Mornin' all!

I have been having a look at the sketches of the legs in the handbook, and I just wanted to ask if the dimensions are correct? Also, have you found that the backing plate that is glassed into the hull is sufficient for the job, or does it require beefing up at all?

Now this is bit of a big ask, but would any of you chaps that have a set of legs for your seal 22, be willing to draw around a leg onto a bit of brown paper, pop it into an envelope and send it down to sunny Devon for me? It's just that I am finding that with the crappy weather we are having, things are taking a bit longer than I estimated to get sorted, and the above would just save me a bit of time, and I would be ever so grateful, of course I would refund any postage you might incur, and if you ever was to find yourself down this way, I would be happy to fill you up with the brown frothy stuff![:)]

Many thanks in anticipation,

Ray.

Seal 22 MK3 "Morveren" ex "Melissa" ex "Sachi" Number 384

(the last one built by John Baker)

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Hi Ray, you should have asked sooner. I have a pair of legs and will trace around them for you.... As regards the durability of the mountings, they have a little surface crazing on Moonspinner, but very little really. She may have sat slightly awkwardly on her port side leg many many years ago as the lower bit of the relatively thin inner moulding (that forms the cubby holes, has a very old hairline crack suggesting the boat was pushed towards the leg, slightly deflecting the hull and making a iny crack in the inner (which is VERY thin at this point. I knew it was there from the outset and the hull has absolutely no sign of any reflective damage. Maybe one day i'll scrape it out, but in the position its in its just about impossible to get behind it to glass it across. It may even have always been there - its thta old... The bottom line is that the hull and leg mounts seem plenty strong enough, but like on any boat, the leg stay lines should be carefully positioned and tensioned to prevent damage. I'm gonna try the legs out this year in controlled conditions on a nice day as I still have not used them - and would prefer to have ad practice before perhaps having to uses them for the first out of necessity on a dark night... Email me your address off line so I can post the tracings to you...

Greg...

Seal 22 - Moonspinner

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Cheers Greg!!......Proper Job!![8D]

I will email you my address etc.

Best regards, Ray.

Seal 22 MK3 "Morveren" ex "Mellisa" ex "Sachi" Number 384

(the last one built by John Baker)

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Ray,

I have used the legs on my boat many times and only had one problem.

Staying on a beech on the second or third low tide at 02:00(ish) we woke to feel sealia sinking on the starboard side. the leg had settled on extra soft sand and sank the whole weight of the boat was building on the one leg as she was tipping over. Fortunatly my crew(John) and I managed to tip her level and dig a whole under the port leg before the water disappeard completly.

What had woken us was the noise of something straining at first but on inspection in day light and over the years since there was no damage. If the sketches you have are as fitted to mine. I think they are strong enough.

I have now made a couple of plate size timber spreders that fit on the bottom of the leg about two inches up. these can be removed for storage and are held on by a peice of string when in use all I can say Is I used them once last year in the same location with no problem.

I found out later after are tipping, that another boat had got stuck approxamatly were we had dried out a couple of weeks before we dried out. A team had dug down to refloat her after several days stuck.

Ray (Sealia)

Hi Ray,

Hmmmmmm, a bit of a heart stopping moment eh? For preference I would probably try and set down in a bit of gooey mud, but I know that wouldn't be popular with swmbos etc. Still I am on me own most of the time, so that problem doesn't occur really. The only sketches I have are in the S22 Tech Handbook, and Greg's are most likely the same I don't see a problem with the dimensions and strength. Anyway, if Greg's legs fit his boat, they will fit mine ok.

I will probably make them out of Douglas Fir, which is very strong for it's weight, kind of looks nice too when it's varnished. I was having a muse the other day about fitting plates to the bottom of the legs, so that they wouldn't be so prone to sinking in soft sand, I will probably make them out of a bit of 3/4" marine ply that I have hanging about here.

Cheers, Ray.

Seal 22 MK3 "Morveren" ex "Mellisa" ex "Sachi" Number 384

(the last one built by John Baker)

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Couple of comments from another leg user. I also have had Ray's sinking experience! Sand is usually pretty hard and supportive, but occasionally you find a thin layer over mud and one or other of the legs punches through. The other thing to watch out for is a tidal flow over the sand. This can wash the sand out from under your legs leading to similar grief.

Neil Sinclair

Seal 28/27

'Andiamo of Exe'

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Hi Neil,

Yes a reminder worth keeping in mind! I shall probably only use me legs in my home waters, which I know very well, Incidentally, I now have a pattern to make legs for the S22, it is available to anyone needing to make some for themselves. I shall be cutting it in half and then re-joining with a strip of piano hinge, so all one will needs to do is open it out over your chosen lump of tree and draw around it. The reason for making it a folding jobbie is just for ease of postage. I will email one of the powers that be and tell them that it's available, in case they don't see this post.

Cheers all, Ray.

Seal 22 MK3 "Morveren" Number 384

(the last one built by John Baker)

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