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Ah, It's a bright beautiful day in Annapolis. There were no drips from the newly sealed chain plates and prisms.

Now, here is a tip... Spray a little baby oil onto the dodger windows after cleaning with mild soap and water. Wipe and polish with a clean cotton rag. It keeps the clear plastic clear, flexible and protects it from UV rays! Salt water spray drips right off too. This simple tip will add considerable life to clear plastic windows.

Every so often, one has to re-bed deck hardware to prevent water intrusion into the cabin. Now was the time to re-bed the chain plates. With cover removed, it does not look pretty. Although this one was not leaking, I think it better to re-bed now rather than later. The chain plates on this sailboat go through the deck a few inches inboard of the toe rail. Water does not tend to pool around the deck hardware, which was an exercise of good design judgement.

It is a calm, quiet day on the Chesapeake as I motor to Annapolis from Solomons. Once out of the Solomons area I thread my way through the yellow and red crab trap floats and round Drum point, heading north.


Soon after rounding the point, the hungry bell goes off. So down the hatch searching the galley for something to eat I go...

Someone asked me what the water selection manifold looks like after I was done with the clean up task. So, here it is. You can click on the image for a larger view. Enjoy.

Went for a very brisk daysail with a friend today. Wind was about 5-10 SE. Overcast sky only threatened to rain. It is amazing how nice this sailboat sails. Just gotta brag. Comfortable ride with high pointing ability. My friend was very impressed that she handled so effortlessly. Turn her onto course, lock wheel and trim sails. She sails herself. We even tried out the Wind Pilot self steering gear. Works just fine! Best self-steering gear money can buy! We overtook some boats flying gennies while we only had our #2 yankee up with full main. GPS told indicated SOG over 6 kts at times. Not bad at all for such light air. Coming home we got the RC sail regatta folks a little excited as my slip is very near their sailing area. I'm sure they were wondering whom was controlling that unlimited class sailboat headed their way. Had to swing close to their windward mark in order to make my turn toward the slip and back in. Yes, I said back in. No problems mate! Done like a pro. Was a perfect end to a very pleasurable day.

Made new new plexiglas covers to protect sail and engine instruments on the binnacle. Simple project. Just procure material, cut to size, clean edges and install. Sure makes a nice difference to the appearance, and protects instruments from weather.

It's Labor Day Weekend. What would be better than quality time at the top of the mast doing some maintenance? Here I am, 65' off the water replacing the tri-color lens, a jib halyard, and making sure the bulbs, and other electrical contacts are clean and working properly. The spare jib halyard replacement required I drop a tag line down from the top this time. It's always best to do this early in the day, before the sun gets too hot. And it helps to have a quick hand to catch your hat when it blows off! With the help of friends that provide the lifting force, the job went quickly with no problems. And I can say, that this is one time you can be happy when your friends let you down!

Today I made a simple anchor mount which secures a Danforth anchor to the forward bulkhead of sail locker. A simple way to keep the spare anchor readily accessible yet not roaming freely around in the bottom of the locker. Every boat should have something like this.

This morning was a wonderful, bright, sunny day! Back in April, all the hatches leaked after a rain. Not that the water poured in, it just seeped between the lexan and the sealant in the Hood frames. That prompted the project to "refloat" the lexan in all the hatches, details of which you can find in an earlier post. (see June 28, 2005 entry)

It rained like a monsoon in Southern Maryland the past couple days. And I am pleased to say not one drop came inside the boat. The hatches are sealed!

Leaking hatches plaque almost all boats with a few years on them. Learning to do the job right usually takes a lot of "trial and error" with lots of disappointment along the way. I've heard many horror stories from sailors sending hatches out for repair, only to have them leak as bad or worse after repair. Refloating the Lexan in our Hood Ocean hatches was a big job, requiring two days for each of 6 hatches, but well worth the effort and time. I'm happy to report the job came out exceptional. A dry cabin after a storm is confirmation enough.

We be happy and dry!

Isle of Sail (isleofsail.org) is an interesting place on the web. Anybody can add their stories or comments. In it's infancy now, but will become a valuable resource once discovered. Be sure to enjoy the many nice stories and articles there.

Today I installed new main and jib halyards. Simple job. Just splice old to new and use old to pull new in place. Make an eye splice in the double braid to attach snap shackles. Finish job by whipping tails.

Happy 4th of July!

Time for some dessert after dinner with friends from Sirena. Fireworks later.

Yesterday, my brother and I sailed to St. Michaels on Maryland's Eastern shore to raft up with some friends and enjoy the fireworks. At first, the sail up from the Patuxent River was brisk, pretty much on the nose. Wind was about 15-20 from the NNE. Many thanks, Ted, for all the wonderful pictures!



About a week prior, I exchanged the 150 jib for the number 2 jib which is cut high above the deck. (image to left is 150 jib under sail) The number 2 proved ideal for the conditions. With full main and number 2 jib, this vessel points high. I was pleasantly surprised. The angle of heal is considerably less than what I had been used to. The Scheel keel, carbon mast, and sail combination work well together to provide a comfortable yet quick ride.

Sorry, we did not get pics while we were rafted or in St. Michaels. We were just too busy enjoying time with our friends. The wind waned to about 5 knots with about 15 miles to go. We slipped past a Hylas 44. We sailed slightly faster and pointed a bit higher even though the winds were only about 5 from the NE. The Hylas had a 135 jib, yet we carried the number 2. With about 5 miles to go, the wind died completely. On came the iron genny and we arrived at dusk. We barely had time to raft and watch the fireworks, which were over quickly.

The next morning, we made a quick trip into town to walk, then back to the boat for lunch. We decided to take two days to return and ended the day with a nice sail in afternoon Eastern shore winds about 15-20 SE. No problem, this sailboat provided another exhilerating ride and we anchored just north of the Little Chop Tank River, behind a spit of land. Very nice anchorage. That evening we saw about 15 fireworks displays all around us. Was a better show than the night before.

The winds were calm at dawn. After a quick breakfast, we weighed anchor and started home. Was a short four hour motor-sail with light wind for a couple hours before noon only, then calm again. We were snug in our slip in time for lunch.

In review, it had been a long time since I sailed this boat. And again I was delighted with her simple handling, convenience of all sail controls, and the fact she sails extremely well in a variety of wind conditions.

This sailboat has six Hood Ocean type hatches in the deck in various sizes to 24 inch square. Over a period of time, the sealant holding the Lexan in the frame deteriorated. It is not a fault but rather a result of the harsh elements of the sea. Lots of folks have experienced similar wear and have had to refloat the lights (rebed the Lexan into the frame). It was time to do so on this boat. To do a good job, one must completely disassemble the hatches and remove the Lexan light and all old sealant. In this installment, we only perform refloating the lights as the job of rebedding the hatches to the deck was done not too long ago. Therefore the frames will remain attached to the deck. So first we round up a selection of tools, Exacto knives, razor blades, paper towels, caulking gun, etc.




I start by removing the pins and hardware that secure the port opening from the deck frame.