Ahhhh, the joys of work.

Ya right. I'd rather be sailing.

So since my last entry, IN FEBRUARY, I've been a busy lad.

Ive added all kinds of little things to make life easier(in theory anyway).

An anchor roller so the chain wont eat my bow sprit, a mount for my tiller pilot, a bimini, fixed a bunch of stuff that need it and finally got a picture of "Turtle" under sail.

I also got her name on the bow so she is now officially "Turtle".

The few days I've managed to sneak away for a day on the water have been rare but I've enjoyed them just the same.

The wife and I have spent a few nights aboard if only at the dock. She seems to be trying more to understand the sailing part of sailing. She has the sunning and sipping beer part all figured out. She steered all the way down the ship channel to the bay last time without getting us killed.

We even went for a (quick) dip in the bay while anchored. The bay water is very warm and not very refreshing but it did the trick anyway.

Our day trip 2 weeks ago was capped off by having several dolphins (grey air breathing type) surface and swim very close to the boat. Linda was very excited as she loves to see them. They are a regular sight near the mouth of the big container port, why I can't fathom.

Well it's back to the grind for another day. I will be more attentive to my blog as I know y'all can hardly wait.

Is there any body out there? ..............martin

I finally got to go sailing today. The first time since back in November.

Yes that really is a picture of me, the good looking guy in the yellow jacket.

I don't think I look a lot like a traffic cone no matter what my wife says. Besides she gave that fouly jacket (and bibs) for Christmas. They are lovely and warm and keep the wind out quite nicely.

Since the last installment I have put in the new hatch, rigged a whisker pole track and bought a new whisker pole and done about 93 piddly little jobs that I can't even remember. They must have been important at some point but I just can't remember why.

The wind was a bit thin but as it was only about 45* that was ok.

I took a guy I met from the TrailerSailor web site, Mike Hancock, with me and we had a good time. I think when the weather warms up a bit he will enjoy it more. By the time we headed back in I think we were both a bit closer to frozen than we would have liked.

I got to try out the tiller pilot and it seemed to work just fine. The diesel still has a small leak at the same place as before so I may have to replace the high pressure fuel line. I bought one when I did the original repair but didn't think I would need to put it on yet. Mr Murphy is lurking out "there" somewhere so I think I better do it soon.

The boat sailed very nicely considering the wind was a bit thin. With all the genoa out and the full main we only managed to hit 5kts once and then only for a second. Mostly we were bobbing around at about 3.5kts, sometime less.

The weather guessers got it wrong again. They were calling for partly cloudy and 10-15kts 60s for the temp. We got overcast and 5-10kts and 45* tops.

All in all a good start to the year. I am going to try to sail at least a couple of times a month for now and a whole bunch more often once it warms up.

I am going to have to pull her out and do a bottom job on her SOON so as I don't have to do it when I should be sailing. It's a big nasty job but it will have to be done soon. The boat is showing signs of weed growth already and my knotmeter hasn't worked since the second week she was in the water.

Ok, so thats the news from here. Boring this time I know but Hey we can't always be doing something exciting just to keep you lot happy.............m

Well it seems the "forces that be" have been conspiring against me to keep me from sailing. Between the weather and work and the holidays I haven't had the chance to sail in the last 6wks.

I have however gotten to a few little jobs which have been waiting on just such a crappy time of year as this.

The deck hatch that I installed last June and has never been water tight has been pulled out and replaced with a REALLY nice(read REALLY expensive) Lewmar Ocean Series.

This thing is a piece of art. The frame is heavy aluminum and the "glass" is 1/2" Lexan. I could (but won't) stand on it without fear of falling through it into the cabin. You can also latch it partially open so as to get some ventilation without the rain getting in, a major thing in a small boat like mine.

Once I got the old hatch out and the new one fitted I figured out what the problem was.

It would seem after 30 years the deck in front of the mast has sagged about 1/4" causing the plastic frame of the old hatch to bend and allow a less than water tight seal to be formed.

This required the area at the aft edge of the opening to be built up before the hatch could installed.

I made a dam of blue painters tape along the edge of the opening and poured in enough epoxy resin to raise the bowed section back to level. Once that was cured the hatch went in without much trouble........Except for the 3M 5200.

5200 almost always make an unbelievable mess but in this case the air temp was about 50* and I couldn't get the damn stuff to come out of the tube.

From one bloody extreme to the other.

I ended up putting a pan of water on to boil and setting the tube in it until it was warm enough to flow, pumping out what I could before the tube got cold again and then back to the pot for more warming.

For the first time in the history of 5200 a job was completed with out me having to cut out chunks of hair or having to bathe in acetone. Of course I had to wait a week for the stuff to cure hard enough to tighten the bolts down.

It rained hard yesterday and I can now report it doesn't leak a drop.

The temp dropped like a rock last night and the newsies were gabbing on about the terrible winter ice storm that was sure to disable the entire city if not the known world.

I decided I would take a heater down to the boat and spend the night to be sure the ice didn't get so thick as to cause the boat to sink.

Yup, you guessed it not a drop of precip of any sort. The wind did blow hard all night, gusting up into the high 30s, but not a drop of rain.

The newsies were looking pretty sheepish this morning.

Tonight, it's raining and in danger of freezing and I'm stuck here hoping it won't be to bad at the boat. Go figure.

The tiller pilot has been wired and as soon as the weather cooperates I will figure out a permanent mounting bracket. The temporary one might work but I haven't been able to get out on the boat to test it yet.

I figured out a place to hang the big flood light both in the lazarette locker and one on the cabin bulkhead for quick use.

All the piddly stuff you think of when you can't sail.

I installed 4 sheet bags in various places around the cockpit and a new mainsail cover. I made a cover for the propane tank from a Harken fender cover split and velcroed down a seam.

My daughter got me a new windex for my birthday and I found a used Mast Mate ladder thingy at the used boat parts place.

I figured it couldn't possibly be THAT hard for a slightly rotund gunsmith to go up the mast.

I found out different.

It would seem that the makers of the Mast Mate are used to dealing with taller folks than me, and they build their ladders for them too. My left leg works just fine but the right seems to be about 2" to short for this ladder. With much sweating, swearing and a little help from George who tailed the safety line(jib halyard) I got to the top of my mast. Once there, I was able to do the installation of the windex without any trouble at all. I had thought out the job before hand and had all the tools and the fasteners in my tool bag.

No reason to have to make 2 trips.

The comment was made that it's not a very high mast. While that may well be true, it sure looked like an awfully long way down.

I was surprised how little 225lbs at the top of the mast made the boat heel or sway but Joel from down the dock helped me by leaning on the gunnel to secure the safety line and sending my wideness through about 30* of arc.

He was politely asked not to touch the boat again until I was back on the deck, preferably by climbing back down.

As simple a job as this was it certainly pointed up how out of shape I am. The next day my thigh muscles were reminding me that I'm neither young or svelt anymore.

My wife gave to me for Christmas, a VERY nice set of new foul weather gear.

Once again the tall people of the world have been catering to their own and I found that just because it fits the wide bits doesn't really mean it going to fit the short bits. There is no such thing as large/short in rain gear. Thank god for all the velcro straps at the wrists and ancles or I might get lost in the damn thing.

I have been wearing for the last 3 days of rain and cold and I am in love with it. Its warm. It breathes, and it doesn't leak.

It makes me look a bit like a bright yellow traffic cone but thats my fault and another story.

Until next time................m

I was putzing around on a couple of small projects on the boat when a friend from across the dock showed up and mentioned what a nice breeze we were missing.

Within 10min we were free of the dock and heading down the ship channel.

I ran the diesel harder than I ever have before to clear the traffic in the channel and she seemed to just eat it up.

When we were past Morgans point we raised the sails and shut down the engine.

The wind was blowing from the south at about 10-12knots.

With the big genoa and the full main we were fairly storming along at over 5.5 knots.

Turtle is SOOOOO much more comfortable to sail than the Starwind(my last boat) was. The Starwind was a great boat but this one just outshines her. The heeling was very comfortable and we approached the rail but not to closely.

My friend George is a very experienced sailor and is the first experienced sailor I have sailed with in years. It is very nice to have someone onboard who knows what you are talking about and is not afraid to do what needs to be done.


The third person on board, a friend of George, seemed to be quite comfortable even when we got the boat heeled over and charging right along.

This is the first REAL sailing I've done with Turtle since putting her in the water Oct 1st. While I've sailed her a couple of times single handed and last weekend with my daughter this was the first time it wasn't like work.

The extra set of experienced hands makes a world of difference.

George has to really watch the tides to sail his boat out of our marina because he draws about 5.5ft and as I only draw 3.3ft it's not so critical. I think he'll be crew more often.

The sunset was fabulous as we were coming back in. I missed the channel entrance in the dusk but we didn't run aground even then.

The only downside to the whole trip was a PAN PAN called as we were approaching our turn. It would appear someone jumped of the Fred Hartman bridge. Thats a drop of 170ft I think. We didn't hear much on th radio but the police boats and a USCG seemed to have the place pretty well covered. I figured we would just be in the way so we headed in to the dock and dinner.


All in all a really first rate few hours of sailing.

I decided not to sleep on the boat tonight but as its only a 30min drive each way I will be back for more tomorrow.

martin

Dream Sail

I dreamt last night of killer whales,
of killers whales in the moonlight.
On the deck of my boat I did float
among killer whales in the moonlight.

The black and white passed in the night
coursing through the liquid moonbeams
and the fins and the sails of both man and whales
cast back the silvery star sheen.

The smell of the whales, the white of the sails,
the damp salt taste of the night air
the sounds of the sea, and of them and me
and the breeze tingling through my neck hair.

The dream was so real that I can still feel
the wind, see the boat, taste the salt spray
of that moonlit sail with the killer whales
by the light of this mundane workday.

M. Tidswell 11/06

After all the complaining I did about how hard it was to remove the water tank you'ld think I'd done a major feat of manual labour.

Well I lost most of the feeling in my left hand and just about couldn't work. The doctor(at great expense I might add) told me I have carpel tunnel syndrome.

Gee no shit, he told me that 2 years ago.

I didn't pay much attention then and now its worse. I'll live, but he's going to get back to me on what I can do about it.

So anyway, enough whining.

When we last looked I had a nice open space under the sole where the water tank used to reside.

It's still there since it appears there is nobody on the planet that makes custom sized water bladders. At least no one would admit to it anyway.

I ended up buying a standard sized Plastimo tank which just didn't want to go in where the old tank came out of. I put it in a locker under the vee berth. This has unfortunately upset the fore/aft trim some so I'll have to figure out how to make it right. For the time being however I have a functioning water system and thats a good thing. It's actually bigger than the old one by a bit more than half. 26.5 gal as opposed to 16 gal.

Water, however is heavy stuff and with the tank full it puts the bow down by about 3in. Luckily, I weigh just about the same as the full water tank so all I have to do is stay in the cockpit and the trim is perfect. This also gives me a perfect excuse not to restart my diet.

Ok so it's not a great plan. I'm working on it.

The diesel leak is another story.

After running the motor for a few hours last weekend I discovered there was about a 1/2 cup of fuel in the bilge blanket under the motor. I was fearing a cracked injector pump, and hoping for a simple cracked fuel line or a loose fitting. I tightened up all the fittings that would turn and when pressure was applied I heard a slight hiss and another drop of fuel dripped out.

Bummer.

I just knew it was going to be bad. I started by pricing all the parts in the general area of the leak and at $260 and a bunch of learning to fit and time it, I was hoping it wasn't the injector pump.

Of course the local marine place didn't have all the parts I needed. I mean why would you stock the o-rings used on the majority of the Yanmar engines used in sailboats. Luckily I found the local injector rebuilder had 197 of the little devils in stock. $1.10 each. I bought 3 . I also bought a new fuel pipe just in case.

When I removed the fuel pipe fitting and looked at the o-ring in there, it was mashed and nearly broken. I replaced the o-ring and after bleeding the line the engine started right up. It idled right away. It didn't falter and stumble and try to die on me. I could shift from forward to reverse without the engine stalling. To say I was pleased would be such an understatement. I'm still grinning about it.

$1.10 just may be the cheapest marine repair in the entire history of boats.

Of course the new found fuel pressure will probably be to much for the injector pump and it will die the next time I really need it.

Don't think you can hide Mr. Murphy, I can smell the diesel on your breath..............martin

Once there was a water tank and all was good.

But lo these 30yrs(almost) have passed and the once bright and beautiful tank has become a leaky and unsightly thing.

The Devil Corrosion has made his mark and as is his usual way he placed this mark where no man(or surveyor) would be able to see it.

His mark is a corruption upon the face(actually the far end) of the tank, making it useless.

Ok, so enough of the pseudo biblical stuff.

The water tank has a leak. No let me take that back. It has a hole. A good one by the look of how fast the water going in is coming back out.

This is the layout. The tank is 4'long x 10"deep x 9"wide and is firmly attached to the hull by 4 fiberglass straps. It is also below the beautiful teak and holly sole(floor for you nonsailors). The choices for removal are cut the sole or take the tank out in pieces.

Pieces it is.

So how do you remove a tank of these dimensions through a 12"x10" hole you might ask? Well if it was your boat I'd say "Geeze I don't know, eh" and find some other place to be before you ask me to help.

This was the most horrible job I have ever done on any boat, anywhere, anytime, including exploding heads and rotten fish guts in the deepest recesses of the bilge blocking the bilge pump intake.

It may be, that as you age, the pain involved in the job takes more precedent than the actual job. This was a lovely.

In order to get at the tank I had to spend hours(12 of them over 3 days) on my knees with my head down, reaching into the hole you see in the picture.

I cut the top of the tank open with a Sawzall and carefully cut the sides and bottom with a Dremel tool and using a pair of vise grips broke all the first 6" of the tank away. Now I could get at the straps. I had to make 4 cuts on each side of the tank using a pruning saw with an extendable handle I bought for a hunting trip I'd planned. I had to do most of this job blind as the space on top of the tank was about 4"x 5". Also, not cutting a hole in the hull was of prime importance. So with all the care I could muster and much cursing the 8 cuts were made. To my never ending surprise when I applied the 3ft prybar to the tank it move forward just like it was supposed to. There was no inrush of saltwater and the deck didn't cave in.

Wonders may never cease!

So that was day one. Day 2 and 3 were much the same except I traded the Dremel tool in for the much more robust RotoZip.

A word of caution to anyone who purchases one of these little wonders.

BE CAREFUL!!!!!!

They are not only capable of cutting almost any type of material known to man, they seem to have a taste for human flesh. When they say in the instructions that the Flexishaft may whip about if dropped they aren't kidding. If it hadn't thrashed itself into a corner and actually turned itself off I might not be here to tell the tale.

I used(and abused) my SawZall for most of the heavy cutting but the side cuts next to the hull and the bottom cuts next to the keel had to be made with the little fibre reinforced cutting wheels. They don't last very long cutting 1/8" aluminum and I went through 28 of the little devils before the end requiring me to remove my gloves and straighten up each and every time one broke. I was usually just getting comfortable(a very relative term) when the little SOB broke.

Cutting the tank into pieces while on my knees reaching 10" below the deck with a wildly spinning cutting wheel on a snakey Flexishaft inches below my bare throat was as much of a nightmare as I need for a while.

The other picture is of the monster dismembered and ready for the trash bin.

The Lord High Gunsmith and his implements of destruction have prevailed again.

Now to find a flexible tank to fit in the same space this one just came out of.

Can you smell the money being spent?

Now for a large bourbon and water to wash down a couple of Tylenol PM and I'll be all set.........martin