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It’s just great to live in an area that is so focused on the water.  After being far from the water for so many years, when we lived in NJ, it’s just so much more fun to be less than a mile from the water now.  With all of the risks of living on the water, I personally like to be “near” verses “on” the wet stuff, with our land home, that is.  For Pandora, being “on” is definitely better.  Unfortunately, she remains high and dry as I finish up projects including sanding and scraping off all of the paint on her bottom.

Working on her has been a challenge with the 90 degree heat that we have had over the last few weeks and early morning visits to the boat yard, when it is cool, is the only way for folks like me with our “delicate” constitution, to get anything done without wasting away.   Being under the Pandora with my respirator and hearing protection while sanding away with the sander and vacuum blaring away is not fun at all and especially so when the sun is higher and heat is really up.    It’s hard work but to pay the yard $98 per hour to do this, hour after hour, doesn’t seem to be sound fiscal planning, in my book.  So, sand away I will.

Here’s about 6-8 hours of progress.  Pretty depressing with only about 1/4 of the boat done.  It looks like more but don’t forget that the bottom is very narrow at the bow, and shallow.  The best is still to come. The good news is that the other side is done to the same degree.  
The reason I am taking off all of the paint is that I plan on changing bottom paints and going with a combination of hard and ablative paints.  I won’t bore you with the details but it is sufficient to report that sanding is the pits and has to be done. 

While I am at it, why not post a photo of the damage done to the front of the keel by that rock I tangled with a year ago May.  Pretty nasty.  I am impressed with the strength of the boat as I hit pretty hard and only have this “little” dent to show for it.  No damage to the hull at all.  That’s good, very good. After months of looking at this dent underwater when I was cleaning the hull or was just swimming around, it’s good to see it for real.  And, don’t forget that everything looks larger underwater. Imagine how nasty, and big, this dent looked when Pandora was in the water.  It was pretty alarming, trust me on that.   However, it’s nothing that a bit of epoxy putty won’t make right.

So, what’s a boat husband to do when it’s too hot out to sand the bottom?  Look at boats, of course!!! Yes, the perfect diversion. 

Over the weekend there was a rendezvous of classic mahogany powerboats at the CT River Museum.  It was great fun to take a look at all the varnish and perfect finishes on display.  The group putting on the event call themselves “Mahogany Memories”, a chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society.  This was just one of the many events that the group puts on each year.

I always enjoy looking at beautiful woodworking and what better things to make from wood than boats?   Here are a few of the boats on display.  Amazing stuff.

It seemed that there was varnished mahogany everywhere.  This one was one of the few boats that were actually new.  Beautiful!Some were much older but look new, like this lovely Garwood.All weren’t varnished.  I understand that this one was painted black when it was built, years ago, and is the only Garwood that was ever painted this color.  I guess if Darth Vador had a nice runabout, it would look like this.  “Luke, I am your father…Want to go for a ride?…While most of the boats on display were of the “go fast” persuasion, this lovely was clearly not in a hurry. I could just imagine the captain sitting in the cockpit sporting a straw boater.  Very classy.  “I’ll take another G&T please”. Her beam is very narrow.  It doesn’t take a lot of HP to move her along, I am sure.Perhaps my favorite boat of all was this sweet Old Town Canoe with her 1 1/2 HP inboard.  The owner told me that this was a popular option way back when and some years they sold upwards of 100,000 of these power conversion kits.  Actually, the motor, a two stroke, was the same engine as the outboard from Evinrude, but turned on it’s side. Note the pull cord on the flywheel to start it.  See the resemblance to an outboard?Pretty slick. What a great little motor.  Amazing how nice plain old bronze and brass fittings look when they are polished up and shiny.Love the brass rudder and prop.   I just love, love, love it.   And, a wonderful paint job complete with a gold leaf stripe between the light and dark green on the hull. Not all of the boats were “big”.  How about this little remote controlled tug? Wouldn’t this look great on a shelf in our home?  Yes, I want one.   It would be a pretty big shelf as the model is nearly 4′ long.  So, that’s a good example of what I am up to when I am not sanding away on Pandora.  I prefer strolling around the waterfront looking at boats verses holding a buzzing sander…  Alas, everything in balance, Bob.   Think balance…  I am thinking that I still hate sanding.   It will be over soon, I hope.  Then I can go sailing.  Yes, that’s good.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than a month since Pandora found her way to Essex and into “decommission mode” at the boat yard.  While sitting in the slip, she remained unused, waiting the word to pull her out for some work on the hard.

After months of being aboard when the morning would come and go with little done but reading and enjoying the scenery, it’s been hard to get back to my “frantic, let’s get going, self”, fine tuned over the years.  Now that I am back on shore, for a while, all I want to do is to enjoy the moment…  Alas, that dreaded “honey do” list hangs over my head.  Perhaps I’ll have another cup of coffee.

The yard has begun work on the engine to be sure that things are in tip-top shape after 3,000 hours of use over the years.  I don’t know what has been done to the engine prior to my ownership but, while I have done regular oil changes, not much else has been done to the engine during the 1,000 hours I have put on.

Sure, prior to hauling, I have done plenty to her including interior cleaning along with re-bedding some of the ports with the hope of solving the admittedly minor water leaks that have been vexing me for years.  Happily, all of those leaks are behind the cabin liner and don’t find their way into the interior, but I’d love to keep all water, behind the cabinetry or not, from entering the boat.

Happily, after months of trying to find the leak in the domestic water system, I can finally say that IT’S FIXED!!!.   After tearing up the cabin sole numerous times, I finally found a very minor leak under the sole in the galley.   I also replaced the water pump with a lower pressure unit and now all is well.  What the actual fix was is still unclear, but it’s solved, for now…  We’ll see.

When non-boating folks hear that I have a boat it seems that the first question out of their mouth is “what kind” quickly followed by “how big”.  My answer, a SAGA, is often greeted with a blank stare, as they have no idea what that is.  I guess they think that a SAGA is something that Hobbits do.  Not knowing what a SAGA is  makes sense, setting aside the Middle Earth thing, as there were not many made, only about 50.  For the second question, “how big”, my answer is often, “well, it depends how far from the dock I am”.   Far out to sea she feels really little.  Close to a dock or something else hard and she looks a lot bigger.  This shot of Pandora in the boat yard gives a pretty good feel for what “big” looks like.  Out of her element she looks enormous, to me anyway.

Note how much bottom paint is showing on the keel as she was coming out of the water. Pretty thin. It seems that much of the ablative paint, well, ablated over the year she was under way. I have to settle on a better paint going forward.

In any event, there’s plenty to do to get Pandora ready to be put back in the water by late July so I’d better get cracking.

Meanwhile, following our SSCA gam we had two couples visit us here in Essex. Both had hoped to get here in time for our event, but were delayed by weather. Have you noticed that it’s been raining? Yikes! It seems that it’s been weeks, since we have had a stretch of dry weather lasting more than a few hours.

Peter and Helga aboard Twiga, whom I had met in Little Harbor Abaco, in the Bahamas back in May, are on their way around the world, beginning in Cape Town South Africa. Their boat Twiga, is a catamaran and it will be their home for the next few years as they make their way around. Peter is from Germany and Helga from Austria. They purchased Twiga in Cape Town, ran over to Brazil and up to the Bahamas, where I caught up with them. Brenda and I were thrilled to have them visit us here in Essex.  From here they will head to Nova Scotia, down the coast from Maine, to Florida and on to the Panama Canal.  After that they will head to the South Pacific.  Sounds like a great trip.  Hmm…  Hope Brenda doesn’t read this post.

They are a very nice couple. That’s Brenda in the middle after a nice dinner. Happy group. Twiga is a bit unconventional by staid New England standards. Catamarans are becoming more popular every year and are down right pervasive in the Bahamas where the water is skinny.   Peter and Helga keep a website too and it’s worth checking out.  Great news, some of it is even in English.  

Speaking of “unconventional”, this UFO, as it was described by a cruising friend who passed it on their run down the Delaware River a few weeks ago, is actually a solar powered boat, Planet Solar.   Pretty wild and clearly “unconventional”.

This “boat” is run totally by solar and has gone all the way around the world. Imagine how big the batteries are. Actually there are several tons of them on board. The panels that power the boat are very similar to those on Pandora but there are many, many more. On Pandora folks are amazed at how much solar we have with just four panels. This boat has hundreds. Pretty amazing. You can learn more about Planet Solar on their website. Pretty interesting. You can even see where they are right now by clicking here.

So, how’s that for a post with a bunch of unrelated elements?  Well, all this blogging stuff isn’t getting Pandora ready to put back in the water so I’d better sign off for now.  

Perhaps a cup of coffee first…

 

 

I feel like it’s been ages since my last post.  After putting something up a few times a week when we were away, I have to admit that I find it hard to find stuff to write about when I am home doing chores, like cutting the lawn.  Having said that, I do like the mix of shore and afloat.  However, a major time sink over the last few weeks was getting ready for our first Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) Gam here in Essex which we had for three days over the weekend.

When Brenda and I traveled down the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW) last fall we took advantage of a terrific benefit of the SSCA, their “Cruising Stations”.  These “stations” are provided by members of the group that live in areas where cruisers pass by.  These folks agree to take members out to get groceries, marine supplies and other necessities when they stop by their area.  Last fall, prior to heading south, Brenda and I signed up to be the Essex Cruising Station with the goal of helping out fellow cruisers who visit Essex.

SSCA also has a number of Gams or meetings on the east Coast including one in Annapolis in September, November in Melborne Florida and an informal one day gam in Isleboro Maine in August.  It seemed to me that hosting a Gam here in Essex to connect with cruisers who are headed to Maine for the summer would be a good idea, and fun.  After much discussion about dates, we settled on late June.

So, how did the first Essex Gam go?  Thanks for asking.  It went very well, thank you.  The “event”, with a total of 35 participants was held over a three day period, with something happening each day.  While all attending spend time cruising, on small boats and a number of them live aboard, one couple, Harry and Jane of Cormorant, just returned from a 15 year circumnavigation aboard their 39′ Corbin.  What a nice couple and how interesting to hear about their journey.  I hope to have them speak to our group next June.  However, given their vagabond life, who knows where they will be in a year.  Actually, you can read about their travels on their blog.  I have not read much yet, but it’s got to be great reading.

Don’t they look like nice folks?  Photos don’t lie, at least this time.

We kicked off our Gam with a cocktail party at the Essex Yacht Club, where Brenda and I are members, on Saturday June 22nd.  I thought that having an informal cocktail party to kick things off would be fun, and it really was.  Here’s me calling the group to order to announce the weekends itinerary.  After years of getting folks attention by banging a spoon against a wine glass, in my previous life, it was so great to blow my conch horn.  So much more “cruiserly”.  I am happy to report that I blew it pretty well even with the pressure of an audience.  I am just so “mature” these days. 

On the next afternoon, Sunday, we had a potluck supper at the Essex Corinthians Yacht Club, next door.  That club is a little less formal than EYC where a pot luck, because EYC has a full service kitchen, wouldn’t work.   An SSCA member Ted, who lives aboard, brought along his guitar.  

On top of the group that came to the cocktail party on Saturday, a few late comers joined the group.  The weather was perfect and we had a terrific time.  We also had a speaker, Judy Silva who has just published a book “The Voyage of the Yankee Lady” an account of her voyage with her husband Jim up the Hudson River, into Lake Champlain, into the St Laurence River, past the Canadian Maritime provinces, including Newfoundland and back down the coast and back to the CT River where they began their trip.    This is Judy, Jim and me.   It was nice having them with us.

On Monday evening, the final night of the event, about a dozen of us attended the Sea Shanties at the nearby Griswold Inn just up the street.  

The “Gris” as she is known locally, is a very pretty colonial period inn and restaurant that is very popular with locals and visitors alike.   All decorated with her bunting she surely looks the part of a country inn.  The Gris hosts sea shanties every Monday night, year round.  It’s worth a visit but be prepared for standing room only, and on a Monday night of all nights.  

During the weekend some visitors took in the local Essex Steam Train, a great thing to do when you are in town.  The cars are very well maintained and this one in particular, well appointed.  

All and all, the weekend was a terrific time.   I couldn’t be more pleased with how it all worked out.  So happy, in fact, that we will be doing it again next year, probably over the weekend of June 21st.  

So, now back to work on Pandora who is supposed to come out of the water today.   On top of that, I have a patio to build for Brenda and there are a few more cruisers in town to take to the market.   Whew!  So much for a retired life of leisure.

Where’s my book?  I need to sit and read for a while….  Ha!!!

 

I was thrilled that the Naval Academy brought five of their 44s to Essex Yacht Club for the weekend.  It seems that they were on a training voyage, perhaps a “field trip” up the coast from Annapolis.  These rugged 44′ sail training boats are part of a fleet of a dozen vessels that they use for cadet training.  These are busy vessels, spending some 240 days a year on the water.

In an age when designers go out of their way to make boats more comfortable and easy to manage, the 44s are designed to be spartan and labor intensive.   Carrying a crew of ten, nearly all amenities are absent from these boats.   While Pandora is only one foot shorter, she is set up with all sorts of labor saving equipment including auto pilot, roller furling headsails, watermaker and microwave.   On the 44s, nada on all counts.

The designer, ‘David Pedrick of Pedrick Designs, who have designed winning boats over the years including two successful America’s Cup boats, working with a team from The Naval Academy in Annapolis, went out of his way to make these boats true to their Luder designed predecessors, as simple and tough as possible.  The design goals were described in an article in Blue Water Sailing Magazine.  The dozen boats were built in Maine at Morris Yachts, known for their beautifully appointed yachts.  

While these boats are rugged and simple, they are deliberately designed to be labor intensive to sail as they sport a crew of ten with plenty of bodies to keep them moving.  Interestingly, with a relatively short waterline relative to their length, they went with a design that isn’t particularly current.  It would be very easy to believe that these boats were designed twenty or more years ago.  However, under the skin, these boats are plenty modern with the latest high tech materials.  

These shots certainly show the dramatic difference between the 44s and the SAGA 43.  Not a lot of teak on deck on either design.   That’s good.

Oops, missing the dodger and bimini too. Not a lot to appeal to Brenda, I’d expect.

Ok, how about down below. The 44s have great lee cloths. The crew certainly won’t fall out of their bunks under way.  Notice the elaborate lee cloth system, including an aluminum pole, with block and tackle.  I believe that the lower bunk can even be hoisted to make it level on the weather side.  Pretty nifty.  Not great for lounging about off watch however.    I am told that they use a two watch system with five below and the rest on deck.   Nobody will get lonely on board a 44.  Pandora feels cramped with four on deck. 
Pandora, a bit more cushy perhaps.  However, I doubt that she would hold up for long with ten young cadets stomping around.  “Wait, watch out for the throw cushions.  Hey, don’t be so rough with the espresso maker…”

So, how about the forward cabin accommodations. Oops, someone stuffed the sails up there.  Forgot, no roller furling.  Well, you do have to keep those cadets busy.  Besides there are ten of them on board.  Recall what Brenda says about folks on board Pandora.  “six for cocktails, four for dinner and two sleep over”.  Perhaps not the Navy way.  Hmm…

Me, at this point in my life I prefer the forward cabin on Pandora.  It seems more fun and even Pandora’s sheep mascots enjoy messing around up there. 

However, spending time aboard Pandora won’t breed the sorts of leaders that the 44s will, I would expect.   Probably too much rum.  

You might say that by working hard, leaders might someday sail yachts, and those sailing on the Navy 44s become leaders who will someday have yachts.  With that in mind, the 44s are a good example of form following function.  That’s good. 

After my last post about the megayacht Marie, perhaps it is fitting that I write about our great day yesterday where we hung out with the non-megaboating set.  Let me explain.

In Essex there is a terrific museum dedicated to the preservation of steam trains.   The Essex Steam Train Museum is a very popular tourist attraction that draws visitors from all over.   While we did a trip on the train years ago, we have not been aboard since moving to the area a year ago.

About two weeks ago I was reading the local newspaper, an actual paper newspaper, if you can believe it, how quaint, and saw a notice about a planned 100 year celebration of the swing bridge in Haddam, over the CT River.  This opening bridge, with perhaps the longest opening span at the time, was an engineering marvel when it was finished in 1913.  Well, it’s now 2013… 100 years, a birthday? Get it?  Time to celebrate.

So, what better way to mark the 100th anniversary of the bridge than a run up the river in a historic, and beautifully preserved, steam train, ride in a riverboat and watch a parade complete with fife and drum and antique cars processing across a beautiful bridge?   Oh yeah,  and on a perfect cool and sunny spring day.  What could be better?  How about free hot dogs, ice cream, cookies etc?  Well, it was all that and more.

The train in Essex is beautifully preserved, a real classic, and in perfect condition. We boarded the train, and yesterday’s 7:30 AM run was free, to make the run up to the swing bridge dedication.   Free makes sense when you think about being out and about by 7:30 on a Saturday morning.  We were greeted by the president of the railroad museum.  This guy looks totally the part of railroad aficionado.  You can easily imagine him bellowing “aaalll aboooard!” (Is that how you spell all aboard?  Not sure.) as the train prepares to leave the station.  The train, and there are several of them, provide trips up the river valley and connects with the Becky Thatcher, an 80′ Mississippi style riverboat.  We enjoyed a run from Haddam back down to Deep River, where Pandora is moored for work for several months.

The train took us to East Haddam, home of the Goodspeed Opera House, which just happens to be on the eastern end of the “birthday bridge”.   They were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Opera House, so were happy to get in on the action.    The bridge looked splendid with a fresh coat of paint.  

As we arrived in Haddam, everyone got off of the train.  They really decked out the train with bunting for the occasion.  Forgive the thumb on the pix.  My “real” camera is on the fritz.  Yes, I could crop out my thumb but this blog is about real photos and really amateur photographers, me.  Besides, it’s so much easier to just post it and ask for forgiveness.  This is a blog with no shame…

This area of CT is very serious about classic cars, with a show cropping up what seems like every week.  Actually, I am told that there is a classic car meet every Tuesday evening in Deep River that draws 100 or so cars.  That’s a lot of meets.   Well, a bridge birthday was an opportunity, as good as any, to show up and they did.  I thought that this one from Essex, I am told, was particularly nice.  Hard to imagine Ford putting out a car like this today.  What a beauty. 

 

 

Fords were in abundance, and I loved the color of this one too.   

It was just so great to see the Fife and Drum corps making their way across the bridge.  The drums are so loud, I can only imagine what sort of hearing loss this group must have.  Hello?  Can you hear me now… at all, even a little?  Hello?   

The first car to cross was hardly a car.  Well, it even had a tiller to steer with.  I don’t know if it was even powered by gasoline.  What a classic.    

How about a fire engine?  I can understand having a classic car if you have an extra garage to spare.  Who has one that will fit a fire engine?   “Honey, guess what, I got a new vehicle.  It’s red.  It wasn’t that expensive, really.  Oh, and about that new barn that I need to build to put it in… And it gets even better, I have a perfect spot for your stuffed Dalmatian.”

This is the lovely Becky Thatcher that we boarded for the trip back down the river. Along the way we spied the train that was crawling along to keep pace with good old BT.  
We enjoyed watching the “race” against the steam train to the Deep River landing.

Along the way we passed Gillette Castle, a local landmark that is a great outing itself.  

We also went by a lovely old school that is for wayward boys, I am told.  It almost makes me wish I was a bad boy.  I could have gone there.  Drat…

Nearly back to Deep River Landing.  Pandora’s in the distance.  Actually, I should be aboard her working or she won’t be ready for sailing in August.  Never mind.  

Once back on the steam train, we passed lovely scenery on our way down to Essex.  We have taken our dink up into this creek for one of our “cocktail cruises” recently.  We have seen the train come by and blow it’s horn from the water.  It’s nice to be on the train looking out for once.  

All and all a great time.  In spite of it all, we were back home by noon and time for a nap.  Well, no rest for the weary, as we had dinner guests coming over, by boat.  Our third day of entertaining in three days but worth it.

Yes, time for a nap.  Besides, it’s Father’s day.  And, with Pandora out of commission for now, that makes me part of the non boating set, the 95% that don’t own a boat, and the 99.999% that can’t afford a megayacht, for now.    It’s fun to mingle with them now and then.

“Bob, Bob, have you fixed the leaking portholes yet?”  Quit it… I’ll deal with that tomorrow.  Remember, it’s Father’s Day.  Actually, some might suggest that every day is Father’s Day.  True enough.