Return to the Salish Sea

[David Patterson]

About to haul out tomorrow, I may as well indulge in another posting today. I'll soon be too busy. More random photos. A shot of the south entrance of Friday Harbor from a somewhat high point. That little sloop motoring past Mount Hood/Kulshan, in San Juan Channel, was headed by 8 knots of wind and a few knots of ebb tide currents, making for slow going. The gem-like car was parked along the road from the ship yard to town, a pleasant mile, along which I've been patiently hauling provisions and ice on a small luggage cart. "Metropolitan" is the logo on the car. I don't recognize the make. Pristine. [The light artifacts in that photo are mostly from a dirty iPhone lens.] But CLOUDIE is anything but pristine, after her years afloat in salt water, and her nearly constant cruising. Even enshadowed, her lines are those intriguing Alberg lines, which draw my eyes, at least. A few days on the hard and she'll have fresh bottom paint, a new shaft zinc, a higher boot stripe (hey, it takes a lot of stuff for extended cruising!) and her sea cocks serviced. I even hope to install a new paddle wheel in her old-school knotmeter. One blade was sheered off by an enthusiastic bottom cleaner, last year. She only takes to the air for a few days a year, then is back in the water. I wonder, personifying her for a moment, if she counts it as a vacation or an imprisonment? I've wondered that in the past, when in hospital myself.

[tjr818]

Once again beautiful photos. Thank David. I hate to admit it, but I am old enough to remember the Nash Metropolitan, one of the early, almost successful compact cars. It is well suited for life on an island, because it wouldn't belong on today's highways.
Cloudie looks pretty good for being left on her own for so long. I think she will look at the haul out just as we look at our annual physical necessary, but not fun.

[Jim Walsh]

Very nice photographs. We're dealing with a ton of snow on the ground already and half a foot of fresh stuff last night.
I also recall seeing the Nash's whizzing by as a child. They were made fun of due to their looks and performance. The MG's and the Triumph's were seen as sporty, if odd, British imports. It was the XKE Jag's that everyone drooled over. Mustangs were still on the drawing boards.
I never realized that the weather was so moderate in that region. We could use a little warmth here.

[David Patterson]

"...and the little Nash Rambler right behind me still had on his brakes!" Some song from the late '50s, I think. God, that was a long time ago.

[Sea Hunt Video]

David:

I have another one of my dumb questions.

I pretty much recognize everything on your CD 25D as being similar to mine. However, in your photo it shows two (2) lines attached to the bowsprit port and starboard with two (2) metal rings. They appear to go all the way up to the top of the mast although the photo does not show this.

What are those lines for

[David Patterson]

Thereon hangs a tale, Roberto. Two tales actually. One is back in the Shade Tree Boatyard (behind my house) in early 2012. The mast is down on blocks and I'm prepping for hauling a few thousand miles to the Salish Sea. I add a double spinnaker bail and some small blocks (I have photos somewhere, maybe in my previous years' postings) to the mast head fittings for up to four additional masthead halyards. At the mast are a spare topping lift, and a general utility halyard (I think). At the bow, which you note, are a spinnaker halyard and a spare jib halyard. Not beefy enough for long term use, you might think. But listen to the second tale: Pre-dawn, rain, Force 5 (17-22kt) winds, broad reaching up President Channel for a tidal current boost to Sucia Island. More wind and current than I'm bargaining for, but how do fools learn? My speed over ground, by GPS, hits 7.4 knots at one point! Trying to reef, the furler jams. Naturally. Bigger gusts come off Orcas Knob across Orcas Island, as usual in that wind direction I now know. The main is winged out in a fisherman's reef already. Freeman Island is nearby...somewhere. Tide rips. So I head upwind and go forward in the dark to deal with the over ride in the furler control line. Lively motion. The jib, a 130% Genoa, is over the side in the water. The halyard has parted. I secure what I can, stop at the mast and lower the main, get back to the cockpit, start the motor, and continue on to shoot the reef gap into Fox Cove of Sucia, for the first time, just as a very grey dawn comes. Grateful. That morning I use the spare jib halyard to get the Genoa back into operation before continuing my counter clockwise circumnavigation of Sucia by sail. Wild currents around that island, by the way. I'm having a blast of a good time. Late November 2013. The gods watch over fools. That spare halyard stays in service for ten months, before a friend hauls me up the mast to reeve a new halyard. That is the story of my spare halyards. I hope you aren't sorry you asked! I do seem to recall posting the photos, which doesn't mean I did. (Cruising the San Juans again, 12/6/13?) Look back if you have the time and interest. Beautiful exotic place, Sucia. (Now I'm eager to get back there.)

[Sea Hunt Video]

David:

Thanks for reminiscing. Wow

I have a main halyard (red), a Genoa halyard (green), a spinnaker halyard (blue) and a topping lift (white). The only "spare" is the spinnaker halyard which I have NEVER used. I donated the spinnaker (and a bunch of other used sails) to Sails for Haiti. Go to: http://sailsforsustenance.org/
With my skill level I will not be deploying a spinnaker anytime soon.

[David Patterson]

Photos of (in order, I hope): sunrise through the fog in Ship Yard Cove of Friday Harbor, where my boat is now on the hard; tiny CLOUD GIRL made even smaller in comparison to a marine lift, but showing those elegant Alberg lines of her underbody; an old slipway disappears under water, much as the way of life it represents has faded into the past.

[tjr818]

Once again, beautiful photos. I am not about to tell the folks at Friday Harbor how to lift a Cape Dory, but it is recommended that the slings should be tied together. Maybe they were and it just doesn't show in the photo.

[Jim Walsh]

Once again, beautiful photos. I am not about to tell the folks at Friday Harbor how to lift a Cape Dory, but it is recommended that the slings should be tied together. Maybe they were and it just doesn't show in the photo.

Good catch. Sometimes we need to remind the yard crew much to their consternation. I'm lucky, my yard routinely ties both sides.

[David Patterson]

Didn't expect to post again so soon for this "cruiser-logue," but the moment is open so I'll use it. Besides, today was sea cock maintenance, and I need the distraction. (CLOUD GIRL has six through hulls below the waterline. I only did three today, not all easy to access.) Three photos: 1) A seal splashes as a form of begging of a fisherman cutting bait. Practically a pet. 2) A red converted fishing boat becomes yellow in this abstract shot, unedited except for framing. I'm hiding behind the piling shadowed at the bow. Some photographers might enjoy this one. Red plus blue equals yellow, apparently. And bright sun can wash out detail. 3) Then there was the time last May, I think it was, when currents forced me against rocks at the NW corner of Wise Island, in Trincomali Channel up in the Canadian Gulf Islands, as I was sailing in light airs. [See my posting last year.] Speaking of distractions, I was captivated at the time by the sighting of some harlequin ducks. I recall thinking, as I powered off the vegetation covered rock, that I would sure like to see the bottom at haulout. Turns out to have barely scratched the gelcoat. One value of having multiple layers of bottom paint built up over the years. Not to mention a truly robust hull. I had forgotten the event until this haulout.

[tjr818]

David,
That last photo sure looks scary, I'm glad to hear that it is only a gel coat scratch.
I wish that I could overhaul three sea cocky in one day. You must be very flexible. Yoga?

[Jim Walsh]

I also have six sea cocks. I have pretty good access to five but number six is a pain in the neck. I've lerned to save it for last. After doing the other five I'm able to disassemble it and reassemble it with my eyes closed. Not actually closed. My problem is that I can't get both hands on it and see it at the same time. I end up getting into an awkward position and just use my sense of touch to complete the job. I must admit it takes a little less than four hours to get them all done. You guys must have less access than I do.

[Sea Hunt Video]

David:

I echo the thoughts of Tim and Jim about your ability to complete work on three (3) seacocks in one day.

I know you are busy but since you have the sister ship to S/V Bali Ha'i I am hopeful you might be able to post some photos and comments about how you serviced them, particularly the two (2) cockpit seacocks and the sink seacock. I was aboard today after reading your post yesterday and am still stymied about how to get at the two (2) cockpit seacocks.

I was supposed to service mine last summer when she was on the hard. I tried but both unrelenting heat/temps/humidity and apparent lack of any access left me holding a wrench in my hands and cursing the guy who located these seacocks.

If you have the time to post photos and comments, etc., please start a new thread. I do not want this thread on your great photos of the NW US and Canada to be "tarnished" with talk of wrenches, grease, cursing, etc.

[David Patterson]

Rain. Unexpectedly at leisure, as the yard couldn't get me splashed in time on the lower high tide. So, not enough depth in the lift slip. Tomorrow morning is my time now. Much I could be doing, if not for a light rain and my own indolence. Jim is right about time. My three seacocks yesterday didn't take all day. I also ran errands in town, walking my full 17lb propane tank back 1.5 miles on the folding luggage pull cart, which is my cruiser's friend. Plus other tasks in the day. My difficult frozen seacock was the midship manual bilge pump one, located in the port cockpit locker. At 5' 7" and 155lbs, I can get fully in that locker. (Tie the lid back!) Once it was freed and readied, I re-installed the sea cock, while hanging upside down. Water test tomorrow. The cockpit drain seacocks weren't as difficult, for me. The right tools are a big help, as always. I somehow have two seacock wrenches aboard. Makes the final adjustment simple. Other wrenches are also adequate. Here is a photo of a Spartan wrench. The handle works as a "step wrench" for through-hull removal. [Reminder to self: never use a metal hammer to remove the valve barrel. Once I had to re-set the threads because of my zeal and thoughtlessness. Bronze is softer than steel, of course.] I envy those who learned these things aboard as kids. Also, pictured are some bent, chewed up, corroded, or broken props on display at this yard. Last is a look at a frequent NW day, though much less so in the San Juans) of low cloud and impending rain. I'd rather be in a snug yacht cabin than anywhere else, in wind and/or rain. Don't worry Roberto, the cruising pics will follow naturally, soon, and this haulout (bottom paint, zinc, head gasket, tranny seals, shaft alignment, NO cosmetic work or engine overhaul, though needed) will be in my wake. [Sorry to be so wordy.]