JUNE l965
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE "CANADIAN WAYFARER OWNERS' ASSOCIATION"
The Wayfarer Class, 16’ Sailing Dinghy,
CANADIAN WAYFAEER OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Executive:
Fleet Representatives:
What me worry??!! One of the fathers of our class has gone. Alec Lowenthal, who has become almost a legend among Wayfarers in the short time the class has existed, has moved to Vancouver, and has sold MIURA, W l5l. When such men move on, I am left with the inescapable feeling that the organization has lost in quality, and that, despite growth in numbers among Wayfarers, which now exceeds the 1000 mark, there remains room for constructive worry about maintaining a level of growth, especially among the racing fraternity, which will lead to the lasting popularity of our Wayfarer in North America. Right now, only about 50 of 400 listed Wayfarer owners in North America are active racers. While many of the others prefer to cruise or lack the facilities for racing, many boats just sit in some sailing club and take up space instead of being sailed regularly by an active enthusiastic member. If encouraged warmly by the rest of us, these people could be brought into the group and add strength to the class by their very participation. Another possibility that could be mentioned to people who just can’t find the time to sail, is the tremendous market for used Wayfarers brought about by the increas-ingly slow delivery and higher prices on new Wayfarers. In the past two years these problems have discouraged numerous potential converts from entering our class. This is especially the case with the keen racers, who do not wish to wait the whole summer for a Wayfarer when an Albacore for instance, is available almost immediately at much less cost. This is the problem that must be of prime importance to all Wayfarer people who want the Wayfarer to achieve a lasting popularity. Right now, the thing that we can try to do, as boosters of our boat, is to make others see that the reward of owning one of these boats is worth the wait - and any other solutions would be appreciated by the Newsletter. To the Editor:
This year alone, we at QCYC have lost Shelly Levy, Ed McCabe, George Wilson and Alec Lowenthal from the Wayfarer class. This blow is made worse by the fact that there are no new Wayfarers to take their place. It seems that we will require some changes in the methods of supply to rectify this situation. The $l700, British-built, slow-in-arriving Wayfarers just can’t compete with cheaper, more easily obtainable boats in other classes. The time has come for action toward Canadian-built Wayfarers. In the meantime, it will take only a little promotion from everybody to get us over this slight ebb. After all, we still have the finest centerboard boat available.... Mike Schoenborn
(W 276)
Bassins' Bash at Kitchener - June
12, 13
A full schedule of sailing, sing-songs
and suppers is planned. All the preparations have been made for a
big unique event, June 12 and 13. The only thing the regatta will
need now, is you! For it is still participation that makes a regatta
a success.
Tips From The Top
Tuning the Rigging
(Al’s note: eeek! How could I be so wrong??!! Although, the way we sailed ‘em back then, there was more truth to this than it might first appear. If anyone wants to know, I’ll be glad to explain how things worked – over a beer! Please do not take all of this stuff as gospel!!!) There is no exact approved method
of tuning the rigging in a Wayfarer. I will simply attempt to outline
the general boundaries within which the finer adjustments will lie.
The Forestay
Sidestays
Tension of the Rigging
The school of thought which favours loose rigging evidently thinks as follows: 1. The mast is left with more freedom
to conform advantageously to the shape of the sails.
There are two main reasons why I
feel that tight rigging is advantageous:
The Actual Tuning Process
1. Attach a plumb bob (or other small, heavy object) to the main halliard in order to determine rake and sideways tilt of the mast while the boat is on land. A level may be used to ensure that the boat is horizontal both in a fore and aft and in a sideways plane. 2. Adjust the forestay to obtain a reasonable aft rake in the mast. 3. Adjust the sidestays until they are reasonably tight and the plumb bob indicates that the mast is vertical and not leaning to either side. 4. A partial solution to the problem of tight or loose rigging is to be found in the necessity of tuning while the boat is under sail. Any sideways curves in the mast under sail should be eliminated as far as possible. Such bends may be found by looking up the aft part of the mast along the windward side of the sail while the boat is close-hauled. If the mast is straight you are set, but if it is not, two categories of bends occur. If the windward stay is too tight, the top of the mast will be off to windward, if the stay is too loose the top will be falling off to leeward. The former case requires loosening of the stay, the latter tightening. The procedure should be repeated on both tacks until the mast is as straight as possible. Points to Remember
Following a review of returns from the list of proposed changes and additions sent earlier to members of the C.W.O.A. and of a similar survey conducted by the U.S.W.A., the Canadian Wayfarer Executive proposes that the Class Rules be amended as set out in the following. The additions to rules 12 and 25 have been made to conform with measure-ments made by the U.S.W.A., the remainder are based on the C.W.O.A. list of proposed changes. The Canadian Wayfarer Executive would like each owner to return the following form with their comments and decision on each amendment. Please return before June 15th if possible. Ballots that are not in by June 20 will not be counted. Make returns to: E. John Woolsey,
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