The Cape Dory Board

Probably just the usual post-holiday mid-winter dip in boat stuff. We can't all be floating in the Caribbean, as much as we might want to be. I think this has been in the making for awhile. It's a tough job--but someone has to do it for those who can't.... You're welcome. :) And we appreciate your ...

Launching will get very old very quickly. Getting out to a mooring seems like it might also get old quickly. Depends on the mooring, I guess, but I think you're underestimating the hassle of launching and hauling the boat every time. In my situation (an in-harbor mooring at a Lake Michigan marina) ...

Probably just the usual post-holiday mid-winter dip in boat stuff. We can't all be floating in the Caribbean, as much as we might want to be.

Ben My wife and I drove our jeep back from camping on the Keweenaw Peninsula in early Oct and skirted along the bay. That whole area was spectacular. I had never seen it before. In fact all of Michigan was very scenic and much more bucolic than I anticipated. But the coast pulled me in like a Star ...

I rent a protected mooring inside the breakwater at a municipal marina (Elmwood Township Harbor). For 2022 it's going to cost $1,052, which is an increase of 24% since I first got the mooring in 2016. Yikes! They've been making some major upgrades to the marina over the last couple of years, so I ex...

I think you'll be very happy with it, assuming that you actually ever use it, and probably even if you don'! :wink: My setup has worked great since I put it in place. Pushing the Typhoon in and out of the marina only uses a small portion of my battery on any given trip and the panel replenishes it e...

Interesting results! Thanks for documenting them. I've been using a Minn Kota Endura Max 55 lb thrust trolling motor for several years now. I haven't recorded my speed as carefully as you have, but wide-open "throttle" will get me to around 3 knots, which lines up pretty well with your res...

A hard vs. a slack bilge is one that I have trouble remembering. A quick internet search to refresh my memory confirms that a "hard" bilge is a term associated with a flat bottom and vertical sides. Think of a modern fin keel planing sailboat. Slack bilges are what you see on the more slop...

I wish it was closer!

Since it is a tent, after all, maybe a ripstop nylon? https://www.owfinc.com/LS-19oz-Ripstop- ... C1.9TANUV/

Those are some excellent tips and refinements, Jim! I sometimes do attach both sets of shrouds, but you only need one set, and leaving the other one free means you have two fewer turnbuckles that can get hung up. Horses for courses.

Yeah, the Ty mast is just small enough to raise by hand, with a little help, and just big enough to be kind of a handful. One of those fancy gin-pole setups would make it a piece of cake, but I've always managed to muscle it up with the help of a friend. 1. Start with the mast resting on the boat. A...

I'll second that recommendation. I rent a pickup (or sometimes the smallest box truck if a pickup isn't available) to launch and de-launch my Typhoon and it works out great. Costs me less than $100 a pop, although I don't have far to drive.

I'm mostly jealous of the tiny self-tailing winches.

Barkley Sound makes inexpensive (compared to their shockingly expensive alternatives) Sitka spruce oars. They don't offer a 13' option on their website but they might be willing to put one together. If you're a patient person, you can do a lot of woodworking with a small assortment of hand tools. A...