The Cape Dory Board

I second the above. My brother has been in a partnership for the last ten or fifteen years with his best friend. So far, everything has gone well. For the first few years, they shared costs equally. Then his friend didn't sail as much, and consequently didn't do as much upkeep. My brother did more, ...

This fuse is big news. It means I will be able to sleep again on a boat.

The first couple of weeks, I had nightmares of being on a boat and not being able to sleep because I kept smelling smoke.

Thanks for the link,
-Mathias

No, I didn't have any battery fuses. (I don't think.) Where would you put them in the circuit. How large a fuse? Can you talk some more about that?

Thanks,
-Mathias

Thanks all for your thoughts. I think the fresh water flush is a good idea. Rit, your kind words are an inspiration in my process of starting over again. But then again, you have always been inspiring to me. I crewed on LaVida twice: Once the length of Lake Ontario into the Thousand Islands, and ano...

Someone asked me for the link to our blog, and I re-read my post. Of course I forgot to include it.

www.dolphinsvoyage.blogspot.com

-Mathias

It's been a while since I posted. Some of you may remember I left my sweet CD25 back home in Vermont and me and my wife went on our two-year voyage with a Hans Christian 33. Last spring, we crossed the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean. One beautiful evening we were anchored in a bay in Menorca wh...

For a boarding ladder, I went to a climbing gear store. There, they sell six foot (or so) ladders made of webbing. I tied one to the stern pushpit and let it dangle when I am underway. It ain't purty, but it gives me peace of mind.

-Mathias

I met a guy once who did go overboard. He was the manager of our West Marine in Burlington, Vermont. He said he was single-handing a few dozen miles offshore, sailing by autopilot. He was tethered in. When he went over, his first words were the famous last words of every one who realizes they are in...

Beautiful job.

One project that is still on my list is to build a simple collapsable system to bridge the alleyway to create an extra-large berth so two can sleep comfortably together.

-Mathias

I would be interested in delivering your boat for you.

I list on this board with my CD25, but I regularly sail an HC33, have ocean experience, and have a 50-ton USCG mariner's license.

-Mathias

I talked to my sailmaker about using rings instead of those infernal pins. The pins have to be taped. They are hard to remove. They are, well, infernal. He said the reason that pins are still preferable to rings is that if a sheet catches a ring, it can pull it straight and possibly out. But a sheet...

Varnish over the tape? Brilliant idea!

-Mathias

Roger that. Good that you added that. Knowing me, I would have been so anxious, I would have dumped the grit right in. Would have been hell to apply sand with every coat and try to sand it out for the next coat. I also read at another site to tape off the edge of the stairs. Gives a nice-looking pro...

Yes, I like the idea of a finer grit. Thanks for that suggestion. I saw other websites recommend a sand, but I was a bit worried about it being too coarse. Didn't think the local hardware store would have something like that, but now I have reason for another errand to the "toy" store. -Ma...

On my other boat ( -- blushing -- ok, so I own a HC33 in addition to my CD25) I have all varnished companionway steps. They are very slippery when wet. Has anyone ever seen or tried mixing in a non-skid sand with varnish? What are my other options? I don't want to tack down those ugly non-skid strip...