For Sale

The Dalloway is officially for sale.  We are looking for $ 3,000.00. I'll be shutting down this blog once she's found a new home, and starting up a new one.  I sure hope we can find the right owner for her. 

LEAKS and Wandering Eyes

I re caulked all the chain plates, but there was still a moisture problem on the aft port bulkhead.  We had to resort to the time honored tradition of dumping buckets of water over the boat until we found the source of the leak, and unsurprisingly, it was around the pump out.  Since we installed that while on the water, I may not be surprised that we had a leak there, but I am a little disappointed that it took us so long to think to check it for leaks.  Added a bit more caulk to that so hopefully when we test it next weekend it will be good to go for a while.  

Meanwhile I have been looking at boats for sale.  For shame. We even went to see a few. Double shame.  

Launch day 2015

I believe this is our earliest launch in the history of ever. 

Anchor Roller

After many years of hoisting the anchor and 30 feet of chain by hand we have decided to install and anchor roller. As anyone who has a Grampian know, everything at the bow is really tight. There's no space to work with at all so we are doing the roller at an offset. Matt has already cut out a section of the toe rail(eek) to allow for the roller. We have a piece of flat aluminum to shim it to height and also some fancy space age plastic of some kind to use as a chafe guard since the anchor rode will be crossing the bow slightly more than it would if it could go through the forward chocks. This should allow me to raise and lower the anchor without assistance so I'm looking forward to that, as it was the only task I can't do. 

Hadn't been down much over the winter as we had a lot of personal issues. We found a lot of water intrusion in the saloon and were freaking out about leaks until we realized the port lights were not dogged down.... So that was an easy fix any way. 

Other pre Launch projects include machining and installing the new rudder post cap I ordered from holland marine, refinishing the wooden tiller, trying to clean the stink out of the water tank, and rebedding the chain plates. They are leaking a bit and the moisture has definitely taken a heavy toll on some of that new woodwork inside. :( 

The toilet is in! We haven't christened it or anything, but the pump out and vent fittings are in the deck and hull and sealed in.  Everything is hooked up we just need to fill the water tank and give it a whirl.  It was a perfect fit for the available space and the hold down brackets seem very sturdy. The flush valve has a stainless steel stem so it should be harder to break than the last one.  I did feel a little bad putting the old potty in the dumpster since I'm sure somebody could have replaced the seals and such and used it but it seemed to nasty to solicit anyone who might want it.

Meanwhile we had a whole weekend of crazy.  Saturday on Black Horse Pike in Somerdale we saw a motorcyclist hit by a car.  The rider was on the street on his back under the car.  Instead of being sad or injured, he was angry enough to jump up, jump on his bike and speed away leaving a pile of rubble behind.

Then at the yacht club there was a small blue sailboat that appears to have been anchored and abandoned on the outskirts of the mooring field. The hatches are open, the boom is laying down in the cockpit, and there appears to be a small inflatable boat deflated and draped between the shrouds.  There was water in it but I got a bad feeling about it and didn't approach too closely.  There was no decomp smell so I don't think there was a body inside but you never know.  . .

So after that a nice brand new center console power boat, I mean, brand spanking new, 20 foot center console, pulled u p to the club dock.  The skipper walked up the dock, out of the gates and up the road and hadn't come back when we left at 6:00.

Meanwhile, we were trying to get some work done.  I sewed on ties to the lazyjacks to tie the sail pack in position.  This way if we need to take it off or lower it we can just untie the ties very easily and the lazyjacks will remain in place.

Here are some nice shots of the holes in the boat and the plugs that came out of them prior to the toilet install:

Gratuitous toilet part shot:

And finally the last crazy of the day.  I was down below messing around, then went out into the cockpit. I spied a 40 foot power boat (house boat?) monster thing sitting dead still in the water outside of Bay Boat Works.  It seemed to have no power.  I watched it for about ten minutes as it slowly drifted towards us.  Eventually we decided enough was enough (and the boat was getting perilously close to shore) so we hopped in the dingy and zipped over to see what was up.  I shouted up into the third deck pilothouse to the skipper, who said he was fine.  He actually started his motor and moved about 20 feet away from shore, churning mud all the way.  We figured he was ok so we started back to our boat, but he was drifting more rapidly towards the club's pier. Our second round of inquiries had the same result.  We decided to go for back up.  By the time the troops were rallied on the club workboat, the big motor yacht was drifting sideways straight through our mooring field, gently scraping past sailboats as it went.  Eventually some of the club members got on board and ascertained that the owner had come all the way from the Sassafras River. By the looks of his rub rails and hull I daresay he had hit quite a few objects on the way.  He confirmed he had a cell phone and water.  The boat evidently had no electrical and only one motor working at very low rpms for short periods.  He seemed confused and unconcerned about his predicament.  Using a pry bar, the guys were able to get the non functioning windlass to release the anchor chain and they were able set an anchor for him.  

Sorry I don't have anything for scale. This is a BIG boat.  It was full of trash and junk so hard to tell if it was an elderly live aboard that just happened to decide to go on a wander today or what, but at least now when the tide turns and the water starts flowing out again, he won't be floating back down river through the mooring field again.  

New toilet coming soon

I broke the flush handle off the old toilet. Frankly it was rather leaky and gross anyway so we ordered the sanipottie 965 msd from defender. It is supposed to come today and we will plumb it in this weekend. It is a self contained unit but you can plumb to a deck fill for pump out and a vent hose. Seems pretty ideal. Next thing you know we will be putting in a shower. Just kidding. We are never putting in a shower. 

Great weekends these past two trips out. Beautiful weather, but the wind has been up and down.  We went on a club sail and I have to say I was retry happy with our performance. Even with the giant new dinghy and everybody else being bigger than us we pretty much kept up with everyone! 

Dramatic revelations

First and foremost I read my outboard motor's manual today. I had been considering ordering a flush kit so we could change the oil ourselves.  You can put the lower unit in a bucket of water and run it to warm it up, but I have always been skittish of doing it because it is scary to have the prop in the bucket.  We have done it this way in the past in a rain barrel, and when we bought it they demonstrated it in a large trash can full of water.  When reading the manual I learned that it is suggested that you REMOVE THE PROPELLER if you are going to run it in a bucket of water.  Phew. Dang.  Sometimes you really do benefit from reading the directions.

Now, onto the Dalloway.  This weekend we sanded the high filling primer some more.  A lot more.  A lot lot more.  I installed the boom hardware for the lazy jacks, and the jiffy reef system.  I found so many cheek blocks in the tool box that I think we must have bought them before Derecho and it just took this long to get around to installing the system.  I hauled the monster sewing machine to the club, took the final measurements, and finished the last little bit of sewing on the sail cover.

Then we took a little break to join the opening day parade.  Clothing was optional.  JK. Thank god. 

There was even a gentleman playing the bagpipes. He was quite impressive.  

The boats were blessed, the cannon fired, and the flag was raised. 

Afterwards I finally installed the stack pack.  This thing is really phenomenal. I can't say I necessarily recommend buying the sail rite kit but I absolutely recommend making one of these things.  Just watch the video on youtube, it really wasn't that hard. Having three sets of instructions made it so much more confusing than it had to be.

Then I assisted with the taping and the painting.  Here's a nice before and after photo. 

Coat one is complete, but we have to wait 16 hrs between coats and sand every time so our schedule just expanded quite a bit.  We will have to sand and paint saturday then sand and paint sunday. I don't think it very likely that we will be able to tape on the new paint until the following weekend so the boot stripe and the speed stripe will both have to wait. I am not entirely sure we won't lose patience with the whole thing and just launch.  (That's what happened with the filling primer.  We only did one coat. Hand sanding the whole boat to that extent was torture.)

Fairing

We are using a high filling primer. One coat on and the hand sanding is pretty agonizing. 

I also installed the boom hardware for the lazyjacks and mostly the hardware for jiffy reefing. 

I am more or less finished with the stack pack. I took my sewing machine to the club and added the final major parts. Just have to hand stitch the forward ends of the batten pockets. 

Sewing sewing sewing

Matt brought home the mainsail for me so I could lay it out with the sail cover and mark all of the hardware placement against it. So now that's done I have been adding the closures on the bottom. All that we have left to do is take it back to the boat, put the sail back on, install the jiffy reef and the boom hardware for the lazy jacks, measure the gap we need to close on the front of the sail cover, take it off again, and sew a custom panel to go over the front of the mast, attach the connection points where the sail pack ties to the lazyjacks and then we will be done. Phew. 

Here's another tip: the DVD that comes with the sailrite kit contains a different video from the one on youtube. The methods are a bit different. I thought the one on youtube was more geared to beginners. 

Also I burned out a bearing in my sewing machine. I keep oiling it but I think I need a replacement part. Not sure how to proceed with that since there aren't exactly numbers on it. 

Haha. Sailcover=couch potato. 

Meanwhile at the yacht club Matt has faired the hull. 

And gotten one coat of primer on.  

Sewing again.

The sail rite sail pack kit is definitely taking over my living room.  Here's a free tip. Just because it came with a DVD containing an instruction video doesn't mean it will be like watching a cooking show. Watch the video. Read the written instructions. Do it. Do both. Seriously. 

Paint Prep

Poli Glow Poli Glow Poli Glow.  Let me add thee to my list of life regrets.  By the end of the second year it was chalky and messy looking.  Ammonia wouldn't take it off.  Sanding didn't take it off.  Acetone and a lot of elbow grease does.  We got two thirds of it off with a gallon, yes a gallon, of straight acetone.  The plan is to paint the bottom, paint the bootstripe tan, and paint the hull green. There are a lot of bad spots on the hull with fiberglass showing through that need some protection.

Meanwhile let me say that an extension ladder leaned on the spars is really not the best way to approach working on the mast.  It is too wobbly and probably about the most unsafe thing we have tried yet.  Since that didn't work out I made some inquiries and found someone with a mast mate who was willing to lend it to us.  The sail cars were a little small and kept popping out of the track but it worked out in the end.

 The tangs for the Harken Lazyjack kit are now installed.   The kit came with two options for attaching the tangs to the mast.  First you could use stainless steel rivets.  We tried that first, but they wouldn't pop correctly no matter what so we had to switch to screws.  It took some scrounging and we had to borrow a tap to thread the holes, but in the end it was a smashing success.  Now I just have to finish my part(I have cut out the parts but that's about it.  Long way left to go, lots of sewing).  It was also a beautiful day at the club with all the flowers starting to bloom.

 I foolishly did not take any before pictures of the terrible poll glow situation.  With it off the hull actually looks so nice it is tempting to skip painting.

2013

So for 2013 we mostly just launched. We didn't even spruce up the poli glow. It was a great year. No derechos got us, and we got our brand new mainsail at long last. 

We also splurged and bought a zodiac zoom dinghy from defender. It has been a real game changer. It has a hard bottom that really makes all the difference in the world. 

For Christmas I bought my husband a set of harken lazy jacks and a sailrite stack pack kit! 

They sat patiently in the basement until this week when I finally got the measurements I needed to manage it. The only trick is that we need to get up above the spreaders to install the lazyjacks and the yacht club isn't hiring a high lift this year. We have to scrape together enough members to make it worth renting or find some skinny daredevil person to go up the mast for us. 

Bellamy the salty sea dog in her little pink life vest. 

The new dinghy

Where I left off

So I ordered some fancy sunbrella fabric to re cover the saloon cushions. I decided that there was no sense in working on the vee berth cushions. I think now that covering them the first time was a wasted effort. Guess what. No one sees the vee berth cushions. They always have sheets on them. 

I bought white vinyl mesh to do the bottom surfaces of each cushion for drainage and air circulation. 

Here is a larger shot of the quarter berth cushion:

Shortly after this I broke my foot and had to take a hiatus from the project. When I was feeling up to it I had some help from my mother who got the dinette cushions up out of he basement for me. Unfortunately she thought they were more symmetrical than they were so now I have them backwards and slightly off size as they were not symmetrical at all. 

Oh well. Close enough. 

As of February we had plans to repaint the topsides, replace the forward casting, shorten the standing rig (seems a tad loose), move some hardware around etc etc.  Then in March I broke my foot and all the plans went out the window.  Looks like we are skipping everything except bare maintenance.  Finally got back down to see her last weekend and we reapplied varnish, bleached out the stowages, and found about 40 cans of sodas and beer in varying stages of decomp ranging from OK to solidified to exploded.  Yum.

Anyway, this weekend we just have to re install the bilge pump, put a latch on the forward hatch (I confess that even prior to the derecho we were using  a rope to hold it down.  Very unseamanlike.), and launch.

Only big job is to finish re covering the saloon cushions.  The fabric I used the first time grew some nice fuzzy mold so I took the plunge and bought some real sunbrella.

My order for a new mainsail has been placed with Bacon's Sails and it should arrive in June.  Until then we will be running with the giant sail we bought used from a Saber 28.  It has to stay reefed all the time or it is way too large.  Sadly, the reef points are starting to blow out so hurry up Bacon's!

Featured on Sailboatowners.com

We were out in the storm on Friday night.  Matt posted this story on Sailboatowners.com:

We have a sloop-rigged Grampian 26 keelboat that we've been restoring and sailing for the past 3 years. Last night, we were sailing south from the North East River down the upper Chesapeake Bay in very light winds with the mainsail and a hank-on 140 genoa. Just before midnight, the wind died out altogether. Heavy fog set in. Because we were approaching the shipping channel for the C&D Canal and wanted to keep steerage, we dropped the sails and started the outboard motor. The headsail went into a bag snapped around the forestay and the mainsail was rolled on top of the boom and tied down with 4 lengths of 3/8" line held with reefing knots. We checked weather predictions again and saw that the wind wasn't expected to pick up until the next day. Although we had planned an overnight sail, given the heavy fog and lack of wind, we decided to go up the Sassafras River to spend the night near Lloyd's Creek. Shortly after entering the mouth of the Sassafras, we saw what looked like "heat" lightning off in the distance. Within minutes, the lightning was flashing all around us and above us in the upper atmosphere without touching down. The barometer held steady and the water was still, as we motored at approximately 2 knots. Then the boat was hit by what I can only describe as a wall of wind from the stern that heeled us over and spun us to starboard. Even with no sail up we were heeled to 20 degrees so suddenly that I crashed knee-first into the other side of the cockpit. My gut reaction was to steer into the wind. Water that had been flat moments before sent cresting waves crashing over the bow. My wife went below to close the portlights and get our PFDs. Sudden driving rain limited visibility to about 3 feet past the bow, though I could see an illuminated channel marker some distance ahead as we were faced west into the wind but being driven east up the river while I tried to steer us out of the channel, which ran quite close to the lee shore. Within 5 minutes of the first gust hitting us, another gust hit us, spinning us back to port. Wind caught in the folds of the main sail, blowing open one and then two sail ties, creating a parachute of sail in the middle of the boom. We were instantly heeled so far to port that I was standing on the side of the cockpit bench while fastening my PFD. My wife took the helm and I pulled myself forward to fasten the sail, using the first handy line (the tail of the main halyard) to lash it to the boom. Within moments of my return to relieve my screaming wife in the cockpit, part of the sail blew open again in another gust, this time heeling us so far that the port side toerail was below the water while waves crashed over the cabin house roof. The outboard prop was out of the water and we shut the motor off. I went to the mast again, but could not pull the sail to the boom given the wind conditions. At one point, I was hanging on to the boom to keep from going over. We had lost sight of all channel markers and knew nothing of our location except that the depth had gone from 15 ft to 7 ft and I feared we'd soon run aground. In desperation, I slashed the sail along the boom and near the mast to cut it free. Once the sail was off, the boat partially righted, though were still unable to steer. We went aground on shoals and were knocked off into deeper water. Now that I thought I'd be able to stay on the forward deck, I went to the bow and dropped our main anchor. Our wooden dinghy, tied to the stern, had been swamped and flipped. Though it still floated due to the flotation I'd built into it, it was catching the moving water like a scoop and keeping the bigger boat from turning into the wind. Unable to pull it from the water, I set it free. We dropped a second anchor off of the bow and then rode out the remainder of the storm down below while listening to another nearby boat calling the Coast Guard for help on the VHF radio. Though it felt like a lifetime, only 30 minutes had passed since the first gust hit. When the sun came up, we realized we were no more than 100 feet from a shore and had blown more than 2 miles up river during the storm before setting our anchors. We learned this morning that boats at a nearby yacht club dragged their permanent moorings hundreds of yards in the storm and that gusts were measured at up to 80 mph. We did not recover our dinghy. I certainly know now to lash the sail more tightly to the boom before a storm hits, even when dropping it in light air conditions. Aside from sharing that lesson, I'd like to hear advice from other sailors about what we should or could have done differently during the storm to avoid having to cut the mainsail off. Has this ever happened to anybody else? The attached photos were taken while we were assessing the damage and then sailing home with a jib this morning. We ran the remains up the next day while limping home with just a small jib up. Pretty pitiful.

We're off to a great start this year.  There is not very much left to do, just a few odds and ends here and there.

Matt is in the thick of sorting out the wiring and setting up some actual switches (no more holding the wires to the battery contacts).  We also pulled out the old flimsy aluminum bimini from the basement and, using a tubing bender from Harbor Freight (60.00) and stainless tubing from Fazzio's Metalworks (A/K/A Fazzio's Salty Balls -- this may be a story for another time) bent a new bimini frame based on the old one. The vinyl top looks good enough for at least one more season.

Finished photos will follow. . . once finished.
We have plastic hardware and are replacing it with metal for good measure.

The Club rented a boom truck, so we took advantage of it to fix the exceedingly bent Windex/vhf antenna.

So cool.

The interior handrails are up now, after they spent all winter sitting under the Hobie.

I got the Hobie ready to go but the water is still too cold to take her out for a spin.

The motor is back on.  We are not having her serviced (eeee).  She ran nicely in a bucket in the garage so we are going to cross our fingers and go with it.

We also received a free sail from the sail fairy.  Looks like another 180, in slightly worse condition than ours. It is just the sail we needed a back up for too, as Matt likes to use it in inappropriate conditions. Thanks Glen!

We are fine fine fine and just about ready to launch.

This is definitely a record year so far.