Hot Moon Cruise
June 17, 2008
Some of my fondest memories of sailing the west coast were as crew on board a Spencer 51 owned by brothers Ian and Colin Morse.
We did a lot of night sailing and those cruises under the full moon in the Straight of Georgia will be etched in my mind for a long time. They were magic, and I learned a lot on those trips. Inviting me along was a gift I’ll never forget, and for which I’ll always be thankful to ‘the boys’.
There’s nothing quite like sailing under a full moon, especially when the wake is streamed with bioluminescence. About the only thing that comes close, for me, is seeing the Northern Lights.
With the full moon on Wednesday this week, I’m hoping the clouds clear so we can take Madsu out for a night cruise.
According to the Farmers’ Almanac, this month’s FM is known as Full Strawberry Moon, Rose Moon, or Hot Moon.
Full moons fall mid month throughout the summer and fall and we’re planning night sails for as many as we can get.
Friday the 13th Sail
June 14, 2008
Managed to get through another Friday the 13th without incident. To celebrate, we ordered some pizza and headed down to the boat for an evening sail.
It was a beautiful evening, and we zipped over to Bowen Island and back in no time at all. EB was on the helm and managed to top 6 knots smg at one point.
We managed to see all three ferries - Bowen, Langdale and Nanaimo - and even though I’ve been sailing out here for years I still like the sight of a ferry steaming by like we’re standing still. It sparks memories of every single ferry ride across the Straight when I was on the inside, looking longingly out at boats under sail, wishing I was there, too.
We met more of our moorage neighbours when we returned to Sewell’s, including the folks right next to us who were heading out for the weekend.
Howe Sound Perfection
June 7, 2008
I’m really liking having Madsu moored at Sewell’s in Horseshoe Bay. The downside is that the slip is tight and there’s ferry wash, but its not really a big deal. An extra spring line seems to be handling the turbulent wash all right, and a tight slip is just good practice.
The great thing is that the docks are buzzing with activity. Sewell’s is famous for its power boat rentals, but they also run Sea Safari Zodiak eco tours and I love seeing the participants waddling down the dock in their red cruiser suits ready for a zoom around the Sound. The dock staff are young and friendly (and cute) and there’s a constant stream of tourists checking out the boats.
I had 2 different couples, also with boats on the finger I’m on, come over and introduce themselves in the short time I spent getting Madsu set for a sail. There’s a scuba boat just up the dock that picks up and drops off on a regular basis. Sewell’s also have a boat launch which is surprisingly busy, both with launches and recoveries, but also is used for small barges hauling all sorts of things.
As much as I love the hubbub dockside, the trip out under power is super short - just a few minutes and I’m under sail is marvelous Howe Sound.
I had a spirited sail over to Bowen - Madsu’s never been so speedy thanks to new sails from North Sails. I popped a reef in part way across and still managed to hit 7 knots in the puffs. It was a classic inflow and with very little chop, it was an awesome sail over. After the outbound Bowen Ferry left Snug Cove, I tacked over and played in the puffs for a few hours.
And those new Andersen self-tailers I installed ? Worth Every Penny.
Casino Sailing
May 26, 2008
We finally put Madsu in the water yesterday and sailed from West Vancouver’s Fisherman’s Cove over to the North Arm of the Fraser, and then up river to Skyline Marina.
We had about 20 minutes to kill while we waiting for the Midarm swing bridge to be available for a swing so we stopped by the River Rock Casino to check things out.
You gotta love having a casino within a short sail away…
Looking forward to exploring the river and making friends with all the working boats.
Sphere: Related ContentMasthead Good to Go
May 1, 2008
Another crappy weather day, so no painting today, but I did work inside on bits and pieces of Madsu’s gear.
The masthead is done and ready to go. Yesterday I discovered that the new sheaves I got to replace the old wire sheaves didn’t actually fit.
I spent a bit of quality time with my Makita sander and the aluminum plate that acts as a spacer between the port and starboard pair of sheaves.
In the photo you can see the aft pair of sheaves - and the arrow points to the spacer that runs fore and aft and keeps the starboard side sheaves apart from the port side.
I didn’t want to sand too much since the sheaves just run free - there’s no bearings - the plastic sheave just runs on the pin - so I don’t want too much play in there.
The fit is perfect now - amazing what a little sandpaper on aluminum can do
With a new spin crane, a ridiculously expensive block for the spinnaker halyard, new anchor light post, Windex, and new sheaves for the all line halyards, Madsu’s sad little masthead has been transformed.
To keep me inspired while I’m working on this stuff, I’m reading There By No Dragons: How to Cross a Big Ocean in a Small Sailboat by Reese Palley.
(if you’re wondering what the hell that thing is sticking out of the TOP of the windvane, it’s the new ‘bird spike’ meant to keep freeloaders of the avian variety off the vane).
I should say that we sailed all last summer without the benefit of a masthead Windex. Instead we used Newport shroud telltales which were great, and we’ll keep them on board again this year.
Sphere: Related ContentMadsu Masthead
April 28, 2008
A lot of rain kept me from getting top coat on Madsu’s spars today. So I turned my attention to the masthead, where I’m adding an anchor light and a windvane.
Since I was installing a post for the light, which means tapping 2 holes in the mast head, I figured there must be a way to use the same machine screws to attach a bracket of some sort on which I’ll mount the shaft of the windvane. I had ordered a ’special’ bracket from Catalina Direct that uses the upper shroud tang, but like a few things I’ve ordered, it doesn’t actually fit the hardware on my mast. When a boat’s 30 years old, who knows what kind of mods have been one to the rig, so it’s not a huge surprise, but a little disappointing since I can’t return it ;-(
After cutting a short length of aluminum plate, I bent it into a bracket using a vice and a ballpeen hammer - low tech but it worked out ok. It’s too long but I’ll cut and soften up the edges now that I know it’s all going to fit together.
I’ll drop in 4 new sheaves for the main and jib halyards as soon as I shave down the spacing plate (the new sheaves from Catalina Direct are a bit too wide - easy fix if I trim the spacer a bit), I’m switching to all-line from line/wire. And of course, the new spin crane looks very inviting !
Mast Conduit and Primed
April 26, 2008
One last thing to do before I can paint Madsu’s mast, and that’s installing conduit for wiring inside the mast.
Madsu had no steaming or anchor light, and last season I got by with a portable LED that I’d hoist when needed. It worked ok but wasn’t great. When I redid the electrical system last month I installed enough circuits to incude a steaming light and masthead anchor light.
I debated whether it was worth the trouble of running conduit up the mast - but figure if I don’t I’ll be regretting it the first night an anchor as the wires clang away inside the mast.
I opted for 3/4 inch PVC conduit that will have more than enough room for the 3 wires I need to run - plus room for VHF coaxial should I decide to add a masthead antennae later. I got a laugh when I saw the label on the conduit - C22 for a C22. Nice.
Of course the conduit has to be secured, or it will bang around. This is easier said than done.
The conduit is riveted in place using a technique I read about online somewhere. Starting at the base of the mast I was able to hold the conduit in place while I drilled a hole in the mast and the conduit and popped in a rivet.
From there it’s a matter of drilling a hole 6 inches or so along, using a small Allen key to hook the conduit through the hole (in order to hold it in place), then drill another hole a further six inches along and pop a rivet in. After I was done, I filled all the extra holes and was ready to etch, condition and prime.
The mast got it’s first layer of base coat this afternoon - the boom got it’s 3rd and final coat of base. I should be able to get a couple more coats of base on the mast tomorrow, then on to the topcoat in a couple of days, assuming the weather holds.
