Building and Sailing Thlaloca Dos
Thlaloca Dos'deck plan is straight forward. Looking at the majority of today’s boats, a cutter rig seems the most preferred by far. It wasn’t always like that. In former days, a ketch rig was more prevalent. Not so in Europe, were cutters are abound, and from where I got the idea early on. The advantage lies in the simplitity of the rig. And this means essentially: only one mast, therefore a lot less rigging and number of sails required–not to mention the saving of muchas dineros! The second mast, the mizzen, also restricts the cockpit and aft deck areas. Having said all that, one should not discount some solid advantages of a yawl or a ketch. And the main I judge to be its ability to carry small sails for and aft in heavy weather. The occasional gale may not justify carrying a second mast, but the ability to spread an enormous area of sail in light winds does. Also, a mizzen keeps a boat much more staple at anchor. Like all things in life, everything is a trade-off. We are happy with what we have, and the person with some other rig is likewise,.
We
carry our hard dinghy on davits over the stern. Very few hard dinghies are seen
nowadays. Inflatables are easier to handle and raise less hell with topsides.
But they are expensive and vulnerable–meaning
a lot more
attractive to be
stolen!
We put a sailing rig on ours, and this gives us enormous latitude in exploring
while the big boat is at anchor. During extended crossings we lash it on the
foredeck.
The
foredeck sports a solid and substantial piece of teak, functioning as a
bowsprit, which supports a 45lbs. CQR anchor. 200 hundred feet of 3/8 chain are
stored in the forward bilge. In general we anchor the boat with a chain/rope
combination. The stored chain is for heavy weather, for which we have additionally
a 75lbs. stock and an 85lbs. Danforth
anchors. The windlass, unfortunately, is suitable only for rope.
The
mast is stepped on top the cabin in a tabernacle. We wanted it that way for easy
removal. Siggi and I are able to do it in about three hours of work. We did it
twice, but since came to the conclusion that the money spent having it done
professionally (or
at least with the help of a crane) is
“peanuts” compared to all that work and worry. Still, with some improvements
in the setup it could be a money saver, and a safety factor in case of
emergency.
The
mast is made by Sound Spar and is 47 feet long and tapered. Required clearance
is 52 feet. Solid steps facilitate easy maintenance. Two Furlex®
roller furls take care of the fores’ls.
The deck is laid teak. Since the middle 90ties, when we replaced most of it, we keep it well protected against the ravages of nature with Cetol. The topside wood –cap rails, Dorade boxes, rails, coamings, hatches etc.– is varnished teak.