Fitting Out A Newly Built Boat

Fitting out a new boat can be difficult and very very expensive.I have known people to buy $20,000 boats and then drop another $50,000 to $60,000 on refits before they even touch water.Well my boat will cost around $3500 for the completed bare hull and cabin. See my post "Spira International 27 Foot Boat Plans Build Costs".Im looking at another $2,000 for paint,finish,and interior,and roughly $2,000 for powering the boat.So what about electronics.This is a difficult one to put a price on.The one system that you want to be all new is the waste,water, and plumbing system.This could give you tainted water,flood your boat, and/or make it stink like a sewer,if old equipment is used.Pumps maybe ok with a good cleaning,but tanks and piping need to be all new.

Understanding Boat Plumbing and Water Systems

First,how will the boat be used?For the first two or three years,the boat will be trailered to lakes and coastal areas.Eventually,it will be used to do "The Great Loop Cruise". Knowing how I will use the boat and when I may need to make upgrades helps a lot.I can resell my old equipment, when I upgrade, to recoup some cost.To do this, I will have to buy decent quality reliable products and maintain them in as new condition as possible.Ive rarely ever had problems taking care of things.

 The Great Circle Route

Second thing,the power plant.Jeff Spira,the designer of my boat, recommends an outboard for power.I have some issues that make outboards a bit of a challenge to use as a means of propulsion.My area has a strict ban on two stroke outboards.That leaves me trying to find a four stroke with controls and gauges.Four strokes are a relatively new thing and used set ups are still fetching top dollar.I cant afford to pay around $10,000 for a 90 horsepower four stroke outboard set up.After consulting with Jeff Spira,he has approved the use of a sterndrive.These are plentiful in my area and cheap,relatively speaking.A good complete four cylinder 140 horsepower 3.0L Mercruise set up goes for between $1500 and $3000.

Third thing,I have a plan to cut costs,get most of the stuff I need,and possibly make a little money back.I will buy a donor boat that is complete and running good.I can find sterndrive boats in good operating condition between $1000 and $6000.Some even have twin sterndrives.That would give me a few options.1)Sell the extra sterndrive set up. 2)Keep the extra sterndrive set up as a back up. 3)Clean up both sterndrive set ups,sell them,and buy a completely new set up.My choice would be the 140 horsepower diesel Volvo Penta D3-140 sterndrive set up.These are hard to find on the used market and most are damaged.New they start out around $12,000.A new 3.0L Mercruise sterndrive set up runs $6000 to $8000.On rare occasions,they can be had for around $5000 to $5500,but come with a catch.They must be set up by a factory Mercruise service center.

Stern Drive Manuals

The donor boat.This is tricky depending on location or region.Most boats here are bow riders or water sport boats.All tho,its not unusual to find cuddy or cabin cruisers for really good prices.Beware that a lot of boats are not properly maintained, and thats the reason they are for sell.Of course, one can get lucky at times and buy a boat that barely needs anything to be back on the water.Look for soft spots in the transom and floor.If they are soft then the stringers and flotation foam have been compromised,and the boats structure has been compromised.This is a good negotiating point.It is really expensive and labor intensive prospect to gut a hull for transom and stringer replacement.

What can be used from the donor boat?This depends on what boat is decided on to be the donor.When building a boat you need everything.

Heres what I look for in a donor.
Power Plant-must be running with all controls and gauges.
Electronics-VHF,depth sounder,radar,gps,etc... in operating conditon.
Pumps-Wash down,bilge,fresh water,black water,and grey water.
Electrical-Batteries,inverter,charger,genset,breaker panel,fuse panel,switches.
Windows-I plan to build my own to fit my boats design.
Bimini Top and canvas-It wont fit the boat,but it can be modified and save some money.Resell is an option.
Interior-Its hard to reuse interiors but they can be modified to work.
Thru Hulls-Pure preference,but I want bronze if theyre under water,and stainless steel above water.Plastic ones crack and fail.
Anchor,Rode,Bow Pulpit,and Windlass-These can usually be modified to work.
Heads(Toilet)-These things are a pain,save yourself the headache,buy new.
Sinks,Faucets,Showers-If these are in good condition,I will use them.I prefer stainless steel.
Tanks and Plumbing-All new.This was discussed earlier in this post.
Cabinets-These can be modified to work.
Hatches and Vents-These can usually be reused as is.
Swim Platforms and Ladders-Modified they can work.New they are outrageously priced.
Air condition unit(s)-These can be reused without much change.Good insulation can help keep the cool in.
Heaters-These can be reused without much change.


There is other items that can be reused but this is the most common expensive items.Anything that isnt used can fetch good money on Ebay or Craigs list.

RVs,motor homes,travel trailers can provide some good stuff also.I wouldnt use parts from them on a full time cruiser.A weekend cruiser should be fine.However,nothing will be USCG or AYBC approved.

Boat Systems Handbook

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December 25 31 Final Work Day and 2015 ROUNDUP A Great Year!

I had planned on more than one final work day before the end of the year, what with such good warm weather so late this year but a wrenched back put the end to that. The last work day was devoted to the cabin sole. I want to check out how good the pieces I have done look, before committing to do the rest. I have been doing the bottom side of this flooring to encapsulate the wood in plastic to avoid a softer surface on which mildew could potentially grow, not that mildew has been a problem for ILENE.

Another non-boat day for calling Dave to make an appointment for January to work with me on cleaning and lubricating the winches and steering gear and fixing some pesky wires that no longer transmit sound to the cockpit speakers, etc. And then I had to figure out what parts and supplies I need for these jobs which involves a lot of calling and computer searching before ordering. But the non-boat water relatedday involved some play too: While my two favorite ladies, ILENE the boat and Lene, her mate, are thoroughly land locked on the hard in New York in late December, I had fun with Dames at Sea:

And while laid up resting the lumbar-sacral region I have been reading this months selection of my book group (all right, it was my suggestion): Jules Vernes "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea". So avid readers may expect another book report soon.

So what can I say about 2015. I sure got a grand dose of sailing and boating related activities - a lot of water under our keel. It was a very satisfying year, the year that my beloved Lene finally lost her ability to continue to claim "Im really not a sailor.".
We began the year in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to which we returned on March 5, after a lovely multi-stop visit to Key West Florida and 20 miles past that. Next were a lot of great passages and ports until we got back to the Harlem on May 26, the 146th day of this calendar year. Also: a two day trip down to Gravesend Bay to sail with LHermione, 17 days on the Club Cruise to Block Island, five days with Bob on s/v Pandora from The Connecticut River around Montauk Point to Hampton Virginia and 22 additional days of day sailing from our mooring and back for a total of 190 sailing or living days. My career high total, and possibly a number that what with aging, may never be equaled or exceeded. And as they say in the infomercials: "But wait, theres more! Add on 21 days involving the water that are not related to living, sailing or working on a sailboat, and 25 work days on ILENE. (Or course, many of the cruising or living days also involved some boat maintenance and repair, but those are not counted as lowly work days.) So the grand total this year was 236! A goodly percentage of the 365 available. I have nothing to complain about.

The way I have looked at it, sailing is a social activity with much of the fun coming from sailing on other peoples boats and inviting them onto ours. Most of the sailing days, including the first 146, were aboard ILENE. But 5 were on Pandora, 4 on Deuce of Hearts, 2 on Ohana and 1 on Pas de Deux, totaling 12 -- 178 out of the 190 were aboard ILENE.

Continuing my lifelong desire to share my boat with present and future friends, a total of 38 different people in addition to Lene sailed with me on ILENE, at least once day this year. Some sailed multiple times and others, not counted among the 38, did not sail, but came aboard for meals. Friends of mine, of Lene, from the Yacht Club, from our Synagogue, and from our condo.

And 2016, with a three month cruise to Nova Scotia as a goal, starts in a few hours. Before Nova Scotia comes after both a week with Bennett and Harriet (in whose home we will celebrate the New Years arrival) on s/v On Eagles Wings in the Virgins in early April and a week with Lenes family on a cruise liner from Galveston Texas in the Gulf of Mexico in early June.

On the macro level, the world may be going to hell in a hand basket with democracy threatened by big money at home, climate change destroying the world, gun nuts (both domestic and foreign) running amuck, a certain redheaded egomaniacal reality show star trying to move us from love toward hate, educational standards low and sliding, etc. But all I can say is that focusing in on the micro level I am blessed to have such a great life. And I recognize and am very grateful for the bounty bestowed upon me and my family.

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A Piece of Furniture The Woodie Europe Dinghies

The designer of the Europe Dinghy, Belgian Alois Roland, originally built them in wood. When Rolands company went bankrupt, his assistant, Giuseppe Christalli continued building beautiful wood Europe dinghies. When the Europe Dinghy class went Olympic the wood boats were no longer competitive and the class became plastic and has remained one where the new boats are entirely made out of glass.

History of the Europe Dinghy from Classic Classes by Vanessa Bird.

My Dutch friend, René de la Rie, sent along photos of his stunning wooden Europe which is not a Roland or Christalli but a Tebberman. Tebberman was known primarily for his rudders and centerboards, and only built a few Europe Dinghies, but what lookers his Europe Dinghies were! Beautiful deep mahoganies were matched with contrasting lighter inlays to create masterpieces.

George A of Mid-Atlantic Musings also owns a woodie Europe, whilst not as stunning as a Tebberman this hull is very pretty. The lineage of Georges wooden Europe is also open to question. On his blog George A tries to identify the builder of his "woodie" Europe dinghy. George unveiled his woodie with a new Bosquet foredeck at this years Brigantine regatta.

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Someone else building a Yellow boat in Blue Coroplast

Someone else  building a Yellow boat in Blue Coroplast

Blue Boat 1 a single piece of Coroflute

Yellow boat 1 and 2

Yellow Boat 3 

Yellow Boat 4 Balsa ply Epoxy Fiberglass tape

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The Florida Cricket Class A Missing Link

The Cricket class was a 15 foot, chined, V-shaped, catboat with wishboom that died out in the early 1960s. By that time the Cricket fleet was only found at the Miami Yacht Club and, given the small numbers at the demise, it is today, a forgotten class. But in digging through U.S. sailing history more comes out about the Cricket.

The Cricket class was designed sometime during the 1890s, in or around Atlantic City N.J, where it became extremely popular. Reports indicate hundreds were built and about one hundred were racing out of Atlantic City in 1900. It was, as far as I can determine, the earliest example of a chined, V-shaped sailing dinghy in the United States. More about the early development of the Cricket class (who was the designer? what prompted the design? when did the class die out in Atlantic City?)  has been hard to come by.

In the 1920s, when Northerners began to flock to the remote, but bucolic winter paradise that was Florida, the Cricket class was also exported in numbers from the New Jersey shores. It was reported that twenty five Crickets were shipped to southern Florida with most of them destroyed in the hurricane of 1926. The  Cricket class would rebuild in Miami and would form the core of the Southern Florida Sailing Association (later the Miami Yacht Club) when it was organized in 1928. The Cricket would become the boat to beat in the free-for-all under 150 sq. foot (sail area) class.

When, in 1931, Bill Crosby designed the Snipe for the Florida West Coast Racing Associations free-for-all Trailer class, he must have been mindful that his Snipe would initially be compared against the Cricket class, at least in Florida. Between the two, the hull design similarities are striking. It does seem that Crosby started designing his Snipe using the Cricket as a baseline and then added user-friendly features (a sloop rig with a high boom being the most notable one). The Snipe went on to international fame, the Cricket, to oblivion.

Some photos:

A smattering of classic Florida sailing dinghies; on the left, the Optimist Pram, behind the Pram, a Mothboat, in the center, a Cricket, with the other Cricket, bow on, in the foreground. Behind the Cricket is a Suicide class.

Crickets launching at Miami Yacht Club, late 1950s.

Crickets going upwind. In all three of the ones in view in this photo the crew are hiking using skinny hiking boards.

The closest we have to a set of lines for the Cricket was this one-design commissioned by St. Petersburg Yacht Club as featured in The Rudder, 1919. The lines look very close to a copy of the Cricket although the length for this one-design is a foot longer than the Cricket.

A blog post about an earlier New Jersey dinghy, the Philadelphia Tuckups of the 1870s can be found here.

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Carrying A Dinghy On A Boat

My situation is a little unique.I am building a boat and a dinghy.Carrying one,however,has presented a challenge because of my boat build.Most boats use a davit system and carry the dinghy on the swim platform or transom.Some carry them on the roof.At first,I thought the roof would be a good place,but as pointed out to me on a forum post,its not.Carrying on the roof can make for a dangerous situation in rough water.Its hard to launch a dinghy while its swinging on a boom or crane.It could crash into the boat and break stuff.It could break loose and hit someone or sink.In an emergency,the boat could sink before getting the dinghy in the water, taking the dinghy down with it.

Most production boats have a lot of freeboard or height of the sides above the water.The boat I am building doesnt have much freeboard at the transom compared to production boats.Because of my boats lower freeboard than most, presents some major challenges for carrying a dinghy.I cant run a full width swim platform because my I/O comes through the transom right in the middle of it.This rules out swim platform dinghy lifts.A transom mount davit could possibly work,but it would be of my own design.Production davits wouldnt be able to lift the dinghy high enough to clear the water or I/O,at least none that I have seen.Then there is the issue of carrying the dinghy across the back.The dinghy will be longer than the boats beam is wide.This could cause problems when in tight marinas or narrow channels.Any of these options would severely limit my rear visibility, thus blocking my transom and preventing my boats name from being visible to other boats.I do plan to tow my dinghy, on the days I plan to use it,if the weather is good.

Some have suggested that I go with an inflatable or folding Porta boat.Ive had issues with inflatables in the past and they are heavy for their size.Some folding boats are a little to flimsy to really carry any weight.I need to be able to carry roughly 800 to 1000 pounds.I dont think its possible,so two trips to shore will be required.Maybe I could pull a ski tube behind the dinghy with our supplies in it.Wait,I know!Ill toss the kids in the ski tube and put our provisions in the boat.They will love that.

My hull draft will only be 16 to 18 inches,so I could possibly drop anchor and wade to shore.Im not sure how my significant other and our kids will like that.Got to keep Mama happy,LOL.When I am in a marina,I will more than likely moor the boat, while we go ashore for provisions.If the area will allow for it,I could beach the bow and let everyone off ,moor the boat,and take the dinghy back to meet the family.When we return,I could take the dinghy back to the boat,bring the boat back to shore,and load up.Seems like to much work.Some places will allow boats to temporarily dock for a quick trip to town for supplies.that would be the ultimate solution.

I still have a while to go before I make a final decision on how to carry a dinghy.Until then,I will be looking and watching other boats and how they carry a dinghy.Im always open to suggestions.


UPDATE!
After some discussion on the Trawler Forum,I am considering adding a rear rack to carry my dinghy and to hang the rear canvas enclosure from.I feel that this rack needs to be removable.I only plan to carry the dinghy when I do the Great Loop Cruise.Every where else I will be able to dock or trailer the boat out.Here is what I had in mind for those that are scratching their heads trying to figure out what I am rambling on about.

More info on the boats in the picture can be found at Allweather Boats.

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2015 Fall Season A List of Free for alls

Over the years this blog has featured some of the oddball regattas/sailing races where you take your oddball small sailboat and compete against a bunch of other oddball small sailboats. During the fall season there is enough of these events you could, if so inclined, hop-scotch up and down the East Coast of the United States.

They are (in roughly chronological order):

Sebago Cup - mid-September at the Sebago Canoe Club, Brooklyn N.Y.

A one race jaunt around Jamaica Bay. Im sure they would be delighted to see some out-of-town visitors and been told, even though this is Brooklyn, there is plenty of parking around the club. See comments for more info from SCC members.

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SEBAGO CUP ----- September 19, 2015
Our annual cruising race!
This is an open class cruising race open to non-members. Fleets will be created upon the participation of at least two boats of the same class. Contact sailing@sebagocanoeclub.org for more information.
Skippers meeting - 11:30 am
Starting gun - 12:30 pm
Notice of Race
Sailing Instructions 

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NSHOF Classic Wooden Sailboat Rendezvous- mid-September, Annapolis Maryland.

A one-or-two lap race around the Annapolis Harbor. The majority of entrants are classic cruising keelboats but there is always a smattering of small boats. This year John Z is entering his Classic Moth.

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CLASSIC WOODEN SAILBOAT RACE, Sunday ---- September 27, 2015
NOR

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MASCF (Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival) - First weekend in October, St. Michaels Maryland.

This is more of an event than sailing race but there is, on Saturday, a one-lap sailing race in the river starting around noon that is quite a hoot. I have done it twice in my Classic Moth Tweezer where I was racing in a division featuring a motley assortment of larger craft including Thistles, Core Sound 17s, Blue Jays, Celebritys, log canoes.

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MASCF ---- October, 2, 3, 4, 2015

Registration

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Tweezer trying to stay ahead of a log canoe - MASCF sailing race

Pollys Folly - mid-October, Megunticook Lake, Camden, Maine.

Hosted by John and Polly Hanson. This is a small affair, hosted out of their lake-front cabin around the time of Maines fall foilage.

Archipelago Rally - early-November - Somewhere in the state of Rhode Island.

In a twist on normal advanced scheduling, the organizers wait until about two weeks before the event before announcing the location. A one lap race, usually going around something.

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Wing Flapping on a Magnum Narrow Skiff Moth

I have owned several Classic Moths, a scow Moth, and yes, even a narrow skiff Moth. The narrow skiff Moth was a Magnum 2 built by John Claridge and originally sailed at the 1976 Moth Worlds by the builder. The Worlds were held at Ware River, Virginia and John sold the Magnum to one of the local Moth sailors after the regatta. I rescued the Magnum from the Old Dominion University boat house in Norfolk sometime in the mid 80s and getting it back on the water became a joint project with Bill Beaver. By the time we finally got sailing, it became obvious the very lightweight hull of  the Magnum 2 was creaky and leaky. I never did fully trust hiking off the wings. I think we eventually gave the Moth away. Bill Beaver went on to build two more narrow beam Moths to his own design and then did his own foiler project. I, on the other hand, migrated to the more sedate side of  Mothing with a scow and then eventually the Classic versions.

The original wooden Claridge Magnum II on top of Bill Beavers Volvo 122 at West River S.C. As always, Tweezerman (back when he still had some hair) in his natty sailing gear.

Launching at West River with a offshore breeze. Im desperately attempting to get the rudder in while the Moth is sailing; a dumb idea and usually worth a capsize or two. (We never did get a lifting rudder fitted.)

The original Claridge ad featuring the builder sailing his Magnum 2 that ended up in our hands.

Image from Madmothist blog

I wrote this short piece, about my first sailing experience in the Magnum 2, for an Australian Moth newsletter. It still cracks me up whenever I read it.

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November 1987 - SSA Closing Day

Last fall (November 1987) I threw my Magnum 2 together for the first time in order to make the end-of-year handicap race at Severn Sailing Association. I was tying the last pieces on at the last minute (those who know me can picture the rigging job!) and I just barely made it to the start but to no avail. There was no wind and, at the end of the day, I felt like I had tried riding an unicycle.

After starting with the Snipes, Daysailors and Lasers, I moved forward in the Moth to reduce wetted surface and this set up a chain reaction not unlike the swinging pendulum of a clock, though with a much faster period of movement. First the leeward wing dipped into the water as a small ripple of a wave sent the Moth lurching. To counteract, I moved my torso slowly to weather, cognizant that this was a tender craft - little did I know how tender! Immediately the Moth lurched the other way , dipping the weather wing in the water. I reacted by adjusting my weight with even more care but the Moth seemed to consider that, even this deliberate movement, was much-too-much and flopped back, dipping the leeward wing in the water. This was repeated several times and, with all this awkward flapping of wings, my amused fellow competitors thought that this aquatic Moth was attempting to take flight. In desperation I moved to the stern where there was more boat and things settled out.

Phew! Now I had time to look around and it wasnt pretty. Ultralight dinghies possess no momentum and, in a glassy calm and, with every passing motor boat wake, the Moth would slowly be pushed backward. What looked to be my competitors amazing speed away from me was, instead, my amazing speed backwards.

To compound this comedy my cockpit had filled with water (remember this is a twelve-year old Magnum 2 and at the time it did not have a full double bottom - it does now!) The episode of wing flapping had alternatively scooped water on the wing covers that then ran down to the deck of the Moth and filled the center cockpit well.

I hadnt realized that there were two small drain holes from the center well to the forward double bottom; hence there were no plugs in them and I was SINKING! Not to worry. I had made, at the most, 100 yards from the clubhouse docks, of which 50 had been lost in a magnificent display of wing -flapping and reverse sailing. The remaining 50 yards to safety was made by sculling and hand paddling.

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Jet Propulsion for hydrofoil or maybe a prop and flex shaft

Very cool control system



The drive with the angle reduced improves losses 20% 4.3 Amps idling so only 300mA losses from the shaft. I think the steering should be integrated as a kitchen rudder behind the prop.

Reversing the shaft on a Turnigy D3542/4 Aero drive It a 1450 KV and should deliver loads of torque at 14,000 RPM on as 3C

Battery: 2~4 Cell /7.4~14.8VRPM: 1450kvMax current: 48A No load current: 4AMax power: 690WInternal resistance: 0.019 ohmWeight: 130g (including connectors)Diameter of shaft: 5mmDimensions: 35x42m

Above is a 47 mm prop I have a 57 to once I have the motor attached to the shaft sleeve I will do a power test in a tank see what thrust and Amps I get. With the fat end of 1 HP it should have plenty of clog to lift  it up on the foils.

The shaft is running in a good quantity of copper slip. Ran it on a 4C for a minute an the brass only got warm.

I think the body of the hydrofoil will be a lunch box. I think I will have the prop shaft attached to the rear foil

Perhaps the prop on the above can be placed in a tube like these designs

An interesting jet outboard very high outlet must cost power

Jet Propulsion for hydrofoil  




One thing as there is no transom the bulky scroll will always be in the flow and the outlet will be under water which will reduce the trust considerably.

If the outlet was up high it would work better also the riser would need to be streamlined






Or what about an EDF pumping air into a venturi like below

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The need of keeping water out of the bilge of a metal boat

I always start my surveys on metal boats by using Thermal Imaging of the hull. This helps me locate the structural components of the metal boat. I am also looking for trapped moisture and/or water. If this is found, then there is a good chance there will be corrosion. Next I conduct an inspection of the bilge of the boat, including, anchor, sail, cockpit lockers, and lazarettes. Now I have a very good idea where to concentrate my UTM-audio gauge. I take readings of the whole hull, but will do more readings in the areas of concern.

When I see water in a bilge of a metal boat beyond what might be in a sump I get concerned. I would like to see dry bilges on all metal boats, but this is not always possible. On Tuesday I surveyed a steel trawler. Overall this boat looked to be in fair condition, but then I saw the water in the bilge, a lot of it! There was heavy scale in some areas because of the standing water.  I knew this was an area I needed to spend some time getting thickness readings.

The next day I did my audio gauge. My readings indicated plate wastage. In some areas I could not get a reading that most likely is caused by heavy scale. My visual inspection from inside confirmed the heavy scale. When I arrived at the boat I noticed some weeping from what I hoped was paint blisters. Then an hour later water stared streaming from one of the blisters. Just to think only the paint was holding this section of plate together.

The good news! The boat was out of the water it will not sink. Steel boats can fixed; by cropping out the bad plate and adding new. In a short period of time, she will be underway again.

The moral of this story? If you own a metal boat keep an eye on the bilges.

I will post photos in my next post.

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Edensaw Boatbuilding Competition A Sailing Dinghy Wins!

Most wooden boat shows have live boatbuilding; usually it involves a group of families assembling a quantity of small rowing skiffs which are then launched at the end of the weekend. At the Wooden Boat Festival hosted by the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townshend, Washington, Edensaw Woods sponsors a boatbuilding competition where they move away from the typical novice boatbuilding event and open it up to a diverse group of boats from professional designers and being built by skilled woodworkers. In this years competition, built alongside the traditional dory and Irish curragh were two sailing dinghies. One of them, Richard Woods Zest singlehander, won the competition

Here are two of the boats on the beach after the time-limit for boatbuilding expired, ending all construction. On the left was a dory built only with hand tools. On the right is a 14 foot, V-sectioned sailing dinghy designed by sometime Classic Mothist, Stephen Ditmore. As the photo reveals, Ditmores team got the hull done over the weekend but the decking and rigging awaits.

Winner of the competition, designer Richard Woods on board at the initial push-off of his Zest dinghy. This is definitely a racing singlehander with hiking wings. (The hull is a relatively narrow, flat bottom shape.) The hull was completed by the team over the weekend and Richard was able to scavenge sailing parts from some of his other projects to get this design sailing in short order. I think the pushee in the photo is Michael Scott who owns several sailing dinghies including a couple of Classic International 14s and who is constantly feeding news tidbits to the blogmeister.

Instead of painting over the freshly applied epoxy, the Richard Woods team decided to apply a silver vinyl decal material over the hull (purchased at an auto supply store). Very distinctive, hence the boats name Silver Bullet.

Designer of the other sailing dinghy at the competition, Stephen Ditmore sailing his Classic Moth design. Unfortunately we have only seen his Moth show up once at Brigantine, New Jersey.

The wrap up video from the Edensaw competition.


Third Annual Edensaw Wooden Boat Building Challenge! from Al Bergstein on Vimeo.

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Deciding On A Boat To Build

I finally narrowed down my boat search.I have been tormenting myself with buying or building.After doing the math,I have come to the conclusion that I can build a new boat cheaper and better than buying a used turn key boat.Most of the turn key boats I looked at really needed work.Fiberglass boats are the worst.Most have water logged flotation foam that causes the wood stringers and transom to rot from the bottom up.Ive stripped (and helped strip) and rebuilt a few boats.It is not fun in a big 25+ foot boat.Its faster and easier to start from scratch.

 Most of my boating will be on larger lakes and the ICW around South Carolina,North Carolina,and Georgia.I do plan to take the boat around the Great Loop,so it must be a sea worthy design.I searched for years for a design that was easy for a first time builder with some basic carpentry and boat building skills.There are a lot of excellent boat designers with plans out.Most are more suited to the advanced DIY builder than a first timer with basic skills.Out of all the producers of plans,I decided on Spira International.Jeff Spira is the designer of all the plans.The best thing about his plans,is access to Jeff Spira himself.He can be contacted through his website or on facebook.He always gets back in contact with you within time.He is a busy man tho.So please give him a few days,he could be away.

 My base criteria for a boat is as follows in this order.There are more variables,but these are the main ones.
1)Trailerable behind a full size pick up truck,van,or class C RV.
2)Shallow draft, 12 to 16 inches with the lower unit up.
3)Absolutely no more than 2 gallon per hour fuel burn at displacement speed.
4)Must have sleeping arrangements for four.
5)Must have full head with shower.

In my next post, "The Chosen One",I will review the Spira plans that I considered,a break down of build cost,and the plans I chose.

Honey,Lets get a boat.

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Working on a July Launch Date for the Optimist

My brothers and I have slowed our building of the Optimist down to a crawl. However, my brother Darren has taken the lead and wants the first boat to launch on July 4th.

He has purchased sail, tiller and extension, blades (rudder, centerboard), gudgeons from APS - Annapolis Performance Sailing.

To protect the chine he has laid down a 2 inch strip of fiberglass cloth in simple-clear polyester resin. It should provide a bit of resistance to any "hard blows" on rocks that make up the shore of our part of Lake Ontario.

Polyester resin is quick to harden and very easy to sand. It costs about half the price of shipping epoxy to us. Its just a short drive to the auto parts to pick up a quart.

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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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Part 2 of the Travelogue of the French Canals in a Mirror Dinghy

Some of you, after viewing Part 1 of the Mirror Cruise on the French Canals, may have already jumped over to view Part 2. But to dot the is and cross the ts, (and to get an easy second post out of this subject) here is another beautifully done video on the second month of the Cruise.

Again, from the video description by our intrepid adventurer, Digby Ayton.

"This month was filled with sunny days, wonderful people and beautiful scenery. I travelled through the Canal du Nivernais and the Canal du Lateral du Loire where I had to finished my journey and sold my boat at the beginning of the Canal du Centre, which was closed due to water problems. I finished my adventure having rowed 700km and passed 240 locks and had an absolutely amazing time.

A Dinghy On The French Canals. Part 2 from D.A on Vimeo.

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A Good Book for Sailors

I promised you no more book reviews in 2014; but the new year is in full swing.  This book was given to me at least several months before we left NY in early October by Judy, a dear friend of mine and Lenes, who sailed with us for a few days in the Turks and Caicos in early 2012. Her book group read it and liked it even though they are not sailors; sailors will appreciate it more.

It is about three generations of the Scottish Stevenson family. Robert Louis Stevenson would have been the fourth had he not forsaken engineering for literature to the great disappointment of his family and with a personal sense of shame. The three generations built most of the lighthouses of Scotland and supervised their operation.

Two threads are woven through the book. One is the biographical -- the marriages, births, deaths and personalities of the men, mostly the men, and their wives-- a personal story. The other and vastly larger part tells the story of how they built the lighthouses, against all sorts of obstacles.

Both parts were interesting, though the later was far more interesting to me. Much of the personal part relates to the efforts of fathers to induce their children to follow their footsteps into the family engineering business. Robert Louiss father was himself drawn to literature but was forced to abandon it to study engineering, which he then tried to force his son into.  The fathers drove themselves very hard and demanded as much from subordinates and their children. Except for the first generation, the men suffered from weak health, which was exacerbated by long days of strenuous physical activity in cold wet places.

There is a skeleton family tree which is incomplete, in the sense that the text names various members of the family who are described on the tree merely as part of, e.g.,  "two daughters."

More irritating to me, the sketch map of Scotland at the front shows the names of some of the cities, islands, firths and lighthouses, but is terribly incomplete. The lack of a proper map in a book that is about locations was the major obstacle to my enjoyment of the book. The author refers to so many places, possibly presuming that only persons who are quite familiar with Scottish geography would read her book. The Stevenson family also designed much of the "new city" of their home, Edinburgh. I tried to use Google Earth to figure out which roads were joined with others. Subsequent changes to the landscape are what I blame for my inability to complete that task. There are sixteen plates showing the most famous lights and portraits of the Stevensons, but none of Edinburgh. Bathurst is very able to draw pictures with words, but maps would be so much better.

Bathurst also mentions big events in Scottish history with which I had not even the vaguest idea. Jacobites were Scottish revolutionaries, and "The Clearances" was the process by which the landed gentry forced the "highland" Celtic peasants off the land to make more money from sheep. This contributed to the Scottish Potato Famine. Some of the "crofters" went to the "lowlands", areas in the southern and eastern parts of Scotland, others to America. But all this I learned from Google after Bathurst merely mentioned the terms.

Another minor defect in the book is the absence of any footnotes to support the statements made. I would like to know if a given statement about a person is the authors conclusion from one or more documented episodes, from her reading of his letters or journals, or based on a secondary source: either a biographer or a newspaper. I am used to David McCulloch and Dorris Kearnes Goodwin, who give you the source of every statement in their books. It is not that I want to read all of those footnotes, but one feels more comfortable knowing that they are there. Ms. Bathurst does include a bibliography and she seems quite knowledgeable and won my trust after a while.

Most of the chapter titles are the names of the most famous of the lighthouses, each more challenging to build than the last, by which successive generations of  Stevensons made their reputations. Bathurst makes the point that each lighthouse needs to be designed to fit the requirements of its site, not aesthetically (though that was true too) but from the viewpoint of the engineering involved, especially the base on which it was to be built. Earlier lighthouses had been knocked down by the waves.

There were also political battles to be won, by the Scottish Lighthouse Board against British control, and by the builders against the wreckers who made their living from salvage and accurately perceived that the lighthouses would diminish their livelihood. Religious people argued that God had put the shoals where he did, and if he had wanted to, he would have put lighthouses there too. How can one argue with such a person.

Bell Rock, the Stevensons first, was built on a rock that was underwater at high tide. So work could only be done there, until the tower was partly built:  at high tide, in daylight, in the summer and in good weather. Not many hours of work per year.

The process of building the lights seemed to me like a scaling of Everest, where one has to establish a series of base camps leading to the final assault. In the case of lighthouses, these were to locate a quarry, create a remote land base where the materials could be assembled, acquire a ship to convey them to the rock, and then create: a landing place, a smaller temporary structure in which the workmen could live, the ring cut in the rock for a foundation, the foundation, the tower and finally the light at its top, before hiring and training the keepers.  And in some locations  during big storms, the waves threw tons of salt water over the top of and  into uncompleted lights and tore away blocks of granite weighing several tons.

The story also tells of the advances in lighting technology during the years, from a coal fire on a hilltop to candles with parabolic mirror reflectors behind them, to early glass lens concentrators, to Fresnel lenses.  And fuels advanced from whale oil to paraffin and even, after the Stevensons, electric bulbs, and the automation of the lights with consequent elimination of the keepers.

Bathurst includes other advances in safety at sea such as lifesaving organizations with boats, life vests, Plimsoll lines (to prevent overloading), licensing in an attempt to require competence and, in an epilogue after the Stevensons era, radio, GPS, and EPIRB. Bathurst notes the Volvo phenomenon -- as safety and navigation equipment improves, recreational boaters take greater chances, like Volvo drivers who drive faster because they are lulled into a false sense of safety by the safety built into their vehicles. A cautionary advice to all sailors.

My enjoyment of the book was enhanced by two others I have read. The first half of Robert Louis Stevensens "Kidnapped" is in essence a counterclockwise circumnavigation of Scotland, punctuated by a shipwreck, which, took place on the Isle of Erran, near the site of Skerryvore, the largest, tallest Scottish light.
The wreck was before the light was built. I added the route of the hero of "Kidnapped" to the crude map in my book. The second was Joshua Slocums Sailing Alone Around The World, reviewed in this blog, which included a gift of books from Robert Louis Stevensons widow to Captain Slocum.

The first in the line of Stevensons began as a metal worker who invented polished curved mirrors to concentrate light. He built lighthouses to provide a market for his polished mirrors. He was self taught and valued education and the dynasty grew up coincident with the development of engineering as a profession. He considered himself inferior because of his lack of a classical education.
Here is Robert Louis, painted by his friend, John Singer Sargent, obtained in August 2015 at a show at the Met Museum of  Art.

Many people love lighthouses as works of beauty. Our Maine trip in 2013 has pictures of many of them. And one underestimates the value of lighthouses to navigation if one thinks them as useful only at night. As God led the Children of Israel through the desert for 40 years (Exodus 13) by manifesting himself as a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night, lighthouses guide mariners by their light by night and their bulk by day.        A good read.

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September 10 16 The Dinghy A Wednesday Afternoon and A Change of Plans

Our dinghy, "Rojay", has hung from ILENEs davits, with its outboard attached, since we got in in Florida except when in use, which, since we have gotten back north, has been rarely. With the approach of Autumn it would not be used again this calendar year. So I (a) lowered it,(b) took off the lock that holds its outboard on (which was harder than expected due to apparent rust - so I have to take the lock back to Westmarine), (c) removed its equipment to the boat or locker, (d) drove Rojay to the dock, (e) removed her outboard, (f) used a cart to get it to the car and (g) dropped it off at Island Outboard where Tony will change the oil and store it --warm -- for the winter.
Then, with help, I hauled Rojay up onto the dock, used the air pump to evacuate as much air as possible, got it onto a cart and rolled it to the locker house, where the hard part began. We had to get it through the door, along a narrow passageway on its side, up an ever narrower and steep stairway and into the locker, where it fits with its bow low in the back corner and its stern hung up high and by the door.On  this diagonal it just barely fits and my helpers had their doubts about that until it was in. A tough job for three old men!  Thanks to Mike, who had come out for the Old Salts event with me, and we also enlisted George, our Clubs Grounds and Lockers Chairman, who is a ubiquitous and always helpful presence at the Club.  Thanks Mike and George!

The sail was pleasant on Bennetts "Ohana" with he and I and two couples, Mike and Sandy and Morty and Klara. We enjoyed about 2.5 hours underway despite the extremely light winds. In that time we got down to the entrance to Little Neck Bay and back.  At times we made only one knot and toward the end were making 3.5. But we had no destination to get to and no deadline to get there and the refreshments were, well, refreshing, on a hot and  sunny pleasant afternoon. I was a bit left out of the conversation for a while when it turned to skiing, in which sport all the others participated.

As readers know, I had planned to crew aboard Sangaris from City Island to Annapolis in October. And while I remain welcome, it appears that I am not needed for that voyage because Katherine has taken off from work and will be able to help Craig. Meanwhile, Bob, aboard his 47 foot Aerodyne, Pandora, does need crew so I have changed boats. The planned passage is from Essex CT to Hampton, VA during a weather window in early October. I am looking forward to telling you about his big fast new boat and our passage. That passage will likely be the next sailing I do because Lene and I will be on a bus tour of National Parks from September 19 -30, through South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah.

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Four More Great Sails Round Out July And A Serious Health Issue Changes Plans for August

Four more day sails and one work day closed out July. Regrettably, Lene was not aboard. Average of 4.55 hours per sail.
First was Greg and Kathy. Greg is a member of my Mens Book Group. We men get to meet each others wives when we have dinners at each others homes and at our annual Spring social. Kathy and Greg have also visited the Barnes Collection in Philly with us a couple of years ago. Greg, a terrific artist and retired professor of drawing has sailed with me several times and Kathy, a retired teacher,

Gregs drawing, sorry about side view.

overcame her fears on this rookie voyage. The wind started at less than ten and grew to more than 15 as the day wore on. We used the small jib and main, getting to Sea Cliff YC and then dipping into Manhassett Bay far enough to see Port Washington, on the way home. Pinot Grigio on the mooring at the end. We have been enjoying stronger than normal winds this July.
Next up was Cynthia, a past guest, in a lot of wind for 2.25 hours underway. We used reefed main and no head sail and made speeds of five to seven knots on beamy reaches back and forth into Little Neck Bay.
The excitement came at the end, when it was time to fetch the mooring. This is no task for a sweet petite lady who is a bit older than I. So I had to try to get close to the pickup stick and slow ILENE before running forward to the bow to grab the bobbing pickup stick and then pull up and grab and attach the bridle before the wind blew us away. I made six tries. The problem is that when you slow down enough to not race past the mark, even though you aim as close to the wind as possible, the wind will come a few degrees on one side or the other and blow the boats bow away. I gained a new appreciation for the accomplishments of my friend Jim, who sailed "Aria" solo for many years, though his run from tiller to bow, on a 26 foot boat, was shorter than mine. Twice I grabbed the pickup stick in these six tries. The first time the boat turned and the wind pushing on its side made the boat too heavy for me to hold; I had to let go. Frustration!!!! The second time the cheap flimsy line with which the mooring servicer had tied the pickup stick to the bridle -- parted! I had the stick but it was no longer attached to a bridle. FRUSTRATION! And in all this I had a few close encounters with friends moored boats -- but no touches. Strong reverse gear pulled ILENEs bow back past the bow of the neighboring boat. So what to do? Call the Harlem launch and ask for help! The operator wisely let me wait, circling, for a few minutes while he got reinforcements. Two strong men Dave and Jeep, jumped from the slow moving launch to the slow moving ILENE. Then, when I got ILENEs bow to the mooring ball, and held her there, they used a boat hook to grab the bridle and the problem was solved. The alternative plan B I had contemplated would have been to go a bit outside of the mooring field and drop anchor. Cynthia professed that she was never worried. This was because I never showed my fear. Lene joined Cynthia and me for dinner at Neptune Restaurant, a favorite, on First avenue near 12th Street.

Next I enjoyed a very productive work day with Lenes cousins sons, Jake and Jared. They were transformed from guests the weekend before, to worker bees, for five hours. The economy is so weak that they dont have summer jobs. So they liked the money and I liked the quality and quantity of the work they accomplished, largely helping me bring the RIB dink from the upstairs locker to the dock and compounding and waxing the topsides and cockpit. While they worked I varnished the other side of  the cafe doors, replaced the mooring bridle to pickup stick line with a stouter one, whipped a few ends and cleaned up the galley stove top. I also picked up the outboard from Tony, proprietor of Island Outboard, two blocks from the Club, on City Island Avenue (718) 885-2012. Tony has done a lot of good work on my outboard over the years and we use it many times more than most people.
Next day being a Wednesday, I tried to revive the Club within a Club (See Blog, July 2012.) This is the informal group of people who have Wednesday afternoons available. With the loss last year of four of our larger boats (ILENE was in Maine), the group had sort of fizzled out. But on only 15 hours notice only three other folks showed up. The very light winds may have held down attendance as well and I have been encouraged to try artificial respiration again later, with more notice. Morty asked that we sail with him and his wife Clara on their 30 foot Catalina, "Easy Living." Completing our quartet was a new member, Mary, an Oncological Nurse Practitioner, who does not have a boat yet but has been found qualified to use the Clubs J-24s and is enthusiastic.  The sailing was rather listless with very light wind but we did get up to 4.5 knots on two occasions when puffs lifted us. And the lunch before hand, the conversation during and the G&T (vodka actually) after were all quite good.
Finally, on the last day of the month, I helped set up a sail with our former member, Nick, whose boat we helped sell last year after he became a resident of the Hebrew Home for the Aged due to memory issues.

Master carpenter and dance instructor, Nick, at dinner after.

I signed him out and was met at the Club by three other old friends of his, one of whom, John, had driven up from Marylands Eastern Shore.

Don and John

We were off the mooring for five hours: close hauled out of Eastchester Bay, then broad reaching with a couple of jibes to about six miles east of Matinecock Point before tacking for one long  close reach back past Execution Rocks. Then to give them some excitement, after changing back from the genoa to the small jib, we tacked back up through Hart Island Sound, over to near L.I. and then to the mooring. After dousing sails we passed through the channel behind Big Tom under motor and went through the City Island YC fleet looking for Nicks old boat but we did not spot her. All of these men are good sailors. Like Nick, Don and John are past members of the Harlem. Nick taught John how to sail. Don preferred to trim sails and the other three men shared the helm. Nicks memory problems definitely did not involve any impairment of his ability of to handle the helm.  Pat, rounded out our group.

Co-organizer of the event, a nurse, and one of the most knowledgeable and helpful men in the Club.

He spotted a damaged ring clip at the tack of the jib,which we replaced and taped. It was catching the Genoa jib sheets, causing damage to them and itself. I usually try to "improve" my friends boat when I sail with them. This time Pat did this for me. He had also brought the Chardonnay that we shared in the cockpit, apres sail. Then the guys helped my try to inflate the dink on the dock noting that the washer at the end of the pump hose was missing, which was the problem. (A new one is on order.) The day ended with dinner together before the three others drove Nick home.
And proving that our rosy life does not exist without a few thorns, I got a call from Lene during our dinner. The needle biopsy of her left lung came back as malignant, but stage one, slow growing and small. It gives one cause to pause. It will be removed by laperoscopic surgery on August 12, with preparatory tests between now and then. If one has to catch cancer, this is the type to get and the early dtection was quite lucky.
But, of course,  this means that our plans to cruise up to Nantucket during the entire month of August will not come off. We are now planning a short five day cruise in the Sound before the surgery, during which we hope to catch up with the HYC Club Cruise, at Matinecock, in the Sound. Lenes attitude is really great. She is cheerful, positive, determined and optimistic. She knows that worry does one no good. NYUs Langone Medical Center is a world class hospital and she has excellent doctors. Stay tuned!

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Another Fun Filled Weekend But A Harrowing Problem At The End

Friday, Bob and Laura of our Club organized a fun sail down to The Battery and back in which about ten Club boats participated. We rendezvoused with Bob and Laura and their boat, "Thai Hot," when ILENE was in the West Indies (see Blog, Jan 22, 2012, Sint Maarten).  In addition to Witty and Alpha Girl, we enjoyed the company of Rhoda and Lloyd, Christine and Heather and Mendy. We left the mooring at 5:45 pm and had daylight all the way down, passing many memorable urban sights with a favorable tide. Actually, the timing of the turn of the tide was the key to the success of this voyage; Thanks, Bob!

Hells Gate with Triboro (now RFK) behind

59th St (Now Ed Koch) Bridge

Bright lights in the big city

We had the main up the whole way but the motor was on except for perhaps a bit more than an hour, near the destination and starting back up. I got yelled at by the captain of a tug with barges who thought I was too close when we were near the Statue. He hailed us over his loudspeaker: "Ilene, you are an idiot!"  Well we were not that near to him and in fact I did not hear his yell, though the others did. After the tide turned, we enjoyed favorable tide on the way back as well, arriving on the mooring six hours after starting, at 11:45 pm. Having misplaced the big flashlight (since found), finding our mooring in the dark was a challenge, but we saw it on the first try.

After sleeping aboard, we sailed on Saturday for about four hours with friends I know through Lene: Simone, who had sailed with us up at Mt. Desert Island last summer, and her wife, Alison. They are eager and avid sailors. Also, Susan and Andrew, who were newbies but took the helm and acquitted themselves well. Then dinner at the Club and a good nights sleep. The photos of this group are in my former cell phone which, alas, lies on the bottom of Eastchester Bay. Oops!

Sunday we were supposed to sail with a couple of attorneys who Lene had placed, but the husbands work got crazy at the last minute so they had to cancel. Hey, I was an attorney so I know such things happen. Lene made other plans, not including use of our car and I called Lenes cousin Judy, to find out if her twin sons, Jake and Jared, were available -- and they were.
The lads are about 17 years old. I have been wanting to sail with them for at least a decade and now they are old enough and we had a good sail. The wind had been forecast for only single digits but came up double that. So using the main, we furled the small jib and made plenty of speed with one sail. We were close hauled on a port tack from the mooring to Great Neck, on a starboard close reach to and through Hart Island Sound, reached deeply into Manhassett Bay, past the Clubs, the race in progress and the big anchored party yacht until the water got to ten feet before turning for home. Jake did most of the steering, cast off and picked up the mooring, hauled up the main, and trimmed the sails, giving my sore shoulder a rest. Jake is rapidly becoming a good sailor.

Jared felt a bit under the weather especially on the beating courses, but he hung on bravely. His face does not look as green as he felt.

The two cats stayed mostly below, in each end of a long narrow cabinet on the port side of the forward head, where we store towels. It is closed by two sliding panels and by pushing them toward the center, the cats have openings into two snug padded berths. They both briefly stuck their noses out of the companionway, on the way back, to look around. On the way out, during the port tack, two of the transverse drawers under the pullman berth slid out onto the cabin sole and I had put them back -- more securely.  Once on the mooring, sails and lines all secured and stowed, the wheel locked in place, the instruments turned off, and the next question before calling the launch was: "Wheres Alphie?"  The boys and I spent at least an hour looking in every conceivable place. All of the stuff in the aft cabin was removed and, not finding a cat there the stuff was replaced and its door closed. All of the towels were removed from the cats hiding hole. Compartment by compartment, we systematically but frantically searched, with no luck. Not in the fridge either. Nor topside. Knowing Alphies penchant for crawling into the stack pack (see prior post) we searched there too and raised that sail and felt for bulges on the sides of the lower sail. Many searches were repeated.

Finally the call to Lene that I dreaded ever having to make. Lets just say that she did not take the news that Alphie was missing calmly. I drove the twins back to NJ and returned to the boat; Lene took the number six subway and 29 bus, arriving two minutes before I did. We resumed the search. Within a few minutes she heard a faint mewl, not the MEEOWWW!!! that Alphie is capable of. Thank goodness! She was aboard!  What a relief!  But where?  We tried to localize the sound and concluded that it was coming from the compartment with the pullman berth, where we sleep. So we took off the huge mattress and bed clothes, and moved this into the salon and then I unscrewed the part of the plywood panel on which the mattress lies that covers, among other things, the six drawers, two of which had slid out. But these drawers slide in cubbies with 1/2 inch plywood on the top, the bottom and both sides. here is the front of the forward ones with the drawers out:

So how could Alfie have gotten into wherever she was through there? Oh, I did not know this but the cubbies have no backs and there is a narrow space, perhaps 2.5 inches wide, between the back of the cubbies and the longitudinal bulkhead behind which the water maker lives. She had squeezed through that gap!

Back of cubbies, from the top - where she had squeezed through

Next removal was a large tray about 2.5 by 3 and four inches deep, that fits over the drawers but under the plywood platform for the mattress and is held in place by a dozen screws. This tray opens through a covered cutout in the top and we store my wet suit in there. And then Alphies head was visible in the dry but dirty bilge under the drawers at the front end.

Fiberglass stringer seen from above

 But the next couple of hours of trying to coax her out were unavailing. She had jumped over a strong longitudinal fiberglass stringer into the lowest part of this bilge, below where my arm could reach. We tried coaxing her out with hands containing a few kibbles but she reached this food with her head without providing a way to grab the scruff of her neck. The same with a line: she loves chasing strings and put out paws to play, but did not come out far enough to be grabbed. I sawed a six inch square hole in the bottom of the forward lower cubbie with the Dremel tool, using up three carborundum discs, but there was still a ply of the plywood that was not cut and hammering down with the rubber mallet did not create the hole I sought. The sawing and hammering probably scared the poor kittie half to death, though.  Lene called friends, including Bob, of  "Pandora", another Saga 43. He is a master woodworker. He advised against tearing the boat further apart; I agreed, not being able to see what was connected to what - how to do it. It appears that glue was use in addition to screws. So we sat and waited and in a half an hour -- out crawled Alphie. It was after ten oclock; we called the launch and went home, leaving ILENE a wreck.

Next day I spent three hours cleaning, putting her back together, making the bed, and putting a thinned coat of  new varnish on one side of the cafe doors, using the newspaper covered salon table as the work bench. Here they can dry without cats footprints. Several of the books I have read about the exploits of cruisers have chapters entitled to the effect: "The Night [insert name of cat] Went Missing." Most people would say that sailing with cats is not worth the trouble. We love them though.

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