Hope everyone's sailing!

[Tim]

It sure is quiet here...is everyone out sailing? (Except those of us in the gross northeast, where it's been raining and dismal for days and days.)

[Shark]

Hi Tim,

I launched on the 17th. Stepped mast and started rigging on 22nd. I have a bit more to do before my first sail which I hope will be this weekend. The weather here on Lake Ontario has also been bad - rain followed by rain with occasional periods of rain. Ugh!

It was a challenge getting the boat ready this year as good weather and time off were hard to synchronize. Racing starts in two weeks. Will summer ever come?

Lyman
Scoot

[bcooke]

No new messages on the forum... no updates to the Daysailor... hardly seems worth turning on my computer these days.

I am still trying to finalize the purchase of my new sailable project boat; Triton #680 to be exact. Hopefully, Nathan will continue to update his website with new completed projects and not get too distracted. Like Dasein, I want to sail while I improve the boat and would say my project schedule is about a year behind his, so I am counting on him to keep me out of trouble! Keep up the good work Nathan!

I wanted to sail the boat home, to enjoy some time on the water and determine my upgrade priorities, but if I don't move the boat soon I am going to get hit with a big summer storage bill. Any suggestions on hauling companies for a move between Biddeford and Newburyport?

I am also thinking of leaving my current job, getting a lot done on the new boat, and heading to the Bahamas. Unrealistic perhaps, but a noble goal I should think.

Any plans for a summer NETA rendevous?

-Britton

[dasein668]

Hey Britton,

Thanks for the kind words. I'm about at the end of the "projects" updates for this season... A few minor things still coming, but I pretty much put the projects on hold for the summer. Hate to let them get in the way of actually sailing, since the season is so short up this way. But of course, there will be more projects next winter. Tentative goals include painting the hull, freshening up the v-berth, pulling the engine to rebuild the beds and give the engine a good going-over, and rebuilding the galley. We'll see what the $$ situation looks like though!

And there will certainly be some sailing updates for the summer. Looking to get in several long weekend mini-cruises as well as one longer 2-3 week cruise in july/august...

As for a hauler, I would recommend the hauler that Tim and I both use: Steve Morse of Morse Overland Marine. He's usually pretty busy this time of year though, so I don't know how soon he'd be able to get around to a long-haul. But easy enough to give him a call... I don't have his number handy, but I can look it up later... or, Tim?

[Tim]

Steve Morse is at 207-657-2729. I will warn you that he has specifically said he prefers not to go out of state much any more, but it's worth giving him a try nonetheless. I think he likes Nathan and I, so it shouldn't hurt if you tell him we recommended him. He's a good guy and very easy going...which translates to his phone message returning, too. It might not be as long, but sometimes I have waited a couple days for his return call.

[Figment]

Nope, not sailing YET, but this weekend that should change. This will be our first "cruise" to a defined destination. About 30 miles each way, and if the weathermen are correct, it'll be a nice broad reach/run both ways.

But this opportunity came on us rather suddenly, so it's been a scramble to get the boat ready. Rewire cabin and running lights, quick-n-dirty screens for the hatch and companionway, restring the hated doggie-safety netting, wash all cushion covers, purchase and learn GPS, mount steering compass. I'm taking the day off tomorrow for provisioning and tying up loose ends so we can leave on saturday's 6AM tide.

[Tim]

...and if the weathermen are correct...

Boy, that's a big if! :<P

We're also hoping to cruise for the weekend, along with Dasein. But I'll only believe the forecast when each day arrives!

Hope all goes well for you, and that the weather is good!

[Figment]

It appears that I jinxed myself just about every way I could for this weekend's trip.

Weather, as Tim predicted, was not as predicted. Saturday was a broad reach alright, but with winds well above the 12kts forecast. 25 miles covered in a hairy 4 hours. Even on a 3rd-wave painter, the dinghy in tow produced such a noise, like we were being followed by a ski boat the whole way. The way home became a beat in 15-20kts.

Fuel. My "fuel guage" post jinxed me.
At the mouth of the CT river we doused the genoa and started the engine, planning to motor up the river, but leave the mainsail up to damp the rolling certain to be caused by huge powerboat wakes. A mile later the engine dies in the middle of the rock-jetty-walled channel. We managed to climb above the jettys and escape the channel on mainsail alone. At anchor, I start to diagnose the problem, checking the sediment bowl (clean) and cartrige filter (also clean). I disconnect the line and reopen the petcock.... no fuel. The "hour-meter" method of fuel tracking let me down. TowBoatUS happened to have a boat about 500 yards away, so a tow to the fuel dock was underway ten minutes later.

$20 worth of fuel later, I discover a new problem. The sediment bowl's retainer clip assembly broke when I removed it earlier. It's saturday afternoon on Memorial Day Weekend, and we're thinking through options of leaving the boat for the week, having TowBoatUS tow us back the 25 miles, etc. Then a friend happens by (Beer Guy, for those with memory) and offers to tow us upriver to the weekend destination and then back downriver on Monday. WEEKEND SAVED!!!

A Seafarer 30 with new yanmar 3GM30 towing a Triton against 2 knots of current into 20-25knots of headwind.... 2.5 knots was the peak of progress for the next 3 hours. 0.5 knots in the increased current between bridge piers. We were quite the sight.

Because the weather was predicted to turn foul on Monday, we departed a day early. Towing downriver was much more fun. Beer guy had damaged his headsail foil in the previous day's blow and planned to motor the whole way home, but we cut ourselves loose and set sail as soon as the tide turned. Reefed and beating beautifully all day despite 3' chop (gotta LOVE the ride of a Triton), we're able to crack off onto a close-reach after clearing the last reef an hour from home, when the call comes over the radio....

"Sail into the Thimble Islands. Your father wants us all to spend the night on the Club's mooring..." At this point I was rather looking forward to the early end of the weekend, but as both of my tow-boats were going to be in the Islands, I had little grounds for arguing that I wanted to continue to harbor. Evidently my dinghy sailing days are not so long-forgotten, as I was able to approach and raft to the Seafarer sans engine. I was feeling pretty good about that, so I didn't give much consideration to the fact that our anchorage was poorly protected. Strong wind and 2' seas, coming right down the channel.

My father's arrival shortly thereafter made that fact PAINFULLY clear. His approach to the "raft" was rather violent, which might have been manageable had the boats not been rocking so. As it was, however, it took four diving bodies to keep the boats apart, and somehow in the scramble Julia got her hand onto the searing-hot barbecue.

Furious, I made the call. WEEKEND OVER. EVERYONE GO HOME (someone tow me, please). Just as well, there wasn't enough fuel in the dinghy tank to get the dogs ashore for "walking" anyway.

So, the damage toll for this jolly weekend jaunt:
1) My fuel sediment bowl thingy. Eh, was going to replace the whole fuel line and filtration system next week anyway.
2) My starboard bow chock, not up to the strain of TowBoatUS.
3) John's RF headsail foil.
4) A brand-new thermos, whose glass-vacuum innards were not up to the shock loads of a heavy-weather beat.
5) My father's hullside air intake/exhaust louvers, crushed.
6) Julia's hand, mostly just 1st degree burned, but a few spots of 2nd degree.

Remarkable elements on the heroic side of the tragedy:
1) BoatUS earned every nickel of my membership/insurance money. The towing service was the very definition of cheerful professionalism, and the folks back at the "base" are to be commended as well. While I sat at the fuel dock trying to figure a way out of the mess without paying through the nose for a weeklong transient dockage, they were working the phones trying to find replacement parts to get me going again. On
Saturday afternoon.

2) The "good samaritanism" of John the Beer Guy, who never thought twice about offering such an extensive tow to save our weekend, nor about the inconvenient impact upon his own. We're trying to think of a good/fun thankyou gift. Something with a "tugboat" theme. If you guys have any ideas to that end, I'd love to hear them.

(how's that for a "ramble"?)

[Tim]

Aren't boats fun!?

Our own weekend cruising plans turned into nothing. Friday, it rained all day (and fog). Saturday, it blew ridiculously hard from dawn to dusk--and again on Sunday. We were on the boat Sunday hoping to sail and go to a destination for the night, but saw gusts as high as 41 knots. No need to go out and risk trauma. We stayed on the mooring overnight anyway, after a nice early start to the cocktail hour with Dasein. No sailing today (Monday) either, though it was calm, sunny, and gorgeous in the morning, making for a relaxing and pleasant time aboard nonetheless.

Hope Julia's hand recovers well and quickly. What a bummer. We no longer raft after our bad experience a couple summers ago at Isleboro.

Rafting Damage

[dasein668]

Ugh! Sorry to hear all that Mike.

I can't believe how snotty it was here on both Saturday and Sunday.

I had a nice enough time Sunday and Monday, and got to spend the night aboard, but man, what a letdown weather-wise...

[Figment]

So here we are, 3 weeks later.

1)The "fuel problem" turned out to be a head gasket. Thanks to the fact that I had a "parts motor" on hand, we're up and running again for only $150.

2) Bow chock is still swinging in the breeze. eh. low on the list.

3) John's RF foil issue turned out to be a rivet that had worked loose. Three minutes spent aloft and she's right as rain.

4) The dollar store got in a fresh load of thermoses last week. Now we have extra thermos cups. Soup, anyone?

5) Hull side louvers.... replacements were overnighted (where's the friggin fire?!) and installed the next day.

6) Julia's hand is 99% healed.

TowBoatUS actually called the house later that week to find out how everything wound up.

John's house is heavily decorated in boat and ship models, so as a thankyou we got him a model tugboat and painted the name of his boat on the house. Not terribly imaginitive, but he got a kick out of it.

All in all, not too shabby. Only one weekend passed in the interim with no sailing, and that was no great loss due to torrential rain.
Looking forward to the rest of the season!

[Tim]

Glad to hear everything has turned out so swimmingly! Even the worst situation (at the time) usually becomes a distant memory quickly, forgotten in the face of more pleasing times.

(My philosophical input for the day. And to think...I've had no formal training! ;<P)