I just got off the phone with the hauling company that's going to be launching my boat. Apparently it's going to be $250 which is a bit lame since they're only moving it a couple of blocks and I got the same price quote to move the boat about 20 miles before. Oh well, not much I can do about it. Also they only have two dates that they're going to be in town rigged to move sail boats: May 9th or June 6th. My goal was to have her in the water by my birthday, so I don't really want to wait two weeks after that, but the 9th is only two weeks away. I feel like I could do it if the weather lets up and I take off of work for a week. I don't want to delay and wait too long, but I don't want to rush into it either.
I was just down there the other day putting on the first coat of varnish on some of the woodwork. I need to coat the rest of it, and do another 2-3 coats (with sanding in between coats and 6 hours of dry time). Right now there's no more dripping or leaking, it's just the soggy decks because while she's on the hard the water pools up. When she's floating it should drain off in the slots that are cut for that. All I need to do is patch the drain holes with some epoxy and then paint the undersides with anti-fouling paint. I'd like to wax the hull and finish varnishing the bright work as well. If I had 3-4 days of solid work and nice weather on it I'd be good to go.
I did find a place that has OEM sails in stock for my rig. They run about $500 a piece. Less than the $900 per new custom sail, but more than the mismatched ill fitting used sails. I'll probably go that route since it looks to be a pretty prosperous month for the car business.
So do I ask off of work for a week, or do I wait till June?
Showing posts with label North Sails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Sails. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Saturday, December 11, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
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.
"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.
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