Maiden Voyage

OK so this plan has been in the works for a couple of weeks now, and will come to life this evening.  After work tonight I'm going to be meeting up with my brother, Spencer, and my friends, Adam and Gavin.  We're planning to head out at 9:00 PM and sailing over to Michigan.  The closest city I could find was Pentwater, MI which my friend, Bailey, has told me is very nice.  The wind is supposed to be super light tonight, but building into the teens tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to that so I can build enough speed to get home in time for work.  I figure it'll take around 16 hours to get across, then we can sleep or explore for a bit and then turn around and head home.  Both ways we're going to be doing some night sailing.  I'm looking forward to getting out away from all the light pollution, and doing more than a day of straight sailing.  And seeing the sunrise on my boat with nothing on the horizon.  Hopefully we have enough wind to get out of the harbor. 
On another note my $200 compass arrived without any way of calibrating it, so it is constantly 30 degrees off.  I don't see any point in using it if it's going to get me lost.  I guess I'll be relying on the GPS for the 63 mile voyage.  I'm sure there will be 3 nervous mothers tonight, but I'm optimistic that it'll all be ok.  I also got 3 of the 4 swageless terminals for my riggin, so now my turnbuckles are finally rigged right.  As this is my first time using these terminals.  I hope I did it right and that it won't matter if I was a millimeter too long or too short on the shrouds.

I must say it felt a bit odd to take the bolt cutters to my brand new rigging, but it looks a lot better now and should be stronger than the swaged eyes I did have put on there.  I just wish all 4 had shown up at the same time so I could be done with it.  Stupid shipping companies.
Wish me luck!

Perfect

Last night after work I went over to check if anything had come in the mail for me.  Recently I have gotten a spare anchor, a compass, a GPS (Garmin eTrex Venture HC), and now a hammock and a good book called My Old Man and The Sea.  I look forward to stringing up the hammock and just reading if I'm ever anchored off-shore with nothing better to do.  I headed to the boat and called/texted a few friends to see if anyone wanted to go out sailing.  It was beautiful weather.  The breeze was about 10 knots, and it wasn't going to get dark till around 9:00.  I waited to hear back but then decided just to go out on my own.  I prepared this time by getting my boat hook up on deck so I could push off if need be.  Luckily the wind was working for me and I shoved off without the slightest problem.  Getting out of the harbor was a bit tricky though.  I had to tack back and forth quite a bit with just the main, and the direction of the wind made it feel like I was just drifting sideways.  I slowly made my way towards the mouth of the harbor.  I thought of tying off to a nearby dock just to put the jib up and make another go at it.  But one more tack and I got out.  There was a strange current that started to push the bow of my boat towards the breakwater, but in the end it went smoothly.  I headed out on a close reach under main alone and fired up the GPS.  It quickly registered that I was doing 2.5 MPH.  With the wind speed it didn't feel like I was even going that fast. 
I was keenly aware that I was alone out there as I began to set the jib.  A few waves rolled underneath me and made for a bit of a challenge to maintain my footing whilst clipping everything on.  After I popped the jib up I was soon doing 4.5 MPH.  The best I did was 7 MPH which I though was higher than my theoretical hull speed, so maybe I was doing my calculations wrong.  It should be the Square root of the waterline length time 1.32.  Or maybe I had to multiply the waterline length by 1.32 and then do the square root.  Not sure, either way I was glad to have the GPS along. 
The heat wave that has blasted the Midwest over the last few days led to a thick haze over the water.  About a mile out I lost all sight of land.  It was nice to be away from everyone and everything, but often I would hear the drone of a fishing boat's engine.  It was eerie to hear the noise but not see the vessel.  I only hoped that no one would plow into me going 20 or 30 knots.  I took up the habit of whistling really loudly every minute or two as a sound signal to other boats.
I struggled to keep in the wind, and for some reason I didn't feel like I was trimmed just right.  I lashed the tiller in a position that would at least keep us on the same compass course.  The boat would very slowly come a degree or two up into the wind, then it would fall off.  The pressure of the sails kept it rounding one way, and the tiller countered it.  I found that my little boat could almost sail herself better than I could.  We maintained a straight course for about half an hour with no input from me.  This allowed me to go below and fetch some Twizzlers, crank up some Linkin Park on the stereo, and wander around on deck.  I was wearing my life jacket right from the beginning on this trip.  Although it was nice to not have to steer, I knew that if I fell off and missed the dinghy trailing behind I would be left miles out in the lake and Aequitas could end up in Michigan all be herself.  I tried lying down in a quarter-berth just to see what it felt like while underway; I could have drifted off to sleep so easily.  It was quite a comfortable motion, not slapping and pounding over the waves.  The solitude was liberating.
I made it about 3 miles out before turning around and heading back towards the setting sun.  It was so foggy that I could only see the water in a radius around my boat, but there was nothing solid I could use to get my bearings.  If it wasn't for the GPS I would have been lost out there with nothing to guide me back in other than the angle of the wind and waves.  I averaged 3.5 MPH on the way out, and 5 MPH on the way back on a broad reach.  The temperature dropped as the sun sank behind the fog bank and was completely obscured from view.  It was very dark by the time I caught my first sight of land.  There is a bright LED clock on top of a bank on 8th street which showed up long before the lighthouse did.  A rather large group of lights apeared off my starboard quarter and followed me slowly in.  It looked and sounded like a barge but later turned out to be a large fishing boat.  Again I whistled at 1 minute intervals to make my location known. 

I had to steer by GPS for a bit to avoid the pier, and after I was past that point the fog lifted and I sailed straight back to my slip.  The wind maintained direction allowing me to go downwind to the dock.  I pulled in just perfectly, stepped onto the dock and tied off.  I had already come to a smooth stop and I didn't need to rush around for anything.  A nice man stood on the dock to assist, but soon realized there was nothing to do. 
After putting the dinghy to bed and taking the jib down I accepted help flaking it on the dock.  Folding bigger sails by yourself is no easy task.  We stood there chatting for a bit.  It is by now common knowledge that I have no engine in my boat.  "So do you have an engine in there?"   "Nope."  "Man you know how to sail if you can get in and out of this harbor without one!"  We talked for a bit about how kids aren't learning to truly sail anymore, everyone has gotten so used to being able to flip on an engine and head home.  He spoke about how sturdy my boat looked, and how impressed he was with how far it's come....And he hasn't even seen the "before" pictures.  I was quite proud of myself.  It was just the confidence boost I needed.  Now I know that I can in fact solo-sail some, and I look forward to the first week in August when we sail to Michigan.

No wind = frustration

Yesterday it was light air again for the second Tuesday in a row. Getting out of the harbor was pretty hairy.  In fact this whole ordeal with low wind speeds has taken quite the toll on my confidence as an engine less sailor.  I pushed the boat out and by the time I hopped on she had flipped backwards and was trying to drift in between two docked boats.  I got her turned sideways, but then she kept drifting.  A guy came over to help push off.  No damage done I don't think, but I'd be mad if someone had bumped into my boat.  I'm starting to think that if there isn't a lot of wind, or at least a discernible direction of wind that I just won't go out.  After I got out of the harbor I was moving along at a slow walking pace.  It was a fun day still.  I had my brother, Liam, out on the boat.  We went snorkeling, and practiced diving through the transparent water down to the anchor.  I can hold my breath for about 2 minutes in a hot tub, but only about 20 seconds in the lake.  I don't know what they temperature difference does to me, but it's annoying. 
We entertained two families from church and had a grand ole' time just ghosting about.  I'm planning on heading across Lake Michigan in two weeks with whatever crew I can scare up.  I should be getting my new compass, GPS, anchor, sail cover, and hammock this week.  If only I could get my electrical system working, or a wind vane autopilot.  It would be nice to have one, but they're super expensive.  If you want to get me one for Christmas I won't complain!

A few things of note

It's been a pretty fun week.  There have been triumphs and frustrations; realizations and determinations.  I guess I should backtrack a bit to explain things that are going on in order.  Summer is a pretty good time to have adventures, I just wish I had more time to be out there having them.  I had my friends, Charlotte and Kim, come down to go sailing with me on Saturday the 9th.  As we were walking down the dock to the boat I noticed a new couple struggling with a fishing net in the dinghy by their boat.  they seemed to be trying to scoop something off the bottom.  I had passed by them once, but when I realized that they were still at it half an hour later I knew they needed help.  I offered my assistance.  They had accidentally dropped a sliding cleat over the side of their boat. It was an essential piece of their boat and it was in a size that they don't make anymore.  They had mentioned calling the police to send a diver down, but either they didn't do it, or they realized it was a futile attempt.  I told them I had snorkeling gear and I'd be glad to dive for their lost cleat.  It was a bit awkward changing into a wetsuit on my boat while my friends were just on the other side of the thin cabin door, and I'm sure I looked a bit strange wearing a shorty wetsuit and dive goggles.

 I strapped a 20 pound weight around my foot and hopped in the water.  It took a little bit to get used to the chill, but after a minute I didn't notice the cold.  I took a deep breath and slipped below the surface of the murky harbor.  It was completely brown with all the silt that had been stirred up by their fishing net.  I couldn't see my hand in front of my face, but I was still glad to have the mask on.  I was probably about 9 feet deep when my feet sunk into the soft mud.  I immediately began digging around, sweeping the floor with my hands.  I didn't want to push my breath holding capacity, so I kicked back up to the surface.  It was surprisingly easy to get the weight back up with me.  I was directed as to exactly where the cleat fell overboard.  I was sure it would have shifted with all the commotion that had been made.

 I dove again and again about 4 times.  Once I found a little stick that was about the right size and shape, but it wasn't what I was going for.  I decided I was going to flatten myself on the bottom and sweep the whole area and stay down as long as I possibly could.  I took an extra deep breath and plunged down again.  Wouldn't you know it, my foot landed right on it.  It was a couple inches underneath the silt.  They were overjoyed when I returned their missing merchandise.  I didn't let them pay me, but it did get me thinking about how much I like diving for things.  I feel like I should find a shipwreck around here pretty soon just for fun.

After that adventure we did get out sailing and had a glorious time.  We heeled over pretty nicely and just chatted as we cruised about aimlessly.

On Tuesday the wind was nice and fresh in the morning, but by the time Spencer and his lady friend got there the wind had died.  We waited for half an hour before I got bored and decided to go out in whatever breeze there was.  We ghosted out of the harbor under main and jib, and then the wind picked up and we were able to actually move around the lake pretty well.  It was warm and clear with no waves and no clouds.  I tied a string to the tiller so the boat could steer itself for a little bit and then jumped into the dinghy to take pictures.  I love the way Aequitas looks when she's under sail.  I can't wait to get away from land. 

Spencer climbed the mast once because he had to free a halyard, and once just because he wanted to.  No matter how short the mast may seem from the deck, it feels so much taller when you're up on the spreaders.  He took some pictures and some video, but seemed happy to be back down.  You have to consider that any tipping or heeling motion that you would feel on deck is multiplied by how far up the mast you are.  If the boat is heeled over 15 degrees that doesn't feel like much from the boat, but up on the mast you'd be out over the water, not the boat.

As we sailed over the Niagara Escarpment (a giant chunk of the same rock that the Niagara Falls are carved from) we could see clearly through the surface and some times I was sure we would hit a submerged rock.  Amber, (Spencer's friend) was just laying on the foredeck soaking up the rays when all of a sudden her phone committed suicide.  For no reason at all it hopped, skipped, and plopped over the side of the boat without so much as a goodbye.  It was so odd, but oddly funny at the same time. 
We headed in to shore and dropped anchor.  I had friends from church out on the boat after that, but sadly the wind died again... ALL THE WAY!  I couldn't conjure up enough speed to even steer the boat.  It was a disappointing introduction to sailing for a few people.  We had fun swimming though.  Once while I was changing into a swimsuit I heard a grinding noise.  We had run aground again on a sand bar.  I hopped of and tried doing what I had always done, but she just got more and more stuck.  I tried having everyone sit on one side of the boat, and the little sister of the group hang off the boom to tilt it enough, but to no avail.  In the end I had to push the boat closer to shore into a channel between the sandbars, and then find a gap to get out.  After hours of no wind they decided to all head home in the dinghy.  It was quite a sight to see the little boat so loaded down, but it's a sturdy craft equal to the task. 

My brother, Max and his two friends came out after that.  I was able to get us moving slowly towards the lighthouse until the shift in air temperature from day to evening created a little breeze.  I got us all the way around into the harbor, but then when I tried tacking up against the non-existent wind we almost drifted up against the rocks.  Twice.  I jumped in to save my hull once, and max went in the second time while I tried to row the boat out of harms way with the dinghy and about 200 feet of line.  Luckily a man in a rigid-inflatable motorboat came and towed me to my slip.  It was embarrassing being so stranded just days after I had boasted in my engine less skills.  I still don't want to rely solely on the engine, but I should probably put it in.  It has kind of shattered a lot of my enthusiasm, but I can't let one bad learning day get me down.  I guess I need to get back up on the proverbial horse.

Independence!

Happy belated 4th of July everybody!
I'm going to try and not gripe about the lengthy (and quite amazing) blog post I just wrote over the course of about 45 minutes only to have it deleted and sent off into Cyberspace!
Here in Sheboygan they go all out to celebrate out Nation's independence.  They have a big run/walk in the morning, some military airplanes fly over downtown, there's a parade all morning, they have a cardboard boat race in the river, there are bonfires down on the beach, and of course they have awesome fireworks at nightfall.
I had Spencer come down at 7:30 to help me put up the sails and cast off.  All went without a hitch.  (He did have to run forward to kick the bow away from another boat we almost collided with as we were waiting to build up some speed).  I was so happy to actually pull away from land and be sailing on my very own boat.  After all the waiting, working, paying, and worrying; I was finally out sailing! 

I was amazed at how well she moved despite the light air and being very heavy boat with small sails.  The wind was just at the perfect angle so we could head out of the harbor and sail over to the beach.  My boat only draws 3.5 feet of water, so I was able to pull up really close to the beach.  Spencer and I dropped anchor in about 7 feet of crystal clear water.  I could see the ripples in the sand, and the schools of minnows circling in the shade underneath Aequitas. Spencer donned the snorkeling gear to try and snap some pictures of the boat from the water.  Although the air was in the 80's this is still Wisconsin and the water temperature was quite frigid.  I could hardly believe how much he was complaining about the cold and how quickly he scrambled back up on deck.  And this was in a full wetsuit!

  I towed the dinghy along so I could more easily ferry people from ship to shore.  I dropped my brother off on shore so he could go enjoy the festivities, and I rowed back to my little floating home.  The wind had died, so I decided to try out the water for myself.  HOLY COW IT WAS COLD!  I thought Spencer was exaggerating.  I could hardly breathe, and nothing mattered more than getting back to the boat.

I read a chapter in Jessica Watson's book, and then I ran my swim ladder up the mast so I could climb up to the spreaders and take a look around.  The view was worth the effort, but I felt a little uneasy not knowing how much stress the rig could take.

The wind picked up again after I got back down, so I weighed anchor and took off on my own for a little sail.  The Bristol 24 handled beautifully in the wind, I could easily reach both jib sheets, and trimming to the wind was as easy as could be.  After a little while I headed back in for a drink of water and a bathroom break.  I dropped anchor close to shore again, and made sure to let out plenty of line so that the anchor wouldn't get yanked free.  I took time to snap a few pictures as I rowed to shore.

I pulled the dinghy high up on the beach by a couple of boys building a sandcastle.  "Is that your boat?" they asked.  "Why yes. Yes it is" I said in my best yes-am-a-super-hero-and-you-can-grow-up-to-be-like-me-someday voice.  They asked if it would sail off since I left the sails up.  I explained that I had an anchor in the sand; as I spoke the boat swung itself around like a dog chained to a fencepost.

As I made my way across the scorching sand to the bathrooms I decided to take a picture with my cell phone.  I turned around and flipped open my phone just in time to see my boat start to take off on its own.  I was instantly filled with horror as my boat gathered speed and reminded of One-Eyed Willy's ship in The Goonies sailing off into the sunset under its own power.  I ran to the dinghy, shoved off and began rowing like a madman.  I was rowing all out, but I couldn't seem to gain on my little sloop.  She was hundreds of yards off shore and getting closer and closer to the rocky pier with every second.  I prayed that I would be able to catch my boat and avert disaster, but the simple math of the situation was showing that I would be futile in catching my accelerating vessel.  Would it hit the rocks, would it hit some kids, how extensive would the damage be, how did this happen?  My mind was racing with questions, and my arms were quickly tiring from the exertion.  All of a sudden my boat turned towards the beach, she didn't slow at all, but at least now she wasn't going to hit rocks, I was worried that she'd hit some kids and I'd be in a whole ton of trouble for leaving the boat unattended.  Miraculously Aequitas ran aground on a sand bar and came to a full stop.  I caught up and scolded my boat for her bad behavior.  Luckily it was shallow enough that I could just turn the boat around and push her off.  It was surprisingly easy to get her unstuck seeing as she weighs a portly 6,000 pounds.  I'm loving the design of the Bristol 24 more and more by now.

Apparently the swinging motion had sawed through the anchor rode and now my new anchor and several feet of chain were sitting somewhere on the bottom of the lake.  The water was clear, and I had the kids' sandcastle as a landmark, so I spent the next half hour criss-crossing the area I thought the anchor would be at looking for the telltale signs of the scratches the chain would have left in the sand, or the silver gleam of the anchor.  Back and forth, spiral, over and over with no result.  If I didn't find the anchor then I would have to stay on the boat all day, or beach it every time I wanted to get people aboard. 

Spencer swam out and commandeered the dinghy to go pick up my friend Stephanie and bring her aboard.  We commenced the search and within 7 minutes I saw a grey fin protruding from the sandy bottom with no chain in sight.  We made a wide sweeping turn (about the only choice in a Bristol) to make another pass.  Considering the difficulty of finding the anchor the first time I wasn't sure if I'd get a second shot.  As soon as I caught a glimpse of it again I spilled the sails and handed the tiller over to Stephanie and instructed her to keep sailing in circles.  Before I could even check if she knew how I dove over the side towards the lost artifact a little more than a fathom below.  The water hadn't warmed up much, and this time I had no wetsuit to insulate me, but the excitement of finally finding my lost property cancelled out the cold.  I made my way through the clear waters and began pulling up the anchor and the chain with it.  It must have weighed over 50 pounds, and since I couldn't tread water with that much weight I just walked along the bottom, popping up for air every now and then.  Eventually I got within reach of my boat, but the problem then was that Aequitas was still moving too fast and if Stephanie couldn't maneuver it closer I might miss it all together.  I dove one more time and kicked hard off the sandy bottom propelling myself just high enough out of the water to grasp the side with one hand.  I handed the anchor to Steph and then clambered on deck to rest a bit.

After the excitement I had more friends on board.  My family came out as well.  My nephew, Noah, was a little bit angry at first cause he couldn't swim, but then we had a grand ole' time touching the marker buoy, diving off, and soaking up the plentiful sunshine.

 

To wrap it all up I had friends out on the boat and we watched the fireworks as we sailed slowly and silently out around the pier.  As the fireworks died down and all the motor boats headed in we were left alone under a starry sky with nothing to disrupt the peace but the sound of the dinghy being pulled along behind like a somewhat reluctant toddler.  We made it in safe and sound under sail, and the girls helped fold the sails.  All in all the boat was out of the slip for about 16 hours.  It was the perfect day.

Good find

As I was perusing the Craigslist ads last night I came across a good one for an 8' fiberglass rowing dinghy with oars and a dolly.  I called the guy up and made arrangements to pick it up after work.  He was asking $310 (a rather arbitrary number) but I only brought $300 with me.  At the end of it all it was a great deal, but he made me go into town to an ATM to come up with the extra $10.  I've never seen something on Craigslist go for what's asked, and I found it inconceivable that the guy wouldn't come down $10 in price.  Oh well. 
We loaded it onto the top of the van and dropped it off at the marina.  It doesn't track too straight when I'm rowing, but that's mainly cause it so flat on the bottom.  Other than that it's a perfect way to get from ship to shore if I'm anchored off a coastline, or if I just want to paddle around and explore.  I can also use it to tow my boat out of the marina.  So now I really don't need to put my inboard engine in; especially if I get a little outboard for the dinghy.

Homeless

Yesterday was my birthday!  It was pretty uneventful to begin with.  I worked all day (literally).  The only thing to break up the monotony was going out to Culver's with a friend for lunch.  If you've never been to Culver's I highly recommend it.  A better brand of beef truly does make a butter-burger better.  I worked from 8:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night.  We close at 8:00, but I had some last minute customers that bought a car.  Oh well, money is good right?  After I updated my Facebook account and replied to most of the birthday wishes I started to head home.  On the way I suddenly grew hungry.  The problem with Sheboygan is that there's nowhere to go at 11:00 at night for food except Perkins.  I didn't want to go to the restaurant alone and feel lame so I decided to just turn in for the night.  As I was almost to the marina I got a text from my friend Jessica, she was with another friend.....at Perkins.  So in the end I did get some more birthday fun, and I got to eat inordinate amounts of food.  That's a good day in my book.
As I got home to Aequitas I noticed that there was no longer any water dripping into the bilge; small victories.  Thursday I will be moving the rest of my belongings out of my apartment so I can fully move onto the boat.  I wonder if I'll get in trouble for being technically homeless.  Does living on a boat count as homelessness?  What if I have my Mom's house as my mailing address.  Soon the only bills I will have are my cell phone and the insurance for the car I sold to my sister and brother in-law.  Hopefully this means that I will be able to save quickly for my trip to California this summer, and to Europe next summer.
Just as a backup plan I began searching for flight prices to head to all the places I want to visit next summer.  Oddly enough if I did it as a multi-stop flight and spent about a week in each country it would only be just over $1,000 for the whole trip.  That's stopping in Ireland, England, Spain, and Florida.  For that price I may as well do that this year.  Obviously that doesn't cover food and lodging.  The main thing I want to experience though is cruising on my own boat and pulling into a strange port and seeing everything from that perspective.  Then I can explore every cove and inlet along the way, stop at any beach that intrigues me, and carry my living place with me like a snail's shell. 

She floats!

After much freaking out and anxiety my boat is finally tied up to her dock, floating happily in the harbor.  I had my brother, Spencer, camp out with me on the boat for the last night on land.  We got up early in the morning so I could get things squared away with the tug.  I had figured we would be able to use the Sea Scout's Boston Whaler to move into the slip; unfortunately the boat was packed into the garage, and it hadn't been serviced yet, so it was not ready to go.  I went and talked to some of the guys from Sail Sheboygan, or U.S. Sailing (whichever organization it was), and they agreed to help out whenever I got my boat put in. 
I moved some of the boat stands to paint more anti-fouling underneath.  I was worried that she'd tip over, so I moved them back a bit prematurely so the paint stuck to the stands.  I had a couple of friends help out with the photography and getting the mast up on the boat.  I went to good ole' Wal-Mart for my dock lines, and ordered my green fenders from Defender Marine.  I checked and double checked all of the through hull ports so no water would come gushing in.

I was so nervous the whole time.  In my mind I kept thinking of everything that could go wrong.  What if the trailer was the wrong size? What if I forgot something and it flooded? What if we couldn't get her over to her slip? What if they wanted me to pay cash (instead of using a check) for the towing?
In hindsight I should have been abit more relaxed, but it felt like a mixture of the excitement of Christmas morning, and the anxiety of heading into battle not knowing what to expect.

A cleaned off foredeck.

It was nerve racking knowing that for a bit the boat was just balancing on its keel and nothing else.  The guy from teh towing company was nice though.  I think he knew it was my first summer with my first boat.  People don't really care what you sail, just how you sail it.

All ready to go!



I was hoping that I wouldn't see a geyser of water as soon as the hull hit the water.  Also I was worried that the strap placed under the rudder was going to do permanent damage. 
The moment of truth came, and she floated right off the trailer.  It was amazing to see my little boat bobbing there along side the dock looking just as seaworthy as anything else on the water. 
Just as soon as we were in the water our friends with the motor boat showed up right alongside and got to work.  So helpful and efficient!

Then we motored over to slip #49 and tied off.  It all went so smoothly I was a bit worried.  I don't worry all the time, but things rarely go as planned in my family.
But despite all that could have gone wrong, here we are!





Progress shots





These are the "custom" sawhorses I built to keep the mast off the ground.  It's the little things like this that make me feel better about my boat. 

You can see the frog tape and paint slopped all over the waterline here.  Also my sloppy first attempt at putting the stickers on the side.

This is the better side where the stickers are actually lined up.  (My brother's OCD is gonna go overtime on the other stickers).  And this is after I repainted the waterline.

The view from the cabnin after all the woodwork has been sanded, and the sides have a fresh coat of paint.  Much better than it looked before.  (Still need to do the floor though).

These are the 8 or 9 holes that I drilled in the port side of the keel to let the moisture drain out.  Hopefully nothing too bad going on in there.  From what I've read in the forums, it's nothing to worry about if there are no cracks, and it's prertty common.

And this is all the gear I bought to get her back into Bristol Condition.

A brief ray of sunshine

It's my day off.  And it was tolerable weather.  Sound unlikely for me......yeah.  OK although the afore mentioned statements are true, it wasn't exactly perfect.  Despite being my day off I had to go in to work (twice) in order to keep appointments with clients.  (If in the future after I am an amazingly successful cruising sailor and I have to get a job on land I hope that they will read this and see my awesome work ethic).  I only stayed at work a total of 3 1/2 hours, but I sold 2 cars, so it's ok.  As for the weather, it's been kinda depressing.  A couple Sundays ago it was up in the 70's, and then this last weekend we got 3 inches of snow!  It just came out of nowhere, and covered everything in slush.  I had hoped that I would be able to start varnishing, but with all the changing weather and moisture in the air I've decided to hold off for a bit.

I completed a few tasks on the boat though.  I taped off and repainted the waterline, I put on the boat registration stickers, and finished sanding the woodwork. I took pictures of all this today, but forgot to bring it over here so I could upload them.  I'll do that tomorrow.

I checked out the slot that had been cut to drain any excess water in the keel, it was pretty much dry.  I decided it'd be a good idea to make sure there was no water next to the ballast on the other side of the keel. So although when you think of boat maintenance you usually think of patching holes, not drilling new ones, that's exactly what I had to do.
I drilled into the side of the keel and a bit of gritty black goop came out followed by some water.  I drilled 8 other holes along the keel to drain any moisture I could.  I'm still a bit worried about all this water that has been in there for who knows how long, but I'm pretty confident in the structural integrity of the Bristol.

I found out that the rig I have (from a Columbia 26) has a roller reefing boom, so I don't need to add reefing point to the sail if I need to make the sail smaller in a storm.  It's gonna be nice to just wrap it around the boom and not have to worry about folding it.  I've heard that the roller reefing systems weren't that good, and that's why no one does it anymore.....I guess we'll see.

After sunset I went to Home Depot to get some Frog Tape (way better than the blue painter's tape most people get), some more sanding blocks, some gloves so I don't ruin my skin with the anti-fouling paint, and some tack cloth so I can varnish properly.  Then I bought some rubbing compound and wax to make the boat's hull all slippery and shiny.

It's gratifying to see things coming together over the last couple of weeks.  I've had a list of things to buy, and things to do which wasn't changing at all over the winter months.  I had to get insurance, pay for the slip, get anti-fouling paint ($126/gallon).  Now all I have to do is buy some sails.

An old guy came up to me today and told me about some sailing stuff he was selling.  He had a new sail that didn't fit his boat he was gonna sell for $400, and a roller furling unit for the Jib.  It might not fit, but I'll see how cheap I can buy it off him.

I've recently joined a www.cruisersforum.com which has been great!  The combined knowledge of hundreds of sailors from all over the world helping me trouble shoot my way has been invaluable.  It's also nice to see that I'm not the only one who's starting small and trying to make due with as little as possible.  I know I seem naive to many, but I feel like I could get to Europe just on will power at this point.

Springtime at last

My day off at work was switched from Thursday to Friday to coincide with the last day of the month.  It was busy at work, but as the weather gets progressively warmer my thoughts turn more and more to sailing.  The forecast called for a snowy rainy mix which luckily didn't come.  I was able to spend most of the day working on my boat getting her ready for her first season of sailing in a long time.  There was a small amount of water that had trickled down into the bilge (the lowest part of the boat) and had frozen over winter.  I had thought that after the 40+ degree weather that it would all melt and I'd be able to scoop it out.  It took days before I could break up the chunks of ice and throw them overboard since the 3,000 pound solid lead ballast in the keel didn't want to warm up as fast as the rest of the boat.
Rather than worrying about buying or renting a generator I decided to just get some useful cordless tools.  I bought a drill and a circular saw.  I used the saw to cut a few boards up for a makeshift floor, and used the drill in conjunction with a wire paint stripper to do most of the other work.  It was amazing how quickly and easily I was able to get the random spills from the previous owner cleaned up when I had electricity on my side.  I had been trying to scrape this stuff out of the cockpit by hand, but it would have taken days; I accomplished the same task in about an hour.  It's so gratifying to see things start to come together.  After a long cold winter of worrying if she'll be ready in time, of being restless, of magnifying problems in my mind, I was finally getting stuff done.  I scrubbed and taped and began to paint.  I organized and analyzed. Now I know the ins and outs of the boat just a little bit better.  The part that I thought had been leaking I sealed up so that no moisture could make it through.  On Sunday when I swung by to check it out in the rain I found out what the real problem had been all along.  The cockpit is like a big bath tub with two drains close to the forward edge.  These drains go through two hoses and out the bottom of the boat.  One of these hoses was not only clogged at them bottom, but it wasn't properly aligned where the drain meets the hose, so any rain water was just filling up inside the hose and draining out inside the boat.  I tightened down the hose clamps inside the boat, and then went to see about clearing the clog out.  It was pretty easy actually; I found a long bolt, and poked it up in the drain once and a hole bunch of water splashed out on my arm.  Now when it stops raining I can go back and paint the engine bay, finish painting the cockpit, and begin varnishing the woodwork.  Varnishing will probably take a long time, but I'm hopeful that it'll look all pretty when I'm done.
The official sailing season starts here on the 15th of April.  My goal is to have her in the water by my birthday on the 24th of May.  These dates are getting closer and closer.  I do feel confident that I'll have everything done on schedule, and then I can move in and enjoy the summer aboard.  She may not be the newest, prettiest, or most high-tech boat out there, but at least I will have the satisfaction of knowing that I brought her back to life and helped her be out where she belongs: on the water.
     -I'll put pictures up next time-   Feel free to leave comments or ask questions.  Otherwise you can find me on Facebook.

It's been a while.

OK so you may have been wondering what has happened to me.  Sadly with the Wisconsin winter weather rolling  there hasn't been too much nautical going on in my life.  It has finally snowed, and we're due for another blizzard tonight.  I love the snow!  I got a tarp put up over the cockpit on my boat just in time so it doesn't fill up with snow and ice over the winter.  I helped cover up one of the Sea Scout boats, a Merit 25, in the middle of the first snow storm.  It just makes me wonder what it would be like to be sailing on the southern ocean.  I'm sure it wouldn't be the tropical dream that everyone thinks of when they picture sailing off somewhere, but for me any aspect of sailing is amazing. 
On a more financial note, my paychecks won't be going towards my vessel for a little while since I have to get my wisdom teeth ripped out.  They've been bugging me for quite some time, so I finally decided to get it done.  The good part is that my jaw will stop swelling up, and my teeth won't hurt; the bad is that it costs $2300!  I'm not looking forward to that, but I'm sure it'll all work out.
In more news in relation to my planned voyage to Europe.  I have officially decided to postpone it a year.  On the one hand I'm a bit worried that if I put it off life will get in the way and it may never happen; but it's just too much stress I've piled on myself telling everyone that I'm going on a jaunt across the Atlantic next summer in a boat I've never sailed.  I need not only more time to prepare the boat, and practice my skills on it, but I need to save up money to get the proper gear to make it a safe trip.  And although I'm sure I'll be demonstrating thrifty living for a while, I would like to have a little bit of spending money while I'm over there.  I can think of a couple individuals who would not be pleased if I were to come back from Europe again without any souvenirs for them.
So with this new plan I am still confident that it'll happen, but this way I know I'll be more prepared and I'll be able to spend the summer with my friends testing which configurations work well for me on the boat, and which ones don't.  One example of this is the presence of lifelines.  I've already spent time and money fixing the stanchions, but at the end of the day I'm kind of liking the extra deck space in not having the stanchions there.  I've heard just as many stories saying lifelines are a necessity as there are that say they are dangerous.  Pros: they can catch you if you lose your footing, slip, or are about to roll overboard for any other reason.  They are convenient places to tie things.  Cons:  Anything you tie to them adds windage and drag up top, they cannot be relied upon to keep you in the boat, if you fall on them you could damage the hull if they try to rip out, they take up valuable space on the side and fore decks, the head sail can chafe up against them, they get in the way when trying to get on a dock of another vessel.  OK I'm beginning to thin that I sound biased.  They do add a sense of security, but it may be a false sense if you don't hold onto the boat because you trust the lifelines to catch you.  The only benefit I can see now is if I had small children on board.  In that case I would string netting between to stanchions to catch kids.  I'm kinda wishing I hadn't put so much adhesive on the stanchion bases, I might not be able to get them off now. 
Like I said, I'll try all sorts of different configurations with people on board, and test to find out what work best. 
Anyone that would like to learn more about my boat, or my planned trips feel free to comment below.  As well anyone that wants to donate to my boat fund, or my Wisdom Teeth fund can let me know as well.

Erased Entry

OK so I just wrote a big huge blog entry, and right as I was coming t the end of it I must have typed to fast, because it erased everything!
    "Let me explain.....No there is too much.  Let me sum up."

Day off: spent some money.  I went to Sears to buy tools, and then to Home Depot to get some adhesives.  My project for the day was reseating the stanchion bases.  Stanchions hold the lifelines up, which in turn hold me on the boat if I lose my footing.
I wanted to reinforce them, so I took them off, used some Loctite Joining compound to seal it back down.  I went to a hardware store to buy bigger washers, and longer bolts to use.  I'm hoping now that the lifelines will be much safer, although I must admit I enjoy the wider decks without them there.
I finished reading my two cruising books.  The authors seemed to contradict each other.  Some say that the smaller boat is safer.  Others say that a 55 foot boat is small.
As for me, I like my choice.  It will allow me the most freedom.  That's the great thing about sailing, it can free you from all the problems of the modern world.  You only bring with you what you want to.  You must learn patience because once you're out there, no amount of whining and crying will make the wind blow any harder.  There is the escape from social obligations, from employment, and many others.  Sails are quiet, and the wind is free.  The sea does not discriminate.  The nice thing is that most of the earth is water.  On every other vehicle or mode of transportation you must either be strapped into a seat, or confined to roads, rails, or predetermined routes.  I love the idea of the freedom out there; the opportunity to see who you really are when everything else is stripped away.  But then again I'm speaking as if I had already been out there.  These are just ramblings in anticipation.

I did find out that someone does own the land that my boat is one.  I hope I don't have to move it.  I guess we'll just wait and see.  I've also gotten a few price quotes.  Kelly-Hansen sails seem to be the most affordable right now.  We'll see what JSI can offer me.  I'd love to go with North Sails, but they are just too dang pricey.
As well a trailer custom built for my Bristol 24 would only run about $5,000.  But when you consider I only spent $2,000 for the boat, it seems a bit out of whack.  It all depends on money at this point.  I can always make due with bare bones, but there are some things that can't be skimped on.  Like safety.

Well thanks for reading, and clicking around.

Worth it

So today's weather was amazing, and so of course I was down at the boat.  A lot of sawing and gutting.  I had intended to wait until I had power tools to finish removing the cabin sole, but I couldn't take having half of it missing so I went to work with a hand saw.  It was back breaking work, but I loved every minute of it.  Every man needs a project I think.
So I was down in the bilge trying to figure out a way to rip out the plywood more efficiently.  There is a long metal rod left over from something.  Not sure what it is, but it worked very well as a crow bar.
I still have some cleaning up to do, but now at least it's all dry and ready to be rebuilt.  I was thinking about  putting in a wooden floor, but those tend to soak up so much moisture that years from now it'd all have to be redone.  Also I want to make sure it's level.  So what I think I am going to do is pour a whole lot of epoxy resin down there to make a level, solid, dry floor, and then maybe carpet over it.  We'll see.
I had fun clamboring all over sanding down the wood work.  I oiled the bow pulpit today, and introduced the boat to my younger brother and sister for the first time.  I can't wait to get her in the water.  But there's another $100 worth of cosmetics that need to go into it, then about $1800 for the right sails.  We'll see how far I get before summer.

Cutting out small portions of flooring

My "crow bar"

The nasty stuff under the floor

Just about gone

all the wood I removed

Now I just have to put a floor in there

A good day's work.

Today was my day off of work at the dealership, so I slept in a little bit.  I had a few delays in the morning (being called in to sell a car when they didn't end up buying it, voting, eating etc.)   After I was finally all squared away and ready to work I stopped by Home Depot to see what kind of painting supplies they had. I could see all sorts of tools I'd like to have, and that I would put to good use but I had to limit the amount of money I spent today.  They didn't have the right kind of paint, so I went to a local boat repair shop to get  some.  The stuff I was looking for was $41.00 per quart!  I can't wait till I have to buy the anti-fouling paint for the hull.  I was able to find some green paint that I thought would match the hull pretty well for $31.00/quart.  I bought that and headed over to the boat.  After a quick sample on the transom I decided that it didn't match properly, and that I wanted to have a white transom after all to contrast the dark green hull.  After returning the paint to the marine shop I headed to the north side of town to Menards to see what they had there.  I found the people in the paint department very helpful.  Obviously they didn't carry marine grade stuff either, but I was able to find a hardcore primer that bonds well to fiberglass, and some hard wearing paint to put over that.  I know it might now be the kosher way to do it, but for right now I just want to get the old patched up stern looking good again.
A quick pit stop at Subway, and a few minutes later and i was back on my boat.  I sanded, taped, primed, waited, sanded, primed, waited some more, and then got one coat of paint on the transom today.  Tomorrow morning I want to go clean up the lines a bit, and put on two more coats of paint.  Instead of being bored sitting around I decided to go to work ripping out the cabin sole.  I did as much as I could with the hand saw that I bought, and a piece of bar stock steel as a makeshift crow-bar.  Now the starboard half of the floor in the cabin is out; which is good cause it was squishy plywood not strong enough to support me.  The fiberglass underneath is solid.  I need a circular saw to get the port side floor out so I can level the fiberglass, and build a new sole.  One nice thing about this project is that I can make the floor a couple of inches lower so I have better headroom inside.
On board someone had left some WestMarine Teak Oil.  I went to work oiling up some of the woodwork.  I was planning on varnishing all the wood, but in Blue Water the author says he oiled all of his wood cause it's less maintenance, and repels water just as good.  The pieces I did are a bit darker than I would like, but it's ways easier to just dump some oil on wood and wait for it to soak in, than it is to varnish, sand, varnish, sand, varnish, and then know that I'll have to do it all again next season.
All in all I'd say it was a pretty good day.  Things are coming together on the restoration part of the boat, soon it will be the outfitting of it all.
Thanks for reading, feel free to explore the rest of my blog, and leave comments.