Hurricane Irma and HideAway - Just One Little Thing

We learned a lot about hurricanes this year, but Irma gave us plenty of dark nights without power to contemplate our place in the universe.

Com Pac 23 Keel Board Broken Gasp!

HideAway has sat on a 2x12x10 for at least the last 14 years or so.   I've noticed the boat seemed to set a little oddly.  The bow seemed to be down some.  C'ourse that shouldn't happen since the trailer jack tips the boat up.

There is always a cause of most anything and you can be sure if a boat is involved it will be something nasty to repair.

TAKING A STAB AT TRAILER REPAIR

So I thought I'd take a stab at it.  Can't be that much trouble can it?  

I've never seen wood do this in such a grand fashion, but you know the HideAways.

.

SEE THROUGH LUMBER INC. 

There's a fair amount of rusting going on as well.  The keel board was only held in place by one bracket neither looked healthy. Other than the large cracks the board was not rotted. 

ONE OF THOSE OH S MOMENTS

This keel board has a secret wish to become a teeter totter.  Just not on my boat trailer please.

NOT A WISE CRACK= COMPAC 23 KEEL BOARD

The crack was just aft the point of keel contact.  On this recovery the keel rested almost a foot further back towards the stern of the trailer.

There was a knot involved in the conspiracy to ruin my day.  The good news is we found it before the HideAway took a nose dive 

HideAway in her expensive wet slip retreat

SMALL BOATS ROCK!!

Your Custom Sail Boat iPhone 7 Case
by MACmedia

Put your boat photo here

Sailing HideAwayMast Stepping The movie

 Some thoughts on mast stepping before you tackle the job.  We've made several mistakes  so you don't have to.  What a deal!

St Pete Beach Florida Magnet
by MACmedia

SMALL BOATS ROCK!!

Which Doctor?

Original art by Matt Maloy  Sailing HideAway

As I was setting up the cameras to film the relaunching of our sailboat, the HideAway, I took a bit of a tumble.     The lens cap on my camera fell off and was rolling down the ways to the water.   Not about to let that happen, I made a diving lurch protecting my camera by holding it high above my head while reaching down with my other arm to corral the rolling cap.   

Off balance, I did a fine imitation of one of those rolly polly bugs you remember from childhood.   Meanwhile, my lower ribs slid under my hip bone.   It was every bit as painful as it sounds, but I saved my $5.00 lens cap and provided a bit of entertainment for the ever present dock watchers.

It hurt so bad that I thought maybe I should see my doctor.  So I dialed the number.  If you have hearing aids as I do you know how difficult telephone conversations can become.  The nurse said my regular doctor couldn’t see me that day and asked “Which doctor?….” and said some other stuff  I couldn’t make out,  but I said  “ok”.       

“Come on down then”  she replied.

The nurse escorted me down a long hallway deep in the clinic to a room I’d not seen in prior visits.  Glass beads hung in the doorway and the room was poorly lit.   Several large mounds of smoky candles were burning, their melting wax creating sculptured water falls onto the floor.   There were smoking sticks emitting strong, although not unpleasant odors scattered about in the room with walls of many colors. 

I sat on a stool

 in the middle of this room of wavering shadows and swirling fragrances waiting for the doctor.  As my eyes adjusted to the light and smoke I noticed an enormous man sitting on a higher chair that was adorned with things you may have dreamt about and fortunately failed to remember until now.    As I recall his name consumed most of the letters of the English alphabet and could not be pronounced anyway.

He began to speak but I could not fathom a word he said.  Granted, I may have had my hearing aids crossed and was hearing stereophonic sound backwards.  My mind by then was as smoky as the room.  

So I pointed to where it hurt and he poked at it with his finger.

“Ooooo….  Eeeeee!!!” I winced

“Ooooo Eeeee?” he asked “ Ooooo…    Ooooo…    Aahhh! He diagnosed.

Then he went into a long dissertation about going to Walla Walla in, on, or with a “Bing Bang”.

    

It may have been the candles or in may have been the smoldering sticks but I’d had enough. I got up, staggered through the smoke and glass beads and went home.  I took a couple of aspirins, but I didn’t call him in the morning.   

SMALL BOATS ROCK!   

Your Custom Bottle Cooler
by SailingHideAway

Use Your Boat Picture/Art 

Making Hatch Boards Com-Pac 23

ACQUIRE THE RIGHT WOOD- ITS THE $$$ ONE

On the HideAway our hatch boards have several uses.  They are our dining room table, chart desk, part bunk when sleeping on deck and solution to any problem that needs a flat thing.  Our hatch boards need to be strong, able to handle considerable abuse and weather a tropical climate.  And not so pretty that a gouge would bring a wet eye.

Perhaps the most important thing to consider about making hatch boards is your choice of wood or some variety of plastic.   If you choose Plexiglas, smoked or non, to add more light below consider making the bottom panel a solid color to maintain a level of privacy. (Don’t ask)   

 I Prefer Wood -

at least until someone invents a suitable wood-colored plastic. Unless you enjoy woodworking enough to redo the project every couple of years, Exterior Grade hardwood plywood with no voids is required.  3/8” plywood or the metric equivalent works fine.  Any thinner and it will warp - thicker will jam.   A little side to side play is good.

The Project Is Pretty Straight Forward

THE DOG EARS WILL INCONVENIENCE FLYING STINGERS

 I added a dog ear to both sides the top piece to inconvenience our mud wasp community.   It is not a tight seal but it is effective.   Trial and error is the order of the day.   I left a bit of room for my solar collector cord to pass on the starboard side

HOW I MARK THE LINE

Place your boards together and trace your old boards onto the new one.  It is a more precise project than it looks.

  Be careful to ensure your pencil marks are really 90 degrees from the wood.

LOOKING DOWN ON THE WOOD THIS WILL LOOK OK- IT'S NOT 

 It’s easy to add an eighth inch to each side without realizing.  An error you won’t discover until the first fitting.

KEEP THE LEAD TO THE WOOD INSTEAD OF THE PENCIL

Wood Working Tools

I do not have access to a band saw or a table saw so my wood working arsenal consisted of an electric, hand guided jig saw, my mostly plastic circular saw, metal drywall guide, spring clamps, angle finder, sander, bits of plywood, a deep breath and a straight arm.   

A TABLE SAW WOULD BE MUCH EASIER BUT LESS DRAMA

The original boards had a 22 degree bevel between the upper and lower pieces to guide rain water away.  Most of the information I found on the web used a 45 degree angle.  I did a practice cut of both and decided the advantage of the 22 was less exposed plywood layers and less likelihood of damage.  Some weeks later I noticed the top board had the same bevel.  This would make closing the sliding hatch cover easier, but I’m not likely to make the change soon.   All that epoxy and such....

LEVER CLAMPS!

 Fit and Finish:  

Make Sure Everything Fits Before You Finish It.

After the boards were sanded, cut and fitted I covered all, and I mean all, plywood edges with epoxy.  The interior panels are stained, followed by multiple coats of spar varnish.  The exterior sides received Cetol Natural Teak finish.  Consider making the lower panel interior side a darker color than the exterior for easier identification.   

CAN YOU SEE THE BEVEL CUT OR THE FINISH?  MAGIC

SMALL BOATS ROCK!

Sailing HideAway Navigation Binder
by SailingHideAway

Sailing HideAway GenoaTrack & Car Replacement

I knew I forgot something!

Filling the Old Bolt Holes

The thought of mixing epoxy and cramming it into 30+ small holes is not as appealing as it sounds. 

I found Waterweld, made by JB Weld, at a local home center.  
It looks like a tube of round cheese with similar consistency. Looking at the end of the roll you'll see the center is a different color than the outer part.  The procedure is to cut off a small slice and knead it until it is solid white. 

The clay like material can be formed into any shape  and worked great for plugging the bolt holes.  It's thick enough not to require support from down under for bolt sized holes. 

According to the Website

After curing, it can be drilled, tapped, filed, sanded and painted. WaterWeld has a set time of 15-25 minutes and sets hard in one hour.  Use of rubber gloves is recommended.  

It's too early to tell how well it works, but since it is made to seal leaks in anything except emails, I have no reason for concern. 

Track Sealer

I did not put any kind of sealer under the new track for three reasons. The original installation did not use sealer.   By drilling the holes slightly smaller than the bolt allowed the bolt to carve threads in the fiberglass that hopefully will prevent leaks.  The new "T" track has a concave bottom.  It would require a lot of sealer and probably make a mess without likely doing much to prevent leaks.  

"T" TRACK BOTTOM

You may have noticed the long shadows in the latter part of the video.  This was filmed late afternoon on a new years eve just before the Hoot.

What's a Hoot you ask?  Well here's one HOOT 

SMALL BOATS ROCK!!

HideAway Goes Home

A TIME TO REFIT AND A TIME TO GO HOME

There a major advantages to bringing your boat home to your work shop.  I’m glad we did. It saved a lot of frustrating drive time and made the work much easier .   However, as nice as it was to look out from my living room window and see HideAway perched majestically on her trailer, I somehow lost my identity of being a sailor for the same reason.    Watching my videos helped of course.  I made the videos to sail when I couldn’t, if you know what I mean.

Are Sailboat Projects Sailing?

Anyone who takes on a major boat project may tell you that projects are part of being a sailor.   It’s just not the same though.  You can’t just hop on board for a day sail when it takes more than a day to get the projects shut down, tools collected and parts stored.  Besides, while some of the projects are fun to do quite a lot of them involve long, hard, physical work in hot, cramped places. 

   

The Summer Heat Broke Late This Year.   

It was well past Thanksgiving before the fall/winter sailing season became possible.  It’s time to take HideAway back to her home.  There are still projects to do of course, but the major work has been completed as recently as New Years Eve.  The video may have to wait a bit – We really need to go sailing!

SMALL BOATS ROCK! 

The Truth About Chain Plate Bolts

You may think your chain plate bolts are solid and strong-They look ok don't they?

So did we until we broke the head off of one!  Then another- Then another.....

Pirates of the Stinging Kind Board HideAway

SV HIDEAWAY COM-PAC 23- AC ON FULL BLAST!

As with most summer days in these parts, the end of the refit day brought the threat of storms capable of dropping huge amounts of rain in a short time. Before debarking I’ve developed the habit of checking the cockpit drains.

A nice feature on HideAway, a Com Pac 23, is the cover over the fuel tank and the scuppers.  The sturdy "L" shaped fiberglass cover/seat does not extend to the cockpit sole to allow water to flow under it and the fuel tank.   

COM-PAC 23 FUEL TANK COVER/SEAT

 Removing the cover is a two handed affair leaving one without an immediate view of its underside and what might be lurking there.   My concern over clogged scuppers veiled the existence of pirates!

A swarm of angry wasps that clearly had taken over the boat flew around my face first then formed a sort of dry water spout of swirling wasps.

SV HIDEAWAY FUEL TANK COVER/SEAT REMOVED

The Human Brain Is A Funny Thing.  

It has a mechanism for just such threatening events going back to the beginning of humankind.  Popularly known as the “fight or flight” response or scientifically, the Autonomic Nervous System.  Turns out the ANS is not connected in any way to the rational thought process.  It exists to only protect the brain and associated accessories from eminent danger.  


The ANS determined the best response to the Pirate Wasps was to leave the boat immediately, which apparently meant head first down an eight foot ladder. 

THE LADDER OF FORTUNE

Fortunately, my left leg would hear nothing of this and grabbed the life line while the rational brain was contemplating the relative density of the increasingly closer mother earth.  A long uncertain moment passed as I hung there looking much like a gecko I’ve seen in a similar position but without the certainty of a good outcome. 
Eventually I righted myself, descended the ladder, (this time in a manner suggested by the manufacturer) then developed a plan to retake my ship.  

A Water Borne Attempt Seemed Fitting

I approached from the starboard side, climbed up the trailer and hanging with one arm around the winch, let loose with a blast from my garden hose set at maximum pressure.  

It Didn’t Help.  

I ran to the port side and up the ladder boarding the boat without stopping.  I managed to reduce their fort, OK-nest to the consistency of a wet sponge.  Without thinking about its potential occupants, I reached down, grabbed the nest and threw it overboard.  My neighbor, who was riding about on his lawn mower, seemed as enthused as myself about the accomplishment, but upon reflection probably not for the same reason.

The HideAway Was Mine!

The rational brain deduced this would be a good time to wash down the entire deck.  A mindless task to be sure, seasoned only by the sensation of a half drowned wasp crawling up my bare leg.

Habits Are Good Things

One of my best and what saved me this day was tying off the ladder to the stern cleat.  Had I not done so the result surely would have been more serious than the purple bruise going from my knee to a place you don’t want to visualize. 

CLEATED LADDERS SAVE LIVES

  Other Good News -

Life Lines Actually Work!   

SMALL BOATS ROCK!

Add your own photo and text!
Cans or Bottle!
SV HideAway on Zazzle!
Custom Beverage Can Cooler by MACmedia
View another Drink Cooler  

Need to Haul-Out Without the Out? Just Add Water

After a recent tropical storm paid an ugly visit to our fine bay a few of the anchor out flotilla came to painful rest on rocky rip rap.  

The Calm After the Storm

 Rescued from further embarrassment and fragmentation this sailboat found her way to our docks.  She suffered a broken rudder among many other ills. 

Rudder?  What rudder?

The vessel expended her remaining allotment of seaworthiness to traverse the 50 yards or so to safety.  It was a harrowing but successful journey.  

Where Boat Dollars Go
A real haul out is necessary to fix all of her woes but first the rudder needed desperate attention.  

Water Ballast

The best way to reach what was left of the spade rudder required adding water, lots of it, to the bow.

With her stern uncomfortably high in the water and her bow looking as if it were part of a submarine, some of the damage was exposed. 

A Water Lever 

A creative solution born of immediate necessity 

Put your own photo and Text here
Bottles or Cans
SV HideAway
Sailing Bottle Cooler by MACmedia
Look at another Drink Cooler