Where'd the old boats go?

I pulled up craigslist, and for no reason in particular clicked on the following ad:

             Cheap Sailboat $600

To my surprise, it was Blue Dolphin - our old Irwin 25. What a shame - apparently she is now in pretty bad shape...but still, $600 - that sounds like a pretty good deal! Maybe I'll post a reference on the Irwin owner's group so that someone else can enjoy her like we did.

Seeing old 'Blue' got me thinking - where have all my other boats gone? Since I've been in Texas I've owned a Coronado 25, Cal 27, Ranger 23,  Pacific Seacraft 31, Islander 24, Capri 15, and the Irwin 25 - and I haven't kept up with any of them. I frequent several marinas, am out on the water quite a bit, and constantly scan the classifieds - although the psc 31 has not moved, the Irwin and the Islander are the only two I've run across again:

With the exception of the psc 31, I sailed these boats frequently and as soon as I sold them they seemed to drop off the face of the Earth. Maybe that's just the way it is with inexpensive sailboats - the idea of sailing often trumps the act of actually using the boat, or maybe I just dealt with a lot more aggravation then the next owner wanted to....

Water in the Bilge

I went down to the boat before work yesterday and she had a lot more water in the bilge then she normally does - almost up to the floor! Apparently the float switch isn't working. Somewhat panicked, I pumped the bilge dry and began my investigation.

All hatches were secure, and we hadn't had much rain - so this appearance of water was very alarming. I grabbed a flashlight and started at the bow. No signs of wetness under the v-berth, no wetness around the head's hru-hulls (mental note: this rusty gate valve needs replacing), no water from the water tank, dry holding tank, dry galley area,empty  icebox, dry through hulls, dripping stuffing box - aha!

Instead of the standard 2 or 3 drip per minute, there was a constant dripping. Not having a decent pipe or spanner wrench on the boat, I reluctantly left - as I was already late for work. I decided that I could take care of it today - but now it looks like home chores and tasks are keeping me away. Hopefully it is just a matter of tightening the nut, because I have no idea what size stuffing material I'll need.

...I sure hope it can wait a little longer.

Plans Change

Blew Bayou as a world cruiser - I don't think so. We are, though, considering the idea of modifying her for the occasional offshore sail. She may even be enough to spend a year on cruising the coasts of the United States - bouncing in and out of the ICW, hitting the great lakes, the keys, and maybe even the Bahamas.

The benefit of this idea is that we have the boat and can leave now, if need be. This will not put as much pressure on us to sell our house, and (maybe) I could pick up a 'work from home' contract programmer gig.

She is very small for 5 people, and storage will be next to null (meaning more money in shipping stuff to and from home). It's a fun idea, though.

 I don't know - we'll have to do some extended local cruises and see how we do. 

Sailing Blew Bayou

Our first sail was an adventure. My mother-in-law ans brother-in-law came along for the ride, and we headed out to the bay. The motor did great on the hour motor out to open water, although I was on pins and needles watching the guages - finally relieved to raise the mainsail and kill the motor.

The sail was great! We stayed out a little later then anticipated, and came back into Clear Lake under darkness. This was fine, until we got to our end - where the channel markers were unmarked.

I never worried much about the motor on my sailboats, but our current slip is less then optimal. Where I could have sailed back into my previous marina, the boat's current location is a mile up a narrow inlet directly upwind. Before even reaching our inlet, the navigable water is narrow and (as mentioned earlier) unmarked at night. Which is why we ran aground...

We managed to escape the shoals later, but in the process of revving the motor - we lost a lot of oil into the bilge. I'm not certain what caused this, I'm guessing a bad oil-sending unit - but I'll look at this next weekend.

Blew Bayou Projects

Since acquiring our little sailboat, I've spent what little free time I had preparing her to sail.

The first thing I did was inspect the broken chainplate. I found that water had leaked down and helped rust it at a crack. When I took the chainplate off - I was able to break it in my hand. I ordered stock stainless flat-bar from onlinemetals.com and fabricated two new chainplates - as I'm certain the other side wasn't far behind.

Secondly, I painted the deck. Hardcore sailors should avoid reading this paragraph - as you will not like the way I did this. If you are still reading, let me note that I was painting not for cosmetic or resale reasons - but so that my family would come spend time on the boat with me. As it was, they didn't want to come down because the chalky old paint would get all over their clothes - even after washing the boat. The fact that I hand sanded the entire deck, to avoid getting paint dust on the other boats around the marina, has a lot to do with the end results. Ultimately I did not sand the brush strokes out from the previous coating, but removed loose paint and created a rough surface on which the paint would adhere. I painted the deck with the single part polyeurethane I already had - white and honey beige for the non-skid. The Beige was darker then I prefered (hot on the feet), but it was what I had. The paint job serves it's purpose, and (from a distance) looks really good! If we have Blew Bayou this next winter, I will haul her and paint her completely - but for now, we need to get some sailing in!

Next, the little atomic 4 inboard motor. Although it spun, the motor had no compression in two cylinders. After freeing valves, replacing the head gasket, intake manifold gasket, coil, ignition switch, and rebuilding the carburetor - she runs! I probably did more then needed to be done to get the motor running, but I learned a great deal about the little motor with every task - so it was all worth it.

I took the sails home, and cleaned and inspected them. The 150 genoa is well worn - but useable, the main looks good, and the drifter and smaller jib look great! Not much to be done here.

Lifeline netting. With kids that love riding on the bow, and a baby that will soon be walking - this is a necessity. I found a great deal at ondeck sports, and installed 63' of lifeline netting around the boat.

Blew Bayou

Pushing forward - No Matter What

A lot has happened in the past couple of years....

Misty had to quit her job because of medical problems, we sold the Pacific Seacraft, and baby Eddie was born.

Our adventure was put on hold, but now that the dust has settled - we are more determined then ever. Our budget is tighter, our family is larger, and as wise old Mr. Zimmerman said: 'The times, they are a changin' "