Time To Change Our Socks

 Having a boat is a lot of work.  Just the every day upkeep keeps you busy for a good portion of your time.  Getting that boat ready for serious cruising compounds the issue.  We've been working on a five year plan for about 4.5 years now.  I gotta point out that the first three years were spent repairing and replacing.  It wasn't really until last year that we started making improvements to the boat to get her ready for extended off-shore sailing.  We have our list of major boat projects but I don't think I've ever mentioned any of these.  What we have here are some details that make life on board a little nicer.

Last weekend Cheri took on a project that she's been asking me to do for several years now.  The shower in the forward head is a stand-up type that's separated from the rest of the room with a bi-fold door.  The door doesn't extend all the way to the floor and there's about a 4" gap at the bottom that allows water to splash all over the place.  When we first got the boat we had a water dam put in but it's only about 1" high and the floor still gets wet outside the door.  We've always rolled up a towel in the opening to catch the spray.  I've been planning to replace the dam with a taller one but......well, it's been kinda low on my list.  Cheri came up with a better idea.  She took some scrap pieces of Isinglass and cut them to fit at the bottom of the doors.  She installed snaps in the Isinglass that connect to stick-on pads that are mounted at the bottom of the doors.  With the doors closed the Isinglass hangs in front of the water dam and zero spray gets by.  No more rolled up towels, no more mess when you take a shower.  Job well done.

Another thing she came up with is for our glassware.  When we moved onto the boat we decided not to use plastic for our dishes or glasses.  After all, this is our home, not a weekend tent in the woods.  The dishes we use are called "Everyday White" from Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Our glasses are a mix.  For everyday drinks we do use the plastic insulated glasses but for wine, martinis and that kind of thing we use nice glassware.  These we keep stored in the cabinet in the Main Salon where the table folds up.  To keep them from getting knocked around we've always stored them in heavy cotton gym socks (clean!  I swear!) but we've noticed some guests get this funny look on their face when we offer them a drink and pull the glass down from the shelf.  Cheri has started knitting "cozies" for the glassware using a heavy yarn.  Each one is custom made for the shape of the glass and they look very classy.  Here's how it's done in her own words:

"I'm using "Knit Quick" round knitting looms, different sizes depending on the glass. Got a package of four at Michaels for about $15 and purchased an additional really small one, $5, for the cordial glasses. I'm using a 4p natural warp cotton knitting yarn that I got from Walmart. I believe the 4P is how many strands are in it. Came on a 800 yard spool. Probably enough to do all of our glasses. Can also be used to make dish cloths for washing dishes. I think the spool of yarn cost $10. Only thing additional that is helpful is a crochet hook.  Comes with a hook and a large sewing needle. Which I promptly lost.

First I crochet a round bottom for each glass, then hook the loop on the knitting loom and knit to the length needed...which for our needs is the height of the glass plus some for stuffing inside. Then I wrap stitch the round bottom to the sock and voila...glass sock.

The loom is so easy I taught my five year old niece to knit."

Cheri was inspired by some port curtains she saw that Pam Wilson had done for IP420 "Pappy's Packet".  She borrowed the design and modified it to make it her own.  They're shaped like shower caps with elastic sewn into the opening.  They stretch over the ports for a nice snug fit and look great.  The material she used has no definite pattern and she used different colors for different parts of the boat.  With the light coming through from behind they look like stained glass windows.  She had so much fun making them she made extra sets for different seasons.  In the winter she puts foil backed foam inside the curtain and it does a nice job of keeping the cold out.  We found that the one curtain in the forward shower kept getting soaked because the hand-held shower head hangs on the wall right next to it.  Cheri recently picked up some cheapo shower caps (real ones, $0.99) and replaced that one curtain.  It works great and the water just rolls right off.

An Ounce of Prevention...

We're coming into the final phase of outfitting and preparation.  Our goal is to cast off no later than the end of March 2015.  Cheri retires December 31, 2014 and at this point has something like 150 days to go.  I'm going to keep working until the end of February, maybe into March.  It sounds like a long way off but the time is flying by and we still have a ton of stuff to do.

We're making lists.  This is not something I normally do but with so many projects going on we'd end up forgetting half of them.  We're concentrating on the smaller projects for now and leaving the pricey ones until later.  Right now the list has 20 current projects and 15 new ones.  The new ones include the single side-band radio (SSB), life raft and it's installation, water maker and a few others that we just won't be able to complete until after the first of the year.  The current projects include finishing the Monitor wind vane, building storage for the cockpit lockers and some cabinets for the aft cabin, varnishing the toe rail and some other stuff that we can knock off now with low out-of-pocket expense.

Last weekend I installed a new 110VAC outlet at the head of our bunk.  Cheri's been asking for that for about five years now so I thought that one should be at the top of the list.  Like everything else, that turned out to be an all day job.  Most of the work was under the bunk beneath two levels of storage.  By the time I got everything emptied out the boat looked like our old storage locker with stuff piled everywhere.  It took as much time to move stuff around as it did to run the wire and put in the new outlet.  Life on a boat.

My big project for this past weekend was to install a preventer for the boom.  When we depart next year the places we want to go will have us running before the wind (trade winds) for much of the time.  When you run before the wind the boom is pulled out to one side or the other to catch the wind.  In light winds the mainsail tends to flop around if there's any kind of wave action.  We'll most likely be running with the waves too so the boats motion will be rolley-poley and that boom will want to go all over the place.  If the boom swings too far aft the wind can catch the sail from the opposite side and force it all the way over to the other side of the boat.  This is called a gybe and when uncontrolled can be dangerous for the crew and possibly damage the boat.  A preventer attaches to the boom and gets run forward and tied down to keep it under pressure and stop any movement.  We have a line that we use for this now but it requires that you go up on deck to attach it or to make any adjustments.  It attaches to a point about halfway out the length of the boom and I've found that this can be a bad thing.  There can be tremendous pressure exerted on this preventer as the boat moves around.  Not only that, our mainsail is "loose-footed" and attaches at the mast and the end of the boom but not along the length of the boom.  As the sail flops around it puts pressure on the attachment points.  If the boom is "prevented" half way out it can cause the boom to snap in half.  This could very possibly ruin your day.  To "prevent" this I've come up with a better plan.  Actually I copied it from another guy's boat.

What I plan to do is attach our preventer about 6" in from the end of the boom.  I want a permanent set-up so we'll have a preventer attached on each side of the boom to use depending on which side the boom goes out to, port or starboard.  The preventer will be in two parts for each side of the boat.  Section "A" will be permanently mounted on the sides of the boom.  It'll attach to eye nuts at the back end and pull forward to a cleat at the front of the boom and store there when not in use.  Along each toe rail will be the other half of the preventer, section "B".  One end will have a snap shackle spliced into it which will attach to the eye at the end of section "A".  When not in use the snap shackle will attach to a storage ring on one of the life-line stanchions.  Section "B" runs through a block attached to the toe rail forward of the shrouds, up towards the bow.  From there it runs aft to a rope clutch, then into a turning block and up to a winch in the cockpit.

Sounds confusing but it'll work like this.....

• the boat comes to a new course to run before the wind and we adjust the main sheet to allow the boom to extend out over the starboard side (or the port side, depending on the winds direction).
• one of us will go up on deck and remove section "A" from the cleat on the boom and attach it to the snap shackle on section "B".
• back in the cockpit we'll take the other end of "B" and wrap it around the winch and snug it up to pull the boom forward and put it under tension.
• once the line is adjusted we'll close the line clutch to lock down the line and we'll be able to remove it from the winch so that can be used for other jobs.

There may be times when we'll sail for days without changing course and all adjustments can be made to the mainsail from the cockpit as needed.  This is absolutely gonna be the cat's meow.

So, the weekend went by and despite being pulled off-track by other "necessities" I managed to get started on the preventer.  Earlier in the week I had ordered the parts I needed on-line.  The eye nuts are available in polished form for $40 from Wichard but I opted to get rough castings from McMaster-Carr for $7.  Didn't have to think that one over for very long.  I also got a good price on the snap shackles and 6" cleats from another on-line source and all my parts arrived by Friday.  I made measurements for the line I'd need and had them made up at the West Marine in Annapolis.  Section "A" is 25' long and has an eye in each end.  One side is reinforced with a metal eye to reduce abrasion and is formed on the ring of the eye nut.  Section "B" is 50', has an eye formed on the ring of the snap shackle and the other end is left plain.  All ends are whipped.  I used 7/16" Sta-Set double-braid for both sections, two each since a duplicate preventer will be  mounted on each side of the boom.

With all my parts on hand I pulled the boom out over the finger pier and lashed it down to keep it from moving around.  I pulled the end cap off the boom and chose a spot to drill based on the flattest location with the fewest extrusions.  The holes I drilled are almost 6" in from the end and slightly more than half way up the side of the boom.  The end-profile of my boom is kinda square on the top half and tapered on the bottom so I chose a part that has parallel sides.  I ran the 3/8"-16 all thread through the holes and placed nuts, lock-washer and flat washers on each inside surface.  This is going to be a pressure point on the boom and I wanted to make sure there would be no flexing.  The all thread extends out each side enough to mount a lock washer and the eye nut.  Where it extends through the inside of the boom I plan to cover the threads with a section of 3/8" hose to prevent any chafing of the out haul line.  I don't think it'll ever come in contact with it but I'm doing it just in case.  Next weekend I'll mount the cleats on the forward part of the boom to complete section "A".

Section "B" will require a little more work.   I'll have to mount padeyes on the toe rail to hold the turning blocks.  I could hang them off the rings at the bottom of the stanchions but I'm not sure how bullet-proof those are.  Be a bummer to have one blow out while you're running before 20 knots of wind in 10' seas.  The padeyes and the line clutches will need backing plates and those will be mounted from the inside of the boat so this job will require two people.  I plan to fabricate the backing plates during the week and hopefully find enough time to complete this project the following weekend.

I'll make an effort to get some installation pictures and do another update next week.

One more thing.....our vegetable garden is awesome!  The tomatoes are incredibly delicious.  We planted two kinds, little cherry ones (sweet!) for salads and big heirloom ones (so much flavor!) for sandwiches.  We also had cucumbers and zucchini.  The zuchs were made into bread and Cheri came up with a recipe that includes curry and ginger.  Out of this world!  We also planted enough herbs to keep us going for a year.  We had a ton of mint for Mojitos!  This will be the last garden we do for a while and it's been a total success.  Lotsa fun.  Many thanks to Herrington Harbour North marina for letting us play in their dirt.

Jose, Can You See....?

 Last Wednesday (7-2-14) we sailed up to Baltimore Harbor.  We had Cheri's grandson, Jack, along with us and wanted to have something special to do for the 4th.  Reservations had been made two months in advance at the Inner Harbor Marina and they had given us the best seats in the house for the upcoming fireworks display.  Coinciding with this was Hurricane Arthur which was working it's way up the coast and predicted to be off the Maryland coast on Friday the 4th.

Sailing up the Bay on Wednesday we had perfect weather with temperatures in the mid 80's and about 10 knots of wind from the SE.  We managed to sail the entire way up to the Patapsco River before we ran out of wind and had to finish the trip under power.  It's a long haul up to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, about 9 miles from the mouth of the river.  It's mostly heavy industry along the shores but every now and then you see something that really stands out.  Fort Carol near the Francis Scott Key Bridge is such a place.  Robert E. Lee designed it as a front line of defense for the city of Baltimore and he supervised construction which began in 1848.  It was originally intended to have 30' high walls but construction was interrupted when the Civil War broke out.  The facility was never fully completed or even fully gunned and manned.  It's been privately owned since the mid 1950's and is in poor derelict condition.  Atop the western wall is the remains of a light house.

Just past the Key Bridge is a red, white and blue marker in the water showing the spot where Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star Spangled Banner" while he was on board a British ship trying to work out a prisoner exchange.  We were surprised to see how far this spot was from Fort McHenry which is located at the entrance to the Northwest Harbor and Baltimore's Inner Harbor.  Doing some research I was also surprised to find that Key had been a lawyer and a pro-slavery activist and had instigated a number of lawsuits against the anti-slavery movement.  Interesting.  It was cool to see Fort McHenry from the water.  Directly across from the fort are some grain silos and at their base is a small light house that appears to be in good condition, another interesting sight.

We wound our way into the Inner Harbor, passing the Under Armour factory and the Domino Sugar processing plant.  At the very end of the harbor is the Inner Harbor Marina where we had our reservations.  The marina has three floating docks (A, B + C) laying parallel to the harbor.  When we arrived at 1630 we were given a slip half way down B dock which turned out to be the primo location for the fire works show on the 4th.  The IHM is a nice, clean facility, expensive and 99.9% power boats.  Really big power boats.  We had an early dinner at the Rusty Scupper and spent the evening on the boat.

Thursday we got started early and went to the Aquarium shortly after they opened the doors.  This place had been built (1981) not too long after I had joined the Navy and this was the first time I'd been there.  Wow!  I was impressed.  Even nicer than the Monterey Aquarium in California.  This day turned out to be blistering hot, heat index of 109F, so we divided it up into aquarium (cool), tour sub (hot), aquarium (cool), tour Constellation (hot). 

Touring the Constellation turned out to be even more interesting than I had hoped.  There were actually two Constellations.  The first was a 36 gun frigate built in 1797 to defend American shipping from pirates along the north coast of Africa.  She served in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812.  She was scrapped and dismantled in 1853 at a yard in Norfolk, VA.  In 1854 the second Constellation was built as a sloop-of-war in that same yard.  She served mostly in diplomatic service.  By the beginning of WWII she had become widely confused with the original Constellation of 1797.  In the early 1960's she was given to the city of Baltimore where she was hyped as the modified original frigate and went through a restoration in the 1970's
that attempted to rebuild her to the 1797 configuration.    In 1996 she underwent a four year, $9 million restoration to her original 1854 configuration and it was at this time that her true identity was verified.  The FBI even found "historic" documents that had been forged to prove her identity as the 1797 frigate.  The USS Constellation sitting in Baltimore is now officially recognized as the 1854 sloop-of-war.


On Friday we spent almost the entire day at the Science Center.  I gotta admit this was pretty low on my list of things to do and I figured we'd be part of a small crowd with mostly little kids.  It turned out to be very interesting with lots of hands-on stuff explaining how sound, light and electricity works as well as great exhibits, one on dinosaurs and another on weather.  We spent several hours sitting in a shop on the third floor making stuff with clay.  It was very relaxing, informative and a great way to spend time with a 12 year-old.  I guess we're all little kids at heart.

By the time we left the Science Center it was late afternoon so we headed back to the boat for dinner.  Afterwards we walked back over to the area by the Constellation.  The place was packed.  In the corner of the harbor a stage was set up and music was supplied by a rock-n-roll band from the US Navy.  These guys were wearing their summer whites and they were rockin'!  Earlier I had read that the Navy band was playing and had been expecting "Anchors Aweigh" and ceremonial stuff.  This was a pleasant surprise.  We stood and listened to the band for a while and then worked our way through the crowd back towards the marina.  We had about an hour before the fireworks and wanted to get things set up on the boat.  Back at the marina things were really jumpin'.  Every slip was now taken and every boat was packed with partiers.  Of all the boats there I'm pretty sure we were one of maybe three sailboats.  That's OK.  Everybody was having fun.

The fireworks started at 2130 and lasted about a half hour.  The display in the harbor was launched from a barge that was located straight out from us about 200'.  As they went off the sounds from the display and the crowds echoed off the buildings. They kept the display to a low altitude for safety, I'm sure, but at the other end of the harbor was the display over Fort McHenry and that was full size and awesome.  We had a great location to watch them both from.  We had set up some canvass beach chairs on the forward deck and watched it all with a cigar in one hand and a bourbon lemonade in the other.  Well, uhm, Jack had a Coke.  We had a great time.  I guess I should point out here that the hurricane cooperated by staying far out to sea and we had beautiful weather for the fireworks display.

We had to depart early Saturday morning to get Jack back in time for a visit with some friends in DC.  There was a nice breeze out of the West as we motored out of the harbor so we took a moment to set the sails and glided down the Patapsco River at about 5 knots.  As we sailed past Fort McHenry they were demonstrating one of the canons for the tourists and fired directly at us.  All noise but no ammo.  Once we recovered we continued to the mouth of the river where we turned to the SSW, almost directly into the wind.  Being on a tight schedule we were forced to make the decision to run home under power.  So embarrassing to drive past all those billowing sails and there were lots of 'em too.  Everyone in Annapolis with a sailboat was out there.  We finally got home around 1800.

OK, here's some historical tidbits.  The Inner Harbor is not very big and was originally the location for ferry terminals providing services (both freight and passenger) to other parts of the Chesapeake Bay.  Before the advent of highways and the Bay Bridge this was the major form of transportation for towns around the Bay.  Overlooking the south side of the harbor, directly behind the marina where we stayed, is a large hill called Federal Hill Park.  I asked several locals about the history of the hill
but no one seemed to know.  I looked it up and found that at the start of the Civil War, 1861, Baltimore City, like much of Maryland, was severely split in their politics.  Troops from the North were being brought into Washington DC through Baltimore and on April 19th riots broke out with four soldiers and twelve civilians being killed in the streets.  Martial law was declared and 1000 Federal soldiers built a fort atop the hill with canons aimed at the financial district.  They remained there throughout the Civil War to ensure the city and state of remaining a part of the Union.  Interesting.  They didn't teach that to us in school.  It's also not even mentioned on the plaque they put up.  I guess that wasn't one of Baltimore's finer moments.

Bed Time Stories

We brought back this embroidered pillow from Bermuda to serve as a memory of our trip.

When we first bought the boat back in September of '09 we knew we didn't want to use the 4" foam mattress that came with it.  We're old and creaky and really needed something better.  We bought a really nice 6" thick, inner-coil, pillow-top mattress from Handmade Mattress Company, HMC (click here).  It has a built-in hinge 1/3 of the way down from the head so you can lift the foot to get into the storage area beneath.  We've been sleeping on this for four years now and have decided it's just too firm for us.  Cheri's been having a lot of back trouble and we suspect the bed is too hard for her.

One difficulty in finding a replacement is that the bunk is an odd shape.  It angles out from the inside surface of the starboard hull to give you access to three sides of the mattress but that upper right corner is beveled to fit the sloping hull.  The other side is notched inwards about 4" to fit around a bulkhead.  The corners at the bottom are also broadly rounded.  Plus there's that hinge.

We ended up at the Mattress Store in Annapolis (click here).  They have Latex mattresses and carry every model in their showroom so we could try them out.  They also claimed they would modify to fit for a minor fee.  Cool!  We tried all the beds out and found the Mama Bear's was just right.  The mattress is 12" thick and built up from five layers of varying density.  Laying on it you feel like you're on a cloud.  There are a number of good reasons to consider Latex for a mattress.  It's an all natural material that inhibits mold, mildew and bacteria making it a good choice for on a boat.  Latex is also naturally hypoallergenic, dust mite resistant and anti-microbial.  It supports you evenly and comfortably so there are no pressure points.  More importantly, it allows the spine to remain straight, aligned, no matter what your sleep position.  The mattress cover is made of a bamboo fabric that breathes and provides for cooler contact with the mattress.  They had thinner mattresses , 8", but I bottomed out when I jumped up and down on it for the "badly behaved kids" test.  The 12" mattress passed all our tests and we decided right there that this was what we wanted.  The price was about the same as what we originally paid for the HMC mattress.

First we had to get rid of the mattress we already had.  It was in excellent condition, like brand new, and I just couldn't bring myself to throw it in the dumpster.  I advertised on the Island Packet web sites and offered it for free.  I figured because of the odd shape there would be a very limited market and I just wanted to find a new owner for it.  After two weeks a fellow Packeteer down in Florida, also a 420 owner contacted us and said he was interested and didn't mind waiting while we got the new mattress built and delivered, about three weeks.  Perfect!

Cheri made a brown paper template and we headed down to the Mattress Store with cash in hand.  When we showed the template to the sales lady she hemmed and hawed and said she didn't think they'd be able to do it.  The modifications were more than she had planned on.  She sent the template into the factory for the final word.  Two weeks later they sent it back saying it wasn't possible.

We don't believe in that "not possible" stuff so we contacted Catherine's Upholstery in Deale.  Cathy had done our cockpit and salon cushions and modified our bedspread to fit the funny shaped mattress.  She does great work, always on time and for fair prices.  Cathy went with Cheri into Annapolis to take a look at the mattress we wanted.  She felt she could modify it the way we wanted for about $100.  We ordered the mattress and had it delivered to Catherine's.

Three weeks later we got a call from Cathy.  We were originally going to eliminate the hinge because the foam is much more flexible and we thought it would fold easily to access the storage area underneath.  When Cathy got the mattress she was concerned about it fitting though the companionway when it was delivered.  Hmm, I hadn't considered that.  Our companionway is kinda V shaped with the width at the bottom of the V being 20"  The widest part of the opening is only 40".  She was right, that 12" mattress folded over might not squeeze through that hole.  Yikes!  I went down to her shop to ponder the situation and decided the best thing to do was to put the hinge in and hope for the best.

Two weeks later we got the call that they'd deliver the mattress that Friday morning.  Cheri and I scrambled to get the old mattress off the boat.  We hauled it up to our shed at the marina and bagged and boxed it so it'd be ready for shipping to Florida.  We also removed the connector panel for the Bimini to allow better access to the companionway.  When the new mattress arrived it looked huge!  We considered removing the Dodger but the delivery dude (Gigantor!) said he thought it was pliant enough that we could squeeze it through.  He was right.  With a little persuasion we got it through the companionway and once it was down below the rest was a breeze.  With the mattress in place we marveled at the beautiful job Cathy did in modifying it.  The fit was perfect.  Once the bed was made we even found that our modified queen sized bedspread fit even better than before.

After our first two nights sleeping on this behemoth we've decided it was definitely the right choice.  We were concerned about the extra height of the mattress but it's no problem getting on and off and there's still plenty of headroom when you sit up.  We thought Bella might not be able to cope with it but she's a "circus dog" and jumps on and off with no problem.

So now we have achieved perfection in all four stages of sleep.  We transition through stage one in half the time and our theta waves are twice the amplitude they used to be.  We quickly pass through the rapid brain wave activity of stage two and the delta wave period of stage three with a brief transition back to stage two.  Then it's Nirvana as we enter stage four, deep sleep and then REM sleep.  REM sleep is characterized by rapid eye movement (REM), increased respiration rate and increased brain activity. REM sleep is also referred to as paradoxical sleep because while the brain and other body systems become more active, muscles become more relaxed. Dreaming occurs because of increased brain activity, but voluntary muscles become paralyzed.

Of course we still get interrupted halfway into stage four by that stupid anchor alarm.

Countin' Our Pennies

We've hit an interesting snag in our plans for retirement.  Due to unforeseen circumstances our boat projects will have to be put on hold until after next January.  That is, IF we want to retire this year.  We could always opt to work another year or two.....NOT!  At this point in the game we'd much rather tighten our belts for a while and ditch this dog and pony show as fast as we can.  We have a short list of fairly expensive items that we need to get before taking off that include a single side band radio, life raft and security system (lights, bells, grenade launcher).  We're about half way into the water maker project and won't be able to proceed any further with that until we get the rest of the parts.  These things will have to wait until we get back on our feet next winter.

The good news is that we can carry on with what we already have.  There's two 140 watt solar panels in the shed waiting to be mounted.  Those could go up and replace the two 85's until we can get a frame built to mount all four.  I also still need to make permanent mounts for the dinghy cradle.  That's strictly labor and involves cutting holes in the cabin roof.  I've been putting that one off mostly due to fear.

Another project that can still move ahead is the Monitor Wind Vane.  The cost of a simple rebuild is still within our tightened budget.  I contacted the factory, Scanmar, about what I might need to get this thing mounted to my boat.  To my amazement they still had all the purchase info on the original owner, the guy I bought it from.  It's actually 28 years old but you'd never know just to look at it.  I mean, it's in really very good condition.  I think by the time I was 28 years old I was a physical disaster with multiple injuries and poor general health.  The factory dude said that the only installations they had done on Island Packet 420s had swing away mounts to retain access to the swim ladder.  Nice option but that costs about $2400.  Not an option for us.  They said for $100 they could design a mount for us.  Now we're talkin'.  They sent me an e-mail with all kinds of information but at the end they focused on the age of the wind vane.  They felt that at 28 it was beyond it's useful life and there was concern about crevice corrosion in critical areas.  They offered me a trade-in for $1000 off the price of a new one.  Uhm, thanks but that just puts me even deeper in the hole.

Armed with new information I decided to do a total restoration of the wind vane.  This involves a complete dismantling, cleanup, inspection and replacement of any damaged parts.  I'm already well into it.  I've found that all the rust and corrosion cleans up nicely using Flitz polish and plenty of elbow grease.  As I've taken things apart I have found some evidence of crevice corrosion in critical areas but I'll be able to replace those parts if necessary.  One of these areas is in the pendulum yoke.  The two bearing cups that
hold the bearings are cracked all the way through(see top photo at left).  This looks more like stress than crevice corrosion to me but nevertheless they still need to be replaced.  These are held in place with two small welds that can be ground out for removal.  The yoke (pendulum strut) itself, where it's welded to the post does have some crevice corrosion (bottom photo at left).  I can get replacement bearing cups for $16 and have them welded in locally.  The yoke is probably OK but I could also replace that for $430.  Have to really give that one some thought but at this point I don't think it's necessary since the corrosion appears to be just at the surface.  I'll weigh that against the expense of having the rings welded on before I make my final decision.  Mostly what I'm finding is original plastic shims and bushings that have disintegrated.  Small parts like snap rings have also broken through.  Restoring this thing is a lot of work but I'll know it through and through by the time I'm done.

 What's really sweet is that every single part is available from Scanmar and at decent prices.  I can do a rebuild at $432.88 which would replace all the necessary parts that are in bad shape.  I could add a strut guard to the frame for extra protection for an additional $165.  I could also do the deluxe rebuild which takes it even further with a replacement yoke, all new blocks and all new lines for an additional $792.50.  I can do a complete rebuild and basically have a brand new monitor for $1390.88 plus the $1500 I paid originally = $2890.38, so I'd still be ahead by $1600 and change.  But perhaps I'm getting a little carried away here.  Better opt for the basic rebuild for right now.  I think we can just barely swing that.  Even if we don't have a buncha dough I do have plenty of time so this one is worth taking on.

I've learned quite a bit about crevice corrosion since taking on this project.  It mostly occurs between two metals when moisture is introduced and becomes trapped and oxygen starved.  The areas around the yoke were beneath a washer so that accounts for the corrosion.  This can happen in welds too.  An example that I read about in an even worse place is the stuffing box for a propeller shaft.  The packing is supposed to be tightened around the shaft so that a slow drip occurs.  The water is intended as a coolant for the shaft and if you tighten it down too much you can feel the heat build up while the shaft is turning.  It is possible to tighten the packing just enough so it doesn't get hot but the drip rate is too slow to allow enough oxygen into the area and corrosion of the shaft can occur.  It's important to adjust the packing nut to allow one to three drips per minute.


We have even more to smile about.  We have a dry bilge!  How cool is that?  We've had this boat for 5 years now and it's always had at least 2" of water sloshing around in the bilge.  It would go stagnant and stink within a week.  We'd pump it out and then go through the same cycle over and over again.  Five years.  We recently wised up and installed Mermaid Condensators in the return lines for our AC units so they no longer dump condensation water into the bilge (click here).  I was amazed to find that this was 99% of the water we got down there.  We still get a few drops from rain running down the mast but I can live with that.  This past weekend we ran a fan in the bilge and completely dried it out.  We then applied two coats of bilge paint.  What a difference!  That was well worth the effort.

Back at the beginning I mentioned we were planning to install a security system.  I've done some studying and have learned a lot.  Originally I was thinking of a panic button mounted somewhere down below that you could hit if you heard some bad guys sneaking aboard.  This would turn on bright spreader lights and start blasting the fog horn, both of which we don't yet have.  This would probably be enough to make most bad guys abandon their efforts and jump ship.  For those with more fortitude we'd have to get out the grenade launcher.

In my studies though I found that marine security systems have advanced quite a bit recently.  They now have deck pressure sensors that can tell when someone is walking across the deck.  It takes more than 30 pounds to set it off so a bird or Bella wouldn't be giving false alarms.  The new systems will send GPS coordinates if your boat gets stolen and can also call or text you (as well as the police) when the alarm is triggered.  Instead of using spreader lights and fog horns they now have audio alarms (watch the video) that are so loud (125db with unbearable frequency patterns) they can immobilize people.  They have sensors for if someone tries to steal your dinghy or engine (or both).  There's even a system that can fog a room (click here) so densely you can't see a thing and it continues to fog it for something like two minutes, way beyond the time most bad guys are willing to stand around.  You can set up a perimeter around the boat using GPS so if it moves outside that perimeter it'll set off the alarm.  Cameras that you can watch on your phone.  Total control of the system by phone or iPad.  We're talkin' high tech for the boat world.  We're mostly concerned about bad guys sneaking on board while we're asleep.  The deck pressure sensors with lights and sound would take care of that.  It would also be nice to know if someone was sneaking aboard while you're sitting in a bar on the beach somewhere.  A system that can text you would be pretty sweet.  Of course I think we still need that grenade launcher.  We do plan to put in a security system of some kind.  I guess now we have some time to figure out just what we want to do.

Leadenham Creek 06-06-14

Leadenham Creek

 Earlier in the week we started talking about what we wanted to do over the next few weeks.  I checked out the weather and found that this weekend, June 6 - 8, was predicted to be pretty nice and that the following weekend was looking like a good chance of rain.  We opted for anchoring out this weekend and spending next weekend getting caught up on some projects.

Since we both work four tens, Monday through Thursday, we don't get much done at home during the week.  Friday always falls to weekly chores.  We had hoped to get underway by noon but had a list of things to take care of first.  As it worked out we didn't clear the dock until 1500.

I had checked with two weather resources and both agreed the wind would be NW at 5 knots and then swing around to the SE on Sunday.  With that in mind I planned for us to head to the Wye River.  Once we got out into Herring Bay we found the wind to be ENE and 5 to 10 knots.  Plan B was instituted and we headed for the Choptank River.  It was a pleasant sail at 4 to 5 knots on a close reach and as we approached the Eastern Shore the wind slowly crept around to the north allowing us to enter the mouth of the river on a single tack.  As we came around past Tilghman Island the wind was directly ahead and at this point it was already getting on to 1800.  We still had at least two hours to go, if we were making good time, so we decided to furl the sails and finish the run under power.

The plan was to try a new anchorage on Broad Creek.  We've been there a number of times before and found most good spots to be fairly crowded.  With this in mind I thought we might try Edge Creek near Elberts Cove, which doesn't seem to be as popular.  As we approached red #4 to make our turn to starboard I glanced off to the left and saw all the anchorages down that way were completely empty.

Grace Creek had always looked attractive to me and I figured this would be a good time to explore it.  It's fairly narrow but has several wide spots that might make a nice anchorage.  The one I chose was on our port side just before the first green marker.  On the chart it says 8' and I approached it slowly and swung in a broad circle to scope out the depth.  We were well within the 8' charted depth when we came to an abrupt halt.  Hard aground.  This was a bad spot to be stuck in.  We had gone about 2/3 around the cove and were headed out towards the channel.  If we tried to back down we could end up in 2' of water and risk damaging our rudder.  No point in trying to turn to starboard because it was shallow there too.  I turned hard to port and gunned the engine to full ahead.  We didn't move forward at all but eventually we slowly spun to port, turning on a dime.  I straightened the wheel and we slowly made headway, plowing through the mud and eventually got back into deep water.  Hmm, I think that chart needs updating.

After this experience I decided maybe Grace Creek wasn't the beautiful anchorage I had originally thought.  We headed back out to the channel in Leadenham Creek and turned towards Baby Owl Cove.  We had anchored there before about two years ago.  It's a good anchorage but the cove is small and you're surrounded by houses.  It feels like camping in someone's back yard.  The southern side of the creek had no homes though so we proceeded a little further and found a nice spot in 9' of water straight across from Coopers Point.  The anchor dug in on the first try and we ended up staying there through Sunday.

This is a quiet spot and well protected.  On Saturday we took the dinghy out for some fishing and thought we might tie up to a nearby duck blind.  As we approached we discovered there was an Osprey nest built on top of the duck blind and momma and papa Osprey were not happy about us being so close, about 10' away while we tied up.  They screamed at us and flew about but once we drifted off they settled down.  We tried fishing for about half an hour before discovering that the water was only 2' deep.  We retrieved our line and headed out to deeper water.  I think the birds were glad to see us go.  It turns out these are not real social birds like Parakeets or something and they seem to prefer to be left alone.  Go figure.

We tried fishing several more times during the day but saw no action.  Just before dusk we went out again and found ourselves surrounded by skates.  They weren't biting but it was pretty cool to see them breaking the surface all around us.  I think they must have been busy with one another, not really concentrating on food at the time.  We tried again Sunday morning but had no luck then either.  We did witness a huge skate furiously break the surface about 50 yards away though.  It made a splash like when a 100 pound golden retriever jumps in the water.  Definitely a big boy.

Over the weekend we had some nice meals.  Friday night we had some nice Tilapia fillets (read this!) cooked in butter with rice.  Saturday was blueberry pancakes for breakfast and for dinner we had an excellent T-bone steak cooked on the grill with mushroom gravy, asparagus on the side and a nice Molly Dooker Shiraz (click here) from Australia.  Breakfast on Sunday was French Toast made with Cheri's secret recipe which includes vanilla and almond extract.  Uhm, OK, maybe not so secret.

We departed for home around 1130 Sunday morning.  It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze out of the SSW.  We raised the main as we left but didn't shut off the engine until we were out of Broad Creek.  Once out into the Choptank River the wind was brisk, about 10 to 15 knots.  We tacked across towards the south shore and then tacked again to take us out the mouth of the river.  Off the southern end of Tilghman Island there's a deep channel that provides a shortcut above what used to be Sharps Island.  We turned into this, readjusted our sails for a broad reach and had an excellent run home at 6 to 7.5 knots.  Coming into Herring Bay we cut in close to Holland Point and tightened up the sails to run past red#2, still running at 7.5 knots.  We turned up into the wind, furled our sails and motored into home the rest of the way.  Pulled into our slip at 1730.

Awesome weekend!

Wind Driven

We have an auto-pilot (click here) which consists of a P70 control unit, SPX-30 Smartpilot Corepack and a type 2 short stroke linear drive, all made by Raytheon.  This works great for short runs around the Chesapeake Bay or maybe for day hops between islands but it has two big disadvantages.  It's a major power hog and it doesn't hold up in bad weather.  Our plans include some long cruising between stops and we really need something that won't suck down our battery power.  We're also most likely going to hit bad weather now and then with nowhere to run and hide.  We're going to need an auto-pilot that won't go on strike, ever.  On our trip to Bermuda we hit a storm and the auto-pilot wasn't able to keep up with the waves.  It gave up when we needed it the most and we had to hand steer for 12 hours straight.  Driving a car for 12 hours is tiring.  Driving a boat in high winds and 15' - 20' waves for 12 hours is exhausting.

After doing some research and reading about what real-life "round-the world-sailors" have done we decided we needed a wind vane.  There are a handful of designs and some seem to work better than others.  The stand-out favorite is the Monitor, now made by Scanmar (click here).  This is what's called a servo-pendulum type wind vane.  It's operation is explained on their website as follows -

"Imagine yourself holding an oar with its blade behind a boat that travels forward. You will do fine as long as the edge of the blade is aligned with the direction of the boat. If you twist the oar, even a fraction, the water will hit the flat surface of the blade and you will be unable to keep the oar straight - it will swing to the side. A tremendous leverage is created from the blade, through the shaft, to the end of the oar where you are holding on.

A servo pendulum gear uses this great leverage to keep the yacht on course. An oar or paddle is suspended like a pendulum from the stern of the boat. As long as the yacht is on course, the oar blade trails on the center line. The airvane is the sensor that controls the servo pendulum oar. When the boat wanders off course the airvane will sense this and rotate the oar. The flow of water hitting the blade broadface causes the pendulum oar to swing to the side with great force. The pendulum is connected through lines to the wheel or tiller and the resulting movement of the yacht's rudder brings the boat back on course."

The only power it uses is the power of the wind and water.  It makes no noise.  It performs better as the wind increases in strength.  It doesn't complain about working the midnight shift and it doesn't drink my whiskey or smoke my cigars.  Perfect!  The biggest difference between the Monitor and the auto-pilot is that the Monitor holds a course as an angle to the wind and the auto-pilot holds a compass course according to GPS coordinates.  Now you might think it's better to hold your course by GPS and this would work well for a vessel under power but we're a sailing vessel and we set our sails to the wind.  Out in the ocean the wind tends to blow fairly consistently for long periods of time.  You can adjust your sails for the course you want and then set the Monitor to maintain that angle to the wind.  As long as you initially set your sails correctly the boat will always hold that wind angle no matter what the wind does.  If the wind does shift you simply adjust the vane on the Monitor to bring it back to the course you want, then readjust your sails.

This past Winter we made a list of major purchases we needed to make for the boat over the next year before we retire.  We have five items at the top of that list and none of them are cheap.  A new Monitor wind vane costs about $4500.  Every now and then you can find a used one for sale but they get grabbed up pretty quickly, usually in days of being listed.  I looked around the usual places and did find some ads but they were already sold by the time I got to them.  I checked EBay and found nothing.  Then I tried Craigslist, which is supposed to be for "local sales".  I hit the Annapolis area, then Baltimore, then DC.  Nothing.  Then I tried coastal areas in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.  Still nothing.  When I finally got down to southern Florida I found what I was looking for.  There was an ad just recently posted for a 30 year old Monitor that had been faithfully maintained and updated with new parts.  It came with a box of spare parts and two new wind vanes for light and heavy winds.  All the control lines had recently been replaced with 1/4" Dyneema.  Asking price was $1500.  I jumped on it, contacted the owner and made the deal.  This is a large item and shipping came to $140 by FedEx.

Installation of this thing should be fun.  It hangs off the back of the boat from four sturdy legs.  Our boat does have a sugar scoop which provides about 18" of footing but not much room to maneuver.  Might hafta use the safety harness back there to keep from going in the drink.  We'll also have to rearrange some of the gear at the stern.  There's an engine hoist and a rail mount for the outboard engine.  I also need to figure out what to do with the stern swim ladder.  I'm hoping we can walk out on the frame of the Monitor and climb down the side of it to the deck of the sugarscoop.  That'll require a custom ladder of some sort but I don't want to lose the use of this part of the boat.  It's a great spot for swimming and with the ladder we have now it affords easy access to and from the boat.  Just one of those things that needs to be worked out.

I received the Monitor on Tuesday.  For being something like 30 years old it's in very good shape.  The picture at left is of it sitting in our cockpit.  I plan to go through it this weekend, clean it up and give it a close inspection.  From what I've already seen it appears pretty much ready to use.  I will have to order some leg extensions since our boat is completely different from the boat it came off of, a 38 foot, 35 year old, John Alden designed sloop.  Fortunately for me Scanmar supports every wind vane they've ever made, original owner or not, and all parts are available for use on any boat.  I just need to call them with the serial number and the model boat we have and they'll make up the parts we need for the installation.

There are a few parts that I'm thinking about replacing since it's all pretty easy to get at right now.  The pulley used to adjust the angle of the wind vane is the original part made of aluminum.  It's showing wear, mostly cosmetic, due to salt water exposure.  A replacement is available made of Delrin for $59.  There are quite a few bearings and I'll have to take a close look at those.  Our Monitor arrived with several parts kits and one of these included a full set of bearings but I want to have spares for this thing so if needed I'll order more.  Being a pre-1991 model it's missing the bottom brace on the main frame and I could get that for $165 and have it welded on locally.  Probably be good insurance.  All the control lines are in good condition and must have been replaced recently.  The frame itself is in very good shape with some minor stains that buff out easily.  Not dents or anything major to worry about.  I think we did pretty well on this one.  It'll make a nice addition to our crew.

Just for an update......I have started ordering parts for the water-maker.  I've sourced all the parts we'll need and have prices for everything.  I ran into a snag with the high pressure pump and it's delayed things by a few months.  Fortunately we have plenty of time for this project since we won't be needing it until we depart.  The HP pump is the heart of the entire system and I'd really like to

have that before I do anything else with this project.  It's large and heavy so location is going to be everything.  The other "big" parts are the two membranes which are 40" long and I'm planning to

mount them in the chain locker.  I saw another Island Packet that used this location and it made pretty good sense.  The only concern I'd have would be exposure to low temperatures if we decided to cruise the Antarctic or something and realistically, I don't think that's going to happen.  I guess the only other bump in the plans is where to mount the control panel.  I think the spot that makes the most sense is where the medicine cabinet is in the forward head.  That's just about the right size too.  Of course I don't think tearing that out would go over too big with the crew.  Hafta give this one some more thought.  I'll continue to collect the parts for the water-maker and once I have everything on hand I'll begin assembly.

These are two pretty big projects and I'm looking forward to working on them.  I'm in way over my head now but still enjoying the journey.