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This jib looks to be in good condition and in good shape.  Might need to be shortened by 10-12" to find on the furler, in addition to some new spreader patches.  Found folding both the sails to be a bit of a pain on my own but doable with some patience.

Looking forward to getting the spinnaker and running backstay rigging setup and where I understand it better.  Lots and lots of learning.

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At the start of the sail, there was slight breeze from the north that was slowly overtaken by the NW wind from Admiralty.  With the main and jib up the transition made for some interesting shifty conditions where the wind kept shifting 20-30' every 30-40 seconds.  Was a bit challenging, but fun.

After the new wind filled the sailing was great, even though the waves and swells were still confused for a while after the transition.  We sailed upwind for quite awhile, having to duck a tug and barge at one point and nearly making it up to Point No Point, before taking in bearing off for home.  This time I broad reached toward the west, before jibing and reaching back for the marina.

On the way home, Sarah went below for a nap and by the time we woke up I had docked the boat and put most of the covers on.  She must have been pooped.

The dogs had a great day.  There are getting more and more used to the boat and seem to be enjoying it.

Another great day with the engine working well.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we're getting beyond the engine issues. 

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We dined on Chicken Marsala, roasted potatoes and wine after having hoisted the main and unfurled the jib.  Matt took the helm and did an excellent job for first timer.  The winds were just right to provide great feedback while going up wind and he picked up steering by feel quickly - didn't really need or use the tell tales.

The conditions were perfect for an introductory sail - enough wind to make us move well, while no so much to make things too exciting.

We sailed north toward the entry to Admiralty inlet turning around toward home as the sunset and broad reaching our way home.

It was great to catch up with friends and introduce them to sailing.

The engine even worked well the entire time too!  Hooray!

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New Auxillary
Nav Center

Much easier to use than the main nav center.

Installed wiring to support an auxillary nav station on the starboard side of the boat over the ice box area.  This included a NMEA input/output cable to gather GPS position data from Garmin GPS in the nav station, as well as 12V power.  12V power is supplied via a double plug that will support a small inverter to power a notebook computer, and a charger for a cell phone or other device.  Need to get an inverter cable of 120W - current 60W isn't enough for big laptop.

Also installed a NMEA cable to the autopilot.  This will allow the either the PC or the Chartplotter to provide navigation data to the autopilot.

Cleaned up wiring in primary nav center and aft berth area.

Update documentation and paper log on boat.  Also started a fuel/maintenance log in the back of the paper log to record maintenance items and fuel/holding tank activity.

About the PC based navigation solution.  I'm using Seaclear and the NOAA raster charts I've downloaded off the NOAA site, as well as the bundle of electronic charts that came with the boat.  These charts will get me down to Mexico and up all the way to the NE tip of Vancouver Island.  I still need detailed charts of the West side Vancouver, but the charts and the current solution should work for quite some time.  John Williams' online log for his 1981 C&C 34 "Scamper" inspired me to work on the free PC navigation solution. 

Still need to make a mount for the notebook as well as splash/water guard to help extend it's life.

12 V Power Plugs

Free Navigation Solution Links:

Scamper's Solution

Maptech's Free Charts

NOAA Raster Charts

SeaClear Software

NOAA ENC Charts
These aren't compatible with SeaClear, but they offer more features than raster and for $200 you can use Fugawi's ENC nav suite to make them work well. 

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After a trip to Fisheries Supply, I had all the parts (or at least that's what I thought) I would need to overhaul the fuel supply system for the engine.  Alas, I didn't and after an hour I figured out I would need a couple different fittings and a short length of bigger diameter hose.  After an unsuccessful trip to West Marine (I'm so fed up with them!!!), I returned to Fisheries Supply in downtown bought what I needed and returned to the boat.

Three hours later I had overhauled the fuel system.  This included:

• Replacement of shutoff valve on fuel tank.
• Replacement of all fittings to hoses.
• Replacement of all hoses (converted from 3/8" to 1/4" hose on all but the final segment from pump to engine - since engine fitting required 3/8").
• Replacement of all hose clamps.
• Removed Racor filter with priming pump suspected of leaking air from boat.
• Moved old Racor 140 filter to location next to tank, and replaced old 2 micron element with a new 10 micron element.
• Installed new Racor 120 filter in old 140 location ahead of pump to engine, and left it's new 2 micron element in place.
• Sealed all threaded fittings with Permatex 2A instead of tape.

After bleeding system (electric pump makes this easy), I fired the engine and ran it for an hour while I cleaned up and updated the log.  Ran well.  Hopefully this killed the air fuel gremlin.

Also took this opportunity to strike old boat names from the official documentation, just in case this is left over bad karma.  Hopefully the CG will understand.

Went home around 2230.

Other maintenance projects completed in the last ten days:

• Installed locking ring on power cord at pedestal.
• Replaced bulb in light for port side of aft berth.
• Troubleshot the wind direction indicator issue.  Looks like I need to go up the mast to get the unit and send it in for repair.
• Connected GPS NMEA output so if may supply the chartplotter, instruments and PC all at the same time.  Removed switch from this circuit.
• Got GPS input working with Seaclear charting software.
• Made plans for navigation station over the icebox to include 12v power outlet, and USB connection to GPS.  Also planning to add navigation inputs to autopilot from GPS, Chartplotter and PC.
• Found light switches for instruments.
• Confirmed batteries are wired properly.

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Figured it might be air in the fuel based on the nature of the troubles and the discussion with the mechanic a week or two ago so I bled the system and found air.  I bled the air out and refired the engine which ran for all of a few minutes and died.  I checked the fuel line connections, found one to be loose tightened it and refired.  Engine ran for a few minutes and with the race start approaching I deemed the engine to be working (for now) and we set sails and joined the 'race'.

This was the second or third Sailfest race put on by CYC and was greeted with no wind at all to start.  They set a short course but with no wind (or very, very little) the only boats were Declaration of Independence, Tantivy and an Olson 25.  It was about 1900 when they signaled abandonment (and opening of the clubhouse bar) thought the committee boat stay on station.  One boat finished by motoring backward across the line with spinnaker and main made full only by the apparent wind generated by motoring in reverse.  The rest of the twenty some boats hung around and caught the building evening breeze.

For our part we furled the jib and flew the blooper which did a good job in the real light air.  The wind built as we rounded the canal entrance buoy and we doused the blooper, unfurled the jib and headed north towards home on a beat.  We continued well past Meadow Point until the breeze lightened some and we doused sail and turned on the engine.

But the gremlins took over after 5 minutes and I was back to bleeding the system and checking fittings.  John and Tom did a great job sailing the boat under jib alone while I was working below.  They seemed to enjoy the sail as the winds had built to about 10-12 knots and the were making good speeds under just the jib.  After a few attempts to get the engine going, we figured out that it would only run for a few minutes at the most under load.  So we planned to bleed it one last time and then sail the boat to the entrance of the marina, furl the jib 2/3 of the way leaving a little left for some power in case the engine died in the final moments prior to docking and then fire the engine just as we entered the marina and hope we kept power long enough to get into the slip.

That's what we did and it worked well we docked safely and without incident, though I'm not thinking we got high points on style.

In all a good night, though I am getting a bit frustrated with the engine issues.

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Was a wonderful evening spent with friends.  The sailing was great and we got back to the dock around 2200 after a nice broad reach home.

Adam and Cheryl christened our guest log.  Hopefully just the first of many wonderful guest sailors.

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Driving Upwind

Boca Seeks Shelter

I enjoyed sailing the boat back in the 12 knots of breeze downwind doing a little of surfing.  Even did a bit of wing on wing without a pole to shake the dust off the skills I learned as a kid.  Can't say that the dogs we big fans of the few times the jib collapsed and the 'popped' back open.  Really weren't fans when I got distracted by entering waypoints into the chart plotter and accidentally jibed.  Wasn't too harsh of a jibe - but not something I should do on a regular basis.

Had a real bittersweet moment during the downwind return to the marina - sailing wing on wing without a pole (a reasonably difficult skill I learned from my folks during countless hours of sailing when I could barely see over cabin top of the boat earning a quarter for every 15 minutes I could sail with a collapse or jibe) while listening to the Rolling Stones 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' (I love the Stones.  Such great memories of time with my Dad who's also a big Stones fan).  This moment brought together so many thoughts about my Dad - great memories of our past combined with sadness about our present that has found us unable to bridge a gap between the boy he raised and the man I am today.  Most regrettably this impasse has led to me not wanting share our recent purchase of Andiamo with my folks, an achievement that I'm sure they would enjoy.

In all it left me with the poetic, if not slightly cheesy, thought that while I may not be able to get what I want (a wonderful relationship with my folks), I have what I need - a wonderful wife, a great home, our two dogs, a job I truly enjoy and a boat I've wanted for a long time.  Perhaps the future and some more work and compromise will see to my wants as well.

Sorry for the personal tangent - but that is what a part of sailing is for me - meditation and a place to think absent of all the other stuff that normal life brings.  Perhaps that's my Laser's name is 'Hydro-Therapy'.

Overall was a great evening of sailing.  Really enjoying the performance of the boat and the convenience of the marina, and looking forward to many more of these short evening sails.

Boca - the salty seadog

The Furry Side of the Crew

Just me and my B!

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Had my first MOB experience - actually a BOB (bumper over board).  While I was picking up the starboard bumpers, I lost one of the port bumpers over the side.  Took me a couple moments to get set for the rescue, but I did return to pick it up.  The combination of the 3-4 seas, winds and being solo meant I needed a few passes to perform the rescue.  However, patience combined with swift boat hook skills had the bumper back on board and ready to serve later in the evening.  The track on chart plotter was pretty comical though - a nice figure '8' about 0.25 mile off the entrance to the marina.

The sail was great.  The boat handles really well in these conditions, points well and has great speed.  I'm even figuring out how to manage all the tasks that come with single handing.

My docking along went well and I packed up and went home with a smile.

Sunset Over the Olympics!

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We christened her on a short day sail under jib alone in a light breeze and sunny sky.  After leaving the marina, we unfurled the jib broke out the Mumm champagne and the Vigor's Denaming ceremony courtesy of 48' North's website.  By slightly modifying the denaming ceremony we also used, we asked humbly for Neptune's blessing of our fine yacht and his continued protection and good wishes sealing our request with an offering of a special bottle of champagne that Sarah shook until the cork popped off and sprayed the bubbly all over the deck with the remaining poured directly into the water.

After the 'official' ceremony, if you can call it that, Sarah and I opened a bottle of La Campana Brunello we bought from the wine maker himself last year in Tuscany, Italy and celebrated our new boat and its new name.  Our trip to Italy and its great memories were a major inspiration for the name Andiamo which means 'Let's Go' in Italian.

We capped off the day with a sail on Puget Sound that took us Northwest in building breeze and then back to Edmonds so we could join friends for a nice dinner at Tutta Bella a wonderful italian restaurant in Wallingford.

What a wonderful day!! 

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Also cleaned up the boat - washed the outside and organized the cabin.  Polished the areas where the old name was to move lines/shadows, and then installed the new name and hailing port.  This included moving the boat single-handed for the first time with the style points of the back in docking so that I could work on the port side.  

Pumped a holding tank for the first time ... not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.   The joys of being the owner this time.

Finished up the night by organizing the boat and making it ready for sailing at a moment's notice.

It was way too cool to see the name on the boat tonight.  It was just one of those sights that instantly puts a smile your face ... very few things have ever given me the instant, unstoppable smile - Sarah and our pups are the only things that really come to mind.  This is way too cool!

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Lastly, Pat thinks that we might we're over pitched though his calculations say that we've got it set right.  That said we can't get diesel over 2100 in forward.

The boat was a bit of a mess.  Dirty, cushions and parts everywhere.  Not what I like to see, but then again not hard to fix.  We cleaned up a bit, but took off for Edmonds since it was getting close to 6pm and the bridges were getting ready to be able to be opened again.  Engine fired up and ran strong.  We still couldn't really get the engine above 2k without blowing black smoke.  Then again at 2k we're doing about 7 knots.

When we get to the bridge we get our first bit of drama.  While waiting for the bridge we say Duane from Kalua headed to Lake Union for the Center for Wooden Boats rendevous.  We didn't immediately head over to say hello because we were about to go through Ballard Bridge, or so we thought.  Turns out the rush hour period has been extended to 630pm.  So we used our extra half hour to chase down Duane and say hello.  On our way to get to him, Sarah was driving and she shifted into reverse to slow down - and the engine died.  Oh crap!  Restarted and tried to reverse again, and couldn't get the engine above 1k and it died.

After a short conversation and catch up with Duane, we split off and headed back to the bridge and took some time to sort out the reverse issue.  Looks like the reverse pitch is pretty aggressive and needs some immediate power after shifting to keep the engine from bogging down.  OK... so were good to go.

After a transit through bridge at 630 on the dot and a smooth trip through the locks, we were on the Sound in some nice wind (after slaloming through the Suquamish fishing nets in the Ship Canal - very dangerous setup, I can't believe their allowed to it that way).

Sarah surprised me and by encouraging us to put both sails up and make the delivery to Edmonds a nice sail.  Of course, I was totally on board with that ... so after a few minutes of prep down below and on deck we had the main and jib flying.  Sarah was driving and doing a great job.  Definitely needs some fine tuning, but her instincts were there and working well.

The sail to Edmonds was great!  About 12-15 knots to start with 3-4 wave/swells making for a fun ride.  We sailed about 2/3 across the sound, then tacked back to the east shore to avoid the shipping traffic riding the beginning of the outgoing tide.  As we got toward the east shore and the Richmond Beach area the wind died down to 5-6 knots.  Soon after we dropped sails and power the last few miles to Edmonds to make arrival not too long after sunset.

The slip was great, though I'm still laughing at the fact that we don't need steps!  This after crafting a cool set of steps at home.  I guess they'll age for a bit outside in case we have to move from Edmonds to another marina with lower docks.

Wonderful first sail!  I'm really looking forward to christening.