Other – Hove to off Swan Point

New photos

If, for some reason you come here just for a glimpse of a beautiful boat and reasonably taken snaps of our particular place of Earth, then I’ll not disappoint. Â I’ve been at this now for more than a decade, reaching folks all over our watery world and now ask for your indulgence if one of the pics below makes reference to current events.

First up is one of Sjogin through a Prisma algorithm.

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Given the right photo, the painterly effect works well.

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A very shiny Lighting. Â Nice off season work.

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Here’s another Prisma example. Â Some of the algorithms work better than others. Â I think this one is called Dallas.

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Finally, here is one taken at noon on Election Day. Â After the tumult of the past year or so, a quiet sail before voting seemed necessary.

Will we need to find a term to describe the time before that day and the time after? Â I hope not. Â Patience, good will and manners will see us through to remembering this past Election Day as just another one, a bit of a Black Swan, but none the less one of many more to come.

Your considered comments are welcome.

Sail slow America.

Still removing old bits

A coamingectomy pretty well describes the progress over the last few weeks as the coaming has been removed. This will make the new deck covering job easier (for Paul).

Still haven’t heard back from Newport Nautical Timbers. I hope they’re out sailing. If anyone can suggest a source for swept white oak timbers, please let me know. Thanks.

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Coaming heights
Before removing the coaming I recorded the heights every six inches. A pattern will be made so that sweet shape is retained.

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It starts
Starting to pull the coaming. It had to come out in pieces due to the barbed nail fastenings. You can see the holes made with the shop made drill to cut around the nail heads. The saw cut was at the original joint. When I became her caretaker the joint had warped, thus evidence of the dutchman used to bring the pieces back in line. Let’s hear it for epoxy.

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Half done
After a cut was made on the centerline, another had to be made about a foot away. after a bit of chisel and crow bar work the coaming pieces came free. There’s a bit of punkiness right aft that will need excavation and repair.

When I pulled the forward ends of the coamings off there are some spots in the carlin and main beam joint that will need to be addressed. All was expected as I’ve been filling the rot with dutchmen and epoxy for years.

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Easy
This was a dreaded job but surprised at how easy it came out. The weather was hot these last few weeks; more New Orleans than the Jersey Shore but there was usually a breeze in the shed.

Absent the removal of the jib eye bolts, the deck’s ready for scraping, fairing and sanding. All in preperation for her move back into the wood shop and her new deck covering.

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In between Sjogin work, work work and bringing our gardens to a semblance of pre-Sandy bounty, I managed to sneak in a couple of Speedwell sails.

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Sailing!
Hove to off the marsh across Stockton Lake. The building is the abandoned Little League field house. It would make a great spot for a community boating center. Perhaps having lots of oar, paddle and sail boats on the Lake would squeeze out the jet skis.

Other news: As some of you know I post on Facebook as well as here. I just created a Facebook page for Sjogin. Here’s the link. I hope to configure this WordPress Blog so the Posts appear on FB as well.

And maybe the frequency of my Posts will increase.

Russ

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! Â 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.

Off Center Harbor

No, I’m not hove to off Center Harbor. Maybe in August but not now. Â Center Harbor can be found on the North side of Eggomoggin Reach, right in the heart of Wooden Boat Paradise. Â It’s also the home of Brooklin Boat Yard.

The Post title refers to a new web site created by some boat struck folks in Brooklin, Maine. It’s subscription based and has many fine videos and blogs from local boat builders, sailors, designers and such.

Here’s the link to the site. They’re charging $29.00 per year for full access and lifetime memberships are available. Â I’ve been a member for about six months and find the videos and blogs first class. Â They introduce new ones on a regular basis. Â It’s a nice blend of practical advice and looking at beautiful boats.

There are a couple of videos available on the site for non-subscribers to give you an idea of what it’s all about. Â As they say in Maine….finestkind!

Here’s a pic I “borrowed” from a Blog Post on the Temple Tiny Regatta held early in the season at Brooklin Boat Yard. Â Folks having fun messing about in small boats. Â That Skipper and crew sure look familiar…..

Hope you all check it out and sign up. Nice to have a bit more joy in the universe.

It works

but the tiller needs a bit of the cut and shim. For now I’ll fit a custom wedge and glue it back to shape later. Looks like we’ll be sailing this week. (Written 02.22.12)

Friend and carpenter Andy helped me with the installation last Saturday. Andy was nourished with the ship’s best before his “stand here; hold this” efforts.

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Stand there; hold this
Andy passes the stand here; hold this test. A few years ago he passed the sit there; hold this test on Charlotte.

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It fits!
It fits though a bit closer than it needs to be. When very hard over it binds a bit. I’ll fair in the tight spots next haul out. And yes, the cotter pins are in place. I’ll place the lower one when I get a half dozen Beatonites to stand forward.

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It fits as well
The tiller is a work in progress. I need to take a further wedge off the bottom and glue it on top to bring the end of the tiller above the mainsheet blocks. Fun work (as he mutters walking off to the band saw for another slice.)

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Sails on
Sails bent on and about ready to go. Waiting on a light to moderate dry Northeaster, about 40 degrees, bright sun and fresh sausage bread. The water’s still clear so the first order of business is a cruise of the Rudder Grounds. Hope springs eternal.

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Gusty NNW @20+
Plenty of water but gusting from the NNW about 20 and building. No thanks.

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Sea Level Living
The Joys of living at Sea Level. And it is rising. I’ve been driving by this corner for, well forever and you can now see marine growth on the lowest drain and curb. Get used to it.

New sprit rig for Speedwell

As some may recall, I’ve been looking to replace the standard, 10 year old friendly, marconi rig with a traditional sprit sail. The plan was to make the spars and order a suitable sail. But I saw a Thread on the WoodenBoat Forum where a Cape Cod member had an extra rig that needed a good home. Consider it found.

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New rig!
As it turns out, the rig is too long to sheet as a loose footed sail. The boat it was designed for was a similar length but the mast was stepped closer to the bow. The sheet here is tied around the rudder gudgeon and is at too steep an angle to be effective. Having the sail sheeting point within reach would make it worse. So I’ll make a sprit boom, set up like the peak sprit. It’ll be easier to sheet, using the existing traveler set-up.

There also needs to be a fitting made to accept the base of the new mast that will fit into the existing mast step. Wood noodling coming up.

The sail was made by Nat Wilson of East Boothbay, ME., one of the best traditional sail makers around.

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WoodenBoat Show pics from Mystic to follow.

The Charm of It

Ain't it the truth!

Works for me. Taken from the new read, Vagabonding under Sail by William Crealock. Always enjoy reading about heaving to in a gale and such while snug below at the dock in Sjogin with a cold rain on deck and a fire at my elbow.

Posting from my IPhone

Just a quick Post to see how this works. Need to see if I can add pics.

I think this works.

Happy New Year from your Happy Skipper. Sail slow my friends.

Almost ready

The 2010 Duckboat Worlds are this Friday at Mantoloking. Details here. Speedwell lacks a coat of Maynard Bray White on her bottom, a bit of soaking and rigging to be ready. Found out most folks now lash the stays rather than using turnbuckles. I think it has something to do with causing less damage in collisions. Duckboat racing IS a contact sport.

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White!
White for now. I had planned to paint the bottom the same as the green trim on Sjogin but ran out. I have an order in with Kirby but it won’t be here on time. I’ll use the MB White for now.