>With all my weekends consumed with work on Pandora over the last few months, Brenda and I decided to take a vacation to Martha’s Vineyard, to stay at a friend’s home.  As if that’s not great enough, both of our sons came and brought their significant others.   Our oldest Rob has his birthday, Chris, you youngest (I guess that’s self evident as Rob is the oldest) has his 35th birthday today, April 9th.  How is it that he’s so old and I am so young?   Lauren, Rob’s wife, also has an April birthday so we were all set to celebrate.  We’ve been to MV many times over the years, in every boat that we’ve owned, beginning in the late 70s in TAO, our 20′ Cape Cod catboat and in more recent years in Pandora.  


Coming over on the ferry the other day was a very new experience for us as we’d always visited on our own boat. It’s certainly a lot less weather dependent aboard the ferry.


While it was plenty cold, I went out on deck to watch the sights go by.  Oddly, I was the only one that wasn’t inside where it was nice and toasty.  Perhaps it was the 20kt winds and temperatures in the 40s.  Hmm…


A nice crisp afternoon in April.  That’s Naushon Island in the background as we are leaving Woods Hole. 

Just outside the inner harbor is a really nice little draw bridge.  It’s been replaced in the last few years as the old one tended to stick in the closed position when the pavement got really hot in the Summer.   This one is so  over built compared to the old one,  I’ll bet that it will function well for many decades.

This shot, taken outside of the breakwater, and heavily exposed to the northerly prevailing winds of winter, was a lone sailboat on a mooring, complete with dink tied off of the stern.  Obviously, a liveaboard I would say.  It’s hard to imagine living aboard in such an exposed place over the winter.  I can only imagine how rough it gets, not to mention cold, when the wind pipes up.  It must be even more fun getting to and from shore in that little dink. 

Inside the breakwater it was a lot calmer and there were many more boats sitting on their winter moorings.   There are a good number of wooden boats that call their home Vineyard Haven harbor and the best place for a wooden boat to spend the winter is afloat.  This harbor is a particularly good home for wooden boats because of the yard Gannon & Benjamin, a well respected wooden boat yard right on the waterfront in Vineyard Haven.   There’s a great book about the yard that’s well worth reading, Wooden Boats: In Pursuit of the Perfect Craft at an American Boatyard.  It’s the story of a classic boat and her rebuilding at the yard.


Among the many boats launched at G&B over the years is this lovely catboat, the only craft sailing the waters when we arrived.  

In front of the catboat is one of the two schooners owned by the founder of the Black Dog, a very successful business started back in the 70s here on the island.  He started the business back in 1971 as a bar but has expanded to include a bakery, two schooners for day trips as well as a store with a Black Dog line of apparel.  While the store in Vineyard Haven was the first, they have expanded and now have local operations in most major New England ports.  They even have a webcam where you can see live photos of the harbor.

It’s a real treat to be here with our family and it’s likely to be a long time until we are all away together again.  A particular goal that we have is to have them visit us when we are in the Bahamas or Caribbean.  Something to look forward to but that’s a topic for a future post.

>It’s been a very long winter and the last of the (record?) snows are now melted.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that it’s 25 degrees out and it’s 11:00.  Not what you’d expect for late March.  Alas, I digress.  The really good news is that I continue to make progress, if slow, on the projects for Pandora.  The fridge upgrade is done with a newly installed compressor and cold plate so that we will have a true freezer instead of the wimpy little box that couldn’t even hold ice cream. Can you imagine a proper vessel that doesn’t have the ability to keep ice cream? Hmm…  On the true other end of the spectrum, literally, I am also making progress on the holding tanks.   While the going is slow, with work being very busy (another good thing) there’s just not a lot of time for projects like this beyond the weekends.

One evening after work this week I did take some time to enjoy a few hours in the shop constructing the framework for an ottoman for the main salon of Pandora.  My friend Marc who lives aboard his SAGA 43, and has for many years, showed me this idea on his boat and I had to have one.  The ottoman is constructed out of 5/8 marine grade cherry plywood and is designed to have a full hight cushion that will match the new cushions being made for the main salon.  The box is lightweight but sturdy and has internal supports made out of 3/4″ oak.  The entire box is fastened with #6 pan head self tapping SS screws.

This shot shows the box in it’s rough form.  The next step will be two coats of varnish on the interior and then I will drop it off at the canvas shop to be covered with a nice contrasting cover of Ultrasuede.  The top is designed to be removable so that we can use the interior for storage.  The interior is 18″x18″x12.5″ so that’s a decent amount of space.

Before I drop it at the canvas shop, I will put a few coats of varnish on the interior.  I wouldn’t want to have those chips and cookies stored in a compartment that isn’t varnished, would I?  Only the best for Pandora’s Pringles.

As the plywood is relatively thin, I needed a structure to screw the fastenings into, so these stringers, rounded of course, will serve nicely.

The cover will have the cushion affixed to it and the interior lip will fit nicely into the base of the box.   When we are under way the ottoman will nestle between the dining table and the port settee.

While I try to do most projects myself, the new radar arch isn’t something that I can tackle on my own.  Sorry about that.  However, I could make a great looking arch out of wood.  Perhaps not.  Anyway, my arch is being made up in Canada by a terrific fabricator Klacko Marine and will be shipped down in the next two weeks.  The owner of Klako, Doug, did all of the stainless fabrication for Pandora when she was built.  Doug’s work is really first rate.  While the arch isn’t yet done, Doug sent these photos as an update on his progress. Notice that there are horizontal bars on the side of the arch that we can climb up on to escape rising waters, no make that to service the radar or other instruments.  Perhaps some will even choose to jump from the arch for a swim.

This photo isn’t of my arch, but it shows how the radar will fit on top of it once I move it from it’s current spot on the backstay.  The nice part of this is that I won’t have to purchase another mount and will just be able to  slide the Questus unit on top of the bar that will be welded directly onto the arch.

My holding tanks are progressing slowly but surely and are now ready for two coats of gelcoat to ensure that it’s not only water tight but vapor tight as well.  Black water tanks (aka: sewage) must be really well made as they tend to become stinky over time.  Now that all of the interior work is completed I will secure the lids with epoxy paste, lots of screws and several layers of fiberglass mat.  I will also cut an access port into the lid so that I can clean the tank as needed.  These tanks will be first rate, I hope.  I should note that I wouldn’t have been able to make this project happen without the help of the folks at LBI.  While their main business is doing industrial fiberglass and other fabrications for the Navy and others, the owner is an old friend of mine as he sold me and Brenda our first boat, a Legnos Mystic 20 Cape Cod Catboat.   We had a great time aboard “TAO” and cruising on that boat took us from Western Long Island Sound as far away as Nantucket.  This article from the Chesapeake Catboat Association shows photos of her sister ship Gull who was owned by our great friend Bill Hoover.  He did love that boat. Yikes, another digression, and a major one at that.  Back to LBI.  Along with the fabrication business, they have a terrific line of fiberglass and resin supplies. You can view this source to get an idea of these resin supplies.  Deb, in their customer service area, was a great help to me in making this project possible.

There are several fittings that will provide an inlet and outlet for the “stuff” to get into and out of the tank.  These fittings are fiberglass reinforced plastic and are bedded in several layers of fiberglass mat.  These guys aren’t going anywhere.

It’s good that I like this sort of work as these projects are time consuming.  However, as much as I like working on Pandora, I much prefer sailing and that’s likely to happen soon with warm weather just around the corner.

That’s all for now.

>I haven’t posted since December, first because I was so busy with the holidays, and second because I couldn’t get into the site.  Frankly, I often not sure what to writer about when Pandora’s not in the water.   Then I had password problems with the site.  I had difficulty with my password in early January there wasn’t anywhere to turn to solve the problem.  When I set this blog up 4 years ago I was using a different e-mail address which I don’t have access to anymore.  Well, tonight I was reading a friends blog (more about that later) and I decided to try and log on again.  After a few tries, I stumbled on the correct password.  I really don’t know why it didn’t work before as I thought I tried it.  However, clearly I didn’t.

Well, I’m back and I am becoming very excited about this coming sailing season aboard Pandora. For those of you who have read past posts, you are aware that I started a new business with a partner just over a year ago.  My goal was to continue to work but to be able to do so with less focus on “being in the office”.  With all the communications gear available these days, why not work aboard?

I am happy to say that things are going very well now and we are very busy.  While I fully expected year one to be really tough, and I wasn’t disappointed on that point, things have really picked up now and we are very busy.

That’s the good news.  The bad news is that it’s going to be a busy summer but at least I can continue to work aboard Pandora where I have set up an office complete with a cell booster, internet access and even a printer.

For this summer, the plan is to launch a few weeks before Memorial Day and head to Mystic CT where we have access to a mooring.  Our cruising plans through the end of June include eastern Long Island Sound, Block Island and the waters around Newport RI.    After that we will head up to Maine where we will be sailing through Labor Day.  There will probably be a few trips home to see clients, but it will mostly be a waterborne summer.  The big challenge for me will be keep up with the demands of work while being on the water.  Plenty of distractions from both, I am sure.

It’s been a busy winter or work on Pandora.  In spite of the really cold and snowy weather, I have been aboard Pandora for a day or two most weeks working on one project or another.

Here’s what I have been up to.

First.  I built a new spice rack behind the fridge.  I went to great pains to be sure that the cabinetry was exactly like what SAGA built elsewhere aboard which definitely slowed things down.  However, I am very pleased with how things came out.  This photo gives a good feel for how it’s situated.

I also purchased a new refrigeration system to augment the one that came with Pandora from the factory.  While the original unit was great for keeping food cool, it wasn’t really set up for sub-zero freezing.   This required the addition of a freezer box within the fridge compartment and a really powerful DC driven cold plate.   The system that came with the boat had three evaporator plates secured in an aluminum box (like you would expect to see in an old style small refrigerator).  In order to make the system work better for my new arrangement, I separated the plates from the box and secured them to the sides of the box.  This set up is a much more efficient use of space and will actually allow me to put more items in the fridge.  This means that we have one system for the fridge and another for the freezer compartment. Learn more about woodworking and how to get the perfect finish as the info is Continued here.

All and all, this is a much better arrangement.  You can see that the panels don’t take up much room at all.  Notice that they are secured in the top of the compartment so that they won’t come in contact with food which would cause freezer damage to delicate produce.  There’s a full foot of space below what you can see.  The good news is that SAGA put in 4 inches of insulation so I won’t be cooling the entire world when I crank this baby up.  However, this setup is still the biggest energy hog on the boat, by far. You can look at this site for more information on the procedure for insulation.

This shot shows the new freezer compartment, made of one inch of foam insulation sandwiched between two sheets of white plexiglass.  It’s just outboard from the fridge shown above.

You my be asking yourself how much power this will consume but fortunately, my solar panels put out loads of power so I expect to be able to turn things on when Pandora goes into the water and keep everything frozen all summer.  This is particularly notable given the fact that she’s always on a mooring or on the hook.  No shore power for Pandora, that’s for sure.

You can see here that the solar panels are indeed big.  At peak output I have seen 35amps.  Each panel is rated for 135 watts.  That’s 540 watts and no, I don’t understand the conversion from watts to AH into the batteries.   BTW, I have over 700AH of gel batteries so I have loads of capacity.  With the panels, I generally get over 100AH per day in northern climes which is plenty to run all the equipment on board.

We also purchased a hard bottom inflatable dink which will be somewhat heavier than our current tender so we had to have a more substantial davit system.  With this in mind, I have ordered a new radar arch/davit setup which will look like the one on Firecracker, sistership to Pandora.  You can see here that this is a much better system and one that I can operate from my electric cockpit winch when I want to put the tender into the water or pull it up.

You can see Pandora on the right and the other system on Firecracker.  The davit setup is very different and  I am very excited about this upgrade.

As they say “but wait, there’s more” as I am also making new holding tanks to replace the crummy aluminum ones that came with the boat.  I have never done fiberglass layup on a “large”, for me, project before but with good guidance I am very excited about this.  The tanks will be formed inside of melamine coated molds from 5 layers of 5oz fiberglass mat with vinylester resin coated, inside and out with two coats of gelcoat.  I am a bit anxious about the project and intend to tackle it this weekend.  Here’s one of the custom molds that I made.

Finally, I also needed a place to store cell phone, hand held VHF and my air horn so I built this nifty holder to go inside the companionway.  We will see if it gets in the way.  Time will tell on that one.

There are other projects but I will cover them later.

>One of my favorite places to visit in Maine is the island of McGlathery, located just under three miles south east of Stonington Maine.  Brenda and I have been visiting the island for nearly 20 years as we have explored many spots along the Maine coast.

Stonington and McGlathery are both located in Merchant Row, a collection of islands that were once a hotbed of granite quarries that were teeming with commerce prior to the introduction of concrete as a preferred building material.

While there are a number of sheltered anchorages in the area, McGlathery is one of my favorite because there is a cove on the northeast side of the island and a gently sloping beach that’s easy to land on.   This satellite photo of the island clearly shows the cove on the north east side and it’s well protected from the prevailing winds as well due to the tall pine trees covering the island.   The island is owned and managed by the Island Heritage Trust, a group that’s dedicated to preserving islands like McGlathery for all to enjoy.  The island is also a popular spot to visit with sea kayakers and is highly recommended by www.paddletrips.net.  Here’s a link to the specific part of their site about the island and features a good map of the area.  

Even though this photo was taken nearly 100 years ago, Stonington doesn’t look a lot different now than it did then.  However, there are a lot more boats in the harbor and they are nearly all lobster boats.   This link gives an interesting history of the area. 

 Nearby is also Crotch Island, named because of a slot in the middle of the island that makes it look like a pair of short pants. It is the only currently active quarry in the area and has supplied granite to many notable sites in the US.  In particular, it’s stone has been used in the George Washington Bridge, Kennedy memorial in Arlington as well as a recent installation in the New Yankee Stadium.  This is an interesting article about Yankee Stadium and Crotch Island’s involvement.   As I look at this photo of Stonington above I believe that it was taken from Crotch Island itself.

>In response to my last few posts, my friend Tom from Marblehead MA wrote me to suggest that I write about one of his favorite places to visit in Maine, Frenchboro.  It is indeed a great spot and one that I really like to visit as well.  Frenchboro is a great stopping place if you are headed east from the Boothbay area on your way to Bar Harbor.  It’s located just south of Swan island and is one of the outlying islands that is inhabited year round.

Frenchboro is the name of the town itself (the only one actually) and is located on the island of Long Island.  It’s quite remote and there’s no place to buy groceries or get fuel.  However, there is a great dockside restaurant where you can get a wonderful lobster dinner overlooking the harbor.  You can  even top off your meal with a great piece of wild Maine blueberry pie made there.  The town has a nice website that’s worth checking out.

Getting to Frenchboro is easy by boat but if you don’t have a boat you can still get there by ferry which runs a few times a week.  During the summer there is also a tour boat that goes out of Bass Harbor and includes a hike on the island.  To that point, while the island is small, there are a number of very nice walking paths that you can take to get a good feel for the island.

A considerable amount of work goes into keeping year round island life vital in Maine and Frenchboro is at the forefront of that effort.  The town has had an active homesteading effort to bring young families to the island over the years.  I expect that it’s not an easy place to live at any time, most specifically in the winter when access to the mainland is so limited.  According to Wickipedia, there are only 11 families living on the island.  I guess that’s the year round population as there are more than that many homes.  Living near New York, it’s hard for me to imagine what it would be like in the winter out there with only two ferry runs per week and about 10 families to hang out with . I’ll bet that the dynamics can get pretty interesting at times.  Need milk?  Actually, need beer?  The ferry from the mainland only runs twice a week year round and has an extra trip in the “warm” season. There’s a convenient link on their home page to the Maine State Ferry schedule. 

There is a great library on the island (given the sized of the population) and it’s worth making a stop to take a look around.  There are some local crafts for sale and it’s a nice place to hang out for a rest.  The also have a computer where you can check for your e-mail too.   If you want to learn more about this fascinating island and it’s rich history you should get a copy of the book Hauling by Hand, a history of the island and families that have lived there for ever.  This book was written by a member of the Lunt family from whom many of the inhabitants are a member or descend.   It’s well written and exhaustively researched.   If you love Maine, you will want to read this boo.  It is available from Amazon or you can visit the Frenchboro library and purchase a copy there. 

To say that this is a scenic place doesn’t begin to describe how beautiful the island and it’s homes are.  Unlike so much of the Maine coastal areas, most of the homes on the island are modest and many are occupied year round by fisherman.

Even the clutter on the island is scenic.  This is a particularly colorful pile of lobster buoys and such a contrast to the white painted homes.

The harbor is very well protected and has a real feel of old rural Maine in the architecture. 

You can rent a mooring for $25 in the outer harbor which is quite calm and very close to the town dock.   On top of that you will be treated to a fabulously peaceful view first thing in the morning.  It doesn’t get any better than this.

Yet another wonderful view.  What a contrast of red and green.   I am fairly certain that this photo was taken at Frenchboro.  So many wonderful photos.  The rest?  Yes, I am certain where they were taken.  Scout’s honor.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Frenchboro lobster festival which is held each August.  Brenda and I have not attended as there always seems to be a conflict with some other event that we want to attend.  However, I am told that it’s a great time and the one weekend of the year that the island really hops.  We hope to make it this year.   As I write this I wasn’t able to find any reference to a date for 2011. 

I can’t wait until spring and Pandora goes back in the water although that seems a very long way off right now as it’s only 34 degrees out right now.   At least I can write about the great places that we will visit.   Here’s to an early spring.