Sailing Cambio

Category: Maintenance

  • Winter Is All About Planning And Logistics

    Winter Is All About Planning And Logistics

    We are past fixing up the boat. It is cold and blustery, even under the cover, and the list of things to do in April is growing. It is basically a list of Before Launch & After Launch and both lists are long. Only most of the items are critical.

    The featured item in the picture above is the switch that has so far confounded me. It will be April before I get a warm day to spend a good amount of time figuring it out. It should be simple, but it isn’t.

    Before launch items include:

    Replace spreader lights
    Test all mast bulbs
    Install spreader boots or baggywrinkles
    Change zincs / get spare zincs
    Put up flag halyards
    Replace sewage drainpipes
    Check leak in head sink
    Replace plotter
    Fix pelican latch on boarding entry
    Fix toilet seat
    Varnish toerail
    Varnish rubrail
    Pay Insurance
    Remove boat cover

    It’s probably a few day’s work, but finding a toilet seat might be a problem. I hope April is a nice, dry, calm month.

    On the social media side, there are lots of plans to start posting YouTube video in March but that has to be shot in January and then there’s a learning curve to develop my editing skills, which are sadly lacking. The fact that I shot no video last year, particularly during the storm, means a lot of talking heads video. But the folks I’m shooting are lively and interesting and I’m looking forward to it.

  • Plumbing the Electrical System

    Plumbing the Electrical System

    November 25, 2022, Saint Catharines

    It’s late November and having the boat on the hard is depressing.

    And there are a number of problem with her, mostly that the power is not working. The solar panel should be charging the batteries, allowing the fan to circulate the air inside. The solar panel is not working. The shore power is also not charging the batteries.

    So there’s something wrong with all the batteries at once, or something wrong with the fuses between the charging unit and the sources of power, or the charger itself. There may be multiple chargers.

    Tomorrow should be 10 degrees and sunny so I’m spending the morning tracing current and checking fuses. Matt, who rode the dragon with me in that July 20 storm will be there to help.

    Another thing that may be related is that the disco lights that light up the engine compartment are not working. They weren’t working before the batteries died, so that may be a clue. Stay tuned.

  • He discovered that the forestay core wire was broken

    He discovered that the forestay core wire was broken

    I’ve got lots to enter in this log and not so much time to do it.  But I stole 30 minutes to update and will go back and fill in the smaller adventures we’ve had since leaving Kingston. 

    Yesterday Keven Piper of Bay Sails installed a new furler.  It looks beautiful in pieces and hopefully today I’ll get down to the marina and check it out.  

    As he was taking the forestay off he discovered that the forestay core wire was broken.  At some point the forestay was twisted and broke the core.  Before he took it apart a visual inspection would have said, “This is Perfect”.  Not so!!  Good catch Keven.

    Remember that the genoa looked like this for 24 hours In very heavy wind so it is no surprise that the forestay was going to be highly stressed.   Part of a new furler is a new forestay, which is a very good thing.

  • Winterizing the Marine Engine

    Winterizing the Marine Engine

    November 11, 2022

    Keith was good enough to come down to the boat and ‘coach’ me on how to winterize the engine. This, of course means he will do it for me but teach me how to do it for the next time. He shows great patience but I wonder if I’m just insensitive.

    After 2 hours of reading the manual and inspecting the back end of the engine where the YouTube video said to do the winterization, we took a break. I called Al, the previous owner. He reminded me of the videos he made for me, one of which outlined how to commission the engine in spring. He said, “just do it in reverse!” 10 minutes later, Keith had run the motor and filled the water system with antifreeze.

    I’m lucky to be surrounded by kind people.

    It is October 30 in Niagara Falls, Canada It is going to get cold, and it will come with a snap of it’s crispy little finger, not with a long slow descent of temperatures. I have to get the motor winterized before the first frost because it won’t work next year if it freezes. This of course would be bad.

    I don’t have a picture of the engine so I’ve swapped it out for one of the summer sunset model session images of Katie.

  • Well I’ve been here before

    Well I’ve been here before

    Thursday September 2, 2022 Whitby to Toronto

    We were up early, with the dinghy stowed and the boat prepared for a bumpy and slanty ride. 

    Leaving Whitby was an adventure.  I followed the red buoys to the left to get out and then turned left to head for the marina.  There is a lot of mud on either side of the channels and I had been warned to follow the buoys carefully.   So I kept to the right, where the red buoys were, and promptly grounded in muck. 

    It took a call to the marina where Brian and Bob came out and pulled us out into the clear and we were pulled over the tow line which got caught under the boat. 

    Well I’ve been here before.

    They took us to the gas dock and I refueled and did a pump out while mentally preparing to dive under the boat in very murky waters.   I didn’t like the idea of diving to clear the propeller again when the water was very, very brown.   Brian came back and had an idea.  He took the stern line that was caught and worked it around the stern, pulling it along the way.   He had this idea that it wasn’t hooked on the propellor but it was stuck in the gap between the rudder and the hull.  

    The line came loose and it turned out Brian was right.   I was relieved from having to dive in dirty, murky, skuzzy water to clear the rope!!  

    We left Whitby very carefully using the centre of the channel and got on our way to Port Dalhousie.

    We got perhaps 2 hours out, and we were rocking a lot and sometimes burying the bow into oncoming waves.   I wasn’t worried about Cambio. She handles this stuff well, but both Pierre and my stomachs became a bit queasy and neither one of us wanted to go through another 10 hours of this to get to Port Dalhousie when Friday’s weather was supposed to be calm and sunny.  

    Pierre hinted that we had talked about going to Toronto and I thought that was a bang up great idea, so I instructed Otto to turn right and head for the Eastern Headlands, about 3 hours away.  The wind built to 30 knots and I was looking forward to getting into the Toronto Harbour where presumably the water would be smooth. 

    I phoned the National Yacht Club, searching for a reciprocal berth for the night.  It took me 8 tries before the Officer of the Day answered the phone.  Apparently they are more reliant on VHF radio for communication.  I am more reliant on the phone because the VHF is down below in the cabin and I’m not so comfortable going below in high winds and leaving Otto alone to manage.   But the phone is in my pocket and National is on my speed dial.

    When we got into the Toronto Harbour, I did put Otto in charge under Pierre’s supervision while I went forward and stowed the main properly.  I had started to raise it when we were thinking we were going to Port Dalhousie and found that the halyard was wrapped around the lazy jacks a few times.   After the July 20 storm, Jeff and I had fixed all the lines but I must have forgotten to check the main halyard.  I was pooped after straightening it out.  Shortly after we adjusted course towards Toronto and there was no need for the mainsail anymore.   However I did have to wrap the sail tighter on the boom to reduce the windage when we went into the National Yacht Club basin.    

    NYC is a very well protected harbour,  protected by an ancient break wall that has an entrance that seems to be about 36 feet across. Cambio has a 13 foot width.   The winds were gusting to 30 knots on the beam (from the side) and the waves made it a rather interesting challenge to get through this gap.   To restate that, going through the gap required a high pucker factor.

    So we didn’t know where the dock they had assigned was.  We came into a section of the basin where the wall set in front of the clubhouse and there was space on the wall. I headed for it, with the wind behind me.  I used forward and reverse gears many times before I got the boat alongside, between another boat and the small boat crane.   We had 3 people helping us dock, thankfully.  

    Then they wanted me to move to the assigned dock.   There was no way, in my opinion, to do this given the high wind, the small space we were in, and the surrounding boats.   So I suggested moving the first boat back about 12 feet, and my boat forward about 12 feet.  This would be safer and we’d clear the crane, because it was race night and the crane had to be cleared for the Sharks and J’s to launch.  It was a negotiation but the NYC person in charge understood that it would be bad for my 41’, 25,000 pound boat to hit other boats in that kind of weather. 

    So we tied up, caught our breaths and had a passage drink. 

    Dinner at the National was a buffet, and we were ready for a great meal.  It was good, and we gorged.   Then we realized that the table beside us were the same people that we had met in Belleville.  Actually they recognized us first.  We exchanged short stories and pleasantries, and they left. 

    We went to play Rummy on the boat.   

  • It never happened

    It never happened

    Wednesday August 31, 2022, Whitby

    We stayed another day in Whitby, just to sit out a forecasted thunderstorm.   It never happened but it was a pleasant day.  

    Pierre and I invaded the clubhouse to play backgammon and met some interesting members, who looked at us curiously as if we were bringing new vices to the comfortable room.  Besides the members, the Shark sailors came in, went out into the stormy waters and came back but by then Pierre and I had returned to the boat. 

    The previous owner, Al, was around and I asked him what the process for stowing the dinghy on the davits.  He walked me through it and it was exactly what Jeff had figured out back in August and that Pierre and I had worked on.  Sadly, because I was hoping there was an easier way.   I guess the easier way is to do it a dozen times until it seems easy. 

    The weather forecast was for high winds, off the beam, all day, which would be perfect for motorsailing from Whitby to Port Dalhousie.

  • The tow line was caught tight in the propellor

    The tow line was caught tight in the propellor

    Tuesday August 23, 2022, Waupoos

    Geezus I thought the boat was in perfect condition, but I seem to have spent the day screwing it  up all by myself.  I did non of the 3 things I meant to do today that I listed yesterday. 

    Pierre and I motored from Kingston Yacht Club in a very heavy rainstorm that had no thunder or lightening.  It was wet in every crack of the boat and every crack of the two of us.   But it was exhilarating, even so.  The weather lightened up at 1pm and we arrived at Waupoos Winery at about 3:30.  

    My contact at the winery said to anchor about 50 feet off the dock.  I saw a big white building and thought it was Waupoos Winery.   It wasn’t.  It was about a half km east of the winery but we hadn’t figured that out. 

    The chart said 12 feet, and I draw 6 so of course I ran aground in the sand.  My first grounding, albeit a soft one. The depth meter said 5.9 feet and we were going very slowly so there was only a slight change in velocity.   No problem.  I’ll just back up.  

    So I did.

    I had forgotten that the dinghy was being towed behind me.  I ran it over.  It ended up wrapped around the bow.   The dinghy brand spanking new tow line caught the brand spanking new propellor and the engine died.  I ran forward and dropped the anchor.  It worked wonderfully.

    The tow line was caught tight in the propellor, even though it has a cutter, and was attached fast so I couldn’t pull it out.  

    Oh well.  We have to clear the dinghy and put the motor on anyway to go visit the winery. 

    There is a design flaw on the block and tackle mechanism that raises and lowers the dinghy motor from its perch to the back of the dinghy.    A cleat is up top that is practically unusable.  We had to take the cleat out of the equation and lower the motor onto the dinghy.  I’ll move the cleat down someday but until then it really can’t be used easily.  

    By the time we had dinghy and motor in place it was too late to dive on the propellor and cut the line away.  So I’ll do that tomorrow morning.  The flaw in that thinking is that if I end up on a lee shore in a blow tonight, I’ll be up the creek with no motor.   All I can do is sleep lightly and well and do the dive early. Stay tuned.  This was poor foresight on my part.

    We got to the winery, got a tour, and a tasting, bought a couple bottles of wine…yadda yadda  Actually Waupoos Winery has a whole farm to table program with cattle, pig, sheep, and other food animal farms.  They feed the leftover grapes, apples, peanuts, hazelnuts, and other leftovers from their processes to the animals, which you can dine on at the restaurant.  It is one of the most complex and well thought out farm to table programs and it is clear that they are very proud of the program.   I hope that it is sustainable.

    Tomorrow it is:

    • Dive on the propellor
    • Breakfast
    • Motor to Deseronto and decide whether to try for Belleville or not.
    • Do one of the three things I didn’t do today. 

    Long day.

    Oh yea.  As I open the coach hatches the pain in my shoulders reminds me of the goddam dinghy motor that wouldn’t start.  It’s only been run one time before and I am not fucking impressed.  It should have started on the first pull, not after many that gives me bruises and strained muscles.  I wanna scream at the salesman because that’s all I know.  It’s a..  aw sheet, I forget.

  • I’m still dockbound

    I’m still dockbound

    Tuesday August 2, 2022, Kingston Yacht Club

    I’m still dockbound. 

    I’m still dockbound.  We left this morning to head to Rochester and then along the southern shore.  The forecast was perfect for a 3 day sail.  However, 4 feet from the dock it was apparent that the motor was not working in forward, so Matt leapt nimbly to get us back tied to the dock.   I called Kevin, the motor mechanic and he arrived about an hour later and certified that the motor was working fine but that the propellor had an issue.  When he was fixing the motor last week it seemed ok, but we didn’t fully test the whole system and I feel now that I should have taken him for an ‘end to end’ test on the lake.   But that’s spilt milk. 

    The problem is that nobody has a complete solution.  I need a tow.  I need a haulout. I need someone to check the propellor (which means removing the propellor and taking it to “The Prop Shop” for fixing “because they don’t leave the store”.  So numerous calls later with the insurance folks, a towing company, and the prop shop and I was no further ahead for having solutions to each step of the process.   The guy who tows broke down and needed a tow himself.  Another towing guy offered to tow us tomorrow, but the guy who lifts the boats out of the water was not in the shop today, and may not be tomorrow.  And he has no workers who can take a propellor off.   Confused?  I sure am.

    So 4:30 rolls around without a full game plan and I decide to have a rum and coke and try to look at the whole process.   I look up the KiwiProp Canadian dealer and discover he is in Picton, about an hour away.   He promptly returns my call on his answering machine and we talk about the process and the fix.    So the best news is that he asked his service guy, Bernard, to take a day off his vacation in Waupus and drive down with snorkel and mask and look the propellor under water.  If the solution is to replace blades, then chances are we are able to leave tomorrow afternoon.  If the solution is to replace the whole prop, then it has to be ordered from New Zealand and will take a few weeks. 

    Here’s hoping for luck tomorrow.

    The Kingston Yacht Club has been very understanding but I’m starting to feel uncomfortable after 11 days here.  They are so nice and accommodating but I don’t wish to be the guest who stays too long.   Here’s hoping for the second time in 4 tries for luck tomorrow. 

  • Early this morning the hose fell off the water heater

    Early this morning the hose fell off the water heater

    Sunday July 24, 2022 Kingston Yacht Club

    I’m going to put all the things related to the storm and its aftermath In the big log entry below and start fresh as of today.  

    Early this morning the hose fell off the water heater and filled up the bilge while emptying all the potable water tanks.   It was easy to drain the bilge with the electric pump but it seems that the automatic bilge pump did not kick in.   Something to investigate soon! 

    Jeff helped diagnose the problem and was able to attach the hose to the water heater under the starboard aft bunk.   This is the second time that a hose has left its pipe and drained water into the bilge.  The first time a hose let go was a couple months ago and it was under the floorboards under the sink. That time Jeff fixed it as well.

    Water tanks filled up to full on July 24, 2022

  • I was having a devil of a time getting two of the screws off the back of the pushpit

    I was having a devil of a time getting two of the screws off the back of the pushpit

    Saturday, July 9, 2022 Port Dalhousie

    I was having a devil of a time getting two of the screws off the back of the pushpit, the ones that crossed the space behind the backstay and has the strut that goes up to the aft lifeline.  It hampered me for 3 days and 2 machine screws were so frustrating.   Did you know that if you go on the other side of the screw head it turns the other way.  That was my humble moment today.  They came out nicely once I was turning them the right way.   

    The pump didn’t show up..  The seller didn’t send me the tracking information as they promised, so I had nothing to work with. Here’s hoping it arrives on Monday. 

    Tomorrow I:

    • sort out the wires on the pushpit and
    • work on the anchor.