To destroy or not to destroy, that is the question.

It is more simultaneous destruction and reconstruction than destroy or not to destroy.  The port bunk in the main cabin is out, and the shelf behind the head is built and installed.  It used to be a salt water sink, but I saw no use for it there, as there is the galley sink that you can almost reach while sitting on the head.  The space looked more suited for storage than a second sink.  Plus, I am going to be installing a salt water pump for the galley sink.  The port icebox also came out while I was in deconstruction mode, as the drain from the icebox fell apart in my hand when I tried to take the drain hose off.  It also means that I can try to better insulate the box while it is apart.

Since she's not going in the water yet......

I decided to get into some bigger projects.  You will have to pardon the crap-tastic photo quality, as I forgot my camera and needed to use my phone camera instead.  What I tackled first today was painting.  Yes, never ending painting.  If painting had junk, I would kick him in it.  I am so tired of painting, but there is still so much to do.  I know, I know, it was a horrible choice to paint the interior of my boat white, but on the other hand, I can see the bottom of the bilge, to the back of hanging lockers, and into the bottom of under bunk storage.  The other thing is, I am using oil based industrial machine coatings, which are designed to take serious amount of abuse and still hold up nicely.  Some might say that I am not keeping with the spirit of boating by not using boat specific coatings.  If I had the money to spend, I would (maybe), but the reality of it is this: the oil based paint that I am using is pretty much the same stuff I can buy at the marine hardware store for twice the price.  No thanks!  Plus, I am only through doing the V-berth, the main bulkhead, and two hanging lockers.  I still have the majority of the main cabin to do once I rebuild the port bunk.

What a segue.  I started to deconstruct the port bunk today.  I was going to just try to rip it bodily out of the boat, but then thought better of it.  There was quite a bit of hardware that would be re-useable if I was careful, and if my rebuild plans did not work out, I could always re-install the old pieces of the cabinetry.  I don't see that as a likely outcome, but we will see.  If I do not throw it away now, then I will not need it later.

The deconstruction process was somewhat interesting to me, because I kept uncovering old paint.  I believe that the current incarnation of the cabinetry is not original, or at least not entirely.  I found this large patch of baby blue paint under the wood working that had been removed.  I think this is the original coloring of the boat, as I have found blue gel coat in holes I have drilled in the hull.  I am glad the boat isn't baby blue any more.  I don't find it to be a fitting color for a proper boat.  In any case, it is interesting to me to uncover what others have done to the boat during its life.  I'm sure the person that this boat passes to after me will wonder what I was thinking when doing my redesigns.  It is inevitable.

I also busted into the main hatch rail today.  I was appalled to find out the the rail was surrounded by filler and only glassed over with ONE, yes ONE layer of glass fabric.  There is no doubt in my mind that this is why it failed.  There is so little strength in one layer of glass.  I would have thought that it was going to be all glass, rather than almost no glass.  This boat is from the era of fiberglass when they did not know that they could make things rather thin and still get good strength out of them.  This was when hulls were made inches thick, rather than millimeters thick.   The boats from this era are tanks.  They can take a serious beating because they are so over-engineered.  ONE layer of glass for the hatch rail is amazing with the previous information in mind.  Thankfully the rail is on top of the cabin top, and not connected through to the liner inside.  This means that the rail does not leak into the cabin, so I do not have to be worried about it until I can fix it.  Unfortunately I broke the wood stringer that was inside the rail, so I am going to have to make another to fill its spot, but I am not too worried about this, as I am going to glass the crap out of it so it does not go anywhere.  The original stringer was also severely water logged from being open to the elements and not enough so to dry between rain storms.

Also, I have been thinking about this project recently, and how I got pushed over the edge to get started on it.  I have to extend a huge thank you to my friend Jonathan and his friends/fellow crew on Out of the Blue.  They came down last fall from Canada to race in a qualifier for J/24 Worlds, and we hung out afterwards.  They all told me that if I was thinking about doing this, NOW was the time, as I did not have any major commitments.  A few of the guys even mentioned that they wished they could be back to when they were my age so they could do it themselves.  This group of guys were the final push to get me going on this project, and I am so thankful to them for doing it!  I have been having a blast with the project, and do not think that I would have actually done it otherwise.  It would have just stayed a dream, rather than becoming a reality.  Thank you again guys!!!!

Columbia Carbon 32

So I have been trolling around the net today reading Practical Sailor articles (very very informative, BTW) and in general just trying to find more info on the projects I have coming up.  I came across the newest incarnation of Columbia Yachts and their boat the Carbon 32.  It is a full carbon-fiber race boat with only the absolute essentials for multi-day races.  I thought that my boat had a Spartan interior, but after a look at this racer, I have come to the conclusion that my boat is like a house in the Hamptons.  It may not be fast, but it certainly has all the amenities.

Having raced myself, I know what it means to have a no compromises sailboat at your command.  It is fast, exciting, and sometimes a little scary, but you don't care because you're too busy trimming, watching the wind, watching your competitors, giving orders to your crew, not to mention being focused on winning.  Do I think that the Carbon 32 would be a blast to sail?  Absolutely!!!  Would I want to live with it on a daily basis or sail it for pleasure?  Doubtful.  The reason is this: weight.  This boat is 6 feet longer than my C-26 so it would be logical to think that it weighs more.  WRONG!  The Carbon 32 weighs in at 4000 pounds. That is almost 1500 pounds lighter than the C-26.  Yes, weight is detrimental to speed, but weight makes for a more kindly sea-motion when beating to windward.  The C-26 can run a full main sail and a 150 genoa in 25 knots of breeze and be relatively upright to windward.  That means it can carry full sail during a small craft advisory warning.  I very much doubt that the Carbon 32 could even approach that kind of sail carrying capacity.  It certainly would not be even remotely comfortable doing so if it could.  

The other issue with super light weight racers, as I found out from a boat delivery captain, is that they are like a cork floating on the ocean.  They bob and pitch on every imperfection on the ocean's surface because they don't have the mass to punch through.  In some cases, this makes them slower than a traditional boat because the traditional boat doesn't waste energy bobbing and pitching, but rather just transferring power from the sails into forward motion.

I have no issue with the Carbon 32.  I would love to get the chance to sail/race one.  I also think that my life has changed to where I am not really as interested in the no-holds-barred racers, but rather a sensible, well found boat.  Also, racers do not really make for good live-aboards.  

The Carbon 32 photos came from columbiayachts.com and were used without permission.  

Aerocap Project

Since I started a new job recently, I have a 100 mile commute every day.  Eventually I might move closer, but currently, I would rather take the hit to commute so I can stay in Portland.  People have told me the cap looks really funny, or even dumb, but I really don't care, because I am getting 26+ MPG on the highway.  In case you forgot, it is a PICKUP TRUCK that is getting 26+ MPG.  Here is the rub: my Tacoma is supposed to get 26 MPG on the highway, but I was only averaging 24.95 MPG on the highway.  Since I put the cap on, my highway MPG average is now 26.27.  My driving has not really changed, but the MPG has improved.  While I am sure more technical ecomodders could get more out of the cap, but with just a little research into other people's projects and a cheap build, I've made a 5% improvement in my MPG without changing my speed on the highway.  That will save me about a gallon per week, which does not seem like much, but when you extrapolate that out, it is 52 gallons a year, or approximately $200 a year in savings.  It is amazing what just a little bit of modification can do for your fuel mileage.  If you're interested in learning more about ecomodding and driving for fuel efficiency, check out http://ecomodder.com/forum/EM-hypermiling-driving-tips-ecodriving.php.  This forum has been really helpful to me in trying to figure out what I was going to build, and has given me ideas for more modifications to improve my MPG.

Big Decision and more progress....

Yes, I know it has been quite a while since I have posted, but I have been working slowly on the boat.  It has been tough, since my shoulder has not healed completely yet.  Here is what I have been up to.

Rigging

Thanks to Jim of Port Rigging for helping me get all of my rigging set up and ready to go.  I finally have running rigging (halyards) for the boat, so now I can actually put the sails up.  I've even replaced the spinnaker halyard and pulley from the original equipment (49 years old).  The shivs have been replaced also, as well as the pins they rotate on, as the previous ones were corroded into place, and some of them had to be removed by a chisel.  

Cleaning and Prep

I spent yesterday scrubbing the boat down, as the outside was growing algae or something from being under trees for who knows how long.  Just giving the old girl a scrub makes her look like a new boat.  Unfortunately because it was raining, I do not have any pictures of the newly scrubbed boat.  Jenny helped me out with getting the old name off the boat and starting to scrape the paint to get the new name on the boat.  Also, the old outboard mount came off the transom, as I decided to use the outboard well built into the boat for my small Sailpower motor.  

AirHead Progress

Since I picked up the Airhead, I have not had time to complete the plumbing for the air circulation system.  I also did not know where or how I was going to plumb it.  It ended up having to be routed through the forward bulkhead and up through the V-berth.  The electrics are not hooked up, but then again, none of the wiring is hooked up currently through the entire boat.  

Rope Work

Since my boat lacked mooring lines, I had to make them.  I found a really great deal on a spool of 1/2" three strand nylon rope, so decided to make a full set of lines.  Jenny spent some time helping/learning how to whip ropes while I spliced loops into one end of them.  I made two bow lines, two stern lines, and four spring lines, and that has barely made a dent in the 600' spool of rope.  Also, most of the lines went into the boat, into to cockpit lazarrettes.  

The Big Decision

I have been pushing very very hard to get the boat into the water this year.  I have run my summer away working weekends on the boat instead of enjoying the beautiful weather.  While I really want to go sailing this year, it looks like its not going to happen.  While it is a disappointment to realize that I am not going to make my goal, it is also a relief to know that I now have months to do all of the things that I need to do.  That means I have time to wire the electrical system, rebuild the port bunk, rewire the navigation lights on the mast, install a depth sounder, install a speed gauge, and in general just have time to do things right, rather than just get them done.