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Big Donny Dog's Files: CD 1 and CD2
04DEC09 On the road again. Story of my life lately. The boat is about ready to go. (to bed that is). The only real work I got done is a new Mixing valve for the exhaust of the engine. I don't seem to have a picture but the damn thing was rotting out. I got a new one, though it would be about $70 or so and it turned out to be $220. no fun. Now the hose that connect it to the water muffler is rotten and that's a big monster of a hose. It comes next. Hope to stop there and be able to not work on the boat all winter. I enjoy it but I've missed so much of the family life that I'll be working on that most of the winter.
I got the new transducer installed and it should be good. As I've said before on here, I need a voltage regualtor to protect it.. Turns out that an undervoltage will break it. Undervoltage like starting the engine while the GPS/Sounder is turned on. More to follow.
On the plane, free drinks to a sailor are like a well, like a stiff breeze when your walking down the dock to go sailing.
Japan and winter prep
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01OCT09 Well, I'm back from the desert and all is well.. The baby is growing up and getting bigger faster and smarter by the day. I've been traveling again and it's starting to get old. I was home for two weeks and then had to go to St Louis for a week for a survey. Home for two weeks and then back to Scott AFB for a two week follow on install. After that I was home for about 3 weeks and an out of nowhere trip to Shaw AFB in South Carolina poped up and I had to take it. (no one else was around to do it). Next is an early Dec trip to Japan for two weeks.
As far as the boat goes, I've got the whole nav pod wired in and ready to go. I've installed a bit of an upgrade in the wiring department. The problem was that all the data from the different devices at the helm had to reach over to the nav station to talk to the laptop and the VHF that had to be mounted there. This would have envolved about 4 separate cables being wired and spliced between the two places. So, I took the idea from the military installations I've see for getting data from one side to the other and built my own backbone. Simple concept, big wire stays in place from one location to the other. Then any data that needs to get from one side to the other just gets routed to one of the two ends of the pipe. Here's a pic:
and I've updated the GPS layout to reflect the new VHF remote and stuff:
I'll write more on the trip to Japan.
Damage Fixed
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10 AUG 09 We decided not to put the boat in the water for this season. We know it is the right thing to do but its not fun. I'm in Kuwait right now and have been bouncing back and fourth around the AOR (Desert) doing my guard weekend job as an engineer. It will be about a month and a half by the time I get home. Long trip to be away from the family, friends, house and boat. I've got most of the repair work done, now I'm reinstalling the electronics in to the pod. New addition: Command MIC for the VHF radio. I've always had a problem using the hand held up in the cockpit. The damn think does not hold a charge and it has crap for transmitting power. So, now the command mic is wired to the actual VHF down at the nav station. I also have DSC and will wire it in. I'm not really sure how it works or what to use it for other than distress issues. That's it for now.
No Boat, In Kuwait.
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21 FEB 09 Where do I start? We sold our house, lived with Bethany parents while we looked for a place. Bethany got pregnant and so couldn't really help out on the sailing side of things. We found a house in gorham. Bought it. Brought the boat home and on the way we took some damage. The driver has no choice but to drive under some branches. One of which must have been good size because it hit the pedestal guard. The branch drove the actual pedestal backward and broke the nav pod. The end story is that the company that hauls my boat paid me to buy new parts and I'll do the work to uninstall and replace everything. The baby was born and everything is going great. I'll add some pictures of the damage in under projects section. Here is some video of the damage.
long time no write..
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23-29 July Our Trip “2008”
Monday the 23rd of June we were scheduled to leave first thing in the morning. Ryan had an inspection the whole week and weekend leading up to the trip. Bethany was out of school as of Wednesday. She is pregnant and that is the last she'll see of teaching for a while if we can swing it. The forecast was for fog and thunderstorms, not a great way to start a trip but it will be a common theme for us. We had didn't want to have two cars down in Portland so I went up and picked up Bethany and the food in Yarmouth (we are living with her parents for now). We were loaded up and shoving off by 11am. Late start, so we set our sights low. We had no wind and about 3 miles visibility due to the fog. We were headed for Sand Island first and if it was ok, we would press on to either Jewel or Pots Harbor . We wound up sailing for a bit but the wind and fog wouldn't make up their mind. Pots harbor was were we stayed the first night. This is the “Caughlin” mooring that we've used in the past with permission when Bethany 's parents have rented a house in Pots Harbor . Well, this time we were on the mooring for about an hour when we saw a lobster style work boat and a MainShip (powerboat) head past us in to shallow water. We didn't really pay much attention until the work boat came up along side us and asked if we knew where the “Caughlin” mooring was? We explained ourselves but because the guy in the powerboat was “Mr. Caughlin” and he was in his boat, we moved immediately.
Tuesday we woke up and decided to see Seguin if the fog wasn't too thick. We wound our way out of Harpswell, rounded Bailey Island for a straight shot to Cape Small . On the way the wind wasn't really cooperating so we were motoring. Bethany was at the helm and I was working below when she yelled “our dingy is gone!” I popped up to see the parted line dragging in the water and our dingy floating free about a half mile back. On closer inspection, the bow line that came with the boat is a piece of close line. We recovered the boat and got these pictures:XXXXX. After that little episode, we motored over to Seguin Island and went ashore. There are two coast guard moorings for free pick up and a couple of other moorings available at a first come first serve basis. The volunteer Keepers monitor channel 78 and are around all week for a tour or information but they go back to the main land on Wednesdays. We met up with the keeper up at the light house and he took us up to the top to look around. It was very nice and we could see Damerscove and Monhegan Islands to the Northeast and Halfway Rock and Bailey Island to the Southeast. From there we sailed over to Damerscove Island to hold up for the night. We got in the cove at the south end of the island and set the hook. It was really tight. We were not very comfortable. The wind was coming straight in the channel and as Bethany was looking around she spotted some lighting over in Casco Bay . We hauled up the anchor after about 20 minutes and headed for the main land. We wound up running from the storm straight in to Christmas cove. We called ahead and found a mooring available at Cove Side Marina. We were all tied up and headed in to shore for a beer and to settle up the cost when the weather started to get very dark from the approaching storm. The beer was great but the mooring cost was double what we thought it would be. We paid $40 for one night on a mooring. Outrageous! We slept well but there was a huge thunderstorm and waves of rain pounding down on the bay and the boat. I don't think I'll ever go back there unless I just drop anchor in the middle of their mooring fields.
Wednesday was a long day. We covered a lot of distance. We woke up and started motoring out of Christmas cove first thing in the morning. When we rounded the corner and took aim at Pemaquid Point, we set the sails and settled in for a long 4 knot sail around to Round Pond. As we rounded the corner of the point the wind shifted to come straight at us out of the channel. We spend a lot of time tacking back and fourth to get up through Muscongus Sound. We thought that Round Pond would be a nice quiet “Basin” type spot with no homes and very few boats. We were very wrong. We set the hook in a mooring field and were not really happy with the situation. It was still early in the day (1pm or so) so we decided to move on to the top of Hog Island where the Audubon Society has a bird watching retreat. It was a really nice and quiet. We grabbed one of the guest moorings and went ashore. We met up with one of the workers and she told us that we could walk around, so we did. When we got back we found out we could spend the night on their mooring if we wanted to for $20. We took the new dingy out for a spin. We went around the island across the way, it was called Oar Island . There was a Maine Cat on a mooring and I believe that this is the spot were they launch the Maine Cats from their shipyard up the hill. Two years ago, Bethany and I went and visited the boat yard that makes these awesome, performance/cruising cats. We got back to the boat, it was 4pm and the sun was really high in the clear sky. We talked it over and decided that we should put some miles on back toward Harpswell because we had the time and the weather outlook was bleak. More of the same forecasted: sunny until 2pm then thunderstorms with high winds, heavy rain and possible hail. No fun. We came out on the top of Muscongus Sound and the wind had shifted again, right on our nose. We started of with good intentions of sailing but the tide and the wind were against us so we fired up the diesel. Once we rounded the end of Pemaquid Point we were able to set the sails again. At this point we set our sights on Boothbay Harbor . We called ahead to the old standby from last year, BBHYC (Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club) and they were full. The reason, “the Tall Ships are in and everything will be booked” We called over to Carousel Marina and they took our credit card over the phone for the reservation of $30 right there. (I gave Christmas Cove the finger as we passed by the opening to it.) We came around Linekin Neck and lined up on the Aegis Destroyer that was moored in the harbor in front of the Spruce Point Inn. We came in to the mooring field of Carousel and grabbed our assigned mooring. It was pushing 6pm and we have not eaten yet so we closed up the boat and headed for shore. We confirmed that our mooring was good, Bethany showered on shore and we got some ice for the boat. We popped in to drop the ice off and change up and went over to the town landing and tied (and locked up) the dingy. We walked around a bit before stopping in to one of the random fried seafood spots and I got a burger and Bethany had her old standby of chicken fingers and fries. Back to the boat in the dark and off to bed.
Thursday we woke up late. We got a late start on the day and we really regretted it later. We were underway around 10am and the plan was to get to The Basin or Snow Island for the night. That way we would be in the right neighborhood for our annual family meeting at Harpswell. Once we rounded the Cuckolds and set our sights on Seguin we just relaxed in to the monotony of sailing and soaking up the sun. The wind started to pick up around Tom Rock before the entrance to the Kennebec River . Once we were up next to Seguin Ledges the wind really picked up. The boat was healing too much and I don't have my reefs set up. We dropped the sails and decided to just motor around the point. The engines weren't on for more than 3 minutes before I heard the sound I hate to hear.. Alarms! The high temperature alarm was going off and I'd never heard it go before. Sure every time the engine is shut off, I have to hear the “Low Oil Pressure” alarm but this was different. This time there was a real engine problem. The exhaust was still sputtering water so it wasn't an impeller or water flow issue. The problem was either a blown hose or the thermostat but we didn't have any time to think of what caused it as we were being blown on shore with an incoming
storm and tide. The first step was to stop the engine so we don't seize it. If it runs without coolant, very bad things happen. (Not really sure why but when my dad gets that scared look in his eye while telling me “always kill the engine if there is an oil or coolant alarm”…I do it.)
So now we're in a pickle. We head downwind from the storm and that puts our bow toward the shore. XXXXXXXXXinsert Pic hereXXXXXXXXX See chart link here. We pull out the genoa about half way and start heading for the mouth of the Kennebec River. The only thought is to get in behind an island and we can make repairs or wait out the storm. The going isn't slow but I have time to think on the problem with the engine. It has good flow out of the exhaust so it can't be a broken impeller, can't be a gunked up water intake. It has to be something in the system where the engine gets hot enough to open up the thermostat and allow the cool water to pass around the hot engine. Then the water coming out of the stern should be hot. It was cold, so the thermostat isn't opening or worst case there is a breech in the engine and the water is going somewhere it shouldn't, like into the oil of the crank case. I'm hoping that it's the thermostat.
As we approached the mouth of the river, something strange happened. (This is not good , “strange” out on the ocean isn't usually a good thing.) The waves reversed direction. The wind was still whipping but the chop was changing. We were entering the effects of a big river touching the ocean. As luck would have it we were just in time to catch the incoming tide. (This means that the entire Atlantic Ocean is trying to get into the river, forcing the river to literally run backwards. Remember this; it's important later in the story.)
Now we're cruising! Almost 8 knots with just the Genny out! (River speed is 5 knots or so.) the further we get up the river the more the scene on board calms down, we're not going to have to swim for it after dashing the boat on the rocks. We're not going to have to call in a mayday, life is good. So we get out our handy cruising guide and start searching for an island we can tuck in behind. The thought is to get off the main channel of the river and repair the engine, stay for the night because it's getting close to dinner time and the storm is still raging out off of Cape Small. What we found was XXXXXX Island. It was an old Coast Guard Light House station. In behind it was a natural anchorage, we could get close to the island (30') and still be in 16' of water at low tide.
Under sail alone, we have to get in position and set the anchor. In a 5kt river current, with a thunderstorm right off shore. 30 feet from an island. With the pregnant wife on the bow, ready to release the anchor, we heave to and drift up current and wind. The boat stalls and Bethany drops the anchor, we pay out the 80' of line needed and *POOF* we're anchored. Dinner time. She cooks while I tear in to the engine and see if we're going to have to call Sea Tow or not.
Engine repair: The big hope is that it's the Thermostat. Mainly because I read an article once that said that if your Thermostat ever craps out completely, not just stuck or bent, your screwed. So based on that article, I bought a spare and put it in my Engine Spares Kit onboard. I got to work and the thermostat that came out of the engine was coated in a layer of rust. It lives in salt water anyway so it's made well but I guess it just picked a great time to seize up. I swapped it out and ran the engine just to be sure… Good to go.
Our anual trip
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June-July I have been really bad about updating this site again. I'll get on it from now on. Our annual shake down cruise went well. No big issues. I took Shon out for a quick sail and all went well. We are living at Bethany's parents house for the time being while we figure out if we can afford to build a house or if we should be looking to buy a house. I'll get the update for our annual trip up the coast. This year the goal is to skip Boothbay and head further up. Not sure if the weather will cooperate or not. I have a line on a Garmin 3206 GPS and a Garmin GMR 18 Radar unit for under $2K. www.getfeetwet.com has them for 800 and change apiece. I think it's time for the big electronics upgrade.
day sails
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21MAY08 The boat launch went off without a hitch. Bucky picked it up on time and I was floating inside and hour. This time I didn't sit and idle at the dock, I just popped off the trailer and motored over to Sunset Marina. I only stayed at the dock for a day and a half. Then, on Friday the mast went up in the morning and we closed on our house (selling) at noon. We went to CT for the weekend and when I got back, I went to St Louis.
All launched
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25APR08 We are selling our home. The boat comes with us but it's going to be hell getting the boat ready and the house all packed up. If this offer comes through we will be closing on the house on May 16th. Problem is that the boat doesn't get hauled to the water until the 19th. I've got a call in to Bucky to get hauled earlier but I've yet to hear back from them. One of the upsides is that we have a place to live while we look for a new home. Our address will be "Kismet, Sunset Marina, South Portland Maine". Fun huh?
I'm stuck in Chicago waiting on a flight home. I have some time to kill. When I get back I'll get the dingy registered so we can take it out and burn it in. Looking at about 5 hours of running it around before it's burnt in.
I cut open the sub floor of the quarter berth in order to add some strength members under the deck. Andy and I shaped the new stringers and all I have to do is mount them. They should work out well. It's going to get frantic if we sell before we get a chance to finish getting everything ready.
Huge update
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13APR08 In September of last year we bit the bullet and bought a new dingy. Here is a couple pics of our old one.
Here are some pic's of the new one on shore, (use the dog for reference).
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And then we went and bought a new engine for it with our tax return. We went for new only because we couldn't find a used 9.9 for anywhere near affordable so, we treated ourselves this one time.
Here's what we got:
Tohatsu MFS9.8A3EFS 4-Stroke
New dingy and new engine
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08MAR08 Well, it's been a while since I did an update. The floor boards are all stripped, cleaned and have 3 coats of "Ultimate Sole" on them. I'm very impressed with the outcome but am a bit worried about the effect the dogs claws will have on the finished surface. I don't want to have to do this ever third year.
..
Bethany and I have made some plans for the summer get away. We're trying to do a week long cruise together again. I think we'll set our sights on Rockport or Camden this time. Of course it will be up to the weather as always. We are thinking of two weeks before the fourth of July for this year.
I'm going to try and get some Wednesday night races in at CBYC if I can find someone who will take me as crew. I don't really want to put my boat in the races yet as I don't know a lot of the rules and etiquette required of a skippering in a race. I'll start with crewing if I can. If not, I may get someone who knows racing to join me and show me the ropes on my boat. I don't know yet.
Another couple projects:
1) Buff is going to make some lifeline cushions for port and starboard in the cockpit. They run about $30 a piece and we need 4. She can make them for about 6$ a piece. I'll snap some pictures while she's working.
2) I'm going to try and make some kind of stern rail seats. Again these are items found on expensive boats with the stainless steel transom rail wound around a seat perched up above the transom. I'll make some patterns out of plywood to see if I can get a good design and then I'll make it out of sea board for the final version.
3) I need to get into the rear compartment and do a bleach cleaning. I don't like the smell I get from back there. It's just the vent from the bilge combined with a leaky cockpit drain but I would feel better knowing it's cleaned out and isn't going to cause problems later on. Likewise, the steering cables need to be tightened up and lubed this year. While I'm scrunched up in a ball back there I can take a look at the Steering Quadrant and make sure it's going to hold for another year. Eventually I'll need to replace it with a new one from Edson.
3) Our new dingy is exactly what we wanted. The problems are now that we'll have to fork over more money to keep it at the marina and we should really get an engine for it. Engine will set us back more than we really want to spend but we may just have to find a way. I suppose this is the down side of having a nice Rigid Hull Inflatable tender, now we can't skimp on a crappy old motor to match our crappy old tub of a tender. We'll figure it out.
4) I want to organize a trip with the guys. I'd love to make it an overnight sailing thing. As in sailing all through the night. Now, to any seasoned sailor this probably seems trivial. To sail through the night is something everyone does, only power boaters lay over and wait for dawn. I've never had the need or crew available to do this. My hope is to get Jeff and Andy (both able bodied sailors) and maybe some more crew to head north on an overnight. No real route planned but with good wind and average seas, we could make a hell of a trip out of a long weekend. It will have to be early or late in the season so the dates don't conflict with planned trips and stuff but. we'll see.
Varnishing Sole
and some notes
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11JAN08 I've taken off all the floor boards to get something done. Below are the links to the pictures.
Stripping sole
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07DEC07 Not a damn thing has been done! Thanks Brian for reminding me to update this site every once and a while. I'll get the floor boards off and get some pre work pic's and then get to work.
Merry Christmas!
Nothing done
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26OCT07 All winterized! That's it. She's covered, flushed, packed up and ready to sit. We'll see how she comes though in the spring. Until then I have a couple projects: dismantle the heat exchanger and clean the tubes, Replace the thermostat, remove and refinish all the floor boards.
That should be good for now.. I've updated the to do list and the other tabs in the spread sheet.
Ready to wait
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17OCT07 Haul date! I had taken the day off on Monday to get the mast taken down. I didn't have any problems except that I need to remember to cover the mast inside the cabin with something to protect it while being pulled up through the cabin top collar. It got scratched a bit on the way up.
Other than that the haul out went with out an issue. I did hear some cracking going on in the quarter berth. I'll need to re-enforce that area for the haul in and out.
Next is to the cover,
Maintenance
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06OCT0707 Bethany and I called up a bunch of friends to go sailing. We're so last minute that only a couple of her girlfriends could go and none of their guys. We met Abby and Dezi down at the boat on Saturday afternoon. Our intent was to make it out to Jewel Island and do a quick hike. We shoved off and made our way toward Chandler Cove but the wind was a a bit weak behind the islands. We cheated and motored out through Hussey Sound and I tried to set sail again. The women were not very pleased with mother natures 2.5 knots so back to the motor. We dropped anchor and rowed to shore. The hike is very nice and it only took about an hour. The only thing we screwed up on was leaving the camera back on the boat. Here are some of the pictures we did take and you can always find the rest of the years pic's in the 2007 section.
After we got back to the boat we upped anchor and after rounding the corner of Cocktail Cove we set sail once again. 3kts and down came the sails.
day sail
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05OCT07 Just got back from another trip and I got a bunch of pre-winterization work done on the boat. I changed out the water/antifreeze mix and flushed the system as best I could. Then I changed out the fuel filter in the Racor. I had a replacement filter for the system but it was a different rating. The one in the system was a 2 micron and the replacement I had on hand was a 10 micron. I had read somewhere that the smart thing to do was to have a 10 micron in the Racor and a 2 micron in the on engine filter. That way, the particles that make it through the 10m get caught up in the 2m. When I asked my dad about this, he said that there is no micron rating for the "on engine filter" that I get from Torrsen Marine. It is a "Yanmar" product. So his advice is to put a 2 micron filter in the Racor and filter out as much junk as possible, change the filter yearly and keep up with the change and bleeding the air out.
Then I ran the engine to be sure I had all of the air out of the lines and to move around and heat up the transmission fluid. Once it settled back down in the bottom of the pan, I used my new system to get it out. It's a Liqui-Vac and it worked awesome for the transmission fluid. I'll have to find a brass tube to get down in the bottom of the engine pan.
That it for now, now to go sailing.
Maintenance
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23SEP07 Bethany's brother Christian and I went out for a turn around the bay on a lazy Sunday afternoon. This was the first time I've towed the new dingy. It didn't track away from the boat too bad. We went out around Cushing and Peaks and then back in through Diamond pass.
day sail
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14SEP07 I'm in England. I'm very ready to be home now. Nothing worse than having to go TDY (Military trips) at the end of the sailing season. I'm going a bit stir crazy as far as sailing goes. We've bought a new dingy! I finally got so fed up looking like an idiot while we're almost swamping the dingy loaded down with Bethany, myself and the two dogs. We were looking at an Achilles and were not sure what size to get. I knew we wanted a RIB. (Rigid-hull Inflatable Boat) And my father filled me in to the material needs. He told me to keep and eye out for Hypalon and not to get one made of PVC. It sounds easy but Zodiac and Avon are big names but are made of both materials. I was told (and did research to confirm) that Achilles is one of the best. And like all things built by a big company, there are good and great models. The final decision was to go big or go home. We went big in the sense of $$ and product. It is an Achilles HB-315 DX 2007. The idea is that we'll have it for 10+ years and that is going to have to include kids, getting to a mooring with gear and wanting to put some good size power on the thing. So, it made sense to get it right the first time.
16Sep07 I'm on my way home!! This "flying over the Atlantic" stuff is only really good for getting updates done on this site. It keeps me thinking about what needs to be done and what costs to much $$ to do. So here we go with a quick look at the TO DO List
Flush the Coolant system in the engine.(don't forget the anti-freeze)Start the inside varnishing process, 5F5 then satin varnish
Clean out the Transom Compartment.
Wire in a 12VDC outlet at the Cockpit.
I hope we have a couple more nice weekend days for Buff and I to get out on the water. She's not really a "Cold Weather" sailor. I'll see what I can do to convince her that it will be fun to be out there, bundled up and drinking Hot Choc. Maybe.
Updated "To Do" list
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05Sep07 At work, we had guests come out to Portland to have a couple meetings. They are the management behind the job I do. One is a Captain in the Air force and one is a Contractor, (retired AF too). Also it was the first time I had Don and John from work out on the boat. We met down at the boat at about 1730 and set sail right away. Bethany couldn't make it so it was up to me to first teach everyone how do work the winches and explain the sailing basics. We were on a great reach from the harbor out toward Peaks but when we rounded Little Diamond Isle in to Diamond pass we stalled out. Down came the sails and we motored up the pass and into Diamond Cove to eat at Diamond's Edge, (the super fancy restaurant). The dock guy showed us to a slip and collected our $5.00 for dockage. I was under the assumption that it was free to dock if you ate at the restaurant Wrong. The Docks all had to be rebuilt a couple years ago and now they charge. The food was very good and we had an awesome view of the Cove while eating on the deck. By the time we shoved off for the return trip it was full dark out. I posted John on the bow to keep an eye for lobster pots and off we went. We didn't have any problems and encountered very few pots off the bow. The landing was a bit cockeyed but for not having my normal crew aboard and being very dark, I did all right getting back into the slip.
I think I'll try out a night sail this fall if I can schedule it. Maybe grab Andy, Jeff and whoever else wants to come. Head out friday after work and sail through the night off shore. Anchor in the morning and come back later that day, through the night. If we do it in shifts, it will be manageable. We'll see.
I'm off to England for another trip. I'm headed to RAF Croughton to do some work on the Satellite system they have set up over there. I'll grab some picks if I can.
Sailing for work
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02Sep07 Andy and Kate met us down at the boat on Friday the 31st to head up to the Basin for the weekend. The plan was to try and make it to Snow Island on the first night but it just wasn't meant to be. We pulled in to Cocktail Cove with the intent to anchor but the wind was out of the North, (kind of rare) and was funneling in to the cove. If we were to drag our anchor, we would be on the beach in short order. Needless to say we did a quick turn around the cove and off we went. We headed over to Potts Harbor in search of the mooring we used while staying with Bethany's family. Once we got over there we took out the big search light and found/hooked up the mooring with out issue. We played Scrabble and then crashed out. I think Andy had a bit more Vodka than he thought he did because the headache the next day looked like it hurt. (*No mention here to my matching headache*) We sailed from there out around Harpswell neck and out past Ragged Island. We had to start motoring early because the wind and our course matched up. It was about noon when we dropped and set the hook in our spot in the Basin. We just sat around and lounged. Again cursing the dingy for making a ton of noise on the way up, (due to a square nose and triple keel setup) and the fact that if you put two adults in it you can't evenly distribute the weight to ride even. It becomes a choice of "Bow in the Air" or "Bow in the water". Piece of junk. I swear I'll have to get a new one soon. Bethany and I rowed out to the Pond out Back and collected some mussels for Kate and Andy to cook for an appetizer. That is a long way to row. That night we had fajita's for dinner, (a boat first for us) and played some cards.
The next morning we left the Basin at about 9am and headed back out into the river. We, (really I mean "I") made the mistake of trying to weave through the islands again instead of heading out to Ragged Island and I don't think I'll forget again. Nor will Bethany let me forget, we had a hell of a time doing quick tacks between reefs, rocks and islands to get out to open water. We came back by way of Pumpkin Nob and finished up a great trip. I think Kate enjoyed her first time out on the boat for an overnight. <<<Here's the Chart>>>
Labor day weekend sail
with Andy and Kate.
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30AUG07 The weekend after the honeymoon, Bethany and I went out for the weekend. We left the dock later than planned and it was really blowing out. We only got as far as Sand Island, (behind Hope Isle.) before the sun started to set and the dogs needed to go to shore. Sand Island is a private island with nothing but. . you got it, Sand. There is a nice beach and fire pit on the West side of the island. The private signs all over it stress that fact that the owners are not a fault for anything stupid you do, other than that, relax away. We grabbed a mooring and went to bed right after we were done cleaning up from dinner. The next day we learned how stressful it can be trying to sail off of a mooring in 20kts of wind in front of a lee shore. The boat does not respond well with no headway. Once we were underway we only had the Genny out and we topped out at 8.2kts. That's big with only one sail out. We made our way to the Basin and when we finally had the anchor down, we spent some time just hanging out and relaxing. We took the boys to shore for a hike out back to the tidal pond. This is neat spot where, at high tide, the water fills a secondary pond. Then at mid-fall of the tide it empty's out over as series of mussel covered rapids. It's a neat spot. On this row to shore we realized once again how ridiculous we look in out P.O.S dingy with the dogs. We have the $$ for a RIB but I've been dragging my feet in getting one. In the morning we learned yet another lesson that we will come to follow in the future. When leaving the basin, don't weave to the east trying to get a good line inside the islands back toward Harpswell. It is a maze of dead end passage ways and reefs. Just take the outside line back by Ragged Island and be done with it. --- Over all we had a good time but we need to get more of our friends out with us on these overnights.
Sand Isle and the Basin
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13AUG07 Headed home from St, Lucia. We took the shuttle service from the top of the island where we were staying at the Sandals Grand down to the bottom of the island to the Airport. When we got to the airport we found out that the flight to Miami will be delayed several hours and will make everyone miss their connections. So, we wait. Then, after about 3 hours of waiting, we hear that the flight is canceled! We ran down to the counter to avoid the huge line again and found out that the flight is coming in but due to maintenance issues, will not be leaving until early Tuesday morning. Now were in the hotel in St Lucia and it is really pretty nice. It's another "All inclusive Resort" so all the food and booze is free. The room isn't as nice and the food wasn't very appealing but it isn't a nasty roach motel either. We'll see what the morning brings us but were hoping to be out on the water this coming week end.. see ya.
End of honeymoon
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01AUG07 Bethany and I finished all that we had left to do for the actual wedding. We still had packing and stuff to do but it could wait for a good sail. We met my family, (Erin, Ben Mom and Dad <Bruno wasn't here yet.>) at the boat, we got out of the slip and underway. We reached across the bay out to Peaks Island, from there we went through Pumpkin Nob and Peaks and rounded Long Island out side of Hussey Sound. We dropped the sails outside the entrance to Squeaky Beach and motored in. We set the hook in the bay with one other boat. I took a video of my parents, Erin and Ben all in the row boat headed to shore. **Right Click** here to save off the Video.
Then Erin came back out to pick us up and we walked around the beach for a bit. It was a bit cold out to go swimming, so we just beach combed for a while and then back to the boat. We got back underway and sailed back to the marina. And that was it for our sailing before the wedding. We all had a chance to catch up and the only one missing from our family was Bruno. He came later in the weekend and popped over to the boat on Sunday after the wedding with Erin. They did a "once over" just checking things out and seeing what we need. I'd love a new main sail but it's not really a need yet, still a want and as such, at the end of the "To Do List".
Leaving to get married!
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Late-JUL07 I hate trying to go back and remember what and when I went out. I need to be better at just throwing it down here when I'm done sailing.
Bethany and I took both of our parents out for a day sail a couple weekends ago. We had a blast. We went out through Chandler Cove and rounded Long Island. We went into Shark Cove (AKA Squeaky Beach) to take a look at where Bethany and family used to go while growing up. It is such a nice spot. Very, very crowded though. After that we went back into the Harbor and made for the marina. Good sail.
Then about a week ago, I took a Thursday off and we went back to Squeaky Beach with the dogs. It was awesome. We rowed into shore and let the dogs play. The water is nice and warm (yes, warm Maine water!) and we stayed for a couple hours. We've since decided that this is where we'll bring friends if we go out during the week. it is so nice.
My Bachelor party was on Sunday the 29th. It was just what I wanted, a group of guys hanging out and drinking. No strippers, no shots, no BS. We started off at the Indoor Cart Racing place in Scarborough, then into the OldPort for several beers. From there we went to the Boat and back to the OldPort but this time via the harbor. We docked at Flat Breads dock for a beer and then headed out towards Peaks for Reggie Fest. We stopped at the Peaks Island Boat Yard's dock to see what they charged. It's $10 an hour on Sunday afternoons. We paid and went up. Unfortunately the band was done and the bar wouldn't let us in. Ah well, we were about 30min too late. After a quick beer in the Inn we went back down to the boat and had a couple more beers. (I held off so I could see straight to get back in the slip at Sunset.) Overall It was a great day.
Then my father and I picked up his Bay Liner and went for a swim. We suited up and went for a look at his moorings off of fish point. We confirmed that the mooring that Paul is sitting on is good, patched some bad links in a friends mooring and found my fathers small mushroom. We hauled the small (150 lb) and brought it home to work on it.
Next? The Wedding is in 3 days. My sister the Racer is now in town so I think we'll go out sailing on Thursday if the wedding prep allows. Then I need to put some serious effort into putting the boat to bed for two weeks. Bungee's on the spring lines and all.
Wedding is coming up fast.
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20Jul 07 I picked up the bracket. I still need to drop by and give the guys at Tri-Tank a twenty spot. It looks great and they did an awesome job flattening it out and straightening it. I re-installed it in about an hour and a half and tuned up the rig.
I took some guys out for a sail the other day. Kenny Hayner, Adam Shub, Josh Reny and Andy all came out for a quick turn around the bay. It was a lot of fun having everyone out on the boat. Everyone had a job to do, from port winch to tacking the main traveler to main sheet adjustments. The down side was the direction of the wind. On the way out I was pushed in to the docks. I should have pulled more into the slip to get my stern pointed more upwind.
This weekend, we don't have a bunch of plans but several people want to go sailing and we would love to get out on the water. Even if nobody gets the coordination around to get out on the water with us were going to go out anyway. I've got some Preventative maintenance to do as well. The fluid in the transmission needs to be changed and the water in the engine should be flushed out as well. (Update to that.. I checked the fluids in the engine and it all looks good. I'll still have to do a flush on the Coolant system and see if I can get some more garbage out of the engine but it can wait till the end of the season.)
Fixed and ready
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11 Jul 07 | As we were getting off of the boat, I noticed the rub rail at the center of the transom looked a little funny. Not so funny was the stainless steel bracket that is cracked and needs to be taken off and welded. The back stay comes down and grabs onto a bar that is through bolted to this bracket. As of now the plan is to sail it back to Portland as is. Once I get back into port I'll rig up a temporary setup to hold the mast in place, (she's keel stepped so it shouldn't go anywhere but just to be sure), unbolt the bracket from the transom and bring it over to Tri-Tank to be welded and maybe even braced for additional support. I'll snap some pic's when I get a chance. Update to bracket: It was a bitch getting it off. It was also twisted, bent, buckeled and torn in a bunch of spots. I dropped it off on Friday right before they cloesd. The guy said that he would get to it on monday morning. I'm off to pick it up and re-install it. I never did get a pic of it because I was in so much of a rush. I'll update the cost sheet of my Maintenance Log when I get it. |
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Broken Bracket
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4-8JUL07 | We had a great time! It rained on us the majority of the time, the fog was so think we could only see a couple boat lengths around us and the 8 foot swells made us want to lose our breakfast over the side.! All in all; it was a blast. we walked around Boothbay Harbor, biked around some more. Tested out our dodger and our bimini, anchored out and got a whole bunch of sleep. Here is our overall progression on the boat.
Everything worked out for the best. Yes, it rained most of the time but it gave us a chance to use our new canvas dodger and bimini and they worked out very nicely. The anchor held like a champ and I'm now sold on the Claw design. Boothbay Harbor was very fun to visit but if the weather held anything but fog we would have gone further east to either Christmas Cove or up to Round Pond. Some lessons learned: 1. Need to have the laptop on board when were cruising. Mainly for route planning and getting a quick view on the charts. The GPS isn't very efficient for planning out a course over many miles and a lot of inlets and harbors. 2. Need to have a better Dingy setup. My fathers red dingy has a black boot stripe all around it and now the whole transom of the boat has a nice black smear all over it at dingy level. Also, stop frigging around with borrowed outboards. Buy something that works and is reliable. 3. Lazy jacks are a must now. I'll go with making my own but I'm going to do it right. 4. More games on board. It's tough getting my ass kicked over and over by Bethany at SkipBo. We need some scrabble or something. 5. Rain X or equivalent for the dodger. It gets hard to see much with the rain on the plastic windows, in the fog and trying to dodge lobster traps. 6. Cell phone charger on board. I bought one but forgot it in the truck. Oops. 7. Fog bell. When the fog rolls in, we were supposed to be sounding a bell or horn every minute. Without one, we just stood by with our air horn and gave a couple toots when we heard other boats in the fog. Not really the right thing to do. 8. The bikes are a pain in the ass to put on board. Some things to remember to make it less painful; Take the tires off, Clean everything - mud and grease, Clean chain and sprockets well, Align in V-berth so we can still see the water level in the tank below. 9. Water, we ran out of fresh water on the last night on the boat. |
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Big cruise (For us anyway)
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27JUN07 | This is the tentative schedule for our sailing trip, It will be adapted as needed but the main purpose it to figure out how much food to bring and give our parents a rough idea of where we will be on what days. Schedule: 4 th Wed Am – Leave Portland harbor <Lunch=onboard>
5 th Thurs Am - Wake BHYC <Breakfast=Onboard> Bike around town, <Lunch=Ashore> PM – Sail out to Christmas or Round pond <Dinner=onboard> At Anchor 6 th Friday AM – <Breakfast=Onboard> Open day for planning PM – <Dinner=onboard> Seguin ? Christmas Cove? Round Pond? 7 th Sat AM - <Breakfast/Lunch=Onboard> Sail to Sebasco Estates or Basin PM – Sebasco or Basin dinner 8 th Sunday Am - <Breakfast=Onboard> sail to Pott's harbor to meet up with family. PM – all ashore that's going ashore! 9 th Monday Am Ryan to work PM Ryan back to boat in Harpswell. Meal counts. Breakfasts onboard = 4 Lunch Onboard = 3 Dinner aboard = 3 Meals ashore 2-3 Pre-trip to do list: Dodger install=DONE; Bimini Install= DONE; Outboard fixed=DONE; Need to register dingy, install Dutchman, make lifeline cushions, sand and oil toe rails, Gas plumbing upgraded Don't forget to Pack: Spices to make fish edible, Lock for dingy, Dingy registration, Gas bottle backup for grill, books to read, allergy meds, spare fuel for outboard.
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| More Planning
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26JUN07 | Evening sail out to Cow and back. One of Bethany’s friend came up to visit and really wanted to go out sailing. Unfortunately Buff had dance class so Andy and I took her friend Kim out sailing. It was blowing a steady 12 knots out of the Southeast. We started out just heading down wind to get out of the harbor and we just held on to the tack for as long as we could. On land it was nearing mid 90’s and was very humid. Out on the water was very comfortable. Kim got to hang out and soak up some sun. We rounded up on the wind and reached over to Falmouth Foreside to start the beating process back to the marina. Andy broke out the camera as the sun started to drop. Here are a couple shots but the rest are in the 2007 Pictures folder.
We de-rigged and motored back into the harbor but the music from The Port Hole was thumping so we went over for a look. Scott had his Pearson 10M up at the dock so he must have been up there but it was packed. We popped up the slipway and turned around next to the port hole. I wish we could have stayed. I’ll have to get Scotts # at some point. |
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| Evening sail to Cow
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22JUN07 | Andy, Bethany and I took an after work sail out to Little Chebeuge. There is a nice spot to anchor in Chandler's Cove and dingy in to shore. We walked the dogs around the beach for a bit and then headed back to the boat. The new, (new to us) dingy and engine worked out great! I love having an inflatable, we can sit anywhere and the dogs love it too. We used the swim platform for the first time too!. The only down side is getting back into the slip with the dingy hooked to the boat. It wouldn't go where we wanted it to. It made for an ugly docking. When we finally got tied up and bedded down, my slip neighbor asked if I would dive on his prop. I had no tanks full but offered to do it as soon as I could. Saturday morning I was in the water by 0745 clearing his prop. He had tangled line and some toggles around one of his props. I'm going to offer two prices for doing it, one full price and the other is half price with a slip swap. I'd love to have his slip, then I could pull in bow first to tie up. Everything would be easier, I think. We'll see. |
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| Anchoring at Little Chebegue
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18JUN07 | The big plan for our Annual Harpswell trip. Here is the background, every year the Haynes and Hybian families rent a house on the water at Potts Harbor in Harpswell for the 4 th of July week. Bethany and I bring the sailboat up and use one of the moorings out in front of the house. This year the week of the 4 th is not available so were going to do it the week after. This means that Bethany and I have almost a week to cruise the coast before we need to meet her family at Harpswell. The hard part is that the 4 th of July is going to be booked up for the night at anywhere we would want to moor. I'm trying to get a mooring at the Spruce Point Inn where were getting married this summer but it's not looking good. I'm going to research my cruising guides for a list of Gunkholes (calm spots that are hard to find) up the coast of Maine . I'll try and put together a rough outline of a plan and just keep the options open. Were going to have Andy stay at our house for the week to watch the dogs. The dogs are a big part of our daysails and overnights but a 5 to 6 day trip will be so much harder if they come along. No popping into a resteraunt that looks neat. No spending the whole day sailing and just drop anchor and go to bed, we would have to row the dogs to shore to poop, pee and get some exercise before going to bed. We'll have Buff's parents get the dogs on the way to Harpswell so we can have them up there that week.
Boat stuff I want to have done before we go: Dutchman installed, Dodger installed, Bimini ready to put on, Toe rails sanded and oiled, Outboard fixed and running well. |
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| Planning update
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15JUN07 | I had company here for work. They were from St. Louis and had never been out sailing. Andy and I met down at the marina at 4pm on Friday and rigged up the boat. We motored over to the public dock way up inside, next to Ri~RA to pick them up. Ernie, Sonja and Tony hopped on board and we had sail up before we rounded the State Pier. We set off toward the Head Light for them to get the usual tourist view. It was nice and breezy and we hit 7.2 knots at one point. Just as we came even with WhiteHead Passage, we decided to make a turn around some of the islands. The wind was very nice inside the islands. We were able to sail right through WhiteHead without a problem. As we left the passage, the wind started to die down a bit and so we poped over on a port tack to reach between Ram Island and Cushing. Sonja had a video camera and was taping and snapping pic's all along, she is going to try and send me a disk with all of it when she gets a chance. We rounded Cushing back into the main channel for a Wing-on_Wing run down to Spring Point light. We dropped them back off at the dock and wrapped the boat up on the way back to the marina. |
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| turn around the bay
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10 JUN 07 | Bethany and I took the boat out for a morning to afternoon sail. We pushed off the dock around lunch time and headed out the main channel. The winds were coming straight in through the channel, (South-South-east). We did a bit of tacking to get out past the headlight and then the wind died down to about nothing. We floated off the southern side of Ram Island Light for a bit then headed toward Whitehead passage. As we rounded the end of Peaks Island we heard the Reggae Music from Jones Landing. There were a couple sail boats at anchor off the beach just outside the anchorage and we took note. Wouldn't it be fun to get a bunch of people out and relax in front of the landing? Dingy in to the beach for a drink or two. Walk around a bit. Maybe later in the summer. We went back to the marina and called it a day at about 5pm. |
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| Sunday afternoon sail
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06 JUN 07 | Sailing! Andy and I took the boat out for a quick sail in the harbor. We motored out to mid channel and then threw up the main and rolled out the Genoa . The "Slide ALL" I put in the mast for the slugs to rub on worked great. It went up without an issue. We headed over to meet up with the Saucy Fox over between Gorges and Mackworth. The winds were annoyingly light and it made for a very slow mile to get around fish point. We were on an intercept course with the FOX, pushing at about 1.5 knots and made the decision to drop the sails and just motor. As I lowered the main, I realized that I had forgotten the battens! I grabbed them from below and by the time I got them all in, the wind cranked up and steadied out. We threw the main back up and heeled right over. It was nice to get some speed up. We tacked back and fourth with Jeff on the FOX for a bit then headed back through the CBYC races to get to the marina. Good Shake out sail. |
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Sailing!
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03 JUN 07 | Well, she's in. Bethany and I worked some long hours cleaning and loading stuff up on the boat. I'm now a believer in unloading EVERYTHING from the boat in the fall, to include parts and supplies. Inventorying, cleaning and or replacing what's needed and then start to work on what whatever project is underway. That way I'm not shuffling everything around. Trying to make space, I know what everything is for and there is no excess. This spring we went through the “did we even use that last season” challenge. For instance: A tea kettle. I used it to boil water for my coffee, her tea and for having hot water while at anchor without running the engine. Yes, I used it. However, we pitched it. The reason is that you can't clean out the tea kettle, we already have pots on board that we can boil water in and it took up a good amount of space. We did that over and over with everything onboard. Just because I have spare hardware for the boat, doesn't mean it needs to be stored on the boat. The pickup went better than I could have hoped for. The crushed rock I put down two years ago turned out to be great for keeping the boat from sinking into the lawn but the tires of the big trailer were pushing up the crushed rock like sand. So, Andy and I put in a double row of retaining wall stones to act as treads for the tires. Worked perfect. The Launch went very well. The engine fired up really easy. I docked the boat at PYS and picked up Bethany and the dogs. We idled there for a bit then headed over to Sunset Marina in SP. We docked like we were old pros. I brought Bethany back over to her car and when I got back to the boat, Carter Becker had just shown up to step my mast. It all went very well. No big issues with the rigging. I do need to get my hands on some white leather or white canvas material so I can make some boots for all the turnbuckles. I'll sew Velcro on to them so I can pop them off when I need to. The sails went up without much issue. The electrical on the mast is all wired and working. The only big things left to do are updated on the “To Do” list. Here is a summary:
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She's in!
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16MAY07 | I was home for a good span after Kansas getting work done on the boat. I'll see if I can remember what I did. I got the Gudgeons mounted to the transom, I built two versions of the attachment brackets,( one didn't work out so well.) I got two sections of toe rail mounted to the Starboard side, (Stopped there because the mast cradle is in the way.) I ground out and filled the Starboard side damage. I painted the fill areas and sanded and painted again. I removed the bow rail completely. Chewed out the core of the holes and re-filled them with High-Density Filler and epoxy. I then re drilled the holes and remounted the bow rail. This time with 5200 as a sealant and I used marine lumber as backing plates and nylock nuts for holding everything in place. I had to cut an access hole in the Quarter Berth for tightening down the bolts for the swim platform on the Starboard side of the transom. It worked out just fine but now I have a nice size hole to make a cover for. I'll make some storage bunks in there for keeping some totes. The cover I have all mapped out in my head. Here's my TO DO list for launching the boat:
That should be good for now. If I can get that done before the launch date of June 1st, I'll be happy. I'm going to try and get it all done this weekend or early in the week so I can be on a "standby" list for the pre-memorial day rush at Dayton Marine (boat haulers). |
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On a trip again. North Carolina
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23APR07 | Well, I got some work done on the boat but not much. It's been rather hectic getting ready for another work trip to Kansas and the first few nice days. I got a lot of needed work done around the house. The yards re-seeded and all the storm debris picked up. I did finish the outlet on the boat for the DVD/TV. I've also bought a bunch of small items that I needed for the boat. I also volunteered to work on my parents electrical system on The Elegant Lady. I'll add all the notes and pictures in the folder under Pictures\Elegant lady It won't be an overly hard project, The system is rather stripped down from what it originally was. There are only about 6 circuits to deal with, it's all the "future expansion" that I'll need to plan for. Bethany finished one of the screens for the boat! It looks awesome!. We decided to go with Velcro instead of snaps. That way the screen is about flush with the trim, No space for bugs to get in around the edges. I'll get pictures on here in a bit. When I get back I'll start on the hookups for the swim platform. The to do list has been updated with times as well. Here is the "Walk Around Video" I didn't explain anything on the video but you can get a quick vies of some of the work going on. {You may want to do a "Right click > Save As" instead of watching it over the web}
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On a trip again. Kansas
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15APR07 | Working on the flat screen and DVD player power. I need to install another power outlet on the wall that the TV is mounted to. Then I need to wire the whole thing up. I've got a start on the electronics set up. You can see a bit more by going to the Projects page again.
I finished getting the Transducer for the Depth sounder installed and gooped in. I used a grinder with a sanding pad to get all the bottom paint off around the hole. That way the 3M 5200 sticks to the hull and not some bottom paint. Then I used a Roto Zip to clean out the sides of the hole, there was a lot of left over 5200 type stuff around the edges. Then it's a simple matter of gooping the ducer, the hole and then tighten the whole thing up. Then a little more goop around the edges to be super sure. nmea 0813 |
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Small projects until it warms up.
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08APR07 | The Engine runs! I got everything going and it work out great. Then I killed it. You see, The on-engine fuel filter had never been changed (since I acquired the boat) The retaining ring was stuck and its location on the back of the engine prevented me from getting tools on it. I tried everything. Now, I said I Killed it because I removed the whole "Air Tight" thing buy opening up the Secondary (On engine) fuel filter to replace the element. I had to take the whole housing off the engine and put it in a vice to get it to open but all is well. After that, I bled the system of air and fired it up. It worked great. Now it's just working on small project to get some stuff accomplished. Check out the To Do List for an update of that crap. I took a quick video of the interior, just to have a snap shot of it. I'll post it when I get it edited. This is what Bethany is working on for us. Screens for the inside of the hatches. They'll be snap on type. The ones sold at Hamilton for this type of hatch can only be put in when the hatch is open. To close the hatch you must remove the screen. What a silly design. Ours will snap on the inside of the of the boat around the hatch's trim.
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It's alive! Progress
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26MAR07 | I put the batteries back on board and wired them back into the system. Then I installed the Engine panel in the boat, fully wired it and it all seems to work great. I turned the engine over once or twice to be sure it all worked. bought and installed a new (23') "pull to stop" cable from Torresen Marine. Diesel need a lot of air to run properly. I can't remember the stats but I'll have to look it up and post it here. So, I found the duct that runs from the transom gunnel (deck fitting) to the engine compartment. It had no blower or anything so I built one. I had an old blower that I had to put a new fan into. Then I put a directional fan in to blow more air toward the intake. Right now I have no idea how much it will affect the running of the engine but it can't hurt. The real worry is the condition of the engine. Last summer I had worked on the "fresh water" system in the engine. It's the 50/50 mix of fresh water and antifreeze that keeps the engine cool and the hot water tank, hot. Then the "Raw Water" system is the Sea Water that is pumped into the engine to cool the Fresh water. This way you don't have Sea water running though all that metal, only a small portion called the Heat Exchanger. I had flushed the system several times and put just 100% water back in. It ran great and I had no more problems. The problem is that my "winterizing list" didn't say anything about ensuring the mix in the fresh water side is correct for "Deep Freeze" protection. It only talked about the Raw Water side. So, mid-winter I realized my mistake, heated up the engine with an electric heater and pumped a bunch of anti-freeze through the system. I just don't know if I got to it in time. The worst case scenario is that the Ice that formed had cracked the engine block and the engine is junked. Next is that a "freeze" plug was pushed out and I'll have to figure out how to fix that. Another could be a breach in the heat exchanger that allows Raw water in to the Fresh water. Best case scenario is that I need to do nothing more than write it down here so I never forget to check it again. The engine will run great and I'll pay super close attention to the cooling system. As well I'm going to pull out the heat exchanger and clean/inspect it as best I can. Either way I'm stuck for a week, I'm headed to St. Louis for a work trip with John. While I'm gone I need to get the alternator bracket welded so I can run the engine. Bethany got me a 7.1 megapixel, waterproof, digital camera for my birthday! I'll have all kinds of nice pictures to post here this summer. |
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Batteries, fans and Engine worries
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17MAR07 | I now have the engine panel all wire up and tested (as much as I can w/o the engine running). All the gauges fire up, the hour meter works, and the LEDs I wired in all come on as they should. Now I'm waiting on the engine stop cable to show up from Torresen Marine and I can install it all. The Oil and Temp gauges don't work yet, only the idiot light and the buzzer. I still need to get sender units from the on-line gauges store I found. (gaugesonly.com I think). As well, another issue is where to install the sender units on the engine. The current "Switch" type sender is in the spot where the gauge sender is supposed to go. Is there another place to put the gauge sender? Or could I do like my father suggested and "T" off the same port for both devices. More to follow on this. Here is the layout of the panel. I'll come back and add a picture in a bit. It's ordered chaos.
Next issues: I just removed the transducer for the Datamarine. Not all the way out but the big work of breaking it free from the hull and cleaning up the hole is done. Next I'll pull out the wire. The Transducer for the GSD20 Sonar is going up the keel where the engine stop cable is coming down, so I'll use it's pull string that I'll rig. Also a big issue is the dodger. It has a big rip in several spots. There is missing canvas as well where it ripped. One of the rips is at the merger of canvas and the Plastic Glass. (I think it's called Stratta Glass). So, I bought 2 yards of Sunbrella to repair the tears and get it back installed on the boat. We may hate having it in the way, we may love the added wind blocking and weather hideout. I have no Idea. I did get a Bimini with the boat that hooks on to the dodger and I'd love to have the option to put that up while at anchor or if we get caught in a rain storm while underway. So, when the material arrives I'll be a sewing fool for a couple days. I can't wait to see if it's something I can fix. It will save us upwards of $4K and bring the boat that much closer to the condition she was in pre-sinking. |
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Engine Panel done
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13MAR07 | It's been warm all week. I've gotten the missing handrails on the boat and another coat of Teaqua on all the rails. It works great to date. As well, the companion way steps were looking a little dried out so I slapped some oil on them too. Here are some pics: The work still continues on the installation on the new sonar/sounder. It's a GSD 20 that I got a a very good price off of E-Bay. The only problem is that the cable that came with it has a non-standard color code. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal but the instructions read like this: "attach the orange wire to ground" Problem is that I don't have an orange wire on mine. After some calls to Garmin and Hamilton, this is what I came up with: This spec's out how to wire the 20 to my 182C and on to a laptop for nav below at the nav station. The eventual goal is get an autopilot, integrate it into the laptop and have the boat sails it's self on long passages and I can monitor everything from Depth, heading, speed and overall location. I'd love to get radar in the system but it's to much $$ to even think about. right now. Now I'm missing the Transducer for the GSD 20. I want a basic one and it looks like Garmin P/N 010-10218-00 or Airmar P/N P19 same thing, both for about $130.00 |
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Teaqua and Sonar
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10MAR07 | Today is the first day to get out of the single digits in a while and I'm going to take full advantage of it. I'll post more pictures tonight of what got done. The plan is to start sanding on the one deck grab rail that didn't get hit last year. Wack some Teaqua to it, this years coat of Teaqua on the PORT grab rails, and re install the Starboard grab rails. Then its up to the bow to start removing the mounting hardware for the bow pulpit (stainless rail). It's come un-beded from the deck and is allowing water (both rain and bigger waves) into the bilge. With the cover on I can't actually take it off and start re-bedding it but I can get some of the prep work done. What else? Let you know. |
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The temps are rising into the 30's!
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07MAR07 | So, here we are. Check out the updated "To Do List" . Now it's still cold up here in Maine(-5 to 5 or so), but the work is starting. One of the big issues is the engine control panel. It had no gauges, only idiot lights and a buzzer. Oh and a tach that didn't work. The root of the problem is that the panel sunk with the boat and all that salt water did some rather interesting things to the electronics. Now my father found an old panel that he had from the John Deere days. It was an oversized panel but it has all the gauges that a "Big Boy Boat Panel" would have on it. So I cut it down and re-engineered the location of most of the switches and added lights to some of the gauges for visual. take a look.
I'll get a sketch started soon so I can get the wiring straight in my head. I have the old panel to reference so it shouldn't be too hard. We'll see. |
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Start of the spring work
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28JJAN07 | Well, I lost some of the web site when I tried to transfer over to an Archived setup. The idea was that one years worth of logs would be here on the front page and I'd send the pervious years logs to the archived section. Mistakes were made, backup rolled. What I'm left with is to be found in the Archived Logs Page (Bottom of this page.) It runs from the sinking of the boat till about the middle of the sailing year.
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Web site update not much to report
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13NOV06 | The boat is home! It's been a while since I updated this site so here we go. The mast came out without a hitch. I'll need to remember next year to have a 2X6 across the Bow Pulpit and Stern Rail to distribute the weight. I don't like having the weight of the mast on the stainless rails. The Haul Out was very easy as well. The only lesson learned on that was to have strips of plywood ready for the wheels on the crushed rock pad at the house. The next item up for discussion is the new “To Do List” and the decision of where to go for dockage next year. Lets start with the dockage issue: Aspasia sucks but is really cheap. Any other place is a hell of a lot nicer and offers many more perks but is on average $1600.00 more. What is the dockside comfort worth? Do I really need any of the perks? The only thing that would be nice is someone actually looking after my boat while I'm not around. Someone looking at the lines and keeping an eye out. There is no one at Aspasia who is capable or even around during a storm. The to do list is growing again. Here are the basics: Engine winterize, Water systems winterized, boat covered, Swim Platform installed, Engine Instruments upgraded, Different VHF with external mic, Alternator bracket re-made, AC outlet wired at Nav station and tv wall, Inverter installed at panel, grab rails on Starboard side re-installed, Bell bought and installed, Life ring for stern bought and installed, ETC… As well a web site update is really needed. I'll move all the old logs to an Archived section. That way the main page will load faster. I'll rethink the Flash introduction too. I'll need to get the Before and After page updated with the final Pics.
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Boat is Home, What to do?
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