Early Launch, But Little Sailing

By May 21 of 2016 Serenity was launched and at the dock. This was the earliest in the year it was on the water, with intentions of getting the most sailing in ever. There was just one major project to get out of the way first - building my new shed/garage/workshop. (See http://jph4.blogspot.ca/ for details on that.)

May 22 - Sails on and ready to use.

One of the reasons for the early launch was to get the boat out of the way of the construction. It spent the winter right in front of the shed's location. Easy access was required for the building materials, so minimal prelaunch work was done, and off to the dock Serenity went.

My initial intention was to plan to go sailing every weekend, knowing that weather and other distractions would put a damper on a few of them. What I hadn't counted on was that the construction project would use up almost every spare minute right into the autumn.

Also, there were visits from family in both July and August. While both groups got out for a few hours aboard Serenity, they took me away from the shed work.

Mom, niece and sister at Siviers Island on July 10.

There was one warm afternoon in early June, with the wind blowing about 15 knots, that called me out to play. It was my only solo sail of the season. Getting in and out of the berth alone is usually the most difficult part.

Other than those outings, I participated in the 2016 Captain Peter Watkins Harbour Cup Race in August. Once  again I came in last place. I do have the excuse of not even having my sails up when it started. Winds were light, and boats finished in about the same order they crossed the line.

Drifting to last place in the Harbour Cup race in August.

There is a night boat parade along the harbour front as part of the Mussel Bed Soiree. This was my second year using Serenity to organize the boats. This time I had 3 guests aboard. It was a nice evening on the water.

Nearing the end of October it was time to haul the boat out for the season. I always wait until the last minute, just in case I can get one last sail in, but it rarely happens after September.

October 23, 2016 about to be hauled out.

And that was the sailing highlights for 2016.

November 4, just about ready to go home.

Thinking Bigger

The PY23 is a well designed boat, nice to look at, easy to maintain, and fun to sail. The problem is, at only 22' 7", it is small. Storage is a challenge, and most adults can forget standing up in the cabin. Spending a weekend aboard is about all a cruising couple can endure. At least that is the case for us. My wife will only go out for a couple days, every couple of years, and with much arm twisting.

LYC mooring at Western Harbour, Sivier's Island in July 2016

Before agreeing to spend more time boating, she has some demands like standing headroom all the way forward, a fully private head, running water, a refrigerator, and a stove with oven. None of these are going to be found aboard a boat that is comfortably within my budget. This means, if I want her to go cruising with me, that I must find something that makes her happy, and my bank account unhappy.

The smallest boats that come close to ticking all the boxes are in the 26-28 foot range. Some of them are quite comfortable, and have a lot to offer. The prices are not too scary either at under $15,000 CAD. Unfortunately, I live on a large island with a small population, so there is not a lot to choose from at any given time. You have to keep watching the ads until something pops up.

The first boat that caught my eye was a 27' 1980 Aloha 8.2. This was a familiar type vessel, since we had both sailed aboard a sister ship with friends back in the late 1990s. It feels roomy for the size, is well constructed, and a capable racer/cruiser. It was a 2 hour drive to go look at, but something to do on a Sunday.

1980 Aloha 8.2

The exterior of the boat looked pretty good. The deck seemed solid, the stanchions solid, and only a couple of hairline cracks in the gelcoat. The engine is a recently rebuilt diesel saildrive. Most of the boat just required cosmetic repairs to things like the upholstery and dodger. The boat has a gimbaled Orico 2 burner stove with oven that we liked, but the icebox was cut out to install it, and the work was a bit rough. I'd want to rebuild the entire galley. This vessel was not totally taken off the list of possibles, but it was near the bottom.

The next boat we looked at was an Edel 820. This is a fairly rare French design built briefly in Canada. This vessel had only one owner since new, and wouldn't have been a big financial stretch since he offered to take Serenity as part of the payment. It also met most of the requirements, this time with a 3 burner propane stove with oven.

1980 Edel 820 (Owner Photo)

The list of things to do on this boat, however, would have been huge. I could not see even getting it on the water the first season. The aft cabin was an interesting idea, but in a boat of this size, it just made everything smaller. The biggest issue for me was the protrusion of the cockpit into the head. When seated, you had to lean forward, and in rough weather, you'd have to wear a helmet. All in all, I think I'd have to put more time and money into the boat than it was worth.

Lack of sitting headroom in the head.

The third sailboat was another familiar vessel that we had spent a lot of time aboard with a previous owner. I learned how to sail aboard a Bayfield 36, but always preferred the 32C. This particular one had been fairly well maintained and upgraded. It could be the sailboat that took us into retirement, and beyond. It is also registered for international travel.

1987 Bayfield 32C (the Edel 820 is in the background)

There are a few minor issues, since no 30 year old boat can be perfect, but nothing to hinder sailing. It doesn't have an oven, but since this was a factory option, it doesn't look too difficult to install one. The problem with this boat is the price. Asking $35,000 puts it more than $20,000 higher than any others we looked at. Being 30' long, we'd have to move to a more expensive dock. Without a trailer, we'd have to pay for the Travel Lift twice a year. A crane would have to be hired any time the mast had to be raised or lowered. Any repairs would be proportionally pricier than Serenity. We might be able to buy it, but not afford to use it. It was too risky.

Me at the helm of Paws II c. 1998.

I did put in a low offer, but even that amount of money, with the other fees and charges, plus the cooker upgrade, made me relieved it wasn't accepted.

What we determined from a couple months of looking at the boat market was that a boat we can both agree on is around 30' (9m) long, and anything that doesn't require a lot of work is likely out of our price range. This means that Serenity will be around until either used boat prices drop lower, or our financial position improves. I'm ok with that. I don't mind sailing alone, and Serenity still has some projects I want to finish.

To Furl or Not to Furl

There is no roller furling headsail on Serenity. I have seen so many problems and failures with various systems, that I don't trust them. When everything is working, they sure are convenient, but when they fail, it is usually at the worst possible time, like in a storm, or sailing solo.

Some examples:

• Two or three years ago we had a cruising couple from another country detour into our marina, and spend two weeks waiting for parts and repair, after their furling system was damaged in a storm. That was a scary situation for them when it happened, plus a big chunk out of their limited boating schedule used up for the season.
• A very experienced and cautious sailor I know, almost 80 years old at the time, had to fight to manually wrap the jib when his furling failed. He was lucky to have someone to hold the tiller, since he often sailed alone.
• A buddy of mine bought his first sailboat last summer. He couldn't use his jib for a few weeks while we tried various solutions to get his furling working. We finally determined it was missing a part from the previous owner that we couldn't buy locally or find online. It had to be made up, and the halyard run differently.

I could go on.

Helping attach the repaired furling on the French boat.

Another problem with a roller furled sail is the shape.  As the area is reduced, the sail shape becomes less and less ideal. On the other hand, you are probably reefing because it is getting windy, and a perfect sail is less and less important. Unless you really need an extra 1/4 knot for safety reasons, an ugly sail is not the end of the world.

As I stated above, Serenity has no roller furling. That means I have to carry a selection of sails. My main working jib has a reef point, so it can stay hanked on for a broad range of conditions. I also have a smaller and heftier storm jib, should I not be able to make a safe harbour in time. For light wind conditions, there is a fairly large genoa. These two sails were gifts. The boat came with a jib that does not really fit the boat, and I only keep it as a spare. This means 3 bulky sails taking up a lot of space on <23' boat. Furling would certainly cut down on the clutter.

Serenity's sail deck bag with working jib always ready to go.

So, what if I did want to put a furler on Serenity? My main issue, as primarily just a weekend cruiser, is not the bad sail shape, but the chance of failure. Almost every case where someone has had a problem with their furling, it has been to do with the jib halyard in one way or another. There is a Canadian company making a furling system with the halyard integral to the foil. This pretty much eliminates the wrapping and jamming a normal halyard setup can create.

The Simplicity headsail furling system. See item #4.

There are two boats I know of at the Lewisporte marina with this system, and the owners have had no problems with them. Should the time come when I need to replace the working jib, or sail storage becomes too much of an issue, it is possible that Serenity could end up with this solution, or one similar. In the meantime, I'll keep hanking them on, and feeling safer doing so.

End of Season 2015

The weather has been generally colder this year than I can remember experiencing before. That certainly applies to this autumn. Previous years I've had the boat still in the water until November. This season I wanted to get it out as soon as possible, so I wouldn't have to worry about winterizing when it was too chilly. Work started on October 6, when the sails were put away and other preparations made.

October 6, 2015

The dinghy was secured on deck, and a few items carried ashore. Sailing time was over.

October 6, 2015

It would be the next week before the boat was hauled out. This was the easiest and fastest time yet. With the tongue extension, trailer guides, and roller extension in place, Serenity slipped much more easily onto the trailer. Then the hull was pressure washed as the sun set, but it had to stay at the marina for another while until some work was completed at home.

October 14, 2015

It was nearing the end of October before I had an opportunity to start rigging the system for lowering the mast. It was too windy, however, to drop it by myself then.

October 25, 2015

The Rust Bullet corrosion-control product I had applied before launching stood up better than the POR-15, but not as well as I had expected. There were a few places where rust formed on the iron keel, despite the 5 coats plus antifouling. Most of the staining looks to be flowing down from the join, so I'll have to see if there is more I can do there.

After work, on the first of November, the weather was fine enough to lower the mast, and bring the boat back home, although, it was getting dark.

November 1, 2015 - Mast down

November 1, 2015 - Serenity home

All that remained was waiting for a warm, windless couple of hours to put the tarps and netting on. That didn't happen until November 10.

Serenity is now ready for the winter. In the spring, I want to remove the excess layers of antifouling paint from the hull, and apply some fresh stuff. That job shouldn't be too time consuming, so I'm once more expecting to launch before the end of May. We'll see what happens in 2016, the start of the second decade with this little sailboat.

2015 NDB Good Old Boat Regatta

The Cruising Club of Notre Dame Bay (CCNDB), in association with Good Old Boat magazine, held a regatta on the weekend of August 14-16, 2015. The original plan was to sail from the Lewisporte marina to a waterside restaurant in Hillgrade over Friday and Saturday. That route was modified after I suggested some alternatives during the final planning meeting. My suggestion was to spread the trip over Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday to make it more manageable for the smaller and slower boats, and also for people who had to work on Friday.

A possible itinerary.

The itinerary became Lewisporte to Western Harbour, South Samson Island on Friday, where all boats should be able to make it in before dark. As early as possible on Saturday morning, the flotilla would continue on to Hillgrade, with an ETA of between 1300 and 1400. There everyone would gather for a meal at the restaurant. After that there were several options, but the general plan was to start heading back, with an overnight in Moreton's Harbour. On Sunday the fleet could meet up in Western Harbour, Sivier Island, before completing the final leg to Lewisporte.

Serenity, Berdel, Timeless, Windrifter, PersuadeHer, Second Chance, & Dreamweaver.

Showa & Summertime.

As is usually the case with these things, it was difficult to get confirmation on who would be attending, and exactly what the finer details of the event would be. On Friday evening the boats in attendance on the LYC moorings were: Serenity (Paceship PY23), Berdel (Glen-L 30), Timeless (Moody 376), Windrifter (Mirage 27), PersuadeHer (Hunter 31), Second Chance (Bayliner 3788), Dreamweaver (Classic 40), Summertime (Bayfield 25), and Showa (Camper Nicholson 31). Each mooring group did their own socializing, but there was some dinghy shuttling between them.

Windrifter, Timeless, Berdel & Serenity.

On Saturday morning, a check of the weather forecasts had everyone reevaluating. There were to be stronger winds than had been previously indicated, with the possibility of showers, which would make the voyage somewhat uncomfortable, especially for the less hardy boaters. There was no hard rule that the flotilla must stay together, so while most decided to stay put, Summertime, Showa, and Timeless decided to carry on, and would meet up with Longwinded (Bayfield 36) underway. They had spent the night at Exploits Islands.

Summertime heading off.

Showa getting underway.

Timeless was the largest boat in our mooring group, and had been one of the first to arrive at South Samson. This meant that they were the vessel we were all rafted off of. Before they could be let go, all the rest of us had to hook up to the mooring, and ready lines to reattach to each other. I used my dinghy to feed the lines through the mooring eye, and and generally supervise the procedure. This meant, however, that I didn't get any pictures of Timeless leaving. Not long after hitting open water, Jim, aboard Summertime, reported back over the radio, that even well reefed down he was able to maintain hull speed. Their passage would be fast, but rough.

Blaine working on making Timeless ready.

This left six boats on the moorings. We had considered making the approximately hour long sail over to Exploits Islands, but eventually decided against it. Even though it was very protected from the winds in the harbour, it was still choppy most of the day. During the calmer periods people would row or motor around a bit in their dinghies. I had to go ashore several times a day with the dog, so I was getting lots of exercise.

From 9 boats to 6.

Windrifter owners Mike and Arlene.

Berdel owners Bert and Delcie.

Lucy the Sailor Dog.

One of the bad things about Western Harbour, South Samson is the lack of cell phone signal. It is weak and intermittent. Roxanne's phone was the most consistent, so she was our contact with the outside world. Via texting, we learned that Joanne and Steve Gill were going to sail out to join us aboard Shelby Lynn (Challenger 24). It was an unpleasant trip for them, but they arrived safely around lunchtime. Again, we had 4 boats on our mooring.

Relaxing after supper.

During one of my trips ashore with the dog, I gathered up some firewood so that we could have a beach bonfire in the evening. Members of our mooring group paddled over just before dark to get things going, and some people from the other mooring came shortly after sundown. Unfortunately, high tide happened at the same time, and made our seating area rather damp. After the fire, with wet feet, we rowed back to our boats, while enjoying the bioluminescence in the water from our paddles.

A fire on the "beach".

Shelby Lynn, Windrifter, Berdel, & Serenity.

The forecast for Sunday called for reasonable weather in the morning, but with winds increasing throughout the day, and the possibility of rain showers. With that in mind, 3 of the boats on our mooring decided to have an early breakfast and get moving. The others would follow later, as they were ready.

Berdel motoring back to Lewisporte.

Even though the weekend did not go exactly as planned, the event itself was a success. The first Good Old Boat Regatta in Notre Dame Bay brought together various types and sizes of boats to explore and enjoy our waters. We are looking forward to doing it again next summer.

Cruising with Troubadour

One of the things I like to do is take new sailors, and any unfamiliar with the Bay of Exploits, around to the various harbours, coves, and anchorages. This summer is the first for Tracey and Brad as sailors, and with their Nash 26, Troubadour.

For the weekend of August 8/9, we decided to do an overnight trip to Knight's Island. They would travel together aboard their boat, while I led the way solo aboard Serenity. With wind and tide generally in your favour, this is about a 2 hour run. On this day the wind was not of much help, and not being in a huge rush, it took us about 6.

Since I reached Western Harbour first, it was a great opportunity to practice picking up a mooring ball while alone on the boat. That went well in the calm conditions. Tracey and Brad soon joined me, and we went about making some supper. Somewhat tired after the time underway, we all turned in not too long after dark.

The next morning I awoke at about my usual time, and went about making myself some breakfast. Even after I was cleaned up and ready to get, there was still no sign of life on the neighbouring boat. Not wanting to disturb them, I disconnected the lines, and let go of the mooring. It was then that Brad poked his head up through the companionway to our shared plans and say goodbye. They would be another couple of hours. 

Clearing the harbour at about 0800, I was greeted by a grey and fog covered world. My boat has no radar or chartplotter, so I mostly rely on chart and compass for navigation. There is an old handheld GPSr, which I have had since 1998, that can hold a few waypoints and routes, but it needs to be setup again. I suppose I could also use the navigation software in my smart phone, if I needed to. Anyway, I always have a chart close at hand. For the first hour I also kept a close eye on all my safe compass headings.

Eventually, the fog lifted, and the world got a little brighter. It was a rather pleasant motorsail back to Lewisporte, and nice getting some use out of my sailboat. Along the way, a few short phone videos were combined into one covering the trip. You can find that here or on my YouTube channel.

A Sail with Shelby Lynn

July 2015 in Newfoundland was one of the coldest and wettest in decades, so there were few opportunities to do much outside all month. August 1, on the other hand, was much more like a normal summer's day, and seemed to herald a change in the weather for the better. Lost sailing time had to be made up!

Shelby Lynn with Steve and Mike.

There was not a lot of wind, so both Serenity and Shelby Lynn were motorsailed. Bert came along with me, while Mike accompanied Steve. Our initial plan was to visit Western Harbour of Knights Island, but with our progress being so slow, it was decided to divert back through Birchy Tickle and make our stopover Western Harbour of Sivier Island. The important thing was to not be too late returning to Lewisporte, since the women were in the clubhouse preparing supper.

Bert at the helm of Serenity.

On a mooring at Sivier Island we had a little break and a lunch.

Various methods of avoiding the camera.

I made another attempt to do some videos. This time there is some narration. Here is heading out...

And here is coming back...

Room for improvement.

A Sunday Sail

A little experiment. While out for a relaxing harbour sail, I decided to try shooting a video with my phone.

This could be the start of something...

Slot Cover Check

It was a cool and overcast Sunday afternoon, but the winds were light. That made it a great opportunity to check the modification to the mast slot gate. Other things on the boat could be done as well, like running the reefing lines.

Result? The change to the cover is a success. Raising and lowering the main sail is much smoother now. The slides still get stuck occasionally, but I'm very close to finally having this issue solved.

Once the cover has the excess metal trimmed away, and made a bit better looking, the slides catching should be eliminated. After that the attachment holes will be retapped, and two small stainless bolts will replace the brass screws.

It was an enjoyable and successful couple of hours on the water.

Keel Rust Repair - Take 2

Serenity has an iron keel which can rust, and must be protected from the air and salt water. Back in 2007 I coated the keel in POR-15. Perhaps my preparation was flawed, or not enough coats were applied, but after a couple of years rust started to bubble through the antifouling.

I'd just pressure wash off what I could, and cover it up with antifouling paint to get another season. After a while the amount of iron being lost became a concern, and it was time to tackle the job from scratch again.

Doing some "research", I came across a different product called Rust Bullet. It wasn't in stock at the local marine store, so a week of waiting was required for it to be shipped in. In the meantime I did some other odd jobs on my boat, and helped out on boats at the marina. It was also a good time to get a head start on grinding the keel.

Not wanting to have to repeat this job any time soon, I took the grinder to the iron ballast three times in total. There was as much exposed metal as I could uncover, and it was looking a good deal smoother. Then I scraped a wire brush over everything, and wiped it with a dry shop cloth. From there three coats of Rust Bullet were applied, after waiting at least four hours between them.

There were a few bumps in the surface from blown dust, dead flies, or whatever, so I decided to do a sanding before the final coat. The instructions recommended letting the product setup for 72 hours before doing any smoothing, so it sat like that for three days.

When sanding time came, I'd been late getting home from work and we were having occasional showers. During a break between the precipitation, some supplies were found, and I crawled back under the boat where it was still dry.

The first job was to knock down the high spots with a scraper. Then, from my limited inventory, a course belt from a sander was used. To finish it off, a mesh sanding strip was placed in a block and everything given a good going over. It was looking pretty nice at this point, and ready for more paint, but daylight was fading.

At my next opportunity, two more coats were applied, for a total of five. Once dried a few hours, the boat was towed down to the marina. While waiting a day for the final coat of Rust Bullet to dry, the mast was stepped, engine and rudder attached, and various other little jobs completed.

The next day, while on lunch break from work, I bent on the sails, and generally got the boat ready to launch. That evening, the scant amount of green antifouling remaining in the old can was used up patching the upper edge, while the new blue antifouling paint went over the freshly sealed iron keel. No one would see the clashing colours once it was in the water, and the green will all be scraped off when the boat comes out.

Launching the next day didn't go smoothly, as per norm. The nut fell off the jack wheel somewhere along the way, and the bolt slipped out on the ramp, essentially acting like a flat tire. Someone had a small hose clamp we used to hold it in place to finish launching. After checking the boat for leaks, and making sure the motor was working properly, we moved over to the dock.

Next up, tuning the rigging, and making the boat ready for sailing and living aboard.