12/21/2010

The work on our boat has slowed to a stop.

Christmas is just around the corner and the weather hasn't been very nice even inside our boat, to do much. I have been down to our boat several times after work just to take measurements and to see if all is OK, but other than that not much.

On the 21st I went down to our boat and found a big marshmallow.

Back steps up to the sundeck entrance

I wanted to take some inside pictures and did which might help when we start to bring items onto our boat in the spring.

Notice the look from inside our marshmallow, (facing forward);

as well as the normal Marine Trader, Albin water stains around the windows.

We do have additional water damage in the forecastle which will entail removing part of a bulkhead, but my friend Glenn, the master craftsman, where wood is concerned (as well as a great programmer) will make it look all new by spring time. Also, since we have a 4-5 year plan on taking care of all that needs to be addressed, from wood to windlass to electronics to dingy, all should be addressed in that time.

I'll be back from time to time and fill in items and add new.

Come on back and hope you enjoy our trip.

12/15/2010-Recap

It's been what seems like a long trip. It isn't like I didn't enjoy all of the trips to look at boats, and it may be why the boat finally found us. I say that because while I was looking I used to say that "the right boat will come along".

That of course was a tall order in that for the "RIGHT" boat to come along it not only had to be the "Right" kind of boat, a trawler, with a nice flared bow, but it also had to be 'close' to home, to be able to get it home for a reasonable cost, and it also had to be at the right purchase price.

I also used to say that I didn't want to spend over $50,000.00 because if there was some family affair going on, and I spent more than $50K, I'd feel like I had to use the boat to get my monies worth and that would make my family unhappy. That would be counter productive.

If you look to the above and below you will see the 'right' boat that finally came along.

Some background on 'the right boat';
She is a 1985 (built) 1986 (sold) 43' Albin Sundeck with twin 135 Ford Lehman Diesel engines. One interesting thing about the engines is that they had under 500 hours when we purchased the boat. I had 2 surveys done and both surveyors said that they (the engines) looked like they just came out of the crate.

The only modification that I have found so far that was performed on 'the boat' was the addition of a electra-Scan sanitation system (more on that later). The original electronics consisted of a Loran, Depth finder and a VHF radio, all I would guess are in the 1980's vintage.

We plan on upgrading all electronics and adding what is necessary in a 4-5 year updating plan to prepare for our BIG trip of doing The Loop. We will also be putting on more engine hours, during the cruising season this coming year which will help us add or subtract and prioritize items on the list. Big items this coming season will be an anchor (the anchor that came with our boat was 25# with 5' of chain and about 50' of rode) which I am thinking of a Rocna and a windlass (no there wasn't one and if you use your boat engines for less than 500 hrs, you probably aren't anchoring much) which I am leaning to a Tigress.

I'll add more as I go along, including using a SPOT to show where we are traveling. So keep coming back and add your comments. We'll be telling what is the good, bad and the ugly of this Odyssey.

So at this point we are fairly current as to the blog information. I will probably be doing some modifications, additions, especially some more pictures and some deletions where necessary until I feel it is just about right. This won't require too much but if you check back you will see some changes.

12/01/2010

From the party, read the 10/24/2010 blog, until this post we have been busy with the fundamentals of getting the boat ready for the winter. Ed, one of the members of WEBC and a previous dockmaster for the club has been assisting me with the winter preparations. Maybe assisting is the wrong word as he has been doing and I've been watching and learning.

I had Ed look at the packing glands on the shafts as before our boat was hauled for the season I had noticed leaking around the shafts. It was simple to see that what I had paid the CT yard to do, they clearly didn't. I think we were lucky to make it home without loosing the boat due to the yard not doing what they were contracted to do, which was repack the packing glands. After our boat was hauled Ed WAS ABLE TO SEE THAT THE PACKING NUT WAS DOWN AGAINST THE STOP WITH NO PACKING LEFT IN THE PACKING GLAND. There is no way that a trip of 4 days and about 350 miles would have exhausted all of the packing, unless of course it wasn't done or wasn't done right, both of which a yard should be able to do. I had also asked at Harvey's suggestion for them to include with the extra filters for the water separator and engine that they include extra packing, which wasn't with the filters. If it wasn't such a pain in the butt, I'd go after them but the cost and aggravation of doing so would exceed the money I paid them.

If anyone reading this would like to know specifics, please contact me and we'll discuss. This is clearly a disadvantage of having to do the supervision, long distance. If I was able to be there when they did the work, it would have been done and done right, as I would have been a pain in the butt until it was right. I guess they counted on our boat leaving and never showing up again for doing shoddy or non-existing work (they also didn't put a bulb in the steaming light as was ordered, since it didn't work and still doesn't). In today's world, the Internet is a great leveler of the playing field. They will get theirs at some point in time, probably not specifically by me, but what goes around comes around.

Cleaning out our boat took quite a few loads in Chadd's Ridgeline to empty her. We started in the main stateroom (SR) and took everything out of it, and the head, and worked forward to the V berth in the bow in an effort to get everything off of her. We want to start clean, so we can clean the interior up, wash & wax, to get ready to bring back on board what we want on board. We had to take home (well really to Chadd's home since he is on his away cycle and since his stuff is still in our basement) all of the items we had put on board in CT to bring our boat home, plus items left on board by the previous owner. Looking at it in Chadd's basement, there was quite a bit, even though we threw quite a bit away that we didn't need to bring home.

One of the last things that was done was Ed is going to shrink wrap our boat. Our boat was always stored inside at the CT yard, since the previous owner owned the slip that she was in. Shrink wrapping seems to be something that most owners do yet there are some boats at WEBC that aren't shrink wrapped and there are a few whose owner doesn't shrink wrap but builds a cover over their boat in a building type of affair. Don't know if I'll get to that point but it is interesting to see the alternatives.

11/07/2010

We took a trip to Gregg Neck Boat Yard today.

It is on the Sassafras River which feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.

It is a boat yard so there are no frills or fancy club house. There is a bathroom/shower. There is water available plus it is deep. It is at the end of the navigable waters so it will be quiet, if we stay at home which we hope won't be the case too many times this summer.

To get to our summer location my plan is to see if Chadd and his girlfriend Amy can join us. We'll leave from WEBC and head down river, hopefully with the tide, and if time permits, do a stop at Fort Delaware.

It is about (and all measurements are approximate) 4 miles to the Commodore Barry Bridge and another 13 miles to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Remember that we will cruise at about 8 mph, maybe a little faster if we pick up a tide. It is about another 10 miles to Fort Delaware and another 3 miles to the mouth of the C&D Canal.

My thought is to go another 14 miles, for a total of about 42 miles for the first day.

We'll stop at the Chesapeake Inn Restaurant & Marina and maybe get a mooring ball or a slip for the evening.

The next day we'll leave or 'digs' for the night and finish the C&D Canal for another 4 miles. Then it is down the Bay, past Piney Creek Cove, past White Crystal Beach, around Grove Point and into the Sassafras River. At this point it is another 14 miles. We will travel a winding trip up the Sassafras River to the Georgetown Yacht Club after about 9 miles then under the 213 bridge to the Gregg Neck Boat Yard for a total of  about 29 miles. It should be a little shorter day but hopefully one that will end in a sense of accomplishment and having a good time all around.

That's the plan and you'll read of our exploits next year.

11/06/2010

It's the beginning of November.

We have tried to have our boat hauled to spend the winter on the hard several times by this point.

One time I got up to the slings and started to push them forward with our boat, in that it was too shallow. I was told to back out and as I did I could see the mud being churned up. We need about 5 feet of depth to operate and we were in a 5 foot tide which I guess was too close.

Another time, in order to be there on time for the haul out, which was to catch the tide in the AM, Jane & I spent the night on board. With the heater and a comforter it was quite comfortable. We got dinner and a libation at the club and then repaired to the boat. Even in this case we had a great time I can only imagine what cruising will be like.

The third time was the charm and with a 7 foot tide we were hauled. I took our boat out of the slip and did a left turn and headed down the fairway to the lift using just the forward & reverse on the engines and nudged into the straps.

From the groaning of the straps I wasn't sure that the lift would hold, but it did.

We didn't have far to go, maybe 50-75 yards and then a turn to where our boat would spend the winter.



Here our boat is being turned to back into our slot for the winter

Notice that our boat isn't very far off the ground, I think Bobby, the lift operator was a little concerned with all the strap groaning as well.

Fortunately there were several other members available to help once our boat was in her spot. There is a lot to do in preparing for a boat to be 'blocked'.

First, before our boat was hauled we got about 32 4X4's in 18" lengths from Glenn who had some old landscaping lengths sitting around. He marked them so they wouldn't find their way under other boats while I was waiting to be hauled myself. Some people just think if it is sitting there, it is theirs to use.

Second, we needed 6 jack stands. Ed provided those.

Third, we needed 6 2' X 2' square 1/2" pressure treated plywood sheets to go under the jack stands.

Fourth, I needed 3 15' length of chain to go under our boat to fasten between the jack stands to keep them from slipping out. I also needed another length of chain to keep our 8 foot step ladder from wandering off.

Now with all of the necessary items available at the spot where our boat would be for the winter and the boat arriving there the group got busy placing the blocks and the jack stands to get our boat level and supported for the winter.

Once the boat was blocked, everyone left to do the next boat.



Jane & I stayed at our boat and started organizing for removing the items, which was most of them, from our boat.

After doing that for a while we exited our boat, secured our ladder and went home.

We had plans for the next day to go to a location on the Chesapeake to look it over for the coming season.

10/24/2010

Keep in mind that I am writing this after the fact so I hope I remember all that has gone on. Jane will be reading this and filling in where I might have missed something so we will hope to get as complete a report as possible.

I will also be adding items to this blog including changing the name of the blog to coincide with the naming of our boat, as soon as we come up with one. We've had several great recommendations, but it's almost like naming your children, coming up with a name for our boat. More on that later.

It is now the 24th of October and we had planned a party to welcome our boat into the family. We had invited several 'boating' friends to join us at WEBC to see our boat and enjoy a little party. I'd made arrangements with the club for the party, got the club restaurant to provide food, the bar to provide drinks and the weather even helped by making it a nice fall day.

Up to this point I had tried to take Jane on a little cruise since the only time she was on our boat was up in CT when we took a little cruise before we purchased her (when the walk thru survey was done) but either the weather hadn't been good or there was too much wind or the like. I thought today before the party might be a good time for that little cruise.

Let me paint a little picture here. We are tied on the inside of the U, backed into the slip, which looks like all we need to do is to let loose the lines motor out of the slip, pivot right and exit the mouth of the U and down the river we can go. Let me enter here that the Delaware has about a 5' tide, a current that rips through the boat club and an inexperienced (in these circumstances) pilot handling our boat for the first time. For some reason, I also envisioned that our boat would exit in a perfect line out of the opening but each time I got lined up the current pulled me inside the U, upstream, until I finally realized that I would be exiting at an angle. I guess it wasn't too bad as the people who were watching, you know there always are people watching, only commented on the fact that WEBC is one of the hardest clubs to enter and exit from (except at slack tide) and there was also word circulating that I ran aground, which I didn't, at least this time.

We were tied in the slip at the lower left (on the inside) where you see a boat (actually in the space between the 2 boats on the lower left). The larger boat is on the outside.

It was a little trying getting out and time wasn't on our side but we got down river a little before, at Jane's insistence, we turned around and headed back to the dock. After the exit I wasn't going to try and get back in our slip so I aimed at tying up on the outside of the U (looking at the picture above I came in perpendicular to the big boat on the lower left).

As I was coming in, there is still a tide running, some of our guests were on the dock, some taking pictures, but all hands present turned out to help in the docking.

Once we were tied up we put out a little boarding ladder and guests came aboard. The following pictures show some of the guests going over the boat.


Mike looking down from the upper Helm Station



Mike checking out his pictures



Bob checking out the engines





Zeke and Jane in the Main State Room



Bob in the Main State Room





Jane coming out of the Main State Room

 



Jane & Linda sitting and enjoying a beer on the sundeck

 After touring our boat the group lighted onto the dock, milled a little and then headed up to the Club House for the food.

There was plenty of food and conversation and I must admit I spent a fair amount of time between our boat and the club house where at this point, most of the guests were. Every so often a question would come up or a comment made and it was back to our boat again.

Plenty of food for all



Great conversation

But as is always the case, all good things usually come to an end. The party broke up and all the guests went home.

At the end of the day Chadd & I were going to put our boat back in the slip but when I pushed him away from the dock I couldn't get back on so he brought her back into the slip.

Now we need to tackle the clean out and the clean up and get ready for the winter and the work that we'll be able to do before spring launch.

More to come.

10/11/2010

Our dock for the evening

Monday morning and thanks to all of the powers that be, another good day for cruising. No rain, no wind and relatively warm. I think I mentioned previously that one of the advantages with a trawler is that you can drive from inside, the lower helm station, or if the weather is nice, the upper helm station or flybridge. Most of our piloting has been on the lower helm and thank goodness we had it as I think it would have been even more tiring to be outside the whole time.

We were close, but knew today was going to be a long day so we got as early a start as possible. About 0600 we are up and out into the Atlantic Ocean. We've got to get to West End today, at least that is our goal and if our boat continues to perform as she has done so far, we should make it, I just don't know by when.



Leaving Atlantic City behind.

I was a little concerned as we don't have radar, don't have a radar deflector, and fortunately Harvey is familiar with these water so I breath a little easier knowing that even in the dark (our running lights do work, they were checked by the yard where the boat was purchased and it isn't until later I found out some of the items I paid for were not done, but more on that later) we should be safe enough to get home. Chadd comes through again but more on that later.

So down the Atlantic off the Jersey Coast. Past Great Egg Harbor Inlet, past the Ocean City Amusement Piers, past Avalon & Stone Harbor my old haunts during my childhood at my grandparents place in Stone Harbor, past the amusement Piers at Wildwood where we, Jane & I had taken the kids all those years of renting in Avalon for our week at the shore.


Atlantic Ocean with Cape May in our sights

At Cape May we went in the Cape May Inlet and while the sea wasn't bad being in the channel was like a pond, no waves or rollers just calm flat water.

I thought that this would be a nice break until we hit the water in the Delaware Bay.

We had gone about 42 miles from Atlantic City to the opening of the Cape May Inlet.

I don't want you the reader to get the idea that I didn't enjoy the trip we were taking in our boat but it wasn't what I would call a pleasure trip. It isn't how we will generally cruise our boat, but it was great to see our boat do this monumental trip without a hiccup.

We passed under the Garden State Pkwy bridge over the Cape May Canal. The canal is designed to handle large traffic, although on Sunday it was just about all recreational boaters. The canal comes out into the Delaware Bay right where the Cape May-Lewes Ferry's dock and to my surprise, the bay was like a pond also.

Approaching the Route 9/Garden State Parkway Cape May Bridge

A turn to the North and up the bay we went.

We would swap off and on with who piloted our boat. I didn't find out until later and I'm sure it wasn't because of this day but after being home for a day or so my forearm started to hurt. I had had a Meniscus operation prior to leaving and after I got home I was back to rehab for that operation. My knees were killing me because of the motion of our boat but I couldn't understand why my forearm hurt. I was to find out that I had what tennis players get, a tennis elbow of sorts. The constant movement of the wheel had taken it's toll.

In the beginning of our boat delivery Harvey had said he was used to using autopilot on most of the boats he delivers. An autopilot is on our 5 year list. Fortunately most of our cruising will not be similar to the delivery.

Breaking out into the bay brought our trip for this day to 48 miles so far. Now our sights were on the Delaware River and the West End Boat Club in Essington, PA.
 

 

As I said previously, I had joined the West End Boat Club (WEBC) several years before in anticipation of owning a boat. My thought was that it was close to home which would make working on the boat a short trip to get there. I also looked forward to using the facilities for entertainment, meals and maybe a place to drop into occasionally. Initially I found the club smokey (I don't smoke and neither does anyone in my immediate family) and we found that trying to eat at the club involved a gulp of someones cigarette smoke along with the meal. Thank goodness that the state of PA got the b**ls to pass a law and the club, passed a rule of no smoking in the club house just prior to that.

Now with the addition of our boat, I'm spending more time at the club and will get back involved in it's operation again.

The trip up the bay was also uneventful, and as we passed the C&D Canal I thought that in the future we would probably be using that a bit to back and forth from WEBC to the Chesapeake.

We then went by Fort Delaware. I'd been by that on several occasions while on a Coast Guard Auxiliary SAR (Search & Rescue) patrol but this time I thought that I'd take the opportunity to stop in and visit sometime on our way to the C&D. Then under the 295 Bridge and past the Christiana River where the SAR boat is kept. At that point we'd added another 67 miles on to the trip. Today would be the longest day yet and I'm sure that the water conditions helped in that regard.

If I remember correctly, dusk was starting and it would be starting to get dark shortly. At this point, certainly nothing to be concerned about.

As we approached the Commodore Barry Bridge it was dark and there was a far number of big boats moving about and there was also dredging going on. The tug and barges were not properly marked so a VHF call to the tug told us which side to pass on. Of course as we were getting past a large ship was coming down river toward us so it was a quick move to the Jersey side of the river to give that boat plenty of room.


As we approached Little Tinicum Island, Chadd came to the rescue again with a Google Map of what we were looking at from the river level. WEBC is well lit but approaching for the first time is a little daunting as there is a slightly 'closed' U shaped pier system where you need to maneuver thru the opening at the top of the U and then since I had made a call telling the dockmaster I was coming, he changed my location to the inside of the closed top of the U which would require backing into the slip.

Harvey handled it with the aplomb that he had handled all the docking so far.

Jane was there waiting for us, it was about 2000 and we were home.

It was truly a relief to be tied to the dock and have that trip behind us. Considering all that could have gone wrong and didn't, the trip was a huge success. We had travelled an additional 82 miles since we came out into the Delaware Bay which gave us a total of about 130 miles from Atlantic City and not a problem with our boat.

At this point we made sure all was closed up, tied off and secure and headed home.

I can't thank Harvey enough and as to Chadd, he continues to make me proud, as do all my children. But in this regard, it would, could have been a much different trip without him along.

Now we regroup, decide what to do for the winter and prepare for the spring launch.

10/10/2010

It's Sunday but no day of rest for us.

Here we are in the daylight as we are getting ready to head to Atlantic City

We still had to get water under the keel so about 0800 we were heading down the Hudson River to the Atlantic Ocean.

After we left the marina, we passed by Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty. It is interesting but hard to imagine what those on different boats in a different time were thinking as they approached these 2 monuments. For me there was no mystery or trepidation about the island or where I was going that day but to those entering out great land for the first time the emotions had to be running high.

Under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and you're in the Atlantic.

Fortunately the cruising was fairly uneventful which is just what we wanted. Seas weren't too bad so it was just keeping our boat on course.

Past Sandy Hook and down the NJ Coast. Atlantic City was our goal for the day.

As we went by Mantoloking I saw some friends of ours, Jane & I and the family (my daughter often has baby-sat for them) home on the beach. Interestingly, they own the beach. Probably one of the few homes on the beach in NJ where the owners also own the beach.

Past Barnegat Light, Little Egg Inlet to Atlantic City.

We kept about a mile off the shore so the sights of the Jersey Shore were evident and interesting.

It was a little rough on our trip south but nothing like our first day in Long Island Sound but the wipers still got a little workout.

At Atlantic City we went in Absecon Inlet to the Bay side of AC. We had again used Chadd's BB to make arrangements for a slip and we stayed at Trumps Marina.

About 104 miles under the keel.

We decided to eat at Trumps and it turned out to be a good choice.

At all of the other marina's we stopped in there was an 'upscale' restaurant which of course didn't have anything to do with the meal. 'Upscale' I've become to understand means up the cost scale. At Trumps, they had a Hooters Restaurant. Pricing was normal Hooters and the meal was normal Hooters and the girls were normal Hooters. There was a baseball game playing so we had a leisurely meal, watched the game and then repaired to our boat for another peaceful nights sleep.


The next morning after my morning ablutions