While at times I wondered if I would ever get the boat back on the water this season it finally happened and we got to get her wet for the first tie this past Saturday. While we had hoped on getting to the lake early, my work (hate that word), prevented that from happening. So instead of stepping and rigging the boat in the cooler morning temps it was straight up noon by the time we pulled into the Paynetown boat ramp.
We made it look like we knew what we were doing and it only took us about 35 mins to step the mast and rig the boat. Last season when we took the boat home we dropped the mast using a line connectedd to the forestay cable then ran through the nose tied down ring back to the cockpit jib pulley with Cindy holding the lien helping to control the rate of descent of the mast. So we did that again to raise the mast and it was so much easier than both of us up on top of the boat trying to raise it. Once I got it lifted off the mast crutch Cindy started pulling and I just walked it up. Took longer to tighten the stays and shrouds than it did anything else.
This was our first launch from this ramp and I can already tell you I do not like it as well as the Moores Creek ramp we used last year. Not only is it busier but it lines up with the prevailing winds making the wind more of a factor. Then throw in the fact that the water is not as deep there and you have to be careful with a deep draft boat.
We launched with out any issues and Cindy took the trailer up to park then I was going to pick her up at the dock by the ramp. While I was out motoring around in circles waiting on my lil lady's return I discovered I made a bit of goof when I re installed the jib cleats. Always before I would throw a fender over the side in front of the aft starboard life line stanchion then cleat it off in the jib cleat. Well it is a spring loaded jam cleat and three times I put the fender line in it and three times it fell right out. I about lost the fender the last time so I had to stop and figure out what was going on. After a few tries it dawned on me. I had the cleats backwards. The would keep lines tight in the cockpit but not over board. Oops. So I picked Cindy up and told her I would have to switch those around. As we motored away from the dock it hit me, I forgot my tool bag in the 4 Runner. Turned around and dropped Cindy off at the dock to go get it for me. Well, in the mean time I had already dropped the rudder blade thinking we were going sailing. I forgot to raise it and when I dropped Cindy off at the dock I hit a rock with the rudder as I pulled away. Darn shallow water! Luckily the rudder blade kicked up like it should have so no damage done. I raised the blade for the next pick up.
Cindy returned, tool bag in hand, and I picked her up. I turned the helm over to the Captain and I got busy changing the cleats around. The advantage of long arms is that I could reach around inside the cabin and hold the fasteners myself and was able to change them both around in about 5 mins. Problem solved. Time to raise the sails!
With Cindy at the helm I hopped up on the top deck and raised the main then the jib. We had good wind and in no time we were sailing! Here is my proud lil Captain at the helm of her shiny lil boat
It felt good to finally be back under sail and scooting across the lake again. She sailed great, just like she had before but now I think there was more of sense of pride within us as we had taking the ugly duckling and turned her into a very pretty little sailboat we could be proud of. We knew her well last year, we new her even better this year as we had literally taken every piece of her apart and put her back together. It was a long project full of frustration at times but we made it and now were getting to enjoy all that hard work.
Cindy is the reason I am sailing or even writing this blog. Without her and her contagious enthusiasm for having fun I can't imagine how boring my life would be today. She was totally understanding when it came to all the long nights I spent out in the garage working on our girl and more importantly she was very accepting of changes to the plan as we ran into problem after problem. In the end we wound up meeting our goals of having a pretty blue sailboat that we both like and enjoy. Like so much of what we do it is not so much about the destination as it is the fun we have along the way. I can't say all of the painting process was fun but yet I enjoyed it. I like to think I learned some new lessons that I hopefully do not forget. I think Cindy learned a lot as well, like don't paint another boat!!! It is sad but a lot of boats like ours will just get thrown away at some point because not everyone wants to spend 250 hours rebuilding them or has the ability to do so. It is cost prohibitive to have the work done as there are other used boats they could buy that would cost less than the cost to repair. At close to 40 grand for a new boat likes ours with similar features there was no way that was in our budget. I had the ability, and now I have a wonderful lady in my life who will back me up and support me projects such as this and that means the world.
We sailed back and forth across Lake Monroe for probably a couple of hours giving Cindy time to get used to the boat heeling again. As the afternoon went on with the sun shining down through the clouds it got pretty darn warm so it was time to take our new rubber coated anchor forward and drop her in so we could go for a swim. I let Cindy jump in first so I could gauge the temperature of the water from her reaction. She did not come up gasping for air so I followed her in. Wow! The water is already warmer this year than it got all last season. We splashed around a bit then got back in to relax a bit before sailing off.
After our little break we took back off across the lake and I turned on the tracking app on my phone to get a speed check. Surely she was faster now with new bottom paint. Not that it really matter because in a small sailboat you are going no where fast. We topped out at 6.7 mph on one closed hauled run. I have no way to compare that to last years performance but that is pretty darn good for a 20 foot sailboat.
Several times last year I would look down in the water and think I found someone's line floating in the water only to discover it was actually our jib or main halyard that had slipped overboard and was getting drug behind us in the water. Well this year I came up with a solution to loosing them
I love the Nite Eyz Grip Ties. We use them for all sorts of things from tieing up the main sail when it is down to securing the gas bottle to the rear pulpit when we cook on the grill. They are handier than a shirt pocket. Now no more lost lines over the side.
It was getting close to dinner time or so my stomach was telling me so. We headed north back into the Moores Creek area to cook our dinner. Along the way we sailed past our slip neighbors who keep their Hunter 23 a few slips down from us. They have one of the few boats I can tell who it is from a mile away because of the portholes they added down below the rub line in the V birth area. They really stand out being that low. We had came over to check out slip about a month back and spoke with them as they were coming into their slip. They were really happy with keeping their boat there and that made us feel better about our decision to get a slip there as well. We said hello and re introduced ourselves as we sailed past. They and their friends in a Catalina 27 both said how nice the Memory Maker looked on the water. We were proud boat owners to hear that.
After anchoring and getting the grill going I turned around to see Cindy raising the pop top. I started forward to help but before I got there she slipped and it dinged her in the head as it came back down on top of her. I grabbed it and got he weight off her then put it up. I checked on my lil Captain and she said she was fine but that it hurt. I thought it would leave a mark the next day myself as she took a pretty good hit.
While I cooked dinner Cindy stretched out on a cockpit cushion in the sun. She was asleep in no time. Between the long travel day on Tuesday, being sick, and having to work she had not been sleeping well so I knew she had to be tired. I did a little fishing off the stern while the baked potatoes cooked on the grill. We were anchored about 50-60 feet off the shoreline and there was a log laying in the water along the shore that I thought looked like an ideal place for a fish to be hiding. Problem was that after getting my lure snagged on the stays an shrouds several times last season I did not have enough line left on my real to reach the log with my lure. Add fishing line to the get list. I probably could have reached it with my fly rod but fly fishing on a sail boat just isn't in your best interest.
After checking radar as I heard thunder off in the distance, it was time to throw the meat on the grill for the first dinner aboard for the 2015 sailing season.
We keep pre seasoned pork tenderloins in the freezer ready for the cooler during the sailing season. They usually thaw out while we sail, are easy to cook on the grill, and are very tasty. We just grab a bag of them and we are off. Makes getting ready to go to the boat quick and easy.
Dinner was done to it was time to wake up Miss Sleepy Head. We enjoyed the view out of our new windows as we sat at the table to eat dinner. Nothing like having dinner onboard the boat. Food just taste better for some reason. While she may be small at only 20 feet it is really pretty comfy for a couple who likes each other. As we ate we discussed adding a small tv/dvd player to the aft cabin wall so we could watch movies and the news when we over night aboard her.
As we were finishing up dinner it started to sprinkle then drizzle, before it rained a brief shower. We just dropped the top, slide the top hatch back and crawled up in the v birth to take a little break. I knew by looking at radar it would not last long so we just enjoyed bobbing up and down in the water as the waves gently rocked the Memory Maker against her anchor line. Had it lasted another 5 minutes we both would have been asleep and we would have probably woke up there the next morning. We both can't wait till we can overnight on her again.
The rain stopped and the sun came back out not too long after it started. Now the sails were wet but the best way to dry them out is to sail so raised them and away we went! As Cindy set course for our the cove where our slip is located I dried off the top deck and got her ready to dock. It was a beautiful evening sail with nice wind a double rainbow in the eastern sky, the second double rainbow we had seen in as many days. How often does that happen?
We got to extend our sailing time a bit longer as we tacked across the lake hoping we could tack back and sail into the cove but the wild lulled on us and it was time to fire up old trusty. We motored into the slips and tied our girl up in her new summer home. After putting the new cockpit cover on I had just made we took a quick pic of her all tucked in for the night
She looks so small in the slip but they only came in one size. She will be fine as she her big sister, a Hunter 26 is sitting across from her keeping watch
After checking in at the boat house and finding out we need to get one more sticker for the port side of the hull we headed for home. It had been a long fun day and we were so glad to be back on the water again in our Memory Maker!!!!
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