ZENATAOS....... Zen And The Art Of Cruising

Strangely enough I am still here at G.K.I. The weather has been good and I have done a lot of work on the boat. I removed the rudders and redrilled the bolt holes to change the angle of the rudders and get them close to the optimum angle of attack. I took the boat out for a sail yesterday and was surprised at how well she handled. About 5 to 10 knots of breeze and I was comfortably sitting on 5 knots very close to the wind with the inner staysail and full main. Because of the bent steering arm there was a misalignment of the rudders which did affect the boat a bit but generally it was a good sail. I had the chance to go aboard a home built "Marples" trimaran and I was really impressed. It had quite a large and useable saloon, an aft cabin and sizeable cockpit and was exactly what I have been searching for. Unfortunately, not for sale but the type ofTrimaran appeals to me. It is a constant camber design , used by Marples and Newick and Jim Brown I believe.
After a frustrating day trying to use wires to keep the rudders in synch, I finally removed the steering arm and tomorrow I will straighten it and strengthen it as well. May take a run over to the mainland to get some fresh fruit and think about a quick trip up to the Pecy Islands, about 100nautical miles (170klms) further North. The water will be warmer out there and maybe I can get a fish or two for tea. This evening about $2 million dollars worth of Catamarans came into the bay here and anchored up for the evening as well as a small ship, the Australian Govt marine research vessel. The wind has come in a bit and there is a small swell finding its way into the bay. Guess I will be rocked to sleep tonight.