One of the great parts of the journey in the mastering of a skill is to teach it to others. Well done. For that Everglades challenge, consider a transom ladder or a fore to aft boarding line. When you are cold wet and tired a reboarding gets tough. And regards bailing, a laundry detergent bottle with the bottom cut off and a cheap sponge used for grouting tile will move way more water in a hurry than that pump 😉 Others have used the 14.6 for Everglades Challenge, if that is your intent. If so, some rigging changes might be good to consider (traveler to stainless, upgrades to standing rigging toggles for example). Lovely video, and you are giving me a lengthening list of places to take my 14.6 "Less Is More".
Thank you for all the great advice. Yes I believe we may be using this boat for the challenge. At first I thought it might not be enough but I agree with some modifications may be best. Have you done the challenge before?
@@Ncfsailing2 no, but I have cruised my 14.6 extensively in the Chesapeake in all seasons and Atlantic near coastal waters further north. The EC, from what I have gathered from those who have run it, can get quite blustery. I'd suggest one if not two addional reefs be put in your main and have your sail loft pro ide some extra reinforcement at the clew and tack. A proper roller reefer on the foresail (not a roller furler) or a smaller storm sail would also be a good idea. As you reef the main the crnter of effort of the main moves forward, retaining full jib ate will really through of the balance of the boat, hence you need to reduce the area of the jib in a blow to restore balance. Reefing your main: you can attach a reefing hook on the boom at the mast of affix a pendant from the mast cleat under the boom and terminate it in a reefing hook that reaches up to the top of the boom. When reefing you drop the main halyard sufficiently, insert the hook, then retention the halyard...its quite fast in a sea state and you dont have to drill a hole for a reefing hook in your boom.. At the other end of the boom you need to start thinking how you will manage reefs and their outhauls. Other 14.6 boats in the EC have increased stowage in areas under the benches by adding screw inspection ports and removing a bit of the foam in there. At the very least, you will want to affix some lashing points in the cockpit so you can secure gear under straps or netting. These cound be screw in D-ring or pad eyes, of adhesive affixed soft mounted d-rings like on an inflatable. You don't want gear rolling around or tossed out of the boat while you and a mate are trying to manage course and sail in a sea state.
@@6.5x55 awesome! Any advice from an experienced sailor like yourself is greatly appreciated. I basically get all my knowledge from reading, experiment, and advice from nice people like y’all. Especially since it’s so specific to our boats. I am looking to rig some sort of pop up tent off the boom to possible camp on it. Might be my challenge for the next video. Have you given any thought to doing this as well?
@@Ncfsailing2 I made a a-frame boom tent. Topping lift supports the boom aft, boom supported by main halyard forward. Whole tent goes over your flaked sail.. Tent extends from stern on up to the mast, then is split in the middle on up forward for two overlapping trianles that affix at the stem piece on the bow. The area on the foredeck is thusly under cover and is a nice self draining place to put wet or muddy gear. At the aft end, extra fabric forms door flaps like a pup tent. The periphery of the tent has grommets and is secured to the gunwhales of the boat with bungies attached to hooks made from PVC pipe that fit over the rails along the sides. The biggest issue sleeping on a 14.6 is a braod enough place to bunk. The wells either side of the center case are too narrow to sleep down on the sole. So are the benches too narrow. The centercase is higher than the benches, so buuildng a set of cross members or a solid platform involves elevating it at the benches so it clears the centercase, or splitting the platform in some way at the centercase and creating supports alongside the centercase to support the inboard bits. In making your yent, do it in phases. First get a prototype cut fron plastic tarps and seamed with double sided carpet tape. Try it, modify it to suit. Once settled on, the use it as a template to sew a more lasting one from coated polyester fabric, waxed canvas, etc. TH-cam Roger Barnes' dinghy cruising videos for ideas. Also get his book on dinghy cruising as well as Margaret Dye's book on the subject.
@@6.5x55 now this is the reason why the internet is awesome. Thanks for the information, this is a great starting point for me and more. I’ll check it their stuff for sure. Perfect project to get together now and try it out this winter outside of hurricanes, misquotes, and the heat.
One of the great parts of the journey in the mastering of a skill is to teach it to others. Well done.
For that Everglades challenge, consider a transom ladder or a fore to aft boarding line. When you are cold wet and tired a reboarding gets tough.
And regards bailing, a laundry detergent bottle with the bottom cut off and a cheap sponge used for grouting tile will move way more water in a hurry than that pump 😉
Others have used the 14.6 for Everglades Challenge, if that is your intent. If so, some rigging changes might be good to consider (traveler to stainless, upgrades to standing rigging toggles for example).
Lovely video, and you are giving me a lengthening list of places to take my 14.6 "Less Is More".
Thank you for all the great advice. Yes I believe we may be using this boat for the challenge. At first I thought it might not be enough but I agree with some modifications may be best. Have you done the challenge before?
@@Ncfsailing2 no, but I have cruised my 14.6 extensively in the Chesapeake in all seasons and Atlantic near coastal waters further north. The EC, from what I have gathered from those who have run it, can get quite blustery. I'd suggest one if not two addional reefs be put in your main and have your sail loft pro ide some extra reinforcement at the clew and tack. A proper roller reefer on the foresail (not a roller furler) or a smaller storm sail would also be a good idea. As you reef the main the crnter of effort of the main moves forward, retaining full jib ate will really through of the balance of the boat, hence you need to reduce the area of the jib in a blow to restore balance. Reefing your main: you can attach a reefing hook on the boom at the mast of affix a pendant from the mast cleat under the boom and terminate it in a reefing hook that reaches up to the top of the boom. When reefing you drop the main halyard sufficiently, insert the hook, then retention the halyard...its quite fast in a sea state and you dont have to drill a hole for a reefing hook in your boom.. At the other end of the boom you need to start thinking how you will manage reefs and their outhauls.
Other 14.6 boats in the EC have increased stowage in areas under the benches by adding screw inspection ports and removing a bit of the foam in there. At the very least, you will want to affix some lashing points in the cockpit so you can secure gear under straps or netting. These cound be screw in D-ring or pad eyes, of adhesive affixed soft mounted d-rings like on an inflatable. You don't want gear rolling around or tossed out of the boat while you and a mate are trying to manage course and sail in a sea state.
@@6.5x55 awesome! Any advice from an experienced sailor like yourself is greatly appreciated. I basically get all my knowledge from reading, experiment, and advice from nice people like y’all. Especially since it’s so specific to our boats. I am looking to rig some sort of pop up tent off the boom to possible camp on it. Might be my challenge for the next video. Have you given any thought to doing this as well?
@@Ncfsailing2 I made a a-frame boom tent. Topping lift supports the boom aft, boom supported by main halyard forward. Whole tent goes over your flaked sail.. Tent extends from stern on up to the mast, then is split in the middle on up forward for two overlapping trianles that affix at the stem piece on the bow. The area on the foredeck is thusly under cover and is a nice self draining place to put wet or muddy gear. At the aft end, extra fabric forms door flaps like a pup tent. The periphery of the tent has grommets and is secured to the gunwhales of the boat with bungies attached to hooks made from PVC pipe that fit over the rails along the sides.
The biggest issue sleeping on a 14.6 is a braod enough place to bunk. The wells either side of the center case are too narrow to sleep down on the sole. So are the benches too narrow. The centercase is higher than the benches, so buuildng a set of cross members or a solid platform involves elevating it at the benches so it clears the centercase, or splitting the platform in some way at the centercase and creating supports alongside the centercase to support the inboard bits.
In making your yent, do it in phases. First get a prototype cut fron plastic tarps and seamed with double sided carpet tape. Try it, modify it to suit. Once settled on, the use it as a template to sew a more lasting one from coated polyester fabric, waxed canvas, etc.
TH-cam Roger Barnes' dinghy cruising videos for ideas. Also get his book on dinghy cruising as well as Margaret Dye's book on the subject.
@@6.5x55 now this is the reason why the internet is awesome. Thanks for the information, this is a great starting point for me and more. I’ll check it their stuff for sure. Perfect project to get together now and try it out this winter outside of hurricanes, misquotes, and the heat.
What a mythical place.