I’m going to vote with the Bahamas on this one. The idea that someone who owns a 100+ ft vessel complaining about a $3k entry fee is laughable in my mind. That’s probably 1 week’s operation cost for a well-kept vessel that size, they are burning that 52x per year no matter where they are. Looks like...

The boat will try to pivot around that center piling, but it will be caught by the blue line. That could be counteracted with some left rudder and reverse thrust I think? The blue line I was thinking more of a “catch it with a hook and hand walk it back” technique, or maybe even putting a prussik s...

My first instinct looking at that would be, when coming in, to simply dock against the finger pier with 2 lines and 3 fenders, and sort everything else out after. But it looks like there are no cleats on the finger pier, and I’d hate to step off the boat with 2 lines and have to get one around the p...

What is your backstay doing? The bow in the mast should be mostly a result from the backstay pulling back at the top, and the forestay pulling forward at its lower location. The mast will want to draw an even-ish arc between these 2 points and the base. It sounds to me like you have so much bow that...

The angles absolutely do not line up. This was solved (more like hidden) by the foam on the decorative ‘headrest’ panels. Attached is a picture of the area from when I bought my boat. When I ditched the headrest panels, I ended up making my own tapered plastic washers/shims to solve the angle issue....

I recently got a new loose-footed main from BYW for my M25. I haven’t even used it yet, but in the research phase I had trouble finding anyone that strongly preferred a bolt-rope to loose-footed. It seems like a bolt-rope foot is the ‘classic’ design that works fine but doesn’t offer any major advan...

So far for docking my 25 I’ve just used a stanchion base for the midship line. It has the same size bolts and backing plate I would use for mounting a cleat. As long as you use the base so there is no significant lever arm, it’s really no different than a cleat. Once docked there is usually a cleat ...

Welding thin wall stainless is tricky. If you know how to do it, I’d imagine it’s the way to go. But if you’ve never done it before, allocate some time/material to practice. Too much heat and you blow through the thin wall. Putting a sleeve on the inside will help with this. Too little heat and you ...

The job is, in my opinion, basically impossible without cutting the small panel at the front of the vee berth for access. If your 25 is the same as mine, the wood backing block is held in with a layer of glass, so you can’t just remove the hardware and pull it out, you have to cut it out. Here’s wha...

Chumpy36 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 22, 2024 12:40 pm I've asked Road King for some info but doesn't anyone know what the tubes are underneath the main tube?

I would guess storage for a tongue extension. Seems odd though, as the tongue already looks to be about a nautical mile long. Does it retract or something?

The first link says “We do not currently stock 316L stainless steel fasteners for online purchasing. If you are interested in ordering 316L stainless steel bolts and fasteners, please contact us or request a quote to discuss your project’s needs.” The hardware cost might be a small percentage, but i...

Not sure if 316L hardware is readily available at the consumer level. 316 will be fine for anything that is not continuously submerged in salt water. For deck hardware, I’m sure most boat builders use 304 as it’s cheaper, and it does fine. I think most bow and stern rails, and Bimini and dodger fram...

You will want to anchor it somehow either way. If not it will slide out of place when you are sailing and there is no keel weight pulling down on it, and the boat is heeling. You could make it long enough that you can bolt down on either side (red). Alternatively you could make it a little shorter a...

For $30 you can get a pretty hefty piece of aluminum. That would be plenty strong enough and last for decades with zero maintenance unlike wood.

https://www.mcmaster.com/6546K24

I think step one is to just sit at the base of the mast and look up. If you can’t see a curve (side-to-side) than the uppers and lowers are agreeing with each other. As for the whole mast leaning one way or the other, I think all you can do is walk away from the boat and see if it looks vertical. A ...