Kaimusailing

I put in an order for 200 3/16 dia stainless pop rivets. I only need about 125, but it costs the same for 200 in two bags of 100 as it does for 150 in three bags of 50. These will be used to attach sail track clips to the aluminum mast. The spec calls for the clips at intervals of 6”, but at intervals of 3” at head and tack of the mainsail and at positions of the head when reefed.
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When I began redesigning the rig it occurred to me that my scheme for self tending jib might not work out. The salvaged stays will fit if the new mast is rigged the same as the old one. The stays are intact with no damage from the dismasting.
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The self tending jib idea needs the lower shrouds and the inner forestay to meet at about the same spot on the mast. The currnet set up has the inner forestay terminating at the forward edge of the foredeck. The self tending set up has it terminating at the crosstube bridle, maybe 10 feet further forward. A new inner forestay would have to be made up.
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Some of my decisions are the result of trauma of dismasting and shirking all the work required in restoring the rig as it was. Eliminating the roller furling genoa made things a lot easier. It is, however, a very useful sail, easy to deploy, and providing 500 sq ft of power in light airs. The top of the roller furler needs repair, but that should not be a huge job.
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The stay attachment points on the new mast can use the existing tangs which were through bolted in the old wooden mast. The recommended method on aluminum mast is to through bolt tangs using compression tubes to keep the mast being crushed or distorted out of shape. Stainless pipe stock was ordered to make the compression tubes.
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I had ordered a 135mm f/2.8 lens from eBay after seeing examples of pictures taken with it on Flikr. Reviews of it were not favorable, but the pictures looked fine so I bought it. The brand name was Alpex which I had never heard of, so I searched to see if there were any other Alpex lenses for sale. One did pop up, the same 135mm type, but with a different mount. It was listed as “Alpex Lens” with no information about the mount type, or much else. I thought no one would ever find it unless they searched for “Alpex Lens” so I kept an eye on it. It was listed at $.99 for several days. That's what I purchased it for, plus shipping. It arrived before the other Alpex lens, so I was able to take a picture with it of a feature in our garden. That is the picture on this blog post.