Zombi Boat

I managed another daysail without catastrophy.

2008-07-07T20:25:00.003-05:00

Crab Camp @ tiller - dead calm, New Bedford, MA

Ratman @ tiller - dead calm, still New Bedford, MA

Crab Camp called and said "sail?", so we did. We headded out to Dorchester bay despite forcasts of doldrums and fog. The weather turned out to be excellent.
I scavenged a fiddleblock mainsheet from the Vagabond that I hoped would take some of the twist out of the sail (and would be fun to play with). It really seamed to make a difference.

The Zombi playing with the new fiddleblock.

Crabbers was amused that the only knife I had to cut some zip ties was a machette. I managed to put a slice in my wrist too, He said it was the right way (allong, not across) so I wasn't just looking for attention, I must be serious.

Theere's dangerous rogues sailing these waters!

I tried to shoot a few pictures of Young Doctor Kilcrab, but I'm not smarter than the inanimate camera. I focussed the thing a bunch of times on what would have been great shots, but never tripped the damned shutter! This post will feature only me.

"Marina Bay" Yachtingly exclusive, but they didn't toss us out.

We made landfall at Marina Bay in Quincy and ran up the dock for a drink before heading back out into the wild blue.

Forecastle dancing (or "shrouded in mistery")
I was really happy to have gotten a chance to splash Gondwa Naland again. It's always better to sail with company and boats need water.

Tossed in today Gondwa still floats!

2008-06-07T13:33:00.005-05:00

I just tossed in to shake out winter cobwebs. I got bored pretty quickly and yanked out again. The weather was great and there were a couple of nice boats zipping into New Bedford harbor.

This was my view!

This cutter ketch came in under sail.

This catboat came out of the breakwater (into the wind) under sail moving along nicely, then swung around, dropped sail and motored back in on what would have been a broad reach or a run.

The fog cleared pretty much and it got REALLY warm. I really need a destination!

more progress - looks boatish!!

2008-06-03T15:20:00.002-05:00

lots of progress on Verboaten!

Crabcamp does sea trials in living room (needs fishing rod!)

Stem showing zip ties of "Stitch-and-glue" fame (glue to come later)

scarf joints visible on sides, zip ties along chine, zombi legs in background

Verboaten progress

2008-04-05T18:47:00.002-05:00

We did a bit of sanding and a bit of glueing. good progress. We sat and sucked beer and played baljo and guitar by the fire. Fire is good.

The Vagabond

2008-03-25T21:36:00.003-05:00

I didn't have any pictures of the Vagabond 17, so I'll post a few here. I hope to get this into the water this year (summer 2008)

View of the trailer I made out of an old camper just before I put the boat onto it

View of boat waiting to go onto trailer

Verboaten

2008-03-15T19:40:00.003-05:00

Progress to date of the new project sailing/rowing skiff Crab Camp and I have taken on.

Just posting pictures for now.

Crabber's Super Yang sails again!

2007-10-19T04:34:00.000-05:00

We suffered a ramp mishap one day after a pleasant day in Wikford. The Yang needed some help and I thought it sounded interesting, so I got the job.

We bent the mast ...

...and we ripped the chainplate out of the bow with a bit of decking and a cleat

I straightened the mast and reinforced the inside with aluminumm pipe.

I epoxied in a stainless steel plate and strap to support the chainplate, cleat and deck and a glassed plywood board to support the deck.

all epoxied back ready to splash (still needs a bit of paint, but it should work)I took Super Yang to Lake Nipetucket in Bridgewater, Ma for a first try at sailing after the crunch.

The mast stands pretty straight.

The main flys right

The jib up and all holding well. I think the repairs will do.

...but the lake won't. I kept running aground. The lake is generally shallow anyway and with the dry summer we've had I couldn't find enough water to enjoy the outting, so I swore a bit and yanked out as soon as I was comfortable with the strength of the rig.

Little Compton to Marthas Vinyard

2007-07-07T11:04:00.000-05:00

light house at Aquinah, Marthas Vinyard, MA

It's been a while since I took this trip, but since nothing went seriously wrong, I have been having trouble getting up ambition to write about it. Without major catastrophe I don't get too excited.
I left from Town Landing at Little Compton, RI, sailed out across RI Sound and the mouth of Buzzards Bay, through Cuttyhunk harbor and out to Aquinah. When I arrived I was tired, so I tossed out the anchor I made last year and crawled into the cabin to snooze. It took about 6 hours for the trip.

Gondwa Naland at anchor off Aquinah

The next morning I woke around 5 and paddled ashore in an inflatable kayak I brought along as a tender. I wandered up the beach looking for a bath house. I found it. It was closed. I went back to Gondwa and packed up.

sunrise off aquinah

I headed along the little cove I was in under jib alone until I was better sheltered from the gentle waves. I heated some soup, packed up and headed back out to Little Compton. About a half mile out the pleasant breeze that was moving me along at something like three knots died completely.

Gondwa Naland sailing herself in flat calm seas - wind speed ~ zero

I spent the whole day drifting with just enough wind to hold the sail to leeward with infrequent bits of breeze giving me a gentile shove. I got a pretty good sunburn and took a few pictures.

Just at the mouth of the harbor at Little Compton there is an island with a few cool bits of ruins from a building long since gone that give it the look of Easter Island or Stonehenge.
With a little luck (my kind of luck) my next trip will be a bit more adventurous!

Comments?

2007-05-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

I lost the "comments" option so I won't know if anybody's got anything to say!
Please post any comments to the last post (Gondwa off Little Compton) here.
Thanks! Z

Gondwa Naland off Sakonnet, Little Compton, RI

2007-05-15T19:40:00.000-05:00

THE PLAN

I arranged to meet Crab Camp for a sailing trip without pressing timetables. I wanted to set out prepared to overnight so that I wouldn't feel a need to hurry and turn back by any particular time to make it home. We would be free to head wherever the wind suggested we go.
What an appealing plan…

THE LAUNCH SITE

The town landing on Sakonnet Point in Little Compton, RI. is a small sandy beach with parking across the street for vehicles with trailers.
I like the free usage and 48 Hr parking. The reported 2' depth at MLW limits who can launch there, but it gets deeper pretty quickly (to about 5' MLW). There are lots of moorings in the small cove, but most of the boats were gone when I launched and I had no problem sailing through them out past the breakwater and into the mouth of the Sakonnet River.

There is an aquaculture obstruction completely blocking ingress and egress directly up river to the north which is where you would go if heading straight out of the harbor, but to exit the area into Rhode Island Sound between Buzzards Bay and Narragansett Bay requires a hard left to the west so the obstruction should present no problem ...

THE LAUNCH

Crab Camp phoned to say he would make a stop for food. We agreed to meet at the ramp.
I arrived and set up the mast in the parking lot across from the ramp to be ready to launch. We loaded out stuff onto the boat and I got ready to back to and down the ramp. Crabbers asked if I knew how tall the mast was.

There is a utility line along the road between the parking lot and the boat ramp.
We let the mast down and backed onto the ramp (beach), then set up the mast again and tossed in the boat without incident.

THE VOYAGE

The wind was good for us when we left - from the north and steady, pretty strong. I had to use the old tiller because the one I made last year broke since my last sail two weeks ago. I guess my workmanship leaves a bit to be desired.We zipped out on a reach across the mouth of the river west toward Newport. We went between Cormorant Rock and Sachuest point. It took less than an hour to get about four nautical miles. I thought we were making pretty good progress. I enjoyed the view of Newport.

The seas were a little wilder than I thought we should be seeing. I had followed The National Weather Service and NOAA's forecasts for a few days prior and had expected somewhere between one and four foot seas throughout the area for at least two days. Winds should have been 10 to 15 Kts with occasional gusts to 20. We estimated three and four foot seas with occasional larger rollers, consistent twenty plus knot winds with white caps the whole way. It was turning into a damper trip than I had hoped for and a more exciting one than Crab Camp had signed on for. At his suggestion (without objection from me) we decided to head back to our launch area before it got any rougher. We beat back into the wind as it came around a bit out of the east so that we were directly downwind of Sakonnet.
After a couple of hours we were able to get into the river in an effort to get a break from the swells. This worked out pretty well. We still had some strong winds and they had been getting more variable and gusty throughout our trip, but the waves had become pretty gentle in the shelter of the river.
Crabbers was settling in and beginning to enjoy the sailing (though chilly, due to being wet from splashing through whitecaps) when we heard a snap and the sails fell into the water to starboard with the mast and rigging. We were a little less than a mile from the eastern shore of the river (Little Compton side), but that was into the wind.
We weren’t drifting much but we were rolling a bit with the waves. We managed to fish the rig out to the water, remove the sails and stuff them into the cabin. Then we got the mast reasonably well lashed to the deck. I began paddling with Crab Camp on tiller. We got the boat heading toward the windward shore on a cross wind course and seamed to be making way slowly for a while, then it became apparent that we were fighting a delaying action at best - out drift was slow but we were heading over to the Newport (west) side.
I had a first look at the damage then. The port side stay had parted. I pulled the cable from the water and found the turnbuckle and wire intact. I looked at the gunwale and saw that the stainless steel swivel clip had snapped.

The part that remained formed a wide open "C" of the jaws but without the swivel. I thought that I could refit the mast if I kept tension on the stay so that the turnbuckle wouldn't slip out of the jaws. I sorted out the rigging and found the jib halyard. I cleated off one end of the halyard to the bow cleat and put the other end in my teeth preparing to lift the mast back onto its step.
This is about the time Crab Camp suggested we call for a lift. Probably a reasonable thought. I believe I have an underdeveloped sense of defeat. I started lifting the mast and trying to shove it back onto its step. Between the swearing through the halyard in my teeth and the rocking of the boat, Crabbers thought (quite rightly) that I could use a bit of a hand so he came up and helped steady the mast as we wiggled it into place and cleated my end of the jib halyard to hold the mast in place. I went out to the bow to fasten the fore stay and was about to snap the clip onto the turnbuckle when I heard a familiar yet unsettling snap. I put my hands over my head as I felt the forestay slack and waited for the mast to land. It wound up in the water to the starboard of the bow, a couple of feet from me.
Just after we fished the mast out of the water again while I was lashing the port stay together with a few wraps of 1/4" line in preparation for another attempt to restep the mast Crab Camp found the most impressive life jacket we had and put it on. I really think he would have gone for a helmet and probably some steel toed shoes too if he could have found them. Dr. Camp is not convinced that I row with both oars - metaphorically speaking.
The second try worked out better and we got the mast to stand. We ran up the mainsail and Crabbers took the helm while I ran up the jib for the close tack up the lee shore to the harbor for our haul out. The battens were hanging out of the mailsail because of our failed efforts to remove them for storage before we got the mast back up.We approached the harbor without further problems and were relaxing and congratulating ourselves on the tack that would carry us close-hauled straight into the harbor without tacking.

Just beyond the entrance to the harbor my vigilant companion noted mariculture markers across our course and pointed out that they indicate a net stretched across our path. It appeared that the net went nearly to the rocks ashore to our left (east) so we beared off hard to starboard and had to divert about a half mile out into the mouth of the river to clear the end marker. When we passed the marker, Crab Camp said that the mooring line was very shallow and across our coarse at a range of about two meters. Then we stopped. Then we backed up. Then we started forward again. We managed to clear the line after the bounce off our dagger board.
Then Crab Camp said that the mooring line was very shallow and across our coarse at a range of about two meters. Then we stopped. Crabbers asked if there was something he could do. Then we backed up. I suggested he could try to pull up the dagger board. Then we started forward again. Apparently the end markers are held in place with a three point anchoring system.
After bouncing off of two of the three mooring lines, we made it around the marker and tacked a couple of times back into the harbor. Just within the breakwater a dog greeted us from his cruising sailboat. We had seen him coming in as we were heading out what felt like a few seasons ago. We yanked dagger board and rudder and sailed right up to the beach. I tossed out an anchor and a beer to Crabbers who had stepped ashore, then opened one for myself and walked up the beach with him. He was still wearing the life jacket. I was glad that he hadn't found a helmet and boots.
The yank out was uneventful and I think I will toss in here again. I like the access and there were no crowds. The people we met appeared to know what they were doing and were pleasant and friendly.
After his ordeal, Crab Camp bought me an ice cream, so I guess I didn't scare him off too badly. I'll probably be remembered as his eccentric and reckless friend in his list of colorful characters.

More from Newport

2007-04-15T06:41:00.000-05:00

This was pretty good scenery sailing right by cliffs. I did manage to get the jib up a bit later. My wife (with camera in hand) met me at a pier down the beach a bit and we spent a pleasant couple of hours irritating the local kids' sailing club.

The ramp I used is at Fort Adams State Park. There is a good ramp, if a bit steep. It is listed on the chart as 3' water at mean low water, That looked to be about right. There is no dock and the wind can blow right to the nearby beach, so be ready to push off the pilings and sail away as soon as you're clear! There were no fees and very little ramp use that day with plenty of parking. It's still off-season. I don't know how this is on-season.

Newport, RI Finaly the weather is decent!

2007-04-15T06:27:00.000-05:00

Brenton Cove, Newport, RI 15 April, 2007

tuning the rigging (I play the upright mast.)

Because of the pilings, I couldn't raise the sails until I cast off.

This is a little out of order. I got the sail up, but I didn't have time to put in the long battens. I was plagued by luffing and poor sail shape the whole time I was out.

running on outboard(paddle) fighting the wind in the dead end on the cove trying to get out far enough to raise the main without drifting back onto the beach

The winter that kept coming back to haunt me

2007-03-19T19:32:00.000-05:00

This month the weather started out looking fantastic so I just had to get out on the water...

Never one to be put off by reality I shoved off into Denial ... ah... the Nip. (A pond in Bridgewater, MA)

punting in a canoe

I never did get much further than this.

The next weekend the weather held, so I took the tarp off the pocket cruiser (working name thus far either "Zombi" or "Dead Fish") and pulled off the companionway doors to replace the woodwork...

I wonder if there will be a sailing season this year.

At last, a thaw!

2007-03-11T09:13:00.000-05:00

I finally got a chance to make a bit of progress on the Balboa. I looked high and low for information about dropping the swing keel from the boat, but I only found one site :
http://www.dcwi.com/~nybarra/keel.html
that deals with it in an Ensenada (same basic hull, identical keel, hung higher in a keel trunk). This method requires removing the axle from the trailer and constructing a jig to carry the keel. I wanted to get the thing out quickly and without much fuss, so I just jacked the toung of the trailer way up and blocked up the stem of the boat, then I dropped the toung enough to clear the front of the keel. This wouldn't have worked for the ensenada because of the deep keel trunk, but it worked out alright for me. I'll have to think about how to put the thing back without destroying the finish once it's been resurfaced, but that could be a long time away.
My wife took a few pictres just in case I did something predictable like dropping the whole boat into the neighbor's yard.

Annother Project !!! Balboa 20

2006-12-13T15:42:00.000-05:00

I addopted a new project! I saw an add on Craigslist.org for a free sailboat and couldn't resist.
The owner, Tom, hooked me up with title to the boat as well as main and jib in (what I consider to be) excellent condition. The boat is on a trailer that looks well suited for the boat. Both boat and trailer need a bit of attention, but I'll still have the 16' to sail early in the season and when I can't get to water, I'll be working on boats at home.

The great new beast sitting on my friend Eddie's truck.

a late seaton quickie

2006-09-29T19:12:00.000-05:00

I tossed in tonight after work at Lake Massapoag in Sharon, MA.

I didn't know how shallow that lake is! I had to paddle easily a hundred meters to find enough water to drop my daggerboard, then I grounded while cruising merrily on a reach far from any shore. It was nice to get the boat into the water again, but it was so late I only had time to zip out and turn back before dark. About half an hour after sorting through all the stuff I had prepared for an overnighter that never happened due to a flat tire on the trailer on the way to launch.
My wife showed up with a camera and got a few pictures berfore all the light was gone.

I sailed today in Dorchester Bay

2006-08-11T20:34:00.000-05:00

My son sailing with the new sail from a Hobie 18

Corita's paint job on the old Boston Gass tank

I sailed this afternoon (Friday,11 August, 2006). I tossed in Sunday too, but I didn't get any pictures and I didn't go far. Today was my second sea trial. After Sunday I made a few minor changes and today I was happy with my new tiller and the daggerboard, but I need to rig a bungie cord to keep it from floating up and I need to cut the top to clear the cabin doors.

The launch ramp is really just a gravelly beach. U/Mass Boston in back

After launch I toss an anchor out and park the old Mazda I tow with. This launch requires a bit of wading. I don't want to use this spot when it gets cooler, but it's the closest free launch ramp to my home.

Under sail headding out by U/Mass (still using polytarp sail)

I got complacent and sailed aground to the north of the mooring area. It never occured to me that there were mud flats this close to moorings and a Channel. I pulled the daggerboard and rudder, put the bottom pintel of the rudder into the top gudgeon and turned around to sail right back where I came from. It was good that I was close haulled on the way into the mud flat because I could run back out without the daggerboard and still maintain some pretty decent control.
When I turned to run out of the shallows I saw a small daysailer aground not far behind me. I said that I didn't know where I was going. I was afraid that the other boat ventured over thinking that If I could sail there it must be alright. When I got back through the moorings and into the channel, I saw the daysailer being towed out by an inflatable outboard like an Avon or Zodiac.

headding back in looking at the gas tank from off U/Mass

I put the mast up!

2006-07-25T17:26:00.000-05:00

I moved the boat out from in fromt of the house to mount the rudder. I had to make a pintle and move the one that was mounted. To check the fit, I backed the boat to the edge of the wall in front of the house and hung the rudder over the edge. It's not quite as smooth swinging as I would like, but it will do. I then parked the boat in the back and put the mast up. There is no foot to the mast so I surfed the net and phoned mast manufacturers and marine suppliers to no avail. I've decided to make a foot from wood and screw it to the step on the cabin top. The pictures show the jib... I guess it's a storm jib, the rudder pintles in their new positions and the mast step. I bought an old sail on e-bey. When the sail arrives I'll have to figure out how much I need to alter it, then I want to get this beast into some water to see what else I haven't thought of!

glassing the deck in the cockpit

2006-07-16T11:31:00.000-05:00

I've finished sanding and scraping the gelcoat from the deck in the cockpit. Now I'm laying a few reinforcing bits of glass mat and resin to try to stiffen up the flexible areas I think got the crazing started in the first place. I don't know how this will work out because they say polyester resin doesn't stick too well to old glass. I'm too cheep to get epoxy resin and I had this kicking around (it's older than they say it should be too) so we'll see how amature hour at the glass factory works out.

I cut out the pieces of mat for the weak areas, then I mixed the resin. The directions on the can call for 14 drops of hardner per oz of resin. I had no intention of counting out 140 drops and measuring out ozs, so , in my true half assed fassion, I winged it. The first batch was too hardener heavy, so I mixed the next batch a bit skimpier. If I missed by too much I guess I'll have a sticky deck for a few years. They say these resins harden anaerobically. I have no idea how to rig up a vacuum bag, so if this needs to be without oxygen to cure it will have to wait for paint.

2006-07-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

This is the biggest daggerboard type monohull I know of. Since it didn't come with a daggerboard and I don't know anything usefull about the manufacture (only that it's Italian). I need to figure out what the daggerboard is supposed to look like.
I took dimensions from the daggerboard trunk top and bottom to estimate the taper and profile of this monster. I can't immagine anything taking more than a five foot daggerboard, so I'll start with that length.
I mocked up a daggerboard from old bits of wood I had kicking around. This is BIG (a bit heavy too).

I intend to try it with this and cut off some of the length a bit at a time until the performance suffers. Then I'll know how short is too short, then I can make a permanent daggerboard a bit longer than that.

Zombi Boat

2006-07-10T14:20:00.000-05:00

Shorty Pen's site

We've had some interesting weather in the last couple of days so I made an anchor. Now my boat can anchor off to prevent dock rash. Now the boat is anchored in front of my house rather than moored to the wall.

2006-07-09T12:07:00.000-05:00

<-- me working on boat. It's a rough job!

<--Tools for scraping and sanding deck

<--- sanded deck

Other boat: demise thereof

2006-07-09T11:35:00.000-05:00

Forgive the quality of the pictures, the film (and camera) spent
several hours soaking in salt water and baking in the sun.

I had a sunfish that I enjoyed puttering about with. Last weekend I disposed of this boat (or most of it anyway). I related this event to a friend and I thought it would go well here, so I post this tale for your perusal.

Dear Crab Camp:

I suggested that we take two boats Tuesday. I don't think that will work out anymore.

I finally managed to finish a treck years in the making.

I sailed a sunfish from Westport, MA to Martha's Vinyard! I suppose implicit in the planning for such a trip is a return to launch site. Aye there's the rub.Beautiful weather, close reach with brisk breeze for the whole trip out. I made the trip in about 3.5 hours. I figure speed average about 4 mph. I saw two Portugese Man-o-war jellyfish en route. It was a bit chilly, I should have worn the jacket, but once underway in a sunfish it's hard to do much other than sail unless conditions are smooth (which they weren't) and winds are mild (which they weren't).

view of Gooseberry Island in Westport, MA (where I launched)

When I made landfall, I sat in the sun with the best shelter I could find from the wind (which was almost nothing). I munched a couple of peanut butter and jellies and sucked a couple or four beers, then had to prepare for the return crossing.

clay cliffs of Martha's Vinyard

The return trip started off pretty well. Despite realitve warmth, I put the jacket (I had dried out and didn't feel cold anymore, but I anticipated it coming) on. As soon as I got into the water I was glad I had, it was cool again and the wind was stronger than on the beach.

I had a bit of difficulty shoving off. There were plenty of rocks in the area and I had to set up the boat while avoiding them. The rudder needs a couple of feet clear draft to mount and due to the swells, I had to push out a bit for it to be safe. The boat was pitching with the swells while I tried to hold it into the wind and slide the mounting pin into the rudder mount. Once this was done, it wasn't too bad getting the sail up, but the halyard was on the wrong side of the boom. I decided to just live with this rather than dismount the mast and move the halyard to its proper position. Sail up I could climb on the boat and slide between the rocks while I got the daggerboard into its trunk and took control.

My heading had me hauled close, but with side slipping and my position to the wind it looked like I would pass just south of the Elizabeth Islands then I could let out the sail a bit for Goosberry Neck where the trailer was.

Gosnold (Cuttyhunk) from just south of the island

This was all going pretty well. The wind was freshening a bit, but the forcast was only for 8 to 15 mph so I wasn't too concerned. This boat has handled stronger winds handily. I thought the boat was making way slower than it should for this sail position in the freshening wind I had but I assumed I was just feeling tired and impatient from a day of sailing the swells and fresh winds.

calm weather early in the day

I noticed that I was surfing more dramatically than I have ever felt it before on this boat when I got a following swell. I was enjoying this and making great headway. The seas were building to 6 feet, some appearing larger. There were frequent whitecaps. The cresting waves would break over the gunwales if they caught me broadside when they broke, but there was too much turbulant crossing of waves to avoid this much. I took a few good splashes over the bow as well.

still calm, but starting to pick up

Once past the Elizabeths into Buzzard's Bay I realized that the handling was sluggish. I eventually was sailing by the swells rather than the wind. Following swells would broach the stern swamping the cockpit and give me a good push. Riding swells I would list severly first to one side, then to the other as the wave passed under the hull. The sail was not causing heeling despite strong wind and a close position. The boat would heel to windward with the seas despite a strong pull on the mainsheet.

I began to think that the hull was sitting too low in the water. Some of the following seas would sink the bow while I surfed down the face of the wave. One of these rides had me head up and release the sheet while hiking as far as I could to keep the boat from capsizing. It became obvious that I was having problems with the hull. I lost the ability to control my heading. With the rudder full over the boat would turn against the steering. The sail was not pulling but the seas were pushing me toward Westport. I tried to use the sail to gain steerage, but I couldn't get response from the rudder.

I was making progress, but slowly. The deck was awash completely. I capsized to windward with the sail hauled tight and me hiking out to leeward. I righted the boat and got headed back to my course and was thrown over again.

I could see the land of Westport but it was too hazy to make out any detail or judge distance. A brand new 40' power boat that looked like a tugboat but with luxury accomodations, no towing facilities, a zodiac tender in tow and a crew of one aproached and asked if I was having difficulties. I said I had done better on other days. He asked If I could use a bit of help. I suggested he could drag me a half mile to shore if he wanted to be helpful. He said I was 5 miles out, then he said something I couldn't hear too well but I assume it meant he wouldn't soil his vessel by attaching it to such an eyesore as mine.

I remember that the bay is only about six miles across and that I was more than half way to Westport. He offered to call Sea Tow or the coast guard for me. While this conversation was going on his boat drifted to windward of me and right into me pushing me under his bow. He said I had no business being out there in such a boat as mine. I thought he had no business being out there at all. I shouted that he should either help out or get away from me. My sunfish bumped along his hull then came back into the wind and capsized again.

I righted the boat and mannaged to manouver clear of the helpess complainant.

I found that a bag that had been lashed to the deck was dragging in the water to my windward side and fighting the rudder to pull the bow into the wind. With the bag out I could steer a bit better but I got thrown over a few more times. I pulled the daggerboard and was able to sail without listing as badly with the waves. I made straight for shore and landed within an hour or so.

I beached the boat but couldn't pull the hull up the beach at all. I stripped away sail, daggerboard and rudder and moved it up the beach. I found a man walking the beach and got directions to where I had left the trailer. I jogged and walked about four miles barefoot across gravel and Rosa Ragossa, then along the street to the vehicle.

I drove along the shore trying to find access to the beach so I could drag my boat out. I found that the beach I landed on was a private beach with locked gates called Barney's Joy Farm Beach. It was a beautiful place. I could understand why Barny found joy there. Unfortunately I couldn't find any people. There was no one at the office, the garage, the neighbor's house, the parking lot nor on the beach. I parked at a locked gate and walked a couple of miles of dirt roads through scenic pastures and sand dunes, then down the beach until I found the debris that was my boat. I carried the sail, daggerboard and rudder about a mile up a different road back to the vehicle and headed home without the hull.

The doomed vessel posthumously named "pindupindu" which is
Swahili for cholera, literally "head over heels" or "roll over and over"

I hope Barny enjoys the hull. It was a good little boat before it took all that water on.

I suppose I'm in the market for another sunfish hull now. "Market" may be too snooty a word. The hull I lost was free and I expect the next one to run about the same price range.

So you see, I don't think I'll be able to bring a boat along for the Fourth of July sail. Let me know if you think I should take family along or if your boat's too small for that entourage. We could also consider kayaking, but I'm a little tired just now so a nice leisurly sail might be just the thing!

Rat Man

Initial post from the host

2006-07-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

I recently acquired a small (16') sailboat a "pocket cruiser". I got the bug for this type of boat from such sources as Shorty Pen and Tillerman through hypertext links and posts from their websites.
I have started work on the old beast and am pleased with the progress to date. I have invested $80 for acquisition and pick up and a few dollars (maybe 30 or 40) in sanding and scraping supplies. The boat came with its trailer (in need of attention in its own right) and a hitch ball was thrown in because mine was too big.
Above are pictures of the boat when I picked it up.