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 … Continue reading Casino Sailing
I’m putting the hardware back on Madsu’s spars after stripping and painting them. I’m super impressed with the results. The mast and boom are now a crisp and clean white – Here’s a shot of the wiring just above the spreaders where it exits for the steaming light. The new conduit works like a charm. … Continue reading Turn That Thing Down
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 … Continue reading Masthead Good to Go
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 … Continue reading Mast Conduit and Primed
I sanded Madsu’s boom down to bare metal yesterday as I get ready to paint it. After removing all the hardware I sited all the new/changed hardware and drilled and tapped the holes. I’ll use stainless machine screws instead of the self-tapping screws the previous owner loved. I’ve filled all the old holes with Star … Continue reading Naked Boom Gets Primed
I’ve finally finished tweaking Madsu’s boom for the new internal outhaul system I mentioned a few days ago. In order to make sure the outhaul doesn’t bind when pulling on the main, I figure I have to get the exit block at the end of the boom up as high as possible – which actually … Continue reading Outhaul Exit Tweak
Things have been quiet around here the last ten days. I’ve been off the grid with Madsu cruising the Gulf Islands. More once I go through some of the pics. Here’s Madsu in the Secretary Islands our first night out.
Madsu’s like a completely new sailboat. Dave Miller at North Sails Vancouver loft set me up with a perfectly cut, new 150% foresail. I couldn’t believe the difference when I hoisted and trimmed. The boat took off, and is way better balanced now. 5+ knots in a light breeze, no problem today. Oh yeah, this … Continue reading North Sails transformation
My mom and dad are both in their eighties and grew up on the prairies. Even though they live in an area where there are lots of lakes and rivers, my family heritage is not water based. Definitely flat landers. Aside from a short and wet ride once on a Laser, my dad’s never been … Continue reading Old Dogs, New Tricks
On board Madsu on a sunny and windy Saturday afternoon in Howe Sound heading out to the Straight of Georgia. We’re beating to windward doing about 5 knots and heeled about 12 degrees. Britannia is outbound from Squamish to Vancouver. The foredeck was packed with young girls yelling hello. In the foreground, clamped to my … Continue reading Another Crappy Day in Paradise
We had a lovely evening sail on Madsu, our Catalina 22 on the 4th of July. We toasted all our US friends and relatives as we munched on pizza and sushi while on a lazy sail in light winds. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Matthew’s doing hand jokes for Garnet who’s in the cabin having a bit of a rest after hard work grinding in the foresail. EB’s looking pretty intent on keeping Madsu going on a nice flat reach about 5 minutes out of our slip at Thunderbird Marina.
Our new little boat has a new name. For my sister Madeleine and my friend and mentor Susan, who both loved sailing the west coast. I miss you both every day. You’ll be with us in spirit when we trim the sheets and crush the egg shells.