{"id":38,"date":"2012-01-30T15:59:28","date_gmt":"2012-01-30T04:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/arrowarafura\/redesign\/?page_id=38"},"modified":"2017-08-03T17:31:59","modified_gmt":"2017-08-03T07:31:59","slug":"getting-involved","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/arrowarafura.com\/?page_id=38","title":{"rendered":"Getting Involved"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nArrows and Arafura Cadets are not available off the shelf, so you have the choice of buying a second-hand boat or building one yourself.<\/p>\n

Buying a second-hand boat<\/h2>\n

You can pick up a boat for as little as $1,000, or splurge out on a near-new proven racer for $3,500. Apart from the quality of finish, the following features dictate the value of a boat:<\/p>\n

Hull weight<\/strong> \u2013 the hulls should be at or close to minimum weight
\nSails<\/strong> \u2013 near-new sails from a sailmaker with a proven good track record in the class
\nRudders<\/strong> \u2013 these must be well shaped, operate smoothly in the rudder boxes and lock down positively.<\/p>\n

For less expensive boats, the things to look for are:<\/p>\n

Paint finish<\/strong> \u2013 check for areas where the surface is lifted. This indicates that water has got into the plywood.
\nHull leaks<\/strong> \u2013 cracks along the seams can allow a surprisingly large quantity of water to enter the hulls.
\nTrampoline tracks<\/strong> \u2013 some boats have a problem with the tracks along the inside of the hull coming loose because the screws pull out of the timber.
\nTrampoline<\/strong> \u2013 the stitching deteriorates and breaks down slowly due to UV light. Centreplate beam cracking \u2013 the sideways pressure applied by the centreplate can crack the aluminium beams, particularly if they have lightening holes.
\nRudders<\/strong> \u2013 check that the blades fit snugly in their boxes, that they swing down to a position close to the transom and that the hold-down system keeps them there. Rudder blades that angle backwards cause serious weather helm.<\/p>\n

Building a boat<\/h2>\n

This is a time-consuming but very satisfying project. You can do it all yourself, or get a flying start by purchasing a set of hulls. Construction plans are available for both the Arrow and Arafura Cadet. They detail every step of the process and have plenty of helpful tips to ensure that the job goes smoothly and without mistakes. Most state associations have a jig which makes assembling the hulls much easier.<\/p>\n

Purchasing a set of hulls is more expensive but saves a lot of time. For both classes, timber or fibreglass hulls are allowed, but only Arrow hulls have been built in fibreglass so far. The term \u201cfibreglass\u201d is misleading because the hulls are actually built using foam\/resin sandwich construction so that minimum weight is achieved.<\/p>\n

Your State Association will know of professional and amateur hull builders in your area.<\/p>\n

A set of plans and building instructions comes complete with a sail number and costs $50. They are available from the South Australian Association (refer to contact details above).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arrows and Arafura Cadets are not available off the shelf, so you have the choice of buying a second-hand boat or building one yourself. Buying a second-hand boat You can pick up a boat for as little as $1,000, or splurge out on a near-new proven racer for $3,500. Apart from the quality of finish, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1020,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-38","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrowarafura.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrowarafura.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrowarafura.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrowarafura.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1020"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrowarafura.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arrowarafura.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/38\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrowarafura.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}