Recent Upgrades

Summer nights are the perfect time for projects.

Due to financial issues I have had to hold off on a few upgrade plans I had for the old WEASEL. However recently I had the opportunity to take care of a few nagging problems that had been vexing me. Some of them have been cosmetic and others just long overdue:


Hated by all trimmers the old cheek blocks are consigned to the scrap heap.



The new Harken Cheek Blocks freshly mounted.



A close up of the new Cheek Blocks.

• Jib Cheek Blocks: The old ones have been rotting away on the boat for 30 years and have finally given up. With my upgrade to Warpspeed sheets I have had the issue of them jamming in the old cheek blocks. Once at 11:30pm in 35 knots of wind. I went with the Harken Mid-Range Cheek Blocks. They can handle the loads and will not jam.

The new LIFESLING does a lot to clean up the appearance of the boat.

• Life Sling MOB Device: When I boat the WEASEL it was equipped with a Life Sling which was in an advanced state of decay. The sack was completely useless and I had my doubts about its contents. I found a deal on one and could not pass it up.

The new eye bolt for the lee cloth.

• Lee Cloth Eye Bolt: The old arrangement for the lee-cloth was to have it clip to a cup hook. How this ever worked before is beyond me but it served until in heavy weather I was knocked into it and, predictably, ripped it out of the wall. I now bought a proper eye bolt and mounted it through the bulkhead. It should be more than strong enough now.

The new lights are far more sturdy than the old ones.

• V-Berth Lighting: For anyone who has crashed in my V-berth before they know that it has two dated plastic reading lights mounted on the bulkheads. Recently they both have been smashed up in heavy weather by crew and gear. In fact these are the only two remaining lights I had in the boat. Now they are both replaced and have added a lot to the ambiance of the "V".