Post Maiden Voyage Analysis and Mods Needed

Well the first day on the boat is over and its time to assess the boat and crew. I am making a list of things that MUST be done/acquired before setting off again. This is a small boat and is easy to handle but I will be going out on my own a fair amount and I think a few "simple" modifications will make the sailing more fun and easier.

Please forgive me if my sailboat lexicon is not yet ready for prime time!

Topping Lift - The boat has nothing of the sort. The previous owner had secured a line with bowline to the hardware that attaches the main halyard block to the mast. No bueno. The line was too short to begin with and was a mighty PITA to get secured. The only way to secure the boom was AFTER lowering the mainsail. Again...no bueno.

My plan for fixing this came from Mark's 1971 Venture 17 Restoration page, and I am going to give that a shot. I have never riveted before so I am a little intimidated by the process of drilling holes in my mast, but after reviewing the tools and process of this, I think I can pull off the mod.

His system consists of a block at the top of the mast, a line with a shackle that attached to the aft end of the boom and a line that runs through the block and is (I assume) cleated to the mast. This means that I need to attach a new cleat to the mast as well, unless anyone has a better idea.

Foresail downhaul - One day of standing on the rocking deck of a 17 foot boat trying to gather a flailing jib was enough. I don't foresee it being a terribly long time before such activities lead to a swim, followed by a panicked scramble to get back aboard, particularly if I am alone.

My plan for this is to attach a small block with a shackle to the same bits of hardware to which I affix the jib tack. Run a line with a shackle through the block and up to the eyelet where the jib halyard attaches. From the block aft, I plan to run the downhaul through some sort of lead attached to the outside of the aft pulpit support, through another lead on the outside of the starboard shroud doohicky, and secure the downhaul on the aft starboard cleat for now.

I have read about some sort of sail bag system that acually secures the jib after downhauling and keeps it out of the water but I have not seen any sort of description of how that works. For now, it will just have to be gathered at the front of the deck and I will have to hope for the best. Not sure what else to do.

New Prop - When I first bought the boat I had check both forward and reverse gears and they all worked. Then when I got the boat out, I found that I did not, indeed, have reverse. After very gracious help and advice from both Glenn Doney and Alan Donaldson from the SailNet Board, I am going to try a new prop. Apparently, that makes a HUGE difference. Can't really aford to do all these mods right away, though, so the prop might have to wait a month.

Any advice is most welcome!

Thanks,

Rick