I have now completed a whole season of sailing my converted Finn. Although I intended her as a day-sailer her manners in rough water have encouraged me to make a couple of passages across the Thames Estuary. She tends to drive straight on through seas but the benefit of this is that the spray tends to hit me on the shoulder when working to windward rather than landing up in my face. Modifications have been required however.

Although the recut mainsail allows the boom to clear my head when I am in the rear part of the hull, if I venture forward to the mast the boom tries to squash me onto the deck. It reminds me of the Edwardian yacht with the low boom, that impressed the mark of its owner false teeth into the cabin top when he didn't duck in time! The lead of the halyard and reefing lines allow me to control the mainsail from aft but the anchor arrangements still needed attention. It is easy enough to get a CQR to stow nicely with its plough shovel neatly tucked over the edge of the foredeck. It is another matter if you want it to drop into the water when you release its warp from a few feet away. The secret I decided was to ensure that it remained nose heavy when stowed. The anchor must be restrained from coming too far back. I fastened a block of Iroko on the hull just below the gunwale. This has teeth cut into it to catch the nose of the plough. The anchor is pulled in over a roller onto the surface of the deck and the block intercepts it, stopping its centre of gravity coming past the roller. If released it falls back into the water. A hook on the end of a strong piece of shock-cord engages in a link of its chain and this holds it in position, even when trailing. I hope the photograph make it clear. I hasten to add that the system was a bit unreliable when I first fitted it but a bit of fine tuning seems to have done the trick - only time will tell.

The reefing system works just fine as she lies obediently head to wind when the mizzen sheet is hauled in. On two occasions early in the season I used the second reef. Since I found out how well the powerful mainsheet flattens the sail, this easy reduction of power has since often saved me from the temptation of having to reef at all.

Capsizes were still too much of a possibility, in spite of the reefing gear. With all the distractions that occur during day sailing I cannot be certain that I will not make mistakes. One day I was beating in a gusty wind with one reef tucked in. I had skinned one of my fingers so had the mainsheet cleated to relieve the pain in my hand. I ventured too far into the shallows and as I came about the alloy centreplate caught the bottom throwing her back onto the original tack. I found myself sitting on the lee side with water pouring past my bottom and the cleat on the other side of the boat! Two things were required as I couldn't increase the dinghy's freeboard. Firstly a ratchet mainsheet block so off I went to my friends at Racing Sailboats. This makes the handling of the mainsheet much more comfortable. The other thing was ballast - I mentioned in my first article that it remained an option so investigated the location. Due to the point of maximum beam being aft of centre and the weight of the mast being forward, the usual place either side of the centreboard case is not appropriate. I took up the floorboards aft of the case to reveal the perfect spot. There was room for slabs of lead 1½" thick and about 89 inches square between the floors. It was easy to make sure they stayed put with cleats at either side and the ply floorboards screwed down on top. Two slabs were cast, each weighing 43 lbs. Most of the weight is supported by the hog and the outer load on the ⅜" laminated hull is relieved with plastic plates. Extra buoyancy is not required as there are still buoyancy bags totalling 600 lbs. in a wooden hull that only weighs less than half of this. The ballast is not noticeable during ordinary sailing. She still seems as responsive as before and heels to about 30° as quickly. However since fitting the ballast she resists at this point. I find when I am sailing her hard on the wind, that I can let her heel quite considerably and there is a quick recovery that wasn't there before. I noticed the same difference with the 13 foot canoe yawl that I once owned although that only had 56 lbs. It is unnecessary to remove the ballast for trailing.

The other matter that needed my attention was the leakage from the self bailers. I had thought this was minimal but it seemed to get worse. In fact the main reason for the self-bailers seemed to be getting rid of the water that leaked through them! They were Elvstrom models and were pretty old so that one could not fit new washers. I was assured by an ex Finn owner that the later models didn't leak so off I went to Racing Sailboats again. Although 30 years have passed since mine were produced, 'large' model Elvstroms are still available with the same size flange plate and the same screw hole placements. The design has been modified however and not only are replacement washers available but the bailers 'suck' at much lower speed. The conversion was easy and successful.

Regarding buoyancy bag valves - I am pleased to say that the '0' rings that I used to replace the original washers on the Crewsaver bags have been totally successful and I have not had to top up any of the bags in over a year. I can therefore recommend them as a replacement, even for new bags.

One of the pleasures of owning the Finn is its light air performance and its ability to tack in restricted waters. I never intended to carry an engine and oars are adequate for manoeuvring in marinas when using their launching ramps. However I cannot pretend that rowing her is a pleasure. This could easily be corrected by fitting a skeg I suppose; but I am reluctant to add any excrescence to the smooth bottom which would spoil the low speed responsiveness sailing.

I became interested in this project as a response to Bernard Stocks's remark in his article in Bulletin 139, "I would welcome more discussion about the merits of detuning standard cruiser/racers, as this makes acquiring a cruising dinghy much cheaper". The total cost of my Finn yawl without anchor and oars but including the cost of recutting the sail, adding a new mizzen, new cleats, ratchet block, new bailers, and ballast, has worked out at some £490 of which the original cost of the hull with spars and sails was £200... Now for more space, what about a Flying Dutchman converted to a two masted low-aspect rig?