Date:Thu, 11 Aug 2022 12:55:00 GMT
Sails
We've got our sails back
Today we have our full compliment of sails. The boat has always been full
of 50 year old suprises but this one was one of the finer ones. When we
purchased the boat we had 3 sails: Evolution main, genoa, and mizzen.
Then there were bags of old Hood tan bark sails full of rat feces and
smelling of rat nests and urin. We pretty much wrote them off and thought
we'd use them to make bags, buckets and patches. But we took them to Hodges
street sails here in Oriental to clean them up so we could use the fabric
and decided to have them inspected to see if they were worth fixing. Low
and behold they were all in pretty good shape. So we had them cleaned and
given to Inner Banks for repair. To day we have now: A heavy main, a light
main, a genoa, an asymetric, a Yankee/Blast reacher, a storm sail and a
mizzen. All in beautiful tan bark! With our cleaned up teak decks they're
going to be a sight to behold! I can't wait to get her out sailing and take
some pictures with our new Drone! Then we can finally make our boat card!
We are coming down to our last few days here at Zimmerman's before going on
our maiden off shore test run. The cabin top is almost finished with
gelcoat and fiberglass filling the old holes. The mizzen is getting a new
sheeve for the halyard. We're going to figure out how to rig a temp forstay
to hank on the yankee, storm jib and the reacher/asymetric and then we'll be
off.
Yesterday we tested the new drone, got a few pictures of the top of the mast
and went to the park to practice flying and filming. It's much easier than
I expected. I tried to fly out about 500-1000 yards to a sail boat on the
river but couldn't quite make it due to high winds. The software warned me
to turn around because the return home function was not working in those
winds. I'm excited to be able to put up video footage, so stay tuned for
links to our patreon and youtube channels which are coming soon!
We have a lot to do today so I'll cut it short here and post this.
S.
Date:Fri, 26 Aug 2022 12:16:20 GMT
update 8-23-22
Hi folks,
We are coming down to the end at the boatyard:
We are doing the final sanding of the new gelcote on the cabin top after
patching the holes.
The Dinghy is repaired, Thanks Achilles.
I am using the jocky pole as a crane to lift the dinghy and I've made a
harness for it.
We are updating safety gear like lifevests etc.
We are organizing and stocking the cabin and getting ready for a test sail.
The list of work is extensive so these are just the highlights.
I know you guys are waiting for pictures and drone footage. It's coming
soon!
We've met many new friends here in Oriental and will be back in November.
Thanks to all those who have been helping us!
More later, Stay tuned!
Steve
Date:Sat, 27 Aug 2022 12:41:39 GMT
SSB update 2
Hi folks,
This is a test of our SSB status log.
I can post to the blog while underway if this works.
Steve
Date:Sat, 27 Aug 2022 12:56:05 GMT
Nav Station
Nav Station is Complete
I'm posting this from our SSB
When we use the SSB we have to turn off the refrigeration. It makes a ton =
of electronic noise!
The Navigation system is now complete and we're continuing to organize the =
boat getting ready for our shakedown cruise.
The iCom VHF just came in and we put it in the pre-set hole we had cut =
waiting for it. We will keep the little B&G VHF radio for a spare but now =
the nav station looks like we designed it to. I was surprised that it =
came in. There had been a long waiting list for them to ship from iCom.
It is my Mother's birthday today so we will be taking a bit of a break =
this weekend. WE were polishing the new gelcote on the cabin yesterday =
and I think Monday we will be mounting the dinghy on the top. That is the =
last part of this boat yard journey and then we'll start a new work list =
as we learn how Grace sails off shore. We are very excited to start the =
journey.
Steve
Date:Wed, 31 Aug 2022 23:23:00 GMT
Sails
Back at Mathews's Point
Today we went for a test sail with the new rig and then continued on back to
our marina. We left just after lunch and got in just before sunset.
It was a wonderful day on the River and we had 10-17 knots wind. We put the
rails in the water several times and tried every point of sail we could
including taking in both reefs. The old Hood sails flew wonderfully and
everyone had a great day. Brad came with us to crew and Mark checked out
all his work and then Dave from Zimmermans came with his launch and picked
up Mark, matching speed, he jumped over on the leeward side. Then we
continued on to Bishop's marina at Mathews Point. When we came in we were
pushing mud and so we barely made it into our slip. We need to come and go
more often to clear out a good path. Buck, Vicky, Dave, Teresa, Ron, Char,
and Chris were on the dock to welcome us home. It was really nice.
Then later we found out we had diesel on the bilge, and that a water hose
between the raw water pump and the heat exchanger was leaking and filled the
bilge with salt water. The hose will be easy to fix but finding the diesel
leak will be more difficult. How embarrasing. Anyway, it's good to me
home amoung friends!
We have pictures of the sail that we will post soon!
Good night for now.
S.