Thread: Spritsail - can I fit a traveller to this?

my vote is Yes.
a rope traveller with a running block
probably about 10% slack in the traveller as a starting point.
Traveller would probably need to be mounted somewhat aft of the inwale cleats
to keep angles to the clew the same as designed.
reduce/increase the slack by experimentation.

Adding a boom and vang to the spritsail will also improve performance, especially
down-wind, albeit at some increase in complexity.

That boat is gorgeous!!

Thanks, it is very nice. (my understatement of the decade)
The builder paid such attention to detail... even every screw head in the foot boards (duckboards?) has been seated to align properly. Thank god the price was only slightly over my budget, which was determined by tightarse'ness only... for the price I could not build it for the cost of the trailer, epoxy and paint alone... let alone the skill level involved.

I think a traveller rope with a bowline at each end to tie off where the sheet cleats are reinforced (over 2 frames) is correct.
Lash a light alloy 'climbing' figure of eight to the sail clew to minimise the amount of weight 'flying free' at the sail clew (I I have images of being banged in the eye with a pulley/block as I tack/gybe)... tie the sheet to the traveller pully, then up to the 8, down again to the pulley on the running block... its late and l'm sure I am not describing it correctly.

If the traveller changes sides smoothly,it will save me reaching back to put the sheet into the sheet cleat... also stops me holding so much weight.

I need to do a tiller extension as well, so I can stay on the first bench... again, I'm thinking of making a rope figure of eight and to lash the middle. Don't know if that describes it well... but the image I have should match the period style of the boat.

Next few days are forecast as 5 - 10 knots, so capsize practice time. Winds will be NNE so I might try to get out to Botany Bay. It makes getting back into my bay a bugger, but good practice.
Sunday is forecast 10 - 15 NE... rising to 15- 20 in the arvo...15 - 20... woooohoooo!
Bouyancy bags - (courtesy of local mechanic's no good, patched, inner tubes) a must.

I must work out 'proper' bouyancy. A rope with a 'loop in the end' type setup may be a good idea as well. Attach it to the stem, weight it so it hangs down on a capsize, and then down to foot (a snapper sinker to weight it?). Acts as a lever when I use it to stand up into the hull?

Traveller, bouyancy bags, stirrup... the bloke I got it from would laugh...

I stuffed up the traveller.
I found light pulleys at the boat shop (wow, carbon, plastic & stainless... very light... safer for the eye)
Sheet went from pulley beckett (pulley tied off to the sail clew) to pulley on the traveller rope, back to the pulley on the sail corner... to my hand.

Big mistake was
a) That the sheet pulled the sail into a bag.
b) The sail is attached to the mast by loops of rope, and I tightened the rope (whatsitsname?) so the sail was pulled down tight vertically along the mast. 2nd change.

End result was me persevering with being pulled down the bay by a bag of wind... thinking is it the sheet, the tightness of the sail's leading edge, is it just too much wind?

A long row back and a 'sit and think' when I got back made me realise that if I'd put the sheet through the sheet cleat, I would have changed the way the sail was shaped.... back to original.

So, two mistakes:
1. The sheet was all messed up. Basically pulling the sail corner back into my seated position, folding the sail.
2. I changed 2 things at once and got confused as to what was responsible for the change.

I should mention that the sail is shaped like a 'lug', with the sprit boom away and up from the mast to the top corner of the sail (which is higher than the mast tip).
Not like the sprit booms that point down that I've seen.

I'll loosen the sail's downhaul (?) to original, and then rework the traveller. Then try again.
Lessons learnt, I also identified that this sail can not be reefed (?), and a decent row achieved.

OK Clinton
**** i am not the expert at this but,....

assuming your Cats Paw is rigged standard as per 12 Catspaw Dinghy-Woodenboat Publications

You've already worked out that your sheet needs to go from traveller to clew, back to traveller, then to hand.

the luff would normally be reasonably tight.
The heavier the wind, the tighter the luff.
Idea is to flatten the sail.
That is your down-haul on the tack, & halyard at the throat working together to do that.

The rope you pull on to tension the sprit up to the peak is the snotter.
After you've guessimated the luff tension required for the wind strength,
tighten the snotter to just start to see wrinkles from the peak to the tack.
Once you start sailing, the wind will disappear these for you. if not, the
snotter's a bit tight.
If it's a bag, then the luff is too loose, & possibly the snotter as well.

Thanks boat.

new terms/names to remember.
Yep, it is rigged as per the original Wooden Boat publication by Joel White.

Pretty obvious mistake with the traveller, but 'live and learn'.

The centre board has been sticking, so I flipped the boat, cleaned it all up and took a look.
Brass rubbing strip around the centreboard has a few probs... some screws holding on the brass rubbing strip are driven incorrectly, broken out and creating an obstruction to the pivoting keel. I removed all the screws so they will all be 'fixed' at once.
Pic is of the worst one.
I'm thinking... let it dry, block off breakout, inject epoxy, let dry, redrill screw holes and reinsert screws (dipped in a little epoxy), sand back breakout area and paint inside of cb case with a little varnish over the breakout area, mark screw so I know which ones I need to heat to remove 'next time'.
Inspection of the inside of the cb case shows no dramas I can identify.

Its only been in the water about 12 hours (over a week) since sitting on a trailer for a decade, so it should dry out quickly, even though the cb case is a nice humid area when the boats on the trailer. ?

This seems to be the only drama, so a minor issue to fix only.

I don't like the completely enclosed centreboard case... cleaning it out will mean flipping boat and removing pivot bolt, then cb.... to blast it out with the hose.... but removing the top of the cb case will mean removing epoxy'ed in plugs from the screw heads and putting in/on bracing around the top of the cb. That in it's self is fiddly. I'll consider it if the cb remains a pain in the proverbial. Trouble is that I know that I'll be tempted to make another cb if I do that.

Anyone have issues with what I intend to do???

Oh, anyone know how I rename this thread to.... "spritsail catspaw dinghy - issues/dramas/stuff" ?

I am building a little 14 foot sharpie. The centreboard is full enclosed as is yours but the centreboard has a slot for it to slip over the pivot pin rather than being bolted in. So if swung all the way down it can slide backwards off and out. When sailing it (haven't actually got out there yet) it does not swing all the way down and if bumped up it does not clear the end of the slot before hitting the top of the casing so it can't come out until I let it swing all the way down (and untie the rope "thingy" that holds it up) %$#^%$# stupid boat names )
So it will be easy to clean and maintain. Great design idea me thinks. I wonder then, if yours also doesn't swing all the way down could you simply cut a slot from the bolt hole down to the lower edge of the centreboard. I wanted a swinging centreboard as I sail (will be sailing) in shallow waters and if I sail across a shallow sand bank it will simply push back up a bit until clear (well that's the plan). Don't know is any of this will help and I am an amateur boat builder too (second build) so don't take anything I say too seriously.

Cheers

Andrew

Thanks Andrew, I'll have a think about that.