Team Seacats

I got a short opportunity to try out the sanding board and it works great. It really shows clearly the imperfections in the hull bottoms. I only purchased 120 grit sandpaper for the board and I think it’s not quite aggressive enough so I’ll get another roll of something with a little more bite. There are some hairline cracks at the front and back of the daggerboard slot so I did some exploration with a dremel to see if the cracks were only in the gel coat. I was pretty amazed at how thick the gel coat is in spots and might be able to remove a majority of the scratches and blemishes by just removing gel coat. However, there are some thin spots too and I saw fiberglass in one spot after about 3 passes. I’ve got another decision to make with the cracks from the daggerboard well because it does get into the structural glass. By no means is it a show stopper and I’m quite sure that these wouldn’t present a problem for another run up the coast. At this point however, it kind of comes down to time –as in; do I have enough to deal with it? A couple of topside ports really need to be added so I can reinforce the daggerboard well from the inside. I’ll try to evaluate all that this weekend. Meanwhile, the weather looks like it’s warming up for Saturday and Sunday and I might actually be able to work with some fairing compound outside.

Originally uploaded by Team Seacats.

Also note that I finally got the SailMax.biz logo up on the site. I can’t tell you how much these guys are in tune with catsailing. Mike Krantz is the owner (you’ve most certainly heard of him from previous Tybee racing) and, in addition to being able to get your factory boats (even Reynolds 33!), components, and hardware, has lined SailMax up with just about every major high end equipment manufacturer you can imagine. Kokatat, Harken, Ronstan, and many more. They even have a couple of individual companies creating custom composite components and rigging specific to our general needs. Do you want a super lightweight carbon fiber hotstick for about the same you would pay for a fiberglass one? How about a spliced spectra spinnaker pole bridle for an F18 catamaran? Call them – they’ve got it and got it right. Please help support us by supporting SailMax the next time you need anything or need help with something specific like selecting the perfect swivel and cleat for a cutting edge self tacking jib system.