Zen

For those who've already seen this photo on social media, I apologize. Still, may I have a word?

The word used most often to describe this scene was serenity. While that might be so, serenity in this case is married to intensity. Concentration coupled with calculation. All senses tuned to the moment, in perfect harmony.

It's been a difficult year, ruled by Saturn. But like many mariners, DoryMan turns to the water to soothe his soul.

Belle Starr in Racing Form?

Seriously? Can you imagine a full keel cruising design in a field of hard core racers? Neither can I. But there she was, out spreading her wings during the annual Shipwrights' Regatta, in Port Townsend Bay.

Yesterday dawned under heavy clouds, pouring down rain, with thunder and lightning crashing all around. It does Doryman credit that he turned over and went back to sleep.
...not for long...
The plan had been to go sailing, rain or shine. Fortunately the storm melted away with the morning and by noon, in time for the start of the Shipwrights' Regatta, the clouds peeled away to reveal a brilliant sun. The Stone Horse, Belle Starr was as delighted as her skipper. Sporting her new mainsail, she was lovely in tanbark.

And no, she did not race, sorry to disappoint. You supposed she took honors? Only points for grace and beauty. While the field duked it out in the first race of the 2018 season here in Port Townsend, we kept clear of the marks and enjoyed the break in the weather. There is more than one way to win.

New Sail for the New Year

Salutations from the great Pacific Northwest to all my friends the world over.
Calendars confuse me. Where I live we call this the first days of winter. Some people never see winter and today my good friends far south of the equator celebrate high summer. I prefer to look to the sky and see the axis turn on our lonely planet and contemplate the millenniums of our universe. On a long night with the constellations turning slowly over my head, I can forget that I live in a country where my own government despises poor people like me.



Today was short. In the same vein as the above comment, I think of a day in terms of sunlight, which was easy on the ground today at 48 degrees latitude north, 122 longitude west.

Being an aging mariner, who still prefers to live each day outside, in nature, these short, cold days are hard on my bones. Despite natural inclination, sometimes I have to stay inside, by the fire.

Today was such a day. Fortunately, there was plenty to do. We are sewing a new mainsail for Belle Starr. The wooden Stone Horse had to sit out a sailing season due to lack of funds for moorage, but soon (I promise) she will return to her natural element and the voyage ethereal she loves will commence.

 Suddenly help arrived. (never know when she'll appear).







Belle Starr was built in the early 1980's, here on the Puget Sound. Her sails were (are) very a finely constructed cruising design executed in the early years of Hasse and Petrich Sailmakers. Carol Hasse is still in business here in Port Townsend, but I know without asking that I can't afford to have her replace her aging set. And, it goes without saying, our new sail pales in comparison, but then I probably don't have thirty-five years of sailing left in me, even if I have the good grace to live that long.

Besides, it's good experience to make your own sails. I remember well the days when I could not figure out how to drive my boat to windward, let alone understand  the physics of sail theory. Nothing brings all the elements of sailing theory together better than building a sail.

I cheated.
Belle's mainsail came in the mail, as a kit from Sailrite. Those guys are awesome. A custom, precision cut mainsail for pennies on the dollar. All the pieces you need, minus the tools. Believe me, building the sail is challenge enough without having to cut it from raw materials.

Heather is a pro with a sewing machine and we have an old Phaff made to sew through metal. (don't mean to sound too elderly, but stuff was made better back in the day.) Still, the large bits of slick fabric were a challenge and took up the entire front room of the house for days. The main body of the sail is now complete and the task of hand sewing is underway.

I learned to sew from my mother and grandmother at a very young age, but have never mastered the delicacies of the job. My sewing is strong, but able-seamen of old would blanch at the quality of my work. I'm trying very diligently to make the grade.

My bible for hand-sewing technique is Emiliano Marino's "Sailmaker's Apprentice", an exceptional book, by the way. I've recently had the pleasure of meeting Emiliano and it's likely he will one day see my handiwork.
Hopefully, he will be kind.

Love and Peace to you all.

A Wee Pram

Yet another Stone Horse story...

The Sam Crocker Stone Horse, Belle Starr has been mentioned in these pages many times. Hopefully you are not tired of hearing about her yet, because here is a new chapter.

Cruising on Belle Starr is a treat. She's a well mannered boat and comfortable. Except for one thing. Headroom. Inside, one must sit down, no options. Please don't get me wrong, the design appeals to me aesthetically, wherein lies a quandary.
Most of the time, the low profile is just what is needed. Under sail, there is no obstruction for a clear view in all directions. The flush deck is a joy for working around. But there are those wet days at anchor when it would be nice to stand up, if only in the companionway, to get dressed, or take a look around.

There is a local boat, also designed by Sam Crocker, called the Macaw. She is obviously a big sister to the Stone Horse. In this photo of her, please note the raised companionway doghouse. Very pleasing to my eye. How would Belle Starr stand up to such a design change? After all, the Macaw is a thirty-six foot boat.

So, I sketched a raised companionway for Belle, to fill the available deck space, and came up with a trunk three feet wide, five feet long and a foot high, with a sliding hatch, shown here.

Still not convinced this protuberance would not spoil the look of a well designed boat, I decided to mock-up the add-on in the shop, with heavy cardboard. The full sized model was soon abandoned, because it quickly became apparent that with a tweak here and there, what I would have was a Wee Pram.

A tender less than six feet long apparently has few uses, because I was not able to find many appealing designs for such a vessel. My calculations showed me that the Wee Pram would carry 3-400 pounds, so I designed one of my own.
The pram will fit over the hatch, behind the mast. The aft transom has a removable panel, to facilitate access to the companionway.

The forward transom will notch around the mast, to help secure the load. I may even install deadlights in the hull panels, to give a more cabin-like appearance.
(hard to tell which is the bow and which is the transom, eh? This is the view looking aft.)
Cold weather (and an unheated shop) have temporarily suspended construction, though here in the Pacific Northwest, freezing weather doesn't last long, so look forward to photos of the Wee Pram-as-trunk-cabin, in the near future.

Montague Harbor Rendezvous 2016

For several years, I've tried to attend the small boat gathering in Montague Harbor, Galiano Island, British Columbia. This is the first year I've visited early enough that the harbor wasn't crowded with yachts and campers.


 Lynn Watson in Katie Mae.
 Photo by Martin Schneider.

 Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park is one of the most popular parks in the Gulf Islands. It is renowned for a west-facing beach covered in worn shells. The beach is, in fact, an ancient midden created by Coastal Salish people, who migrated through this area in search of food.
Montague Harbour is popular with the recreational boating community and the harbor is often crowded during the warmer months of June, July, and August.

Reeving a stray halyard through the main mast. 
 Photo by Martin Schneider.

Our small boat rendezvous is scheduled during the Memorial weekend in the States, thus avoiding the crowds that appear later in the summer. The bay is peppered with mooring buoys and there is a single Park dock to access a camping area, which is also used for mooring. The rest of us lie at anchor.

Jamie and Paul discussing breakfast plans.
 Photo by Martin Schneider.

Following the Rendezvous, a number of boats continue to sail for a few days to other, more remote destinations. Many of us in this herd of cats have sailed in company for several years and it would surprise everyone if the group stayed intact for more than a handful of days.

Belle Starr rides anchor behind Friendship in Princess Inlet, on Wallace Island. 
Photo by Martin Schneider.

That's the beauty of the Canadian Gulf Islands - there are so many wonderful and diverse anchorages - every one of them stunning. People are very friendly and considerate. It wasn't until back in US waters that our safety was compromised by yachts who's owners apparently do not know the Rules of the Road. Every small boat sailor has a catalog of stories relating to incidence of bullying by yachts that observe tonnage as a right-of-way. Perhaps we'll take up this subject one day. It's an increasingly dangerous blight on an otherwise superlative trip.


Marty Loken's recently restored Bill Garden Eel, Skye.

 Bob Miller in his Drascome Lugger, Sally Forth.
Photo by Marty Loken

Kirk Gresham keeps pace with Bob in his new-to-him Flika.
Photo by Marty Loken.

Jamie Orr also picked up a new (old) boat this year. It's a fine little schooner he's named Orkney Lass, after his home territory. More about this vessel in the near future...
Jamie is the organizer for this gathering and we rely on him and Paul Miller, on Friendship, for local knowledge.
 Doryman photo

 Lynn Watson at home in Katie Mae.
 Doryman photo.

Kirk and Paul came from Nanimo, Vancouver Island, BC in this no-nonsense Davidson 17. Kirk has sailed all over the Gulf Islands in this capable racing dinghy.
Doryman photo.

 Martin trying out his new balanced-lug sail-rig on his Chameleon, a nesting dinghy designed by Danny Greene.
The design originally had a sprit-rig, but Martin reports the balanced lug works just as well.

 Doryman photo

Chuck is in no hurry to get back to his boat, just admiring the scenery.
Who built that little pram for you Chuck?  ;-)

 Doryman photo

Belle Starr proved the thoroughbred she has always been, shaking off her injuries as though they'd never happened. We have been back for just a few days, yet we're already looking forward to our next trip into Canadian waters.

More photos can be found on Doryman's Flickr site.

Gone Sailing

Splash

By now, you may be tired of looking at the starboard view of Belle Starr. I promise, this is the end of the recovery saga, it's time to party!

Here she is, back in her element. Ship-shape and bristol. The observant will note the anchor chain. Whatever evil lurks below, waiting to chafe innocent anchor rodes, will find this one harder to chew.

A far cry from this.
Thanks to all who stepped up to help bring her back.
Brings tears to my eyes.

Paul Miller
Philip Morley
Martin Schneider
Lynn Watson
Claire Acord
John Acord
Heather Hicks
Marty Loken
Doug Follett
Steve Follett
Scott Marckx
Allan Woodbury

And all of you, my friends all over the world, who offered moral support in a time of need. Thank you.

Doryman's Boatyard

As you might guess, the restoration of Belle Starr is at the top of the list. Working outside definitely has it's drawbacks and I've known all along that when spring weather approached, there would be a frenzy of activity. Nothing new there - to a sailor, the weather dictates everything.

Belle Starr is a happy boat. She's very near being ready to launch. All that remains are the fiddly bits, the structural work is complete. In fact, I have a friendly wager with a fellow sailor about who will launch first. Sometime late this month is my best guess. Despite being very anxious about splashing her, I want Belle Starr to be better than before her accident. This view of the starboard side was a ragged hole not too long ago.

The starboard side from the interior. Those pesky, leaky deadlights have been re-bedded at last!

There are some upgrades this time around. New winches grace the deck to assist in keeping the halyards tight. I'd like to have winches for the new genny too, but that will have to wait. The interior is handsomely reworked. With the boat completely empty, refinishing everything was imperative. It's very rewarding to sew up loose ends. For instance, there will be no more hauling and stowing plastic jugs of water. A rudimentary water system featuring a bladder tank and hand pump now simplifies that task.

An unexpected bonus to this tragedy was revealed while repairing the rudder, which was snapped off at the waterline.

The two sets of gudgeons and pintles that were underwater were corroded to the point that they could have failed at any time. I'm not a welder (at times like this, I wish I was...) so having new hardware fabricated has suddenly become one of the most costly elements of this repair. It will be good to know that the rudder is once again firmly attached to the boat. Losing steerage is a sailor's nightmare.

Meanwhile, look at what followed me back to the shop... an Old Town canoe. I've had my eye on this beauty for a decade. I haven't had a chance to look up the serial numbers yet, but she's probably in the neighborhood of seventy years old.

My friend Rick Johnson finally took pity on me and we loaded her down from the rafters of his shop. She now graces the rafters of mine. It could be a while before she gets the attention she deserves, but when she does, you'll be the first to know.

Doryman's Boatyard

The end of January brought temperate weather to the Salish Sea, enough to tempt a groundhog out early. Which means activity in the Doryman boatyard. Some of you who have been around for a while may remember the Doryman Melonseed. Aria has been in the wings waiting for a sail rig. The plans call for a sprit rig but since I'm the designer, an easy administrative decision was made to substitute a balanced lug sail.
Why not simply make the sprit sail I sewed last winter into a lug sail? I think it will work. But not as easy as one might imagine.

Redesign in the works, on rainy days. Stay tuned.

Dryer days mean repairs on the Sam Crocker Stone Horse, Belle Starr. I met an interesting boatbuilder a few weeks back - a fellow older than me with a more traditional training - who insisted a Stone Horse has no chine. I said it's a Stone Horse redrawn from Sam's plans to accommodate plywood construction. He insisted the chine made it some other boat. Very interesting proposition.........

Belle Starr as she looked last September. A Hulk.
Sailing season over early. Not much chine left.

Demolition left very little of the starboard side. Paul looks despondent but he's really enjoying himself.

  

About a month later the "A" team closed up that gap and once again, a chine emerged.

Plywood construction methods show quick progress toward healing wounds, physical and psychological.

A couple very wet months suspended that initial push but just recently the clouds miraculously parted. The freshly faired Belle Starr emerges whole again. Gotta love that beautiful chine. I think Sam would approve.



These shots are from two days ago, after some intense sanding and fairing.

She's not finished by a long shot.
 But it's a great relief to have gotten this far.

I believe this is one of Sam Crocker's drawings, but I'm not sure which boat. Looks suspiciously familiar though, doesn't it?