Why I love it!

I've been sailing two days in a row now!  On Tuesday I got to go out on the Merit 25 with some Italian foreign exchange students.  The wind was nice and strong; with 4 people riding the windward rail we still were able to heel over 25 degrees.  I love it when the boat actually starts moving, and it's always fun when there's friendly foreign girls along.  Although I may not have understood everything they said, I'm pretty sure we all had a fun time.

Then yesterday I went with some other friends from church.  I love teaching others to sail, and it's really cool when they pick up on so easily.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm good at teaching or just because they're natural at it.  I would love to have my own charter operation someday, someplace.  Just pick up random groups of people in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean.  Just strangers hitchhiking on the seas, is there any better way to live?  Probably, but for a 23 year old single guy...not really.  On a note about Aequitas, I'm still waiting for my turnbuckle replacements.  I put in an email today to the place and If it doesn't show up soon I'm gonna start to get mad.  I wouldn't pay $30 extra for 2nd day air if I had known it was gonna take a week anyway.

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.

Second attempt

I was beginning to wonder if the Marina was ever going to get around to making my new rigging for the mast, it had been a couple of weeks.  I got a call on Tuesday from Gary in Manitowoc saying that he had gotten the parts in and that they should be done by the end of the night.  I didn't expect him to call me so soon afterwards to inform me that they were all done.  I was already on my way. 
I called in my siblings to help put the mast up.  I got the mast flipped over (smashed the steaming light in the process), re-attached the shrouds, and taped up the turnbuckles.  Every time I got out on deck to try and do some work the weather turned against me.  It has been raining a lot for summer over the last few weeks.  I get really frustrated when I'm so close to getting something I've been working, waiting, and paying for and other things crop up that are out of my control.  As I got more and more frustrated I got pretty snippy with my family.  I don't know why, but I expect everyone to be able to read my mind and just get the heck out of the way when I'm in a bad mood.  I hope they forgive me for being mean, I just wanted to get it done.
Needless to say that with the torrential downpour and the wind I did not get my mast up.  I'm still unsure as to whether the fore stay and back stay are going to be the right length.  The weather looks like it'll be good for tonight after work.  Luckily it's been staying light until around 9:00, but it has been around 55 degrees and rainy for far too long.  The cabin on my boat is constantly damp and my towel never dries out.  My dinghy is almost completely full of rainwater.  I haven't had time to bail her out yet.  The weather is reminding me a lot of Wales and England.  It rained a lot there, but then again everything was always so lush and green.  I miss it over there, but I want Sheboygan to finally get into summer mode.

The early bird

I've decided I want to be Dirk Pitt when I grow up.  He's the character in Clive Cussler novels and in the film Sahara based on one of said novels.  He dives on ship wrecks, lives in an old airplane hangar, drives awesome vintage cars, and always seems to get the girl.  I'm not seeing a downside here.  Anyway, I highly recommend the books, good times.
Last night I went over to a friend's house to watch The Lion King (don't judge me), and as the night was winding down and coming to an end I was invited to join them for an early morning outing at the local Airfield.  One of the guys from church apparently has an airplane and was willing to take us out on little jaunts at around 5:30 in the morning.  I've flown on commercial jets from Wisconsin to Arizona, New York, and England, but I've never been on a small private plane.  I was super stoked!

Due to an unfortunate drip right over my normal mattress I elected to sleep in one of the quarter berths (beds in the aft section of the cabin extending partially under the cockpit).  It was pretty comfy, but I still get nightmares that I might die of random asphyxiation. (Holy Spell Check Batman!  I got that word right on the first try!!!).  Anyway, I awoke at 4:45, rolled out of bed, picked up my blue-haired brother, Max, and drove the 15 minutes to the airport.  We were met there by Jay, the guy with the planes, and he showed us a little bit about modern airplanes with cunnard style lifting surfaces, and about the THREE planes that he has.  He was there to help us put the mast up on the Sea Scout boat, and now that I have had a little peek into his amazing workshop/hangar I think I should recruit him to help me redo some of the wiring on Aequitas.  This is where the Dirk Pitt reference comes in.  The workshop hangar had a little loft for storing stuff, (sleeping in?), a couple planes in varying stages of restoration, and random recumbent bicycles lying about.  The other hangar had a couple sweet motorcycles in them (one a really nice Triumph with a greyed out Union Jack painted on the gas tank), and the airplane we were to be taking into the skies.  It was a tiny two seater called an Ercoupe (pronounced Air-Coupe).  It was gleaming in polished aluminum and had a two part retractable bubble canopy.  I loved the double tail and the overall simplicity of the plane.  I was even more amazed when Jay began to pull it out of the hangar by hand.  Apparently it only weighs about 200 pounds more than my last motorcycle.  Stephanie was first to go for a ride, followed by me.  I was so glad I brought my camera.  As I climbed into the miniscule cockpit and placed the noise cancelling earphones on my head I was greeted by the most relaxing assortment of lobby music.  I assumed that he would take us up and fly us around and maybe explain what he was doing from time to time.  Not only did Jay explain perfectly what was going on, but he had me do pretty much everything.  I started the engine, revved up the engine, taxied down the runway being careful to steer with the pedals as well as the yoke, and then got to take off on my own!  It was amazing how easily the Ercoupe climbed into the sky, and how naturally the controls responded to me.  We flew towards the lake, and circled the harbor so I could take pictures of my home from the air.  The lake seems so much less treacherous from 1,000 feet.  As we headed back my microphone kept cutting out so we switched headsets.  I'm not quite sure if this was wisest since I was the one in need of hearing instructions, not giving them.  We got back to the airstrip and he began telling me how to line up for landing.  What was that about landing? I thought this was the part where you took over!  Since the headset was crackling in and out of service all I heard was ........white light......reds.....in line.....no......bad.  From what I'd heard, seen, and read landing was the most difficult part of any airplane experience.  I lined up as best I could and tried to keep her level as we approached the runway.  We got closer and closer to the pavement.  We were only going about 65 MPH, but I had noticed how frail the landing gear had looked before taking off.  Foot by foot we fell until there was the slightest bump and we were on the ground.  "Was that it?...That was easy!"  I was so proud to have not killed us, and amazed that Jay had actually let me take off, fly and land.  Come to think of it, he only really took over when I wanted to snap some pictures.  All in all, amazing experience!

It was while my brother was up in the air that I remembered I had to be at work an hour and a half earlier than normal, so we had to leave before I could really say thanks.  I'll have to buy that man a nice card or something.  But then again we are going to be taking him and his wife sailing on Sunday.  Even trade?  Maybe.

Sun baked

I slept in till about 9:15 and it felt amazing.  It was warm in Aequitas' cabin and although my alarm went off at the usual 7:15 I felt completely vindicated in choosing not to leave my berth.  I went and helped put up the mast on the Sea Scouts' Merit 25.  It went off without a hitch.  We only had four people there to help, and after the spinnaker pole was rigged as a lever arm I cranked on the winch and the mast popped up light as a feather.  I can only hope that with practice and the right length shrouds my own mast will go up as easily.  I still need to measure to make sure the back stay and fore stay are the right length.

After the mast was up and the rigging was sufficiently tight my friend, Gavin, had to climb up the mast to re do some lines.  It's a good thing he has the upper body strength for it, because we didn't have a ladder around.

It's only after I spend a along time in the sun that I notice the crisping feeling on my face and back.  One odd place that I got burnt this time was the tops of my feet.  Quite painful when I have to wear shoes for most of what I do in life.  I can't wait to be bare footing it out in warmer climates.
After the mast project I relaxed in my cabin reading some more of Jessica Watson's book : True Spirit.   It's a good read; very inspirational for someone like me.  I invited my older sister to bring her kids down to the marina for a ride in my new dinghy.  Noah was initially scared, but once he got aboard it was hard to get him back on dry land.  I loved seeing them scrambling all over Aequitas just as natural as anything.  Every now and again one of them would let loose some pirate jargon and threaten to make the other walk the plank.

I also decided to see how easily I could row all around the harbor.  I got over to the yacht club and saw my friend, Bailey, teaching sailing lessons to little kids in Opti sailboats.

It's crazy to see such young kids sailing on their own, but I'm sure I'll want my own kids to be comfortable on the water.  The way I see it, as long as it doesn't make you complacent then the more comfortable you are in a situation, the less dangerous it becomes.

Oatmeal

I finally bought a stove for my boat.  I decided on an inexpensive camp stove that runs on propane.  I've heard that propane is easily obtainable and heats very well, but it sinks and if there's any stray gas in your bilge, the slightest spark could cause my boat to explode!  Not too worried about a catastrophic explosion from a 20oz. canister I decided to risk it.
After I had gotten it all set up in the galley I read the owner's manual.  Apparently it is only to be used outdoors in open spaces because it can create carbon monoxide (which also sinks but is odorless) and that can poison you.  I figure I've got pretty good ventilation on the boat, but seeing as I died from CO poisoning when I was a little kid.  We were moving out in the country in Utah and just transferring stuff out of the camper we were using as a moving van.  My brothers and I were too young to be any help so we just sat on a couch playing spaceship while my parents and older sister worked.  There was a generator running to provide power for us, and I guess we all figured since it was outside that it would be fine.  Even sitting 6 or so feet away from the generator I was still able to inhale enough exhaust to make me feel really sleepy.  My parents couldn't wake me up.  Unbeknownst to me I was hung upside down and slapped in the face to get some response out of me.  It was only after I was made to walk around for a bit in the fresh air that I regained consciousness.  A scary experience, but it was a good thing it happened than and there, otherwise we might have unwittingly parked the generator too close to the house and we all might ave died in the night.
I keep the propane cylinder outside when I sleep and just to be safe I left a candle burning on the floor as I cooked my first hot meal aboard; oatmeal.

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.

New neighbors

The air inside my cabin was stagnant and heavy with the humidity as I awoke this morning.  The Thermometer was hovering in the high 70's while the barometer had dropped slightly overnight indicating a storm on the way.  It was quite a contrast to the weather last night. 
After attending my weekly institute class about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints some friends and I decided to utilize the pool/hot-tub at the marina.  It was a great way to wind down after a long day.  I had gone up north to visit my Grandma who has now blown out both of her knees.  It was emotionally draining for my Mom, and I was just along to help out.  I'm glad I was there though.  I did get to drop off my shrouds at the rigging shop in Manitowoc; they have a nice full service marina, it was good to see.
  As we showed up to go swimming one of my neighbors (a German) came up to harass me about still not having my rig in the vertical position.  He had done this before, but all in good fun.  He complained about how cold it was going to be that night, and then invited us out to a bar with him.  Germans seem to be perpetually in need of alcohol, especially sailing Germans.  I guess that's why there are so many bars in Sheboygan (a city with definite German roots).  We declined and went for our little swim.
After dropping everyone off I went back and listened to the weather broadcast on my waterproof VHF radio.  There were going to be 3-5 foot waves, and intense thunderstorms coming through.  I read a small section of Jessica Watson's book True Spirit and then laid down on the cockpit seats with a cushion propping my head up.  It was relaxing to look up at the stars, to feel the breeze slip gently around my bare feet, and to be rocked slightly by the ever-present wavelets.  I could imagine lying in a similar position looking up at full sails and watching the stars go by as I tick off mile after mile of open ocean.  I hope I'll get to see that become a reality soon.
I slept well enough and awoke to generally muggy conditions.  On the way up to the Harbor Center I chatted with a man who had his Catalina 22 docked directly opposite of Aequitas.  He was from Iowa and usually berthed at Lake City.  He had come this far and was attempting to do a loop around Lake Michigan.  He had no crew with him and had to put into the harbor to escape the storms.  Having sailed on a Catalina 22 before I know they can be the perfect little trailer-sailer for a small family, or a beginner; but they are not particularly suited to riding out storms.  Apart from not having standing headroom in the cabin, the weighted swing keel can prove problematic.  Indeed this man reported that there was a bit of water coming in from around the centerboard trunk.  This had happened while I was out with the Sea Scouts here on our Catalina 22 in some 3-4 foot waves.  The centerboard had not bee lowered and locked in place properly and slammed side-to-side with each wave finally knocking a small hole in the side of the centerboard trunk just under the port settee.  Every time we heeled over to port a little water would slosh in, and there was a deep rhythmic thump.  I kept picturing the 540 pound board ripping free of its bindings and plummeting to the bottom of the lake leaving us with no ballast to counter the wind's force on our sails.  Luckily we made it back to port safely and the boat is someone elses pride and joy.  (It all got fixed and wasn't as bad as I thought it was.)  Anyway, it was good to talk to another guy who was doing some single handed cruising.  And true he wasn't far off shore, but many will tell you that the Great Lakes can be just as treacherous as any ocean; hence the are called "Death's Door" up in Door County.
One thing I love about living on my boat is the camaraderie felt since we all have at least one thing in common, a love of boats and the water; and in most cases where I feel like an idiot they just look on with compassion and the wisdom that can only be gained from having been there and done that.