{"id":4838,"date":"2015-09-04T13:42:55","date_gmt":"2015-09-04T13:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=4838"},"modified":"2015-09-04T13:42:55","modified_gmt":"2015-09-04T13:42:55","slug":"is-the-season-beginning-or-ending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=4838","title":{"rendered":"Is the season beginning or ending?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Friday morning and Pandora is heading from Wickford to Deep River to be hauled for a few weeks while I work on her to get ready to make the trip south. While most folks are just about ready to haul their boats for the winter, now that the iron doors of summer are about to close (this weekend is Labor Day), I am trying to get everything ready for our run south and a winter of sailing.<\/p>\n

My list, and it’s a long one, includes painting her bottom and finishing up a lot of little details like adding more LED lights as well as trying to settle on the proper propeller.\u00a0 The one that is on the boat is very nice if a bit over pitched for the engine.\u00a0 That means that I can\u2019t get a lot of RPM out of it when I am in a pinch.\u00a0 Yes, it makes for good speed and fuel economy but I can\u2019t get extra HP out of her when I need to.\u00a0 Anyway, the boat once had an Autoprop but the previous owner took it off because he says that it damaged not one but two transmissions.\u00a0 I put one on my last boat and was really happy with it so I\u2019ll have to see what I can do. \u00a0 Fortunately, the owner still has the Autoprop and agreed to send it to me. \u00a0Of course, I don\u2019t want to risk a wrecked transmission but it\u2019s something that needs to look into. \u00a0\u00a0I should have the other prop soon and will consider what to do next.\u00a0 The good news is that I can always take the Autoprop off and put the old one back on, if I decide that I don’t want it, even when the boat is in the water.\u00a0 It\u2019s not simple but can be done.\u00a0 More to come on that.<\/p>\n

I am also having the backstay split with isolators so that the stay can serve as an antenna for the SSB radio.\u00a0 I am really looking forward to having the SSB back in service.\u00a0 I miss hearing the weather router Chris Parker and also participating in the morning nets.<\/p>\n

As I write this I am approaching PT Judith and will soon turn west toward the CT River and home.\u00a0 The wind is from the NNE and blowing between 15-20kts so it will be behind me for the whole run and I should make good time.\u00a0\u00a0 The current at Watch Hill won\u2019t be with me when I arrive there but at least I\u2019ll be going fast and should still make decent time and get home today in time for dinner.<\/p>\n

We are really making time and moving along at better than 8kts with just about 10kts apparent wind on a dead run, wing and wing with the main and jib, a good speed by any measure.\u00a0\u00a0 And that\u2019s with a slimy bottom as things foul up pretty fast in August in Wickford with warm still water.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I visited Rodger Martin, the designer of Pandora, at his office at Newport Shipyard and enjoyed hearing about some of his current projects. \u00a0\u00a0He\u2019s a very nice guy and clearly loves talking about boats. \u00a0 I particularly loved hearing his South African accent.\u00a0\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>I was interested to learn that he designed the newest Outward Bound open boats that we have seen up in Maine.\u00a0 They are open boats and clearly not comfortable like Pandora. \u00a0However, they serve the program well give the \u201cfind yourself\u201d and \u201cgetting back to nature\u201d focus of the Outward Bound programs.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was fun to see a computer rendering of one of the boats on the wall in Rodger\u2019s office.\"\"<\/a>We talked a bit about the process of designing the Aerodne 47 and I was surprised to learn that it has the smallest sail to displacement ratio of any boat that he has designed.\u00a0 In spite of having a modest sail plan, the boat is very fast and stable.\u00a0 That\u2019s good and particularly appealing to Brenda.<\/p>\n

This launch has a gas turbine which weighs about 1\/3 of a diesel of similar power.\u00a0\u00a0 That, combined with carbon fiber construction, makes for a very fast launch.\u00a0 The bad news is that it sucks gas at a horrifying rate.\u00a0 Well, if you have to ask, you can\u2019t afford it.\u00a0 And, as the launch is a tender to a big yacht, he’s probably not asking.\u00a0\"\"<\/a>Rodger has a passion for fast sailboats and has a long history of designing ocean crossing racing yachts.\u00a0 This prototype, designed to show proof of concept for a larger version to challenge the clipper ship record from New York to San Francisco, sure looks like it can make tracks.\u00a0 Look at the keel canted out to weather.\u00a0 I wonder what happens if the wind suddenly shifts or dies?\u00a0\u00a0 With all that weight out on the end of that long keel, the result would surely get your attention.\"\"<\/a>After my time with Rodger I couldn\u2019t resist walking the docks at the shipyard to enjoy the view.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Bolero, the iconic ocean racer, is always a head turner.\u00a0 What nice lines. \u00a0Pandora has at least one thing in common with her. \u00a0They both have inflatable dinks.
\n\"\"<\/a>I asked Rodger why he felt that folks were moving away from sailing and into power boats. \u00a0His answer was interesting as he thinks that the designs today have moved away from boats that can sail well in light air so most find themselves motoring everywhere. \u00a0That’s an interesting perspective and I expect that there is some truth to that. \u00a0It’s clear that Pandora doesn’t suffer from that problem. \u00a0 NIce design Rodger!<\/p>\n

Speaking of fast, this sleek cold molded ocean racer, quite a contrast to Bolero,\u00a0looks like it\u2019s screaming along, even while she’s tied to the dock.\u00a0 The carbon mast and boom are a deep burgundy.\u00a0 Take a gander at the port holes cut out in patterns. \u00a0It’s like a floating piece of art. \u00a0 However, Brenda would notice right away that there isn’t a dodger, a non-starter for her, self described “sailing cream puff” that she is.\u00a0\"\"<\/a>Love the open transom.\u00a0\"\"<\/a>I saw Crossbow sailing off of Newport the other day. This isn\u2019t a boat for a casual afternoon sail. \u00a0\u00a0I wonder where she will be headed when they finish fitting her out. Don\u2019t loose your balance or you\u2019ll slip right out of the open transom.\"\"<\/a>The carbon bow sprit seems to be adjustable.\u00a0 What a piece of engineering.\"\"<\/a>A lot of hardware for the 1% folks moored here.\"\"<\/a>To cap off a great day in Newport a friend treated me to lunch at the NYYC Harbor Court.\u00a0 This was the long time home of the Brown family, of Brown University fame.<\/p>\n

There are amazing gardens out back.\u00a0 Love the lotus growing in the pond. \u00a0\u00a0The flowers are as large as a basket ball.\u00a0\"\"<\/a>These water lilies have leaves that are about 2\u2019-3\u2019 across.\u00a0\"\"<\/a>Love the view from the reflecting pond to the club house.\u00a0 Can you imagine living here when it was a private home?\"\"<\/a>As I finish up this post, I have rounded Pt Judith, with 15-20kts on my beam and am moving along really well, at almost 10kts.\u00a0 It\u2019s pretty amazing and I don\u2019t even have a reef in and the heel is only about 10 degrees.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0At this rate, I should be to Watch Hill Passage in less than two hours.\u00a0\u00a0 Amazing.<\/p>\n

Anyway, things are going to get very busy with Pandora on the hard for the next few weeks. \u00a0With the summer sailing season drawing to a close and winter just around the corner, there’s lots to do.<\/p>\n

End of \u00a0the season or the beginning? \u00a0Sunny Caribbean, here I come. \u00a0Well, that’s if I can get everything done.<\/p>\n

I think I can, I think I can…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Friday morning and Pandora is heading from Wickford to Deep River to be hauled for a few weeks while I work on her to get ready to make the trip south. While most folks are just about ready to haul their boats for the winter, now that the iron doors of summer are about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_s2mail":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4838"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4853,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838\/revisions\/4853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}