Boat Owners Again

 

Patrick, Kenzie, Finn & Fjord in front of our 1980 Ericson 30

These are but a few glimpses into the wonderful (and expensive) world of sailing in which we find ourselves.  

Story time:

Back in December I was doing my hourly scan of  Craigslist to see if I could find anything.  Lo and behold I see and ad for a 30' Ericson sloop for cheap...like MY price range cheap.  I put it in my mind, and contacted the owners right away.  After I dropped Kenzie and the boys off in Utah, I figured I would make the most of my airport run and check out the boat while I was down in town [Honolulu].  I saw the boat, it looked to be sold, but the previous owners lived aboard for nearly 4 years and it was covered in junk.  The interior looked scary, there were empty prescription bottles everywhere, so many cigarete butts, and a few bongs lying around.  Anyway, fast forward a few months.  I kept tabs on the boat, waiting for when they would actually pull the trigger to sell it.  Finally in May they were ready.  I went down to scrape the bottom clean.  As I worked on the boat, and they moved their stuff off, the guy started freaking out because I was getting too close to the through hulls and he was worried I'd cause a leak.  That troubled me.  I spent a couple hours chipping barnacles off of the bottom of the boat.  It looked like an alien landscape!  There were so many tube worms, crabs, and soft corals that I was pretty sure I saw some new species I had never witnessed in the coral reefs around the island.  After cleaning it, we went back down the next day to hopefully sail it away to a new dock.  In the end, we did all the paperwork and stayed at the Ke'ehi Small Boat Harbor temporarily for about 3 weeks.  It was right under the airport takeoff zone, so it got kinda loud. 

On our first sail out, we brought along some friends and decided to just sail the whole way.  I swam a line out to a pillar in the bay, pulled the boat back and let us drift so we were pointing into the wind, then popped up the jib (which ended up being a tiny sail, almost a storm jib) and shoved off.  We started sailing in the gusty weather...the wrong way.  We headed back to a dock, almost bumped into another boat.  Finally got her flipped around, and went sailing.  It was all pretty uneventful, till we started coming back in.  Other guys came out on their sailboat to rescue us.  They respected me for trying to do it all with sail, but thought it was foolhardy with the kids aboard, and the reef being so close.  The channel to get in and out of the harbor is about 500' wide, and very long.  It takes a good half hour just to get OUT of the harbor.  As the guys pulled close in their 27' albin vega sloop, a pod of dolphins came to play.  They put on quite the show!  They would dive under the boats, hop in the air, twirl, and converge as the rode down the face of a wave.

Riley, a skipper who lives on a Dreadnought 32 when he's not playing "deadliest catch" up in Alaska hopped across from one boat to ours.  He took over.  Normally my pride would have been injured, but it was the first time on a new boat in a new harbor in a new ocean.  I was a little reluctant to hand over the helm, but at the same time willing to learn.  We put up the mainsail to balance out the rig and allow us to tack.  We were able to head back in all the way up the long channel and tie up at an end dock safely.  Riley went through at least 4 beers completing this maneuver.  We then "hip-tied" an inflatable dinghy to the side, and motored to a dock.  Hopefully we get better at this docking and undocking thing.

Vacation Time

My boat is back in the water and ready for action.  I have gone from having a mooring in Milwaukee to a mooring in Oconto.  It is a little over an hour north of me, but it's still close enough that I can get out for a good sail if I have the day off.
I was planning on selling the boat because...well, that's what I do.  Posting it online was all too easy.  Adding pictures to the ebay listing, or the ad on craigslist made me nitpick and see all of the imperfections that I realized would make her difficult to sell.  One day I decided to head up and make sure nothing had been damaged over the winter months.  I hadn't been on my boat since October, and here I was well into June before making my first visit.  As soon as I saw my Glander Cay, I began to have reservations about selling her.  Instantly upon stepping aboard I realized that I didn't want anyone else to have her.  I had gotten such a good deal on a boat that not many would appreciate, and up to that point in the year, all I could think of was dollar signs.  Once I saw the potential again first hand, I pretty much decided that I'd hang onto her until I was offered six times what I paid for her, or until she was not longer fit to sail.  A good solid hull that is as well traveled as this one is not usually cheap.  Anyway.
The mooring was fairly inexpensive, and it meant that I could get out on the Bay much quicker because I wouldn't have to motor down the river all the way from Hi-Seas Marina.  It also meant that I had to find a way to get out to my boat without a dock.  Previously it had been warm, and I was accustomed to placing my clothes in a drybag, and swimming out to my boat.  The first time I had done this was the night I tied her to the new mooring.  I had motored the mile or so from the marina to the mooring, tied off, and tidied up a bit.  To get to shore I swam, fought through the reeds and lily pads, then changed back into my clothes in a nearby restroom.  The bright green drybag I had picked up with my Cabela's gift card did wonderfully.  My clothes were still bone dry.  I began my hike back in the rain down the dark county road.  I made it most of the way there before getting picked up by a kind man in a Ford Ranger.  The interior of his truck suggested that he was a chain smoker.  He explained to me that he was just doing his second good deed for the day.
Fast forward to now.  I found out that I get a week's paid vacation because I have been at my current job for over a year.  Time off being like money in my pocket burning to be used up, I took the first available week in September to do a cruise.  I wanted to take advantage of what little "warm" weather we have left.  Wisconsin has been insufferably cold and wet this summer, and I had a feeling that sailing in October again would not be nearly as pleasant as last year.
The plan is to leave on Monday, sail up through the Green Bay, and stop at islands along the way.  Chamber's island is about 6 hours away from Oconto.  Washington Island is another 6 north of that.  After sleeping on one of these little beauties, I will get to go up and explore Rock Island, St. Martins Island, Plum Island, Poverty Island, and many others.  The area is known as Death's Door, or Porte Des Morts by the French.  After studying the cruising charts I can begin to see why there are over 250 shipwrecks in such a small area.  The Niagara Escarpment (the rock the giant falls are carved out of) extends past the tip of the peninsula and occasionally juts up into an island.  There are multitudes of rocky shoals near the islands.  The depth quickly goes from 100' to 3' in some areas.  I'm sure I'll be glad to have such a shallow draft boat designed for island hopping.

Cruising for the first time

Well, this is what she looks like on paper.

I got the opportunity to take the new boat out sailing a few times with family members, but it was only a couple of little day sailing outings.  What I really wanted to do was put some miles under her keel and travel.  I knew I'd have to wait a while, but as I've said before, I'm impatient.
The Glander Cay was out on a mooring in the South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee.  A mooring is nice because it means I'm less likely to hit another boat in my marina maneuvers.  It's not quite as convenient as a dock because I can't just walk out to the boat, I have to row out.  In one of my less intelligent decisions, I sold my 8' rowing dinghy (since I had no immediate use for it) and so now I had to resort to a small inflatable raft to paddle out to my new boat.  It's not so much the physical effort I dislike, but it's the fact that I know I look like a landlubber fool cranking his $15 Walmart blow up boat out to his craigslist find sailboat. Appearances aside, I was glad I wasn't swimming.  Lake Michigan is never warm, but as you get later and later in the year, hypothermia becomes more and more of a commonplace term.
One day of no particular significance I decided to go sailing after work.  Work for me gets over at 8:00 at night.  I worked about 45 minutes away from the yacht club.  Combining the travel time and the time it took to blow up the raft, and paddle out to the Glander, and get her ready meant that I wasn't really pulling away from land too much before 10:30 at night.  The spartan trimmings of my new boat meant that she was not equipped with adequate navigational lights to venture out past sunset.  I had to resort to the portable lights that I had clipped onto my Bristol; it is a crude way of getting by, but a way nonetheless.  Not having enough time to stop back at home, or the foresight to bring a spare change of clothes left me sailing solo out of Milwaukee under full cover of night in dress shoes, slacks, and a polo shirt with my name one it.  Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't reconsider some of my life decisions.
Getting the sails set all by my lonesome was somewhat more difficult than it had been on my Bristol.  The Glander had two headsails vs. the one I was accustomed to , and they were both attached at the mid and end point of a six foot long bowsprit.  There is no netting to catch me if I slip off the bowsprit, no hand rail to steady myself against, and no one to notice if I fell in.  Luckily I have always fancied myself to be a bit of a waterman and I'm not afraid to trust my cozy dry clothes to all the balance that I can muster out of my butt cheeks.  I sat balanced precariously over the black water as I clipped each of the old bronze hasps to the forestay, and double checked that I had run the halyards properly.  Once the Jib (front sail) was set, I moved back to the deck and set about attaching the staysail (sail behind the jib, but in front of the mast).  Once both headsails were good to go I turned on the outboard motor, dropped the mooring lines and eased out of the harbor in relative silence.

This is what she looks like in daylight

Milwaukee has an amazing skyline from the water; its glow can be seen for many miles away.  I had been sailing for about three hours when I realized that the wind was really not helping me progress northwards at all.  I was trying to get home by the next morning so I could show my family the new boat, and as much as I tried with tacking, it didn't seem that I'd get there any time soon unless I cheated.  Around 2:00 in the morning I decided to motor sail.  Cranking up the motor and relying on the sails, I was able to make about 6 knots heading in the right direction.  On the one hand, I felt bad using the motor, on the other hand, it was nice to know I wasn't going to get stranded and miss a few days of work.

As the hours wore on, I played with the trim of the motor and the tiller to try and get her to track straight on her own, but with the outboard being off center, and the wind blowing, this task proved impossible.  I tried taking some pictures with my phone, but was unable until the sun came up.  Late into the night I kept myself awake by singing my own karaoke songs as loud as I could, and by reenacting the entire first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  I'm not ashamed that I know all the lines by heart, or that my Elizabeth Swann sounds pretty dang convincing.  

As the first light of day started to creep over the horizon, the sky turned a brilliant contrast of burnt orange and teal.  There wasn't a cloud in sight but for the first time in hours I could make out the coastline.  I had sailed much further offshore than I had originally anticipated, and I knew it would take another two hours of just east to west travelling to make it into the port at Sheboygan.  No sooner did I start heading for shore than I came within three feet of an ominous buoy protruding from the surface of the water.  Based on my knowledge of the area, I think it was a marker for a shipwreck.  I would love to dive on a wreck sometime, but I have no interest in creating one of my own.  I stayed offshore a bit in case it was marking a reef.  Even though the Glander only draws 3' of water, I'd rather not take any risks.

After 13 hours of motoring I made it from Milwaukee to Sheboygan.  I found that the city maintains a small courtesy dock in the river for transient boaters such as myself who only need to tie up for a few hours.  Seeing as most of the boats were out of the water for the season, I thought it unlikely that I would be taking anyone's spot.  My cell phone had died, and since my family had no idea of when or where to expect me, I had to walk home.  The two or three miles seemed an eternity.  My legs were set in sea mode.  I had stood most of the journey to keep from falling asleep, and that combined with the fact that I had been awake for 30 hours meant that I was a cross between a zombie and a drunk ad I trudged home.  Standing in the shower on dry land proved to be more difficult than urinating off the side of the boat out on the waves.  Land sickness is a funny thing.  Help me get across the pond.

All hauled out

The sky was still dark at 5:30 when my alarm went off.  I awoke to find that I still had my jeans and t-shirt on from the night before.  I hastily crammed down a pop-tart and hopped up into my lifted Jeep Cherokee.  Down at the Marina I met up with Mark shortly after fumbling with he keys in the creaky gate.  It was only 6 hours prior that we had dropped the mast on my Bristol 24.
Dropping the mast was a stressful proposition as raising it had been a nightmare both times.  The mast was old heavy aluminum, and the forces being exerted combined with the leverage placed on all the components worried me.  I rigged up the boom to act as a lever arm, and used the main sheet to do all the work of lowering it.  I also ran a precautionary line from the back stay to the stern rail just to be safe.  We had another couple people helping out, but in the end the mast lowered very slowly and smoothly.  It was as uneventful as I could have hoped for. 

After saying goodbye to everyone and tidying up I took a moment to pause in the companionway hatch to think about my boat.  It had been almost a year ago that I had bought it.  She had come a long way.  There are a lot of cosmetic problems that I fixed, and some that I inflicted over my ownership of her.  I had traveled over a hundred miles aboard her over the course of the summer.  It wasn't quite as grand as I had planned, but there are times when you just need to take a step back and re-evaluate what's going on.  My trip to Manitowoc had been my final sail.  Had I known I may have carried it out with a bit more fanfare, but still it seemed a fitting time to say goodbye to my boat.  It wasn't just the last sail of the season, but the last I would ever have on her.  I'm thankful she sold so quickly, so I wouldn't have time to change my mind.  Still I'd like to get her cleaned up for the next owner.
Mark helped steer while I rowed my 8 foot pram dinghy.  The key to effectively pulling such a heavy boat by such primitive means is to use a very long line to absorb the shock as you row.  We were making probably a knot-an-a-half over toward the boat ramp.  We tied up and I ran errands until the moving company came to pull her out. 
The big semi trailer backed down the boat ramp and easily slid Aequitas up out of the water.  I had forgotten how pretty she looked when you could see all of her.  Admittedly she needed some cleaning.  Algae had grown on the one side exposed to the sun, and I could see the chunk of fiberglass that had been taken out of the bow from that fateful failed voyage with the Bradings. 
After the stands were in place on the old road I went to work cleaning off the slime.  I only had one sponge and no water to use, so it kind of just mixed in with the paint, and has since flaked off into a very unattractive finish.  I intend to patch up the bow, scrub off the flakes, and if I can get around to it, apply some more varnish to the woodwork.  I want the next owners to have as little reason for remorse as possible.  She is after all a strong seaworthy boat, I just can't give her the life she deserves right now.  I daresay I'm leaving her better than I found her though.  She got to get out on the water and ride around happily on the waves.  I'm sure it won't be long before she's back out there, reunited with one of her previous owners.  I am still quite anxious to find if he has any information into her history.

Moving on at summer's end

Sorry it's been so long since I've written anything.  It is more an indication that there is a lot going on in my life, not that there's nothing to report.   After my week of solid sailing, I had an off week where I did almost no sailing at all.  I need to keep in mind that this blog is about more than just sailing.  So I guess we will find out together that there is more to life.  One Monday I was sitting at work and I realized that I only had three or four weeks before my boat had to be out of the water.  The temperature here has already started to drop at the rate of about 10 degrees per month.  It may not seem like much, but the first few mornings when I awoke to 50 degrees on the thermometer were not fun.  Anyway, as I was sitting contemplating what to do with my remaining time I couldn't help thinking of how much I still wanted to sail to another city, at least once this summer.  After a quick scan of the weather report I called two of my brothers and set up a voyage for that night.  It was to be the last full moon of the sailing season, and the wind looked to be pretty strong.  There are two cities equidistant from Sheboygan, one North and one South.  I intended to go to Port Washington which lies to the south about 25 miles away.
We met up at my Mom's house and made a last minute run to the store to pick up beef jerky and granola bars.  Down at the marina the 20+ MPH winds were making it very difficult to raise the sails.  I made the call to reef the main and not put up the jib just yet.  We shoved off of the dock easily enough, but since the wind was blowing strong directly out of the south I had to tack to get out of the harbor.  Reefing in the main had changed the shape of the sail a bit and made it impossible to point as high into the wind as I needed to to get out.  Spencer had the brilliant idea to drop anchor while we sorted it out.  Yes we did get blown up against the rocks again, and we did in the end have to fend off the massive racing yacht moored innocently to her T-dock, but shhh! don't tell anyone.  There was no damage done to either vessel, unless you count leaving a small footprint sized smudge in the wax coat as damage. 
A nice guy in his tiny aluminum fishing boat came up and offered to help tow.  We had to drop sail while he revved the little engine to its limits.  Spencer hurt his hand trying to hold the rope instead of tying it off.  I was glad that he actually helped us out of the harbor, and not just back to the dock, and I was amazed that his little outboard could pull my 6,000 pound boat against such a fierce wind.
Eventually we were let loose out in the harbor back lit by a brilliant full moon.  We sped past the lighthouse and were half a mile out in the lake before we got the main lashed back onto the boom.  It was far too windy out there to use both sails.  I tried heading up into the wind, but it was impossible using just the jib. We called mom and let her know that we would be heading North to Manitowoc instead of Port Washington, that way at least if we were lost at sea someone would know where to look for us.
The GPS showed us making awesome progress, and it wasn't until 4 in the morning that the wind actually began to shift and die a bit.  I had to wake my crew up to help raise the main, and then they went back to sleep.  I think Spencer slept most of the trip.  The rollers would chase us down and pass under the stern while the dinghy kept trying to surf and slam into the boat.  I let both of my brothers take turns at the helm.  It was much nicer having a crew that was more confident at steering so I could get a better quality catnap.  The wind had blown us pretty far offshore; we had about 7 miles to make up getting back in to Manitowoc.  We were all exhausted and at about 7 in the morning we decided to just drop anchor off of a beach and sleep there rather than trying to make it into the harbor.  I didn't want to have to radio anyone or pay any fees.  We threw out both anchors in about 7 feet of water.  The waves slammed us about a bit, and the wind kept howling through the bare rigging as I tried to rest.  In the end I had to go up on deck, stow the sails better, and bring in the main anchor because the chain was just too loud for me in the foreword cabin.  I slept till around 10:30, bailed out the dinghy, and gave my brothers a rude awakening when I had the jib set and called for them to come bring in the anchor.  It was the first and only time we ever had to use the windlass.  I had let out about 60 feet of line, and the 20 pound anchor had dug itself well into the sand.  Finally we cranked it in and swung around back for home.  We never stepped foot in Manitowoc that day, but we were only a couple hundred yards away from their lighthouse, so it still counts.
As we cruised past a the inlets for a power plant several cormorants took flights and began their daily dive for meals.  The scenery was gorgeous.  We stayed close to the shore so we could see better details of the houses and golf courses that we sailed past.  There were no other boats in sight, and there seemed to be a profound silence on land for the first few hours.  We dispelled this by blasting whatever was loaded onto the iPod on board.  I must say that it was a rather eclectic collection of tunes, but luckily the tiny speakers couldn't reach far enough to bother anyone not on my boat...  Perhaps out off-key singing of Styx: Come Sail Away would have though.
We got home at about 5 in the evening to find my younger brother, Liam, waiting at the dock with his surfboard.  Spencer left after helping to stow the sails; Max and I went to watch Liam surf for a bit.  He did quite well for a rookie on tiny waves.  I was unsteady on my feet for a few hours as I got used to dry land again.  I can't remember much more, other than that I was really hungry when we got home.  It was a great cruise, I learned more.  It was a bit more enjoyable, but sailing is not the quickest way to get anywhere.  I am becoming more and more aware that the boat I have may not be the best one for what I need in my life right now.
I have finally decided to stop putting it off and head to college.  Maybe I needed this summer to see what type of sailing I really do like; what type of boat will I really use, or if I am really up to the lofty goals I have set.  I do fully believe that a Bristol 24 could carry someone across the Atlantic comfortably, I just don't think I have the time or resources right now to pursue that goal, and rather than sink any more money into Aequitas I think I will travel by plane and by foot, by train and by car for a while.  I have put my boat up for sale on the Internet and will hope to recoup some of the costs so that I may fund my education, and perhaps some of my travels.  It is a bittersweet feeling.  They say that the two happiest days in a sailor's life are the day he buys his boat, and the day he finally sells it.  Maybe I just need to get a little trailer-sailor so I can haul it with me wherever I may go and take advantage of both coasts and inland lakes without needing professional transport or a huge truck.
It is sad though knowing that the trip to Manitowoc was my last time sailing her.  I have been sleeping on the couch at my mom's house for a couple weeks now because it's gotten too cold in the marina.  I'll miss her when she's gone, and if she doesn't sell, I won't mind if she sticks around for a few years so at some later date I may revisit my dreams of cruising. 
I will still endeavor to maintain this blog of any other travels I do.  Thanks for reading!

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!

Third time's a charm... almost.

I ordered some vinyl graphics for the name and port of call for my boat.  I specifically ordered curved ones and paid about $75 for the whole order.  When they arrived the name graphics were straight across and distorted.  I called up the place: www.boatletteringtoyou.com, told them about the problem and they shipped new ones out straightaway the same day.  Everyone makes mistakes, and I was glad that they took car of it in a timely manner.

After receiving the proper graphic stick-ons, I went down after work and bailed the water out of my little dinghy (it was more than half full this time, but still floating) and tied onto the transom of Aequitas while I taped and measured the layout.  I re-taped and re-measured quite a few times.  Every time I thought I had gotten it just right I would shove off and row back to take a look and make sure everything was level and centered.  After I knew what needed to be changed I would row back up to the boat, tie on, and get back to work.  It was a bit difficult because the little dinghy kept trying to float away every time I pushed against the stickers.  Eventually I was satisfied and stuck them on permanently.  Then I had to do the process all over again with the bigger graphics for the name, but now it's done and I'm very pleased with the outcome.  It may not be laser level, and centered perfectly with a micrometer, but for floating in a little boat at night, I'd say I did pretty well.

Saturday they weather was very nice so I went about calling and texting everyone I could think of to come help put the mast up.  Anyone that had helped last time had been scared off by the considerable amount of physical effort required.  In the end I got my brother, Spencer, and by brother in-law, John, to come down and help.  I got everything squared away, and my neighbor who had helped raise the mast last time, (and who measured the gap between the old shrouds and the chainplates) came along and rounded up volunteers from the dock for me.  It was great to have 8 or 9 people chipping in, I don't know how I would have done it without them.

I did get the boom rigged up to act as a lever, then we used halyards to steady the mast.  With that many people it went up rather easily.  The forestay fit just fine, the backstay I knew was gonna be short, so I was prepared with some length of chain to fill the gap.  Then we ran into the problem.  My shrouds that were 16" too short were now 5" too long!  The turnbuckles couldn't compress down that much, and so we had to kind of jury rig the port side while the starboard side was just cranked down super tight.  So it's not very sold, and the mast is listing to port.  The thing that frustrates me is that I need to spend MORE money on getting this rig done.  It'll all be worth it in the end, but the end (when my boat is all ready to go) keeps getting pushed farther away.

It was fun to have my little nephews running around playing pirates again on the boat.  I can't wait to actually take them sailing.

Sunday I decided to redo the bolts through the turnbuckles just to be safe.  When I was going to bed I noticed that the mast was slopping around back and forth a lot.  It made me kinda edgy.  Just as I was drifting off to sleep I heard this loud slapping sound.  My mind yanked out of sleep mode and I pictured a turnbuckle breaking free, and the mast toppling onto someone elses boat.  I'm glad I have insurance, but I don't want to have to make a claim just yet.  I got up and checked, but all was well.  As I drifted off to sleep again I heard the noise.  I decided to stay awake (or at least try to) so I could determine the source of the sound.  After the third time I remembered that we have quite a few very large carp fish in the harbor that are in full swing for mating season.  They chase each other under the docks, wrestle around on the surface a lot, and generally slam into boats as they do their business.  These fish are about as big as my niece, so when they slam into a dock or your boat it makes a bit of a ruckus.  (years from now she'll look back at this and think I was calling her fat...She's a baby!)

Satisfied that the noises were just aquatic procreation I decided I could sleep.  A couple hours later the wind picked up and there were more noises.  My mind gets very paranoid at 2:30 in the morning.  As it runs out it was just the flag on my neighbor's boat slapping against the mast. 

Today we're scheduled for severe thunderstorms and damaging winds, so I guess we'll see how well the rig holds up while I try and get a rigger to come down and fix my problems.

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.

A hard day's night

The only way to get rid of a dream is to forget about it or chase it down till you fulfill it.  Sometimes you need to make sacrifices to chase your dreams and reach your goals; today that sacrifice takes the shape of sleep.  Since I've been working so much I really don't have any time to work on my boat during the day, so I decided I could squeeze in a few hours after work to prep for more varnishing.  Unfortunately since I didn't get done with work until 8:30 and I had to run other errands I didn't get down there until 10:00.  Once I get something in my head I stick to it till it's done: so even though it was late I got to work. 
All but the rub rails have been varnished and so I had to sand everything down with 220 grit sandpaper until it was smooth.  Luckily I didn't need to see much to do this, so I worked by touch.  I did invest in a few small tea light candles to keep the cabin lit without the need of batteries (it looked pretty cool).
After about two-and-a-half hours of sanding I was finally done and about collapsed from being so sleepy.  I haven't gotten the best sleep over the past couple of days.  I had the foresight to bring along a pillow and sleeping bag, and thus I spent my first night on my boat.  I'm planning on living on it for the summer, so no reason not to get used to it now. 
I curled up in the foreward cabin and slept the best I could manage.  It dropped a little below 40 degrees, so it wasn't too toasty, and the amount of caffeine I had consumed to fuel my night time sanding party kept my mind running at full tilt long after my body was done for the day.  Now sitting here at the computer is interesting seeing as I woke up at 5:20 am to get my brother to seminary class at the church on time. 
I did notice that the sky began to get bright around 4:00 am, so I might just wake up early to get some work done as opposed to staying up late.  It's all good though.

Crunch time

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?

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.

Sanding away....

We had gorgeous weather on Sunday, so my family and I went for a nice hike up in the woods.  By Thursday the weather had dropped from 71 degrees to 35!  Of course my day off would fall on a Thursday.  Anyway I went down to the boat to sand down the woodwork so that soon I can start varnishing it.  It was a tough job and I'm still not quite done, but she is looking a lot nicer now.  I have to sand off all the sun bleached gray of about 5 years of neglect.  I've gotten a lot of it back down to the bare wood, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get everything perfectly even.  Maybe it'll give it a nice weathered look.  We'll see.

You can see the wood on the starboard side is a fair bit lighter than that on the port side. I still need to put down a coat or two of paint in the bottom of the cockpit, but she's looking a lot better than when I bought her.
I clambered back into the engine compartment (which was little cramped by the way) so I could remove the muffler and see about sealing the propeller shaft so it won't fill up with water and sink as soon as I put her in the water.  There were a few wasp nests that I had to clear out.  I got startled and hit my head when my phone decided to vibrate as soon as I touched one of the hives.  Stupid text messages.

Yes, I crammed myself under those stairs. 
After a few hours of sanding I was getting legitimately tired and so I curled up on the starboard aft quarter birth for a nap.  I almost drifted off when I got another phone call.  No rest for me I guess.
I found a small section of deck that's leaking; I always knew it was, but now I know where it is, so that's good.  And for being a 40 year-old boat, I'd say she's holding up very well.
I still need to measure the rig and see for certain what kind of sails I should buy, and how I'm going to match the mast and boom to this boat.

Almost sanded.
Also, today marks the official first day of the sailing season here in Sheboygan.  As soon as I get my paycheck today I'm going to go down to the harbor and pay off the rest of my slip for the summer.

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.

The Marina

I went down to the harbor center marina here in beautiful Sheboygan and spoke to the guys there about getting a slip for the upcoming season.  At first I thought I was going to have to get an efficiency dock.  This arrangement would put me all the way back in the sandy shallow area that would be difficult to get out of, and I would have no storage attached to my dock.  Because of a fortunate turn of events and some lucky timing I was able to get a much nicer dock designed for a 35 foot boat over on the outer edge of one of the main docks.  Clear deep water.  Also I'll be over in the neighborhood of the other sailors.  It'll be nice to exchange information and get advice, but on the other hand it might be embarrassing if anything goes wrong while I'm over there.  (It's my first boat people, gimme a break!)  But the dock is going to be cheaper than the efficiency dock and it comes with electricity, water hook ups, and the port for a cable TV. 
I will have access to the pool, the hot tub, the barbecues, the showers, bathrooms, laundry room, and kitchen.  I'm seriously thinking I'll just move out of my apartment and live on my boat for the summer.  It would be the equivalent of paying $165 a month for rent as opposed to $315 (plus utilities).  I'm really not seeing a downside here.  I'll be able to save more for my trip to Europe, and I'll be able to get used to living aboard my boat.

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.

About the pictures

Alright below are some quick pictures of my Bristol 24.  I know she looks rough in some bits, but that's why I'm working hard to restore her to her original glory.

Chores yet to do.

I was able to get over to the boat before all the dew had been dried up by the sun.  I used an old towel to wipe the moisture away so I could begin work.  A little bit more sanding, and another two coats of paint finished off the transom.  It is now gleaming in "china white", and ready to have a name painted on it.  I have decided on the name, but I'll explain that later.
I still need power tools to get the rest of the flooring up in the cabin.  I can't wait to get down there and level it all out so I can rebuild the floor.  I am looking forward to having another 2" of headroom, and a solid surface to walk on.  I am also hoping that the musty smell will go away after I get everything vacuumed up and repainted in the engine compartment.  While I was waiting for coats of paint to dry I curled up in the foreward berth for a few minutes.  It was surprisingly comfortable.  I let my mind wander a bit; I love thinking of when she'll actually be in the water heading off to distant horizons.  I can just imagine diving off of the bow pulpit to help set a heavy anchor in the sand near a tropical reef.  I'd love to bring a surfboard along wherever I go because you never know when you'll find that perfect wave. 
The Sheboygan Sea Scout skipper, Tom, just happened to be driving by.  I showed him my new boat for the first time.  He was kind enough to give me a few names of people who might be able to help me inspect the diesel engine and make sure it's ready to go.  I've always wanted to have an inboard so I can charge up my batteries with the alternator, and so I don't have to strap an ugly outboard onto my freshly painted transom.  There are pros and cons of every set up on a boat, but I think I've found the perfect compromise with everything my boat has. 
I'm hoping to be able to borrow some tools from my grandma (cause we all know she's never gonna use a circular saw) to speed up the work.  The chores I have yet to do are as follows (in no particular order):  install dorade vents, buff out the plexiglass windows so their transparent again, oil all the woodwork and rub rails, remove the rest of the cabin sole, drain and dry the foam insulation, level the cabin floor support, rebuild the cabin sole, re-seat all the stanchions, repair and re-seat the veneer on my deck hatch box, caulk seams on some of the woodwork, clean and paint the engine compartment, repack the rudder bearings, inspect and install the engine (and all parts), clean the head [toilet], inspect the septic tank, mount bow stanchions and hand rail, mount the mast step, paint the bottom with anti-fouling paint, and then buff and wax the whole hull.  It should be fun.  I really am looking forward to it.  A lot of it is just cosmetic, some of it is just preventative maintenance, and some (like the cabin sole) needs to be done. 
Of course I also have to paint the name on her transom. I'll let y'all know my decision in a later post.  I hope to get some before and after pictures up pretty soon as well.  Thanks for reading!