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.

Venetian night

I decided it was about time I got my rig fixed, I couldn't stand to see the mast so lopsided.  Apart from having nightmares that the rig was going to come toppling down in the middle of the night, I always felt like the boat was really top heavy; she was very reluctant to come back to center after I stepped on one side of the deck.  I replaced the rickety bolts with some shackles rated to 1,000 pounds, and 1,500 pounds.  I'm still not sure if those are strong enough.  I'd feel safer if they were rater to 5,000 pounds, but then again I really don't have a firm grasp on just how much pressure the sails create on the rig.  I just hear so many horror stories that I figure I would rather be safe than sorry.


My niece helped make sure the bow pulpit was sturdy.

 After setting the rig the boat felt much more normal, like a boat should.  I put the sails up for the first time just to check that they fit.  The main seemed a bit short, and the jib is cut really high, but as long as it works then I won't complain.

The weather was so nice and warm.  I met up with my friend, Sarah, and we walked over to the riverfront to watch the Venetian Nights boat parade.  Boat owners from around the area go all out decorating their boats with all manner of lights and sounds so they can cruise up and down the river showing off for the city.  One guy even had a man up in a crow's nest like on a pirate ship!

Afterwards we went to a bonfire for a short time.  There's nothing better than boats and bonfires in the summer time.  This is when I love Sheboygan!

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.

First sail of the season

Happy Memorial Day!  Well, that was yesterday, but it was a good one.  The weather could not have been more perfect yesterday. 12-15 knot winds for most of the day blowing warm, moist air up from the Gulf of Mexico.  The sun was shining, and the air was hot.  As soon as work was over I rushed to the Marina and hopped aboard Aequitas to change clothes.  In the slip right next to mine there is a nice couple (and their dog) that live aboard an O'Day 30 on the weekends.  She looks to be a pretty nice vessel.  I met them last week and they said I was welcome to join them anytime I wanted to go out on the water.  I at first thought it was just a nice gesture, but as I was walking down the dock one of them met me and asked where I was all day.  Apparently they had gone out for a sail and the fog had fallen on them with a vengeance and they could have used an extra hand to get back into the harbor.  I was surprised that she even remembered my name (because I must confess that I cannot remember hers for the life of me). 
My friend, Sarah, was in town for the weekend; so we got together to go sailing.  Luckily the Sea Scout's Flying Junior sailboats (14' college racing dinghies) were rigged and ready to go.  We grabbed the essentials: life jackets, sails, rudder, tiller, paddle; out of the locker and got going as quickly as possible.  We were out on the water for about 2 hours.....Amazing!  It almost surprises me every time when I remember how in love with sailing I am.  It's nice to feel like there is something in this life that I was born to do.  The raw power of the wind being harnessed by contoured slabs of fabric.  It's rewarding to be able to utilize and in some ways control two of earth's most powerful elements: wind and water.

I, for the most part, stayed dry while Sarah got a good deal of spray as we pounded over 1-2 foot waves.  I'll have to take more pictures next time so you can all see what Sheboygan looks like from outside of the harbor.  Until then, thanks for reading.  Feel free to leave comments below, or ask questions.  Thanks!

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. 

Somethings don't measure up

Have you ever had that feeling where you're sure something won't quite go the way you want it to?  I had this nagging doubt at the back of my mind that something would go wrong stepping the mast, but I have gotten so used to having nagging doubts about everything on my boat that I figured this would work out just as well as everything else had.  Technically I'm still ahead of schedule, but still not sailing.  I brought my siblings down with me to the marina on Wednesday to try and get the mast up.  I was able to get the rig straightened out, and all the stays in order.  The wind got too strong for me to attempt it with such a young crew on hand.  One thing that I did learn from this exercise though is that my mast has one more shroud per side than my boat has chain plates for.  Basically: 3 wires per side to hold the mast up, but only 2 spots for them to attach to.  After consulting the cruiser's forum I decided I could throw the mast up and hope for the best.
I awoke early in the morning to thick fog coating the harbor.  I called up some friends to help raise the mast, and we commenced aroung 10:00.  I was worried more that I wouldn't be able to get out sailing because of the fog than that I might not get the mast up at all.  We tried brute force about 3 times before we gave up and went to get lunch.  I remembered how we had raised the mast on another boat last year, so I rigged up the boom to act as a fulcrum and used all of my new halyards and sheets as hoisting rigging.  It was tough work, I had two guys hauling back on the winches, one girl steadying the boom and making sure the mast was square on the mast step, and I was lifting the thing as high as I could over my head while standing on the dock.  The infernal aluminum stick is a lot heavier than you'd think, and one of the spreaders clonked me in the head pretty good.  After some time a neighbor came to help after he and his wife had a little trouble docking their sloop.  Spencer, my little brother, went to help them tie off, and in return they hopped in on the mast project and lent us the extra manpower we needed to get it done.  After a lot of groaning, twisting, leaning, and freaking out the mast slid over the step squarely with a resounding clunk!  It was only after it got all the way in the vertical position that the wind started to play havoc with us.  A six foot tall person trying to steady a 25 foot long mast on a swaying boat is no easy feat.  My friend, Gavin, was instructed to run around and attach the turnbuckles as soon as possible so we could be relieved of our stabilizing duty; it was then that we realized (much to my dismay) that the shrouds were about 16" too short.  Somehow I expected that it wouldn't work out, but I was more worried that they would be too long, not too short.  I was not as depressed as I could have been.  We gathered our thoughts and slowly dropped the mast back down to the deck.  I was glad that during the last few seconds when it popped loose and everyone lost control that it didn't go through any one's kneecaps. 
I thought about my options.  Maybe I could hack off the bottom of the mast, but then the fore stay and back stay would be too long, and the jib wouldn't fit.  I could buy all new shrouds, but that costs money.  Maybe I'll just use some extenders or some chain to fill in the gap.  I need to have it work perfectly before I attempt it again.  Sadly I won't have any more money untill June.  I just can't wait to get out sailing.  The weather was so perfect. 
I did get to walk around the beautiful south pier district of Sheboygan and check out the surf shop.  My friend, Stephanie, is back from her mission to Arizona, so we spent all day catching up on life.  It was nice to relax by the pool, grill some burgers, and retire watching Toy Story 3.

Prep for maiden voyage

Things keep showing up in the mail for Aequitas.  It's probably good that I stagger my purchases so I don't notice how much I've spent on sheets, halyards, a VHF radio, flares, life jackets, fenders, dorade vents, sails, and all that nice stuff. 
Today I was off of work for a few hours so after getting a much needed hair cut I went with my family down to try and raise the mast.  We got the stays in order and it looks about ready to go up, but with the wind and the lack of manpower I decided to wait until tomorrow.  I'm really hoping it all goes smoothly.
I feel like I've slowly been getting ill, probably due to the cold dampness in the boat.  I need to go through and bleach everything to eliminate any mold or mildew.  The galley is gradually getting stocked with bananas, apples, pop-tarts, bottles of water.  If all goes well tomorrow I might not come back.... If all goes wrong I might not have the choice of coming back. 
Keep your fingers crossed, and keep reading.  Thanks!

Living aboard

I have officially slept aboard the boat every night this week.  For some reason it's a lot warmer in the harbor than it was up on land.  It's very peaceful to get rocked to sleep at night by the little waves in the marina.  For some reason I can't explain the boat starts tugging at her lines a lot each morning around 5:30.  Maybe it's just cause I stir around in my sleep and that moves the whole hull, or maybe there's a strange current under the boat.  Not quite sure about that. 
One annoying thing that is causing me a little distress is the constant drip coming from the through hull port under the sink in the galley.  It's not much, but over the 12-13 hours I'm gone each day I get about a half gallon of water in the bilge.  I would be much more comfortable if it was bone dry each day.  I keep thinking she's gonna sink because I didn't patch her well enough.  There could be water slowly seeping into the keel and I wouldn't know.  I'm sure she'll be fine.  I guess it's not bad for being a 40 year old boat that hasn't been in the water in at least 5 years.
I got paid yesterday and immediately ordered sails and a turnbuckle for the rig.  I still won't know if it all fits until I try to put the mast up; I can't wait to go sailing though.  I think my first sail of the year will be my first sail ever on this boat.  It's going to be tricky without an engine, but if the wind is favorable then I won't hesitate. 
I had some friends stop by last night to visit.  Until I get a battery on board I'm going to be living by candle light.  I think tomorrow will be my first self-sufficient day at the marina.  I'll bring some food down for breakfast, and some toiletries so I can just shower up at the Harbor Center. 
And as for the name of my vessel.  Although I haven't painted the transom yet, I have settled on a name (it's on the insurance and in the marina's records).  And from hence forth she shall be known as:  Aequitas.   It is Latin for Justice.  I figured it looked cool, and anybody that has ever seen "Boondock Saints" will get it.

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!





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.

Photographic proof of progression

You can see the difference a little varnish makes on an old boat.

And this is only the first coat in the cockpit.  The floor still needs to be painted though.

This was after about fifteen minutes of stirring.  It was pretty tough.




Just starting to do the anti-fouling

All finished with the first coat.  She's starting to look like a proper yacht now.

After one coat of primer in the cockpit.  Hopefully she'll be ready for the 9th of May.