A day at the woodshop

by Chuck July 18, 2004

Today I took the half-finished rudder to Ron's house. We managed - in only 5 hours - to finish shaping the rudder and put on the first coat of polyurethane.

I left the rudder with Ron, he'll put on more coats of poly, and then I'll need to test fit the rudder on the boat and the tiller on the rudder, but it looks good, real good.

Tags:

Sailing

The blade is done

by Chuck July 17, 2004

I went to Coast-to-Coast today and bought a new 50-grit belt for the sander to replace the one I tore last night.

Once I had the new belt on, it only took about 5 minutes to finish shaping the blade. I can't decide if I wish I had the new belt earlier, or if I'm glad the old belt wasn't quite so quick to cut through the wood.

Then I got out the palm sander and spent an hour or so sanding the gouges left by the belt sander out of the wood. Now it's off to Ron's as soon as I can for the finish work.

Tags:

Sailing

A minor setback

by Chuck July 15, 2004

I started to sand on the blade again tonight, but the 50-grit belt broke, and I don't have a replacement. I'm shut down until I can get a new one.

Tags:

Sailing

Lake sailing

by Chuck June 19, 2004

We decided to go somewhere different for our first sail of the year, since we splurged on a new trailer over the winter expressly so we could go to different places. For this trip, we decided to sail in Lake Washington, launching at Sandpoint in Magnusen Park.

The new trailer towed like a dream, occasionally I would look into my rear-view mirror and be surprised that I had a boat tagging along behind me. Having a trailer that tows so nice turned out to be a good thing, since I got a little lost heading to the park and ended up pulling the boat through the narrow streets of a Lake City neighborhood.

Once I found park I took the time to walk from the prep area to the launch to make sure there were no low hanging wires or tree limbs that would interfere with the mast while we moved. Once I was sure there was anything between us and the water, Dana and I made pretty short work of rigging the boat for launch.

Once we got the boat in, we headed out into the lake to hunt up some wind. There wasn't much to be found, so we decided to head across the lake to Kirkland so the kids could get out of the boat and swim. The crossing was OK, but quite rough considering there was very little wind to pick up the waves.

We found an opening at the end of the Kirkland public dock and did a touch and go, stopping long enough to drop off the Dana and the kids. I took Odyssey and headed off the dock a quarter of a mile or so, then waited for Dana to call me when the kids were done swimming.

While I was heading out, I noticed that I'd lost one of my fenders over the side. I turned around and went back in, where I saw the fender floating in the lake with a couple of boats circling around. One boat, a bow rider with three kids in the front picked up the float, and then the dad threw it over to me. He threw it like a football, and made a perfect toss to Odyssey's cockpit.

I spent an uncomfortable hour bobbing about in Odyssey while the kids swam. The lake was rough, and other boaters seemed oblivious to their wakes as they sped past, sometimes only yards away. I was only too happy to head in and pick up Dana and the kids and get away from the Kirkland waterfront.

The wind finally came up after the family was back on board, and we spent an enjoyable couple of hours chasing the fluky breezes around. At one point we sat with our sails slatting while 50 yards away a Catalina 22 rolled past with her sails full. Later, we managed to find a breeze and sailed past a J-24 on the opposite tack with no wind in her sails.

A thundercloud forming in the late afternoon chased us, and apparently everybody else, off the lake. We circled for half an hour or so waiting for our chance to get to the launch and get out. Once we had our chance, the dock assistant and the other people waiting to launch hurried us to get onto the trailer and out of the way.

That's when I made my big mistake and allowed the pressure of getting out of the way to overcome my good sense. I pulled the boat out of the water with the rudder still down, and broke the rudder into three pieces when it dragged on the ground.

Dana and I quickly picked up the pieces and got out of Dodge so the people pointing and laughing weren't pointing and laughing at us anymore. We took the rig down and headed for home, where I started looking for a replacement for the rudder.

Tags:

Sailing

What? Another boat show?

by Chuck March 6, 2004

This year the NWMTA is putting on the first Everett boat show in the brand new Everett sports center. They covered the ice where the Silvertips play hockey and brought in about 1/4 of the boats and 1/8 the booths of the Seattle boat show.

The vibe at the Everett show is very different than the Seattle show. In Seattle, there are thousands of people every hour hustling on and off the biggest and best boats the major dealers have to offer. In Everett, the smaller dealers in the Snohomish county area brought in their smaller boats (the biggest boat in Everett was 34 feet). There were only a few hundred people there while Katie and I were at the show, so we got to go on almost every boat we wanted to see without a wait.

Katie was a lot of fun to be with at the show. She was hyped and excited and asked questions and ran ahead and went on every kind of boat and charmed the sales people and and and...

Now if only I could get her to have as much fun on the water.

I also learned that there are three boat builders in Monroe, the little town outside of Everett where we live. I knew about two of them, but three, that's getting greedy.

I didn't manage to get away from the show without buying something. I bought a boathook from Popeye's for $16.25. Now next year if my best hat goes in the water we will have a better chance of picking it up.

Tags:

Sailing

Trailer trashed

by Chuck February 7, 2004

I hauled Odyssey to Marysville today to pick up the trailer that I ordered from Boatland during the boat show. The guy on the phone wouldn't promise anything, but he was fairly sure that he could move Odyssey to the new trailer and send her home the same day.

It was a rainy, dreary day when I went out in the morning to hook the old trailer up to the truck. I spent an unpleasant few minutes in the damp, hooking up the trailer and tying the mast to the boat. On the bright side, the new dock lines (also from the boat show) worked a treat to tie the mast down with. I can't wait to use them to tie up to a dock.

By the time I got out the door about an hour later the sun had come out and the trip to Boatland was pleasant. As I drove to Marysville, I realized that this was the first time that I've pulled the boat trailer by myself, without someone following me in the car or riding shotgun in the truck. Kind of a heady feeling, like I'm a grown up or something.

The drive to Marysville was uneventful, except for the part of I-5 by Dagmar's Landing. I looked down at the the speedometer and realized that 75 mph was probably too fast for the old wreck of a trailer bouncing along behind me. I pulled my foot off the gas and slowed down, letting the other cars around me speed ahead.

Downtown Marysville is under construction, State street is torn up and traffic is nightmarish under the best of circumstances, and pulling a 22-foot boat is not the best of circumstances. Fortunately, Boatland is just off the main drag, so getting there was fairly easy, all things considered. I pulled into the Boatland parking lot, and Matt (or was it Dave) said "Park it over there by that trailer. Your trailer, as a matter of fact."

I left Odyssey the capable hands of the Boatland crew and left to shop for a new clothes dryer (the old one having given up the ghost the weekend before). Lunch, two mochas, and $200 worth of home appliances later Odyssey was on her new trailer and ready to go home.

The old trailer stayed at Boatland. They gave me a minimal amount in trade, and frankly, anything was more than it was worth. Matt (or Dave) said it wasn't the worst trailer he'd ever seen, but it was close. With the old trailer parked in the back lot and the Odyssey nestled snuggly in her professionally fitted new trailer, we headed back to Monroe.

Now we just need to wait for sailing season to start so we can try hauling Odyssey to some new destinations. It looks like a good summer for sailing already.

Tags:

Sailing

Boat show bargains

by Chuck January 18, 2004

My father-in-law, Ron, took me to the Seattle Boat Show today. Ron likes to look at the fishing boats, preferable aluminum boats that need next to no upkeep. I had three purchases in mind, and the boat show was the perfect place to look.

First, Odyssey needs a new trailer. The old one is rusted, bent, and falling apart. I started looking for one last year at the boat show, and decided on the one I wanted (RoadRunner 2500B). I saved up the money last fall, and so I ordered a new trailer right there at the show. It should come in sometime around the end of the month, and Odyssey will have a new resting place going into this year's boating season.

Next, I wanted to find some new dock lines. Last year I'd seen a place called TopKnot, and liked the look of their lines. But I didn't go back and buy the lines on my way out the door like I'd planned (fed-up wife, cranky kids) so I waited until this year. I bought two 20-foot 7/16-inch lines to replace the 5/8 three-strand lines that were jammed on Odyssey's cleats. If you'd like to take a look at TopKnot's products, they're on the web at http://www.mooringlines.com/.

And last but not least, I wanted to get a tide and current book from Cap'n Jack's (see the description at their Web site). I used one of these when I went out with Arthur on his 38-footer a couple of years ago and really liked it. Knowing the current at any given time is essential when sailing a small sailboat like Odyssey. Planning a trip to take advantage of the currents can make a huge difference. Tidal currents in Puget Sound can be 3-4 knots. Getting the curents right in a boat that can only make 4.5 knots at hull speed and you double your speed over the ground. Get them wrong and you might as well throw out the anchor.

Unfortunately, the tide guide wasn't in yet. The guy I talked to said 3 weeks, so I'll call them at the beginning of February for an update.

And of course we saw boats. Lots and lots of boats. I particularly liked the Beneteau 311, and the cabin layout of the new Catalina 34 was nice. But mostly, I remember looking at beautiful boats that I will never be able to afford, but appreciating the people that build these beautiful boats.

Tags:

Sailing

Are you feeling lucky?

by Chuck October 8, 2003

This morning when one of my co-workers (also a sailor) was searching for pictures of the Windrose 22 so he could see what Odyssey looks like, he ended up here when he searched Google for "Windrose 22". The specs page is the very first hit, and my Sailing home page is the second.

I'm feeling kinda smug right now.

Added 28 January 2004:

Well that didn't last long.

Today I tried googling "Windrose 22" again. I looked through 13 pages of responses and didn't find my pages. Sailnet Boat Check was first and second, a complaint about an apartment complex was third, and the Whispernauts site was fourth. Odyssey's site couldn't even be found.

Oh how fleeting is fame...

Tags:

Blog

Sailing away

by Chuck July 5, 2003

We picked a brilliant day to head out for what turned out to be the first sail of the year. Temperatures in the 70's, wind variable from calm to around 15 knots.

And the best part is we actually got away from the dock.

Tags:

Sailing

The sailing season (almost) begins

by Chuck June 20, 2003

Updated July 1, 2003

I finally got to start my sailing season on Father's Day (June 15th). Well, not really the sailing season...

Remember that old saying "A bad day on the water is better than a good day in the office"? I put that to the test on the 15th. I put Odyssey in the water, went nowhere, then pulled her out again.

On the plus side, we looked good. Dana and I remembered how to work together to put the mast up and rig the sails, the kids were actually helpful, and Duncan, our dog, seemed to enjoy his first trip on the boat.

On the minus side, the motor that I had tested only three days before, the motor that had started on the second pull after being in storage for 8 months, the motor that had never failed me before -- decided not to start. Even after a couple of hours of pulling on the cord, after re-gapping the plugs, drying them, choke, no choke, throttle, no throttle. Nothing.

And the worst part? If I could have made 100 yards I could have sailed. But considering the current and the traffic at the Everett boat dock there was no way I could scull, rock, or paddle that 100 yards without bouncing off another boat, or the dock, or both.

Sheepishly, I took Odyssey back home. The next Saturday I got the motor out, changed the plugs, changed the gas and tried again. Nothing. Went in a told Dana it looked like we needed to take the motor in to have it fixed.

Then, yesterday, my father-in-law Ron came by to have a look. He got the motor out, hooked it up to the hose and the gas, pulled the starter, and ... it started right up.

He told Dana, "Sorry."

Dana: "What happened?"

Ron: "It started."

Dana: "What did you do to it?"

Ron: "Nothing."

After I go home (a whole other fiasco involving my daughter, missed e-mails, getting out late from a meeting and the fact that a payphone call now costs $1.00, at least at the Target in Woodinville) I gave the ol' outboard a try. It fired right up.

So, with motor problems seemingly vanishing behind me, maybe this week Odyssey will get to go sailing. That is if I can convince her to be a motor boat first.


Addendum

I posted this story on the SailNet Laguna list. Here's the response I got from Randy Urich:

Hey Chuck,

Sounds like you just got the motor loaded up--the two-stroke version of getting flooded. I worked on motorcycles for 25 years, so I have a lot of experience in this area.

The piston-cylinder-port system-crankcase of a two-stroke outboard acts as a pump, sucking in the gas-air mixture with every turn of the crankshaft. It goes into the crankcase first, then the piston coming down forces the mixture up thru the ports to the combustion chamber. Every turn of the crankshaft draws in another charge, and the excess tends to accumulate in the crankcase.

When the engine doesn't start after the first half-dozen pulls, it is likely getting loaded up. This is the point at which you should hold the throttle WIDE OPEN (choke open too, of course) while pulling the starter rope. If this doesn't get it started in the next 6-12 pulls, then you need to take the plugs out and dry them, crank the engine without the plugs to clear the excess gas, and just LET IT SIT with the plugs out for 10-15 minutes for some of the accumulated gas to evaporate.

When you try it next, if it doesn't start on the first or second pull, hold the throttle wide open again and leave it there till it starts.

Sometimes this routine may need to be repeated if it's really loaded up. The plugs continue to get wet.

Old gas especially will aggravate the situation, old plugs don't help. You having spark but wet plugs is the traditional symptom for a loaded up (flooded) engine. The excess coming out the exhaust confirms the situation.

I hope this helps. This proceedure is especially useful if it fails to start out on the water. Carry spare plugs.

Good luck,
Randy
the "!Oye Maricela!" '83 Laguna 22


Another Addendum

Patrick Wesley asked Randy if the note about loading up a two-stroke engine applied to four-stroke engines. Here's Randy's reply to that one:

Hi Patrick,

Not so much with 4-strokes, as the combustion mixture is confined to the cylinder amd combustion chamber. 4-strokes are pretty efficient at pushing the gas/air mixture out the exhaust valve, therefore not so prone to flooding.

However, the principle is the same: when the mixture in the combustion chamber doesn't ignite, the fuel tends to collect on the surfaces and the air gets expelled out the exhaust. This continues to upset the optimum 15:1 air to fuel ratio, and the richer it gets, the harder it is for the spark to ignite it. The plugs also get wet with the unburnt mixture, adding to the difficulty in igniting the charge.

The solution for both two- and four-strokes that are flooded or loaded up is to induce more air through the wide open carburator throttle bore. This also diminishes the venturi effect, thus sucking less fuel in with the air as it passes over the throttle jet.

Again, old gas is one of the worst culprits in both types of engines being difficult to start. Also, if left in the carb over the winter it can gum up the jets. Of course, this will cause the plugs to be dry when you inspect them.

Oh yeah, here's another tip: DON'T use gasolline with ethanol (alcohol) in it in 2-strokes, because it has a tendancy to cause the oil and gas to separate, AND it attracts water to the gasoline.

I hope this helps, good luck,
Randy

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Sailing

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