I think I've learned this now. Time will tell. Last weekend, although rain was predicted all weekend, Saturday provided some spirited lazy man's sailing (15 -20 only the genoa) . And anchoring in Oyster Bay was quiet, pleasantly cool, and very relaxing. I was joined by another club member and we had a pretty good time, I must say.
Sunday resulted in a very pleasnt sail back, with the attendant downpour upon arriving at the dock. But still, I'm glad we went. Got some good sailing in, and the normal anchoring fun.
This is not to say one should totally ignore NOAA's weather reports. Very often, ok, sometimes they're spot on. Sometimes, they totally underestimate wind and sea states. I got stories about that, too.
But for coastal daysailing, expecially in a sound, you're probably a better judge. You're right there, and NOAA is doing all this from geosynchronous satellites. Clearly, if it's nice weather but a hurricane is coming up within 24 hours, that's a whole different matter. Use your common sense.
Oh, yes, and sometimes you'll be wrong.
On another tack, I've been on the web looking for nice track mounted cleats. I have these cheesy black plastic ones that came with the boat. They serve the purpose, but I saw in West Marine some really nice ones by Schaeffer - beautiful, shiny stainless steel. But they were $111 each there! Arrrggghh!
Ok, so you might not find cleats titillating. But get this: at Binnacle.com I got them both for $139.90! All right! I can't wait. Also, from D&B Marine I got a replacement speed sensor for my Raymarine ST-40. Feh. Didn't need that! Anyway, got a good price, and had it the next day! What a surprise that was! More surprising was that they were still in business- I had heard years ago they went out, but apparently they are doing well still. For what they have, they have good prices.
This weekend, Labor Day 2006, is promising to be a washout - as it was last year - but last year it was actually spectacular. So who knows.
One way or the other, I'll be on the water - I hope to see you there!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Sometimes A Boat Is Place Away From Home
Even though I know better, instead of sailing the conditions, I sailed NOAA's predictions which were for bad weather - thunderstorms, rain in the afternoon for all night basically, and rain on and off all Sunday.
So I popped down to the boat figuring I'd take the good weather in the morning to clean the bottom of the boat. For some reason, City Island grows slime and grass like it's nobody's business. It only takes two weeks and your bottom needs scrubbing. Even with the paint I've used from Florida which is supposed to last two seasons there.
Anyway, after scrubbing the bottom - an onerous and tiring task, I showered in the cockpit - if you have pressure water on your boat and you don't have a cockpit shower, you really should install one. It's such a pleasure! And it helps to keep salt from below. Salt in the upholstery keeps the below damp, even on dry days. It's best to minimize it.
But I digress, as usual.
So with almost no wind, I decided to take a nap. With the hatches open so a breeze flows through the cabin it was cool and dim and oh, so comfortable. Nappies! Perfect.
Around 3 in the afternoon, I woke up and went out into the cockpit to read for a while. The breeze had picked up, the clouds that threatened thunderstorms had blown away, but I was just to relaxed to get the boat ready to go. So I didn't.
Some days, the boat provides a haven. And that's pretty much ok.
Of course, the day ended with cocktails and dinner at the club. How bad can that be? I'll tell you: Not at all. I met and renewed acquaintances from the club including the owner of a Tartan Ten I used to race on! I may actually race on it again for fun one day.
During dinner, apparently, it rained. But since we were eating on the porch, no worries. Later, I toddled off to Inertia for a great night's sleep.
Next weekend, a club member will come with me to either Northport or Oyster Bay to raft up or moor or anchor for some much needed partying. (I mean, partying is always needed!)
There will be pictures and more notes on that.
Maybe I'll see you on the water! I hope so.
So I popped down to the boat figuring I'd take the good weather in the morning to clean the bottom of the boat. For some reason, City Island grows slime and grass like it's nobody's business. It only takes two weeks and your bottom needs scrubbing. Even with the paint I've used from Florida which is supposed to last two seasons there.
Anyway, after scrubbing the bottom - an onerous and tiring task, I showered in the cockpit - if you have pressure water on your boat and you don't have a cockpit shower, you really should install one. It's such a pleasure! And it helps to keep salt from below. Salt in the upholstery keeps the below damp, even on dry days. It's best to minimize it.
But I digress, as usual.
So with almost no wind, I decided to take a nap. With the hatches open so a breeze flows through the cabin it was cool and dim and oh, so comfortable. Nappies! Perfect.
Around 3 in the afternoon, I woke up and went out into the cockpit to read for a while. The breeze had picked up, the clouds that threatened thunderstorms had blown away, but I was just to relaxed to get the boat ready to go. So I didn't.
Some days, the boat provides a haven. And that's pretty much ok.
Of course, the day ended with cocktails and dinner at the club. How bad can that be? I'll tell you: Not at all. I met and renewed acquaintances from the club including the owner of a Tartan Ten I used to race on! I may actually race on it again for fun one day.
During dinner, apparently, it rained. But since we were eating on the porch, no worries. Later, I toddled off to Inertia for a great night's sleep.
Next weekend, a club member will come with me to either Northport or Oyster Bay to raft up or moor or anchor for some much needed partying. (I mean, partying is always needed!)
There will be pictures and more notes on that.
Maybe I'll see you on the water! I hope so.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Perfectly Ending A Vacation
Normally I end a sailing vacation in a horror show of motoring into 20 knot winds, rain , and six foot chop. By the time I get back to the dock or mooring the vacation forgotten in drenched clothes, broken gear, empty fuel tanks, stress of getting myself together to go back to work.
This time was characterized as one of the best sailing days of the year - the kind of day where the tide, wind, and sky all come together to make almost a spiritual experience! The sky was deep blue with little puffy cumulus clouds over land and a few high cirrus clouds all in a deep blue sky. Wind out of the north, and the tide in flood (the best for going west in Long Island Sound). A perfect beam reach. It was the kind of day you want to hand steer the whole day so you don't miss any of it!
But how did I get here? When last you heard, I was at Watch Hill, RI. Well, that's a long story.
My friends, Herb & Gina and Bob & Carol started their journey back to Stamford, CT on Saturday and I sailed over to Fisher's Island to anchor for the evening. Once the thunderstorms passed through Thursday night, the weather turned really pleasant - in the 80's during the day, 60's at night.
Fisher's Island, the island that is the southern bound of Fisher's Island Sound (obviously) and between Watch Hill, RI and the Race at the very north eastern end of Long Island Sound is actually part of New York State. It's obviously nowhere near New York, but that's a whole 'nother story.
On the west end there's a harbor with a large anchorage outside, called interestingly enough, West Harbor. Given that the prevailing summer winds are out of the southwest, this is well protected and the holding ground is perfect. The only thing you need to be aware of is the rocks and in the south eastern end. You'll see them before you hit them. The only direction the harbor isn't protected in is to the north east.
I spent the day swimming and kyacking throughout the main harbor. The Fisher's Island Yacht Club is in there and also a fuel dock. There are a few pretty inlets that go on for quite a bit, almost bisecting the island. All very pretty. I think I could live there! If you look at a chart, you'll see that West Harbor is only about 5 nautical miles (nm) from Watch Hill, so it's a really short sail. There is a store on Fisher's, so if you really need food, then you can get some.
Monday I was supposed to pick up my friend, Julie, (the very same from the Bermuda trip) for a couple of days of sailing about, so Sunday I sailed the 3 nm to Spicer's Noank marina. They're a Boat U.S. participating marina so if you're a member, you get a discount on slip rates.
I can't say enough good things about Spicer's. The docks are floating concrete - solid and well maintained. The heads are clean and comfortable. The office people are universally friendly and helpful, and Abbott's Lobster In The Rough is a short walk away! In fact, within easy walking distance is a general store with an excellent butcher, and four restaurants, including the aforementioned Abbott's. Next to Abbott's is Costello's Clam Shack. Get it? Abbots and Costello's? These links may not be working. Do a Google search if not. But Noank, CT is so small that you can walk easily from one end to the other in 10 minutes with a few minutes left over.
Back to Spicers - I spent the day cleaning the boat for company, talking to people on the dock and generally just fooling around. It was a pleasant day, to say the least. In the evening, I walked over to Fisherman's Restaurant about a half mile away to the west. After a very pleasant meal, I tootled on back to the boat to sleep.
The plan was for Julie to get there around 1 pm so we could get the outgoing tide for Newport and Naragansett Bay (we were going to Bristol), but due to traffic and other delays she didn't arrive until about 3:30pm, or the end of the outgoing tide. Since I'd gone shopping and had a fully stocked larder (from the general store mentioned above), we decided to just go to Fisher's Island again to anchor. So that's what we did.
I grilled some fresh chicken and made a salad, and we ate in the cockpit watching the sun go down. Very relaxing.
The next day, which would be Tuesday, we sailed from West Harbor west past New London and then back to Watch Hill, RI. It was a day of swimming and kyacking again - Although Julie had to get some work done, so I spent the day doing other stuff. That night, we grilled steak, had salad and rice & beans. Mmmm. Eating during sunset is really special. The moon was full so it was almost like day. The sky was totally clear. Very beautiful.
Wednesday we sailed back to Spicer's and I got a slip for the evening. We ate on the boat again, and Thursday morning I had to start my journey back, so Julie left the boat at 6:30 am so I could catch most of the tide back towards City Island.
The wind was 8 to 10 knots out of the southwest which is exactly the wrong direction for going southwest - I ended up motoring the day to Milford, CT, just west of New Haven. It was a long day of motoring but the autopilot really helped with that! I got to sail for about an hour before I anchored in 'The Gulf' north of Charles Island outside Milford Harbor. The holding ground is pretty good, and as the afternoon and evening got on more and more boats joined the anchorage.
At low tide there's a bar that connects Milford to Charles Island and apparently a number of people walk the bar and around the island. They fly kites from the bar. And just before it's flooded again, they run back to the mainland.
A few thunderstorms moved through north of us and the wind moved to the north during the night. The next morning it was 65 degrees and breezy and brilliantly sunny. I motored out of the anchorage and set sail as soon as I was clear of the marking bouys.
That brings me to the wonderful sail back to City Island. As I mentioned, it was one of those days that makes the whole boat ownership thing worthwhile.
I figures I'd refill the fuel tank at Capri Marina in Port Washington (Manhassett Bay). It turns out that it's been purchased by Brewer's - who owns a large number of marinas in the northeast. They have universally driven up prices for slips and moorings and apparently have the attitude that if you own a boat you should pay through the teeth. It should be painful.
When you go to one of their marinas, not only do you pay top dollar for the slip ($3.00/ft/night during the week, $3.50 during the weekend) but you pay extra for electricity. In other words, for the price of a decent hotel room with all of it's amenities, you get a hole in the water. Nothing more. Also, although I don't use their services for repair, I've been told, at least in the case of Yacht Haven in Stamford Ct. that it's less than stellar and expensive besides.
Because of this, I no longer go to Branford (because Lenny's is there) , Greenport (Preston's is there), or any other Brewer's marina. I'm not against making a profit. I am against usury. Spicer's was $2.50/ft/night but discounted for Boat U.S. members, so Inertia ended up being like $67/night with electricity included. No extra charge. In fact, they were surprised when I asked about that.
Remember, transients are not in slips, generally, that are transient only. They are already sold for the summer and provided to transients when the owner is out. So the marina makes the money for the summer (very expensive at Brewer's - in Stamford, $122 - $133 per foot) plus anything they make from transients. It's win/win for the marina. I don't feel bad for them. But of course, if Brewer's raises their prices, so do other marinas because, well, they can. It's partially the reason I left mine in Harbor House.
I can't do anything else but vote with my money.
End of rant. It falls under the heading, "Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should do that something". It's a great big nose thumb to customers.
Well, I got back to City Island Friday evening, had a great dinner and met some more of the members. It was a very pleasant end to the vacation. I'm only sorry I can't continue...
Next weekend is another weekend, eh? See you on the water!
This time was characterized as one of the best sailing days of the year - the kind of day where the tide, wind, and sky all come together to make almost a spiritual experience! The sky was deep blue with little puffy cumulus clouds over land and a few high cirrus clouds all in a deep blue sky. Wind out of the north, and the tide in flood (the best for going west in Long Island Sound). A perfect beam reach. It was the kind of day you want to hand steer the whole day so you don't miss any of it!
But how did I get here? When last you heard, I was at Watch Hill, RI. Well, that's a long story.
My friends, Herb & Gina and Bob & Carol started their journey back to Stamford, CT on Saturday and I sailed over to Fisher's Island to anchor for the evening. Once the thunderstorms passed through Thursday night, the weather turned really pleasant - in the 80's during the day, 60's at night.
Fisher's Island, the island that is the southern bound of Fisher's Island Sound (obviously) and between Watch Hill, RI and the Race at the very north eastern end of Long Island Sound is actually part of New York State. It's obviously nowhere near New York, but that's a whole 'nother story.
On the west end there's a harbor with a large anchorage outside, called interestingly enough, West Harbor. Given that the prevailing summer winds are out of the southwest, this is well protected and the holding ground is perfect. The only thing you need to be aware of is the rocks and in the south eastern end. You'll see them before you hit them. The only direction the harbor isn't protected in is to the north east.
I spent the day swimming and kyacking throughout the main harbor. The Fisher's Island Yacht Club is in there and also a fuel dock. There are a few pretty inlets that go on for quite a bit, almost bisecting the island. All very pretty. I think I could live there! If you look at a chart, you'll see that West Harbor is only about 5 nautical miles (nm) from Watch Hill, so it's a really short sail. There is a store on Fisher's, so if you really need food, then you can get some.
Monday I was supposed to pick up my friend, Julie, (the very same from the Bermuda trip) for a couple of days of sailing about, so Sunday I sailed the 3 nm to Spicer's Noank marina. They're a Boat U.S. participating marina so if you're a member, you get a discount on slip rates.
I can't say enough good things about Spicer's. The docks are floating concrete - solid and well maintained. The heads are clean and comfortable. The office people are universally friendly and helpful, and Abbott's Lobster In The Rough is a short walk away! In fact, within easy walking distance is a general store with an excellent butcher, and four restaurants, including the aforementioned Abbott's. Next to Abbott's is Costello's Clam Shack. Get it? Abbots and Costello's? These links may not be working. Do a Google search if not. But Noank, CT is so small that you can walk easily from one end to the other in 10 minutes with a few minutes left over.
Back to Spicers - I spent the day cleaning the boat for company, talking to people on the dock and generally just fooling around. It was a pleasant day, to say the least. In the evening, I walked over to Fisherman's Restaurant about a half mile away to the west. After a very pleasant meal, I tootled on back to the boat to sleep.
The plan was for Julie to get there around 1 pm so we could get the outgoing tide for Newport and Naragansett Bay (we were going to Bristol), but due to traffic and other delays she didn't arrive until about 3:30pm, or the end of the outgoing tide. Since I'd gone shopping and had a fully stocked larder (from the general store mentioned above), we decided to just go to Fisher's Island again to anchor. So that's what we did.
I grilled some fresh chicken and made a salad, and we ate in the cockpit watching the sun go down. Very relaxing.
The next day, which would be Tuesday, we sailed from West Harbor west past New London and then back to Watch Hill, RI. It was a day of swimming and kyacking again - Although Julie had to get some work done, so I spent the day doing other stuff. That night, we grilled steak, had salad and rice & beans. Mmmm. Eating during sunset is really special. The moon was full so it was almost like day. The sky was totally clear. Very beautiful.
Wednesday we sailed back to Spicer's and I got a slip for the evening. We ate on the boat again, and Thursday morning I had to start my journey back, so Julie left the boat at 6:30 am so I could catch most of the tide back towards City Island.
The wind was 8 to 10 knots out of the southwest which is exactly the wrong direction for going southwest - I ended up motoring the day to Milford, CT, just west of New Haven. It was a long day of motoring but the autopilot really helped with that! I got to sail for about an hour before I anchored in 'The Gulf' north of Charles Island outside Milford Harbor. The holding ground is pretty good, and as the afternoon and evening got on more and more boats joined the anchorage.
At low tide there's a bar that connects Milford to Charles Island and apparently a number of people walk the bar and around the island. They fly kites from the bar. And just before it's flooded again, they run back to the mainland.
A few thunderstorms moved through north of us and the wind moved to the north during the night. The next morning it was 65 degrees and breezy and brilliantly sunny. I motored out of the anchorage and set sail as soon as I was clear of the marking bouys.
That brings me to the wonderful sail back to City Island. As I mentioned, it was one of those days that makes the whole boat ownership thing worthwhile.
I figures I'd refill the fuel tank at Capri Marina in Port Washington (Manhassett Bay). It turns out that it's been purchased by Brewer's - who owns a large number of marinas in the northeast. They have universally driven up prices for slips and moorings and apparently have the attitude that if you own a boat you should pay through the teeth. It should be painful.
When you go to one of their marinas, not only do you pay top dollar for the slip ($3.00/ft/night during the week, $3.50 during the weekend) but you pay extra for electricity. In other words, for the price of a decent hotel room with all of it's amenities, you get a hole in the water. Nothing more. Also, although I don't use their services for repair, I've been told, at least in the case of Yacht Haven in Stamford Ct. that it's less than stellar and expensive besides.
Because of this, I no longer go to Branford (because Lenny's is there) , Greenport (Preston's is there), or any other Brewer's marina. I'm not against making a profit. I am against usury. Spicer's was $2.50/ft/night but discounted for Boat U.S. members, so Inertia ended up being like $67/night with electricity included. No extra charge. In fact, they were surprised when I asked about that.
Remember, transients are not in slips, generally, that are transient only. They are already sold for the summer and provided to transients when the owner is out. So the marina makes the money for the summer (very expensive at Brewer's - in Stamford, $122 - $133 per foot) plus anything they make from transients. It's win/win for the marina. I don't feel bad for them. But of course, if Brewer's raises their prices, so do other marinas because, well, they can. It's partially the reason I left mine in Harbor House.
I can't do anything else but vote with my money.
End of rant. It falls under the heading, "Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should do that something". It's a great big nose thumb to customers.
Well, I got back to City Island Friday evening, had a great dinner and met some more of the members. It was a very pleasant end to the vacation. I'm only sorry I can't continue...
Next weekend is another weekend, eh? See you on the water!
Friday, August 04, 2006
And So It Goes...
As I write this I'm sitting on the deck of the Watch Hill Yacht Club, a fine establishment located, well, in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. I met Herb & Gina and Bob & Carol here aboard Goldeneye and Spirit respectively yesterday morning. As you will no doubt guess, I've replaced the pump and done my best to get out here.
But let me digress. From my last post you know my freshwater pump failed and resulted in Laura and I sailing almost back to City Island where we got a tow from Towboat US. If you are not a member, become one. If you don't have towing insurance, get it, and for $99, you get pretty much unlimited towing. Do it.
So back at the mooring Sunday I did some research for Kubota parts distributors. Laura got a ride home from her friend Cathy. Sunday night had dinner at the club (I still love saying that) and got moderately drunk with friends. It is a club, after all!
In case you didn't know, Universal Marine (now ow
ned by Westerbeke) are Kubotas. So are Beta Marine engines. There are parts and there are parts. The basic block and fuel system is purely Kubota. The raw water cooling, the transmission (Hurth), and the exhaust system is Universal. But Universal ground off the Kubota serial numbers of everything. Still, you can find the right model by year and cylinders of the engine. Anyway, mine is a Kubota D950 engine.
I went to Engine Distributors, Inc. of 400 University Court, Blackwood, NJ 08012 (Telephone: 856.228.7298, Fax: 856.228.5531) for the water pump. They were courteous, and responsive, and helped me identify the pump properly. And they agreed to send it overnight, 10:30 delivery. And at 10:30 Tuesday, I had my pump! Woohoo! Pump from Universal dealer: $238. Pump from Engine Distributors: $80. Difference in pump: Nothing. Part of the basic powerplant.
Well, almost woohoo. There's a fitting on the pump that supplies water to the hot water heater (in a tractor, it supplies it to the cabin heating system). The fitting doesn't come with it, so I thought I'd take it out of the old pump. Well after hours of swearing and banging and hacksawing I find that my fitting was pressed in. That's no help.
Off I went to Buddy's Hardware Store, just a couple of blocks from the yacht club. He has a 1/8" pipe to 3/8" hose barb fitting, but the pump has machine thread! Crap. But wait, I'm not going nuts. Let me see a 1/8" pipe tap. Wow! The threads are correct! Ok, I'm outta here with the barb fitting and a can of 3 in 1 oil, and the pipe tap. Twenty minutes later, I'm on the boat with the new pump, newly tapped hole with the hose barb installed (using teflon tape) and installing it on the engine.
Done deal. Pictures abound here, so enjoy.
Two hours later, engine's up and running, I've filled the water and fuel tanks and I'm on vacation!
As you all are aware, it was hot. It was hotter than hot. It was like a million degrees! But on the water, only 950,000 degrees. Much better. Since there was no wind, I motored over to Stamford Connecticut and anchored out for the evening. It didn't cool down until 2 or 3 in the morning! Yech!
To catch as much of the tide as possible and to get as far as I could, I left at 6:30 in the morning to get to Saybrook, on the Connecticut River. The day was unbearably hot. I sat under the umbrella killing flies.
This makes me wonder - where did all the damn flies come from - they're biting black flies. And my only weapon was a rolled up Tick-Tack wireless instruments catalog. I must have killed a hundred of them. The cockpit was littered with smashed corpses of flys and splotches of my blood. I was going to anchor out, but I decided to go to Between The Bridges Marina so I could hose the boat down and refuel.
But it was hot there. They had a pool which I partook of and the men's room was airconditioned. Had I known that, I'd've stayed there!
Anyway from Saybrook to Watch Hill is only about 20 miles, so I left with the tide and motorsailed there. Herb & Gina and Bob & Carol showed up about 2 pm, having come from Newport. We had a lovely hot dog dinner on Herb & Gina's boat, followed by the most spectacular thunderstorm I have ever seen on the water or off!
The lightning bolts were purple and orange and white and blue - they struck ground and traveled what seemed miles along the clouds - this was real wrath-of-God type of lightning. Along with it was 50 knot winds, and rain so hard it beat the waves flat! It lasted for about half and hour - just enough for my boat to get soaked through the small hatch I forgot to close!
Today is Friday, and as I write this, a front has come through and it's now overcast with a nice cool breeze - it's supposed to get into the 60's on Tuesday, but we'll see.
Since I'll be without access until Sunday night at Noank, I'll have to see you on the water!
But let me digress. From my last post you know my freshwater pump failed and resulted in Laura and I sailing almost back to City Island where we got a tow from Towboat US. If you are not a member, become one. If you don't have towing insurance, get it, and for $99, you get pretty much unlimited towing. Do it.
So back at the mooring Sunday I did some research for Kubota parts distributors. Laura got a ride home from her friend Cathy. Sunday night had dinner at the club (I still love saying that) and got moderately drunk with friends. It is a club, after all!
In case you didn't know, Universal Marine (now owned by Westerbeke) are Kubotas. So are Beta Marine engines. There are parts and there are parts. The basic block and fuel system is purely Kubota. The raw water cooling, the transmission (Hurth), and the exhaust system is Universal. But Universal ground off the Kubota serial numbers of everything. Still, you can find the right model by year and cylinders of the engine. Anyway, mine is a Kubota D950 engine.
I went to Engine Distributors, Inc. of 400 University Court, Blackwood, NJ 08012 (Telephone: 856.228.7298, Fax: 856.228.5531) for the water pump. They were courteous, and responsive, and helped me identify the pump properly. And they agreed to send it overnight, 10:30 delivery. And at 10:30 Tuesday, I had my pump! Woohoo! Pump from Universal dealer: $238. Pump from Engine Distributors: $80. Difference in pump: Nothing. Part of the basic powerplant.Well, almost woohoo. There's a fitting on the pump that supplies water to the hot water heater (in a tractor, it supplies it to the cabin heating system). The fitting doesn't come with it, so I thought I'd take it out of the old pump. Well after hours of swearing and banging and hacksawing I find that my fitting was pressed in. That's no help.
Off I went to Buddy's Hardware Store, just a couple of blocks from the yacht club. He has a 1/8" pipe to 3/8" hose barb fitting, but the pump has machine thread! Crap. But wait, I'm not going nuts. Let me see a 1/8" pipe tap. Wow! The threads are correct! Ok, I'm outta here with the barb fitting and a can of 3 in 1 oil, and the pipe tap. Twenty minutes later, I'm on the boat with the new pump, newly tapped hole with the hose barb installed (using teflon tape) and installing it on the engine.
Done deal. Pictures abound here, so enjoy.
Two hours later, engine's up and running, I've filled the water and fuel tanks and I'm on vacation!
As you all are aware, it was hot. It was hotter than hot. It was like a million degrees! But on the water, only 950,000 degrees. Much better. Since there was no wind, I motored over to Stamford Connecticut and anchored out for the evening. It didn't cool down until 2 or 3 in the morning! Yech!
To catch as much of the tide as possible and to get as far as I could, I left at 6:30 in the morning to get to Saybrook, on the Connecticut River. The day was unbearably hot. I sat under the umbrella killing flies.
This makes me wonder - where did all the damn flies come from - they're biting black flies. And my only weapon was a rolled up Tick-Tack wireless instruments catalog. I must have killed a hundred of them. The cockpit was littered with smashed corpses of flys and splotches of my blood. I was going to anchor out, but I decided to go to Between The Bridges Marina so I could hose the boat down and refuel.
But it was hot there. They had a pool which I partook of and the men's room was airconditioned. Had I known that, I'd've stayed there!Anyway from Saybrook to Watch Hill is only about 20 miles, so I left with the tide and motorsailed there. Herb & Gina and Bob & Carol showed up about 2 pm, having come from Newport. We had a lovely hot dog dinner on Herb & Gina's boat, followed by the most spectacular thunderstorm I have ever seen on the water or off!
The lightning bolts were purple and orange and white and blue - they struck ground and traveled what seemed miles along the clouds - this was real wrath-of-God type of lightning. Along with it was 50 knot winds, and rain so hard it beat the waves flat! It lasted for about half and hour - just enough for my boat to get soaked through the small hatch I forgot to close!
Today is Friday, and as I write this, a front has come through and it's now overcast with a nice cool breeze - it's supposed to get into the 60's on Tuesday, but we'll see.
Since I'll be without access until Sunday night at Noank, I'll have to see you on the water!
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Not The Best Start...
You know how sometimes things seem to be going your way and then without warning it all turns to poo? Well, this is exactly how this vacation has started.
I picked up my friend Laura Saturday morning so she could help me get the boat as far east as possible in two days - her husband was coming down from a boat delivery to Maine so he'd pick her up on the north end of the sound.
We got to the boat on time, got all loaded up and watered up and ready to go and off we went - motoring until we got past Execution Rock Light in the western Long Island Sound. The wind filled in from the west southwest and I was so excited because I could use the new spinnaker. Woohoo!
Set the spinnaker and main (you can do that off the wind if you don't have lazyjacks or other sail handling gear). Anyway, we were moving along at 5 knots or so in light wind so we shut down the iron jenny.
But it was hotter than the hammers of hell. Downwind is not the coolest point of sail - the breeze is dimished by boat speed, and the sun was killing us! Luckily I had the foresight to pick up a couple of golf umbrellas... And hey! Presto! Sunshade. It worked out spectacularly! There's always something to tie, clip, or otherwise fasten them to.
In the hottest part of the afternoon, the wind was lightening so we decided to douse the sails and go for a swim. The water was 77 degrees, but it felt cold compared to the air. Still it was spectacularly refreshing!
While we were swimming, the wind changed direction so we'd be dead downwind to get where we wanted to go, so we decided to motor the last hour or two to our goal, Milford, CT. Well, about ten minutes into the trip a really funny noise came from the engine and the water temperature started climbing. So I shut the engine down quickly - and Laura got the jib unfurled so we had some way.
When I removed the engine cover there was foul smelling smoke and I thought I'd seized the engine! The first thing I checked was that there was no fire. Then I checked that the things that should be cool were cool (raw water pump, heat exchanger, exhaust mixing valve) and the things that were supposed to be hot were hot (exhaust manifold, engine, hot water heater hoses) and the things in between were, well, in between (fan belt, alternator).
The fanbelt was warm -the water pump pulley was very hot (shouldn't be) and the raw water circuit was cool. So I got a wrench and used it to wobble the alternator pulley nut to see if everything still rotated - within the motion allowed by the crankshaft, it seemed to.
I went on deck to get the main up and we started sailing towards Norwalk with the idea we could get a mooring and hang until Monday. More on that later.
Next I asked Laura to turn the engine over while I watched. Everything turned except the freshwater pump. Well, that was that. With much discussion, we decided to sail back to City Island - this is around 4 pm, so having traveled all day one way we had to go back.
You might ask why. The reasoning was this: I have Towboat US account for unlimited towing. Still, as long as there's wind and we can make way, we can get somewhere (it is a sailboat after all). But I don't want to be towed somewhere where I can't sail out of, number 1, and number two, I'm not interested in paying usury rates for slips. Here in the Sound, slip fees have increased from $1.50/ft. per night including electricity to $3.00 plus! And electricity isn't included! So, since the pump failed on a Saturday evening, I couldn't get a pump until Tuesday - that ends up being up to $500 for slip fees if I leave on Wednesday morning!
The winds on the Sound are typically light and variable. So anchoring somewhere where there isn't a way to get to a marine store is pretty much out of the question, too. So we decided to night sail back to City Island. Hey, it's an adventure!
Anyway, we got to Execution Rock Lighthouse by about 11:30pm, and called Towboat US for the last bit to the mooring. I can sail to my mooring but at night in no wind and current against you it's not a good idea especially if the boats around you are expensive!
So, we got to the mooring and had a toast and collapsed for the night around 2:00am. If you think you're ever going to be towed, which means you have a boat, get the Boat US towing insurance. Get the full thing -it's $99.00 per year. My 6 mile tow last night probably would have been $1000. You do the math.
Monday (tomorrow) I will continue with the saga including the replacement of the pump....
See you on the water, but I'll still be at the mooring...
I picked up my friend Laura Saturday morning so she could help me get the boat as far east as possible in two days - her husband was coming down from a boat delivery to Maine so he'd pick her up on the north end of the sound.
We got to the boat on time, got all loaded up and watered up and ready to go and off we went - motoring until we got past Execution Rock Light in the western Long Island Sound. The wind filled in from the west southwest and I was so excited because I could use the new spinnaker. Woohoo!
Set the spinnaker and main (you can do that off the wind if you don't have lazyjacks or other sail handling gear). Anyway, we were moving along at 5 knots or so in light wind so we shut down the iron jenny.But it was hotter than the hammers of hell. Downwind is not the coolest point of sail - the breeze is dimished by boat speed, and the sun was killing us! Luckily I had the foresight to pick up a couple of golf umbrellas... And hey! Presto! Sunshade. It worked out spectacularly! There's always something to tie, clip, or otherwise fasten them to.
In the hottest part of the afternoon, the wind was lightening so we decided to douse the sails and go for a swim. The water was 77 degrees, but it felt cold compared to the air. Still it was spectacularly refreshing!
While we were swimming, the wind changed direction so we'd be dead downwind to get where we wanted to go, so we decided to motor the last hour or two to our goal, Milford, CT. Well, about ten minutes into the trip a really funny noise came from the engine and the water temperature started climbing. So I shut the engine down quickly - and Laura got the jib unfurled so we had some way.
When I removed the engine cover there was foul smelling smoke and I thought I'd seized the engine! The first thing I checked was that there was no fire. Then I checked that the things that should be cool were cool (raw water pump, heat exchanger, exhaust mixing valve) and the things that were supposed to be hot were hot (exhaust manifold, engine, hot water heater hoses) and the things in between were, well, in between (fan belt, alternator).
The fanbelt was warm -the water pump pulley was very hot (shouldn't be) and the raw water circuit was cool. So I got a wrench and used it to wobble the alternator pulley nut to see if everything still rotated - within the motion allowed by the crankshaft, it seemed to.
I went on deck to get the main up and we started sailing towards Norwalk with the idea we could get a mooring and hang until Monday. More on that later.
Next I asked Laura to turn the engine over while I watched. Everything turned except the freshwater pump. Well, that was that. With much discussion, we decided to sail back to City Island - this is around 4 pm, so having traveled all day one way we had to go back.
You might ask why. The reasoning was this: I have Towboat US account for unlimited towing. Still, as long as there's wind and we can make way, we can get somewhere (it is a sailboat after all). But I don't want to be towed somewhere where I can't sail out of, number 1, and number two, I'm not interested in paying usury rates for slips. Here in the Sound, slip fees have increased from $1.50/ft. per night including electricity to $3.00 plus! And electricity isn't included! So, since the pump failed on a Saturday evening, I couldn't get a pump until Tuesday - that ends up being up to $500 for slip fees if I leave on Wednesday morning!
The winds on the Sound are typically light and variable. So anchoring somewhere where there isn't a way to get to a marine store is pretty much out of the question, too. So we decided to night sail back to City Island. Hey, it's an adventure!
Anyway, we got to Execution Rock Lighthouse by about 11:30pm, and called Towboat US for the last bit to the mooring. I can sail to my mooring but at night in no wind and current against you it's not a good idea especially if the boats around you are expensive!
So, we got to the mooring and had a toast and collapsed for the night around 2:00am. If you think you're ever going to be towed, which means you have a boat, get the Boat US towing insurance. Get the full thing -it's $99.00 per year. My 6 mile tow last night probably would have been $1000. You do the math.
Monday (tomorrow) I will continue with the saga including the replacement of the pump....
See you on the water, but I'll still be at the mooring...
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Preparing for a Cruise
It's now nearly the end of July and the time I normally get my act together to go for a two week cruise. The cruising grounds of Long Island Sound, Block Island Sound, Naragansett Bay, and Vineyard Sound are rich and varied.
You could really spend a lifetime in this area and never tire of all the great places to go. I've explored Naragansett pretty well, but I hope this year to make it to Woods Hole (yup, the place where the oceanographic institute is), then maybe to Cuttyhunk and Tarpaulin Cove, both in the Elizabethan Islands that border the Vineyard Sound to the west.
Funny story there. Ok, funny for me, less so for the Cunard line. I had bought Wind Hawk in 1991 and the summer of 1992 I cruised her along with Laura on her Albin 28, Penn Central to Nantucket. Laura's uncle owned a place there where we visited. Anyway, I had to return the next day because of work schedules so left.
As I was travelling down the Vineyard Sound I noticed (the way on might notice an elephant in the livingroom) a huge ship coming up the sound. Now, I was near the middle of the channel and my depth indicated 28 feet. That's not too much. Soon enough, off Cuttyhunk, the big ship stopped. It had run aground. "Well, well," I thought, "That boat is way to big to be here!"
From wikipedia.com, "In August 1992, her hull was damaged when she ran aground off Cuttyhunk Island near Cape Cod, while returning from a five day cruise to Halifax along the east coast of the United States and Canada. A combination of outdated charts and faster than normal speed (proportional to the distance from the coast, only 20-30 miles) led to the ship's hull scraping a rock on the ocean floor. The accident resulted in the ship being taken out of service while repairs were made in drydock. Several years later, divers found red paint on rocks in the vicinity of where the ship was said to have hit bottom."
Turns out, I was right.
But what does that have to do with preparing for a cruise? Well, outdated charts for one thing. True, my 6' draft is hardly ever a problem, but it's good to know when it will be. So I have recent charts. But more than that, you need to make sure the boat is good, too.
So, I've changed the oil, the transmission fluid, will fill the water and fuel tanks Saturday, make sure I have food, snacks, and all the other stuff you'd need on vacation (water toys and so forth).
Also, I'll bring my inflatible because I went to the trouble to fix it, and probably the engine which I haven't gone to the trouble to fix, and some gas for it.
But the big deal before cruising is to check things like the steering gear (done that), the rig is tuned (did that). I also will be rigging the jack lines and making sure all the loose gear is stowed. Day sailing is one thing, cruising puts much more strain on the boat for longer times so it makes sense to do all that sort of maintenance before hand. Better than fixing after.
Of course, that doesn't mean there won't be any disasters, but it does mean there should be less of them....
Anyway, I expect to have data services for my laptop so expect some posts, and hopefully some cool pics.
See you on the water!
You could really spend a lifetime in this area and never tire of all the great places to go. I've explored Naragansett pretty well, but I hope this year to make it to Woods Hole (yup, the place where the oceanographic institute is), then maybe to Cuttyhunk and Tarpaulin Cove, both in the Elizabethan Islands that border the Vineyard Sound to the west.
Funny story there. Ok, funny for me, less so for the Cunard line. I had bought Wind Hawk in 1991 and the summer of 1992 I cruised her along with Laura on her Albin 28, Penn Central to Nantucket. Laura's uncle owned a place there where we visited. Anyway, I had to return the next day because of work schedules so left.
As I was travelling down the Vineyard Sound I noticed (the way on might notice an elephant in the livingroom) a huge ship coming up the sound. Now, I was near the middle of the channel and my depth indicated 28 feet. That's not too much. Soon enough, off Cuttyhunk, the big ship stopped. It had run aground. "Well, well," I thought, "That boat is way to big to be here!"
From wikipedia.com, "In August 1992, her hull was damaged when she ran aground off Cuttyhunk Island near Cape Cod, while returning from a five day cruise to Halifax along the east coast of the United States and Canada. A combination of outdated charts and faster than normal speed (proportional to the distance from the coast, only 20-30 miles) led to the ship's hull scraping a rock on the ocean floor. The accident resulted in the ship being taken out of service while repairs were made in drydock. Several years later, divers found red paint on rocks in the vicinity of where the ship was said to have hit bottom."
Turns out, I was right.
But what does that have to do with preparing for a cruise? Well, outdated charts for one thing. True, my 6' draft is hardly ever a problem, but it's good to know when it will be. So I have recent charts. But more than that, you need to make sure the boat is good, too.
So, I've changed the oil, the transmission fluid, will fill the water and fuel tanks Saturday, make sure I have food, snacks, and all the other stuff you'd need on vacation (water toys and so forth).
Also, I'll bring my inflatible because I went to the trouble to fix it, and probably the engine which I haven't gone to the trouble to fix, and some gas for it.
But the big deal before cruising is to check things like the steering gear (done that), the rig is tuned (did that). I also will be rigging the jack lines and making sure all the loose gear is stowed. Day sailing is one thing, cruising puts much more strain on the boat for longer times so it makes sense to do all that sort of maintenance before hand. Better than fixing after.
Of course, that doesn't mean there won't be any disasters, but it does mean there should be less of them....
Anyway, I expect to have data services for my laptop so expect some posts, and hopefully some cool pics.
See you on the water!
Monday, July 17, 2006
Once Again, It's Been A While
Unfortunately, I've been busy with work and, well, partying on weekends with ma peeps in various harbors on the west end of the Long Island Sound. Other than normal maintenance I haven't done anything really spectacular with the boat.
This time of the summer is horrible -it's hot, humid, mostly windless. Typically, if you're going somewhere, you're motoring. There is nothing remotely pleasant about this except in the afternoon sometimes there pops up an afternoon wind my aunt used to call 'The Mooring Breeze'.
My aunt and uncle owned a converted 8 metre yawl that was out of Port Washington. The name of the boat was Bedouin VIII and she was built in 1929, designed by Charles D. Mower and built on City Island, NY by Henry B. Nevins. Her sail number is KC-12. Apparently before that she was named 'Lazy Eight' and 'Arroway'.
It's actually cool how she got the name Bedouin VIII. My mother's family had boats all their lives. My grandfather's last boat was Bedouin V, and my aunt's previous boat was Bedouin VI. When they purchased Lazy Eight, the skipped VII because it was an 8 Meter, after all. There was some pressure for me to name my first boat, Mudlark, to Bedouin VII. I never did, though.
Anyway, she was or is a magnificent boat built of mahogany and oak with bronze knees. She drew 7 feet and carried 7 - 1/2 tons ballast in her keel. She's 46 feet long and has a beam of around 8 feet. She carries an unimaginable amount of sail - I think something near 2000 ft. sq. Her mast is 60' tall.
She was fast and I remember some truly amazing times aboard her.
One of the fun things she carried (other than a tupperware container full of Oreo cookies) was a Dyer sailing dinghy that my aunt and uncle would allow me to zip all over Port Washington. Hmmm, some of the fondest memories of my youth...
Anyway, my aunt absolutely abhorred the engine. She'd sail up to the mooring and the boat would stop right at the pickup bouy. My uncle would pick it up and calmly throw a loop over a cleat then walk back to the mast to drop the mainsail. This performance always went without a hitch. I think I saw them make a second try only once in the years they had me aboard. There was no shouting, no frantic running about and waving arms and other things. It was simple and graceful and I've wanted to be able to do that all my life. Imagine it.
Now this is easy to do in light winds. Less easy in stronger ones. And they'd always come up around 5 pm. Hence the mooring winds.
Well, that was a sort of round about way of getting to the point.
Now I'm nearing my two week cruise - I expect it to start on the weekend of the finish of the Around Long Island Race. Depending on who comes with me or no one I'll go somewhere interesting or somewhere comfortable. Or both.
As usual, I'll keep you posted. I'm thinking of getting a digital access card from Verizon so I can keep up with this blog and I guess my clients, too.
There is a better than even chance I'll see you on the water!
This time of the summer is horrible -it's hot, humid, mostly windless. Typically, if you're going somewhere, you're motoring. There is nothing remotely pleasant about this except in the afternoon sometimes there pops up an afternoon wind my aunt used to call 'The Mooring Breeze'.
My aunt and uncle owned a converted 8 metre yawl that was out of Port Washington. The name of the boat was Bedouin VIII and she was built in 1929, designed by Charles D. Mower and built on City Island, NY by Henry B. Nevins. Her sail number is KC-12. Apparently before that she was named 'Lazy Eight' and 'Arroway'.It's actually cool how she got the name Bedouin VIII. My mother's family had boats all their lives. My grandfather's last boat was Bedouin V, and my aunt's previous boat was Bedouin VI. When they purchased Lazy Eight, the skipped VII because it was an 8 Meter, after all. There was some pressure for me to name my first boat, Mudlark, to Bedouin VII. I never did, though.
Anyway, she was or is a magnificent boat built of mahogany and oak with bronze knees. She drew 7 feet and carried 7 - 1/2 tons ballast in her keel. She's 46 feet long and has a beam of around 8 feet. She carries an unimaginable amount of sail - I think something near 2000 ft. sq. Her mast is 60' tall.
She was fast and I remember some truly amazing times aboard her.
One of the fun things she carried (other than a tupperware container full of Oreo cookies) was a Dyer sailing dinghy that my aunt and uncle would allow me to zip all over Port Washington. Hmmm, some of the fondest memories of my youth...
Anyway, my aunt absolutely abhorred the engine. She'd sail up to the mooring and the boat would stop right at the pickup bouy. My uncle would pick it up and calmly throw a loop over a cleat then walk back to the mast to drop the mainsail. This performance always went without a hitch. I think I saw them make a second try only once in the years they had me aboard. There was no shouting, no frantic running about and waving arms and other things. It was simple and graceful and I've wanted to be able to do that all my life. Imagine it.
Now this is easy to do in light winds. Less easy in stronger ones. And they'd always come up around 5 pm. Hence the mooring winds.
Well, that was a sort of round about way of getting to the point.
Now I'm nearing my two week cruise - I expect it to start on the weekend of the finish of the Around Long Island Race. Depending on who comes with me or no one I'll go somewhere interesting or somewhere comfortable. Or both.
As usual, I'll keep you posted. I'm thinking of getting a digital access card from Verizon so I can keep up with this blog and I guess my clients, too.
There is a better than even chance I'll see you on the water!
Friday, June 30, 2006
Back from Bermuda
This is going to be a big post. It's all about adventure and the high seas and exotic locals and the stuff of dreams, at least for cruising sailors. Ok, maybe not all that. But some surely.
I've just finished a delivery trip from Bermuda on Laura's boat, Cassiopeia, a Beneteau 42 7, pictured here. She's pretty fast, light and nimble. She had just finished the Newport-Bermuda Race ( http://www.bermudarace.com ) where she got the first ever combined Marion-Bermuda Newport Bermuda award for her class. Read all about it at the bermudarace link. But of course, she needs to get back, too, for all her summer fun on the Long Island Sound.Anyway, Laura invited me to crew her back. I've wanted to try offshore sailing for some time, longer than a coastal travel to Norfolk. This seemed like an excellent chance. So I flew Jet Blue's new route to Bermuda for $149.00 one way. It may be more now. But here's the thing: If you're going somewhere and Jet Blue flies there, take them. They are the best. Fast, friendly, efficient, and really comfortable. If you have any doubts any business can be so well run and so customer oriented, let me dispell them right now. They're great!
Before I go on, there's one more plug: Vibramfivefingers. They say it's like walking barefoot. They're correct - they're on the pricey side at $70.00 per pair, but if you need surefooted walking on a boat deck these are the shoes. They're like gloves for your feet. I only have two complaints - they don't breathe very well and they are a little hard to get on right in the dark. But you can literally wear them for days at a time - they dry pretty quickly and they're really comfortable. They're surprisingly protective of toes, too. All the advantages of bare feet with the protection of boat shoes. Highly recommended.
Ok, back to Bermuda. I arrived June 23. Julie, one of our crew, was on the same flight. We checked in to Customs and Immigration together. If you're going to bring a boat back from Bermuda, there's a $21.00 exit fee you must pay when you go through customs. It was a breeze to get through. Four of us shared a really expensive cab trip to Hamilton where the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club is. The club is spectacular and with all the racing boats decked out, it was amazing to look at.
Well, it was party time there. The club is one of the hosts for the Newport-Bermuda race and they put on a bash that is not to be believed. But when Julie and I got to the boat I met John and the captain for the delivery, Trevor, we found the boat in need of some work and wanted some provisions. Trevor, at left, and Julie went to town to gather up some stuff to eat for the trip back. John, who raced Cassie down, went to the party, and I started to put slides back on the old mainsail so we could use it. Laura didn't want us using her new racing sails.
We worked on Cassie getting her ready until about 9 pm and then went to town for a good night dinner. It was nice, but really expensive. Bermuda is sweet, but expensive - everything. The next morning I was going to get a bacon and egg sandwich, but it was like $10.00 - and Bermudian dollars are not significantly different from US dollars. Anyway we decided we needed fishing gear for the trip back so we could get our meals from the sea - and I scoured Hamilton until I found a little store behind City Hall that sold diving and fishing gear.Well, I'm no fisherman and apparently neither was anyone else on the crew, so you can imagine the proprietor's amusement when I told him I needed some line, hooks, and lure to catch some fish on the way home. He was very helpful in choosing 85lb line, and some #9 hooks, and a couple of lures. I told him what we were going to do he didn't laugh out loud. Very kind. Anyway after acquiring the stuff, it was back to the boat. Cassie was all watered up and Trevor was checking us out of Bermuda Customs and Immigration.
Then it was time to go. First we had to motor over to St. Georges for fuel. It's about an hour's ride and we were checking out Cassie to make sure all the systems were running ok. We took the opportunity to bend on the cruising jib and all get to know each other a little more. Bermuda is beautiful and I really didn't want to leave. You have to see it to believe it. Navigation, however, is very, very important. The charts of the area are pretty good, and you absolutely have to obey them. Unless, of course, you have or want a shallow draft boat. Stay in the marked channels. It's a volcanic island. There's not a hell of a lot of sand outside channels but there's a lot of rock.St. George is a tiny little harbor on the northeast side of Bermuda with a 150' cut through rock that gets you in there. It's well marked but until you're lined up on the channel, it doesn't look as if there's a place to go. Well worth the visit and it's a great place to get fuel. Sorry I don't have any pictures.
We left St. George under power while we got some navigation done - we wanted to be sure we were clear of the rocks, coral, and what have you before we turned northwest for home. Although the way is well marked, if you don't understand that the marks are spindly little towers, you might not know that's what they were. There were about five or ten boats leaving with us and that night we could see their nav lights while we all sailed for home. We had set the spinnaker in the late afternoon and were cruising along in light swell at 7 to 8 knots.
Julie and Trevor's provisioning was well put to use the first night - Julie, even though feeling a bit under the weather, still managed a great first night's meal with chicken and rice. Trevor had assigned three hour watches for the trip, with me taking 6 - 9, Julie, 9-12, John, 12 - 3, and Trevor from 3 - 6. I happened to like my shift. Not sure about anyone else, though.
The water around Bermuda is a deep turquois and around 85 degrees F. For the first night and next day we were just getting acclimated to each other and the boat. Cassie was spectacular - on a broad reach in 15 to 20 knots (true) wind she just flew! Although the auto pilot, 'Ray', handled the steering most of the time, John usually spent his watches hand steering for "something to do".
Well, of course, we couldn't sail the exact rhumb line to Ambrose, so every twelve hours or so we had to jibe. With the cruising spinnaker it was just easier to take the sock down, move the whole mess around the headstay, and reset the thing.
After the second day out (Monday), we took down the spinnaker and reset the jib. The wind was steady at 20 knots and gusting higher, and the seas were building to 8 - 10 feet. Cassie was still plowing along at 7 to 9 knots.
Tuesday we slowed down to 6 to 7 knots - mostly because the wind was a little less, but since the weather fax indicated an area of low pressure to move across our path we decided not to reset the spinnaker. Also, there was significant wear on the spin halyard and we didn't want to risk losing the halyard down the mast. It's a pain to re-reeve.
This seemed like a good time to troll for dinner. So with John's help I attached weights and the lure to a spool of 89 lb test line, and set about 200 yards out. Now, I've never fished. I've always felt that it's easier to hunt at the supermarket than in the great outdoors. So far, I've been pretty successful at that endeavor. The other crew were nearly as clueless. Anyway, having learned that alcohol in the gills will kill fish right away, I had a bottle of rum handy on deck. The line ran through the stern rail over the transom and out.
After about 20 minutes Trevor mentioned very calmly that I have a fish on the line - and sure enough, the line was tight - cool! We wanted to get Julie and John up to see the 'old man of the sea' get his fish. Well, they were totally out to the world - so, no pictures. I was too busy reeling the fish in. It was a wahoo, about 15 to 20 lbs, perhaps 18 - 24" long. I know you're thinking, "Yeah sure - it was thiiiiis big!" Really.However, there wasn't any plan to get it aboard. We didn't want to club it to death in the cockpit because that's just too messy, and you'll notice that a wahoo is a pretty evil looking fish - it's called an 'ocean barracuda'. To Trevor and I it looked big enough to hurt us. So, dragging this fish along at the transom, it's looking up at me like it's saying, "Ok, you stupid bastard, what now? You caught me. Here I am ready to die for you, and you can't even get me aboard!" and with that leapt of the hook.
Right, well, new plan - Cassiopeia has an opening transom that has a swim platform. Trevor and I decided to use it as a fish well. Open it up partially, drop the fish in, close the thing, wait for the fish to die.
We set the line out again but to no avail - the wind was rising for the evening and we were going too fast for trolling. Since I was on watch at nightfall, I got to see the stars come out - Julie came up a little early for her watch and taught me about Scorpio, and Antares - the heart of Scorpio - also, about the Summer Triangle formed by Vega, Altair, and Deneb. She pointed out how to find Cassiopeia, and the two main stars of Orion, Rigel (lower right) and Betelgeuse (upper left).
The next day we were cruising along at 6 to 7 knots again so out went the line. We were approaching the Gulf Stream and the water was getting warmer. It only took about half an hour this time to hook a fish, and this time the whole crew was awake for the spectacle! John and Julie took up the photo journalist positions while I dragged the fish to the boat - there wasn't much fight until the sucker was right near the boat, and then it was pretty exciting!Trevor got the transom opened, and I finally dragged the fish into it - then Trevor closed it, and there you have it - one fish captured! We all thought this was some kind of tuna, and weighed approximately 10 -12 lbs. Anyway, John took the time to teach me how to gut a fish using a cutting board on the fully open transom. Then when it was all cleaned, I cut it into 6 big steaks and two pretty big filets. It tasted like tuna, but I can't find any pictures that match it.
That evening, Julie cooked up a spectacular meal of what we'll call fresh tuna and tomatoes and avacado and black beans and salsa with fresh lime. It was amazing. A team effort, and of course, eating the thing you killed yourself is always appealing. Frankly, after all the effort, I still can't see the pleasure in fishing for fun. For food, yes, but just to show you're smarter than the fish?
Anyway, as night fell and the stars came out, the wind and the seas picked up - they were running 8-10 feet, wind gusting over 25 knots. As we were getting closer to the Gulf Stream, the seas continued to pile up. But Cassiopeia was screaming along on a broad reach behaving like a lady!
Here's something: You have not seen stars like a night at sea with no moon. You may think you have. You may have even seen the sky from Montana, the Big Sky State. But it's nothing compared to this. On a clear night like ours were the Milky Way is so bright it looks like a cloud that spans the sky - there are so many stars! We just don't get to see them like that anywhere near the coast of any country. The light pollution just overwhelms most of the stars. Even after my watch I had to stay up and just gaze at them. Julie is a fount of knowledge about these things - so I got to learn alot, too. But just staring at them. If it wasn't for the fact that I was really really tired I'd have gotten the binocs and gotten comfortable on deck and just looked around.
There were some rain showers during the night - or so I hear. But the next morning we were into the gale - the seas had grown to 15 feet or so and the wind had been over 35 knots for more than a few minutes. But it soon settled down to 25 to 30 and once again, Cassie was a lady - we were hitting 10 and 11 knots regularly, with speed normally 8 or 9 knots. John saw the record for the trip - 12.6 knots. I only got to 12.4. Oh, well.
Now there's a big difference between a gale in sunny weather and a gale in crappy weather, at least psychologically. In the sun, it's an exciting sail. In crappy weather, it's frightening. Same wind, same sea state. Also, we were so very glad we weren't headed towards Bermuda - that would have sucked bigtime!
I was told the Gulf Stream would be noticible - Except for wave trains in two different directions, I couldn't see it. The water was much warmer than outside it, but it didn't smell different, or look different. It might just have been this time. Who knows?
Here's a tidbit of knowledge - Big ships are required to monitor channel 16 on the VHF. This is a good thing, and you should, if you're offshore, keep your VHF on 16 as well. Here's why: In the middle of the worst of the blow, we noticed a large tanker in what could very well have been a collision course with us about a mile or two away. Well, naturally we're supposed to give way but that would have meant heading up into the big waves or jibeing in really rough seas.
So, Trevor told me to contact the ship - I hailed it with "Red tanker near latitude xx yy.zzz north, longitude xxx yy.zzz west, this is the sailing vessel Cassiopeia" and repeated it two more times. Suddenly a voice responded, "This is the big red tanker near you Cassiopeia." So on it went - we talked and I asked if they could see us. They indicated they hadn't but now that we pointed it out, sure. I asked if they thought they were on an intercept course, and they allowed they might be. I asked if they could alter course a few degrees until we passed. They asked me to wait a bit. About three or four minutes later they indicated they'd change course and pass astern of us.
How cool is that?
Here's another thing: In fog, this also works. If you don't have radar and you're in a channel or approaching one, it doesn't hurt to broadcast a 'securite' on channel 16 giving your position, speed and course every few minutes. This gives big ships an indication of who and where you are. Powerboats are another story as they probably don't listen.
For the first three days it was brutally sunny - Trevor said after the first day the he wasn't sitting in the sun all day and promptly rigged up his sleeping bag as a sunshade. This resulted at first in great hilarity, and later watch standing in the shade. Every day we had to ask Trevor for his sleeping bag to rig. This worked perfectly! The sun was always from the appropriate direction because of our direction of travel.
When we left Bermuda, we noticed the radar reflector on the mast was, um, cockeyed. Really, it looked like it took a pretty hard knock, but it seemed ok. Sometime during the second night which was a little rough, one of the sides of the mounting broke and when I got on my watch I noticed that the thing was flopping around. So in this accompanying picture there is some discussion going on about what to do about the whole thing.Sometimes, it's really good to be the heaviest person onboard. It means you're the last candidate to go up the mast. Conversely, it's not so good to be the lightest. Well John volunteered to go up and take the thing down before we lost it. Mission accomplished. Saved the reflector for the fog coming into New York harbor.
Well, when I went to sleep the fourth night out fog had started to come up - we had come through the Gulf Stream, and the water temperature had gone down into the 70's and it was becoming pretty cool. Since it was the last night, Trevor had us on doubled up watches to pay attention to the traffic coming in towards Ambrose light. Because of the now very dense fog, three were on watch - one to monitor the radar and two topsides to watch and listen for boats.
Remember what I said about channel 16? Well that's what we used all night - we had radar and helped other sailboats without it know where they were and what was around them. It was tense but not scary. I mean, it was pretty much flat calm.
The wind had died mostly, so we took the sails down and motored the last 50 or miles to the Verazzano Bridge. As we came up to the narrows, the fog lifted and the sun came out. We motored by the Statue of Liberty and took a group photo which I'll post soon.
We caught the East River at the right time, and zoomed up to Stamford and to Cassie's home berth. The whole trip was about 5 days and one hour. And a lifetime of fun!
There's nothing like a great sail for a long time with good people and a good boat.
I'll be seeing you on the water, but maybe offshore water!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Six Minute Project Brings Dinghy Back To Life
Way back in 1999, I got rid of my hard dinghy which was terrific for me, towed amazingly well behind my 30 foot Ranger, Wind Hawk, was easy to row in a straight line, but was too tippy for my non-swimming wife. I replaced it with an inflatible dinghy from West Marine on sale at the boat show. It was an early roll-up model, 7 - 1/2 feet long with non-removable slats in the bottom.
Just so you know - rowing an inflatible with no keel is really hard work. The flat bottom sucks the life out of the rower. Having said that, in the spring of 2002, I took the boat up to Cold Spring NY on the Hudson River across from West Point and Storm King Mountain.
Although I anchored really well for the night, I moved the boat so I could row ashore to meet my friends for lunch at Hudson House. In the middle of lunch, well actually just as we ordered, I noticed Inertia dragging upriver at a not insignificant speed. Nothing would do but that I run back to the dinghy and row as fast and as hard as I could to catch the errant boat. In the process, both oarlocks become bent and virtually useless. I ended up paddling like a canoeist. That is especially hard.
I'm too lazy to use the motor. I have to carry gasoline (I don't like it), get the motor serviced, lug it on and off the boat, and so forth. So I'd rather row or paddle. Also, since I'm usually alone on the boat, I have one kyack and that pretty much does it for me. Anyway, I may have company on my cruise this summer, so I thought I'd make the dinghy useful again by replacing the oarlocks. You can see how cheesey the whole arrangement is.
The first thing you have to do is remove the line from the oarlock by undoing it from the stern fitting. It turns out that Zodiac made a really nice sharp hard end on the line when the cut it. These two images, although blurred show this. With a fid or marlinspike it comes apart really easily and pulls out of the oarlock.
Next, there's a plastic E - clip on one side of the oarlock. It turns out to be on the right as you look from the outside of the boat in. I just used two screwdrivers to pry it out - it comes out really easily once you get a grip. It's going to stretch an may even break if your boat's been out in the sun alot. I've kept mine in the garage so it's in good shape. Don't worry - the replacement kit comes with a new one.
Once that comes out, the shaft slides out and the whole thing comes apart. Note that the shaft has a hole in it - that's where the little pin on the E - clip goes. Also, there are side thingies I didn't take out because I didn't need to.
Here are all the replacement parts along with the old - It's pretty obvious how it all goes back together. The addition is that there's a clip that installs on the shaft that holds the new oar holder in. The shaft on the new holder has a bolt through it so it's good and strong. And it locks in. Both really big improvements. It's important that when you put the new E-clip in, you get the pin in the hole in the shaft. Here's the kit part number: Zodiac Z60044 Oar Lock Adapter Kit. You can try to get it at BoatersWorld, but I got mine at Defenders. They had it, they answered the phone, and that was that. I have to admit, though, the BoatersWorld guy actually went to look at the part.
And now, the piece de resistance: Here it is, all installed with the oar holder both out and in. All that's left to do is to re-reeve the rope, tie it back off like it was and you're done!
This works only with older Zodiacs - pre-2002. From the pictures you should be able to see if it'll work for you.
I'll be seeing you on the water, but with my dinghy, too.
Just so you know - rowing an inflatible with no keel is really hard work. The flat bottom sucks the life out of the rower. Having said that, in the spring of 2002, I took the boat up to Cold Spring NY on the Hudson River across from West Point and Storm King Mountain.
Although I anchored really well for the night, I moved the boat so I could row ashore to meet my friends for lunch at Hudson House. In the middle of lunch, well actually just as we ordered, I noticed Inertia dragging upriver at a not insignificant speed. Nothing would do but that I run back to the dinghy and row as fast and as hard as I could to catch the errant boat. In the process, both oarlocks become bent and virtually useless. I ended up paddling like a canoeist. That is especially hard.
I'm too lazy to use the motor. I have to carry gasoline (I don't like it), get the motor serviced, lug it on and off the boat, and so forth. So I'd rather row or paddle. Also, since I'm usually alone on the boat, I have one kyack and that pretty much does it for me. Anyway, I may have company on my cruise this summer, so I thought I'd make the dinghy useful again by replacing the oarlocks. You can see how cheesey the whole arrangement is.
The first thing you have to do is remove the line from the oarlock by undoing it from the stern fitting. It turns out that Zodiac made a really nice sharp hard end on the line when the cut it. These two images, although blurred show this. With a fid or marlinspike it comes apart really easily and pulls out of the oarlock.
Next, there's a plastic E - clip on one side of the oarlock. It turns out to be on the right as you look from the outside of the boat in. I just used two screwdrivers to pry it out - it comes out really easily once you get a grip. It's going to stretch an may even break if your boat's been out in the sun alot. I've kept mine in the garage so it's in good shape. Don't worry - the replacement kit comes with a new one.
Once that comes out, the shaft slides out and the whole thing comes apart. Note that the shaft has a hole in it - that's where the little pin on the E - clip goes. Also, there are side thingies I didn't take out because I didn't need to.
Here are all the replacement parts along with the old - It's pretty obvious how it all goes back together. The addition is that there's a clip that installs on the shaft that holds the new oar holder in. The shaft on the new holder has a bolt through it so it's good and strong. And it locks in. Both really big improvements. It's important that when you put the new E-clip in, you get the pin in the hole in the shaft. Here's the kit part number: Zodiac Z60044 Oar Lock Adapter Kit. You can try to get it at BoatersWorld, but I got mine at Defenders. They had it, they answered the phone, and that was that. I have to admit, though, the BoatersWorld guy actually went to look at the part. 
And now, the piece de resistance: Here it is, all installed with the oar holder both out and in. All that's left to do is to re-reeve the rope, tie it back off like it was and you're done!This works only with older Zodiacs - pre-2002. From the pictures you should be able to see if it'll work for you.
I'll be seeing you on the water, but with my dinghy, too.
Monday, June 12, 2006
It's Been a Crapload of Time
Well, you can see that, I suppose. The sailing season has started and frankly, between work and actually sailing, fooling around on the boat, messing about with other peoples boats, and social events both at the yacht club and with the usual group of suspects, I've been just to darned tired to write.
In the winter, you can dream of boating. But when it's here - you have to go at it with a vengence. As Robert Heinlein said, "Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess."
Let me start with today and work backwards. There was no sailing today but I came up with a spectacular way to cook salmon and almost anything else like chicken and pork (not beef, though, unless it's veal).
First, you'll need a frying pan with a cover. Next, you'll need about 1/2 pound of whatever meat you're going to eat (see above). You'll need a nectarine or peach - good sized one, about 2 heaping teaspoons of chopped garlic, one teaspoon of capers, something spicy - like cayenne pepper or I use Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy, and a tablespoon to 2 tablespoons of either cream cheese or sour cream. You'll need 1/2 cup or so of water, too.
I have a non-stick pan so I use that.
First, I sliced the nectarine up in crescents and popped it in the pan on low heat. Then I threw the salmon in, skin side down (this was a filet). On top of all that I put the garlic and capers. Then I covered it for about two minutes. Then I turned the salmon over and removed the skin because I don't happen to like it. Also, I added the water and recovered the pan.
After a bit (and you'll have to check it) the salmon is steamed through and through (check the meat if you're not using salmon). Then when it was cooked nicely, I took it out and mooshed the stuff in the pan about and added the cream cheese and mixed it all up.
Then, of course, I poured all that goody stuff on the salmon. It was so good, I had to send an email out to a friend, and now, here you are, recipients of the same wisdom. You won't be sorry!
Now, Laura needed to get her boat to Barrington, RI in preparation for the Newport-Bermuda race. Cassiopeia finally passed her righting moment test, and now needed just some more stuff to pass her safety test. Her rigger put all new lifelines on. Before we left, we had to install a new bilge pump that could be operated inside the boat with it all closed up. Because of the time limit, we decided to tie it into the current secondary bilge pump line. Also, there wasn't a lot of places to put it.
We ended up putting it in the midship settee. Here's me working on the plumbing. You can see the pump handle cover on the side of the settee base.
For the trip, however, we called together the Nincompoop Crew - Laura, captain nincompoop, Herb, Chris, and I. The trip totally sucked - we were supposed to leave Friday evening around 9 pm to catch the tide, but the engine wouldn't start. It did at midnight, though. Too late. So we all slept until 5 am and left then.
The day sucked. It rained all day pretty much, and the wind was 12 to 15 on the nose. We decided to stop at Saybrook, CT. And then we partied into the night at the Dock and Dine right on the pier. Woohoo! They had Yukon Jack. 'Nuff said.
The next day, we again left at the crack of dawn. Oops, fuel gauge says, "You're almost out of fuel!". We popped into the fuel dock at Fisher's Island. What a beautiful place! There's no services, only a little town, but as a quiet anchorage, it's well protected and spectacular. I'm telling you this so you'll stay away. There's nothing for you there. Move along now.
The trip from Fisher's Island to Barrington was uneventful, if long. We got there just in time to get the train back to Stamford CT to pick up the car and go home. What a long day - it took me all Monday to recover.....
In the meantime, Inertia was having a terrible problem. In order to start the engine, I had to smack the instrument panel. And the smacking was getting harder and harder. So I thought I'd have at it. It turns out the 'marininzed' engine really isn't other than the raw water pump on the PTO shaft and heat exchanger instead of a radiator.
I've spoken about this before - if you have a Universal diesel engine you have a Kubota engine. There's a company, Engine Power Source that carries parts for Kubota engines. Now, you have to be careful because Universal, now Westerbeke, removes the Kubota part numbers and engraves their own.
It's a really irritating process but I can see why - the injectors, for instance, cost $45 from Engine Power Source, but $185 from Westerbeke. Are they the same. They are. Marinization is external to the power block. It doesn't include injectors, injector pump, starter, alternator, glow plugs, or any of the other stuff. Even the fresh water pump is stock. Westerbeke doesn't even change the color. The copper color is the Kubota trademark color. Even Beta Marine repaints the engine red. It's still a Kubota, but it's red.
You know, Herb has one in his boat. I wonder if it has the Kubota part numbers on the block... Hmmmm. I have to check that out.
Anyway the Engine Power Source people are extremely helpful. They'll even help you identify the engine. Give them a call.
But I digress. All the engine panel wiring is just straight copper, no tinning, nothing. Well, all the ground crimp fittings were falling apart. So I had to recrimp every single one of them. Took me a couple of hours, but hey! presto! the engine starts.
On Memorial Day weekend, the usual group of suspects got to party - Herb and Gina, Bob and Carol, Bobbie and Warren, and Laura with Galley Girl (Cathy). Big party, lots of fun, but the water was too cold to swim.
We sailed from Port Jefferson, NY to Oyster Bay, NY and I got to set the new spinnaker! Woohoo! It was the best! I took off like a shot! Massive fun, well, after I got the whole thing untangled and set properly.....
I hope, someday, to have pictures.
For sure I'll see you on the water!
In the winter, you can dream of boating. But when it's here - you have to go at it with a vengence. As Robert Heinlein said, "Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess."
Let me start with today and work backwards. There was no sailing today but I came up with a spectacular way to cook salmon and almost anything else like chicken and pork (not beef, though, unless it's veal).
First, you'll need a frying pan with a cover. Next, you'll need about 1/2 pound of whatever meat you're going to eat (see above). You'll need a nectarine or peach - good sized one, about 2 heaping teaspoons of chopped garlic, one teaspoon of capers, something spicy - like cayenne pepper or I use Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy, and a tablespoon to 2 tablespoons of either cream cheese or sour cream. You'll need 1/2 cup or so of water, too.
I have a non-stick pan so I use that.
First, I sliced the nectarine up in crescents and popped it in the pan on low heat. Then I threw the salmon in, skin side down (this was a filet). On top of all that I put the garlic and capers. Then I covered it for about two minutes. Then I turned the salmon over and removed the skin because I don't happen to like it. Also, I added the water and recovered the pan.
After a bit (and you'll have to check it) the salmon is steamed through and through (check the meat if you're not using salmon). Then when it was cooked nicely, I took it out and mooshed the stuff in the pan about and added the cream cheese and mixed it all up.
Then, of course, I poured all that goody stuff on the salmon. It was so good, I had to send an email out to a friend, and now, here you are, recipients of the same wisdom. You won't be sorry!
Now, Laura needed to get her boat to Barrington, RI in preparation for the Newport-Bermuda race. Cassiopeia finally passed her righting moment test, and now needed just some more stuff to pass her safety test. Her rigger put all new lifelines on. Before we left, we had to install a new bilge pump that could be operated inside the boat with it all closed up. Because of the time limit, we decided to tie it into the current secondary bilge pump line. Also, there wasn't a lot of places to put it.We ended up putting it in the midship settee. Here's me working on the plumbing. You can see the pump handle cover on the side of the settee base.
For the trip, however, we called together the Nincompoop Crew - Laura, captain nincompoop, Herb, Chris, and I. The trip totally sucked - we were supposed to leave Friday evening around 9 pm to catch the tide, but the engine wouldn't start. It did at midnight, though. Too late. So we all slept until 5 am and left then.
The day sucked. It rained all day pretty much, and the wind was 12 to 15 on the nose. We decided to stop at Saybrook, CT. And then we partied into the night at the Dock and Dine right on the pier. Woohoo! They had Yukon Jack. 'Nuff said.
The next day, we again left at the crack of dawn. Oops, fuel gauge says, "You're almost out of fuel!". We popped into the fuel dock at Fisher's Island. What a beautiful place! There's no services, only a little town, but as a quiet anchorage, it's well protected and spectacular. I'm telling you this so you'll stay away. There's nothing for you there. Move along now.The trip from Fisher's Island to Barrington was uneventful, if long. We got there just in time to get the train back to Stamford CT to pick up the car and go home. What a long day - it took me all Monday to recover.....
In the meantime, Inertia was having a terrible problem. In order to start the engine, I had to smack the instrument panel. And the smacking was getting harder and harder. So I thought I'd have at it. It turns out the 'marininzed' engine really isn't other than the raw water pump on the PTO shaft and heat exchanger instead of a radiator.
I've spoken about this before - if you have a Universal diesel engine you have a Kubota engine. There's a company, Engine Power Source that carries parts for Kubota engines. Now, you have to be careful because Universal, now Westerbeke, removes the Kubota part numbers and engraves their own.
It's a really irritating process but I can see why - the injectors, for instance, cost $45 from Engine Power Source, but $185 from Westerbeke. Are they the same. They are. Marinization is external to the power block. It doesn't include injectors, injector pump, starter, alternator, glow plugs, or any of the other stuff. Even the fresh water pump is stock. Westerbeke doesn't even change the color. The copper color is the Kubota trademark color. Even Beta Marine repaints the engine red. It's still a Kubota, but it's red.
You know, Herb has one in his boat. I wonder if it has the Kubota part numbers on the block... Hmmmm. I have to check that out.
Anyway the Engine Power Source people are extremely helpful. They'll even help you identify the engine. Give them a call.
But I digress. All the engine panel wiring is just straight copper, no tinning, nothing. Well, all the ground crimp fittings were falling apart. So I had to recrimp every single one of them. Took me a couple of hours, but hey! presto! the engine starts.
On Memorial Day weekend, the usual group of suspects got to party - Herb and Gina, Bob and Carol, Bobbie and Warren, and Laura with Galley Girl (Cathy). Big party, lots of fun, but the water was too cold to swim.
We sailed from Port Jefferson, NY to Oyster Bay, NY and I got to set the new spinnaker! Woohoo! It was the best! I took off like a shot! Massive fun, well, after I got the whole thing untangled and set properly.....
I hope, someday, to have pictures.
For sure I'll see you on the water!
Monday, May 22, 2006
First Real Day of the Season 2006
This was an auspicious weekend! In fact, it was the 99th Going Into Commission Party for the City Island Yacht Club. It was great! Good food, good music, and of course, good company. It was a bit strange, however, getting dressed on the boat and stepping into the launch in a suit and tie.
Suits are not my thing. Really. Everyone who knows me knows that. So it was really unusual for me to wear it. But it was worth it.
This also meant there'd be 24 hour launch service for the season! And that, my friends, is terrific. No more buzz-kills swimming or kyacking back to the boat after an evening of heavy drink! No sirree, just saunter along the dock (nice and wide, new decking for the vertically challenged), wake up the launch driver, and try to tell them where your boat is without looking too foolish.
What a pleasure!
So after the party, I took the launch (did I mention, I could have taken it at 3:00am? Pick a time - I could take it!) to Inertia, and settled down for a wonderful sleep. The wind and water were just right, the temperature exquisite, all snuggly in my sleeping bag.
When I arose around 9:30, I noodled around, made some coffee, added a splash of solar powered refrigerated half and half, and listened to NPR. Around lunchtime, I closed up the boat, summoned the launch, and toddled off to the club for a bite of lunch.
After a terrific hamburger, I decided to go home to start work on Laura's dodger - I'm replacing the eisenglas on the sides and adding a new through-window port for her preventer. I've got most of the idea down, but am working on a way to prevent the preventer from wearing through the protector again and allow a flap to seal the hole when the preventer isn't rigged.
We'll see how successful I am. What I need is a bigger sewing machine, but I'll tax this one (a Kenmore) for a little longer.
Pictures when done!
The Memorial Day Weekend is shaping up nicely. Friends at different ports - should be fun! I'll probably go to the boat Friday and maybe sail to Connecticut to meet them.
Pictures when done, and more adventures!
See you on the water!
Suits are not my thing. Really. Everyone who knows me knows that. So it was really unusual for me to wear it. But it was worth it.
This also meant there'd be 24 hour launch service for the season! And that, my friends, is terrific. No more buzz-kills swimming or kyacking back to the boat after an evening of heavy drink! No sirree, just saunter along the dock (nice and wide, new decking for the vertically challenged), wake up the launch driver, and try to tell them where your boat is without looking too foolish.
What a pleasure!
So after the party, I took the launch (did I mention, I could have taken it at 3:00am? Pick a time - I could take it!) to Inertia, and settled down for a wonderful sleep. The wind and water were just right, the temperature exquisite, all snuggly in my sleeping bag.
When I arose around 9:30, I noodled around, made some coffee, added a splash of solar powered refrigerated half and half, and listened to NPR. Around lunchtime, I closed up the boat, summoned the launch, and toddled off to the club for a bite of lunch.
After a terrific hamburger, I decided to go home to start work on Laura's dodger - I'm replacing the eisenglas on the sides and adding a new through-window port for her preventer. I've got most of the idea down, but am working on a way to prevent the preventer from wearing through the protector again and allow a flap to seal the hole when the preventer isn't rigged.
We'll see how successful I am. What I need is a bigger sewing machine, but I'll tax this one (a Kenmore) for a little longer.
Pictures when done!
The Memorial Day Weekend is shaping up nicely. Friends at different ports - should be fun! I'll probably go to the boat Friday and maybe sail to Connecticut to meet them.
Pictures when done, and more adventures!
See you on the water!
Monday, May 15, 2006
A Wonderful Sail
I suppose after my rant I should get back on track here. It's easy enough after all. I mean, how can you hold any anger when sailing with the boat humming along?
This June I'll be taking my first offshore passage of any length from Bermuda back to Staten Island, NY (just past the Verrazzano Bridge) in New York Harbor. It is about a five day trip. This will decide, in some way, my future. Do I cruise to the Caribbean? To England? To the Mediterranean? Or do I sell it all and get a small but functional RV and travel Canada, the United States, and Mexico? Hmmm?
One of our crew members for the trip back is Julie whom I invited for a sail. She's very much into weather predicting and routing and celestial navigation. Still, when you go offshore with an unknown crew, you'd like to know that they're someone you can depend on. And of course, I'd like her to know the same, so going for a sail was a pretty good way to introduce ourselves.
The day was cloudy, but comfortable in the mid sixties with the wind predictably nowhere near NOAA said it would be - out of the east-southeast at about 10 to 12. In other words, perfect to see how the boat really handles with the new sails. It's the first time I've been able to sail for an extended period on one tack or another and fiddle fart around with the trim.
So we sailed off the mooring, around the southern tip of City Island, up between Hart Island (Potters Field) and City Island, through the channel between David's Island and
Hart Island, down to Manhassett Bay, back north of Execution Rock Light, southeast to Hempstead Bay, and then wing-on-wing back to City Island Yacht Club.
The sails handled magnificently, although I'd like the clew of the jib to be a little higher so I don't have to skirt it after each tack. Also, with the clew so low, in light winds I can't flatten the sail without the top hitting the shrouds. In higher winds when the jib car goes back and twists the top off, no worries. All in all though, wonderful. Listen: I'm still thrilled with the sails, and you will be too if you call Somerset Sails.
We picked up the mooring under sail in only two tries, and miraculously, no one got hurt! Another successful sail!
After putting the boat away, we popped into the club for a bit of a tipple. Mmmm. Well and good. Then the drive home.
I've met a friend for life, and would not only sail anywhere with her, but invite her aboard Inertia without reservation. She knows her stuff (actually, she knows a lot more than I do, but I found that out later, much to my embarrassment... Oh well. Color me red.)
Plans are afoot for Memorial Day weekend, and next week, the Commissioning Party at the Club. I am just still tickled pink to say that. Maybe next year I'll get used to it. Hey, maybe not.
I'll get some pictures together, and now that the work stuff is done, they'll be playtime pictures. The only project I'd like to show you is the repair to the seating in Cassiopeia. It's interesting in an engineering sort of way. Let's see if it works.
Until then, though, I'll see you on the water.
This June I'll be taking my first offshore passage of any length from Bermuda back to Staten Island, NY (just past the Verrazzano Bridge) in New York Harbor. It is about a five day trip. This will decide, in some way, my future. Do I cruise to the Caribbean? To England? To the Mediterranean? Or do I sell it all and get a small but functional RV and travel Canada, the United States, and Mexico? Hmmm?
One of our crew members for the trip back is Julie whom I invited for a sail. She's very much into weather predicting and routing and celestial navigation. Still, when you go offshore with an unknown crew, you'd like to know that they're someone you can depend on. And of course, I'd like her to know the same, so going for a sail was a pretty good way to introduce ourselves.
The day was cloudy, but comfortable in the mid sixties with the wind predictably nowhere near NOAA said it would be - out of the east-southeast at about 10 to 12. In other words, perfect to see how the boat really handles with the new sails. It's the first time I've been able to sail for an extended period on one tack or another and fiddle fart around with the trim.
So we sailed off the mooring, around the southern tip of City Island, up between Hart Island (Potters Field) and City Island, through the channel between David's Island and
Hart Island, down to Manhassett Bay, back north of Execution Rock Light, southeast to Hempstead Bay, and then wing-on-wing back to City Island Yacht Club.
The sails handled magnificently, although I'd like the clew of the jib to be a little higher so I don't have to skirt it after each tack. Also, with the clew so low, in light winds I can't flatten the sail without the top hitting the shrouds. In higher winds when the jib car goes back and twists the top off, no worries. All in all though, wonderful. Listen: I'm still thrilled with the sails, and you will be too if you call Somerset Sails.
We picked up the mooring under sail in only two tries, and miraculously, no one got hurt! Another successful sail!
After putting the boat away, we popped into the club for a bit of a tipple. Mmmm. Well and good. Then the drive home.
I've met a friend for life, and would not only sail anywhere with her, but invite her aboard Inertia without reservation. She knows her stuff (actually, she knows a lot more than I do, but I found that out later, much to my embarrassment... Oh well. Color me red.)
Plans are afoot for Memorial Day weekend, and next week, the Commissioning Party at the Club. I am just still tickled pink to say that. Maybe next year I'll get used to it. Hey, maybe not.
I'll get some pictures together, and now that the work stuff is done, they'll be playtime pictures. The only project I'd like to show you is the repair to the seating in Cassiopeia. It's interesting in an engineering sort of way. Let's see if it works.
Until then, though, I'll see you on the water.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Just WTF Are We Thinking?
Normally, I wouldn't use this as a forum for opinions other than those associated with boating. I mean, why on earth would you care what I thought about, say, Social Security. There are those who might ask why they should care about my opinions on boating.
That aside, yesterday I helped my longest and best friend, Leigh, do some trim work on a house of a friend of his. Apparently, the contractor had gone bankrupt or whatever, and wasn't working on the house. There are other financial considerations but they're not the important thing right now.
What is important is that the quality of work done in a very expensive addition and remodeling project is awful. I've avoided carpentry for most of my life - woodworking escapes me for some reason. Glass, metal, plastic, electronics, electrical, plumbing, and so forth - no problem. With carpentry, I could not get the quality I wanted out of the work I do. I have no idea why. I know how to measure (you'd be surprised at how many people don't). I can use power tools. I can even use really, really big power tools (like excavators).
But I can't seem to get wood to work properly.
Apparently, I've been worrying needlessly. It's clear that the contractor at this job hired less than skilled workers for the job. Sadly, nearly every doorframe we put the trim on was wracked or twisted. What should have been a four or so hour job took all day since every single cut except for four were custom.
It is sad to see someone spend so much time and money for an addition and get so thorougly screwed - and the subcontractors, too.
There is a point to all this saddness - and it really does make me sad - namely, where are we going as a people, as a nation? We complain about the quality of work, yet we work so terribly or accept awful work. We complain about nonskilled workers taking our jobs, but we won't do them.
We want more money, more benefits, more of everything but we don't want to work for it. We have an overrated estimate of our own worth. Just a hint: We're worth no more and no less than anyone else.
It makes me really angry that a contractor can behave so badly. And he'll get away with it, too, I'm sure. And that's really sad.
That's the end of my rant for today.
Tomorrow - down to the boat for a little sailing, weather permitting. Well even if not. Still gotta go!
Hope to see you on the water!
That aside, yesterday I helped my longest and best friend, Leigh, do some trim work on a house of a friend of his. Apparently, the contractor had gone bankrupt or whatever, and wasn't working on the house. There are other financial considerations but they're not the important thing right now.
What is important is that the quality of work done in a very expensive addition and remodeling project is awful. I've avoided carpentry for most of my life - woodworking escapes me for some reason. Glass, metal, plastic, electronics, electrical, plumbing, and so forth - no problem. With carpentry, I could not get the quality I wanted out of the work I do. I have no idea why. I know how to measure (you'd be surprised at how many people don't). I can use power tools. I can even use really, really big power tools (like excavators).
But I can't seem to get wood to work properly.
Apparently, I've been worrying needlessly. It's clear that the contractor at this job hired less than skilled workers for the job. Sadly, nearly every doorframe we put the trim on was wracked or twisted. What should have been a four or so hour job took all day since every single cut except for four were custom.
It is sad to see someone spend so much time and money for an addition and get so thorougly screwed - and the subcontractors, too.
There is a point to all this saddness - and it really does make me sad - namely, where are we going as a people, as a nation? We complain about the quality of work, yet we work so terribly or accept awful work. We complain about nonskilled workers taking our jobs, but we won't do them.
We want more money, more benefits, more of everything but we don't want to work for it. We have an overrated estimate of our own worth. Just a hint: We're worth no more and no less than anyone else.
It makes me really angry that a contractor can behave so badly. And he'll get away with it, too, I'm sure. And that's really sad.
That's the end of my rant for today.
Tomorrow - down to the boat for a little sailing, weather permitting. Well even if not. Still gotta go!
Hope to see you on the water!
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Getting Cassiopeia Ready
One of the great thing about hanging around marinas and having friends that do things like the Newport to Bermuda race is that you get to see some very cool stuff going on. Often, you get to help, especially if it involves moving a lot of heavy stuff around. How could you not participate in that?We moved Cassiopeia, a Beneteau 42.7 from Norwalk, Connecticut on Saturday - it was just a two hour ride, easy as pie. Since no sails were aboard, no sailing occured, but we still managed to down a box of Triscuits, a pound of Brie cheese, and a hot soprasata. Can't go sailing without food, you know.
Anyway, after arriving at Stanford, Ct. for the summer berth, I took off to my boat, now at the City Island Yacht Club (CIYC from now on). How I got Inertia there is a story of motoring through the rain and fog from Haverstraw the weekend before. That week, it was Triscuits, cheddar cheese, and pepperoni. But that's another story.
I spent the afternoon taking down my small headsail and rehoisting my big genoa. Then I had to go sailing, and because the wind was light, I practiced docking under sail and picking up my mooring under sail. If you own a sailboat, you should do this, too. It's fun and educational. Once again, I digress.
So, after putting the boat away, I had dinner at the club. Let me repeat: I had dinner at the club. I love saying that. My friends will soon get sick of me saying it. I suppose I will, too, when the novelty wears off. But for now, I must reiterate, I had dinner at the club.
Ok, Sunday, (today), we had to go back to Cassiopeia to help the measurer measure her for the Newport - Bermuda race. Laura had two measurements made: ORR and IRC. You can look what they mean somewhere else. But the ORR measurement involves, in addition to some underbody measurements while the boat is out of the water, calculating the righting moment of the boat. For the Newport - Bermuda race, the righting moment must be 115 degrees or better.
The righting moment is a measurement of the ability of a boat to right itself if knocked down. Clearly, a boat with a low righting moment, like 90 degrees means that if the boat assumes an attitude of mast parallel to the water or lower, it will continue and turn over. That's not good. Boats like Sunfish's and so forth have a low righting moment - very easy to turn over. 115 degrees means that the mast can be up to 115 degrees from verticle and the boat will still right itself.
If you could get a boat to behave like a Weeble (Weebles wobble but they don't fall down), the you could have a really safe boat.The way to measure this is to hang long poles out from the boat with lots of weight on them - and then move the weights and measure what happens to the
boat. Well, it's a little more complex than that, but essentially, you want to tip the boat and see how hard it was to do.Also, because there are other measurement systems, like IRC, other rules apply; namely, you have to remove everthing from the boat except what it came with. Do you have any idea how much crap an empty boat has in it? Laura emptied hers before winter. This is what's left. Or half of it anyway. It continues along the finger, too.
Once the deck measuring was done, we sent Laura up the mast for all the measurements for sail hoist, mast height, and headstay length. In case you're wondering what this whole thing costs besides a few hours with all your friends moving all your crap around is about $600. If you're serious about racing, especially offshore, this is what you'll need to do.
On another entirely different note, there is a company in Northport, Long Island that is owned and run by a really cool guy- a boater's engineer. The company is Sailor's Solutions, and I've put the link on the sidebar. If nothing else, call and get a catalog. There's really stuff you need and didn't know you needed it or that it even existed.
Their flagship product used to be their very own designed and manufactured sound proofing for engine rooms called SPM. If your engine is noisy and your sound insulation is falling apart, replace it with this stuff. It's great. I used it and even though I couldn't get to the aft wall of the engine room to remove or replace the old stuff, installing SPM still reduced the engine noise so much that I could actually listen to the radio down below when motoring. Highly recommended. It's strong (not like that mylar/foam stuff), it's solid foam with stiff surface, and it sticks like the dickens.
After I replaced all my interior lights with the LED's I started looking for navigation lights. It turns out Sailor's Solutions has designed and manufactured with the help of NASA some very cool lighting solutions. They were kind enough to send me a SensiBulb (their name) to try out. It has a slew of advantages, including being a yellowish light instead of the blue white, and it has temperature sensing so that it doesn't allow the LEDs to get too hot. Apparently they fail at 140 degrees - I didn't know that.
Soon they'll be carrying the new OPM navigation lighting. I want it. They'll have the best price, too, since I've also asked about that, too.
So more on that later - but really, give them a shout. I got a copy of their catalog and darn it all, there's stuff I want - even a really excellent winch handle holder. You don't know you need it. But you do. Trust me.
Anyway, it's sailing season - so now I really will see you on the water!
Monday, April 17, 2006
WOW! Simply WOW!
First, let me say this: I've been sadly derelict in my blogly duties. Sorry. There's much to report, and since I had to participate in these things, I didn't really have the time to write. Well, not strictly true. I was too tired.
That said, here goes. First, April 8th was the big opening of the City Island Yacht Club's kitchen for the year. So the club put on a wine tasting (mmmm...Wine...) and of course you could have dinner. My friend Laura came along, and we had a terrific time! The food was good and very reasonably priced. I don't believe I'll have any problem meeting my $500/year minimum. None at all.
It was amazing - when I visited in February, the place was a total disaster - walls torn apart, holes, general confusion. Yet Saturday last, it was beautiful! Newly painted, and absolutely fantastic! I can't say enough. I suspect I'll be helping out this year. It's a club to be proud of, and I believe I made absolutely the right choice!
From the sublime to the mundane. Two projects needed finishing, the LED lighting with a red nav station light, and permanent mounting of the solar panels.
The nav station light was the hardest, believe it or not. First, I had purchased a red 19 LED single contact bayonet bulb for the purpose. Needless to say, I should have researched lighting first. The only manufacturer of bayonet socketed flexible gooseneck lights is Sea Dog, and theirs is a double contact socket. Ok, so I called them and no, they can't make one with a single contact. Feh!
Most of these new lights are xenon bulbs or high intensity bulbs with red filters. The sockets are nothing like anything useful for my purposes. So I purchased the light I wanted and ripped it apart. I epoxied an automotive single contact bayonet socket in it, and wired it all up. Great. The only thing I don't like is that the bulb is proud of the reflector, but you know what? if it becomes a problem, I'll think of something else.
Next, I've been struggling on how to mount the solar panels permanently. It has to be strong enough to support my weight without flexing, and preferably maintenance free. My choice for maintenance free material is HDPE (High Density PolyEthylene). It's essentially Starboard, but cheaper because it's generic. It's easily machinable with either woodworking tools or machine tools, and it is totally inert. I mean really, really inert. So inert that the only method of joining is mechanical.
So, with my friend Leigh's help, I built a platform with wedges under to make up the curve on the sea hood over the companionway hatch. Because the HDPE is not dimensionally stable (it does expand and shrink some) I attached it centerline to the hood. that way it can expand and contract.
The panels slide under an aluminum angle mounted on the forward edge, and are screwed into the mounting at the other end. Originally I wanted to be able to move the panels when at a dock, but I don't really see the need. They're fine where they are.
Wedges underneath in milled slots make up for the curve in the seahood. I can stand on them if necessary although I hardly ever walk right there. Laura was impressed. She said it looked as if they belonged there.
We went sailing Easter day when it was sunny. The panels provide enough power in bright sunlight to power the stereo, autopilot in standby mode, depth and speed instruments and still charge the batteries. I haven't yet tried them on the chartplotter or autopilot in active mode, but I hardly ever ust the chartplotter, and autopilot only long enough for food and head breaks. More on this later, of course. So far, though, I've been able to get a little over 2 amps out of the panels.
Finally, yesterday the wind was 20 to 25 knots out of the northwest. I wanted to try the new yankee, so I wrestled down the big jib, and set it. Wow! Holy Smokes! I can see this becoming my favorite sail! With just that sail we tooled along at 4 to 6 knots! The boat was totally controlable, and the sail and rig hardly stressed at all. It's perfect! I am thorougly impressed! If you need sails - call Martin at Somerset Sails. Mention my name. I don't know that will help, but it can't hurt.
This summer I'm going to get my friend Lou to take pictures of Inertia under sail. That's how tickled I am with her.
I hope to see you on the water - soon, too!
That said, here goes. First, April 8th was the big opening of the City Island Yacht Club's kitchen for the year. So the club put on a wine tasting (mmmm...Wine...) and of course you could have dinner. My friend Laura came along, and we had a terrific time! The food was good and very reasonably priced. I don't believe I'll have any problem meeting my $500/year minimum. None at all.
It was amazing - when I visited in February, the place was a total disaster - walls torn apart, holes, general confusion. Yet Saturday last, it was beautiful! Newly painted, and absolutely fantastic! I can't say enough. I suspect I'll be helping out this year. It's a club to be proud of, and I believe I made absolutely the right choice!
From the sublime to the mundane. Two projects needed finishing, the LED lighting with a red nav station light, and permanent mounting of the solar panels.
The nav station light was the hardest, believe it or not. First, I had purchased a red 19 LED single contact bayonet bulb for the purpose. Needless to say, I should have researched lighting first. The only manufacturer of bayonet socketed flexible gooseneck lights is Sea Dog, and theirs is a double contact socket. Ok, so I called them and no, they can't make one with a single contact. Feh!Most of these new lights are xenon bulbs or high intensity bulbs with red filters. The sockets are nothing like anything useful for my purposes. So I purchased the light I wanted and ripped it apart. I epoxied an automotive single contact bayonet socket in it, and wired it all up. Great. The only thing I don't like is that the bulb is proud of the reflector, but you know what? if it becomes a problem, I'll think of something else.
Next, I've been struggling on how to mount the solar panels permanently. It has to be strong enough to support my weight without flexing, and preferably maintenance free. My choice for maintenance free material is HDPE (High Density PolyEthylene). It's essentially Starboard, but cheaper because it's generic. It's easily machinable with either woodworking tools or machine tools, and it is totally inert. I mean really, really inert. So inert that the only method of joining is mechanical.So, with my friend Leigh's help, I built a platform with wedges under to make up the curve on the sea hood over the companionway hatch. Because the HDPE is not dimensionally stable (it does expand and shrink some) I attached it centerline to the hood. that way it can expand and contract.
The panels slide under an aluminum angle mounted on the forward edge, and are screwed into the mounting at the other end. Originally I wanted to be able to move the panels when at a dock, but I don't really see the need. They're fine where they are.
Wedges underneath in milled slots make up for the curve in the seahood. I can stand on them if necessary although I hardly ever walk right there. Laura was impressed. She said it looked as if they belonged there.
We went sailing Easter day when it was sunny. The panels provide enough power in bright sunlight to power the stereo, autopilot in standby mode, depth and speed instruments and still charge the batteries. I haven't yet tried them on the chartplotter or autopilot in active mode, but I hardly ever ust the chartplotter, and autopilot only long enough for food and head breaks. More on this later, of course. So far, though, I've been able to get a little over 2 amps out of the panels.
Finally, yesterday the wind was 20 to 25 knots out of the northwest. I wanted to try the new yankee, so I wrestled down the big jib, and set it. Wow! Holy Smokes! I can see this becoming my favorite sail! With just that sail we tooled along at 4 to 6 knots! The boat was totally controlable, and the sail and rig hardly stressed at all. It's perfect! I am thorougly impressed! If you need sails - call Martin at Somerset Sails. Mention my name. I don't know that will help, but it can't hurt.
This summer I'm going to get my friend Lou to take pictures of Inertia under sail. That's how tickled I am with her.
I hope to see you on the water - soon, too!
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Spring is Definitely Here Now
Yesterday it was in the 70s! True, it was threatening rain and blowing up a stink, but very pleasant to work below on the last big project for this year, the solar panel installation.
This required bringing in wires from the seahood (the thing that covers the open companionway hatch) where the panels will be mounted, to the battery bank 1 (the house bank).
Speaking of which, I was watching the Xantrex charge monitor and realized it wasn't indicating battery charging - power always went down, never recovered, which is one of the monitor's big pluses. So a quick call to Jack Rabbit Marine, and some patient explaining by Steve, moving two wires, and badaboom badabing, fuggedabouddit. Here's the thing, all the ground wires must be on the load side of the shunt. That's important - even the charging source grounds. So I moved the shorepower battery charger's ground and the starting battery's ground, and that's that. Also, the solar panel's ground was attached there, but more on that later.
Right, then, back to the solar panels. This is a simple wiring job, and because there is no simple way to electrically from the deck to the batteries with an intermediate cabin stop, I ended up with some exposed wire, but I'll cover that later.
The only interesting thing about the whole installation is that I used wire from Ancor that's round with two #12 conductor wire, one red, one yellow. "Huh?", you might say. "Yellow? Why yellow?"
Traditionally the ground wire in 12 volt systems is black. That's fine on a car where it's all 12 volts. What about in mixed 120 VAC/12 VDC systems like a boat? Black wires are hot for 120 VAC (the others, white is neutral and green is ground). So to avoid confusion, let alone some spectacular sparking, fire, and possible electrocution, ABYC, NMMA, and other boat building associations have decided to make 12 VDC ground yellow.
You might wonder, then, why I used red and black on the rebuilt lights. That's a reasonable question. Nothing, I mean, nothing can be more confusing than changing the color of a wire mid circuit. Even though the lighting connections are very obvious, it's better not to 'improve' on what's already there. For new circuits, use the new standard. Red, hot, yellow, ground.
Back to the solar panels. I decided to put a panel connection on either side of the cabin rather than one connection requiring the panels to be tied together. This is so I can reposition them independently for dockside. Jack Rabbit Marine supplied me with the watertight connectors and the wire clams for going through the deck. I decided on this arrangement because I won't crack anything by stepping on it. Also, it's pretty much out of the way. There's one on the starboard side, too.
Next, I installed a terminal block in the headliner to join the panel leads. This also allows future expansion, should I need it. Here you can see the red and yellow wires. The panels are connected nearest to you and the battery feed is, obviously, on the other side. The terminal block is mounted on a very thick fiberglass pad that the old traveller is bolted to.
Next, the solar charge monitor panel was installed in a place where I could run most of the wire out of sight in the hanging locker, through a bulkhead into the battery box. The ground, of course, is attached to the shunt and the hot to the main battery bank. The wire I'll cover as soon as I figure out how, but here's what I have to say about that - there is no, I mean no place on a boat for silicone sealant. It virtually guarantees a leak and one that's impossible to fix. However, a little dab behind the wire and it holds it to the wood like that's what it's meant for.
Finally, here's where the cells are going. I'll add another picture when I finish the mount, but this essentially is it. The devices will keep the batteries totally charged, and in bright sun, run the refrigerator as planned.
I'll see you on the water, but with fully charged batteries!
This required bringing in wires from the seahood (the thing that covers the open companionway hatch) where the panels will be mounted, to the battery bank 1 (the house bank).
Speaking of which, I was watching the Xantrex charge monitor and realized it wasn't indicating battery charging - power always went down, never recovered, which is one of the monitor's big pluses. So a quick call to Jack Rabbit Marine, and some patient explaining by Steve, moving two wires, and badaboom badabing, fuggedabouddit. Here's the thing, all the ground wires must be on the load side of the shunt. That's important - even the charging source grounds. So I moved the shorepower battery charger's ground and the starting battery's ground, and that's that. Also, the solar panel's ground was attached there, but more on that later.
Right, then, back to the solar panels. This is a simple wiring job, and because there is no simple way to electrically from the deck to the batteries with an intermediate cabin stop, I ended up with some exposed wire, but I'll cover that later.
The only interesting thing about the whole installation is that I used wire from Ancor that's round with two #12 conductor wire, one red, one yellow. "Huh?", you might say. "Yellow? Why yellow?"
Traditionally the ground wire in 12 volt systems is black. That's fine on a car where it's all 12 volts. What about in mixed 120 VAC/12 VDC systems like a boat? Black wires are hot for 120 VAC (the others, white is neutral and green is ground). So to avoid confusion, let alone some spectacular sparking, fire, and possible electrocution, ABYC, NMMA, and other boat building associations have decided to make 12 VDC ground yellow.
You might wonder, then, why I used red and black on the rebuilt lights. That's a reasonable question. Nothing, I mean, nothing can be more confusing than changing the color of a wire mid circuit. Even though the lighting connections are very obvious, it's better not to 'improve' on what's already there. For new circuits, use the new standard. Red, hot, yellow, ground.
Back to the solar panels. I decided to put a panel connection on either side of the cabin rather than one connection requiring the panels to be tied together. This is so I can reposition them independently for dockside. Jack Rabbit Marine supplied me with the watertight connectors and the wire clams for going through the deck. I decided on this arrangement because I won't crack anything by stepping on it. Also, it's pretty much out of the way. There's one on the starboard side, too.
Next, I installed a terminal block in the headliner to join the panel leads. This also allows future expansion, should I need it. Here you can see the red and yellow wires. The panels are connected nearest to you and the battery feed is, obviously, on the other side. The terminal block is mounted on a very thick fiberglass pad that the old traveller is bolted to.
Next, the solar charge monitor panel was installed in a place where I could run most of the wire out of sight in the hanging locker, through a bulkhead into the battery box. The ground, of course, is attached to the shunt and the hot to the main battery bank. The wire I'll cover as soon as I figure out how, but here's what I have to say about that - there is no, I mean no place on a boat for silicone sealant. It virtually guarantees a leak and one that's impossible to fix. However, a little dab behind the wire and it holds it to the wood like that's what it's meant for.
Finally, here's where the cells are going. I'll add another picture when I finish the mount, but this essentially is it. The devices will keep the batteries totally charged, and in bright sun, run the refrigerator as planned. I'll see you on the water, but with fully charged batteries!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
