MIRADOR'S NEW SUN AWNING

Our new sun awning was completed on May 7. Since then we have been fine tuning the shape of the awning.

There are four battens in the awning that can be bent with the lines that extend from the end of the batten down to the toe rail or life line. The main halyard is used to pull up on the batten in the center of the awning that extends aftward from the mast.

The awning forward of the mast is separate from the aft section. The center batten in the forward section is held aloft by the topping lift. The forward most batten is secured to the rolled up genoa by a line.

In the picture to the right- the wind is blowing about 10 knots from the right side of the picture. Note how the anchor lines are straining toward the pictures right.

There is a three or four knot current running straight toward the bow of the boat so Mirador is sitting broadside to the wind.

The awning was designed to be high enough that we can walk around on the side decks without ducking under it. The only problem we have encountered is that the lines from the awning down to the life lines or toe rail slant inward and hit us about shoulder level when we walk along the side decks.

We have decided to fold up the bimini top when the awning is up. This gives us more headroom and a much lighter feel in the cockpit.

The big question is how fast can we remove 22 adjusting lines, two halyards, and 18 twist connectors when we have to remove the awning in a big hurry?