Mast Walk
Many people think this is about walking the mast. Wrong, Its the boat. It's not the mast walker, its the guy sailing the boat.
Launch
Trailered to Saginaw Bay and motored to the marina. It was a tense day but I made it through it. Set the mast the next day and went for a sail on the following day. About 10 knot winds so I sailed downwind a couple of miles and beat back. When she catches the wind she takes off. I was a little nervous about pushing it so I headed in. Only had 4 days so that is all for now.
Sunset Shore
I was looking at the receipt for purchasing the boat. It was April 28, a little over a month ago. A lot of work was done but more needs to be done. The restraints of finances is the main barrier. I really think that is a good thing because you can throw a endless supply of money into a boat and there always seems to be one more thing that can be done.
We found a nice small marina to stay in this summer. The Sunset Shore Yacht Club is at the mouth of the Saginaw River entering into Saginaw Bay on the south side of Lake Huron. It is a distance from home but it was difficult to find anything closer. The prices were too high for the short Michigan season.On my last boat I was on a river that went directly to Lake Michigan. With a swing keel and going right into deep water there was never a worry about depth. Now with the different depths of Saginaw Bay and a 4 1/2' fixed keel this will be new to me. At least I don't have to worry about tides and current.
Nautical Charts
Not everyone can afford a chart plotter with gps and all the goodies. If you are like me and will have to wait or just like the paper charts for emergency here is where to get a neat notebook size set of charts. The best part, FREE
Tip- These take a long time to print. After you hit the print button go have a coffee, patience is the key here. Also put them in the notebook face to face, 4 facing 5, 6 facing 7 etc..
Origo Stove
I picked up a Origo 3000 on ebay for $100. A little pricey and a little used but it works great, heats fast, hot and no pressure. It runs on denatured alcohol.
Got a chance to use the stove. I highly recommend this stove. It is hot and fast. It can be carried out onto a picnic table and used. No moving parts. Just a good stove.
Getting Close
I am pushing to get out soon. I still have a lot to do but it would be so much nicer to do on the water. I am ready to go in but am short a few items. No spar boots, need new flares and a second fire extinguisher, and a auto switch for the bilge pump. The spar boots will keep me from raising the mast and the others are necessary safety items. The rest I can wait on.
12 volt fan and a small light installed. The 120 volt GFI outlet hooked up to the shore power plug
Not to much was done to the electrical for now, just sorting it all out and reconnecting it. It was not difficult except the original circuitry was a little odd. The circuit wires feeding the boat are red, yellow, dark blue and black. The blue or black may be dark green but you get the idea. The red wire is common to all circuits. This threw me off because the red is always positive on a DC circuit. I don't have time to figure the why's, maybe it was originally positive ground, later. Anyway, Yellow is cabin lights, one dark is running lights and one is the anchor or mast light. There are only two wires to the mast so it needs a third wire for a mast head light. I believe you can do it with 2 wires and a diode and reverse the polarity??? anyone know how to do this?
Hopefully there will be some free time to fix these posts and add some more.
Deck Plug
Deck Plug Click Here
Going to just run a steaming light for now so I don't have to figure out how to get a extra wire to the plug. Finally found a inexpensive plug.
Going to just run a steaming light for now so I don't have to figure out how to get a extra wire to the plug. Finally found a inexpensive plug.
Interior Lighting
The old lights were missing the covers and the switches were bad. I was going to try to replace the switches but I found these 12 volt RV lights on eBay for $10.99 each free shipping. They are LED and use 1/10th the power. The quality is on par with the original, cheap but I was pleased after I put them up. Lots of light.
Update
I tried to make a not skid surface for the cabin floor. At first I didn't like it but I added a coat of varnish after rinsing off the salt and it seems to be better. We will see after a while.
Hard to tell with this picture.
New tiller installed and boom traverse installed.
Reading Material
There are many good articles on this site. Written by Marine Surveyors
Good practical reading material Click Here
Good practical reading material Click Here
Update
The new tiller that came with the boat. H & L Laminated Tiller, #51322, 13OF 45"L X 1-5/16W X2
Marine Woodwork Inc. 130, (323) 636-1718
Added 2 support for the table brackets
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The worse of the deck problems.
A great fiberglass cleaner, Marykate On & Off
Sail Inventory
I had a look at the sails today. Not really what I thought but not bad. They are mostly a racing set of sails. There appears to be one original set and one set that are lighter material. Three mails, two 170%, one 150%, a jib and a spinnaker. One main has a 2 foot rip. It would have been better to have just one good set of heavy sails with a storm jib but I will make do with what I have.
Progress
We made a lot of progress. All the varnished interior trim was put back in and it made a big difference. There is still many things to do inside but for now I am calling it done. Did the hull and deck cleaning and sanded the bottom and painted. It's starting to look like a sailboat. Next week I am going to try my luck with deck crack repair and gel coat.
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