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.