I Sail Away

Another guy from the marina (who has an Ericson 27) came over today and we looked at the transom together.  I needed another set of eyes to verify what I was seeing.

The crack across the transom goes nearly all the way across–right along the top.  But, the crack is not in the fiberglass: it appears to be some other material that was used along the top of the transom.  And, whatever that material was, it appears to have sheared from the stress.

The backstay is attached, of course, and definitely holding the transom in-place.  I am not worried about it coming apart.  The next step is to determine where, when, and why this other material was added.  I will be looking for evidence of a collision . . . and this to be part of the repair process.

Tomorrow, it looks like I will be crawling around below decks.

Crack along the transom of an Ericson 29

Upon most accounts, the Ericson 29 is a stoutly-built boat that could handle the Blue-water conditions of cruising.  It will be small, and have a maximum hull-speed of 6.7 knots/hr, but it will be manageable.

The smaller boat might actually be more forgiving in many places.  There are not as many things to break, a smaller boat is easier to maneuver, and has a shorter mast.  It is less helm on the tiller, and the keel is shorter–so, I can get in a little closer to shore.

A longer, heavier boat wouldn’t get tossed around as much in heavier seas, and the extra waterline would mean faster days.  But, the cost of the boat is more, as well as every other thing.

And, I already own the Ericson 29.

There is this nasty little split along the seam of the transom, however (see picture).  It appears as if the top portion of fiberglass did not bond properly to the actual transom.  If it is repairable and does not pose any danger to the structure of the boat, perhaps it is not a big deal.

I am going to have to hire a marine surveyor to tell me if this boat is worth preparing for the voyage, or not . . . .

I have this cray idea . . . to leave for Hawaii in December–after Christmas.

Actually, it is not so crazy.  It makes good sense.  It is a good time to go.  I have a couple of years of sailing experience under my belt in San Francisco–one of the best places to train on the Earth.  The boat will be complete–and ready for a trip.

To take my 2-week vacation and sail across the Pacific Ocean, and be in Hawaii for my Mom’s 60th birthday.  Once there, I can get my mail, run my business, and stay in Hawaii until June or July on the hook.

The brilliance of this idea is several fold.  It is a pretty safe crossing.  It will be going from cold to warm.  Sailing will be fresh–because I will have completed a down-the-coast sailing trip to Cabo San Lucas the month prior.  And, I’ll have my sailboat at Hawaii.

I could return to Alaska the following July and sail the boat down the coast to Cabo San Lucas the following winter–then down to Costa Rica, and to Peru and Chile during the Winter Months–where it is warm.

Sailors work with rope–although we do not call it by that name. Sailors actually work with lines.  The terms that we use for different types of it indicate where it is used on a boat.  I am going to give a quick overview on some terminology.

Definitions

Lines: The term for the collective assembly of rope on a boat.  You can take a piece of rope, and the second you take it from shore and bring it onto a boat, it becomes a line.

Sail Related Terminology

Halyard: Is the line that runs a sail to the top of the mast–it attaches to the head of a sail. On some older boats, this line may be comprised of wire cable spliced into rope.

Topping Lift: Is a line that runs to the top of the mast (or a partial ways to the top) for the purposes of lifting things.  A topping lift is used to raise a spinnaker pole, and is sometimes attached to the boom.

Sheet: Is a line that connects the clew of a sail to the boat.

Outhaul: Is really a control used to pull tighten the foot of a sail.  In most cases, it is a line attached to the clew of the sail that pulls the foot away from the mast.

Reefing Lines: Are lines that make it easy to reef the main.  If you expect the conditions to be windy, you might rig your reefing lines prior to setting sail from the comfort of the harbor.  Reefing is no small task (especially on large main sails), and having the reefing lines run ahead of time only make it easier.

Anchor and Docking Lines

Rode: Is a line that is attached to an anchor.  This may or may not have chain in the collective rode.

Dock Lines: Are the lines used to secure the boat to the dock.

Spring Line: Is a special dock line used to cinch the boat close to the dock (or the other line).  Sometimes more than one spring line is used.

Painter: Is a line that stays attached to the bow of a ship.  It is a longer line and is used for all sorts of things.

Miscellaneous Terms

Life Lines: Are the lines attached to stantions on the deck of a boat.  Their primary purpose is to keep things (especially people) from falling overboard.

Preventer: Is a lashing that is fixed to the boom of a sailboat to prevent it from moving to one side or the other.  This is especially helpful when running downwind and trying to prevent an accidental jybe.

Thats a good place to start.  I will post more terminology as it comes along.

Saturday morning, I headed up to the Cal Sailing Club in Berkeley to do a little sailing.

I have already discussed how I think the Cal Sailing Club is the best value in the San Francisco Bay for sailing.  But, to re-iterate–the Cal Sailing Club is the best value for San Francisco Bay for learning to sail and sailing.  At $60 and 4 hours of volunteer service to the club PER Quarter, it is the most economical–much more like a sailing co-op than a club or a school.

That being said, I showed up to the Cal Sailing Club a little after 9am on Saturday morning.  I helped rig a few dinghys, and around 10am, the instructors arrived and took us out on the bay for some lessons.

We sailed in a Laser Bahia–a lightweight, sport boat-type dinghy.  It is a bit tippy, but has a gennaker and retractable bow-sprit, is REALLY agile, and fast.  The square-topped sails keep the sail area high, and that little boat flies through the water.

A little time at the helm, some gybes and tacks, and then keeping my weight centered for the remainder of the time.

Great fun, great lessons, great people.  I love that little Cal Sailing Club.

A couple of months ago, I bought a Lido-14 dinghy.  I have been plagued with work lately (not a bad thing) and unble to find time to get the trailer wiring working properly.  Yesterday afternoon, I finished an emergency wiring for the trailer, and we were off for an inaugural cruise of the little Lido-14.

Morro Bay is protected and attached to a beautiful estuary called Los Osos.  There can be some stout winds, but there was a thick layer of fog over the area.

We stepped the mast in the parking lot, launched the Lido from the trailer at the public launch, and finished the rigging in the water.

Overall, we spend the day chasing wind (1 – 4 knts/hr) and fighting the ebb.  Fighting is a poor choice of words because it is sailing, after all, and terribly fun.  With an ebb of approximately 3 – 4 nm/hr, our little Lido did a bunch of side-stepping and wind-chasing to play in the bay.

De-rig and unstepping of the mast in the parking lot from the trailer, and a spray-down of fresh water for everything (me included) at home.

As far as an inaugural sail is concerned, the Lido-14 is a tank.  Ours is hull number 216 (you can see the numbers on the hull through a small patch of fiberglass without any gel coat), with original sails, sheets and gear.  The hull is built to a stout thickness, and has a solid feel to it.  It is PERFECT for teaching people how to sail.

The sail did produce a small list of replacement items: new sails (one batten is permanently bent and a bit troublesome in light wind sailing), replacement of all the lines, sheets, and halyards, and replacing a majority of shackles, snatch blocks, and gear.  Lastly, I have a tiny anchor for it, but it needs a rode . . . .

I love that little lido.

The Cal Sailing Club may be the absolute best value in San Francisco for learning and practicing how to sail, repair boats, and just about everything else sailing-related.  In addition to running a fabulous sailing-co-op style club, they also like to barbeque, share with everyone involved, are welcoming, fun-loving, love to race, and even have members who have completed the Mini-Transat–a 30-day race with two legs from France to Brazil solo in 21-foot boats.  Uhhhhm–yeah.

Okay, Saturday rolls around, and myself and a friend roll up to the Cal Sailing Club.  We get a rigging lesson on the relatively new Laser Bahia (fantastic little boat), and then she gets a sailing lesson in a 14-foot Hunter dinghy.  Super-fun!

If you are looking for me during most of the summer, I have an idea where you might start . . . .

Last weekend, the Cal Sailing Club hosted an intensive sailing workshop.  As a result, there were more than a few casualties to the fleet of dinghys, and I swung by the club to help repair them last night.

The club has 5 Laser Bahia’s with a tiny Gennaker sail, a roller furling jib, and little square-top main sail (with reefing points).  They are cute little boats, pretty fast, and really popular.

I spent a couple of hours last night swapping out shackles, fitting cotter pins, and taping sharp things (that could catch wetsuits, cut hands, etc.).  Some of the other volunteers were working on different portions of the same boats.  Towards the end of the evening, we replaced two of the repaired rudders, and the bulk of the mini-fleet of Bahias were back into operation.

This was excellent fun–almost therapeutic.  Working on something, fixing something that was broken, and improving on designs with new ideas. And, then to have the product of your labors be seaworthy afterwards.

Great fun.

I could not wait for the diver to clean the bottom.  Today, I took the long-handled scrub brush and scrubbed the bottom from the docks.  It is only a temporary solution–I am still scheduling a diver to clean, survey and replace the zincs.

At least this will be better for now.

It is TIME to have the bottom cleaned on the Ericson 29 again. In fact, the last time the bottom was cleaned was about 9 months ago. I am actually behind schedule.

The condition of the algae on the bottom actually determines the time more than anything. And, it is definitely time. As seen in the image, there is an entire bustling community of crustaceans living and working on the hull. Not exactly desirable for good hull speed.

I must call the diver to come and clean the bottom of the boat. More importantly, a haul-out and new bottom paint has to happen soon.