time to migrate south

Fall here on Cape Cod is a wonderful time of the year, bringing relief from crowds, bugs, heat, and humidity. And dogs are welcome on the beaches again here in Chatham! On the other hand, the water rapidly chills and weather gets darned unstable: the fall here brings in the north-easters, nasty low-pressure systems from the south that suck in strong winds from ahead of them....and one sat to our south for three or four days last week...I lost count after days of rattling windows (Lucy and I are staying ashore, visiting my mom and relatives) and spitting rain. And another, briefer and far more violent, came through just a day ago, bring in some nasty winds of over 100mph in some parts of the Cape. Both brought damage to boats that dragged their moorings or otherwise came loose or swamped (my mizzen got a bit ripped, but should be easy to repair). Occupy Chatham is getting close to the waters edge (10' now vs 30' a month ago and 100' last summer).

A new break has formed in the barrier beach just off Morris Island.

This 3-part dinghy dock is supposed to be straight.

Blowing sand created drifts and dunes..

And here I have remained, waiting for my propeller to come back from the shop... which was finally repaired and tuned Tuesday. They replaced the chip nicely, welding in some new metal, and everything is now tuned (I hope) so I don't get those nasty vibrations when the wind picks up. Some discoloration shows where corrosion occurred before I bought the boat, when it sat for years in NC, probably with no sacrificial zinc to protect it.

The new bowsprit collar I designed and a local shop welded up looks very sturdy and should surely be far more sound than the old cracking one. 

Wednesday, I dove under the boat and reinstalled the prop. And, now that winds are dying back to reasonable levels, I am ready to GO!

My friend Larry, from Coral Bay and New Jersey, has joined me and we plan to head out today for Delaware Bay, avoiding the patches of interesting weather so prevalent this time of year. Another friend, Kent, says this would be perfect for heading out to Bermuda, using these north-west winds today to sweep down across the Gulf Stream and south, getting to the Virgin Islands in about three weeks.... Tempting, but I'm not ready to take that leap yet. 

I had hoped to meet Cynthia in Norfolk, VA, on the 23rd, but forecasts show some nasty knots of weather possible, so I'll head toward Delaware Bay and see how the weather looks as I get closer. Either she will wait there in the Norfolk area for a day or so while we make our way as weather permits or she can rent a car and drive north. We shall see...

Lucy has been really enjoying the beaches and, as well, taking some time each day to practice for a long and boring sail.

I'm sure looking forward to getting out to the boat this morning, making sure nothing serious has failed in the most recent storm, making our way past any new shoals in the harbor entrance, and setting sail again. It has been WEEKS since I raised sail!

Wish us luck!

PS: Cynthia will fly out with Lucy around Nov 6, to work etc in MI. I will wing to CA to visit parents for a ten days or so, leaving the boat in a marina.... maybe in NC. Then back aboard and... what? A three-week sail to the Virgins? FL and Bahamas? We shall see... Whatever happens, I need to get down to warm water before Cynthia (& Lucy) joins me for most of the winter. 

Making repairs

One of the problems of living in a boat...or a house, for that matter... is the need for repairs and improvements. One could also say that one of the great things about living on a boat is the constant opportunity for exercising problem solving skills! Whether one sees the glass as half-empty or half-full, here are a few current items on my mind: the boat has leaks into the core of the deck, but that is not an urgent issue... as long as I store things in plastic or glass containers. My water pressure pump has been running a lot sometimes... could it have leaking pipes or need replacing? The roller furler for the jib worked poorly so I had to replace the bearings. The halyards for the sails still chafe, but not all the way through... so I put tape on as a bandaid... and really should climb the mast to make another attempt to solve it. None of these problems are really huge....

On the other hand, I'd REALLY like to solve the problem of the propeller vibration (before it damages the cutless/cutlass bearing or anything else) and have been diving under the boat to remove it... but the thing is VERY securely installed and I'm unsure about how much force to use. I'll try again today and, when I succeed, will bring it to the specialists in Salem. (Success is mine! I released it Tuesday morning and dropped it off with the prop shop in Salem at about noon!

They say seven to ten days and I sure hope this solves many problems.)

Far more essential is a crack I found forming in the bowsprit collar. This fitting serves as the attachment point for the bobstay and forestay and two whisker stays and resists immense forces.... and is cracking.

Ignored, it would probably fail within the next year, probably in the worst possible conditions. So, I've ordered a nice piece of 316 stainless pipe a foot long and contacted a local machinist to weld me up a replacement.

Another essential repair: I'm working to repair and reinstall the largest remaining section (about 5 feet) of the port jib traveler track (it broke in June and I pulled the remaining bits out a few days ago).

Part of the wood it should anchor into is certainly stronger than sponge... but not by much... so I'm depending on the fiberglass that encased the wood. 

The temporary repair I've set up should work ok until I do something more permanent in a few months. Anyway, I may need to take it all apart to fix the leaky deck, and will figure THAT out over the next few days.



It looks as though we are in for a period of gray and windy weather... so I get to work on interior items like painting and adding shelving. I can dive under the boat to re-install the sacrificial anode on the propeller shaft. Perhaps replace the packing on the propeller shaft as well, since that has been dripping a good bit....although I wonder if I may need to replace the shaft.... (hmm......how might I do this in the water without sinking the boat? Hmmm...interesting challenge). And I can order the materials I need to work on things like re-coring the deck.