littledevil wrote:i'll check the end of the boom again. about the pipe: yes it is in the cabin area not in the cocpit. it comes from the opening at the bottom of the boat. i thought there must be a purpose for it. its located on the starboard side. i can easily keep it permanently plugged but just being curious.
I too can't figure out why anyone would want that pipe through the hull, and every through hull should have a valve. Plugging it is a great idea, and if you could permanently patch it all the better. I'd also look into getting a large pound-in wooden plug large enough to seal that hole just in case.
Hopefully I'll be transferring my old 17 to my nephew in the next several weeks. I'll take the camera and get some photos of different items when I go to the storage yard to post, and have a reference too.
Here's a 17 on Ebay. Check the pictures as they show the transom of this boat including the rigging hardware for the sails and the rudder assembly, Gudgeons, and pintles.
i have checked the 17 on ebay. rigging is just like mine. i have one other question for you if you are not tired yet i have a book about sailing and it says the luff area on the main sail has to be inside the groove of the mast. same goes for our boats too? untill now we just pull the haul yard to raise the main and fast the end to cleat.
Q: do you have pulpit and rails? i think they look cool but how necessary to have them on this size of boat. i don't have it. neither i have time to put one on. just scratching the surface. on the manuals they shown with this things and its a nice touch i guess. what do you think.
littledevil wrote:i have checked the 17 on ebay. rigging is just like mine. i have one other question for you if you are not tired yet i have a book about sailing and it says the luff area on the main sail has to be inside the groove of the mast. same goes for our boats too? untill now we just pull the haul yard to raise the main and fast the end to cleat.
On the main sail, one bolt rope slides into the slot on top of boom, and is pulled out toward the end of the boom with the outhaul (small rope that ties the foot of the sail to a point near to the end of the boom. The other bolt rope of the sail slides into the slot in the mast, and is fed and hoisted up with the halyard. There is a bold or a pin at the point where the boom and the mast come together, and this holds the base of the sail from continuing to moving up or out.
littledevil wrote:Q: do you have pulpit and rails? i think they look cool but how necessary to have them on this size of boat. i don't have it. neither i have time to put one on. just scratching the surface. on the manuals they shown with this things and its a nice touch i guess. what do you think.
I have a pulpit, but no rails or lifelines. I would like to have life lines on the 17, but I agree that it's not a necessity. Unlike on my 26X, this boat doesn't have a high enough freeboard to make me feel uncomfortable. It is however a challenge to attend to the headsail in rough water and would be a lot safer, and a necessity if single handling. Problem is too much cost for the little time I spent with that boat on rough seas and never solo. The pulpit on the other hand is indispensable when attending to, or changing the headsail. I suppose that roller furling would eliminate some of the need, or having a foredeck hatch to work from would help too but these are probably not too practical.
i had good time yesterday with topping lift. what a difference it made. thanks. i also used one climbing tool on the system so i can easily raise the end of the boom or lower it. it is a little mechanism that rope can slide up but when there is down pull it locks.
i correctly inserted the mainsail to the mast this time and see the difference.
using the main sheet and the topping lift, boom swing is eliminated and it surprised me how the boat turn his nose to wind and stabilized itself. before i figure this tactics(last time) there was a pretty strong wind i was turning around in violent circles. it gives me lot more pleasure as i am learning more.
if i bump into pulpit on ebay or another cheap source i may think about putting it on. for the lifelines i have checked the home depot and it seems like you can make one using pvc pipes an some other hardware.
as usual i have one question for you
how much heeling is unsafe in this boat? sailing books says 10 to 15 degree is normal. sometimes gust blows and boat heels lot more than that. should i just keep cool because it wouldn't tip over even it heels too much? or just chicken out and relaise the jib line as i do. or steer off the course little bit to relax the sails as an emergency action. ? i am sailing without locking the keel by the way.
littledevil wrote:i had good time yesterday with topping lift. what a difference it made. thanks. i also used one climbing tool on the system so i can easily raise the end of the boom or lower it. it is a little mechanism that rope can slide up but when there is down pull it locks.
i correctly inserted the mainsail to the mast this time and see the difference.
how much heeling is unsafe in this boat? sailing books says 10 to 15 degree is normal. sometimes gust blows and boat heels lot more than that. should i just keep cool because it wouldn't tip over even it heels too much? or just chicken out and relaise the jib line as i do. or steer off the course little bit to relax the sails as an emergency action. ? i am sailing without locking the keel by the way.
Glad things are working well for you. It is a fun and easy to sail boat. As for how much heeling is too much? Basically if the water is entering the cockpit you've healed too much. The boat should show weather helm and turn off the wind before you get into that situation. 30-40 degrees of heel would not necessarily be unsafe, but will make you rather uncomfortable. The key is to make sure the keel is completely down in moderate winds and the boat is supposed to be self righting, meaning if the mast tip is drawn down to the water and let go the boat will stand up. I never tried it, and didn't take the boat out in winds much over 20 knots as I didn't want to break any hardware or demast myself.
i really don't want to put myself in trouble neither. i will experiment different keel positions to see.
todays question:
single handed. can even drink some water, get up grab something to eat etc. lats say i want little break(half hour). i sheet in the main, boat turns his head to the wind. what do you do with jib? should i take it down completely? i wrap it around the head stay and put shock cords. doesn't look perfect. i don't want to damage the sail. book says you can let it luff to the wind if wind is not too strong. what about in strong winds. or moderate? thanks again
The manoeuvre you're using to stop the boat for a break is called "heaving-to" (when the boat's in that position it's said to be "hove-to"). You're doing well, some people take a long time to learn that.
The standard thing to do with the jib is to "backwind" it. Usually the easiest way to get to this is to turn toward the wind, hauling the jib and main sheets tight as you go, until you've just turned across the wind. But don't switch the jib sheets as would when tacking, just leave the jib on the "wrong" side. At this point push the helm hard over to try to turn back into the wind. It won't, it will just stop. You may need to tie the tiller in that position for the boat to remain stable.
To sail off, just set the jib to the correct side, slacken the main sheet and straighten up the tiller.
Not all boats behave quite the same so you might need to play around a bit to find the best method. What I've described works well on a 26, but I've never sailed a 17.
hello. i have been sailing with venture 17 since 2008. i was able to put things together with the much appreciated help from you guys and sailed her on the hudson river past few years. its a great boat to learn, very stable very forgiving and solid. we have hit objects, run ground, demasted, you name it. never had a structural damage which is hard to comprehend since its a 37 years old boat.
On the other hand its very small. no wonder why they use 5 years old kid posing to the camera in the cabin for the sales brochures. cabin gets way too hot in the summer, cockpit is tight etc. But i am loving it. its very practical, i can tow, launch, sail and park it on the driveway. operational cost is almost none exept the uncle sam. i think i am gonna stick with it.
i did great job with the interior last year. painted inside with a oil based paint( cheap? who me?) i ll try to get some pictures. now i am thinking about starting a bigger overhaul with no rush to finish because the boat is currently not being sailed. my tow vehicle kicked the bucket and we have a new addition to the family(i needed a crew for attending the sails etc). i like to complete some repairs and mods here and there and lets get some opinions about few things
- paint job: i barely keep the boat in the water(fresh) i don't see myself doing so in the future as well. even that, it won't be more than 2-3 days so can i skip anti fouling paint at the bottom and just use topside paint? currently there is remnants of the antifouling paint at the bottom. its patch and worn in most areas, it shouldn't be hard to scrap it off totaly.
here is the interior after the paint job. i have the cushions too but not in good condition so i removed them. its a little dirty because not being used currently.
i have a book about sailing and it says the luff area on the main sail has to be inside the groove of the mast. same goes for our boats too? untill now we just pull the haul yard to raise the main and fast the end to cleat. 
