LOBSTERS

Ryan taught us a lot about lobsters when we visited the Maine State Aquarium here in Boothbay Harbor. For 1000 lobsters that visit each trap ten get caught. One is legal to keep. (Hayden would be proud. Maine DMR learned this by putting cameras with live feed around some traps.)

Regarding legal to keep, you can't keep the too small, the too big, egg bearing females, and females that have a V notch in their tail. If you trap an egg bearing female you are required to put a V notch in her tail. You can tell if a lobster is female by the shape and hardness of her swimmerettes. But, if you catch a female, and she is not bearing eggs, and she does not have a V notch in her tail, and she is the right size, she is food!

The largest lobster Ryan and Maine DMR know of was 100 years old, 44
lbs. The largest lobster now on display is 28 lbs and mid fifties
years old:

CHARMED LIVE

Between now and Friday, August 1, 2008, see Charmed live:
http://boothbayharborwebcams.com.

ALL RED WIRES HAVE TO BE CONNECTED

In the middle of the night somewhere on the straight line between Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Boothbay Harbor, Maine, the CHARGE light on Charmed's engine panel started flickering. Not good, when coupled with the fact that we were burning, and would be burning, about 15 amps for nav lights, nav electronics, and other electrical stuff. Good, only because we had 170 amp hours of 12 Volt energy stored on board, and we only had 8 hours left in the voyage. We could probably make it to Boothbay, where we could calmly and comfortably figure out whether we had a mechanical or electrical problem: an alternator, a regulator, a wire. It wasn't the belt. It was easy to check that.

As Jim of Grand Adventure professes, all electrical problems are mechanical. Once settled on a mooring in Boothbay Harbor, a tug here and a tug there, until one red wire tugged apart. There are two 10 AWG wires connected to the positive terminal of the alternator. One was doomed from the beginning. The original crimp of its terminal had cut most of the strands of the wire. The balance had worked almost through. Renewing that terminal had amps flowing both ways again, into and out of the battries.

I'LL KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT

NO WAKE means different things to different people. Wake is the issue that causes the most trouble and hard feelings out here. Some boaters wait for NO WAKE zones to make hot coffee or hot meals or do special chores requiring smooth water. We have learned not to expect smooth water anywhere, even when tied to a dock, or in a quiet anchorage or in a NO WAKE ZONE. There are always passersby.

Two of the nav rules for the Cape Cod Canal are NO WAKE, SPEED LIMIT 10 MPH. Not a single power boat was honoring either.

Not Angel Fish



Not Rebecca Rose



Not Queen Elizabeth

Not R Time

Not Keep on Truckin

The blue sign is the speed limit and wake rule in plain view. By the way, the four hundred horsepower center cockpit flying by at about 40 mph went by too fast for a picture.

FLAN

Only Goya brand will do!

Today we have to wait until 11:00 am to leave Onset for Plymouth. The
current of the Cape Cod Canal turns east then. It is difficult for
early risers to let the best part of the morning go by laying at
anchor, when we intend to travel. However, we were up at 05:30, off
anchor at 06:30 for the Point Independence Yacht Club fuel dock. We
arrived exactly when Captain Steve was raising his OPEN sign. After
taking on fuel and water and offloading a little trash we went back
out to anchor. We are laying on a scope of about 2:1, making flan,
chillaxing for a bit longer. We are looking forward to seeing The
Rock and the Mayflower II.

WHY WHY WHY . . .

. . . are people so discourteous and disrespectful!

We love dogs. Love them! Love them! Love them! We hate dog and other pet owners who cannot follow rules:

This guy could not have missed the sign. There is one at every point of access to the beach here in Onset. This guy was even acting sentry, probably wondering when he would be chased off the beach.

(This only goes to show, don't ever give us badges and the authority to issue fines.)

LIAR'S DICE

Ever since Jenny and Charlie of Lady, taught us Liar's Dice, we have been searching for others to play with, and we have been teaching it if nobody around knows how to play. It is a fun game. All you need is a bag of dice!

First, you doll out dice based upon how many die are available, and how many people are playing. Every player must have an equal quantity. One of each player's dice is reserved for scoring.

Next, all dice are rolled, save the scoring dice, privately. Each player sees her dice, but no other player's dice.

Next, a first bidder, selected however, makes a bid. The first element of the bid is the quantity. The second element of the bid is the value. The bid is a prediction of the quantity of dice of a particular value that all players hold. For instance, a bid might be, six threes, meaning the total number of threes in all players' hands is six.

The player to the left of the bidder then either ups the bid, or calls the bidder a Liar. A higher bid is a greater quantity of any value, or the same quantity of higher value. In one hand, the quantity can never decrease. The value can decrease only if the quantity increases. For instance, if the first bid is, six threes, the next bid could be seven twos, or six fours.

Once a bidder is called a Liar, all dice are presented. If the bidder was a Liar, the bidder loses and ratchets her scoring die down one. If there were at minimum the quantity of the value called in the bid, the caller loses and ratchets her die down one. The loser of a hand is the first bidder in the next hand.

Players are out of the game when their scoring die goes below value, one. Remaining players play until one stands as the game winner. Play usually starts with scoring die at value, six. However, shorter games can be played from any value.

The most famous round of Liar's Dice, maybe in Pirates of the Caribbean when the Turner's play Davy Jones for each other's soul. What was the real reason Will wanted to play Davy Jones? Was Father's bid even possible, or did Father throw the game?

Get your dice anywhere. Charmed has dice from Ace Hardware in Ellenton. They had to be in stock there for fifty years. The Dollar Store and Wal Mart often have dice. Drink a bottle of Crown Royal for the velvet carry bag if you don't have a velvet bag from some other source.

VACUUM GAUGE

Racor vacuum gauges can be had for about $80.00, so the condition of fuel filter elements can be monitored. Any old vacuum gauge will work. This Wika gauge costs little compared to the Racor gauge.

While the gauge could be used to measure dirt loading of the element, to decide when to change the element, we use it only to make sure the element is not fully loaded causing a restriction in fuel flow. The element is changed about every 100 engine hours whether it needs it or not. Racor suggests 10 inches Hg as the point to change the element if you are using a gauge to determine when to change the filter.

WHETHER THE WEATHER BE HOT, OR WHETHER THE WEATHER BE COLD, WE'LL WEATHER THE WEATHER, WHATEVER THE WEATHER, WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT!

Debbie is back on board! But we may not get to move as planned. The
weather is forecast to be poor for the next several days. Tomorrow we
are moving from Wickford to at least Newport. Charmed has been on a
Town Mooring for too many days. If we find ourselves in
better-than-expected weather, we will go all the way to Hadley Harbor.
After Hadley, it is on to Onset.

Talisman, IP 420.78, with Kathy and Rodger and dog Pepper have shown
up next to us here in Wickford, and it looks like we will have a
traveling partner as we harbor hop to Maine.

CAPE COD CANAL

Charmed will be transiting the Cape Cod Canal, heading east, in a few
days. It is a waterway that you have to think about before heading
toward willy nilly. According to NOAA the average Flood is 4.0 knots
at 070 degrees True, the average Ebb is 4.5 knots at 250 degrees True.
The day we go we might see 5.0 knots of current.

The Canal is about 7 nautical miles long, so in slack water it would
take us a bit over an hour to get through it. With maximum current we
would be through in about forty minutes. Against maximum current it
would take over four hours. (For you purists, we recognize you
wouldn't have maximum current for this length of time.) Charmed
intends to enter the Canal at Slack before Flood.

CANAL REGULATIONS

CANAL CURRENT PREDICTIONS

CANAL ARMY CORE OF ENGINEERS (This site seems broken.)

CANAL PICTURES

440 V 465

At Last, IP 465.02, and Charmed, IP 440.33, raced up and down the East
Passage about near Fox Island yesterday to discover the differences in
the boats. Surely everyone is waiting for the race results. Nothing
amazing was learned. The boats sailed nearly the same in Force 5
winds. They should be considered One Designs. PHRF ratings should be
equal. The sailor on the boat will make the difference.

What was amazing, was discovering Carey Colwell's Upwind Cutter
Cruising, CCUCC for short. For CCUCC, set the staysail and main, trim
for upwind sailing, and just go. You move along nicely. No sail
controls have to be touched as you tack toward home. Note the
autopilot will even drive and tack for you.

While learning and practicing CCUCC for Charmed, I worked on the sails
for longer than usual, adjusting all sail controls from average
settings to precise settings to make sure the boat was performing
well. I was thrilled. The boat sailed 35 degrees apparent at good
speed. A bit more off the wind would probably give the best VMG but I
forgot to test. I was too thrilled with the sailing to remember to
look at the electronics.

Now to test CCUCC in various wind, and determine best VMG . . . .

UP THE MAST

At times the mast of Charmed appears short, like when you are
searching for the boat in a crowded harbor or at a crowded dock. At
times the mast seems tall, like when going under any bridge, or when
going up the mast. The mast is always 62 feet above the water. Then
there is a foot or so of stuff tacked on top. We have cleared a
bridge whose boards told us clearance was 63-1/2 feet. We will never
attempt passing through a bridge with less clearance.

The first time up Charmed's mast was in Vero Beach, for fun and
pictures and to straighten a windex that an osprey had wanted for nest
material. With the bosun's chair adjusted improperly it was scary.
No fun and no pictures. A more accomplished climber, Carey went up
the mast for the fun and pictures.

Here the bosun's chair is adusted properly:

No fear now!

AT LAST

At Last is Island Packet 465, Hull Number 2, a sister boat to Charmed.
The 465 has the same hull as the 440, but it has a center
cockpit and a different stern. Yesterday Janet and Mark took me
sailing. We launched the spinnaker just after the Jamestown Bridge
and rode it to Greenwich Bay. Then we beat back to Dutch Island
Harbor. Janet is without a doubt a great driver. While she took
advantage of WIND mode on the autopilot, and let the autopilot tack
most of the time, she hand steered back through the Jamestown Bridge
and almost made the point of Conanicut Island at the north end of
Dutch Island Harbor. I was impressed at the bridge. I would have
been very impressed if she made the harbor. For a day sailing with
friends it was short of perfect only because Debbie was not with. She
is off to see Mom and other family and friends.

HUNDRED YARD CRUISES

Doing teak is one chore you must be in the right mind set for.
Charmed, as all Island Packets do, came from the factory with Cetol as
a protective finish on the exterior teak. It is less difficult to
apply and maintain than varnish. Purists note there is a proportional
loss in how bristol a boat looks. We agree, but we and most other
Island Packet sailors stick with Cetol as an acceptable compromise
between beauty and work. Some Cetol installations can look orange,
and others can look brown and dark. As with most things the look and
success of an installation has more to do with the dedication and
skill of the craftsperson than with the choice of product or tool.

Every boat owner has their own regimen regarding their teak. Some
owners work on teak every month. A popular regimen to maintain some
beauty and keep the teak protected is to put one good coat on every
year, while touching up badly deteriorating spots during the year as
you find them. Charmed has had little to no work done on her teak in
the last year. Now because there was electrical, electronics, and
mechanical work to trade, we were able to get a professional on the
job to renew the teak! Preparation was completed earlier in the week.
The first coat was done yesterday. It looks great! A second coat
will go on today. It will look even better. We will be good to go
until sometime in 2009. Thank you, Ron!

Back to the subject, it is much easier to stand on a a dock and work
on the teak covering the toe rail. Then the job is waist height
instead of being floor level or below. We are lucky enough to be on a
face dock that is as long as Charmed is. Ron needed the boat turned
around a couple of times over the last few days. Even though a mere
hundred yards long with one tack, the cruises to present Ron with port
then starboard sides could not have been more pleasant. He is
bringing beauty back to Charmed.

DECADENCE

Is it too decadent to have fresh water washdown on the bow of the boat?

A raw water ANCHOR WASHDOWN was installed on Charmed 440 before the anchor and chain first hit the sea floor. We learned our lesson on Charmed 380 about how gooey chain can be when it comes up. The raw water washdown has worked great, mostly because of the small brass fixed nozzle. The nozzle looks and performs like a little fire nozzle, with a quarter inch stream of water that will spray twenty feet.

However, now and again we find ourselves away from the dock for too long, or we find ourselves at a dock that will not allow boat washing. Just a few gallons of fresh water spray can make a huge difference in how clean and fresh you can keep a boat. So a three way ball valve, and a tap into the fresh water plumbing, and without tools we can now select raw or fresh water.

BARNACLES

Today was a near perfect end to the minivoyage from Shaw’s Cove to Shelter Island and Greenport, then back to Shaw’s Cove. What would have made it perfect? Having Debbie along. She is with Mom and Sister and other family and friends in Florida.

Sailing was first wing and wing east along Long Beach. No matter what Carey says, Raymarine just doesn’t drive as well as B & G. The boat gybed once or twice, and it shouldn’t have. Coming north across Long Island Sound winds were brisk, in the mid teens off the port beam. The wind fell to motoring levels only for the last mile up the Thames River.

There was a surprise while docking. Being alone I looked for mechanical help, but the bow thruster didn’t move the bow when the joystick was wiggled! Once tied up, a helper ran the thruster while I inspected closely. The thruster was not moving water at all. Once in the drink for an even closer inspection I learned why. There was at least a half inch layer of BB size barnacles on each side of each propeller blade. There are two propellers. Each has four blades. Off came the blades for cleaning. Now there is six horsepower at work again.

Charmed had sat still in the water for four weeks while crew was off on Wind Runner. Even so it is amazing that that many barnacles can grow that fast. The chore, clean bow thruster props, now gets listed more often on the maintenance calendar. New zincs, new fixing hardware, and even new propellers get added to spares.

AH CRUISING AGAIN

At least for the weekend, we are back on the water! Today we departed
Shaw's Cove at 06:00. After motoring out of the Thames River, we set
sails in Long Island Sound and headed toward Shelter Island. We were
able to sail the entire way, even though we were against the tide. It
was a thrill sailing through Plum Gut and then tacking in and around
Bug Light. We were being flushed thirty degrees off our heading at
these two spots. Once at Dering Harbor sails did have to come in. We
are not willing to sail up to the mooring in a crowded field.

Tomorrow our Island Packet rendezvous starts. See
www.blissrendezvous.com. We are looking forward to seeing thirty
other tan boats with dozens of friends. This year for seminars we
have the experts teaching us more about mechanical things.

ALL ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS ARE MECHANICAL

Island Packet is putting low profile, halogen light fixtures, controlled by dimmers, on the ceilings of current production boats. There is one on Charmed that has worked intermittently since the boat was new. At first it seemed the bulb was the issue. The bulbs are not robust. But after changing the $5.39 bulb several times and having “bad” bulbs light in other fixtures, it was thought to be something else.

There is a connection of two yellow wires and a white wire, and a connection of two red wires and a white wire at the light fixture. Simple enough. The light is in parallel with six others, that lighted properly. The white wires of the light just seemed to indicate the light was not polarity sensitive.

The mystery deepened when 12 volts was observed at the fixture when it was on, however no bulb, however new, would light. It was observed that there was 12 volts at the fixture when there was no bulb installed in the fixture and the light was on. When there was a bulb installed and the fixture was on, the voltage disappeared. The connections all seemed factory solid. The voltage drops across the connections were zero. The resistance of the connections was about 0.3 ohms and 1 ohm, respectively. No consultant had a clue.

So, out of desperation, clip, off come the factory connections. The 1 ohm connection was renewed first. Viola! Light. For preventative maintenance the second connection was renewed. It was hard to believe that the connection was the issue given the secure look and the measurements recorded, but what else could it have been?