I decided to start a thread for all of the mods I've made to my paradise.
The first thing I did was to enlarge the rudder. When I first sailed it I had a hard time keeping it from turning into the wind when I had a crosswind. I think that was partly due to my sail trims.
The next thing I did was to make a jib boom extension. The jib seemed to have a lot more "arc" I guess you can say, in the jib sail. I machined the extension so I had plenty of adjustment.
I've finally got around to making a new keel weight. I took a steel pipe and cut it to length. I plugged one end and melted up some lead and filled the pipe. Once it cooled the lead contracted more than the preheated steel so I let it cool and I put it in the press and compressed the lead within the pipe to lock it in place. Then I put it in the lathe and turned it to it's final shape. Then it was time to mill out a slot which would recieve the keel. Once the machining was done I cleaned it up and epoxyed it onto the keel. A few coats of paint and clear coat and it was finally done.
The finished keel weighs 26 ounces. "the stock one was 12.8oz" It didn't affect the draft too much, it sits about a quarter of an inch lower in the water.
Each modification has made it a little better and all of them combined has made a huge difference!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL0md_f5Td4[/youtube]