CVRDA

Hi all, It was a bit of a long shot, but I'm always amazed that whenever you ask a random group of sailors about various bits a surprising number seem to have kit for boats they haven't actually owned in about 25 years. :lol: There's been some kit on eBay of late so I'll keep hunting—although I admi...

Does anyone out there have a fireball kite and/or kite pole they would be willing to sell? In terms of the kite, I'm new to Fireballing so I'm not looking for anything too good—in fact I imagine that if I had a decent one it would probably be knackered after a season of getting used to it. My boat h...

Max,

Very kind of you. However, I don't think I'll be anywhere near Nessa's neck of the woods anytime in the foreseeable future (and shipping costs for 2m long poles are obscene!) so I wouldn't be in any position to actually get it. If you need a spare, go for it.

Cheers,
Andy

Thanks for the replies. The paint is bog-standard one pack—the International Paints stuff (in white). The hull is both not very glossy and quite badly affected by dust. In terms of what I actually want to achieve? Good question.... Priorities are (in order): 1) That the finish on the hull not have a...

Can anyone suggest the best way to polish paintwork, and how much improvement I might legitimately hope for expect? The backstory is that I've been painting the hull of my boat, and I have to admit I'm not overly amazed with the result. :roll: I know that you can't expect to save a poor painting job...

Oooh, actually, while we're at it, anyone else got a kite pole for a Furball they would be willing to sell on? "Mine" (and I use that word loosely—it would have vanished before I got the boat) appears to have vanished from the club boathouse in the half-decade period between now and the ti...

Max, Let us know how you & your Dad find sailing the Fireball. I'm finishing off the refurbishment of a Fireball at the moment with the intent to sail her next season—but it's certainly more lively than anything I have ever sailed before! If you pick up any tips or suggestions as to how I might ...

My golden rule is "never have screws in tension" I can see the logic in that one. Unfortunately, I reckon there's a couple of fittings that will have to be screwed down but might take high loads. I remember seeing in the West epoxy user guide a suggestion that you could a) wet-out pilot h...

I remeber when I got a Harrier I looked at the kicker fitting, and thought "how on earth has that stayed on for twenty five years?". It lasted until the next time out (admittedly 30knots+) but I can only assume know owner had ever pulled the thing on properly... Hmm, that's an alarming th...

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll try varnish for a starting point—certainly for anything going into a pre-filled hole. For bigger hardware I might go for some sealant, but if the advice is that some polyurethane sealants can be a bit too adhesive and potentially damage the ply I'll avoid tha...

Can anyone give me some advice on sealing for fittings? I’ve slowly been renovating a 1970s wooden Fireball, and I’m now just about at the stage where I’m going to start putting the multitude of fittings back on. Obviously (I think) the overriding objective is to prevent water getting into the wood,...

Hi Chris, Thanks, that's a great help. Just so I make sure I have an accurate picture in my head, did the track on 12607 run fore/aft or up/down? In my head, I imagine either could work in theory, but I'd guess fore/aft would be easier to make work in practice (& also less risk of ripping up the...

Hi all, Thanks for the advice. As ever, though, the answers lead me to more questions! It's definitely a new-style jib—I had a look at it last night and it has a very round foot and a high clew—so it sounds like I'll need to rig up some kind of cockpit-sheeting system. Any suggestions on a good way ...

Hi all, I was given an old (1979) Fireball (not a 'proper' CVRDA boat, I know!) as a project to restore over the winter & I was wondering if anyone might be able to give me a little advice. In essence, what I'm trying to figure out is whether I should mount the jib-fairlead control tackle on the...