheap to replace my aging Genoa. This weekend I laid it over my old sail to check the dimension would work and then got to work converting it for my furler. This is an easier conversion than last year's as the sail leading edge is sized perfectly for my furler application.  Here is the link for the process from last time.  This was much easier I simply removed the hanks and sewed the sail tape on.  No cutting or dimension changes for this sail.   Merry Christmas Here is a Quick Video I clipped together of the Stitching. @chrisbroadwater0 Sail Repair for Woodstock. ##mirage24 bristolblueblogspot.com ♬ Holly Jolly Christmas - Michael Bublé

Sometimes refinishing is not the way to go. Our Mirage 24's teak handrails have been in pretty rough shape and I decided it was time to do something before I get a splinter in my hand. While they seem sturdy enough they are starting to crack and show their age I removed one and started to sand it but by the time I get it looking good, It will be pretty thin in some areas. It is time for them to go. One of the things about owning a boat is sometimes you can't just find the part you need right off the shelf.  I went down to Wolf's Marina and they had several of these grab handles in stock but none of them fit my boat so It's time to fabricate something.   For $15.00 I found this teak block in Wolf's scrap area. A crazy bargain for this bock. I was able to get my brother to rip it down on his table saw into pieces for me.     Next, I set up my belt sander and band saw and got to work. The pieces started taking shape pretty quickly.  To get the hand grips I set up my

This past week has been super hot and there has been a significant lack of wind. Today we finally got a light breeze and Myles and I took the boat out. We were not exactly screaming along but made good time.  After a while, we decided to take a swim. BB meant us after work at the beach and I brought Woodstock back single-handed. There is some question as to whether it was a Mutiny of the Crew or a Marooning of the Crew Member. 😂

Over the last few weeks, we have been sailing at least once a week. We are really just starting to get the feel for Woodstock. We are also really just starting to organize and make things our own.        Using the leftover Sunbrella from the sail cover and a mesh laundry bag I did a little cutting and sewing to make a few stow bags for all the lines coming back to the cockpit.   I also made two new winch covers, the Self-tailing Winchards I installed last season increased the size of the winches heads so the old covers no longer fit. I used velcro wraps on the bottom to secure them.  I know a lot of people use elastic but with Covid-19 it can be hard to come by and I like the way these came out better.   Here are some weird people, you might see in the channel.          Asymmetric Spinnaker Day 2  We have loved this sail in light winds. On this run, we caught up with a cruising catamaran. They gave us a nice complement as we sailed passed. Then a few minutes later we went to take the s

If you have been following along you know about our plans to install a roller furler aboard Woodstock, our Mirage 24. This process started last year when I purchased an old Schafer cable style furler. Unfortunately, I was not happy with the way it worked and felt it was unsafe. I mounted it inside of the forestay it rubbed up against the cable when furling and unfurling. So it simply did not work for my application.   I decided to go with the CDI FF4 furler. After looking at Harken, Schafer, and several other models it became clear that CDI has a great product at a fair price. It may not have all the bells and whistles some of the other systems have but they have a strong reputation and have been in business over 40 years, so parts should be available in the future. The flexible furler also appeals to me. Should I need to take the mast down there is a lot less chance of bending or breaking the foil components. One of the other big advantages of CDI is the self-contained hal