Showing posts with label open boat cruising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label open boat cruising. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Projects on Hold at the Boat Shop


First we'll stop by the Teak Lady, Che Hon. This poor old boat is so dry! We soaked her in a local man made pond for three weeks. The teak planks take-up very slowly. So we've corked the garboard seam at the keel very lightly and will set up a sprinkler inside for a few days.

There is a danger that the wide open seams will close on too much packing cotton and split the planks or crack some frames.

I put a couple coats of varnish on her topsides two days ago and she perked right up!








Next is a double paddle for my good friend Jim Ballou. In the same style as the spooned oars I made last winter. This is the rough shape, which will have to wait until I get back for polish and pretty.













Not the least is the Gloucester Gull Light Dory we're building down at the Boathouse. Rick Johnson, shipwright extraordinaire, will no doubt finish this without me - he's a bit peeved that I get a vacation and he doesn't.




Tomorrow morning DoryMan leaves, and will be back next month.

The initial stop will be the Sucia Rendezvous - three days of camaraderie with other gunkholers, then probably a few days of sailing in company, followed by a couple weeks of solo sailing.

No electronics on this trip. No laptop. No SPOT tracker. In fact, no itinerary.

The San Juan Islands are truly beautiful and the Salish Sea only gets more scenic the further north you go.

Canadian waters are the destination. I'd like to visit friends who live on Savary Island.
Anacortes, Washington is the point of departure.

Hope to see you all when I get back.
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Saturday, July 2, 2011

Summer Cruise


What is the most critical detail for a cruise in the Pacific Northwest?

Shelter.

In the northwestern rain forest you will find (surprise!) a lot of rain. Just because it's mid-summer means nothing. If you are cruising in an open boat, you will get wet.

Doryman is preparing for a month long cruise in the Salish Sea starting next Friday. All of the requisite gear is stacked in the boat-shed with charts and tide tables wrapped in plastic.




Saga is a completely open boat, which will afford little comfort if a Pacific storm sets in. So we've been working on converting an old boat cover into a cockpit tent for those rainy nights at anchor. The cover is made of tan canvas, which we cut in half then sewed in a wedge of sail cloth. The white sail cloth is opaque and lets in a lot of ambient light. The whole thing is supported by a frame of PVC water pipe.









A few more adjustments to the tie-downs and it will fit perfectly.