The Boys in the Boats

I took the day off from sailing preparation and took the boys to Timothy Lake.  Perfect weather and on a Friday not very populated. 

Andy, Logan, Josh and Big Red at The Cove.  Then, shazam, the three boats in the water. Actually there was some huffing and puffing getting the kayaks and all the picnicking gear to the water.  The boats are two 10 foot Pelicans and Josh's new 8 footer.

The water was crystal clear and the breeze was from the South.  All three toured the cove and the Josh decided to go swimming.  You can see him in the blue next to Logan's orange kayak.  Andy used my yellow boat and was paddling like a pro in just minutes.

Josh swam and kayaked.  I sat in my chair and fished.  Andy fished from the kayak.  Logan did a tour and then relaxed with a Heinlein sci fi novel in the sun.  We at chips and sandwiches and doughnuts and water melon and more chips.  A perfect day in the Oregon Cascades.

 Whoopee!  The Dolphin has her bottom work started.  She is in the yard for sanding, barrier coat, and bottom paint.  The yard will clean out the barnacles from the center board trunk while they are at it.  The boot strip was half destroyed, so I decided to have the bottom paint up to the top of where the boot strip was. 

The second photo has a blur because I had to take it through the wire fence.  I stripped the cabin and took a load of old cushions and covers to the land fill.  I cleaned out the old stuff I had in the shed from my other boat, as well.

 The anchor light was full of water.  It came down and I made a bracket to fit on top of the mast that would hold a new anchor light and a wind indicator. 

 It looks okay on the mast head and I was able to keep the wire lead from the old one. 

 I installed a new winch on the trailer that has a dual role.  It pulls the bow eye up to the trailer roller and it is used to raise the mast on an A frame.  The winch is a Dutton-Lainson Brake Winch.  I got it on Amazon.  To let out the winch you have to turn the handle in reverse.  It will not free wheel.  Perfect of mast raising.

 My rigger and sail vendor, Kerry Poe, from North Sails delivered and assembled the Harken jib furler for me.  I kibitzed, handed him tools, and was glad I had decided to pay him for the job.  He delivered and installed the new lifelines.  I put a gate on each side and we used stainless without the plastic covers.  I have all the new standing rigging ready to go on launch day. 

I installed new rope halyards for the main and jib.  I rigged a topping lift for the spinnaker pole I haven't found yet.  (Looking for a used one $$$)  I figured out how to rig a main boom topping lift and found a piece of hardware for the masthead. 

The new Toyhatsu SailPro outboard is on order from Texas.  I downloaded the manual and found the Mercury 4hp I bought two years ago is the same basic motor.  The new one is a 6hp ultra long shaft with a 10 amp generator.  It costs quite a bit less than the Mercury long shaft.  The SailPro has a propeller sized for pushing sailboats and the shaft is longer than the Mercury.  On the rivers here in Oregon we get lots of power boat and commercial boat wakes.  The Mercury would cavitate, so the longer shaft will be a blessing.

Sitting alone in the Grass at Sequim

On May 27, 2017 I drove from Portland, Oregon to Sequim, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula.  It was a four hour drive and I arrived about 11:00 AM to find a dream waiting patiently in a grassy field.  The boatyard had closed for financial reasons and there were only about six vehicles still in the storage lot.  She was the best looking of the bunch.

There she sits, hull number 168, of the Yankee Dolphin pod.  She was built in 1970 in California.  It was love at first sight.  I planned to dicker with the owner and go over her with a fine tooth comb for condition and possible repairs.  It didn't work that way.  I climbed up a rickety wooden ladder and fell in love.  What can I say?  I drove back the next Saturday, June 3rd and met the owner at the bank in Sequim.  We transferred his full asking price from my account to his.  So much for bargaining and fine tooth combs.  I went back to the now closed boatyard to find the yard owner who had fixed the trailer for me.  He was working another full time job and fixed the trailer in his off time.

Off to Portland with 6,000 pounds of boat and trailer.

I drove back over the Hood Canal floating bridge, the Tacoma Narrows bridge, and down I-5 to home.  The trailer had new tires, brakes, bearings, new master cylinder assembly, and new safety chains.  I kept a steady 50 miles per hour down the four lane for 216 miles.  I kept waiting for the boat to fall off the trailer.  On a Saturday evening there was lots of cars, but few large trucks passing us.  I got home at 11:00 PM and even found the street parking in front of my house clear.  Hooray!

The Dolphin website is Dolphin24.org

This classic MORC boat is designed by Sparkman and Stephens.  For much more information go to the website.   

Short Sail under a Tall Bridge

I went sailing yesterday for the first time this year. I have been working on the boat and the garden as soon as the rain stopped this spring.

My daughter and her husband, Jennifer and Andrew, were along and it was Andrew's first time on a sailboat.

My new mast raising "A" frame worked great. The outboard,which was running fine last fall when I winterized it, refused to run. It would start and then die. Fuel pump is probably the culprit.

"So this sheet goes here ..."

"Jen, you just knocked over my drink."

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Well, if the wind holds we may make it  back to the ramp?"

I'll try to get out next week with a repaired motor. I ordered a fuel pump repair kit. It is amazing, you can get parts for a 1989 Evinrude on line.

Fixing Old Outboard

I have been working on my 1989 4 horse Yacht Twin.  I had to replace the starter rope.  I found two sites on the web that listed parts and even showed an exploded parts diagram.

http://shop2.evinrude.com/Index.aspx?s1=pe5e4rk9mctkcjjsth2it1es24&catalog_id=0&siteid=1


http://epc.brp.com/SiteMods/BRP_Public/BRP_Public_Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fIndex.aspx%3flang%3dE%26s1%3d9cf114bc-5aed-4595-834b-00256b3e1020%26brands%3dej%26dealerlocator%3dno&lang=E&s1=9cf114bc-5aed-4595-834b-00256b3e1020&brands=ej&dealerlocator=no

Long links, but you can cut and paste to your browser.

The key part for me was the diameter of the starter rope.  It is listed as 1/8 inch.  The rope is available from one part site in 200 foot roles and from another by the foot with a $7.50 service charge.  I went to a STIHL chainsaw dealer and found a pull rope that is the right size and got my 52 inches for $1.25.  The line was a roll that they stock for a weed whacker, not a chainsaw.  The chainsaw line is too thick.  Beware of just plain old 1/8 inch diameter line sold in the big box stores.  It doesn't have a core and will stretch, both bad things for outboard pull ropes.

I found a number of forums that gave advice about how to put in a new starter rope.  One of them told how to wind the spring assembly, use the hole in the lower section to put a screwdriver in to hold the spring wound and then thread the pull rope into the connector.  Then you release the spring, keeping tension on the rope, and it will wind the rope onto the drum.  I tried it and it worked like a charm, the third time.  Don't ask about the first two tries.

Be very careful with the spring.  It can and will shoot off into your workshop.  It can bite you.  I found a set of vise grip pliers very useful in hold the whole shebang together while I was working on it.

Chart Plotter on Laptop

This is a view of the laptop screen with OpenCPN displayed.  The location is showing where I was parked at the boat ramp in my pickup with the GPS from my Microsoft Streets and Trips on the dash.  This is soooo cool. 

The GPS plugs into the USB port and uses com 7.  The OpenCPN recognizes the GPS input and positions it on the chart.  It also shows direction, logitude and latitude, and speed of travel.

The charts are free from the NOAA web site.  They are in zipped format and you have to unzip them and install them in a file and then move them into the OpenCPN chart bin.  You can quilt the charts together and then just scroll from one to another.  I downloaded the charts for the North Pacific and then the Columbia River system. 

Some details: 

The GPS is PHAROS GPS360.  The 360 and the 500 are on Amazon for $18.99.  Pharos has a web site.  Pharos.com. 

The NOAA web site is http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/

The OpenCPN web sit is opencpn.org.

Sea Trial Success

    I will work backwards on this, starting on a successful launch, sail, and retrieve on Tuesday, October 12, 2010.  I had to deal with a pad eye that broke while raising the mast, a power winch connection that proved too short when the trailer tilted, and a launch that saw the boat sail across the slip to another dock than the one I intended to use.  Minor stuff and that's what sea trials are all about.
    The day was glorious.  Light airs from the southwest.  Sunny, but not too warm.  No one at the ramp and little commercial traffic (say barges) on the river.  Major problem on the river was that my drink thermos decided to leak all my iced coffee into the bilge.  Here are a few pics I took with my cell phone camera.

All Sails Flying, or maybe flapping?

Under Sail Going Upriver

Motoring Back to Ramp

St Johns Bridge

      Back on Saturday, September 25th, I took the boat down to the Cathederal Park boat ramp.  I needed space to rig the mast.  All the stays were loose and the fitting were mostly new.  I found the ramp parking lot really full.  I put the mast up after I connected all the rigging.  Found a few issues, but it worked pretty well.  Spent some time drinking lemonade and sitting in my lawn chair in the shade.  Life can't be all work.

Busy Ramp Parking

Halfway Up

St Johns Bridge and Big Red

    I have a long list of winter projects including trailer lights, a rebuilt electrical panel, finishing the outboard mount (still plain wood) and more.  I did make a platform for the cabin floor which works great.  I need to finish it and paint it.