 |
The Finngulf 391's reverse transon adds a lot of buoyancy in the stern and I use the lazarette mainly to carry empty jugs and so on. The fridge unit, the gas bottles and the dinghy fuel are stored as far forward as possible. She's only been pooped once and the cockpit filled with water for a short while (unlike my previous vessels). However, I had made a special folding teak door to prevent water getting down below in such an instance and it worked perfectly. Triptych has been in some heavy weather in the Gulf Stream and performed well - although she lost her stick in November 2007. Previously I had replaced all the standing rigging but I left the old racing stick. Visually it was fine. I know full well that standing rigging must be replaced every 10 years but for some reason I didn't apply this principle to the old mast. We had 50 knot winds for 36 hours in the Gulf Stream and colossal seas and I later discovered that the yard that replaced the standing rigging had chocked the old mast with wood instead of Spartite, as specified by the manufacturer. Also, we couldn't pick up Herb on the SSB in Greenport, NY so we used an alternative weather service that just didn't cut it. (I've now fixed that problem). Anyway the rig literally blew away and I had to cut it loose and motor to Bermuda. There were no injuries and the boat fared very well, even without her mast! |
finngulf 391