MacGregorSailors.com

I went out on Joe Pool Lake yesterday by myself to try out several changes to the boat - new, larger jib, revised, shortened sail, new 4HP motor, Tiller Tamer, painted, roller furling boom, longer chicken head on the mast, new motor transom and a few other things I'm forgetting I'm sure. It was the best trip yet and this tiller tamer is fantastic. It's like an autopilot that allows you to relax a little.

I had just the jib up and a big boat came up from behind me with just his jib and handily overtook and passed me. I then set the tiller tamer and raised the main sail and caught back up with him and passed him. I would never have been able to do this without the device.

The 4HP motor is so much better than the heavy 8HP. I don't even miss the electric start since I shed 40 lbs on the motor and the weight of the extra battery. Full throttle moved the boat just as fast as the 8HP.

The spinnaker furler is not yet working to my expectations so I'm planning a big change in the bottom unit and I did not bring it with me yesterday.

Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztAMSByQ0l4

Enjoy,

Aubrey Scott in Texas

Nice video. I can see you have one of the same problems I face...sailing solo and trying to video at the same time. I'm trying to design some sort of mount or holder for my camera...maybe attached to my mast support arch somehow.

I have taken my videos and created a "channel" on YouTube...c130king YouTube Channel

Jim

I had a tiller tamer and could not get it to work very well for periods of more then a few minutes. I am now thinking about a trimtab on the back of the rudder controlled by a small windvane that would mount right on the rudder. My boat will self steer in some conditions for hours at a time but that system needs a mizzen sail. I would like to develop one that would work on a stock boat.

I went sailing yesterday and made some video of the kick-up rudder and tiller tamer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ggEPtpHKU4

Keep warm & happy sailing,

Aubrey Scott in Texas

wonderful..keep posting !
Q1

Sweet - Keep'm coming, my boat is in the back yard buried under 24 inches of snow.

Paulieb

Looks great! Your ideas and progress are very motivational! Thank you for sharing. My Venture is also cloaked in a frozen white blanket . On the positive side, sort of, we are in the process of relocating due to being laid off and the good news is we should be able to find a property that incorporates a dedicated shop for all of my projects including the 72 venture. Our new neigborhood is the Kansas City area. Thanks again for the videos!

Chad

Paulieb wrote:Sweet - Keep'm coming, my boat is in the back yard buried under 24 inches of snow.

Paulieb

This weekend my daughter and I entered a race at Joe Pool Lake and tried out my spinnaker and sock for the first time. We learned a lot from the experience and mostly what NOT to do but it was all fun and I didn't break anything. I lost my favorite pair of Ray Ban sunglasses to Davey Jone's locker though . We finished dead last in the race but learned a lot about using the spinnaker and sailing in general. Here's a video with some pictures:

http://s836.photobucket.com/albums/zz28 ... r_Race.mp4

Winter sailing in Texas - it was warm for a while then chilly, then downright cold as the sun went down. I had to sail back across the lake after the race and use just the jib and the motor. We hit 6.5 kts once but mostly stayed at around 6 kts with the 4hp motor at full throttle and the jib close hauled to port all the way back to the state park boat ramp. I put everything away just as darkness set in and drove home tired and beat. It was a great day of sailing.

Stay warm,

Aubrey Scott in Texas

LOve that red white blue....but get those PFDs on please....

some great videos!

(the yawn was classic...)