Back on Track - How to Eliminate Tracks, Cars and Bolts, and Barber Haul Your Sails Instead
In between the sailing adventures ⛵️ and preparing for the odd cyclone or two 🌀, our long overdue boat refit has been continuing to run its course.
In fact, pretty much the whole of 2023 was spent on a job we never expected to do 🤦🏼♀️.
The interior damage we’ve been gradually fixing up was caused by water ingress – in short, leaks 💦 – and as we systematically began chasing the source of those leaks, we made a couple of not-so-pleasant discoveries 😵💫.
The first, and the one this video is about, was our headsail track and car mechanisms.
Basically, each side of the boat was home to a ridiculously long length of track, supporting various turning blocks by way of moveable ‘cars’, allowing us to slide said blocks fore or aft, depending on the required sail trim. These tracks were mounted on the port and starboard cap rails and secured in place with no less than 70 eight-to-nine-inch-long bolts, driven right the way through the bulwark and down into the boat 🤷🏼♀️.
As it turns out, they were all leaking 🥴.
Opting to see this challenge as an opportunity 🧘🏼♀️, we decided to not only repair the damage, but go back to the drawing board so-to-speak – completely re-designing a new system that would eliminate the tracks, movable cars (and therefore all those bolts) and replace them with static chainplates.
Join us as this process unfolds and come sailing at the end of the video to see a demonstration of our new – or should we say “old school” – method of managing sail shape ⛵️
If you’ve ever heard the term “barber hauling” or wondered how to achieve a narrower jib slot / flatter leech shape, this video is for you 🎥.
🍿 Enjoy!
Music via www.storyblocks.com
👇🏻
Humans Win (formerly Lance Conrad) / Explorer
Unknown / Off to Join the Circus
Style da Kid / Body Rock
Unknown / Round Round
Media Music Group / Gypsy Guitar Happy Cooking
Unknown / Hardly Working
Media Music Group / Groovy Soul Solo Acoustic Base for Romantic Comedy and Advertising
Unknown / Goofy Guy
We20fifty / Happy Day
Media Music Group / Acoustic Bass Jazz Podcast Intro Commercial
Music via www.epidemicsound.com
👇🏻
Rich in Rags / The Comedian https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/nn68oGJlmH/
Stationary Sign / Why So Confusing https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/xQUITitl48/
Additional Clips sourced from YouTube
👇🏻
https://youtu.be/gjYzlG7a8sk?si=-tRqFBW6oLKd6-m9 – A Few Moments Later etc
The Sailing Adventures of Brilliant II
Join the Smallwoods - Sharon, Julian, Josh, and Pepe (the Blue Burmese) - aboard Sailing Vessel Brilliant II. Brilliant II is a Kelly Peterson 44, built in 1978. Julian and Sharon bought the boat in Phuket, Thailand, in 2005, and sailed her slowly back to Sydney, Australia. Over the next five years they lived aboard and sailed the coasts of New South Wales and Queensland. They are currently based in the Whitsundays, Queensland, where Josh was born in 2010. In 2021 they began a refit of the water-damaged interior (which had needed doing since the start!), while continuing to sail on mini-adventures north and south of their home port. Sharon is a photojournalist by trade, but realising YouTube is a thing has started creating videos too. You can also follow their adventures on Instagram at @shazatsea.
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Back on Track - How to Eliminate Tracks, Cars and Bolts, and Barber Haul Your Sails Instead Locations
- Airlie Beach (-20.2677525,148.7155626)
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