08-24-2008, 04:37 PM
Here's my sailing story. It's not interesting, I am just so glad to be a person with a boat after a year and a half of being a person with an upside-down boat needing keel repairs and paint, or a boat with no rig getting crushed under a collapsed tent and three thousand pounds of snow. My dad came to visit, and Yellowknife being so far away he had never visited, and has never seen my boat for one reason or another. The boat was upside down as usual, waiting for someone to care enough about it to paint it, and Dad said "let's get this boat finished, I'm tired of hearing you complain about it. So, for several days during his visit, we sanded like fiends and ended up painting the boat. He had to leave during the five days it takes for the interlux paint to reach maximum hardness, which makes me feel sad, but at least this awful chore was finished! This paint is worth the money!! It's so shiny you can only see it because of the reflections! Ryerson and Annie and Greg and Keenan helped me flip her over and it was a simple matter to give everything a coat of varnish and rig it up. Now I have been sailing for a couple of weeks, and spending every available hour getting acquainted with my boat again. I was bound and bent on going boat-camping this year so I loaded up gear and a reluctant wife and headed out, even though the wind was gusting to 25 knots. Staying close to shore helped smooth things out. I broad-reached all the way to the islands Greg and I like to camp in. There where pretty big waves and the sailing was challenging. Ryerson pointed out later that I could have run down to horseshoe bay much more comfortably and probably just as fast under just the jib without all the gybing and reaching(I was scared to run with the main because of the possibility of accidental gybe in the big waves. Anyway, by the time we reached the little bay Jacqueline was a little less freaked out, although I could tell she was hating the boat. We had a pleasant enough camping experience. It is neat to whip out the coleman stove from its little locker on the boat and have dinner ready in half an hour after sailing all day. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. The new mattress that I made for the boat was very comfortable, and the only impediment to a good night's sleep was me snoring, (apparently) which stopped as soon as I rolled over. I am starting to really enjoy sleeping in the boat. All the "glooping" and splashing sounds she makes at anchor used to piss me off but now I kind of like it. The new teflon bearing block in the steering shaft has eliminated the "squeak,squeak" sounds it used to make at anchor. The next morning had pretty much the same wind, and I explained to Jacqueline that the boat's motion would be much more predictable on the trip back, because being close-hauled, she would be more steady and wouldn't "surf" down the waves the way she did the day before. This was met with some skepticism but we headed out anyway. This time the first mate's nerves remained steady and we were able to maintain one tack all the way home. Even though the waves were still high, the boat remained steady enough that she later said she could see in "retrospect" that she was perfectly safe in the boat the day before, and really shouldn't have been so nervous. This was nice to hear because I do not wish to have to camp alone next time.
The next day the winds were even higher, and the waves were rolling in from the southeast, where they have a good hundred miles to pick up steam before coming into our bay. I loaded up my friend Josh and we headed out to see what she could do. Josh is a competetive swimmer and a steady hand during our day job as seaplane pilots so I knew he would enjoy the action. He is also a big galoot and outweighs Jacqueline by a good hundred pounds. Out we went, and I am pleased to report that the boat handled just the way she should. Foolishly, I can't reef with the sails I have, but it didn't matter. She doesn't bury the bow in a trough, she's so light she just bounces back up onto the next wave. If she is allowed to heel properly she doesn't even slap the waves. Tacking was no problem and she was running so fast that gybing wasn't even all that aggressive as long as I timed it with the swells helping us along. All in all I felt perfectly comfortable in these exciting conditions. The hardest part I find is proper headsail trim because Josh wasn't trained to do this and I need both hands in those conditions. This boat really picks up speed noticeably with the jib helping properly. If Jacqueline is willing to try learning to sail I will remove the clubfoot and rig the jib properly to take advantage of this.
Today I bought some oars and oarlocks so I can still tool around the harbour. I will fashion a removeable seat that sits athwartships so I can sit facing aft just behind the door and a lift to hold the boom up so I can sit under there. I think she will row nicely and look nice, too. This harbour has too many canoes and no rowboats. The oars I will store in slings on the underside of the side decks in the cabin, which is space no-one uses anyway.
This boat is a very pleasant and well- mannered little boat. I suspect mine might be a little pokey, but I can rest comfortably on it, and I can get places in it, and my friends all seem to be lining up to go for rides in it, so speed doesn't matter much to me. It sails faster than I swim. Ryerson says his boat is faster, but we'll see. When he gets her all loaded down with a bed and camping gear, we'll see who waits for who.
The next day the winds were even higher, and the waves were rolling in from the southeast, where they have a good hundred miles to pick up steam before coming into our bay. I loaded up my friend Josh and we headed out to see what she could do. Josh is a competetive swimmer and a steady hand during our day job as seaplane pilots so I knew he would enjoy the action. He is also a big galoot and outweighs Jacqueline by a good hundred pounds. Out we went, and I am pleased to report that the boat handled just the way she should. Foolishly, I can't reef with the sails I have, but it didn't matter. She doesn't bury the bow in a trough, she's so light she just bounces back up onto the next wave. If she is allowed to heel properly she doesn't even slap the waves. Tacking was no problem and she was running so fast that gybing wasn't even all that aggressive as long as I timed it with the swells helping us along. All in all I felt perfectly comfortable in these exciting conditions. The hardest part I find is proper headsail trim because Josh wasn't trained to do this and I need both hands in those conditions. This boat really picks up speed noticeably with the jib helping properly. If Jacqueline is willing to try learning to sail I will remove the clubfoot and rig the jib properly to take advantage of this.
Today I bought some oars and oarlocks so I can still tool around the harbour. I will fashion a removeable seat that sits athwartships so I can sit facing aft just behind the door and a lift to hold the boom up so I can sit under there. I think she will row nicely and look nice, too. This harbour has too many canoes and no rowboats. The oars I will store in slings on the underside of the side decks in the cabin, which is space no-one uses anyway.
This boat is a very pleasant and well- mannered little boat. I suspect mine might be a little pokey, but I can rest comfortably on it, and I can get places in it, and my friends all seem to be lining up to go for rides in it, so speed doesn't matter much to me. It sails faster than I swim. Ryerson says his boat is faster, but we'll see. When he gets her all loaded down with a bed and camping gear, we'll see who waits for who.