Living at Sea Level

The local height of the surge from Sandy was one inch over our first floor which is about ten feet above Mean Lower Low Water.  We’ve lived here on Stockton Lake for 25 years and sea level has never been closer.  Let’s hope this storm was a truly perfect one and its likes are not seen soon.  I fear this may be the new normal.

The only reason I can see why we suffered as little damage as we did was our elevation. Our house was built just after World War II on a bit of relative high ground left over from an old inlet.  For this reason there are other old homes in the neighborhood.  Two lots away is a 1905 gem and a late 19th Century house around the corner was just demolished for some shiny new thing.

A block away are home after home that have their lives out on the curb.  I haven’t been up to the beach yet as access is limited to homeowners and contractors.  Our good friends the Mountfords lost their 1880’s beachfront cottage and many treasures. It’s all so very very sad.

Here are a few pics from our house and the neighborhood:

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Big timber
During the 1992 Northeaster we had water just up to the foundation.  Sandy was 32 inches higher.

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A bit of beauty
This was the first pic I took post Sandy. The red is thousands of Holly berries. You’d think the squirrels would be happy as they like to eat them but no. They’re back in the Holly, munching away on the remaining ones.

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New dock?
This ended up on my neighbor’s driveway knocking down a usually storm proof black cherry. That knocked down a red cedar that had been growing since it showed up as a volunteer twenty years ago. Oh well, the view’s been opened up and that pleases my brother.

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Brother Bob
Speaking of which: Brother Bob to the rescue. He drove down from Maine the Friday after the storm with a generator, gas, fine food and his usual good cheer.

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High water mark
The surge reached the fourth course of shingles. (About three months old.) We were very, very lucky.

It will be a while before we all return to our “carnival life by the shore”. In the meantime please give to your favorite charity; there’s an Atlantic of sadness here.

Russ

Beaton’s Photos

Here are some pics from Beaton’s taken last Friday.  I’m going down tomorrow to pull the stove and take some more pics.  It’s so very sad but there are signs of things starting to return to normal.

More this week.

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Wrong place
We’re very happy Seanick didn’t decided to land on Sjogin.

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Back in place
The A-Cats are back in place after engaging in a bit of bumper-boat during Sandy’s surge.

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Duckboat Room
The clean-up underway in the Duckboat room. Paul’s been getting things right on this old Duckboat.

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The Gale
The Gale having a chat with her neighbors about the terror of Sandy.

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Bilge keels work!
One of Beaton’s old timers showing the virtue of bilge keels.

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A leaner
Willow Wind asked her yard mate if she could just lean there for a bit.

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Lonely
When we pulled into the Yard this was the first boat we saw. She’s a Hankins Skiff owned by real nice folks. Seems she was just scuffed up.

Sjogin lives

She was greviously wounded but survived Sandy by hiding under the waves. It seems she parted some of her dock lines early in the storm and laid against the pilings to the west. When the surge was at the highest, Sjogin crashed on to the piling, holing her forward and causing her sinking. We were lucky that she went down and didn’t float into the wreckage and possibly break up. An astonishing result. What joy when Suzanne Beaton sent me a cell photo of her getting hauled last Saturday.

Sjogin will require a lot of work and may not make the water next year. It will be a while before Beaton’s can resume operations. I plan to do as much as I can but the planking I’ll leave to the art of Paul Smith.

Beaton’s was severely damaged with five feet or more of storm surge over the ground. The buildings still stand but the tools, patterns and wood were scattered by the storm. There are boats off their stands, ending up here and there. The A-Cats had a bit of a dance in the big shed but had no major damage.

I was able to get into Beaton’s Wednesday and took the following pics:

The pics below have been fixed. This was written originally on the iPad which is a bit cumbersome. More Sjogin pics (and others) on the Flickr page.

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A nasty hole but between the unharmed frames. The only structural damage was to the sheer clamp which should be an easy repair. Already I can imagine sitting below by the fire and looking at the new wood,  marveling at what a lucky little ship she is.

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You can see the busted sheer clamp at the top. It’s a wonder that the piling didn’t pierce the deck. That would have been far more serious with Sjogin pinned by the piling and thrashing about in the surge. Ouch!

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It’ll be a while before there’s a sizzle down below. We’ll push on and keep trying to bring a bit of beauty to the waterfront.

We made out relatively fine at home. The height of the surge was just a bit above our first floor. The floors which had been refinished during the Summer’s renovation had enough water on them the get well soaked. We hope when we have heat again (all utilities ruined) that the floors will lay down and not have to be replaced. We were very lucky. Neighbors a block away have their lives on the curb.

Best wishes to all in this most trying time,

Russ

Odds and ends

Here are a few pics from the last few weeks. I’ve also added a section on the right side of the page to show the current Instagram pic posted from my iPhone. Let me know if it works for you.

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Done
Speedwell at rest after another spin around Stockton Lake. I’ve managed to set up the dolly to make launching and retrieving relatively easy. (Though she seems to get heavier with each passing week.)

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Cruising along the Army Camp bulkhead after finding a bit of salvage. The marsh by the Camp tends to collect treasures like this. And garbage but that’s another story.

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Old friend
Old friend. Tom’s Columbia Model dinghy ready for a row.

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Look familiar
This is an illustration from L. Francis Herreshoff’s The Compleat Cruiser. This shows Weldon and Corridon down below on the Rozinante sitting by the stove and chatting about boats. I think this image stoked (pardon the pun) my desire to have a small stove on Sjogin. The drawing was done by Herreshoff.

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Original Mainsail
This is Sjogin’s original cotton main. If I have a chance this fall I’ll bend them on for old times sake.

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Late season flopping
Finally a pic from our garden. By this time of year the garden has gone wild and has a mind of it’s own. Wait till next year for a little more order.

Speedwell returns to Stockton Lake

It’s been 35 years, but I finally went sailing on Stockton Lake in Speedwell, our Phil Clarke Duckboat last week. She was bought from Phil in 1977 and kept on Stockton Lake at a friends dock for a while. She’s the last Duckboat Phil built (Number 14) before Pop Beaton took over the plans and molds.

I think the first times my sons Jeffrey and David sailed by themselves was on her. She eventually went to Beaton’s for storage and eventual restoration.

She’s a bit heavy for her size (keeping her in the water doesn’t help) and it’s a struggle to roll her from our yard down to the water. I think I’ll set up a haul-out to a mooring next year. And also give consideration to having a dock built.

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SASAIC
A very light day on Stockton Lake. Even at half tide there’s plenty of water. Hope to have a few more sails before she goes back to Beaton’s.

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Just fits
Here she is pulled up on our beach. A dock and float would make life a lot easier.

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Shallow water steering
The oar was jury rigged to allow steering without the rudder. With the board almost all the way up she can go to windward (sort of) in less than a foot of water. It’s important as the lake dries out at low water. Eventually an oarlock will be installed for sculling as well as steering.

And a few more mostly Beaton’s pics

I’ve started using an application called Flicstaker to upload photos to Flickr. It’s pretty easy to use which should result in more pics here.

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Family members
The dinghy is a Columbia Model designed by Nathaniel G. Herreshoff. I had the pleasure of helping Tom build her in the early 80’s. The ugly duckling is Speedwell, ready for some late season Duckboating. Now that the major work at home’s been completed, she’ll be trucked home. She could be sailed home absent the Point Pleasant Canal. Hmmm. Maybe next year. We’ll see how we do with Stockton Lake and the fixed bridges. Glimmerglass here I come.

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SASAIC
Taken by Kent Mountford last week. Again sailing as slow as I can.

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Clean
That’s one way of cleaning the shop. A fresh coat of floor paint is applied in stages. Perhaps it’s being done in honor of Sjogin’s pending visit?

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New outfeed table
More change. After 30 or so years, the outfeed table for the band saw has been replaced.

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Table pivot
And a pivoting support for the table. The pivot is on the same axis as the band saw. Tres clever.

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Thirty Years Young
Hard to believe that it’s been thirty years or so since I helped Tom build this gem. Light use and careful storage make for a long life.

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Lark before the storm
Lark sitting quietly before another squall hits. Busy Summer.

Beaton Pics

Here are a few pics of Summer at Beaton’s. More to follow.

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George and Martha
George and his Martha Jane down for Wally’s memorial. The boat is Phil Bolger’s update of Black Skimmer (which George recently adopted). Had a good sail in her up to Bay Head the following day. Quite an agile boat and not as tender as expected. Black Skimmer would be my first choice to go Bolgering on Barnegat Bay. Hmmmm…..

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The Summer of our Discontent
Clearing; for now. Another storm in a Summer full of them.

One of the items to be accomplished this Winter is adding weight to the rudder to get it to lay vertical.

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A big 'un
I always wanted a nice big Hankin’s for race watching and such. I’m sure we could work in a WC for Julia.

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Beaton Fresh (tm)
Here’s Myth at the start of the Season looking Beaton Fresh. Paul Smith crafted a fine deck with no sticky bits.

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Fred
More than boats get painted at Beaton’s. Here’s Fred pimping his ride.

And finally a pic of your Happy Skipper yesterday. Renovations at Ourhouse are almost done and the shingle folk are gone. Had a day long computer issue so I went for a sail. Over the years these late August light breezes beckoned while I was working on Sjogin in the South shed. Now that she’s committed to a winter ashore, and when we’re blessed with these days the temptation’s too great.

H. S.

Sail slow my friends.

Duckboat Worlds and and a leaking Sjogin

The Duckboat Worlds were held at Mantoloking Yacht Club last Friday. Our Speedwell was in commission again with her sprit rig. Conditions were less than ideal with a light, flukey NE breeze. Not only that, but an unusually strong Northerly current played havoc with the start and weather mark rounding. I managed to get around the leeward mark in the bottom 20% of the fleet and then headed back to Beaton’s. The thought of another run and long beat back was just too much.

Pre race party
Julia sitting on Speedwell at the Duckboat party the night before the race. There were 74 boats participating this year.

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Heading out
Leaving MYC. If it wasn’t for the northerly current the fleet would have never reached the course. The forecasted NE to SE 5 to 10 kt breeze never materialized.

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Beaton's rule
The two Beaton boats heading out. Tom is in B-9. Beaton’s built hundreds of these boats over the years. There are several generations of sailors that learned to sail in these boats.

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Barely moving
Arriving at the start. Just enough room to fit this Happy Skipper. Let’s hope for a bit more breeze next year.

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Not good
Do I need a clam license? Do you think Sjogin’s been taking on more water than usual? Enough to grow clams!  Usually bilge water won’t support such growth.

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Leak search
Time for a quick haul to find out why she’s leaking so much.

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Quick fix
When hauled, we found the garboard plank split with bilge water draining out. A lead tingle stopped most of it. After launch we found another split and leak above the repair. An inside caulking job slowed that one down too.

Usually Sjogin is hauled this time of year for her annual maintenance. Since the aft garboard planks need to be replaced, along with several other long deferred items, she’ll stay in till November or so. Then she’ll come out, set up outside for a bit of drying out and then into the shop for a few months this winter. I’ll miss the heart of the hot stove season this year, but at sixty or so years old, Sjogin needs some TLC from Beaton’s.

Enough for now. I’ll catch up on a few other items this week. I promise.