Saturday, November 29, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Up the mast
Went up the mast again this weekend. Fixed a lead line that had jumped off a sheave, lubed up the sheave bearings and wiped of some of the rust from the standing rigging.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
New Bar
Debbie took out a Club Nautique boat this weekend in preparation for her final coastal passaging test.
We sailed from Ballena to SF and stopped for a beer at the Bay View Boat Club. Bar's nice. Boat owners and members only. Not much draft - 4-5ft at MLLW, so only time for a quickie.
Map
We sailed from Ballena to SF and stopped for a beer at the Bay View Boat Club. Bar's nice. Boat owners and members only. Not much draft - 4-5ft at MLLW, so only time for a quickie.
Map
Monday, October 27, 2008
New Boot
When I had my mast pulled, the yard did a crappy job with the mast boot. It split before they finished the other work and the repaired version pulled away from the mast collar after about a month.
With the rain coming, Wendy and I made some time to seal up the hole. We bent a strip of inner tube over a pipe clamp and sealed between the mast and the rubber with silicone.
With the rain coming, Wendy and I made some time to seal up the hole. We bent a strip of inner tube over a pipe clamp and sealed between the mast and the rubber with silicone.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Off to the Drag Races -- The Great Pumpkin Race on Luna Sea
Wendy, Debbie, Jim and I jumped on Dan Knox's Islander 34 (Luna Sea) for the Great Pumpkin Race. I borrowed Jim's dress -- sparkled like a disco ball. Liberating and breezy -- prevents overheating while grinding.
We took 3rd place overall for the day.
We took 3rd place overall for the day.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Inedible art...
At the pumpkin carving contest last weekend someone submitted a pumpkin shaped into a pair of hands squeezing a poop from a buthole. Many people disapproved (they pooh-poohed). I thought it was a stroke of genius. Here's more of the same....
http://sprinklebrigade.com/ turns dog poop in to art.
If you didn't think much of that either, then check out:
http://www.wambie.com/foto_br-272.html turns fruit into carved art.
http://sprinklebrigade.com/ turns dog poop in to art.
If you didn't think much of that either, then check out:
http://www.wambie.com/foto_br-272.html turns fruit into carved art.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Pumpkin Fest Sail to Half Moon Bay
Wendy and I sailed down to Half Moon Bay with Club Nautique this weekend. We met up with the Bear Boat crew in Sausalito on Thursday. We hadn't met the others and were relieved to find that the skipper (Steve) and the other crew (Jim and Mike) were the fun and mostly sane people they seemed like in their emails.
On our previous outing out of the gate, we've both had rough rides in the past. Today though, the weather was fine, clear and warm. We left the dock around 8am on Friday, ran the mile and met the club's flotilla of 14 boats going out of the Gate. Within about an hour, the wind died and we gave up the race, motoring the rest of the way to Pillar Point. For about half an hour on the way, we were surrounded by ten or more porpoises -- seems they're attracted to the sounds of The Police. Another boat we spoke to later said they also saw a sunfish floating around on the surface.
We got some CoNav practice on the way down and back. I sat the course two years ago but got deported before I finished and never got around to taking the test. Someday...
At Half Moon Bay, we checked out the yatch club and a then couple of the local bars. At the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, a mom and son balloon twisting team were doing the rounds and provided entertainment for a couple of hours while we sat around the firepit. This was entertaining not because anyone was particularly interested in balloon twisting but because of the curious mom-and-son-in-trade partnership. Mom was busy teaching the higher level points of balloon twisting (minimize balloon usage, visit as many punters as possible, find a hook and don't waste time if they're not going to shell out cash) . Later in the night the appearance of a older man in a checkered suit whom we all took to be some kind of balloon twister's pimp only added to the interest. As with flower sellers, some people don't take kindly to being harassed away from their beers or made to look cheap in front of their partners. We weren't sure whether the guy in the suit was just the father of the family, or whether his appearance meant that someone had refused to pay for their giant balloon beer mug and were about to receive an education on the advanced applications of high-speed balloon inflating pumps.
Next, we made our way to the Old Princeton Landing. This is more of locals bar and chock full of crazy characters. Jim convinced one of the locals tried to smoke a tampon. Later when he stood up next to me I came face to face with his penis poking out of a slit in his jeans that looked like it was there to, well I don't know, attract the ladies?
Friday night was a late night. We got up too late on Saturday to get to the Pumpkin festival, and in any case, I had other plans. Saturday was my dad's birthday. He died last year. I collected some flowers, made a posy, and Steve let us take the boat out for a short while so that I could drop them in the sea. So long dad. Happy birthday.
On Saturday afternoon the club arranged a cocktail contest. Jim cooked up BearBoat's entry: a hot mix of spiced rum, Goldschläger and hard cider. Delicious. We named it the "Pan Galatic Schlager Baster." And, later, "Pretty on the Inside" after we realized that the drunks were having problems casting their votes for our first name. Shockingly we failed to place in the cocktail contest. I suspect that some people took offense at Wendy's and my OCSC caps. Some Club Nautique scapegrace swiped them off our heads never to be seen again. I guess that's what we get.
Despite this perversion in the judging, our "Mike the Knife" managed to snag first place in the pumpkin carving for the second year running.
During the judging at the yacht club, I found a litter of feral kittens living in the rocks. Cute, cute, cute. I suspect they won't last through winter though unless someone takes them in.
On Sunday morning, we ate breakfast and then made our way back to San Francisco. No winds again so we motored the whole distance. We heard mayday reports from the Coast Guard of a capsized sailboat outside of Horseshoe Cove - interesting especially because that's where one of the Coast Guard stations is. Maybe they slept in.
When we got through the gate we saw another sailboat playing chicken with an oil tanker. It sailed in its path, tacked, fouled the jib and hung out in the shipping channel while we watched on and the tanker weighed around them, honking the whole way. Stupid.
Awesome weekend. Thanks guys.
Travelled: 60nm
Days aboard: 4
Night hours underway: 0
Items Lost: cell phone, car keys, hats, dignity
On our previous outing out of the gate, we've both had rough rides in the past. Today though, the weather was fine, clear and warm. We left the dock around 8am on Friday, ran the mile and met the club's flotilla of 14 boats going out of the Gate. Within about an hour, the wind died and we gave up the race, motoring the rest of the way to Pillar Point. For about half an hour on the way, we were surrounded by ten or more porpoises -- seems they're attracted to the sounds of The Police. Another boat we spoke to later said they also saw a sunfish floating around on the surface.
We got some CoNav practice on the way down and back. I sat the course two years ago but got deported before I finished and never got around to taking the test. Someday...
At Half Moon Bay, we checked out the yatch club and a then couple of the local bars. At the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, a mom and son balloon twisting team were doing the rounds and provided entertainment for a couple of hours while we sat around the firepit. This was entertaining not because anyone was particularly interested in balloon twisting but because of the curious mom-and-son-in-trade partnership. Mom was busy teaching the higher level points of balloon twisting (minimize balloon usage, visit as many punters as possible, find a hook and don't waste time if they're not going to shell out cash) . Later in the night the appearance of a older man in a checkered suit whom we all took to be some kind of balloon twister's pimp only added to the interest. As with flower sellers, some people don't take kindly to being harassed away from their beers or made to look cheap in front of their partners. We weren't sure whether the guy in the suit was just the father of the family, or whether his appearance meant that someone had refused to pay for their giant balloon beer mug and were about to receive an education on the advanced applications of high-speed balloon inflating pumps.
Next, we made our way to the Old Princeton Landing. This is more of locals bar and chock full of crazy characters. Jim convinced one of the locals tried to smoke a tampon. Later when he stood up next to me I came face to face with his penis poking out of a slit in his jeans that looked like it was there to, well I don't know, attract the ladies?
Friday night was a late night. We got up too late on Saturday to get to the Pumpkin festival, and in any case, I had other plans. Saturday was my dad's birthday. He died last year. I collected some flowers, made a posy, and Steve let us take the boat out for a short while so that I could drop them in the sea. So long dad. Happy birthday.
On Saturday afternoon the club arranged a cocktail contest. Jim cooked up BearBoat's entry: a hot mix of spiced rum, Goldschläger and hard cider. Delicious. We named it the "Pan Galatic Schlager Baster." And, later, "Pretty on the Inside" after we realized that the drunks were having problems casting their votes for our first name. Shockingly we failed to place in the cocktail contest. I suspect that some people took offense at Wendy's and my OCSC caps. Some Club Nautique scapegrace swiped them off our heads never to be seen again. I guess that's what we get.
Despite this perversion in the judging, our "Mike the Knife" managed to snag first place in the pumpkin carving for the second year running.
During the judging at the yacht club, I found a litter of feral kittens living in the rocks. Cute, cute, cute. I suspect they won't last through winter though unless someone takes them in.
On Sunday morning, we ate breakfast and then made our way back to San Francisco. No winds again so we motored the whole distance. We heard mayday reports from the Coast Guard of a capsized sailboat outside of Horseshoe Cove - interesting especially because that's where one of the Coast Guard stations is. Maybe they slept in.
When we got through the gate we saw another sailboat playing chicken with an oil tanker. It sailed in its path, tacked, fouled the jib and hung out in the shipping channel while we watched on and the tanker weighed around them, honking the whole way. Stupid.
Awesome weekend. Thanks guys.
Travelled: 60nm
Days aboard: 4
Night hours underway: 0
Items Lost: cell phone, car keys, hats, dignity
Monday, October 13, 2008
Angel Island Burning (View From Emeryville)
After we were done sailing with Russ at Fleet Week, we went back to check on my boat at Emeryville. This was the view from the marina lawn.
You could see the trees exploding. Just one freakin huge bonfire.
You could see the trees exploding. Just one freakin huge bonfire.
Fleet Week on Good Grief
My engine's still being serviced so we we took up Russ' offer to go out for Fleet Week. He got a got in the action and out of traffic trouble all day long. Good work fella!
We had a ton of flyovers from where we were. Follow the link for more photos.
We had a ton of flyovers from where we were. Follow the link for more photos.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Strippers, Getting Head Action, Hot Nuts.
I started on stripping the combing around the cockpit yesterday so that I can sand it back and then oil and varnish it. I bought a copy of "Brightwork" which is a book singularly and obsessively devoted to topic of varnishing boats. I'm fairly sure the author must suffer from some kind of obsessive disorder, or at least have some kind of profileable psychological traits to have produced it. Either way -- it seems like a great book if you're interested in varnishing your boat.
The book strongly recommends stripping old varnish using a heat gun and a scrapper over sanding or chemicals. I started on this and progress was been surprisingly fast. However, scraping works best if the scrapper runs with the grain. Scraping around the grain lifts small splinters out of the grain that require removing more wood when sanding. Scraping around the hardware on the combing is a little problematic because of this. Since I'm taking off the old varnish I decided to take up all of the hardware on the combing (four winches and two compasses) and redo underneath these also. While the winches are removed, I can also do their annual service. I hoped that removing the hardware would make the varnishing job go quicker. However, as I removed one of my primary winches, I found it had been bedded down with some seriously heavy duty adhesive. In particular, the through-bolt threads were covered in the stuff and it took me all of Sunday to remove two of the four winches.
My big problem was that my heavy duty screwdriver (the biggest available) just didn't cut the mustard. In fact, trips to OSH, Home Depot and research on the Internet revealed that they don't even make screwdrivers large enough to properly fit the screws I have. The biggest I found (a #12) has a lot of wiggle room -- almost certain to lead to striping the screw head. My deck key fit the screw head perfectly but bent when I tried to use it. My crowbar also fit the screw's slot but was too long to fit into the recesses containing the screw heads.
It strikes me that screwdrivers are very poorly designed. Its impossible to get significant torque due to the relatively small diameters of screwdriver handles. A large lever arm is called for. A socket wrench would be perfect, but again, the small size bits available lead to stripping large screws. I tried making a lever arm for my screwdriver with my tapping tool -- my screwdriver was too bif. I taped silicone mats from the galley around the handle to increase its diameter. On top of that I added a towel and a tourniquet wrench (a rubber strip that wraps around objects and passes back through a handle to provide a lever). This helped a little but not enough. I tried "Liquid Wrench" to loosen then screws. This helped a little. I tried heating the bolt with my heat gun to melt the goop it is stuck in. No effect.
By around 6:30, by standing directly above the screws and applying all of my weight and twisting screwdriver's enlarged handle, I'd managed to remove four of the six bolts; one of remaining ones had budged by about 10 degrees and the other remained fixed. Worse, the heads of these were beginning to get severely striped, and my hands were both blistered and cramping up from sweating all day in the sun all day and so tightly gripping the screwdriver handle. I researched screw extractor tools. These seem to be last resort measures that often make matter worse by breaking themselves off in the screw. Maybe I'd have better luck from below.
I crawled back into the lazarette and tried bashing the bolts with a hammer in the vain hope of knocking something loose. No joy. I filed down two sides of a bolt's thread so that my monkey wrench could get purchase. This let me eke out an extra sixty degrees but further progress was halted by inside of the lazarette which blocked the wrench's handle. Without about two inches of thread exposed and probably 12 threads per inch, I calculated I would have to remove and reattach the monkey wrench 144 times to turn the bolt out from below. Not that it made any difference -- without being able to twist it ninety degrees, the bolt's new position didn't provide an access to file down more edges for the wrench.
If only there was some way of turning the bolt from below, I wouldn't have to worry about stripping the bolt's head. Think, think, think...
At around 7pm (I'd been working on this since midday) the answer hit me. I could could put a cap nut on the end of the bolt and tighten it. Because the cap is blocked by the end of the bolt, it can't twist up it and so turning the nut will torque the bolt. The long lever arm of my socket wrench would surely twist the bolt free.
If only I had a 3/8 cap nut. I checked my box o' bolts. I didn't. Rats.
I went scrounging for parts from the other boaters. The guy in the slip opposite had a really bright idea - put two nuts on the end of the bolt. The first nut stops the second from traveling up bolt and together they work like the a cap nut. A third nut in my the socket of my wrench stopped the sleeve of the socket reaching as far as the first nut and turning it. Brilliant!
Within about 5 minutes, I had the winch base all removed. When the last nut came out I was burning hot from friction.
Cool beer soothed my hot hands. Satisfaction? Not exactly. Tired and frustrated. Damn this boat. Every time I try to do something right for it, I end up bloodied and sweating.
The book strongly recommends stripping old varnish using a heat gun and a scrapper over sanding or chemicals. I started on this and progress was been surprisingly fast. However, scraping works best if the scrapper runs with the grain. Scraping around the grain lifts small splinters out of the grain that require removing more wood when sanding. Scraping around the hardware on the combing is a little problematic because of this. Since I'm taking off the old varnish I decided to take up all of the hardware on the combing (four winches and two compasses) and redo underneath these also. While the winches are removed, I can also do their annual service. I hoped that removing the hardware would make the varnishing job go quicker. However, as I removed one of my primary winches, I found it had been bedded down with some seriously heavy duty adhesive. In particular, the through-bolt threads were covered in the stuff and it took me all of Sunday to remove two of the four winches.
My big problem was that my heavy duty screwdriver (the biggest available) just didn't cut the mustard. In fact, trips to OSH, Home Depot and research on the Internet revealed that they don't even make screwdrivers large enough to properly fit the screws I have. The biggest I found (a #12) has a lot of wiggle room -- almost certain to lead to striping the screw head. My deck key fit the screw head perfectly but bent when I tried to use it. My crowbar also fit the screw's slot but was too long to fit into the recesses containing the screw heads.
It strikes me that screwdrivers are very poorly designed. Its impossible to get significant torque due to the relatively small diameters of screwdriver handles. A large lever arm is called for. A socket wrench would be perfect, but again, the small size bits available lead to stripping large screws. I tried making a lever arm for my screwdriver with my tapping tool -- my screwdriver was too bif. I taped silicone mats from the galley around the handle to increase its diameter. On top of that I added a towel and a tourniquet wrench (a rubber strip that wraps around objects and passes back through a handle to provide a lever). This helped a little but not enough. I tried "Liquid Wrench" to loosen then screws. This helped a little. I tried heating the bolt with my heat gun to melt the goop it is stuck in. No effect.
By around 6:30, by standing directly above the screws and applying all of my weight and twisting screwdriver's enlarged handle, I'd managed to remove four of the six bolts; one of remaining ones had budged by about 10 degrees and the other remained fixed. Worse, the heads of these were beginning to get severely striped, and my hands were both blistered and cramping up from sweating all day in the sun all day and so tightly gripping the screwdriver handle. I researched screw extractor tools. These seem to be last resort measures that often make matter worse by breaking themselves off in the screw. Maybe I'd have better luck from below.
I crawled back into the lazarette and tried bashing the bolts with a hammer in the vain hope of knocking something loose. No joy. I filed down two sides of a bolt's thread so that my monkey wrench could get purchase. This let me eke out an extra sixty degrees but further progress was halted by inside of the lazarette which blocked the wrench's handle. Without about two inches of thread exposed and probably 12 threads per inch, I calculated I would have to remove and reattach the monkey wrench 144 times to turn the bolt out from below. Not that it made any difference -- without being able to twist it ninety degrees, the bolt's new position didn't provide an access to file down more edges for the wrench.
If only there was some way of turning the bolt from below, I wouldn't have to worry about stripping the bolt's head. Think, think, think...
At around 7pm (I'd been working on this since midday) the answer hit me. I could could put a cap nut on the end of the bolt and tighten it. Because the cap is blocked by the end of the bolt, it can't twist up it and so turning the nut will torque the bolt. The long lever arm of my socket wrench would surely twist the bolt free.
If only I had a 3/8 cap nut. I checked my box o' bolts. I didn't. Rats.
I went scrounging for parts from the other boaters. The guy in the slip opposite had a really bright idea - put two nuts on the end of the bolt. The first nut stops the second from traveling up bolt and together they work like the a cap nut. A third nut in my the socket of my wrench stopped the sleeve of the socket reaching as far as the first nut and turning it. Brilliant!
Within about 5 minutes, I had the winch base all removed. When the last nut came out I was burning hot from friction.
Cool beer soothed my hot hands. Satisfaction? Not exactly. Tired and frustrated. Damn this boat. Every time I try to do something right for it, I end up bloodied and sweating.
Wood Care
Striping Varnish
Heat gun and scrapper works best.
Chemical stripper for fiddly part.
- 3M solvent resist
Use chemical stripper for stains.
- Moisten wood first
- Plastic brushes (nylon)
Sanding
- Double tape edge to avoid scratching get coat
- Grits 150-220
- Orbital finishing sander
Filler
- Collect sanding dust. Mix with epoxy (adds flexibilty to expoxy so it doesn't crack) "Cold Cure", "Hardman's". Clean area with lacquer thinner.
Oil. Light Tung oil with 300/400/600 grit 3M wet/dry
Sealer
Varnish
- Clean with mineral oil. With also expose defects in finish.
- Tack rags.
Heat gun and scrapper works best.
Chemical stripper for fiddly part.
- 3M solvent resist
Use chemical stripper for stains.
- Moisten wood first
- Plastic brushes (nylon)
Sanding
- Double tape edge to avoid scratching get coat
- Grits 150-220
- Orbital finishing sander
Filler
- Collect sanding dust. Mix with epoxy (adds flexibilty to expoxy so it doesn't crack) "Cold Cure", "Hardman's". Clean area with lacquer thinner.
Oil. Light Tung oil with 300/400/600 grit 3M wet/dry
Sealer
Varnish
- Clean with mineral oil. With also expose defects in finish.
- Tack rags.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Book Binding Fail
Got my copy of "The Complete Rigger's Apprentice" today. Full of great stuff.
The binding cracked me up though:
The binding cracked me up though:
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sail: Dude Sail (No. 2)
Wendy and I changed the oil the weekend before last. We only managed to pump out about 8 quarts rather than the 11-12 listed in the manual. Seems like a lot to leave in there. Is that normal? Jonathan (the P/O) recommended changing while its still warm, but I think next time we might do it first thing in the morning to see if we get more out. Also getting gobs of black soot blown out of the exhaust if I rake the throttle. I may replace the exhaust hose to the transom soon -- looks like this dates back to 1982 (although looks in good shape, and I don't get any fumes).
Also, hopefully will start on sprucing up the exterior varnish next weekend. Had originally planned on stripping some of it back, but I think there's not much to lose by experimenting with lightly sanding it down and and adding a couple of coats first to see how it looks.
Took a sewing class at the Tech Shop in Menlo Park yesterday morning. They've got an industrial sewing machine that I used to stitch in reinforcing webbing straps onto the boat's LifeSling bag where the Velcro was pulling away from the bag. Also planning to make some new canvas covers. The ones I have are getting pretty ratty and the canvas guy I know wanted $500 for a new sun cover for my dodger. (Its just 4 panels of canvas stitched together!) Have ordered fabric samples from Sailrite -- seems to be very difficult to find marine canvas suppliers locally. Given the cost of getting canvas made or the cost of renting time of the TechShop's machines, it might be worth investing in a sewing machine.
The Dudes turned out for a full on Dude Sail today. Also Erin, Arjun and Wendy. Its the last day of the Festival of Sail and I wanted to get out to see the cannon fight. The wind was honking pretty hard. We stopped at Paradise Cove for lunch. Even though we found a fairly sheltered spot, we slowly dragged anchor for a 100 feet or more until we left. Was warm there, but pretty cold and overcast in the central bay. I'd estimate that we were getting 25-30kts between East of Angel Island to the city. We sailed just on the main in the afternoon and had to motor sail against the current (6kts at the gate) to make it up the city front. I've been finding that my boat sails much worse without the jib and points much worse than I'd expect.
We missed the cannon fight. We heard on the VHF that that the Californian
had lost their bowsprit and so the they gave up the fight early and headed
back to port. We motored around inside a lot of the city marinas and
piers and checked out all the ships: a replica of The Nina (Christopher Columbus's favorite), The Eagle, California, Lynx and a bunch of others. Included in those was the Bounty. Wendy and I saw the Bounty at St. Petersburg Pier in Florida earlier this year. Rumor has it that The Bounty, which starred in "Mutiny on the Bounty" with Marlon Brando was also used in the high budget porno "Pirates." Also got a good look at the bowsprit of the California. Looks like the wood failed in a spectacular way, cracking down the length of it.
Throughout the day at hour intervals, the Coast Guard was reporting a 1950's 35ft Chris Craft carrying two men that went missing from Channel Marina (?) in Richmond. It disappeared between Richmond and Tiburon in the prior 24 hours. Its hard to imagine what might have happened to them. The central bay is generally so busy that disappearing without a trace seems hard to pull off -- even a boat were to get hit in the busy shipping channels between Richmond and Tiburon. Whatever happened to them, I suspect happened somewhere else.
Also, hopefully will start on sprucing up the exterior varnish next weekend. Had originally planned on stripping some of it back, but I think there's not much to lose by experimenting with lightly sanding it down and and adding a couple of coats first to see how it looks.
Took a sewing class at the Tech Shop in Menlo Park yesterday morning. They've got an industrial sewing machine that I used to stitch in reinforcing webbing straps onto the boat's LifeSling bag where the Velcro was pulling away from the bag. Also planning to make some new canvas covers. The ones I have are getting pretty ratty and the canvas guy I know wanted $500 for a new sun cover for my dodger. (Its just 4 panels of canvas stitched together!) Have ordered fabric samples from Sailrite -- seems to be very difficult to find marine canvas suppliers locally. Given the cost of getting canvas made or the cost of renting time of the TechShop's machines, it might be worth investing in a sewing machine.
The Dudes turned out for a full on Dude Sail today. Also Erin, Arjun and Wendy. Its the last day of the Festival of Sail and I wanted to get out to see the cannon fight. The wind was honking pretty hard. We stopped at Paradise Cove for lunch. Even though we found a fairly sheltered spot, we slowly dragged anchor for a 100 feet or more until we left. Was warm there, but pretty cold and overcast in the central bay. I'd estimate that we were getting 25-30kts between East of Angel Island to the city. We sailed just on the main in the afternoon and had to motor sail against the current (6kts at the gate) to make it up the city front. I've been finding that my boat sails much worse without the jib and points much worse than I'd expect.
We missed the cannon fight. We heard on the VHF that that the Californian
had lost their bowsprit and so the they gave up the fight early and headed
back to port. We motored around inside a lot of the city marinas and
piers and checked out all the ships: a replica of The Nina (Christopher Columbus's favorite), The Eagle, California, Lynx and a bunch of others. Included in those was the Bounty. Wendy and I saw the Bounty at St. Petersburg Pier in Florida earlier this year. Rumor has it that The Bounty, which starred in "Mutiny on the Bounty" with Marlon Brando was also used in the high budget porno "Pirates." Also got a good look at the bowsprit of the California. Looks like the wood failed in a spectacular way, cracking down the length of it.
Throughout the day at hour intervals, the Coast Guard was reporting a 1950's 35ft Chris Craft carrying two men that went missing from Channel Marina (?) in Richmond. It disappeared between Richmond and Tiburon in the prior 24 hours. Its hard to imagine what might have happened to them. The central bay is generally so busy that disappearing without a trace seems hard to pull off -- even a boat were to get hit in the busy shipping channels between Richmond and Tiburon. Whatever happened to them, I suspect happened somewhere else.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Double Braid Splicing Guides
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIa8G5J8Gb8
- http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=6sQn5ZMKgNI
- http://www.thecoastalpassage.com/eye_splice.html
- http://www.neropes.com/SPL_DoubleEyeSplice.aspx
- http://www.yalecordage.com/html/splicing_instructions.html
- http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/03/r/vintage/sbj/eye/splice.htm
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Sail: Overnight at Richardson Bay
We had plans to do an overnight at Angel Island this weekend. We got there late in the day and the mooring were had filled up. It would have been possible to fit in except that some of the boats were tied up crosswise on the mooring field leaving the only free space requiring us to tie a third line onto a mooring already having two other boats attached. We passed by and sailed up to Richardson Bay and dropped the anchor. Got out the part lights and grilled steaks.
The wind picked up during the night. I still haven't got a GPS. Between the rocking and not having an alarm for dragging anchor, neither of us got much sleep.
In the morning, we motored to Horizon's in Sausalito who have recently reopened the docks. Docking was a little interesting -- we we're still waking up when we arrived and both of us forgot to put the fenders out.
The food was pretty good. But at fifteen bucks a plate and only four options for breakfast, Sam's might have been a better choice.
Wendy got into a bit of an altercation with another boat on the way back home. On a broad reach on a starboard tack we met another boat on a port tack, making us the stand-on vessel, and the the other boat the give-way vessel. The guy at the helm clearly saw us. He closed until we were a little more than than a boat length apart.
Wendy called "Starboard." He called "by the lee." Hmmm... That's a new one. Not sure what he means, or what difference it makes. It doesn't since he'd sailed so close to us we had had to turn down and were be the lee now too.
Still closing.
I called, "you're on port tack. We're on starboard. You have to give way." He shouted back, "are you going to make me gybe?"
Not sure what to think about this. By this time, he'd so close to us that the only option was for one of us to gybe to avoid running into each other.
I shrugged at him. Clearly it was his responsibility. With a groan and rolling eyes, eventually he gybed out of our way.
While, its true Wendy could have headed up early and sailed behind him to prevent him having to gybe, the other boat had the same option and, but also the responsibility to get out of the way. If we'd both of headed up, we'd have run closer to each other faster - it the the stand-on vessel's responsibility is to avoid this situation by keeping their heading.
Douchebag.
We changed the engine oil when we got back.
The engine manual says it takes a little under three gallons of oil. Since there's no sump valve, the oil has to be pumped out. I bought a pump that attaches to an electric drill to do this. We managed to get about 2 gallons out. Not sure where the rest of the oil has gotten to. Its possible its some of it was still coated around the engine, but it seems unlikely. Its possible it was just low on oil, but this also seems unlikely and would suggest that a gallon of oil can be added between the low mark and the full mark on the dipstick.
Next time, I might try changing the oil first thing to see if I get more of it out.
The wind picked up during the night. I still haven't got a GPS. Between the rocking and not having an alarm for dragging anchor, neither of us got much sleep.
In the morning, we motored to Horizon's in Sausalito who have recently reopened the docks. Docking was a little interesting -- we we're still waking up when we arrived and both of us forgot to put the fenders out.
The food was pretty good. But at fifteen bucks a plate and only four options for breakfast, Sam's might have been a better choice.
Wendy got into a bit of an altercation with another boat on the way back home. On a broad reach on a starboard tack we met another boat on a port tack, making us the stand-on vessel, and the the other boat the give-way vessel. The guy at the helm clearly saw us. He closed until we were a little more than than a boat length apart.
Wendy called "Starboard." He called "by the lee." Hmmm... That's a new one. Not sure what he means, or what difference it makes. It doesn't since he'd sailed so close to us we had had to turn down and were be the lee now too.
Still closing.
I called, "you're on port tack. We're on starboard. You have to give way." He shouted back, "are you going to make me gybe?"
Not sure what to think about this. By this time, he'd so close to us that the only option was for one of us to gybe to avoid running into each other.
I shrugged at him. Clearly it was his responsibility. With a groan and rolling eyes, eventually he gybed out of our way.
While, its true Wendy could have headed up early and sailed behind him to prevent him having to gybe, the other boat had the same option and, but also the responsibility to get out of the way. If we'd both of headed up, we'd have run closer to each other faster - it the the stand-on vessel's responsibility is to avoid this situation by keeping their heading.
Douchebag.
We changed the engine oil when we got back.
The engine manual says it takes a little under three gallons of oil. Since there's no sump valve, the oil has to be pumped out. I bought a pump that attaches to an electric drill to do this. We managed to get about 2 gallons out. Not sure where the rest of the oil has gotten to. Its possible its some of it was still coated around the engine, but it seems unlikely. Its possible it was just low on oil, but this also seems unlikely and would suggest that a gallon of oil can be added between the low mark and the full mark on the dipstick.
Next time, I might try changing the oil first thing to see if I get more of it out.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Sail: Sam's
- Meghan, Wendy, Eric.
- Anchored for lunch at Angel Island.
- Sam's for Margaritas. Eric and Wendy: hammered.
- Honked at by a tanker on the way out of the gate.
- Hot cocoa on the way back home. Mmmmm.... cocoa.
- Conversation for the day:
Q: Is it OK to ditch you internet date by email?
A: Yes
So long Santa Cruz. Bring out bald guy.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Sail: Night sail
We had big plans to take the boat out for the fireworks on the 4th July. In the end the prospect of kicking back and taking it easy all day proved too much to overcome.
However by the evening we rustled up the energy to cycle out to Shoreline Park from home in Mountain View to see the fireworks from the bay. Like a scene from E.T.
Wendy and I took the boat out together the day after. We had plans just to do a quick evening sail and come back. However, the sailing was so good that we kept going out on of the gate and didn't get back until after dark. The Lopolight I installed worked a treat. This is the first time just the two of us have been out on the boat by ourselves. I tried out the boat's autopilot for the first time when we raised and dropped the main. Also awesome.
However by the evening we rustled up the energy to cycle out to Shoreline Park from home in Mountain View to see the fireworks from the bay. Like a scene from E.T.
Wendy and I took the boat out together the day after. We had plans just to do a quick evening sail and come back. However, the sailing was so good that we kept going out on of the gate and didn't get back until after dark. The Lopolight I installed worked a treat. This is the first time just the two of us have been out on the boat by ourselves. I tried out the boat's autopilot for the first time when we raised and dropped the main. Also awesome.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Sail: Out of the Gate
Took the boat out the gate this weekend.
Sent Wendy up the mast again to sort out the lead line that had snagged in the sheave when I tried to change out the frayed halyard.
BBQd at the dock.
Got a late start and didn't leave the dock until about 2:30. Missed slack at 3 and fought the tide all the way up Raccoon Straight to get to the gate at max flood at 6.
Wendy, Stu, Yoichiro, Jordan, Dana.
Sent Wendy up the mast again to sort out the lead line that had snagged in the sheave when I tried to change out the frayed halyard.
BBQd at the dock.
Got a late start and didn't leave the dock until about 2:30. Missed slack at 3 and fought the tide all the way up Raccoon Straight to get to the gate at max flood at 6.
Wendy, Stu, Yoichiro, Jordan, Dana.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Directions From Space
View Larger Map
Directions:
- Emeryville Marina is on Powell St., which has its own exit on 80/580. However, it is not possible to take this exit when travelling North on 880 from the East Bay or West on 580. Either take the next exit and find your way back to Powell St or (easier) take 980 and exit as it merges with 880.
- Drive as far down Powell St. as its is possible to go and park. My boat is at the very last dock.
- Someone will need to let you in at the gate. Call me when you arrive.
What to bring:
- Dress for skiing. (Layers, gloves, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, fleece, windproof/waterproof pants/jacket). You'll be too hot or too cold at some point.
- A lifejacket if you have one.
- Camera.
- Sneakers (with non-marking soles if you've got them).
- Food (we usually break out the grill for lunch) and your favorite beverage. People bringing hot drinks to share get bonus points.
- Bring a lifejacket if you have one. (The boat has two good spares and a bunch of very uncomfortable others)
Safety tips.
- Stay on the boat.
- Don't step on the lines.
- Keep fingers out of winches.
- Duck.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Chart datum, GPSs and WGS84
When we were sailing with Andreas on Saturday, he mentioned that his Garmin GPSMap constantly reported himself to be somewhere else while he was sailing in the British Virgin Islands. The error was a constant shift in position.
It must be pretty disturbing to look up your position on the chart and frequently find that you are not there.
His problem reminded me of the the RYA courses that I took in the UK before moving out West. In these, it was part of out boat's checklist to ensure that the boat's GPS (which at that time only reported longitude and latitude, and didn't come with a chart plotter), agreed with the boat's chart's datums. I've never had to do such a thing in the USA and so was prompted me into a bit of revision:
WGS84
Most charts predate GPS and no widespread accurate means of establishing a latitude and longitude that accounted for the wobbles in the shape of the Earth existed at the time they were made. With the advent of GPS, a neat grid may be laid over the surface of the Earth with great accuracy. The latest, and most widely recognized standard version of this grid is called WGS84 (World Geodetic System, 1984) is the one all modern GPSs report as their default position.
Charts predating GPS plot their positions on a variety of other grids, called the chart's position datum. Over 100 datums are in regular use in marine charts, and most GPSs can be programmed with the chart's datum to correct for the disagreement with its calculated WGS84 position.
All good marine GPSs have the ability to correct the positions they report to the chart datum. This is an essential feature for a variety of reasons. Over 100 chart position datums are in use, but the agreed new standard is WGS84. Some chart datums disagree with WGS84 by as much as 30" (or one half of one nautical mile). For locals, this is the difference between being anchored in Paradise Cove, or adrift the shipping lanes.
In most parts of the world, it is essential that you check the chart's datum when plotting a latitude and longitude obtained from a GPS (or any other source).
The USA, The Centre of the Universe and WGS84
In 1884, at the International Median Conference, Washington, DC, the Greenwich Prime Meridian in London, after several centuries of use, was formally defined to be 0 degrees Longitude by a vote of the 25 countries attending (only France abstained from voting, continued to use Paris as their Meridian for several decades before seceding to the Greenwich standard). This established the Greenwich Prime Meridian as the place where time began.
Differences from the Greenwich Prime Meridian are in part what chart datums measure.
Today, if you take a GPS receiver to the bronze markers laid in concrete at the Greenwich Observatory that define the Greenwich Prime Meridian, you'll be disappointed to find that your GPS, if it is set to the its default datum of WGS84, will report that you are 100 metres East of the Meridian. (That's 336.3 feet.)
Why? Because, WGS84 (a US Department of Defense standard) was derived from the older 1927 North American Datum which in turn agrees with the Paris Meridian. Even though this has long since been abandoned by rest of the world, including the French, and disagrees with centuries of work constructing charts with Greenwich as their datum, it did mean that the USDoD didn't need to reprint all of its own charts, rather than correct their error.
There's something a little sad about this. 25 countries met to agree upon a global standard which been a cornerstone of maritime safety for centuries, while WGS84 was reached by no such consensus. With the rise in popularity of GPS, it seems like the rest of the world will just have to suck it up.
http://www.sailtrain.co.uk/gps/positions.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGS84
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Meridian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Meridian_Conference
It must be pretty disturbing to look up your position on the chart and frequently find that you are not there.
His problem reminded me of the the RYA courses that I took in the UK before moving out West. In these, it was part of out boat's checklist to ensure that the boat's GPS (which at that time only reported longitude and latitude, and didn't come with a chart plotter), agreed with the boat's chart's datums. I've never had to do such a thing in the USA and so was prompted me into a bit of revision:
WGS84
Most charts predate GPS and no widespread accurate means of establishing a latitude and longitude that accounted for the wobbles in the shape of the Earth existed at the time they were made. With the advent of GPS, a neat grid may be laid over the surface of the Earth with great accuracy. The latest, and most widely recognized standard version of this grid is called WGS84 (World Geodetic System, 1984) is the one all modern GPSs report as their default position.
Charts predating GPS plot their positions on a variety of other grids, called the chart's position datum. Over 100 datums are in regular use in marine charts, and most GPSs can be programmed with the chart's datum to correct for the disagreement with its calculated WGS84 position.
All good marine GPSs have the ability to correct the positions they report to the chart datum. This is an essential feature for a variety of reasons. Over 100 chart position datums are in use, but the agreed new standard is WGS84. Some chart datums disagree with WGS84 by as much as 30" (or one half of one nautical mile). For locals, this is the difference between being anchored in Paradise Cove, or adrift the shipping lanes.
In most parts of the world, it is essential that you check the chart's datum when plotting a latitude and longitude obtained from a GPS (or any other source).
The USA, The Centre of the Universe and WGS84
In 1884, at the International Median Conference, Washington, DC, the Greenwich Prime Meridian in London, after several centuries of use, was formally defined to be 0 degrees Longitude by a vote of the 25 countries attending (only France abstained from voting, continued to use Paris as their Meridian for several decades before seceding to the Greenwich standard). This established the Greenwich Prime Meridian as the place where time began.
Differences from the Greenwich Prime Meridian are in part what chart datums measure.
Today, if you take a GPS receiver to the bronze markers laid in concrete at the Greenwich Observatory that define the Greenwich Prime Meridian, you'll be disappointed to find that your GPS, if it is set to the its default datum of WGS84, will report that you are 100 metres East of the Meridian. (That's 336.3 feet.)
Why? Because, WGS84 (a US Department of Defense standard) was derived from the older 1927 North American Datum which in turn agrees with the Paris Meridian. Even though this has long since been abandoned by rest of the world, including the French, and disagrees with centuries of work constructing charts with Greenwich as their datum, it did mean that the USDoD didn't need to reprint all of its own charts, rather than correct their error.
There's something a little sad about this. 25 countries met to agree upon a global standard which been a cornerstone of maritime safety for centuries, while WGS84 was reached by no such consensus. With the rise in popularity of GPS, it seems like the rest of the world will just have to suck it up.
http://www.sailtrain.co.uk/gps/positions.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGS84
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Meridian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Meridian_Conference
Monday, June 16, 2008
Through-Hull Leak (Maybe)
Before I left the boat yesterday, I noticed that some water had collected in the bilge over the weekend's sailing. I checked all of the through-hulls and found that the one from holding tank is (very) slowly weeping water. Last night I taped tissue paper marked with felt-pen around the bottom of ball valve to try and see if the water is coming from the through-hull or the ball valve. The lack of ink-bleeding on the paper today indicates that valve is (probably) fine. This is a bit of a shame since the valve is brand new (was replaced at my haulout in March) and now I wish I'd also replaced the through-hull too. I suspect my yard damaged the through-hull seal when they twisted off the old ball-valve which had become pretty rusty.
Also, unlike the valve, replacing the through-hull involves cutting out a section of the hull and so requires re-hauling the boat. Bah!
There's a chance that the through-hull isn't actually leaking. At least it seems to have stopped today. Its possible that the water is from another source and had just collected around the wooden backing plate of the through-hull while we were healed over while sailing.
Either way, the backing plates look pretty damp and should probably be replaced. I'm also considering temporarily sealing up the through-hull with caulk or 5200 (which wouldn't require a haul-out). I have no immediate use for it since I don't plan on any long coastal trips where it would be legal for me to pump the sewage straight out (and would prefer not to do that in any case, not least because of the stink it makes).
Also, unlike the valve, replacing the through-hull involves cutting out a section of the hull and so requires re-hauling the boat. Bah!
There's a chance that the through-hull isn't actually leaking. At least it seems to have stopped today. Its possible that the water is from another source and had just collected around the wooden backing plate of the through-hull while we were healed over while sailing.
Either way, the backing plates look pretty damp and should probably be replaced. I'm also considering temporarily sealing up the through-hull with caulk or 5200 (which wouldn't require a haul-out). I have no immediate use for it since I don't plan on any long coastal trips where it would be legal for me to pump the sewage straight out (and would prefer not to do that in any case, not least because of the stink it makes).
Maintenance List
Here's what's still to do...
Nice to haves....
- Replace boom sheaves and pin
- Seal/repot quadrant mount screws in cockpit sole to fix leak
- Repair/replace dodger weather cover
- Tie pegs to through hulls
- Annual service of winches
- Change oil and oil filter
- Change secondary fuel filter
- Buy size 12 hose clamps [done. 6/22/2008]
- Replace access panels in cockpit (backstay pump and emergency tiller) with plastic panels and latches
- Repair cockpit grate
- Enlarge hole in cockpit grate around manual bilge pump [done. 6/22/2008]
- Tighten lowers [done 6/29/2008]
- Move propane tank to stern locker [done. 6/16/2008]
- Varnish topside wood
- Clean bilge [done. 6/7/2008]
- Clean water tanks [done. 6/7/2008]
- Install CO and fire alarms [done. 6/22/2006]
- Install check valve for holding tank vent (how to stop water entering without blocking vent?)
- Rewire propane sniffer to main breaker
- Install sump pump for shower drain
- Seal leak at cockpit door threshold
- Seal leak(s) at fillers
- Seal leak at cockpit vent
- Sign up to bottom cleaner service [done. 6/28/2008
- Purchase bell
- Mount waste management plan [done. 6/1/2008]
- Lube rudder post
- Top up battery water [nothing to do. 6/22/2008]
- Send off spare heat exchanger for service
- Sort out a reefing system that works [done. See Wendy's method]
- Fix no AC to some outlets
- Get a good GPS solution
- Seizing for shackle pins
- Lube up furler [done. didn't help]
- Replace furler bearings
- Inspect/replace raw water impeller
- Inspect all hose clamps
- Inspect/replace engine electrical wiring
- Replace scummy fresh water hoses
- Repair/replace Lifesling bag
- Repair cockpit grate
- Through hull appears to have developed a trickle. Monitor. Replace at haulout.
- Find out what trashed the new halyard. Resplice.
- Shorten manual bilge pump hose to keep it away from float switch. [done. 6/22/2008]
- Fix wiring to compass light [done. 6/22/08]
- Add latches to cockpit lockers
- Add hook to keep refrigerator door open
- Remove disused cabling
- Add whipping to lines
- Add nylon grates to stern lockers
- Teflon lube all turnbuckles
- Install distribution panel and fuses for always-on items (bilge, fridge, propane)
- Install cable covers to DC wiring to inverter
Nice to haves....
- Check out spinnaker equipment
- Lead main halyard to cockpit
- Run traveller linesinto cockpit
- Windlass
- Wireless anemometer
- Larger propane tank
- Dry and paint bilge
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Sail: Sunday Fun
Saturday, Wendy, Scott and I went out one of the club's club Catalina 36s with Andreas who was completing his second OCSC big boat charter. The weather turned out beautiful. Sunny with gusts 15-25kts. Berkeley->Angel Island->Golden Gate->City Front->Berkeley. We also passed by the hills at Belvedere Cove. The houses there are amazing - built into the steep hills that rise out of the bay. Several of them are four stories tall has each has winding paths, ladders and tracks that lead down to private jetties where the rich and famous kept their yatchs. Reminds me of Salcombe on the South coast of Devon near where my folks live.
The kite boarders were out in force for the U.S. Kiteboarding National Championships. It looked like there were at least 30 kites buzzing around in front of Crissy Field looking like flock of party balloons.
After we got back. we checked out Trader Vic's near our marina. Its a Tiki restaurant which claims to have invented the Mai Tai. Pretty disappointed. Valet only parking (would be quicker, more convenient and pleasant to walk the 20 steps to the lot to get to your car instead of having to pay to queue), pricey and the food, drinks and service were all disappointing. Later, we went back to Berkeley. Got toasty next to the bonfire the staff had fired up after work and watched the sun go down behind the gate.
We had a lazy day on Sunday. Slept in on the boat. Breakfast. Pump out and fuel up. Debbie and her friend Marianne came by after noon bringing supplies for the grill (and some badly needed toothbrushes). After lunch, we tried servicing the furler, unfurling the sail, dropping the jibs, spraying in a ton of McLube into the bearings and rewinding the furler. Nothing seemed to help much. Still pretty squeaky. Will have to look into replacing the bearings.
We had an awesome sail in the afternoon. Wind felt to be in the mid 20s. We left Emeryville and went clockwise around Treasure Island. Wendy seems to have nailed reefing our main -- hoisting up the boom high on the #2 reef line before tensioning #1 and then snugging the vang seems to be the way to get the foot nice and tight. We sailed up to the ball park in San Francisco and terrorized the ferry boats taking the Oakland A fans back to where they came from. I'm making it my mission to get North Star on TV at the ball game -- they frequently feature the boats that hang out outside the ballpark and listen to the game. Need to set TiVo. Had to put in quick gybe to steer out of the path of one of the ferries. Somehow if left Wendy and Debbie collapsed on the cockpit floor as they sheeted in the main.
Very nice having an all women crew. Great crew, and better to look at than the Dudes.
Life is good...
When we got back, we found that the top of the jib halyard had been somehow shredded. Possibly it jumped the sheaves at the top. It could also be that the halyard wraps around the forestay when we furl the jib. Could also be that it might not be led correctly down the mast and chafes on the through-bolts that secure the standing rigging. We rigged the spare halyard that Russ had spliced. Need to cut the end off the one we took off and re-splice an eye.
The kite boarders were out in force for the U.S. Kiteboarding National Championships. It looked like there were at least 30 kites buzzing around in front of Crissy Field looking like flock of party balloons.
After we got back. we checked out Trader Vic's near our marina. Its a Tiki restaurant which claims to have invented the Mai Tai. Pretty disappointed. Valet only parking (would be quicker, more convenient and pleasant to walk the 20 steps to the lot to get to your car instead of having to pay to queue), pricey and the food, drinks and service were all disappointing. Later, we went back to Berkeley. Got toasty next to the bonfire the staff had fired up after work and watched the sun go down behind the gate.
We had a lazy day on Sunday. Slept in on the boat. Breakfast. Pump out and fuel up. Debbie and her friend Marianne came by after noon bringing supplies for the grill (and some badly needed toothbrushes). After lunch, we tried servicing the furler, unfurling the sail, dropping the jibs, spraying in a ton of McLube into the bearings and rewinding the furler. Nothing seemed to help much. Still pretty squeaky. Will have to look into replacing the bearings.
We had an awesome sail in the afternoon. Wind felt to be in the mid 20s. We left Emeryville and went clockwise around Treasure Island. Wendy seems to have nailed reefing our main -- hoisting up the boom high on the #2 reef line before tensioning #1 and then snugging the vang seems to be the way to get the foot nice and tight. We sailed up to the ball park in San Francisco and terrorized the ferry boats taking the Oakland A fans back to where they came from. I'm making it my mission to get North Star on TV at the ball game -- they frequently feature the boats that hang out outside the ballpark and listen to the game. Need to set TiVo. Had to put in quick gybe to steer out of the path of one of the ferries. Somehow if left Wendy and Debbie collapsed on the cockpit floor as they sheeted in the main.
Very nice having an all women crew. Great crew, and better to look at than the Dudes.
Life is good...
When we got back, we found that the top of the jib halyard had been somehow shredded. Possibly it jumped the sheaves at the top. It could also be that the halyard wraps around the forestay when we furl the jib. Could also be that it might not be led correctly down the mast and chafes on the through-bolts that secure the standing rigging. We rigged the spare halyard that Russ had spliced. Need to cut the end off the one we took off and re-splice an eye.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Newport 41 Raft Up
We took the boat out again. Very low tide today. The bar alongside the Emeryville channel looked like you could walk across it. We sailed from Emeryville out to Angel Island where we picked up a mooring and met Good Grief for lunch.
The mooring field at Angel Island here is set up for bow and stern mooring. Eric rigged the Happy Hooker to a stern cleat and picked up the stern mooring at the bow. With that attached, it was easy to motor forward to the stern mooring, stopping ourselves from running over it by adjusting the stern line.
Russ and Maureen arrived a little while later and we rafted up.
This was our first raft up and I think that our technique worked pretty well:
I'm not sure this is exactly what happened, but its what I imagined, and it all turned out very well.
In our case, we were moored bow and stern. If we were anchored or moored at the bow only, the last steps would need to run in reverse: set the bowline to allow the boats to sit offset by 1/3 and run the engine in reverse. This would prevent the engine from pushing the boats over the anchor or the mooring.
Fired up the BBQ for lunch. We drank beer and eat steaks and talked about Newports until Russ and I bored everyone with our boat talk. We headed out towards the gate after lunch. Wendy tipped 9kts reaching across the slot.
The boat felt quite a lot overpowered today. We reefed the jib. It would be nice to find a way of doing this more tidily while headed upwind so that creases don't get wrapped in the furler. Downwind's much easier and tidier, but is not always where you want to be going.
Here's the track Eric made. 26nm.
Wendy also got some great shots of Good Grief:
North Star
We flushed and refilled the tanks water when we got back. When the tanks were filling, there were a couple of pops, that I assumed was just the tanks flexing. I have two deck water fillers and two tanks that are connected by a valve. Adding water in one side fills one tank. Filling in the other side fills both tanks. When I was filling, the deck filler overflowed, and then the level dropped. I topped off and again and the level dropped again. I figured that this was just water moving from one tank to another. It wasn't until Wendy found a small river running into the bilge that we discovered that one of the water hoses in the shower had popped out of one of the foot pumps. My yard had taken apart the cabinet that this was attached to in order to fit new ball valves. I figure that, along with poorly tightening the clamps for the pressure water system, they also didn't tighten the hose clamps for the shower footpump. I should really had checked over all of the hose clamps. It would be a good idea to make it part of regular maintenance checklist.
Also, some of the hoses looks pretty rank. Will make a point to replace them.
The mooring field at Angel Island here is set up for bow and stern mooring. Eric rigged the Happy Hooker to a stern cleat and picked up the stern mooring at the bow. With that attached, it was easy to motor forward to the stern mooring, stopping ourselves from running over it by adjusting the stern line.
Russ and Maureen arrived a little while later and we rafted up.
This was our first raft up and I think that our technique worked pretty well:
- Set fenders and prepare a long stern line on the downwind side.
- Have the arriving boat prepare a long bow line on the opposite side on their boat.
- Have the arriving boat pull up from downwind, bring their bow to your fenders, and exchange lines from their bow.
- Pay out and let the wind blow you apart until you are parallel.
- Set the length of the stern line to allow the boats to come parallel alongside each other but offset by a 1/3 boat length (i.e. allow sufficient slack to ensure that the rigs don't collide).
- The arriving boat motors forward and slack is taken up on the bow.
- Keep in engine in gear until a spring line is secured that prevents parallel motion and the rigs from crashing.
I'm not sure this is exactly what happened, but its what I imagined, and it all turned out very well.
In our case, we were moored bow and stern. If we were anchored or moored at the bow only, the last steps would need to run in reverse: set the bowline to allow the boats to sit offset by 1/3 and run the engine in reverse. This would prevent the engine from pushing the boats over the anchor or the mooring.
Fired up the BBQ for lunch. We drank beer and eat steaks and talked about Newports until Russ and I bored everyone with our boat talk. We headed out towards the gate after lunch. Wendy tipped 9kts reaching across the slot.
The boat felt quite a lot overpowered today. We reefed the jib. It would be nice to find a way of doing this more tidily while headed upwind so that creases don't get wrapped in the furler. Downwind's much easier and tidier, but is not always where you want to be going.
Here's the track Eric made. 26nm.
Wendy also got some great shots of Good Grief:
North Star
We flushed and refilled the tanks water when we got back. When the tanks were filling, there were a couple of pops, that I assumed was just the tanks flexing. I have two deck water fillers and two tanks that are connected by a valve. Adding water in one side fills one tank. Filling in the other side fills both tanks. When I was filling, the deck filler overflowed, and then the level dropped. I topped off and again and the level dropped again. I figured that this was just water moving from one tank to another. It wasn't until Wendy found a small river running into the bilge that we discovered that one of the water hoses in the shower had popped out of one of the foot pumps. My yard had taken apart the cabinet that this was attached to in order to fit new ball valves. I figure that, along with poorly tightening the clamps for the pressure water system, they also didn't tighten the hose clamps for the shower footpump. I should really had checked over all of the hose clamps. It would be a good idea to make it part of regular maintenance checklist.
Also, some of the hoses looks pretty rank. Will make a point to replace them.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Docks for Dago Mary's at Hunter's Point
A few of weeks ago, chasing a tip, we explored the shore around Hunter's point looking for a lunch-time tie-up. We never did find it. Probably just as well, as the entrance is pretty shallow -- charted at to 1/2 ft (MLLW):
http://demo.geogarage.com/noaa/?lat=37.73311826525491&lon=-122.37441301345825&zoom=16
http://demo.geogarage.com/noaa/?lat=37.73311826525491&lon=-122.37441301345825&zoom=16
Google maps NOAA chart mashup awesomeness
Access NOAA charts via Google Maps:
http://demo.geogarage.com/noaa/
http://demo.geogarage.com/noaa/
Thursday, June 05, 2008
GPSs
I'm still looking around for a good GPS system for the boat.
I liked the look of the color Garmin CSx, especially with their recent plummet in prices. It has a lot going for it: waterproof, rugged, easily attached to stuff with the lanyard, good quality maps, ridiculously long battery life, floats, accepts additional SD cards for unlimited track and waypoint data, USB conectivity, etc, etc.
Then Garmin brought out the Colorado 400c. While it looks sexier, has prettier graphics and a fancy jog wheel, many of the user reviews complain that the Colorado is a step backwards in many ways from the previous model: http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/Review
Big issues include the poorer readability due to poor backlight (despite a higher resolution screen), and the lack of a lanyard (duh!), and it doesn't float (which is a nice feature for expensive handheld boat electronics).
I may be better off with a binnacle mounted unit rather than a handheld. These have the added advantage of being permanently wired to my VHF for DSC emergency position transmission. However, having something non-portable means that I'd need a second GPS to work as an anchor alarm.
It also comes with a wireless capability for transmitting data to other Colorado units. Its too bad it doesn't wirelessly connect to a PC (where I can install a descent chart plotter with up-to-date maps), or wirelessly talk to a boat's NEMA system (to drive my auto-pilot and run to my VHF). Its hard to think what the rationale for this feature was. Unless you happen to be at a Garmin cult convention it seems pretty useless. It could so easily be awesome.
Closed systems suck!
I liked the look of the color Garmin CSx, especially with their recent plummet in prices. It has a lot going for it: waterproof, rugged, easily attached to stuff with the lanyard, good quality maps, ridiculously long battery life, floats, accepts additional SD cards for unlimited track and waypoint data, USB conectivity, etc, etc.
Then Garmin brought out the Colorado 400c. While it looks sexier, has prettier graphics and a fancy jog wheel, many of the user reviews complain that the Colorado is a step backwards in many ways from the previous model: http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/Review
Big issues include the poorer readability due to poor backlight (despite a higher resolution screen), and the lack of a lanyard (duh!), and it doesn't float (which is a nice feature for expensive handheld boat electronics).
I may be better off with a binnacle mounted unit rather than a handheld. These have the added advantage of being permanently wired to my VHF for DSC emergency position transmission. However, having something non-portable means that I'd need a second GPS to work as an anchor alarm.
It also comes with a wireless capability for transmitting data to other Colorado units. Its too bad it doesn't wirelessly connect to a PC (where I can install a descent chart plotter with up-to-date maps), or wirelessly talk to a boat's NEMA system (to drive my auto-pilot and run to my VHF). Its hard to think what the rationale for this feature was. Unless you happen to be at a Garmin cult convention it seems pretty useless. It could so easily be awesome.
Closed systems suck!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
PHRF Ratings
Local PHRF Ratings: http://www.sailors.com/sfbay/racing/phrf-sf.html
The Newport 41S rates 108, about the same as a Swan 41,
and much, much slower than an Olson 40 (rates 48). North Star is a slightly different model and (I imagine) has slightly more sail area due to the lower boom and probably rates a couple of points lower.
The Newport 41S rates 108, about the same as a Swan 41,
and much, much slower than an Olson 40 (rates 48). North Star is a slightly different model and (I imagine) has slightly more sail area due to the lower boom and probably rates a couple of points lower.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
North Star Dude Sail (No. 1)
Wendy's back from Santa Cruz. We stayed over on the boat Friday night and cooked for the first time. Happy to find that most of the house systems are working well. Dinner was a success.
On Staurday, we took out my regular sailing buddies, Eric and Patrick, and also my housemate Meghan. Went up to Richardson Bay and picked up a rank seaweed soaked mooring. Wind probably up in the mid 20's. The boat performed very nicely for the most part. Got 7kts+ up wind and 9.5 downwind. Need to fix the outhaul sheaves so I can get good tension. Got out the BBQ for lunch.
A couple of us used the head at lunch time. We thought the stink was just Eric but it turns out the the holding tank vent doesn't have a check valve. We sunk the rail a couple of times on the way up to Richardson Bay and the tank must have filled with Bay water.
Tried to put in a reef after lunch and found that its difficult to get good tension on the luff, despite Eric's hard work. Less friction in the sheaves might help.
Photos:
Lube it up Eric!
Other caption suggestions please...
We made our first poop-pump out in the evening after we got back.
We were finding the that the pressure water pump was running for a few seconds every 10 minutes or so. That and water in the bilge pointed to a leak which Wendy tracked down on Sunday morning. Looks like the yard disconnected one of the hoses to the pressure water pump and didn't put it back together too well. Cut off the end of the house, new clamps and it was as good as new.
We also found a pinhole leak in the deck where a screw securing a cabinet partition had been drilled too deep. Wendy plugged it up with Life Seal on Sunday. Probably need to be epoxied eventually.
On Staurday, we took out my regular sailing buddies, Eric and Patrick, and also my housemate Meghan. Went up to Richardson Bay and picked up a rank seaweed soaked mooring. Wind probably up in the mid 20's. The boat performed very nicely for the most part. Got 7kts+ up wind and 9.5 downwind. Need to fix the outhaul sheaves so I can get good tension. Got out the BBQ for lunch.
A couple of us used the head at lunch time. We thought the stink was just Eric but it turns out the the holding tank vent doesn't have a check valve. We sunk the rail a couple of times on the way up to Richardson Bay and the tank must have filled with Bay water.
Tried to put in a reef after lunch and found that its difficult to get good tension on the luff, despite Eric's hard work. Less friction in the sheaves might help.
Photos:
Lube it up Eric!
Other caption suggestions please...
We made our first poop-pump out in the evening after we got back.
We were finding the that the pressure water pump was running for a few seconds every 10 minutes or so. That and water in the bilge pointed to a leak which Wendy tracked down on Sunday morning. Looks like the yard disconnected one of the hoses to the pressure water pump and didn't put it back together too well. Cut off the end of the house, new clamps and it was as good as new.
We also found a pinhole leak in the deck where a screw securing a cabinet partition had been drilled too deep. Wendy plugged it up with Life Seal on Sunday. Probably need to be epoxied eventually.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Shot of Bitters?
Last weekend, Wendy made a trip from SF to Santa Cruz and back. The people on her boat told her that it's a tradition to drink a shot of bitters at the end of a sailor's longest journey. Never heard of that before and I'm sure it was just and excuse to get her wasted. (Nothing wrong with that -- I do it all the time).
During some research into nautical traditions, Wendy turned up this page which gives some interested insights in the sources of modern-day language: http://www.shipsandcruises.com/nautical_notes.htm
During some research into nautical traditions, Wendy turned up this page which gives some interested insights in the sources of modern-day language: http://www.shipsandcruises.com/nautical_notes.htm
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The Shakedown
Woohoo! The boat's ready to sail and I can finally get it out of the yard. Since I bought the boat I've hardly been sailing at all. Today's the big shakedown. I'm moving it from the yard back to the slip at Emeryville with Jonathan, Russ and Maureen's help. Jonathan's the previous owner and Russ owns another Newport 41. Sad that Wendy couldn't make it for today. She's sailing to Santa Cruz and back - I left the good booze back at home.
I had the boat hauled out for the survey at the start of December. Since mid January, I've been thinking, "just another two weeks and it'll finished for sure." It pretty much eaten my weekends between then and now and has been a big source of tension between Wendy and I.
So what's happened in the last months? Here's a list of the work that the yard did:
Things the yard said they'd do and decided they couldn't get around to:
Things that went wrong:
Other work we've done while the boat has been out of the water includes:
Wendy, Jonathan and Eric have helped out with a lot of this. Russ has also been a big help and constant source of advice. He also found the new halyards on Craigslist and put in eye slices and shackles.
When I got to the boat, I was happy to find that the yard had heard that we'd got the engine running earlier in the week and had moved the boat out its place 3 deep in a raft and onto the long dock. We had to wait a hour or so for the tide to give us clearance. The engine fired up nicely and after swinging after the nose at the dock, we made our way into the channel. The new sheaves and newly greased track worked great and the main went up very easily. We received some cheerios from people at the dock who'd been watching the work on the boat and made our way out into the Bay and up to Alcatraz.
The boat seemed to handle just fine. The new rigging looked great. Russ noted that the lowers looked a little slack, but the otherwise the mast looked pretty fine and Jonathan noted that the helm felt more balanced than it did previously. Weather was overcast with a brisk breeze.
Up around Alcatraz we cross the path of the Master Mariner's Race where all the old woodies compete. We followed the race for a while and crashed their finish line before putting the boat back home in Emeryville.
I had the boat hauled out for the survey at the start of December. Since mid January, I've been thinking, "just another two weeks and it'll finished for sure." It pretty much eaten my weekends between then and now and has been a big source of tension between Wendy and I.
So what's happened in the last months? Here's a list of the work that the yard did:
- Pull mast, install rigging, re-install mast and tune rigging
- Install new VHF antenna
- Repaint bottom
- Service propeller
- Install mast boot
- Fabricate new backstay chainplate
- Replaced two broken ball valves
- Install dripless stuffing box
Things the yard said they'd do and decided they couldn't get around to:
- Relocate propane tank
- Install a sump pump for the shower
Things that went wrong:
- When the boat was on the hard, I tested the through-hull ball valves. One of them had become jammed. Closer inspection revealed that in this and in another, the stem from the handle to the ball had sheared. I can't underestimate how serious a problem this could have turned out to be -- the valves gave the appearance of being closed when, in fact, they were open to the sea. Its the kind of thing you'd hope that your surveyor would spot. I figure she *must* have at least exercised all the handles... but then, if she did, I'm not sure how the problem developed while the boat was out of the water.
- I didn't get the yard to agree to a time-line for the work they did -- so, it took from December to May for a half finished job.
- Either the yard or the riggers mis-measured the original rigging and so new SS wire was cut too short for my mast. Luckily, I'd asked the the riggers to keep the original rigging so they were to (eventually) able to fix the problem.
- The yard's crane squirted oil all over my deck leaving quite a few large stains.
- I broke the bleed valve banjo bolt when I overtightened it. It took over a month dealing with parts distributors to get a replacement that didn't fit.
- I wish I'd completely de-rigged the mast and put the contents of the boat and the sails into storage. Would have made working much easier.
- I broke off the masthead fly while working on the mast.
- A friend of mine, Paul, noticed that the yard hadn't tightened one of the locking nuts on my forestay. Furling up the jib could have unscrewed my forestay...
- The mast boot the yard installed was a pretty shoddy job. It had split along the length of the boom-vang bracket a week after they fitted it. I brought it up with them and they wrapped more tape over the top. Not sure whether it will seal. We'll see. Looks pretty ugly.
Other work we've done while the boat has been out of the water includes:
- Installed new lifelines
- Removed SS mast fittings, sanded, primed, and painted mast beneath, and rebedded fittings
- Installed new anchor/tricolor light
- Design aluminium riser mount for masthead light and has it machined
- Installed new steaming light
- Ran new electrical wiring from thoughout mast to distribution panel
- Rebedded all chainplate covers
- Replaced wiring from bilge pump and float switch to distribution panel
- Replaced masthead sheaves with roller-bearing sheaves
- Replaced two fraying wire halyards with rope
- Polished topsides
- Greased mast track
- Replaced masthead fly
- Replaced docklines and fenders
- Repainted mast-step (and replaced lucky coin)
- De-rigged and rerigged boom
- Changed primary fuel filter
- Had new banjo bolt fabricated
- Replaced engine fresh water pump gasket
- Pumped out leaked coolant from bilge
Wendy, Jonathan and Eric have helped out with a lot of this. Russ has also been a big help and constant source of advice. He also found the new halyards on Craigslist and put in eye slices and shackles.
When I got to the boat, I was happy to find that the yard had heard that we'd got the engine running earlier in the week and had moved the boat out its place 3 deep in a raft and onto the long dock. We had to wait a hour or so for the tide to give us clearance. The engine fired up nicely and after swinging after the nose at the dock, we made our way into the channel. The new sheaves and newly greased track worked great and the main went up very easily. We received some cheerios from people at the dock who'd been watching the work on the boat and made our way out into the Bay and up to Alcatraz.
The boat seemed to handle just fine. The new rigging looked great. Russ noted that the lowers looked a little slack, but the otherwise the mast looked pretty fine and Jonathan noted that the helm felt more balanced than it did previously. Weather was overcast with a brisk breeze.
Up around Alcatraz we cross the path of the Master Mariner's Race where all the old woodies compete. We followed the race for a while and crashed their finish line before putting the boat back home in Emeryville.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
New Banjo Bolt
So, the broken banjo bolt has caused a lot of problems. The part is out of stock everywhere. I contacted Torresen Marine who contacted Westerbeke (who supply parts for my now obsolete Universal 5432). Westerbeke said they'd need to make new parts and it would take 7-10 days. They missed two ETAs to Torresen and when the part finally showed up, about three weeks later, it turned out to be the wrong part (it was a different part of the same assembly). I ordered another part the next day (which they did have in stock) by overnight delivery from the East coast. This turned out to be the right part but had the wrong diameter screw for my model of engine. So, about 4 weeks into this issue, I was back where I started.
Here's a picture of the bleed valve assembly.
I took the broken screw into a local machine shop who were able to make a new one for $75 (about the cost of overnight delivery from the East coast) and took two days. Wendy and I rushed it to the boat and had the engine running in about 10 minutes. She said I was grinning like a madman.
That's the last of the critical systems repaired and the boat's now good to go.
Sadly, we couldn't take the boat out of the yard because its jammed in three deep at the dock and we need to get the yard to move the rafters.
Bah!
I'm a little miffed that the yard still hadn't (and don't plan to) do some of the work I asked them to do back in December. They were supposed to re-install my propane locker in the stern locker with a new overboard vent in the transom, and also fit a sump pump to the shower (which drains into the bilge). At some point they decided that its not worth their effort. Its a pretty slack state of affairs, but what can you do...
Here's a picture of the bleed valve assembly.
I took the broken screw into a local machine shop who were able to make a new one for $75 (about the cost of overnight delivery from the East coast) and took two days. Wendy and I rushed it to the boat and had the engine running in about 10 minutes. She said I was grinning like a madman.
That's the last of the critical systems repaired and the boat's now good to go.
Sadly, we couldn't take the boat out of the yard because its jammed in three deep at the dock and we need to get the yard to move the rafters.
Bah!
I'm a little miffed that the yard still hadn't (and don't plan to) do some of the work I asked them to do back in December. They were supposed to re-install my propane locker in the stern locker with a new overboard vent in the transom, and also fit a sump pump to the shower (which drains into the bilge). At some point they decided that its not worth their effort. Its a pretty slack state of affairs, but what can you do...
Saturday, May 10, 2008
KFOG KABOOM
My friend Adrian is in town, visiting from England and so Wendy and I took out one of the club's J24s to give him a tour around the bay, finishing up with the KFOG fireworks display under the bay bridge. It was howling today. We put on the 80% and a reef in at the dock -- the first time I've ever felt the need. I'm glad I did. The boat got battered on the upwind leg to Alcatraz. Cold. Wet. And the fog started rolling in two hours before sunset. We abandoned our plans to get to the Golden Gate and headed to be in sight of the city front before the fog caught up with us. Under the Bay Bridge was a parking lot. We anchored and rafted up with a friend of ours. Wine. Cheese and Crackers. Cocoa. Mmmm...
Sailing back to Berkeley was a bitch in dark and the limited visibility from the fog. Made for a lot of tension.
Sailing back to Berkeley was a bitch in dark and the limited visibility from the fog. Made for a lot of tension.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Raise the Main (Girlfriend)!
Or: Send Up The Number One.
Getting a little frustrated with the boat being back in the water so Wendy took Patrick, Eric and I out on one of the club's J24s. We stopped off at Sam's for lunch and Bloody Mary's.
On the way back around the North side of Angel Island, my beloved Delta Ditch Mount Gay Rum hat blew off in the stiff breeze. All those expensive sailing lessons paid off though and I managed to snag it first time.
Back at the dock, we sent Wendy up the mast. Why? Why not? Perhaps just a way to make sure that the new halyards and sheaves work like they should and that nothing will break unexpectedly. Some of the blocks hadn't been used in a little while and made terrifying squeaking noise as we hoisted her up.
Terrified? Hmmm... looks like the shackle pin could use some seizing wire...
Getting a little frustrated with the boat being back in the water so Wendy took Patrick, Eric and I out on one of the club's J24s. We stopped off at Sam's for lunch and Bloody Mary's.
On the way back around the North side of Angel Island, my beloved Delta Ditch Mount Gay Rum hat blew off in the stiff breeze. All those expensive sailing lessons paid off though and I managed to snag it first time.
Back at the dock, we sent Wendy up the mast. Why? Why not? Perhaps just a way to make sure that the new halyards and sheaves work like they should and that nothing will break unexpectedly. Some of the blocks hadn't been used in a little while and made terrifying squeaking noise as we hoisted her up.
Terrified? Hmmm... looks like the shackle pin could use some seizing wire...
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Back in the water!
Well, North Star's back in the water. Feels great I can tell you. Been a long time. Glad to find that the new dripless stuffing box doesn't drip and that the new through-hulls keep the water out.
So with the boat back in the water and re-rigged, Wendy and I thought we'd take the boat out for for the day. We had no luck cranking the engine -- the starter turned but nothing fired up. On a friend's advice I decided to bleed air from the fuel system. I loosened the bleed valve and Wendy pumped the lift pumped until fuel squirted out. We tried the starter again and still no luck.
Wendy went to find help -- coming back with Bruce, one of the OCSC instructors. As he came down the companionway, I was re-tightened the bleed screw which very softly sheered off (see above). "Whoops!" were Bruce's words. Bruce heard me swear like a sailor.
So began the search for a new banjo bolt...
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Installing Achor/Tricolor Light
The weather has been foul, but got a break from the rain this weekend which means that I can finally paint and bed my anchor light.
I bought the unit several weeks ago from Ahoy Captain. Its a fancy LED Lopolight. Because of its low profile, I couldn't install it directly onto the mast as the top of the mast would obscures the view from nearby traffic. I made some sketches of a riser mount and took them into TAP Plastics to get it fabricated. Unfortunately, they only work with plastic sheet and don't have material thick enough to provide sufficient height for the riser. Several sheets can be glued together, but UV-resistant type of plastic (polyethylene) doesn't not bond well. Basically, I ran out of options with them and took it to a local machine shop (who also enlarged one of the bushing on my sheaves that were made too small).
They have a CNC lathe and knocked out the piece in a aluminium couple of hours. Fine job. I wanted to get it hard anodized but couldn't get this done in time for the weekend, so I prepped it with aluminium primer, a coat of epoxy paint and a coat of gloss. Turned out nice.
The unit's pretty lightweight and is extremely secure -- the screws I drilled into the mast are blocked from unscrewing out by the light itself. Pretty pleased with it if I do say myself.
I also replaced the masthead fly this weekend. While I was working on the sheaves, I stood up and snapped the tail off the old one. Bah! New one was snap to install though, and the tricolor should let my see which way the wind is coming at night.
I bought the unit several weeks ago from Ahoy Captain. Its a fancy LED Lopolight. Because of its low profile, I couldn't install it directly onto the mast as the top of the mast would obscures the view from nearby traffic. I made some sketches of a riser mount and took them into TAP Plastics to get it fabricated. Unfortunately, they only work with plastic sheet and don't have material thick enough to provide sufficient height for the riser. Several sheets can be glued together, but UV-resistant type of plastic (polyethylene) doesn't not bond well. Basically, I ran out of options with them and took it to a local machine shop (who also enlarged one of the bushing on my sheaves that were made too small).
They have a CNC lathe and knocked out the piece in a aluminium couple of hours. Fine job. I wanted to get it hard anodized but couldn't get this done in time for the weekend, so I prepped it with aluminium primer, a coat of epoxy paint and a coat of gloss. Turned out nice.
The unit's pretty lightweight and is extremely secure -- the screws I drilled into the mast are blocked from unscrewing out by the light itself. Pretty pleased with it if I do say myself.
I also replaced the masthead fly this weekend. While I was working on the sheaves, I stood up and snapped the tail off the old one. Bah! New one was snap to install though, and the tricolor should let my see which way the wind is coming at night.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Lucky Coins: Do Not Remove!
During the property boom of the 80's, our family upped sticks and moved from Birmingham into a big old house in the Malvern Hills. My parents had bought a fixer upper. Dad had quit his job to work on the house. At some point during the renovation he and his friend Vic, a court judge, were working in the attic putting down insulation and laying boards. Vic found an old coin nailed into one of the roof joists which he pulled out, presumably so he could get a good look at it.
Traditional is, when building a house, to nail a coin into the rafters for luck. Whether or not I believe this I don't know, but I'll tell you that within a two weeks Vic was dead. He died from a heart attack.
Which bring me to today's projects. Repainting the mast step and installing new masthead sheaves. Metal masts have plenty of holes allowing water and dirt wash down the inside. Water pours out through weep holes in the bottom, but inevitably dirt and all sorts of gunk collect in the mast step. So, while digging out the gunk, what should I find but an old coin. A 1967 quarter encased in sealant and glued to the mast step:
My boat was built in 1982. The Newport 41 owner's list however shows models dating back to 1969 -- I expect 1967 is the year Capital Yatchs was founded.
After a cleanup, prep and a new lick of paint on the step, I was careful to put the coin back just where I found it.
Wendy and I also installed the new masthead sheaves. It was pouring with rain, but the yard are waiting on this to put the mast back in, so it can't wait. Wendy's such a trooper.
Traditional is, when building a house, to nail a coin into the rafters for luck. Whether or not I believe this I don't know, but I'll tell you that within a two weeks Vic was dead. He died from a heart attack.
Which bring me to today's projects. Repainting the mast step and installing new masthead sheaves. Metal masts have plenty of holes allowing water and dirt wash down the inside. Water pours out through weep holes in the bottom, but inevitably dirt and all sorts of gunk collect in the mast step. So, while digging out the gunk, what should I find but an old coin. A 1967 quarter encased in sealant and glued to the mast step:
My boat was built in 1982. The Newport 41 owner's list however shows models dating back to 1969 -- I expect 1967 is the year Capital Yatchs was founded.
After a cleanup, prep and a new lick of paint on the step, I was careful to put the coin back just where I found it.
Wendy and I also installed the new masthead sheaves. It was pouring with rain, but the yard are waiting on this to put the mast back in, so it can't wait. Wendy's such a trooper.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Rivets
Finally removed the rivets holding on my old VHF mounting plate to the top of my mast. Had to drill off the rivet heads and then tap out the rivet pins. Because the rivets were stainless steel rather than aluminum I needed to buy a cobalt drill bit for the job and run the motor at low speed. It took about 25 minutes to drill out 3 rivets and it looks like it used up the drill bit by the end.
Aluminum Corrosion
My mast has a few spots where the metal has started to corrode. It looks like in most places, this has been caused by stainless steel items mounted on the mast (for example, the mounting bracket for the VHF antenna).
My job for this weekend is to remove these items and clean up the mast.
Some of the fittings are riveted to the mast. I need to find a way of removing these. I think if I try and drill them out, the rivets will just spin in place.
I'm also installing new lights at the top of the mast. I need to find a way of securing the electrical cables and the VHF cable at the top of the mast so that they're not secured by the equipment alone.
My job for this weekend is to remove these items and clean up the mast.
- sand down with paper and brush
- apply etching paint and wash
- apply expoy primer
- paint with aluminum spar paint
Some of the fittings are riveted to the mast. I need to find a way of removing these. I think if I try and drill them out, the rivets will just spin in place.
I'm also installing new lights at the top of the mast. I need to find a way of securing the electrical cables and the VHF cable at the top of the mast so that they're not secured by the equipment alone.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Steaming Light Flooded
Checked on the boat this weekend and found that the rain had flooded out the steaming light. Seems like the light isn't designed to be waterproof, especially when oriented this way round. Gonna replace it with a new one.
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