September 2 9 Two Wednesday Afternoons with the Old Salts

First, an innovation on an Old Salts Wednesday: a visit to Louies Seafood Restaurant in Port Washington in Manhassett Bay. Eleven of us motored over with light wind in our faces between noon and one. From left to right: Carolyn, Art, Klara, Dave, Morty and Art on the left side and then continuing: Bennett, Marcia, me, Mike and Sandy.

I felt a bit guilty not eating at the Clubs restaurant - the Club can sure use our business - but our group does eat there rather religiously on all the other Wednesdays. The only other problem was how long it took to serve the eleven of us, but the food was good, albeit pricier than at home.  In short, we did not get off Louies dock until three and had only two hours for sailing.

With winds continuing out of the south we had little difficulty, less than I had feared, backing off the south side of Louies dock, the wind aft the beam out of Manhassett Bay and then a close reach over to Throggs Neck. I had the genoa out until then and furled it there in favor of the small jib for a reciprocal course and then back to the mooring. On the prior Wednesday, Deuce of Hearts had been faster and this time it was the other way around. But with ILENEs handicap, she is supposed to be ALOT faster and this was not so. Can I blame this on my helmspersons, who are not as experienced in sailing my boat and more interested in having a good time than going as straight and hence as fast as possible? I think not. And it got worse the next week.
Once back at the mooring, the six of us on ILENE transferred to Deuce of Hearts for a libation of Margaritas, instead of the traditional G and Ts. See, it was an innovative Wednesday indeed.

The following week we reverted to our old fashioned ways as befits a group called Old Salts. Seven folks on ILENE, went slower than Larrys 31 Pearson sloop "Jubilee" with three aboard.
What a great name for a boat: signifying freedom. Larry brought a friend from many years and Morty went with them. On ILENE, in addition to me, it was Klara, Marcia, Art, Dave, and Ernie. Ernie of "BLAST", which was on the cruise and is so every year since before I joined the Club, has been a big help to me for many years. He is about the purest power boater one can imagine. We used ILENEs engine for the first five and last ten minutes of our 3.5 hour sail, and teased him about how much fuel we were saving. The wind was from the SSW, nice and we used the small jib compared to Jubilees use of the genoa. The result is that we stayed reasonably close together, almost to Execution Rocks and back. A rain cloud came up in the west. It looked like rain but not a big black thunderhead with sometimes punishing winds. But I felt literally four drops. Our only problem aboard ILENE was that the clips that hold the float of the pickup stick at the correct height slipped, causing the stick to ride low in the water, making for several passes before we were able to reach down low enough to grab it. No photos because I left my cell phone home!
No much sailing because we spent the four day Labor Day weekend in the Berkshires where climbing is fun but sailing cannot be done. Elevation 1700 feet, 700 above the valley floor. Good exercise.

We did go over to Hop-O-Nose marina in Catskill NY for a luncheon visit with Dean and Susan of "Autumn Born" on our way home. They are planning to head south in early October and maybe we can connect with them when they pass through NYC.

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Last Winter 230 Days A Compilation

Avid readers of this blog (are there any?) knew that this post was coming. It is based almost entirely on information contained in the 91 posts that described our activities during the period October 7, 2014 to May 26, 2015, compiled for statistical purposes.

We devoted about 1.5 months transiting from City Island, NY to the northern border of FL and the same amount for the return trip, with the remaining 4.5 months in Florida, almost two thirds of the 7.5 months total.

We made 85 passages. These took 89 days because a few were multi-day passages. This means 141 lay days. So on 61% of the days we just stayed where we were. The longest stay in one place was in Ft. Lauderdale, 17 days between five on our southbound and 12 on our northbound stops there. Though given the number of places we stayed in Miami (Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, and on Key Biscayne, all in Greater Miami, we spent 24 days there. And we stayed in many places only overnight, with the longest number of consecutive passage days being five, from Portsmouth VA south through the Dismal Swamp to Whitaker Creek, Oriental, NC.

The furthest ILENE got from City Island was Marquesa Keys, an uninhabited atoll about 25 miles west of Key West. This was 1063 miles (all miles are nautical miles unless otherwise indicated) from City Island, as the crow flies, for a crows round trip of 2126 miles. But we cant sail as the crow flies -- over land -- and we made several side trips up rivers such as to Jacksonville and Washington DC. So our total mileage for the round trip was 3561.5 (equal to about 4095.7 land miles). Average mileage per passage was 41.9 miles, ranging from 268 miles for the first passage, from City Is. to Annapolis MD, to only 1.5 miles from an anchorage at the south east corner of Coconut Grove to the Coral Reef YC, in the NW corner. And the median mileage per passage was only 34. Of the 89 passage days, only 22 were outside, in the Atlantic, though another twelve were in Chesapeake (11) and Delaware (1) Bays, where, with a little luck, one can sail. All the other 55 passage days were in the ICW or on rivers, where sailing is an iffy proposition at best. In fact, the lack of opportunity to sail is the biggest drawback to Florida as a cruising destination as compared with Maine, the Bahamas or the Caribbean. And we were underway for 577 hours, thus averaging 6.1 knots of speed overall.

Destinations: by State:
New York.         1 (City Island)
New Jersey.       2. On the way back
Maryland.          9
DC.                    1
Virginia.             8
N. Carolina.      11
S. Carolina.        6
Georgia.             4
Florida.             31
This adds up to only 73 ports, rather than 85, and the difference represents arrivals in the same port for a second or third time. And significantly, 57 of the ports we visited were "new" ports to us, with the other 16 being places ILENE had visited on prior cruises. In my opinion a new port is many times more challenging than a return visit.

How did we attach to land?
Five nights were at sea - overnights, with no attachment.
Of the rest, 38 were on moorings, 89 were on our anchor, and 98 were at docks. Unlike the kitties who see docks as roaming opportunities, we prefer less docks and we could have had a few less dock nights except for rough weather in some places and the desire for electricity to get heat in others.  Our stops were as different and varied as a few hundred yards off the back side of Miami Beach in the middle of a bustling harbor, to quaint towns like Swansboro NC, and anchorages in tidal creeks where we saw no one and beside islands in the Atlantic such as Rodrigues Key. So it never gets boring.

Dining?
230 days makes for 690 meals. Altogether, 140 of them, about 20%, were taken off ILENE, some on other boats, some in friends homes, but off ILENE. But we had the most dinners off - 88, and only 31 lunches and 21 breakfasts. Our grocery bills exceeded our restaurant tabs

Our ashore activities, in addition to cleaning, shopping, cooking, laundry, haircuts and the usual activities of life maintenance were many and varied:

The Annapolis Boat Show
Sightseeing by auto on Islands in the Chesapeake off the Eastern Shore
Stand up paddleboarding
Car tour of a proposed bike tour
Fast Ferry to the Dry Tortugas and visit to Fort Jefferson there
Evening lectures on Dorothy Parker and on the history of Miami Beach
Snorkeling from a catamaran on a reef off Key West
Concert  by band led by Cab Calloways son
Power boat ride through Miami Beach harbor
Sabbath prayers at synagogue near Fort Lauderdale
Hospital visit to Lenes cousin Naomi with broken pelvis
H.S. Class Reunion (Lene only)
Radio controlled model sailboat racing
College graduation at St. Marys College, MD, because we were there
Tour of monuments on the national mall in DC
Tour of the Capital building and the Library of Congress
One science museum
Twenty seven history museums
Six art museums
Six art gallery tours
Four maritime museums
Three hospital, doctor or vet visits
The Kennedy Space Center
Universal Studios
Two wildlife preserves
Three botanical gardens
Five beaches
Twelve movies
One ballet
Four live plays in theaters

Lene read 30 books and I read ten,

And the best thing about Florida is the number of friends who we met along the way. I counted 28 persons or couples who we had the pleasure to meet on our travels, several more than once, such as going south and coming back. Some we met both in Florida and at their summer homes in Maryland. Connections included family, grade school, college, the navy, work and of course, boating. Nine of the 29 are current or former members of the Harlem Yacht Club. None of our other sailing trips came close in providing access to people from home who you know.

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August 25 to September 10 Getting Ready to Cruise

Well the Labor Day weekend was spent in the Berkshires, welcoming Liannes new puppy, Finn,  who I call "two pounds of cute fluff"

and visiting her new grandson, Jude.

Ilene climbed with me to the top of Monument Mountain, just north of Great Barrington so we know that her recovery from the removal of the tumor from her lung is making great progress. And I spent at least a day trying to get her medical insurance restored after a foul up of monumental proportions. But this is a sailing blog so lets get to it.

Well actually I did more working on the boat than sailing during this period: 24 hours of work spread over five days, two of them with helpers: Peter, who sailed with me from Virginia to Tortola in November 2010, at the outset of this blog, and our nephew Mendy, who washed the black streaks from the freeboard with salt water while

standing in the dink, and got a sunburn  (and my gratitude and a steak dinner) for his efforts. This working time compared to only 11 hours underway on four days. Such a sailing ratio, once per four days, is below average, but an unfortunate necessity when preparing to go cruising

We got the dink fully inflated after obtaining its parts and accessories from several places, and got it hoisted and secured to its davit bar after Mendys work. I did a lot more sanding and varnishing of the teak cockpit table, the 13 new brass switch plates and the 21 old brass trim rings for the overhead lights after the green corrosion was sanded off. The single biggest task involved the handles used to protect against accidental turning on of the cabin sole lights by brushing against that switch at the companionway, for which new holes had to be drilled.

Another major project was the installation of a "T" valve to be able to divert fresh water from the water maker to the starboard water tank. Peter helped me on this which required removal of the cabin sole to run the pencil thin low pressure black hose from port to starboard, tie it to larger hoses with wire wraps, figure out how the valve worked and attach it to a much bigger and more solid hose so it wont bounce around, and removal of  the aluminum viewing port from the top of the starboard water tank, drilling holes in it, and using blue liquid gasket material to seal the fitting to it and it back onto the tank. Peter also winched me to the top of the mast to inspect and adjust the genoa halyard and this time I got in a photo op of the Club from about 62 feet above sea level, but at low tide.
I also refilled the propane tank and re-installed it in its newly waterproofed locker and took the life raft off the boat to Westmarine to be sent to the repacking company which should be done every three years -- but we have "used" it for four. And while in such a mindset I checked out the inflatable life vests. Ive learned his should be done annually but had never done this before! A decade! The CO2 cartridges are corroded beyond repair and one needs to be replaced. But even worse, the other vest, when inflated by blowing through the tube, failed to hold air -- it was down to 1/3 of its air after an hour. So a new one has been ordered plus a two million candlepower flashlight for finding ones mooring at night.

Getting the dink hung aft and the propane filled really reminded me that cruising is right around the corner.

Oh yeah, some sailing days were fun too.
First with Lene, Cynthia, who sailed with us earlier this summer and has moved to Israel, and Rhonda,

a friend of Lenes since third grade, shown here at dinner at the Black Whale after sailing. The three ladies chatted the entire time, moving gracefully out of my way from time to time as needed for my sail handling. In modest winds we hit a tide assisted 8.1 knots under main and small jib enroute to the far side of Manhasset Bay.
Next, Lene came with me and Peter, who later spent a day working with me and Debbie,

our Rabbi, during which we got to Matinecock and back, with Peter at the helm most of the way.










The excitement on this trip was a "hat overboard" drill during which we successfully retrieved Peters expensive Tilley hat. This picture was taken before it went swimming.

The ever lovely Lene on the leeward side, with Debbie and Peter

I also sailed for a couple of hours aboard Bennetts Beneteau, to Great Neck on the east side of Stepping Stones, and back, in about four knots of wind. Upon returning I joined Morty and Clara, Mike and Sandy and Richie and his friend Charley, a survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor, for refreshments aboard "Easy Living." The Wednesday afternoon ritual.
Finally, on one of the work days, after completion of the chores, Rhoda came out and we had the best sailing, due to stronger winds from just a bit east of south. After close reaching it out of Eastchester Bay on port tack, we got on starboard and made it to green can "1", NE of Stepping Stones before returning via Hart Island Sound.

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Header Photo Philadelphia Tuckup

The previous header photo was of the reproduction Philadelphia tuckup, Marion Brewington, built by the Independence Seaport Museum. I lifted this photo from the Green Boats blog which unfortunately went dormant two years ago.

The Philadelphia hiker and tuckup were Americas first racing dinghies. Racing these catboats on the Delaware River was going full bore in the 1870s (which indicates that it was developing in the 1860s and maybe earlier) and continued to the early 1890s, when expanded commercialization of the Philadelphia waterfront shut down the tuckup yacht clubs and their boat houses. Following the lead of the sandbaggers, the unlimited hikers had ridiculous sail plans, carrying cat rigs up to 450 square feet. The  Marion Brewington is a fourth class tuckup which had reduced the sail area to a more sensible 177 sq. feet (but still on the overpowering side in modern terms), set on a gaff rig on a hull of 15 feet in length. The fourth class tuckups were normally crewed by two. The two hull lines of tuckups that have made it to the present day, the Thomas Seeds and the Spider, are both fourth class tuckups

Ben Fuller put together a very interesting history of the hiker and tuckups in issue #148 of Woodenboat, pages 46 through 53. Well worth a read if you can get hold of a copy.

The famous and somewhat controversial American painter, Thomas Eakins, painted the hikers in his well known Sailboats Racing on the Delaware (1874).

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April 20 Beaufort SC to Charleston SC 57 2 Miles

I forgot something that happened in Beaufort, probably because Id rather not remember. While we were in the theater we heard a loud storm going on outside. Some water came into the boat through the mast boot but that was easily picked up. I learned to dispose of a used American flag with respect. We had retired one at the beginning of this cruise which had been torn to tatters by the wind. But the wind tore our newish flag -- and its flagpole -- off from the boat. I will figure out a more secure way of attaching the next one.
Yes, I know I said we had decided to anchor in the Stono River, just short of Charleston, but our speed was so good today that we made the 3:30 opening of the Wappoo Creek Bridge and never had to deal with the fact that if you dont make the 4:00 opening, you have to wait until 6;30. It seems by dumb luck, we had favorable tide and the deep water of high tide most of the nine hours we were underway from 7 am to 4:00 pm. The favorable tide is proven by our average speed - 6.3 knots.
I have thought of several additional reasons why it is impossible for that hypothetical Ph.D. to figure out a tide algorithm. It depends on where in the river you sail: in the center the tidal flow is different from nearer the sides. It varies during the six plus tide cycle, slow at the beginning and end and fast in the middle. At bends in the river, one side flows faster than the other. And when you add in motor-sailing, as we did all day today, your speed will depend on the wind direction and speed which vary from minute to minute, relative to the boats course which was a near continuous curve, and on the diligence and skill of the trimmer. Today the wind was generally from near our stern and the small jib self jibed many times, as it is designed to do. I hope to never mention that crazy hypothetical algorithm again.
It was a cool but not cold day, warming up in the afternoon, with hazy sun poking amidst the light clouds. No rain.
We had two small problems near the end. I bumped into the throttle lever while walking past the binnacle, decellerating our RPMs and bringing back the "alignment" problem that we hoped we had fixed. The rattle was back and big time. But coming to neutral and building up the RPMs slowly -- the rattle was gone again. Something is still wrong and needs to be fixed. Shortly after this I think I caught a crab pot float on our rudder. The wheel became very heavy to turn and our speed was considerably slowed. I think that a crab pot was the cause of the problem but we dont really know. I turned the boat several times and slowed her and if it was a crab pot float, it fell off.
One of the crew at work, doing what he does second best (first is eating!)

Here is Charleston from our anchor on the Ashley River. On our two prior visits here we took a dock at an excellent marina on the Cooper River, on the north side of town, which was full tonight. But we had no plans for sight seeing this time and did not lower the dink.

We have also determined, subject to plans D, E and F, etc., tomorrows (and the next days) passage: to the Masonboro Inlet and the anchorage of  Wrightsville Beach. At 6.5 knots this will take 24 hours, anchor to anchor. We plan to leave about 10 A.M., with favorable tide flushing us out. Decent wind from the west is predicted.
We have also determined our planning deadline for arrival back in NYC -- June 7. Lenes niece, Barbi, and her son, Trevor who we hung with in Amsterdam last June, are visiting and will arrive on June 10. We would like to get home a few days earlier to get settled and unpacked, and those few days also serve a second purpose: as a buffer in case bad wind prevents the Atlantic overnight up the Jersey coast, as it did when I helped Jim bring his 26 foot "Aria" up in about 1996.

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The Garcia Exploration 45 Jimmy Cornells New Boat

Aluminum Boat Building Is Alive And Well (in France)

Allures and Garcia Yachts http://www.garcia-yachting.com/ were well represented at this years Annapolis Sailboat Show. With the Allures 39.9 and the Garcia Exploration 45. In this review I will be discussing the Exploration 45 built by Garcia Yachts. Also known as Jimmy Cornells New Boat.

The Exploration 45 was designed with the input of veteran sailor, voyager, and cruiser Jimmy Cornell. The design comes from the board of Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design.

Even though this is a new design, and something I have not seen before, it does have something in common with other Garcias and the Allures Yachts a centerboard with twin rudders. This design makes for a very efficient sailing design because one rudder is alway vertical under sail. At slow motoring speeds having the twin rudders without the benefit of prop wash can make this type of design difficult to maneuver. The Expedition 45 solves this problem with the installation of a bow thruster. I was impressed with how well the boat maneuvered in the tight confines of the marina. With a draft of 3.44 with the board up and 9.14 board down shallow water cruising opens up a new world not usually visited by monohulls. With the board down windward performance is better than you would think of a centerboard yacht. As with all boats this design is a compromise of shallow draft and windward preference. It is a compromise I can live with! In our sail off of Annapolis, Maryland in 15-20 knots of wind we obtained speeds of 7-9 knots. The Exploration 45 handled well, which was to be expected of the design. In the afternoon the wind continued to increase and we decided to put a reef in the main. The process went with out a hitch. Over all, sailing this boat should be very easy for a couple.

One of the most impressive features of the Exploration 45 is the navigation station. The navigation station is located in the forward saloon. This allows great visibility out of the house windows. I was impressed in the fact I was able to see over the bow from this position. The interior was easy to navigate underway and comfortable. My only complaint is the limited access of the engine which is below the sole at the companion way which could make servicing the engine underway difficult. I found the filters and strainers were easy to access. The cockpit felt safe and comfortable. For the watch there is a safe place to sit behind the house with the chartplotter/radar within easy reach.

Down Below Underway

What about the construction? I took a very close look at the construction of this yacht. I am thankful that the Builder and Swiftsure yachts allowed me access to the bilge and systems areas of the boat.

I was very impressed with what I could see. The metal work stands out on Exploration 45. The hull is fair, the welds are well executed, and the hull to deck edge is beautifully done. The cabin top is made from fiberglass composite. The aluminum decks are covered with cork decking to give the appearance of a teak deck. The footing of this deck is very good and it feels good on the knees.

Hull Framing

I would very much enjoy finding myself hundreds of miles offshore, watching the miles tick by on an Exploration 45.

With Allures and Garcia Yachts being marketed in the USA by Swiftsure Yachts http://swiftsureyachts.com/garcia-exploration-45-2/ 

I hope to see more aluminum boats on the water here in the states. I look forward to when these yachts are on the used boat market and I find myself surveying one.

To view a video of the of the Exploration 45 underway go here:  Exploration 45 from Swiftsure Yachts

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Header Photo Balmain Bug Aussie Historical 6 Foot Skiff

Australian Historical Skiff

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The previous header photo was of the "Balmain Bug" a 1994 reproduction of the Aussie 6-Footer Historical Skiff Class. Aussie Ian Smith built her and she is shown on the dock sporting her light-air rig with a boom at least over 2 times the length of the boat and a bowsprit approximately 10 feet long (3.19 meter). Talk about being over-canvassed. The 6-footer class takes the cake for being the craziest of the crazies!

Quoting from the seminal book on the history of the Aussie skiffs, Bluewater Bushman by Bruce Stannard [1981];

"It is believed they were first built at Balmain in the 1890s and although they were first conceived as childrens boats, there is no doubt that they demanded the strength of three men who were courageous, good swimmers and had the strength and agility of circus acrobats...They carried a staggering 1000 square feet of sail including a main, jib, topsail, spinnaker, ringtail, and even a watersail. [Mike Scott, over in comments, defines watersail as..."hung below the main boom to catch that extra drop of wind.....almost drooping in the water....hence the name....!] With so much sail up and so little to support it, it is hardly surprising that the 6-footers spent a lot of time "in the gutter"....

The class peaked during the early 1900s, attracting numbers because it was the cheapest way to go racing. Here are some photos of the early 6-footers sailing around 100 years ago. [Found on the Net]

The original crews sailed the 6-footers upwind with the bowsprit plowing a furrow in the water; probably the only way they could balance the whole package upwind.

Now for photos of the modern 1994 Smith reproduction 6-footer. A picture of the "Bug" off-the-wind in a fresh breeze, shortly after being launched. Looks like the crew is trying to get to the back of the bus when reaching but, alas, there is no back of the bus.

After ten years out of the water, the "Bug" was relaunched in October for this years Balmain Regatta.

A quote from crew Campbell Reid:

"Even though she is based on a design close to a century old you can see how for their time these boats were pretty high tech...She will bury her bow in the blink of an eye but we were impressed at how seaworthy she was and were really happy that we could get upwind pretty well. In the six foot division of the historic skiff fleet at the regatta we think we are a serious threat.

 The precarious crew position Campbell Reid finds himself on the foredeck/bow may be the most comfortable one in drifting conditions. [The next two photos pulled from the Balmain Sailing Club website.]

Stick two grown men into a 6-footer and the scale becomes obvious. A 6-footer becomes a true "micro" dinghy.

The obligatory GoPro video shoot from this years relaunch. The bowsprit is so long it gives a perspective of a much larger dinghy. The 6-footers, like her bigger historical cousins, sported canvas lee cloths in a vain attempt to keep the water on the outside




A more recent 2015 video of the Bug including flying a good size spinnaker without driving her under. (Came pretty darn close though!)

• Click here for other posts on Australian Historical skiffs.
• For a sketch on a possible rig if you wanted to make the 6-Footer a classic singlehander, click here.

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January 20 Pumpkin Key to Rodriguez Key 27 7 miles

It worked like clockwork. The alarm got us up at 6:30 and after coffee we were underway at 6:50 and Angelfish, which we feared, was easy; no soundings of less than 8.2 feet. We were through it by 7:50.

The tide flowed strongly against us in the Creek, with surface eddys swirling, as in the East River back home, and the wind in our faces, both of which slowed us down, which is good if you fear a grounding. So you can chalk us up in the group that holds that Angelfish is doable in a 5 8" draft hull. (High tide was at 8:10.)

Once out in Hawk Channel the depths were in the teens and we ran under Genoa alone at speeds of up to 7.5 knots with the wind a bit forward of the port beam. Yes, we actually got to sail!!!  Yesterday and today we were greeted by dolphins again after a long absence from them in Dade County. Hawk Channel is wide and marked by buoys.

We were anchored behind Rodriguez Key by 11:30 am.  The key is a big uninhabited, wooded oval l.8 miles long and 1/4 mile wide, which lays east to west. It is a nature preserve, girded by mangroves, with no apparent means to reach it by land, sea or air. On its north side, between it and Key Largo there is room for a hundred boats to anchor in 7 to 9 feet of water. We were the only boat here when we arrived, later joined by eight others. The winds were from the SE and hence the key provided little protection from them or the waves they kick up, but mild winds were predicted for the evening and night.

We were here so early that I wondered if one could tie up a dinghy on Key Largo (Spanish for Long Island?), a mile away. Yes, but only by the payment of $20! My curiosity to explore a bit of Key Largo was not that strong. We also thought to play with the SUP which has not been used since we rented it back in Miami Beach. But the day was not pleasant, cool, grey over head and showers predicted, so we did not do that either. And not many chores -- a low tie of the genoa to its roller furler was redone, as was the lower tie of Old Glory to her staff. The hose from the gas tank to the outboard now works again. I am so lazy these days. reading, writing and laying around. Is it possible that Im slowing down?

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Welcome

Metal Boat Surveys

Join me as I share findings from metal boat surveys and give information on the upkeep and care of a metal boat.

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BoatBuilding A Mad Mothist does a Bottom ectomy

On modifying my Classic Moths Ive rebuilt decks, rebuilt daggerboard trunks, added buoyancy tanks, glassed interiors, but Ive never grafted a new bottom onto an existing Moth - performing a bottom-ectomy so to speak. British Mad Mothist, Jim Champ, former Cherub sailor, dinghy historian, amateur dinghy designer, current International Canoe sailor, and webmaster of the International Canoe website is doing just that to a fiberglass Skol he purchased.

Ill let Jim explain his project in his own words.

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"The back story is I picked up this 1970ish Skol Int. Moth because I needed something to sail while a health problem was stopping me sailing my Int Canoe in most conditions, and besides, Id always fancied one. The fact that I am now about 5 stone too heavy even for a vintage Moth didnt deter me.

Anyway, the boat came out of someones garage roof, and I completely failed to spot, under the layers of dust, that at some stage the boat had been sliced off at the waterline and been given a new wood bottom, replacing the original glass. This was no problem until after a seasons use it became apparent that the wood bottom had been allowed to rot back in the day, and some crucial bits were now leaking badly as the water had re-penetrated.

So I ended up cutting off the wood bottom, and Im now building a new one, and learning about cold moulding while I am at it. Shape wise its roughly based on a Cherub I drew in about 1974 but could never afford to build.

What have I learned from this project? Not to be afraid of cold moulding, and when you do it use plenty of strips. I originally was trying to use quite large panels in order to minimize the number of accurate edges I had to cut, but actually getting the sides of the strips accurate is surprisingly easy given a small sharp plane and a block and sandpaper. Its definitely right to have too many strips rather than too few. Getting the length right on a very 3d boat, on the other hand was a nightmare, but in any rational new build that wouldnt be an issue. 2mm ply was definitely much easier than 2.5mm veneer, having tried both, but if you use ply you cant varnish because the smart money is youll go through the outer layer in some (or in my case, many) places when fairing up.

I did the boat partly in 2 * 3mm and partly in 3 * 2mm. The junction between the two was something of a pain and in any case I carried 3mm too far forward. The last bit of 3mm was definitely excessively 3d. Im sure the boat is somewhat asymmettric in that area because with the panels at 45/45 ish, bending the last bit was problematic. The first layer has a much bigger impact on final shape than subsequent ones, and in the transition on one side the first skin was 2mm and the other 3mm. It would probably have been better to suffer the horrendous cost of the 2mm ply and done the whole boat in that. If I were doing a new boat it would be 2 * 2mm ply all over with a glass skin inside and out, uprating the inner skin appreciably in the slamming area round the bow by adding inner glass over skin and stringers, not under stringers.

This was the first project I used a router on which was interesting. Vision really was a major problem, I guess my shop isnt that well lit because I found it really hard to see what the cutting edge was doing. For a long accurate cut to put a rabett in the glass topside (ouch, terrible thing to do to a cutting tool) I stapled a batten as a guide right along the boat and that was a major win. The other thing that helped with a router was to get a marker pen and colour the area I wanted to remove, which made it soo much easier to be confident about what I was doing. I still had a few slips in the wrong places though. 

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Some photos...

Looks like Jim was able to cold mold over two stringers per side as well as the topside stringer junction.

Finished hull. The Skol featured a self-draining hull. George A, fellow Classic Moth bloggist over at Mid-Atlantic Musings, has also deconstructed a Skol back to a bare hull. Click here to read about his Skol project.

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Jim adds the history of the Skol in the comments section which Ive dragged to the main post.

"From what I can make out there seem to have been 4 Skol [models].

Mk 1 may have just been 3 prototypes, which look as if they had unstayed masts and a fair gunwale line.

George A.s boat is a Mk 2. The 1969 Moth yearbook said production was planned for two versions, a SL and regate version. The SL was to have a daggerboard and was the lighter built. The yearbook also says [it sported] an unstayed mast. I think in practice many were built with stayed rigs. They seem to have had false floors and stern tanks, at least some with drains through the stern tank. The actual production detail may have varied, but all had the little extra piece at max beam [hiking winglets].

Mine started life as a Skol Mk 3. She has a fair gunwale line, an open stern and a deck stepped mast. The shrouds were supported by glassed in alloy tubes down to the base of the mast foot.

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The Strongback Advice from John Bridges

The CABBS blueprint of the strongback.

We received our plans from CABBS and started thinking about the first step to build the prams. My brother is in the process of cleaning out his garage for this project, and I havent had a lot of time to go over the blueprints. It seems pretty clear that the first thing that needs to be done is the Strongback.

I contacted John Bridges who has been building Optimists since 1963.  I saw a post comment he made on the WoodenBoat Forum and traced that back to the work he has done with the Moraine Sailing Club. 

John (brown shirt) lifting a hull off the strongback.

"I first built Optimists in Trinidad back in 1963 using the plans as published in the Rudder magazine.  I think we just set up a pair of 2" x 6" timbers on the floor as a base to work from.  Since then I have built others in Chile, Colombia and Ghana.   Some where along the line I built the present strong back here in the USA  which has been used to build about a dozen Optis out of the 17 that I have helped MSC members to build. my strongback is on legs to raise the hull to a convenient height for working and avoid to much back bending. 

The first operation is to make the centre frame and two transoms.  These will have extended side pieces so that they align with the (straight and level) datum i.e. base of the strongback.   I have the cross bearer for the bow transom, bevelled so that the Bow transom can be screwed to this and it is important that the other two cross bearers are at the correct distance from the first one.

Strongback in use during one of Johns group building projects.

I usually use ring shank Phosphor bronze ring shank nails to hold the plywood in place on the chines whilst the glue sets. Epoxy is messy stuff so we are usually using PL2 Construction adhesive these days. For several years we have used Lauan Plywood (Interior use but with Exterior glue) and have found that this lasts for at least 6 years without problems providing it is kept painted and stored out of the sun and rain.   

1948 Optimist Plans

It can be covered with fiberglass cloth which adds to weight and durability.  The USA made Pine plywood does not weather well.  For more permanence Marine Plywood is available for about $95 per sheet (cf 20 for Lauan) It is all a matter of, as we say in England "You pays your money and takes your choice".  (Johns photos)

As we get started on this project we will be posting pictures and video of the Optimist project. We hope to create a good record of our mistakes as well as triumphs.

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December 10 St Augustine to Daytona Beach 45 Miles

The storm surge having receded from the day before, we got underway at 6:30a.m. motoring the inside passage starting shortly after low tide. We held our breath a few times passing under 65 foot bridges as the tide rose during the day. There were about ten bridges in all but the low ones all opened on request, causing no delays. It began cold but clear and the winds were light. Bundled up, we were warm enough. The ICW here was mostly southerly and deep and wide enough to not be a cause of worry. With the winds mostly easterly, we were able to fly the small jib and later I was emboldened to fly the genoa, which gave us half a knot.

We arrived at the Halifax River Yacht Club  at two. What a club it is. View with Lene from ILENE.

It is easily approached directly from the ICW through a straight, well- marked channel -- a 90 degree right turn west from the ICW just after passing a particular low bridge. You can see the day markers to the sides of ILENEs forestays and part of the bridge to the left.

 The Club is a mile from the beach, using that bridge to cross the ICW.
First built on this site in 1898, it was recently rebuilt. The dockmaster, Peter, formerly a teacher, after directing us to our dock and helping us with our lines and electric cord and brewing a pot of coffee for us, gave us a thorough tour of the place, of which he is justly proud. Im a big booster of the Harlem and could have done no better by the HYC than Peter did for the HRYC. He stubbornly refused our proffered tip. The tides are normally less than a foot here so the docks are fixed, not floating. HRYC has a large and elegant clubhouse and a large membership.  Some of the boats here have been extensively done up in Christmas lights.

The restaurant had only its Tiki menu due to a membership meeting our night there so Peter pointed out several restaurants in easy walking distance, of which we chose McKs Irish Pub. He also pointed out the Clubs health club. He offered to take us to stores in his car and a free bag of ice cubes. The showers are clean and offer a copious flow of hot water. This club has many more members than it has room for boats in its marina. It has three hotel quality meeting rooms and had three outside organizations booked for meetings the day we were there. It has three full time office staff. It offers a free nights dockage for members of any other YC that is part of a council of 30 clubs in Florida. As members of the Harlem we paid only $1.25 per foot. It has an active ocean racing program and a youth program.
The only drawback in my view is that in order to actually sail one has to go fourteen miles south in the narrow ICW and then through the somewhat tricky Ponce de Leon Inlet near New Smyrna to the sea with freedom to select the course you wish. Figuring at least five hours for going out and coming back in, this leaves few hours for a day of sailing.
In the morning we declined the free coffee but Peter took me to the sea for a walk there and I walked back and then took Lene to the Supermarket, waited for her and brought her back.
The beach is quite long and clean. Paddle boarders and surfers were out in wetsuits and the paddleboarders surfed the big waves. I noticed the communities of various species of sea birds standing on the beach, common gulls, those with long orange beaks, with the same beaks but black tipped and sandpipers, all in what appeared to be harmony. I talked with the fishermen on the pier built out into the sea. On my way back, taking the closest street paralleling the beach, I saw the usual suspects: tattoo parlors, salt water taffy, piercing shops, head shops, pizza parlors, fried fish joints surfing shops and those selling towels and tee shirts for women with sexually suggestive double entendres blazoned on the front.
On my way back, from the low bridge next to the Club I shot a view to the north of two high bridges with a low one in between them, under which we had passed.

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November 10 12 Three Lay Days in Charleston Zero miles

A municipal manhole cover. Carol is Greek (or Latin?) for Charles and Polis, as in Annapolis or Metropolis, is city or town, hence Charleston, founded in 1670.

There are only three requirements if you want to cruise like we do, the other things are subsidiary. One is time. You need to be retired or independently wealthy or on a sabbatical or unemployed.  Second is money. Not a lot, but you need to buy a boat and maintain and provision it. And third, but no less important than the other two, is good health. On arrival here I thought we had run out of good luck with the third requirement. Lene was bent over with excruciating pain in her left knee. Every few steps was an attack of acute pain. We cant go on like this I thought. She cant climb over life lines and take big steps down from deck level to dock level or transfer between boat and dink.

I told her that we could haul the boat in a yard here in Charleston for the winter, fly home, get the medical problem fixed and come back here next spring and sail ILENE back to New York. The end of the adventure. But then I thought, before such a drastic decision lets get some medical advice. We consulted with our friend Bill, in Oriental, who is a retired Orthopedist. We took a cab to Roper Hospital where x-rays were taken by the ER doctor who gave us a referral for an ASAP visit with an orthopedist on their staff. The ER physician also gave Lene a soft splint, held in place by foam rubber and velcro, which essentially immobilized the knee, causing a very wobbly gait but the absence of the pain, and a prescription for anti inflammatory/pain killers. And these really helped a lot and Lene was walking, slowly but without pain, up to 3/4 of a mile each way. The orthopedist told her to "sail on," resting the knee when possible and using the pills and splint as needed. Her condition has a fancy name and is exacerbated by cold weather. Surgery, replacement and even cortisone can wait. Here is our sick bay, notice the flowers, and the gekko, to the right, below the clock, with short bits of weatherstripping hidden behind it so as not to mar the cherry wood. He will be a reminder of both our Carribean adventure and this trip.

Fortunately,we had spent a week here in the Spring of 2012 and seen most of the major sights, and can stop here again on the way home, because we did no sightseeing on this trip. We did laundry (it is free for boaters in this municipal marina, The Charleston Maritime Center, purchased a new Ipad to replace the one I ruined with salt water in the Chesapeake, and grocery shopped in Harris Teeters, a pretty good supermarket. We took a walk among the historic homes here

(notice my shorts; a warm day at last!) to

 a memorable lunch at Jestines with great inexpensive southern cooking and named after a domestic servant who died in 1997 at age 112, the daughter of an ex slave and a Native American. Jestine worked for a southern family for many years and the restaurant is owned by a descendant of that family. The Reverend Brown of the nearby Methodist Church and the financial secretary of the church recommended the fried chicken which Lene enjoyed and I had, among other things, fried chicken livers, fried okra, corn bread with butter and honey and southern pecan pie.

And of course there is always boat work: ILENE had a bath, her water tanks filled, her fuel tanks poisoned to prevent the growth of microorganisms that clog the fuel lines, gluing back one of the buttons that hold plexiglass panels in place against the screens of the cafe doors with gorilla glue and the top of the percolator lid with JB Weld, a metal to metal glue that is remarkably strong.

But the two biggest problems required the help of Dr. Bill, who, I told him, enjoys fixing boats almost as much as fixing peoples bones. As to the auto pilot, the most expensive component is the motor with linear drive -- the thinner rod to the left goes in and out of the thicker rod to the right, and pulls the rudder to steer the boat. The squeaking and beeping is a $ign of old age and thiS drive will have to be replaced $oon. Its kind of amazing that a guy who is 6 3" could contort his body to reach this place to copy down the serial numbers. Replacing the unit will be harder, but once replaced this one will be rebuilt and used as a spare.

The other problem was the lack of charge into the starting battery. Its sole purpose is to power the starter motor which turns on  the engine. So it discharges only for less than a second each time, but it uses a huge amount of power when it does. And the problem was that it was not being charged by any of the solar panels, the engine or shore power. So the voltage had gradually reached the very low level of only 12 volts. Bill talked me through a series of tests, via phone, which showed that either ILENE does not have a needed "combiner" or that component is not working.  The short answer is that periodically, when we are (A) on shore power with the built in battery charger turned on, or (B) running the engine, we have to combine the starting battery with the "house bank" (which consists of 6 six volt golf cart batteries), so that the starting battery can get charged. This is easily done using a small red plastic key.  Last winter the old starting battery died because I did not know this and erroneously assumed that when I hooked the boat to shore power with the battery charger on, it was charging both batteries. So many lessons to be learned. Thanks again Bill.

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Boatbuilding Lark Scow Part 1

Other posts on the Lark scow.

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Peter Gilbert of the Erieau Lark fleet in Canada has started a new Lark scow (named Pinky Too, his Dad built Pinky 2 and Pinky 3) using the Kerr plans. He sends along some photos. The Kerr plans follow the original C.G. Davis plans in using a lot of frames. Instead of sawn frames, Peter has laminated the arc sections. He is planking the bottom of the Lark with plywood but with a hi-tech twist; he is using 3mm plywood with a carbon fiber sheathing (I wonder how this will square with the Erieau Y.C fleet as Peters construction may possibly result in a Lark considerably lighter than the current boats.)

I like how these builders determine fairness using a full glass of beer as a sight-line.

The solid timber side planks hold everything together before the bottom and deck goes on.

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