DInghy Build (Part Dos)

Kyle from Of Winds and Water gives us Part II of his stitch 'n glue dinghy build... Paint - wild paint:

Okay, here we go: the pictures...
Step two thousand, four hundred and ninety seven: Sea trials. Only one thing left to do. Drop it in the water and see if it floats! Luckily, our first sea trials were not only successful from the floating aspect, but we even managed to stay dry! Up and down the canals, one person or two, we tested that Acrux does exactly what she was intended to do. Float, row, and transport us across the anchorage.

And last but not least, here she is resting on her preferred transport spot. Most of the time on the ICW we'll simply tow her behind, ready for quick deployment once we're at our anchorage for the night. But for crossing larger bodies of water, or just for extra security, this is where she'll rest.

(Part I of the series is here.)

Is it all the way up?

Do you have a mark on your halyard showing at eye level how much halyard needs to be winched in to fully hoist your sail? Today, Jeff and Anne on s/v C'est la Vie give us a tip on marking lines. Also, pay attention to the tool that they use - a hand sewing awl. I think that this is a tool that no boat should be without, because it makes stitching canvas so much easier than using a needle and palm.

While Anne piloted us ever northward along the ICW, I took advantage of the mellow conditions to properly mark the reefing lines on C’est la Vie’s mainsail.   To aid in efficiently reducing sail, it rarely seems that enlarging sail area is done under pressure, we mark the reefing lines at the cleat on the boom.  The first reef line receives a mark for the full sail and for the reef point.  The second reefing line receives a mark for the full sail, the first reef, and the second reef point. 

mainsail reefing lines marked with indelible ink

Initially we make the marks using a sharpie marker. After a couple months of sailing and assessing the position of marks it is time to properly mark the line with some whipping twine.

Marking with whipping twine has the advantage of being both easy to see and easy to feel.  When working at night or under duress feeling the marks saves time and effort.

The tools required are scissors and a sewing awl.  Using a high quality whipping twine will enhance the quality and longevity of the marks.

Resources with quality directions on whipping line can be found on the internet, example - Finish Whipping Method 1.  Look around and pick your favorite.

A hint for finishing the whipping is to use a sewing awl to pass the ends of the twine through the line. Using the sewing awl, I pass the ends through the rope three to four times.  

passing the ends of the whipping twine through the rope

This trick keeps the whipping from unraveling and gives the mark a clean look without loose ends hanged about.

completed mark 

We use this technique to mark various lines around C’est la Vie – reefing lines, halyards, dinghy painter, topping lift, etc.

new marks on first and second reef lines.

When stairs are too shallow

It's warming up in Port Dover, and Brian is working on s/v Whiskeyjack once again. Today, he deals with stairs that are not deep enough to fully accommodate feet:

I slip down the companionway steps at least a couple of times a season. Even sober.  The problem is that the steps aren't very deep.

I cut some teak salvaged from DonorBoat and installed nosings on the treads.  They are actually straight - just a weird optical illusion in the image below.

Aside from the functional aspect, I think these look great too!

Cooking with silicone

Jeff and Anne on s/v C'est la Vie was talking the other day about the virtues of using silicone cupcake cups for baking on board, and that got me to thinking...

I decided I really wanted some muffins. Craving them infact. Ever since we were in titusville and passed a bakery. I almost got some scones at the farmers market but restrained myself as I have all that aboard. I just need to get over it and do it myself, kindof. To keep my sprirts up first time baking on this trip I bought a mix. I am not certain if my plan will work but I purchased silicone baking cups and I am going to use them instead of a muffin tin. I am sure many people have used these and have been successful. My worry, will they really release so that I don't have to use my precious fresh water to clean them. Can I use the salt water to wash them and the a fresh water dunk? Will it be perfectly easy and then I will be forced to enjoy muffins all the time??? The horrors

I decided today was the day to make the lemon poppyseed muffins. If these work out I have ripe bananas for tomorrow to make into tasty treats!

So, I don't carry eggs aboard but I do carry yogurt so I will sub yogurt and a bit of ripe banana for eggs. I don't carry milk but I do have powdered buttermilk and powdered skim milk. I also carry rice milk but have not found that I like using that for baking.

Also, I don't have the box the mix came in. Why?? Well I HATE cockroaches and they are attracted to the glue on cardboard boxes. We remove packaging material asap when we transfer food on board. I do not want bugs on my ship! 

The most difficult things so far has been baking heeled over and waiting for the oven to get to temperature. We are sailing right now and thank goodness for a gimbled stove! I have a nagging feeling, guilt maybe? I feel like I am wasting resources waiting for the stove to heat up. I am just using the propane without any net result. Oh well C'est la Vie.

The recipie called for 425 for 15-20 minutes after 10 min I turned off the propane to the oven and will check it at 15 and then again if I need to in 20. There are not any eggs so if they are not fully cooked no harm will come to us. The recipie also says to cool 5 min before removing from tin. I wonder if I follow that for my silicone cups...

Yes. Cool them and then wow! they come out with nary a crumb on the cup! I am so excited!!

But there are many more silicone cooking containers and utensils available... all of which stand high heat and should all be a snap to clean up. Here are some examples:

• Cupcake cups
• Muffin pan
• Cake pan
• Bundt pan
• Cookie sheet liner
• There are even entire sets available

And all of these items share the virtues above.  Do a search yourself... I think Jeff and Anne have done us all a favor by pointing this out.

How do you know that it’s full?

On s/v Zero to Cruising, Mike talks about a way to know if your propane vendor has been giving you full measure...

Do you know how to tell if a propane tank is full? As in COMPLETELY full? We didn’t, so of course we did what anyone with internet access would do, we consulted The Oracle to find out the answer. What I learned is that, stamped onto the side of a propane tank, should be the Tare Weight (TW), the weight of the tank unfilled. A 20 lb. tank should then weigh 20 lbs. more than the labeled Tare Weight after it has been topped up.





The Tare Weight of our 20 lb. steel tank is 18 lbs. Why bring this up? Because our tank also has a fancy little gauge on it that, like an automobile fuel gauge, can tell us visually how much propane is in it. When we came to pick up our main propane tank on Wednesday after dropping it off the day prior to have it filled, our gauge did not read full. In fact, it was down what we would consider a fair bit, enough propane to last us quite some time.
Note: We had our propane tank filled shortly before leaving Grenada in November 2011. It only just the other day ran out. You can tell we don’t use all that much propane!





The gauge now reads full, as it should. Anyway, considering that we didn’t really need to get the tank back that day, and they’re charging a fair amount to fill the tanks ($90.00 EC which equates to $33.33 US for a 20 lb. tank), we wanted to have it FILLED. When I complained, the gentleman I spoke to kindly explained that although he didn’t have any way of checking it right there, if we would leave the tank with him, he’d make sure it was looked after.
When we ultimately picked up the tank yesterday we found that our trusty little gauge read full, as it should have. Unfortunately, I think paying for a full tank in these situations but only receiving a portion of what you pay for is pretty common. In fact, I think it happened to us in Grenada too but because of the inconvenience of leaving the tank with them again (we had planned to set sail the next day) we just accepted the fact that we were ripped off a bit. It may not be a lot of money but it is a PITA. Caveat Emptor.

Just for kicks I checked our 10 lb. aluminum tank. It has a Tare Weight of 9.32 lbs. It weighed approximately 15.5 lbs. indicating that it is still about 60% full.

[Ed. Note:  I will also add that there is another set of numbers stamped into the tank that you need to pay attention to - the date of the last hydrostat test that the tank has seen.   In the USA anyway, the tank can be legally refilled for 12 years from that date. Later than that, the tank must be re-hydrostated.]

Morse MT-3 Engine Controls: Maintenance tips

Have you ever been leery of disassembling something for maintenance because you don't know how it is put together? Will you accidentally remove the Master Bolt, and the thing will fall apart in your hands? Or worse, come apart with force as spring-loaded internals fly far and wide?  Morse engine controls could be in this category for you.  If so, Drew at Sail Delmarva gives a quick tutorial on how to disassemble them for maintenance:

These have always been a bit of a mystery to me. The manual suggests annual lubrication--probably not needed on a PDQ 32, since they are under cover--which I never did. There are no visible fasteners and the direction always made it sound like major surgery, which I have been avoiding with some guilt until...

... I prepared to leave my anchorage this morning and the starboard handle fell limp. Oh, it would shift gears and felt normal when doing so, but the engine wouldn't rev. If the handle was pulled out as you do to adjust the throttle with the engine in neutral, the handle was limp. When I removed the engine cover and moved the throttle from there, everything felt normal and the engine was fine. I could only assume I had torn the head off the cable or that some crucial and unobtainable small part had disintegrate. Visions of boat bucks melting away filled my eyes.

Opening the control for a better look turned out to be easy:

• Leave the handles on. They aren't in the way and will help with trouble shooting.
• Remove the 4 screws that hold the control head to the bulkhead. Lift about 2 inches.
•  Remove 2 screws about 3/4-inch below the mounting flange, one fore and one aft. Both are in recesses and hold the cover haves together. No other fasteners need be removed and no spring-loaded parts will fly out.
• Pull the 2 halves apart. While you're in there, grease everything, including the exposed cable. In my case, after 14 years, the factory grease was just running thin but not gone; however, in more exposed locations, lubrication every year or 2 would be smart. Check for loose bolts--I found a few. 

The problem was delightfully simple. An E-clip (a type of external retaining ring) had fallen off of the throttle control lever and allowed the cable to come free from the control. Why? In part, because a pair of screws retaining the cable end had loosened and allowed the cable angle to change. In part, because the clip was stainless and not all that strong. I replaced it with a spring steel clip, buried in grease.

Carrying a few spare clips might be smart (5/16-inch E-clip--be aware these come in 2 thicknesses and that the thicker ones will not fit the shaft grove). The motor end controls are also 5/16-inch clips (a different design, and I have had failures there as well--the same E-clips will fit).