Rebedding the mast plate on Enee Marie
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Winterizing...
We officially put Enee away for the winter today. The yard has taken the mast off and she sure looks funny without her stick! This gave me a chance to rebed the mast plate. We get water in there during a hard rain. I took the plate off and cleaned up all the old goo and put in new goo...buytl tape, my favorite stuff. We'll see if this helps.
We also did our routine winterizing jobs: pump antifreeze through the engine, into holding tank and into fresh water tank. I leave the batteries on board. If they have a good charge they should be alright. Worked last winter. I may go up and throw another charge into them mid winter just to make sure. We threw a tarp over the main saloon area and over the companionway. This worked last year as well. Its much easier with no mast, boom nor main sheet to get in the way!
We ran into our friends Brian and Deborah (Northern Crown) and Chuck and Mary Beth (new cat 30!) Fun to see summer friends!
222 days to go before we head south...but who's counting?
We also did our routine winterizing jobs: pump antifreeze through the engine, into holding tank and into fresh water tank. I leave the batteries on board. If they have a good charge they should be alright. Worked last winter. I may go up and throw another charge into them mid winter just to make sure. We threw a tarp over the main saloon area and over the companionway. This worked last year as well. Its much easier with no mast, boom nor main sheet to get in the way!
We ran into our friends Brian and Deborah (Northern Crown) and Chuck and Mary Beth (new cat 30!) Fun to see summer friends!
222 days to go before we head south...but who's counting?
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
back on the hard!
Enee Marie is back in her cradle at Skipper Bud's in Winthrop Harbor. We had a great sail up there a couple of week ago. Saturday was wild with west gales and then sunday it settled down. We headed out Sunday with Ken T. and Admiral Nelson aboard as has become a tradition. We sailed on a beam/close reach nearly all the way there making 5-6 knots most of the way. Wind finally pooped out around Waukegan so the last couple of hours was mostly engine. Found a slip in the dark by skipper bud's and got the sails and dodger off so she's ready to have her mast un-stepped.
Always sad to be out of the water but this is an exciting off season as the final projects must be completed before we head south. We got the new dodger built by Sterling in Chicago and we love it. The sail to Skipper Bud was the first time we got to sail with it. It is higher than the old one so Sue can see under it while Scott now has a view of the bar while standing. Oh well, Sue is a better driver than I am anyway.
While she is on the hard, besides normal winterizing I need to build some cabinetry. We are going to build shelves in the hanging locker as we don't expect to have any haning clothes. Also, under the new stove I need to build a cabinet for pots and pans and so forth. The old water tank needs to get ripped out creating more storage. Finally (but probably not) I'm going to drop the rudder and try to take much of the vertical and rotational play out of it. This will be a largish job. I'll try to update with pics as the jobs continue.
Always sad to be out of the water but this is an exciting off season as the final projects must be completed before we head south. We got the new dodger built by Sterling in Chicago and we love it. The sail to Skipper Bud was the first time we got to sail with it. It is higher than the old one so Sue can see under it while Scott now has a view of the bar while standing. Oh well, Sue is a better driver than I am anyway.
While she is on the hard, besides normal winterizing I need to build some cabinetry. We are going to build shelves in the hanging locker as we don't expect to have any haning clothes. Also, under the new stove I need to build a cabinet for pots and pans and so forth. The old water tank needs to get ripped out creating more storage. Finally (but probably not) I'm going to drop the rudder and try to take much of the vertical and rotational play out of it. This will be a largish job. I'll try to update with pics as the jobs continue.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Onward
We've been living in a bit of a time out lately. We were looking into buying a Pearson 365 that recently came on the market. Our offer was rejected so now we're back to going all out to re-fit Enee for the trip to the Keys. We need more water tankage and a new dodger plus a list of little things that should be taken care of before we leave in 296 days!
Last Sunday Scott, Sue and Larry D. sailed Dave's boat, Blitz, in the MORF race. Dave couldn't be there and he didn't want to get a penalty. Boy, having us sail the boat might be a small step above a penalty! First of all a line from one of the upper batten pockets tangled around the back stay preventing us from going off the wind or even lowering the sail! Luckily after much swearing and whipping the sail back and forth the line severed and we were ready to go. Maybe. Next, in an effort to correct the instruments we turned the power off and on again forgetting that the radio would automatically cycly back to channel 16 rather than 69 where the start info would be broadcast. We had to infer the start by noticing all the sterns on the other side of the line! We made up ground well on the first windward leg, though, and were actually the second boat around the mark. As a final insult and after much preparation we bravely hoisted the chute around the first mark except there was no chute connected to the halyard. Scott cleverly kept hauling anyway until the halyard was well above the spreaders. We did this downhill run on just main and genny. On the next downhill run we put the jib halyard on the chute and hoisted it just fine but the damage had been done. The fleet was gone!
See above for 'action shots' of Larry D. and Scott.
Last Sunday Scott, Sue and Larry D. sailed Dave's boat, Blitz, in the MORF race. Dave couldn't be there and he didn't want to get a penalty. Boy, having us sail the boat might be a small step above a penalty! First of all a line from one of the upper batten pockets tangled around the back stay preventing us from going off the wind or even lowering the sail! Luckily after much swearing and whipping the sail back and forth the line severed and we were ready to go. Maybe. Next, in an effort to correct the instruments we turned the power off and on again forgetting that the radio would automatically cycly back to channel 16 rather than 69 where the start info would be broadcast. We had to infer the start by noticing all the sterns on the other side of the line! We made up ground well on the first windward leg, though, and were actually the second boat around the mark. As a final insult and after much preparation we bravely hoisted the chute around the first mark except there was no chute connected to the halyard. Scott cleverly kept hauling anyway until the halyard was well above the spreaders. We did this downhill run on just main and genny. On the next downhill run we put the jib halyard on the chute and hoisted it just fine but the damage had been done. The fleet was gone!
See above for 'action shots' of Larry D. and Scott.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
The strange week continues...
On Wednesday last week we once again ventured out onto the big lake to have dinner and watch fireworks. We backed out of our slip as usual and got into the fairway. When Scott put the engine in forward...nothing happened! The engine was NOT connected to the propeller any longer. Scott hollered to Jeff D. and his buddy who were on the dock to come help as he then jumped to the bow to drop the anchor. Luckily the wind was light but Enee Marie was still sliding north faster than we would have liked. After NOT being able to tow the boat with my dingy which Jeff had brought out (THAT'S nice to know!) we coasted into a empty slip and effected repairs.
While in reverse the propeller and shaft had driven themselves out of the collar that holds them to the transmission. There are only two set screws that connect the shaft to the rest of the boat. A little scary to think about actually. Anyway, from now on we only go forward. Scott may have to hang a couple of old tires off of the bow when we want to stop.
While in reverse the propeller and shaft had driven themselves out of the collar that holds them to the transmission. There are only two set screws that connect the shaft to the rest of the boat. A little scary to think about actually. Anyway, from now on we only go forward. Scott may have to hang a couple of old tires off of the bow when we want to stop.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
A Seamless Sail?
So, we left Burnham as planned at around 7:00 pm on Sunday to attempt an overnight sail to Milwaukee. We headed out at around 65 degrees which was more north than we expected. The seas were also more than we expected and although we have been in much worse we started to wonder if either of us could sleep the way the boat was hobby horsing and pounding into the occasional four footer. We sailed out about 8 miles and tacked. Now our course was around 330 to 340 degrees! Great! This would take us past B'hai easily. But...still the pounding and being saftey conscious we really began to wonder what trouble a really sleepy crew might get into. Steering was non trivial as we were close hauled and had to be very busy on the helm to maintain our course.
After about 45 minutes on this tack and the city still pretty near we decide to go back to Burnham. We got back in with no problem around 11:45. So, our experiment with an all night sail will have to wait.
On Monday morning we headed out again with a new plan. We'd only go to Waukegan and creep north from there. Winds were about the same and we raised the main and then began to unfurl the genny. About half way out it stuck. I looked up and realized that the leach seam had ripped out and the leach line was wrapped around the sail and the forestay many times. ARGGGGGGH! We managed to roll it back up and, of course, headed back in. We took the sail down and inspected it. It really was pretty ripped up along the seam. Luckily we took it the same day to Sterling Sails and he did the repair in 1.5 hours.
While we were waiting for Sterling we stopped by Crowley's to look at that Pearson 365 Ketch. Sue had never seen it. So we gave it a look for fun. It is way over priced but this boat is a pretty neat cruising boat. We found out, though, that there is another one just on the market that is more reasonably priced and in better shape. So our 1 week cruise has turned into investigating the possibilities of buying this boat!
So if the sail hadn't ripped...and so it goes. The only happy crewman was Gracie the Cat!
Looks like Scott will be racing on Sunday afterall.
After about 45 minutes on this tack and the city still pretty near we decide to go back to Burnham. We got back in with no problem around 11:45. So, our experiment with an all night sail will have to wait.
On Monday morning we headed out again with a new plan. We'd only go to Waukegan and creep north from there. Winds were about the same and we raised the main and then began to unfurl the genny. About half way out it stuck. I looked up and realized that the leach seam had ripped out and the leach line was wrapped around the sail and the forestay many times. ARGGGGGGH! We managed to roll it back up and, of course, headed back in. We took the sail down and inspected it. It really was pretty ripped up along the seam. Luckily we took it the same day to Sterling Sails and he did the repair in 1.5 hours.
While we were waiting for Sterling we stopped by Crowley's to look at that Pearson 365 Ketch. Sue had never seen it. So we gave it a look for fun. It is way over priced but this boat is a pretty neat cruising boat. We found out, though, that there is another one just on the market that is more reasonably priced and in better shape. So our 1 week cruise has turned into investigating the possibilities of buying this boat!
So if the sail hadn't ripped...and so it goes. The only happy crewman was Gracie the Cat!
Looks like Scott will be racing on Sunday afterall.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
This summer's little trip
This coming Sunday we plan to take 1 week cruise on Lake Michigan just to keep our cruising skills honed. We are going to leave Sunday night and sail through the night to get to Milwaukee the next day. We want the experience of doing a night sail with just the two of us. There will certainly be times in the future where we want to make a longer passage of say over 100 miles and will need to sleep and take turns handling the boat alone.
From Milwaukee we are goint to hop north to Port Washington and then turn back south and try to hit Racine and Waukegan on the way home. These are ports that we like but have not visited in a couple of seasons. We'll also try to find places to update the blog and post some pictures along the way. This too is good practice for the BIG trip to come. So visit this blog and see how we are doing!
From Milwaukee we are goint to hop north to Port Washington and then turn back south and try to hit Racine and Waukegan on the way home. These are ports that we like but have not visited in a couple of seasons. We'll also try to find places to update the blog and post some pictures along the way. This too is good practice for the BIG trip to come. So visit this blog and see how we are doing!
Scott learns to race
On Sunday, Scott got to crew with Dave and Larry aboard Blitz for a MORF race...whatever that is. What fun! We had great plans for each of the various maneouver we were about to perform and yet when it came time to do it there was just a bunch of hollering and swearing! I looked up one time as we were rounding a mark and we could have easily stepped from the bow of our boat onto the stern of the boat in front. Larry at the helm seemed to think this was normal! We did ok though. Found out a couple of days later that after applying the handicaps we were second by 5 seconds! ARGGGGGGG.
I probably quadrupled my knowledge about sail trim in this one race and am looking forward to doing it again later today with Dave and Jeff this time. Hope the weather holds.
I probably quadrupled my knowledge about sail trim in this one race and am looking forward to doing it again later today with Dave and Jeff this time. Hope the weather holds.
To Hammond and back
Saturday, Scott and Sue and their friend Kay realized a long standing plan. They finally sailed to Hammond to go out to eat at Phil Schmidts. The wind was out of the north and blowing about 20 kts! Not too bad going down as we rode easily on the 4 foot waves that were following us. In Hammond we met up with Gary and Sam who drove around. Scott and Gary each made a withdrawl at the casino thank you very much! Dinner was free!
We were undecided as to whether or not to beat back into those waves to get back to Chicago. When we returned to the boat though, we were greeted by the stereo blasting on the power boat next to us. They were apparently providing the music for the dock party 3 boats down! Our decision was made! I said I'd rather sink than spend the night next to those idiots. We motor-sailed due north pounding right into the waves that had only slightly decreased since our south-bound trip. When we got north of the Hyde Park shoals we could finally turn to the north west and get some wind in our sails and get an angle to the waves. Trip down took about 2.25 hours and the return trip tool 3.75 hours! Nearly twice as long.
We got back just before midnight. I knew it had been a rough trip when I opended a beer from my frig and it exploded!
We were undecided as to whether or not to beat back into those waves to get back to Chicago. When we returned to the boat though, we were greeted by the stereo blasting on the power boat next to us. They were apparently providing the music for the dock party 3 boats down! Our decision was made! I said I'd rather sink than spend the night next to those idiots. We motor-sailed due north pounding right into the waves that had only slightly decreased since our south-bound trip. When we got north of the Hyde Park shoals we could finally turn to the north west and get some wind in our sails and get an angle to the waves. Trip down took about 2.25 hours and the return trip tool 3.75 hours! Nearly twice as long.
We got back just before midnight. I knew it had been a rough trip when I opended a beer from my frig and it exploded!
Monday, July 12, 2004
Kaptain 'K'
We were lucky to meet our new friends, Bill and Linda who just bought Kaptain 'K'. Kaptain 'K' is the boat just off our stern in Burnham. Bill and Linda were excited about the boat but needed some instruction in sailing and other boat stuff. So, after a couple of sails near Burnham, Bill, Scott and Sue headed across the lake to New Buffalo on Sunday. Bill and Lind are keeping the boat there. It was a great sail! We sailed close hauled almost all the way across. We needed a little engine boost around noon and again to cover the last 3-4 miles when the wind pooped out. Kaptain K is a great boat and sails easily. Bill and Linda should have several years of fun on this boat.
Previous posts show some pics from the training runs and the crossing of the lake.
Previous posts show some pics from the training runs and the crossing of the lake.
Friday, July 09, 2004
Teaching Sailing
Interesting twist for Scott this summer. I've been teaching high school Physics for 20 some years but this summer I've had a chance to teach sailing. What fun! I've been teaching 12 year olds sailing at the Des Plaines Park District in sunfishes. This has made ME think more about sailing itself and what might be some better ways for people to learn the basics. I also have the opportunity to teach a new owner of a 30 foot Beneteau how to sail. This is even more fun because there is so much more to teach a new owner and VERY novice sailor about boat systems, docking, triming sails, hove-to and so forth. I'm hoping that these experiences will follow me and serve me well as we sail south next year to the islands.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)