President’s Report April 2021

Canadian News The ice went out on our lake March 31st, which is about two weeks earlier than normal. Hopefully, this is a hint that we will have an extended sailing season this year with the opportunity to do some travelling as we all get our vaccinations. Maybe the Canada US border will reopen so we can race with our fellow Americans.

Our membership renewals are going very well thanks to Brian Robinson, our new Class Secretary, Aaron Wong-Sing, our Treasurer, who did a great job revising our website-based membership renewal system, and to all the members who have renewed their membership for the 2021 – 2022 year.  If you haven’t renewed your membership, please go to https://www.canada24mr.com/canadian-class-membership-2021/ and complete the membership registration. This year, we have reduced our Full membership fee from $50.00 to $40.00. We also have an Associate membership category for individuals who are not boat owners but are supporters of the Canadian 2.4mR Class, and an Organization membership for Provincial Sailing Associations, community groups and similar organizations who own one or more boats that their members use jointly.

Congratulations to Able Sail Newfoundland (Matt Debicki) who are now the owners of two 2.4mR Sailboats. They recently bought Paul Tingley’s Halifax 2.4 and Peter Eagar’s older 2.4 (I understand that Peter still owns his newer boat and will be getting the use of a new 2.4 for four years from the Clagett Regatta Foundation). With two boats in Newfoundland our class can claim to be one of the few classes which have boats right across the country. We have boats in all provinces except PEI. I think only the Optimist, Laser, Laser Radial and possibly the club 420 have wider distribution.

If you have recently sold your 2.4mR, we would appreciate you dropping a note to the class secretary at [at][dot]  giving us information about the buyer including name, e-mail address, telephone number, hull number and sail number of the boat sold. If you are keeping your personal sail number because you own more than one boat, we will contact the new owner to issue them their own sail number. Of course, we would like to welcome the new owner into the class and provide them with information about regattas, etc. We also maintain a database, including current measurement and buoyancy certificate information on all known boats in Canada. We will amend the ownership information on file.

This is also a reminder that boats with Floatation Certificates dated 2016 or earlier must be re-tested in 2021 in accordance with Class Rule B4. In Victoria, please contact Bruce Millar, Chief Measurer, and in Toronto, contact David Foscarini. In other locations, please contact Bruce Millar to identify acceptable alternative measurers.

International News        Congratulations to Bruce Millar for his successful election to the Executive Committee of the International Class. It was a hard-fought election and the various National Class Associations from around the world successfully supported Bruce’s commitment to the class. Also, congratulations to Tim Ripley of the United Sates who was re-acclaimed as class secretary for another year.

The International Class Association is currently without a President with the resignation of Steve Bullmore, however the remainder of the Executive Committee remains intact, so we will be awaiting whether or not there will be an election to fill this position.

Due to the continuing COVID 19 pandemic, the 2021 World Championship in Tonsberg Norway, August 7 – 14 has been cancelled. At this point it is not clear whether the international class will be moving to a virtual Annual General Meeting in lieu of the regular AGM normally held at the World Championships. The 2022 World Championships will be held at Davis Island YC, Tampa Florida November 5 – 12.

Stay healthy and get your vaccination so we can all sail together soon.

Peter Wood
CAN 14

Manual Pump Problem

A working manual bilge pump is an essential safety item on a 2.4mR but it is surprising how a little piece of debris can make it non operational. I put in a new manual pump in my older 2.4 last week and thought everything would be fine even though my electric pump was having issues. Dial forward to Sunday. A perfect sunny day for sailing with winds 10 to 12 knots and gusts up to maybe 15 knots.

The pump worked well for the first hour or so. I would pump the boat dry on the runs and then take a little water from the waves going up wind. Then the pump stopped working. I took a few waves and the water was over the floor board. I thought it was prudent to get back to the dock before I really filled up the boat.

Back at the dock we lifted the boat onto its cradle and then I removed the pump to take it to my work bench for disassembly and inspection. The culprit as can be seen in the photo was a very small piece of line which got trapped in the check valve of the pump and wouldn’t let the pump diaphragm do its job. The DIY solution was to go to the dollar store and buy a $1.50 small kitchen strainer and sabotage it to make a strainer for the end of the hose. Pump with strainer is now reinstalled on the boat. The electric bilge pump is repaired too.

I will be insetting strainers on the other 2.4’s in our fleet. Moral of the story. Keep a clean bilge.

Peter Wood
CAN 14

Sail repairs you can make at home

Sail Care and Repairs

As we  all enter another three weeks of lock-down we thought that we would share some of our experience so that you can use some of your time to making sure you are prepared for a return to the water.

Today our focus is on making sure your sails are in perfect racing condition, in this mailer we will show and advise how to look after and repair your sails whilst you are unable to travel to a professional sailmaker.

Sails are the engine of your boat, so it is important that you look after them (which will avoid premature damage) and know how to repair when necessary.
Remember, our shop maybe closed but  mail-mailorder is still operating!
 
  • Cleaning: DO NOT USE hot water to wash the sails, just warm. Never use strong detergents, just household soap to sponge away the marks. The best way to remove oil is to use triclothylene or Swarfega. Sails can be kept in tip-top condition by removing stains and dirt as they collect.
  • Repairs: For any sizeable sail repair you are always going to be best going back to your sailmaker, but like the situation we find ourselves in sometimes there is not the time, opportunity or money available.

Continue reading “Sail repairs you can make at home”

Construction of a Cold Molded 2.4mR is Underway

You may be interested in following the construction of a new cold molded 2.4 in your town. Could this be a Canadian first?

A little background: when David was encouraging many to become a 2.4’er I did some Internet searching and found that Hesse Malmonsen’s website which includes plans for cold molded and, yes, stitch and glue 2.4 designs going by the name of Stradivari. Cutting to the chase, I have a neighbour who is a wood boat craftsman and he has agreed to build a cold molded Stradivari Mk IV. His business is called Nomad Boat Building and he has decided to run a Youtube video series on the adventure that has got underway. Here is the link to the first two Youtube videos:

(at this time there is only Mark’s 1/4 scale half hull, but as the project progresses I can likely arrange a project visit during the construction, and of course after we are allowed to return to social gathering)

You are welcome to share this with friends you may know, even other 2.4mRers beyond Cadboro Bay!

Mark

The Clagett announces 2018 Clagett Boat Grant recipients

NEWPORT, R.I. (November 8, 2018) – The C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta is pleased to announce that there will be four recipients for the 2018 Clagett Boat Grant Program.

“We are thrilled that through the fundraising efforts for the Clagett Boat Grant Program we are able to award 2.4mR boats to sailors in the US and in Canada.  The US boat is going to the Challenged Sailors program in San Diego, California and the boats going to Canada will be going to sailors in Ontario and Alberta.  These boats will bring the total of boats that have been granted through the Clagett Boat Grant Program to six over the three years it has been operating.  It is important that adaptive sailors are supported in their important endeavors and through this program we at The Clagett are able to provide opportunities to sailors to pursue their individual goals in sailing,” commented Clagett President and Co-Founder Judy Clagett McLennan.

Victoria Fleet Conducts Flotation Testing

Louise Anstey

Thankfully, it was a sunny May afternoon when our scheduled day for the floatation test arrived. With the three Ps (planning, people and persistence) we managed to test most of the boats in our fleet. We used the method required by the Class Rules: 35 kg of lead placed in the boat (simulating the sailor’s weight), flood it with water, then rock the boat to remove any trapped air. At this stage, Doug Bell (CAN 68) recorded each partially submerged boat with its proud owner looking on.  Doug gave the photo evidence to our Class Measurer, Bruce Millar (CAN 39), for a permanent record of each test.

All eight boats tested that day passed with flying colours.

Being new to the 2.4mR class, I was a bit skeptical of the adequacy of this test. I know it is possible (although not advisable) to submarine a boat in 25 or 30 kts of wind and also that boats can fill up quickly especially when it is wavy, or on a busy start line, or when pumps fail, which they inevitably do. Having flipped and turtled dinghies in Caddy Bay in years past I know how cold that water is!  Staying with your boat or, better yet, on top of your boat is very important. So I needed to be sure my 2.4 had plenty of reserve buoyancy.  To satisfy myself, my solution was to climb aboard my boat full of water and the 35 kg of lead.

Yes!  It remained afloat…..well, awash…..but it did not sink.  Just to be sure this was not an anomaly, I performed this same test on three additional boats.

I’m happy.  Let’s go sailing.

2.4mR Floatation Test
Louise Anstey (CAN 2) completes her own buoyancy testing. Photo by Doug Bell