40 degrees here, heavy rain and wind with some wet snowflakes mixed in. Forecast is not good for the week. Re-reading old sailing magazines to keep the fires burning.
Hi Brian,
I am very much looking forward to boating this year, but we're supposed to get 12-16" snow with 50 mph wind in the next 24 hours........... :o
So, reality is that it will be May when I splash.
Dan
I last splashed about a month and a half ago. The weekends just havent worked out right to take 'er out again lately.
Had hoped to sail San Diego Bay this past weekend, but bad wx down there nixed that. Gonna try again next weekend.
Hope everyone gets to get out sailing soon!
We can sail all winter down here; you just have to pick your days. I got out twice in February. Missed sailing in March not because of weather but schedule. I hope to get out tomorrow for a short outing.
Thinking about it more often, Brian. Called the folks who paint the bottom yesterday, and they said they're backed up because of wx, but bring 'er over. No big projects this year— just a good scrub and wax then it's time to splash her.
Now my wife is itching for some spring skiing this weekend in Vermont. I'm a bit reluctant as my focus has now shifted to more "spring-like" activities. Plus, they only have 1/2 the mountain open with "corn" snow. One plus is that we would have a good view of the eclipse. Going to make a decision soon ....
Quote from: Brian N. on Apr 05, 2024, 10:17 AMNow my wife is itching for some spring skiing this weekend in Vermont. I'm a bit reluctant as my focus has now shifted to more "spring-like" activities. Plus, they only have 1/2 the mountain open with "corn" snow. One plus is that we would have a good view of the eclipse. Going to make a decision soon ....
Had a friend try to talk me into going up North to ski for a day after last week's snow. They had about 16" of new stuff there but psychologically I've moved on from Winter :)
But he had a great time.
Weather is starting to get really nice again but it can change on a dime this time of year.
Buoy draw is in about 10 days and the buoys won't be ready until first week of May regardless so splashing is a few weeks off.
I'll make good use of the time on some projects. The boat is back in my yard at least so that's one step closer.
Picked up the boat today from storage, and have it in the driveway, pressure washed it and discovered it might not actually need its bottom painted again this year! The dried up growth seems to be coming right off, leaving reasonably good looking blue paint underneath. Right now I'm trying to find out if my neighborhood boat yard will let me use their lift to get it off the trailer so I can finish the job. If I can do that, I might be able to splash sooner, rather than later.
Two FYIs, 1) my bottom paint that seems to be doing so well is Petit Premium HRT which is recommended for sailing in both fresh and saltwater, and 2) I ignored my LiFePo battery over the winter and left it charging on the solar panel, and it's at 14 volts right now. Yes!👍
Quote from: Quantico Frank on Apr 09, 2024, 04:24 PMPicked up the boat today from storage, and have it in the driveway, pressure washed it and discovered it might not actually need its bottom painted again this year! The dried up growth seems to be coming right off, leaving reasonably good looking blue paint underneath. Right now I'm trying to find out if my neighborhood boat yard will let me use their lift to get it off the trailer so I can finish the job. If I can do that, I might be able to splash sooner, rather than later.
Two FYIs, 1) my bottom paint that seems to be doing so well is Petit Premium HRT which is recommended for sailing in both fresh and saltwater, and 2) I ignored my LiFePo battery over the winter and left it charging on the solar panel, and it's at 14 volts right now. Yes!👍
Glad your battery "sailed" through the Winter Frank. :)
I'm learning more about LiFePo batteries all the time, some of which I wish I would have known before I bought one such as different BMS (Battery Management System) capabilities. Some have a cold weather cutoff and even warming pads to aid in cold weather performance.
For example, LiFePo batteries can't charge when it's below freezing and it can damage them if you try. So some batteries have warmers that will let you do it, or will just shut off charging to prevent damage.
Mine does neither and for the most part that's not an issue. Only now when I've got it mounted in the boat and the solar panel is hooked up for more testing. It may not drop below freezing again until Fall but there's a chance it might in the next couple of weeks, so I'll have to keep an eye on it.
Getting Closer:
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Buoys are on the water early this year. "Buoy Draw" is next Tuesday night. Your name is put in a hopper and when drawn you get to choose your buoy from the remaining options. The ones circled in red are what where I hope to be, favoring the ones closest to the dock.
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Because I'm a city resident and a returning buoy holder on that lake, I get to draw earlier than those who live outside the city and/or had their boat on a different lake last year. So I should be able to get one of those spots.
The "Buoy Draw" is a festive event. Tropical music and decor. Get to see people I haven't seen in a few months.
And then the tension of waiting to get called while pretending to be happy for the people who just stole my favorite spot. :)
How do you get to/from your boat when its out on a bouy?
Great to hear that Frank, given your past battery headaches.
Good luck in the draw Tom!
Edit: Tom, do they leave the buoy anchors on the bottom all year, and just remove the buoys for the Winter? If so, do they have to dive on each one to attach the buoy pendants?
Yes - moorings aren't typically used in parts of the country.
My P-165 is on a mooring which is the common way to keep a boat in Maine.
My mooring consists of a bottom anchor, heavy ~3/4" bottom chain, lighter 1/2" chain, a swivel, a buoy, and finally a pendant (the line that you attach to the boat).
In Winter; the swivel, buoy, & pendant are taken off to reduce wear on the parts & prevent moving ice from destroying the mooring. A small "Winter float" is attached to a line tied to the top chain which is left on the bottom of the water. In Spring it is all re-attached.
I have a dinghy used to row out to the mooring. The dinghy is left attached to the mooring while I go sailing.
Quote from: tjspiel on Apr 10, 2024, 03:54 PMGlad your battery "sailed" through the Winter Frank. :)
I'm learning more about LiFePo batteries all the time, some of which I wish I would have known before I bought one such as different BMS (Battery Management System) capabilities. Some have a cold weather cutoff and even warming pads to aid in cold weather performance.
For example, LiFePo batteries can't charge when it's below freezing and it can damage them if you try. So some batteries have warmers that will let you do it, or will just shut off charging to prevent damage.
Mine does neither and for the most part that's not an issue. Only now when I've got it mounted in the boat and the solar panel is hooked up for more testing. It may not drop below freezing again until Fall but there's a chance it might in the next couple of weeks, so I'll have to keep an eye on it.
That's very useful info on cold's effect on the LiFePo batteries, Tom, thanks for sharing that. We had a warm winter here which may have contributed to my happy battery this Spring. The LiFePo4 is so light that it won't be a problem to pull it out in the Fall, and I may do that this year.
My happy report on "Spirit's" bottom doesn't look as happy now that the water has dried, so I will be towing it to the bottom painters this morning.
Quote from: Straander on Apr 10, 2024, 09:00 PMHow do you get to/from your boat when its out on a bouy?
Most people will grab one of the two "tenders" (row boats) at the dock, row out to their boat, then either tow the tender or tow their boat back to the dock. Some will rig their boats at the mooring and tow the tender under sail back to the dock.
Since there are only two you can't just leave them at the mooring.
I take an inflatable kayak down the lake and usually leave it at the mooring. Sometimes I'll drag it around the lake with me if we're going to anchor and someone wants to paddle around on it.
It takes less than 10 minutes to inflate, so not a big deal but I've been toying with the idea of getting a canoe/kayak trailer for my bike so I can bring a regular kayak down there and skip the inflating part.
I've swam out to the mooring a few times pulling a dry bag and other people do it regularly.
Quote from: Riggerdood on Apr 10, 2024, 09:14 PMGreat to hear that Frank, given your past battery headaches.
Good luck in the draw Tom!
Edit: Tom, do they leave the buoy anchors on the bottom all year, and just remove the buoys for the Winter? If so, do they have to dive on each one to attach the buoy pendants?
Minneapolis does it a little differently from what Dan described. The mooring balls are removed for winter but everything else stays in the water. They run cables through the tops of the chains as they are removing the balls and the ends of the cables are left on or near shore.
In the spring they use the cables to pull the chains to the surface to re-attach the balls.
I don't know how many cables they use but they string one cable through multiple mooring chains. It could be 3 cables or a bunch of them.
Quote from: tjspiel on Apr 11, 2024, 12:28 PMQuote from: Riggerdood on Apr 10, 2024, 09:14 PMGreat to hear that Frank, given your past battery headaches.
Good luck in the draw Tom!
Edit: Tom, do they leave the buoy anchors on the bottom all year, and just remove the buoys for the Winter? If so, do they have to dive on each one to attach the buoy pendants?
Minneapolis does it a little differently from what Dan described. The mooring balls are removed for winter but everything else stays at the bottom of the lake. They run cables through the tops of the chains as they are removing the balls and the ends of the cables are left on or near shore.
In the spring they use the cables to pull the chains to the surface to re-attach the balls.
I don't know how many cables they use but they string one cable through multiple mooring chains. It could be 3 cables total or a bunch of them. I imagine that really long cables would be tough to deal with.
Quote from: Riggerdood on Apr 10, 2024, 09:14 PMGreat to hear that Frank, given your past battery headaches.
Good luck in the draw Tom!
Edit: Tom, do they leave the buoy anchors on the bottom all year, and just remove the buoys for the Winter? If so, do they have to dive on each one to attach the buoy pendants?
Minneapolis does it a little differently from what Dan described. The mooring balls are removed for winter but everything else stays at the bottom of the lake. They run cables through the tops of the chains as they are removing the balls and the ends of the cables are left on or near shore.
In the spring they use the cables to pull the chains to the surface to re-attach the balls.
That's how a friend who watched the process explained it to me.
I don't know how many cables they use but they string one cable through multiple mooring chains. It could be 3 cables total or a bunch of them. I imagine that really long cables would be tough to deal with.
They have a specialized flat bottom boat they use for this. I have seen that in action. Invariably they end up moving some moorings in the Spring to keep the spacing right. I don't know if the moorings get pulled or drift out of position or what happens. But this boat has a winch on it that's strong enough to pull the moorings up so that they can be moved.
Dan, is your mooring locked in every year until such time you decide you don't want it?
Interesting how they do (maybe have to do?) things differently in different places. For instance, the cable method works for a lake with the moorings relatively close to shore, but probably isn't feasible for an open bay?
The buoys on Mascoma Lake in Enfield, NH are expected to be set early or mid-May. Splash soon after. The "draw" does not seem to be public or transparent, so I just have to wait 'n see.
The sailing club has rowing dinghies for getting to and fro; members including buoy lessees are given the combination to a cable lock and a locker for the oars to use them. Low tech but seemingly effective.
Launched yesterday. All went well, except that I decided to forego the anti-sway rig, 'cuz it wasn't windy, and, you know, what could possibly go wrong? So now I have a modern expressionist sculpture instead of a mast step. But it adds character, I suppose.
I live in a glass house, so no stones will be coming from here! The second time I went to raise the mast after installing the single rigid baby stay, I neglected to connect it at the top before raising. The mast came off the aft mast support and immediately started swaying off to port. Luckily, the stbd upper caught on the mast support roller axle bolt, and stopped the masthead from going through the windshield of my neighbor's car! Lesson learned: add that step to the checklist ...
Quote from: talbot on Apr 17, 2024, 05:09 PMLaunched yesterday. All went well, except that I decided to forego the anti-sway rig, 'cuz it wasn't windy, and, you know, what could possibly go wrong? So now I have a modern expressionist sculpture instead of a mast step. But it adds character, I suppose.
There are worse things than unintentional art. Glad you're in !
Quote from: Ida Lewis on Apr 13, 2024, 12:42 PMThe buoys on Mascoma Lake in Enfield, NH are expected to be set early or mid-May. Splash soon after. The "draw" does not seem to be public or transparent, so I just have to wait 'n see.
The sailing club has rowing dinghies for getting to and fro; members including buoy lessees are given the combination to a cable lock and a locker for the oars to use them. Low tech but seemingly effective.
Good luck in the draw !
Our tenders our also locked to the dock and we are given a key along with a numbered sticker to put on the boat that corresponds to our buoy number.
So I'm "in," technically, but then I got slammed at work, and have not been out to the boat since I created my metal sculpture from the mast step. I have never before lost a whole month of sailing because of work. Does this mean I'm growing up?
Quote from: talbot on Apr 27, 2024, 02:07 AMSo I'm "in," technically, but then I got slammed at work, and have not been out to the boat since I created my metal sculpture from the mast step. I have never before lost a whole month of sailing because of work. Does this mean I'm growing up?
It means you haven't grown up enough to retire yet. :)
I'm shooting for Friday to get my boat in but have a few things to finish and the weather isn't cooperating. So it may be Sunday.