Ananda is a Cape Dory 33, hull #65. I purchased her through Robinhood Marine Center (Dave Perry - great guy!) in Maine and she is finally floating in Minnesota. A&B trucking ended up being a nightmare to work with - I'll never use their services again, nor would I recommend them to anyone, but that's a whole different story.
She was finally delivered to Hudson WI on June 29, 1999. I was on the road for work, so my father met the boat and paid the driver. My dad, brother, step-dad and two hired riggers got her all put together by late Wednesday.
I flew home a little early on Thursday. I used to have a 46 foot cruiser on the St Criox river in a marina a few miles south of Hudson. There are open municipal docks next to that marina, so I motored Ananda down. I wanted to sail but the light winds would have made me late for a gathering to which I had invited some close friends. I pulled into a slip on the City dock next to the marina, invited everyone on board and with a toast of champagne, re-named the boat.
I spent the first night in the City dock even though there are no over nights are allowed. To keep another long story short - the slip had a cross bar that I must have glided over going in, but it wouldn't let me back out. The next morning with an emptied aft water tank, inside loads shifted and a lot of luck I did get out. Had a great sail that morning -well as long as we were out of the slip I had to take her somewhere
. The winds were coming down the river channel at a Cape Dory rate. Under full main and full genny, I sailed up river, having the early morning, for the most part, to myself. She heeled nicely and drove like the solid boat she is. A few tacks later I was headed back down river. I sailed through Catfish channel and got funny looks from some people in small fishing boats. I think they wondered why I didn't slow down for the no-wake zone. Sailboats are so much more fun then powerboats! I continued to sail down river for a while tacking as easy as can be. Even when I sailed too close to the protected shore line, she always made her nose through the wind with grace and ease. Finally work called and I dropped hook back by the marina and made sure she was secure before heading home for a conference call and to catch up on work emails.Friday night was a bit exciting. I had a single CQR out w/ about a 7:1 scope. Oh how the wind blew. There were severe T-storms that rolled through. The wind speed indicator is not hooked up yet, but I'm guessing that there were a couple gusts were close to 40. I was up a good part of the night. Had a second anchor on deck ready to go and even had the engine running for a while. That may have been first time paranoia, but I was taking no chances.
Saturday I extended a sailing invitation to a number of friends from the marina where I slipped my cruiser. There were 8 of us on board for a 3 hour sail. It was a great time with good wind. The power boaters were amazed at how responsive and yet how stable she was. It was a blast.
That night I dropped two anchors and the wind never beat 25. Oh well….. At least I caught up on my sleep. Ran some more errands on Sunday morning - including the car shuffle to Lake City, Ananda's new home. Early in the afternoon I set off on the trip down river. Motoring against a 20 - 25 mph head wind down the St Croix, I was afraid to push the engine past 2200 so I only averaged about 3 knts.
Once the turn onto the Mississippi was made, the wind was less of a factor with the tree/shore line. I pushed the engine to about 2400 to make up time. I should have kept her idled down a bit because we ended up waiting for over two hours for a barge being double locked down at Lock and Dam #3. Not all that time was wasted though. Fresh salmon on the grill and fresh steamed green beans made for a fine dinner during the wait. After locking through, the last 3 miles were done as darkness set in. I arrived in Red Wing just as the show was starting and a .6 mile stretch of the river was closed where they were launching the fireworks. My transient slip was about 300 feet into the closed section of the river, so another 45 minutes were spent motoring up and down a narrow channel in the dark avoiding a number of run-abouts filled with people watching the show more then the other boats. I finally got to the transient slip and enjoyed some time watching the river traffic with a glass of good wine in the cockpit and then off to a good night sleep.
Monday morning the iron genny was fired up again for the last 4 or 5 miles to the mouth of Peppin. The channel continues for another couple miles before the lake gets deep enough for sailing. Once on the lake, up went the full main and the genny. We may have been a bit over powered, but she sailed like a dream. We flew down the lake, tacking once in about two hours. Heading back to the marina, we dropped the main and still made 6 knts. Once in the slip I met the owner of an Alberg 36 (I'm guessing) in the slip next to mine. Ananda will feel right at home.
It was tough to leave her, but I had another flight to catch. I can't wait until the weekend!
Walking the docks of marinas in the past my head has always been turned by a Cape Dory. Now that I have one, I have to stop, look back and smile each time I walk away from her. Being new to this boat though, I do have a few questions:
What is a good RPM for long run with the Universal 5424? I watched the temp more then the RPM. The engine seemed to hold a constant temp where ever I had the RPM in the 2200 - 2500 range.
During transport, a couple of screens were lost and another was broken. Where can I get replacements for the plastic ovals?
I'm looking forward to the summer on Lake Peppin. I'm working on a plan to have the boat in the Keys for the first few months of '00. I've been following this board for a while now. I know I'll have more questions, and in time maybe even some answers.
THANKS!
rick@citycom.com