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Race Rhumble: Equipping Your "New" Race Boat
By Jim Snair
Last issue’s column looked at four different racing sailboat options for different budgets and families: four boats, all around 40 feet, from fixer uppers to brand new. My editor then asked me to turn that “purchase” into a race boat. Let’s assume the boat we bought was a 1985 CandC 37, a good family boat, a solid performer in her day, and a comfortable offshore boat. The 37 features a number of things we’re looking for, including a decent galley and large nav table, and most have a hot and cold water system as well.
Starting simply, I’m off to the local chandlery to look at composite propane tanks and maybe have the propane system pressure checked, as there’s nothing worse than leaky propane offshore.
Next, I’m going to chat with my local rigger, as typically, many boats of 20 years need a full rigging overhaul. We’re going to inspect the Navtec rod rigging since we think it might be original. Next up, we’ll check over the halyard sheaves. It’s likely that if we look close, the jib halyard and main halyard sheaves are either cracked or original. So, let’s pull all the sheaves and replace them. Those old sheaves were all built for rope/wire halyards, and our rigger wants to use low-stretch, composite halyards with Spectra or Kevlar cores. These new halyards will definitely make your crew sail faster, especially with no meathooks in the old wire ones. Like the halyards, the wire in the lifelines is of an unknown date and possibly original equipment. It is plastic or white-vinyl coated, where as new lifelines are uncoated stainless. Our rigger also handles this project for us.
While we’re dealing with the mast, let’s replace the wiring for the lights and add a trilight with strop. We were thinking about a new, fancy LED masthead light, but it’s a bit of a budget buster given our long list of upgrades. The electrician replaces the streaming light with a steaming light/foredeck light combo unit. It’s great for sail changing while racing at night and cruising.
A quick peek below and we decide to tie-in the nav station and helm station electronics. Our dated wind, depth and speed unit is also replaced with integrated units that allow for a graphic display at the nav centre. We can also tie the GPS signal into our laptop. New electronics are reasonably priced and we can give the helm almost anything they need from below decks. We also install a two-station VHF that acts as an intercom. It’s useful in fog and for navigator-to-helm conversation.
Two pieces of gear we debate – they are budget expanders – is an underdeck autopilot with wireless remote and a colour radar with a dome on a swivel mount. The underdeck pilot allows us to steer the boat even if we lose our cable steering. It’s a huge safety bonus, but it’s pricey for this boat: almost $7,000 by the time it is installed. Since we sail in fog, the radar is very helpful, but its usefulness is relative to the dome or scanner “seeing” targets. If the dome gets tipped over (on a fixed pole or the mast as the boat heels), its usefulness diminishes rapidly. A swivel mount is pricey, almost half the cost of our radar. We go for this because even when racing hard on the wind, our radar will pick out boats and objects just as if we were motoring. Our electronics guy is starting to smile as we finish spec’ing this job.
An easy thing to do on deck is replace the sheets. This is a necessary replacement on a boat of this size. Genoa sheets, mainsheets and spinnaker guys are loaded with hundreds (if not thousands) of pounds of pressure. We don’t want them breaking in high winds. By taking our existing sheets directly to our rigger, he can usually recycle our snapshackles.
As for the sail inventory, I could wade into deep water here. Usually, when we buy a boat like this, it comes with some upgraded or newer sails. For an active program, consider replacing two or three sails in each of your first two seasons – that’ll get the boat moving fast quickly. But, again, sails are tough on the budget and for this boat run $4,500 to $7,000 each. I usually buy primary upwind sails first, then a primary or all-purpose downwind before moving into the less-used sails. Ask your sailmaker to inspect and evaluate your inventory, but be honest with your budget. Ask him/her for the best choices based on your racer/cruiser program.
Safety gear has to be included so a good place to start is your local chandlery. Check the ORC rules and Transport Canada’s Safe Boating Guide to ensure you meet the minimums. I know on our boats, we never worry about having too many fire extinguishers or buckets. Make safety a priority.
One final tip is to assign various components of the upgrade plan to your crew and family members. It’s more fun if you let a bunch of people help out and take ownership. After all, we need at least seven people to gybe this boat in a breeze. Might as well have a few meetings before you start the first gybe in 20!
Jim Snair is a lifelong racer, the managing owner of Sunnybrook Yachts, and past president of the Atlantic Marine Trades Association.
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