Strut my stuff

I put in another three hours yesterday, sailing out to the entrance reach where a strong ebb against the breeze, coupled with the shallow water over the bar, created some interesting waves. I got the opportunity to see the strut up close and personal as I went for a few swims after sticking it. The Eppler section strut definitely seems stiffer than my old one. I'll try a few deflection tests over the weekend to quantify the differences.

I had a bit more breeze today than yesterday. Still trying to adjust the rudder's pitch to match the behavior of the mainfoil. The bottle screw on the gantry is my coarse adjustment; the pin movement via the hiking stick is for tweaking. Today I may have to take the tools out with me on the water - it's a pain to have to come ashore to adjust the bottle screw.



Another problem I found is that there's a bit of play where the mainfoil is attached to the strut. Since the strut's tang was not formed around the foil's socket, there's some inherent play between the two. I was hoping a couple of big bolts cranked into the tang would hold things firm, but it's not as tight as I'd hope. There may be some more boatwork in the next couple of days as I try to fill the gaps with some colloidial silica (always a dicey proposition because you'd want the foil to actually come off once the resin cures...) . Boy, I'm eager to get the new FC gen3 foil and strut!

Enjoy the Stray Cats




The Stray Cat Strut, by Brian Setzer (1981)

Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh,
Black and orange stray cat sittin' on a fence
Ain't got enough dough to pay the rent
I'm flat broke but I don't care
I strut right by with my tail in the air

Stray cat strut, I'm a ladies' cat,
A feline Casanova, hey man, that’s where it’s at
Get a shoe thrown at me from a mean old man
Get my dinner from a garbage can

Yeah don't cross my path

I don't bother chasing mice around
I slink down the alley looking for a fight
Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night
Singin' the blues while the lady cats cry,
"Wild stray cat, you're a real gone guy."

I wish I could be as carefree and wild,
but I got cat class and I got cat style.

I don't bother chasing mice around
I slink down the alley looking for a fight
Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night
Singin' the blues while the lady cats cry,
"Wild stray cat, you're a real gone guy."

I wish I could be as carefree and wild,
but I got cat class and I got cat style.