Sjogin Plans progress

I’ve learned that Paul Gartside will have three other sail arrangements available in his set of building plans for Sjogin in addition to the gaff yawl previously mentioned. More details on the WoodenBoat Forum thread here. It’s likely that building plans for Sjogin will be available this year, for both traditional and glued lap plywood. I’ll keep you posted of course.

Mr. Gartside’s drafting style make them suitable for framing as well. You know you’ll see at least the sail plan hanging in our house.

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Gaff sloop
Here is my favorite for now. A classic gaff sloop with a reasonable bowsprit and room for a staysail and jib. And a topsail. Lot’s of strings to fuss with but taking away a bit of Sjogin’s current ease of use. Paul has moved the sail area a bit forward to improve performance.

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Bermuda sloop
This is a simpler Bermuda sloop rig, similar to the current one. Note again the bowsprit to move the sail area forward. Also note the running backstays to help support the larger jib. Hmmmm.
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Bermuda Yawl
Here’s the Bermuda Yawl rig. Fairly simple and snug; easy to reef the main or heave to with the mizzen strapped in and a bit of the jib to weather.

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Gaff yawl
My second favorite. She might look even better with a lug or gaff mizzen. She’d look great poking around the Thames estuary.
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Here’s a bit of video from yesterday’s storm. It was blowing about 30, gusting higher from the SSW with chunky waves in the basin. No fire on board needless to say.

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Sjogin’s back to her normal weeping with an ice free bilge. There shouldn’t (touch wood) be any more ice problems this season. Hope to have my first sail of 2011 fairly soon.

Back from a week in paradise

at our great friends Dave and Cheryl McDaniel’s new home on Fish Bay in St John. They just completed building this classic West Indies villa on the south shore. It was a welcome break from this Winter of our discontent.

Last Saturday was the Annual Friends of Virgin Islands National Park Gala held at their new home. There’s a pic of Julia and I with Dave and Cheryl and others on the beach here. Flicker album here with lots of pics that show just how beautiful Butterfly Beach Villa is. Photos courtesy of Tropical Focus Photography. What a treat to meet scores of local folks for a night of dining, drinking and dancing for a good cause. All shared a passion for this particular slice of Paradise.

No sailing last week but a lot of exploring, beach and pool time. What a vacation. Thanks again and again Dave and Cheryl. We’ll be back as soon as we can.

During our absence Winter decided to loosen it’s grip at home. It’s supposed to be in the 60’s tomorrow. (Though cooler at the shore!)

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Pool Cottage
Our rooms were upstairs in the Pool Cottage. Very comfortable, always a breeze and a view of Fish Bay through the mangroves.

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View from our room
The view from our room the day of the Gala. One of the several bars can be seen on the veranda. Wow.

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Inviting
The pool was hard to beat; nice shade in the afternoon.

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Spa time
Of couse the late afternoon Spa sessions were easy to get used to. What a life!

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Cinnamon Bay
We managed to tear ourselves away form the pleasures of Butterfly Beach Villa to sample some of the local beaches. This is at Cinnamon Bay, one of the National Park Beaches.

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Shade view
Julia at Francis Bay. Gin clear water, warm sun and a bit of shade make for a great day.

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Happy Camper
Yours truly enjoying some fresh coconut water.

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Floater!
A natural floater. So very, very comfortable.

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Dave, Cheryl, Julia and Russ
The four of us in the great room in the big house. Great friends, great Champagne, great trip.

Sjogin updates soon.

Old plank, new leak

There’s been a split in the broad-strake, the plank above the garboard, for as long as I can remember. The split runs from just inside the cabin to the cockpit, passing under two frames. While cleaning out ice last week and wondering why she was making more water than usual, I saw water seeping out of the split. I imagine years of freezing had taken their toll. It needs a permanent repair but a session of caulking cotton and screwdriver work slowed it down considerably.

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Leak!
The area above the split is dry (relatively). This is before the cotton was forced into the seam. When we get a spell of ice free weather I’ll have the yard pull her and do something permanent.

All the wires you see are for the bilge pump, the sole bit of electrical gear on Sjogin.

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Fire in the hole
Warming the cabin while I caulked the leak. Necessary part of any off-season Sjogin work.

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At the sizzle
Post caulking brunch.

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Foggy
Foggy with floating ice yesterday. The photo is via Instagram, a site I use to post pics on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

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Shadow progress
Progress on the Blackjack Shadow. The windscreen’s been rebuilt and painted. Cockpit work continues.

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Icebreaker
Local dock builder doing some icebreaking last week. The basin and upper Bay were ice free this morning.

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Yet more snow
Last weeks storm brought about six inches of wet snow. I think we’re working on a record for continuous snow cover. Very unusual.

More Snow

And more ice. It’s looking more and more like it will be a Winter of much discontent. We’ve had a series of classic coastal storms leaving us snow covered for the last few weeks. The ice in Jones Tide Pond at Beaton’s has been variable, but solid lately. Open water is about fifty yards away.

The water levels have dropped to their usual winter depth, but later than usual this year. One of the very few benefits (if any) to our coastal Northeasters is the raising of the water level in the upper Bay. This kept the level a bit higher over the last few weeks.

All in all no sailing yet this year.

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Streamlined
No sailing but plenty of visits to pump her out and warm up the cabin with a quick fire and fixins’. Lots of slush in the bilges lately but the pump still works.

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Ice bound
Taken Tuesday. Nice conditions for a sail; about 35, Westerly breeze at 5 or so, scattered high clouds but still ice bound. And plenty of water. There’s about 20 yards of thickish ice between the dock and the upper bay.

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Lumpy water
Still pretty solid. Seems it will spread with the coming chill this weekend.

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New on old
Paul Smith building a new windshield frame for Shadow, a well used Hubert? Johnson Blackjack.

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Laying down on the job
One of the joys of boat work. Jeff laying down a bead of caulk in seemingly endless seams.

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New plank
New plank ready to be set in place. This is high boatwright art; dealing with the twist and matching the existing, often dodgy, bevels.

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Local color
A bit of local color last week in the backyard. Our feeder’s been getting a workout with the lingering snow cover.

New at Beaton’s

Tom Beaton and the Cub Scouts started making snow shoes this weekend. Tom demonstrated how to steam bend wood, use a form and rivet the ends. Webbing to follow.

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A new product line
Introducing a new generation to the charms of Beaton’s

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Maid all aglow
Silent Maid glowing with fresh stain. Lots of varnish to follow.

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Paul Smith
Paul Smith sealing the deck of an almost 50 year old Black Jack. I worked on the restoration of one of these boats during my time in the wood shop at Beaton’s.

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Winter storage
The local dock builders rig waiting out winter.

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Sjogin by KM
Photo of Sjogin taken last week by Kent Mountford.

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Fresh Snow
A quick dusting yesterday. No wind at all with drifting ice. A touch of breeze would have tempted me.

As always you can find more photos and larger sizes at Flickr.

Storm of the Century!

So far. We had about 30″ along the coast, the most snow I’ve ever seen here. We were snowed in until today. Tom Beaton was able to get down to the Yard yesterday and pump out Sjogin. Thanks Tom.

When I finally got down today I was surprised to see her decks swept clean from the gale force winds we had during this very nasty Northeaster. The cockpit was full of snow and it took a while to clear it out. Luckily no water in the cabin. It’s supposed to be in the mid 40’s this weekend so she should have ice free bilges for a while.

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It starts
This was from Sunday morning, the start of the storm. Very cozy below with the howling wind and blowing snow.

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What snow?
With the wind out of the NNW, the decks were swept clean. Note the clear dock. And the ice is back but not too thick. With the warming trend it may be gone by Friday allowing a chance for a last sail for 2010.

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Drifts!
Not all the docks were clear. This is in front of the Mast Shed.

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Wow!
Most snow ever at our house. It was about 30″ in the back yard but felt like more when shoveling the path to the street. Thankfully we don’t have any sidewalks to clear. Hope it melts before the daffodils are due.

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Happy tree, happy Julia
Here’s part of our Christmas Tree with a Happy Julia. Note the snow free patio.

Happy New Year all!

Merry Christmas from Sjogin

I’d like to wish you all the best of the Season and say thanks again for following along. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been doing this for over five years. I hope you’re not too tired of seeing pictures of Sjogin and such.

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Happy Holidays
Sjogin’s usual Holiday decorations. Maybe some lights next year.

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Afternoon light
Nice late afternoon light.

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Ice free!
The strong westerlies of the last week have moved the ice out of the basin. You can see the ice on the Bay south of Curtis Point from the Mantoloking Bridge. I hope to squeeze in a sail to the “ice fields” before the basin freezes again.

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At the sizzle
Breakfast below this week. Continued below average temps but warm enough below.

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Happy Skipper
Merry Christmas and the Happiest New Year to you all.

Ice!

And far too early. It’s usually late in December when the basin at Beaton’s freezes over. I’m hoping to get one more sail in before the year’s done. It’s the start of the frozen bilge season and more frequent trips to check on Sjogin. Which isn’t too bad a chore.

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Ice!
First ice of the season last week. Just a bit of skim but a possible sign of the Winter to come. Ice in the bilge as well with the pump turned off. The basin is clear now as the brisk Westerlies move the open surface water down the Bay; the resulting upwelling of the relatively warmer bottom water helps the process. Same principal as a bubbler system used to keep pilings ice free.

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It begins
Reflection season begins.
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Sistership dreams
Let a thousand Sjogin’s bloom. Dreaming of other Happy Skippers heaving to off their own Swan Points. It’s a lot quieter below when iced in.

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Sneakboxes
Beaton built Sneakboxes in storage. The one with the yellow deck is the last one they made. I had the pleasure of helping Tom and Paul with the build.

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Close the door!
Serena and Quest waiting for the shed door to be shut for the Winter.

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Well loved
A well loved and used Christmas wheelbarrow built by Tom Beaton years ago. It’s time for another one so this one is at the shop for laying out the new parts.

Sent the latest numbers off to Canada

All of the latest measurements have been sent of to Mr. Gartside. Added to the list was a set of offsets so the deck and house crown will be similar. I still need to make some minor changes to his first construction plan draft and mail that off.

If I haven’t before, here’s a link to his website. Some serious boat-flesh there.

Nothing else new, just the regular “boat check” routine. Starting to think about more frequent visits as the prospect of frozen bilges looms. No sailing this week.

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Still floating
Last Monday’s check up. The usual butt blocks are still leaking. Probably time for some sawdust.

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Ahhhhh.....
Ever the creature of habit. Chilly on deck.

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Current read
My current read on board. More pottering about the Thames Estuary in small boats. One of these days I’d like to sail there and channel my inner Griffiths.

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Draft measurement
It seems that Sjogin draws less than the three feet I always thought. Curious.

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Instagram!
Sent via the Instagram App which allows a few effects.

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Mary and Julia
Mary and Julia on Thanksgiving.