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Melges 24 Worlds 2011 & Sailing Updates
We arrived in Corpus Christi, Texas for the 2011 Melges 24 Worlds on Monday night with the Sail22 Support Trailer and a Melges 24. We hit the ground running and have the Sail22 Support Trailer set up and fully stocked to help any team. In order to support teams even more, our relationship with New England Ropes has grown with great new cordage in stock from now on and their logo on the Sail22 Support Trailer as a sponsor! We’re ecstatic to have Ed’s cousin, Bill Becker joining us full time at Sail22 to add even more support for teams. He’s a great addition to Sail22!
In addition to being on site with the Sail22 Support Trailer, we will be providing live coverage of the mark roundings, finishes and blogging from the racing with Sailing Updates for the Melges 24 Worlds. If you haven’t had a chance to it out yet, head over to Sailing Updates and see what it’s all about. We’re pretty proud of it and think GT3 Creative has done an awesome job making our ideas work! We’ve had some great feedback from the past events and know there will be many followers of the teams here in Corpus from all over the World. Look for great coverage on Sailing Updates by Sail22 (smartphone friendly even!) and Becky’s photography starting soon!
Sail22 Tips & Tricks: McLube Hullkote
We’re off to the C-Scow Nationals this weekend at Chautauqua Lake and figured we share a favorite Sail22 Scow Spa trick. Did you know that McLube’s Hullkote is not only great for go fast bottoms, but also works as an amazing degreaser and cleaner?
The great thing about Hullkote is that it is citrus based is better for both you and the environment. Since citrus is a natural degreaser, it quickly works to remove the grime. Think about the smell and feel of the petroleum based teflon polishes. You might as well bathe your hands in gasoline with the traditional teflon product, but not with Hullkote, which has a fresh citrus scent (smells like oranges!) and cool lime green color. Click here for the directions for normal application of McLube’s Hullkote and here for the product specs which detail the how/why it works.
Whenever we have a really dirty spot on a boat, we’ll grab our favorite bottle of Hullkote and a rag and make a paste over the spot. If the whole boat is dirty (think city grit in Chicago or the lovely jet fuel in Annapolis), we’ll spray the boat down and then use the Hullkote to get her clean and fast. If the spot is really, really bad, apply the Hullkote liberally a second time, let it dry a little (it will be a light green, so it’s easy to find), break out your buffer or some elbow grease and you should be sparkling.
We’ll have plenty of McLube products at C-Scow Nationals, so look for us in our Sail22 shirts for a sample!
Tuesday Tips & Tricks: West System Six10
We’re starting a new Tuesday tradition at Sail22.com…Sail22 Tips & Tricks where we’ll share with our readers about some of the how-tos to make your life easier.
So, here it goes, in our first Sail22 Tips & Tricks post we want to introduce you to a favorite product we often use in the Sail22 Speed Barn by West System called Six10 Epoxy Adhesive. The boys and girls up at West System up in Bay City, MI have made using their epoxy much easier. The simple concept that we have seen from Plexis and other companies with the fancy mixing tip has been incorporated by West System for everyone’s all important boat building needs. All you need is a tube of West System’s Six10 Epoxy and a basic caulk gun. Screw on the tip and you are good to go. The tube is pre-measured to dispense exactly the right amounts of each part into the tip and mix it all together. If you have a bigger project like putting a hull-deck seam together this is your best option. The mixing tip allows you to squirt the thickened epoxy right were you need it. If you have a little project that only requires a small amount of epoxy, there is no longer a need to pull out the boat building kit anymore! Just use West System’s Six10 Epoxy without the mixing tip and squeeze out your desired amount into a mixing cup. Once again, the tube is super smart and gives you the correct portions of each of the two parts to make a great thickened epoxy ready for anything. Just mix it up with a stir stick and you are ready to go!
We’re doing free shipping on West System Six10 for the month of June. So give us a call to order at 574-889-0022 or email us at info@sail22.com and we’ll send it out right away!
West System provides some great informational tutorials online with video instruction as well here. Make sure you check it out and learn all about this Sail22 Speed Barn favorite!
Sail22 in Sailing World
Check out the April 2010 issue of Sailing World which is out now (or could be on your coffee table) for a short article about Sail22 on page 16. We are very honored to have this recognition and thankful all of our hard work is paying off! We’re currently working on an article for an upcoming issue of Sailing World.
Chicago Strictly Sail
I had never been to the Chicago Strictly Sail show before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Chicago is a water loving community and the city has done a very nice job of making the waterfront accessible to everyone. The show in Chicago is held in Navy Pier, which is quite unlike the show Annapolis Boat Show and Strictly Sail Miami that I’ve been to. I heard from many people that I ran into that the show was approximately 25% smaller than it has been in the past and it did seem pretty small.
I started my day in the elevator with a man and his friend who had come to the show to buy a boat. He had his camera ready and he knew exactly what he wanted…something around 17 feet that could sleep 4 comfortably. And he was serious. I wonder if he found it?!? Even though the show was smaller, I do think it was a good sign that someone really did want to buy a boat and get into sailing.
I made stops at the booths of some of our vendors and had quick meetings. Of course, I had to explain to many of them why Ed wasn’t there. “He’s in Grenada for Grenada Sailing Festival. Poor guy, I know…Well, if it’s any consolation he is racing on a J24.” Luckily, I went last year and it is a great event. Can I say, I’m a little bit jealous though?!?
I met with Ron Miller from Nexus. He used to be our Tacktick rep, but has recently started at Nexus and their electronics products look interesting. We are happy to have this as an option for our clients when they are looking for new instruments.
Next up was a meeting with our rep, Nathan McKinley, from Kaenon. I ended up jumping in and helping him out as he became swamped with people wanting to check out the newest Kaenon shades. We’ll be placing an order for Kaenon’s to restock our supply in the next week after selling out of many of our styles at Key West Race Week. If there is anything you want us to order, let us know. Kaenon has many new styles and some great options in the lower price range now as well.
Ronstan was next and Ben Moon filled me on on the latest and greatest. The Orbit blocks, which are some of my personal favorites, have some new additions to the family. Instead of just having the becket, many now have a swivel head and shackle option. The new Jib Car Lead system look like it could be pretty sweet as well. The Carbon Battlesticks received a face lift this year too with a new grip for decreased hand fatigue.
The Melges booth was busy with both Harry, Andy and Jim Gluek showing off their beautiful boats. Melges 20 #160 and all of the scows smelled like they had just been pulled from the molds yesterday! I had my first opportunity to race on the Melges 20 at the first event of the Miami Melges 20 Winter Series in Coconut Grove in December and can’t wait for my next chance! The boat is a blast and feels a lot like the Melges 24, but at the end of the event, I could still feel both of my legs! I’m definitely sold…now to figure out how Sail22 will get one. If you are offered a chance to sail on one of these great little boats, find a way to make it happen!
Spinlock has one of my favorite products of all time, the Spinlock Knee Pad. They have saved my knees so many times on the Melges 24 and Farr 40. If you don’t have them, I highly recommend them. They have been upgraded a bit with a new higher density foam and are slightly more ergonomic. I am putting in an order this week to replenish the Sail22 stock for sure! Their Deck Vests are definitely the best if you are looking for an inflatable PFD and their clutches and jammers have new options for the jaws now too.
Unfortunately, I some how missed Ron Rosenberg from McLube. Look for a new McLube logo on our Sail22 trailer soon which is part of an ad that will be in Seahorse Magazine for the McLube products. I was fortunate they picked my photo to use for the ad and am looking forward to seeing it in print and on the trailer. As always, Sail22 highly recommends McLube HullKote, OneDrop and SailKote. We always have plenty in stock and samples as well, so stop by at the next event and see the new graphic and pick up a McLube sample!
A great group from the Maxinkuckee Yacht Club met at the show and visited our very own Rear Commodore, Matt Grant of SailRite. We discussed our upcoming season on Lake Maxinkuckee and then we headed to dinner at Ben Pao’s. Excellent food and company!
