DINGHY SPEED

While here in St Augustine with the new engine out of the break in period, we have had the chance to check the max speed of an AB 10VL with a Yamaha 15 HP two cycle engine, 22 knots.  We are thrilled with the performance of this combination.  The dinghy jumps on plane with one or two, easily planes with three, and may plane with four in smooth water.  We have not had the opportunity to check performance with four aboard.

We think we use much less fuel with the new combination than when we had the Johnson 8 HP two cycle engine on the dinghy.  The Yamaha is probably newer technology, and it is overall probably working at a better spot on its performance curve.

MORE FROM ST. AUGUSTINE

Look for two new mooring fields in St. Augustine next summer, one north of the Bridge of Lyons and one south, to be installed by the City. We heard this today from Dockmaster Sam. The City is waiting on final permits, but we can't imagine why those won't come through. Prices have not yet been set, but Dockmaster Sam says they will be in line with mooring prices charged by other Florida cities.

DON'T NOAA

While in Oriental, as we lamented over weather forecasts, Tom (Whispering Sea) shared a quip I like ... NOAA or Don't NOAA. It often seems that NOAA doesn't get it right with either the wind direction, wind speed or wave height. Well, yesterday was no exception, so I dubbed it a "Don't NOAA" day. We dropped off the mooring in Fernandina Beach (just $15 a night) at 6:30 a.m. and headed out the St. Mary's inlet. That was a great run. We had the current with us and so went about 8.5 knots out the inlet. When we turned south, we set sails and thought we would be able to sail all day. NOAA had predicted 10-15 knots of wind. Alas, the sails came in about an hour later as the wind settled down to less than 10 knots and sometimes less than 5 knots. But all was not lost! We had a wonderful day anyway. Although we had to motor sail, the conditions were calm, the sun was bright, and we had lots of company on the water. Our friend Carey (Catspaw), who had been with us for several days but left us in Fernandina Beach, had taught us Cribbage, so Craig and I enjoyed a few games in the cockpit as we headed south. We arrived at the St. Augustine inlet about 2:45 p.m., in time to make the 3:00 p.m. opening of the Bridge of Lyons Bridge. We anchored just south of the Municipal Marina. I am happy to be back in the Sunshine State!

ST AUGUSTINE

It has been a long while since we posted.  We have nothing to do, and we are three days late!

Today we landed in St Augustine.  You can see the stops we made getting here on the map above.  If you are interested, view the larger map.  Then pan around.  The list of place markers down the left side are stops in chronological order.  If you click on a stop the map will center on that stop.

We have had wonderful weather this trip south.  Little cold and little rain.  Three legs were offshore.  Beaufort NC to Jehossee Island, Walburg Creek to Fernandina Beach, and Fernandina Beach to St Augustine.  We had hoped to do more offshore sailing, but we would have had to wait for weather.  Even though better time is made offshore, and it is usually easier sailing, waiting for weather would have been a delay overall.

Highlights of this trip south have included more time with old friends, meeting Jim and Laurie of Kismet, getting hooked on LOST, spending significant time with Tom and Joyce of Whispering Sea(including the making of deer stew), and having Carey bring cribbage aboard.

HAMPTON TOWN PIER

Charmed and Snark spent two nights in Mill Creek in worrisome weather, weather that has you up on a regular schedule to check anchoring gear, boat location, and neighbor location.  Gales were predicted but measured maximum wind speed was just over 30 knots.  While barely comfortable for brief periods each tide cycle when current and wind caused the boat to sit parallel to the waves, the anchorage was comfortable enough.

After Mill Creek we voyaged three whole miles to the Hampton Town Pier.  Buffet breakfast at the hotel.  Laundry within walking distance at Hampton University.  Boat chores.  Dinner with Blew Yonder Tom and Tammi.  A stop at Wal Mart.

After a cold night, a few more boat chores while Charmed prepares for a short ride to Portsmouth, hopefully for a spot in the South Ferry Basin.  Snark is already off to Atlantic Marine in Chesapeake City for some alternator and engine analysis.

MILL CREEK

Charmed and Snark lie at anchor in Mill Creek.  For a month or more, the weather has been wonderful.  Yesterday it turned wet.  Last night it also turned cool.  Today it will remain wet and cold.  Tomorrow it is supposed to clear.

There is almost no sense in going into the Hampton Public Piers today as planned.  No sense wasting the free night that we got at the Annapolis boat show to just sit there on the boat all day.  So we have books, movies, TV, and the first season of Lost that Kismet loaned us.

AB DINGHY INFLATION VALVES

Inflatables may periodically need a little air.  They may periodically need air released from them.  It is good to read the manual about how to inflate and deflate your brand dinghy, before you need to do it.

When we bought our AB a year ago, it was delivered tight as a drum.  I was assured it was properly inflated, using a gauge.  It was hot outside.  Only yesterday did we ever have to adjust the air in the dinghy.  Some had to be added.  The dinghy had become too limp due to cold fall nights and cool days, and maybe a little leakage.

But then it got warm again, and some air needed to be released.  I should have done this at the mother ship, or at a beach or a dock.  With four persons onboard on the way to the St Michaels dinghy dock, I pushed the red button behind one of the three valve covers.  Whoosh!  Much of the air came out of the tube I was sitting on, instantly.  Worse, I learned the red button is detented!  You have to press it once to open it, again to close it.  By the time I figured that out almost all of the air was out of the one tube.  It is good to know that two tubes of the AB dinghy will easily support an idiot and three other people, a fifty pound motor, and twenty pounds of fuel!

(The Avon Lite dinghy valve is momentary.  Press and hold it to exhaust air.  Release it to close the valve.)

WmWAVES.COM LAUNCHED!

On October 5, 2008, Debbie and two friends, Radeen (Island Spirit) and Vanessa (Wind Runner), launched a new website for women sailors . . . www.WmWAVES.com. The site was inspired by a desire to bring women sailors together to share everything of interest to us . . . from boat recipes to how we can become comfortable handling a man-overboard situation and more. It is for women sailors (defined as "travelers by water") everywhere. Please visit the site and learn how this project got under way, what we hope to achieve and what it can do for you. Registration is free and we hope you will share your articles, calendar events, et cetera. If you like what we're doing, please pass the word around to your fellow women sailors. Let's join together and become one unified and strong group of Women Making WAVES!

GENERATOR IMPELLER

Upon starting the auxiliary engine we check for water in the exhaust 100% of the time.  Upon starting the generator engine we used to check for water in the exhaust 90% of the time, sometimes being lazy.  We should have checked today.  The generator ran twenty minutes this morning before shutting down.  The ALARM light was on at the control panel.  The TEMPERATURE ALARM light was on at the generator.

The inlet strainer for the generator was clean, but no water flowed from it when the lid was unscrewed.  The hose was removed from the seacock.  Water flowed into the boat.  The hose between the seacock and the strainer was the issue.  Unfortunately that hose is twelve feet long.  A big blow blew dark goo and mud from the hose.  Now water flowed easily and fully to the strainer.  The generator was restarted, but no water joined the exhaust.

The good news is the impeller is very easy to get to, and a spare was back on board.  A first spare had been loaned to sistership At Last, who recently had a similar impeller failure.  The replacement spare had just been received days ago.

The original impeller had completely disintegrated.  There were no vanes left on the hub.  There were a couple full vanes in the housing along with numerous pieces.  We hopefully collected enough rubber to be the whole impeller.  We will watch closely to determine whether the cooling system remains compromised with pieces that made it out of the pump toward or to the heat exchanger.  Right now there is substantial water flow in the exhaust, and the generator is running at normal operating temperature.

We learned a few things today.  Check for cooling water flow for every marine engine, every time the engine is started:  auxiliary, generator, dinghy outboard.  Don't bother hoping an impeller will survive running dry for twenty minutes.

The original impeller on the generator ran 240 hours.  Yanmar says inspect at 300 hours, replace at 600 hours.  With the long hose run from the seacock to the strainer, and then another fair length to the water pump, this impeller may need attention more often to keep its performance high and like new.  The instant failure might have been avoided if the contaminant that collected in the hose had made it to the strainer and not restricted flow.

WASHING YOUR TURBO

It doesn't seem right, putting water into the air intake of a diesel engine, but Yanmar wants you to periodically wash your turbo.

The process:

RUN A WARM ENGINE IN NEUTRAL AT 3000 RPM.

PUT 50 CC OF LIQUID DETERGENT IN THE AIR INTAKE OVER 10 SECS.

WITH ENGINE RUNNING WAIT 3 MINUTES.

REPEAT THE PROCESS WITH 50 CC OF FRESH WATER.

Does anyone have any direct experience completing this service issue?

CHARMED'S BOTTOM

Charmed was launched sixteen months ago with two coats of Pettit Ultima SR Ablative Bottom Paint, a blue signal coat, and a black finish coat.  The bottom remained clean in waters, New England to the Chesapeake to the Keys to Maine and back to the Chesapeake.  Almost no barnacles.  A little slime.  However, I wish a second black finish coat had been installed.  Even though there was little blue showing, there appeared to be thinning spots, probably as much from installation quality as from wear.  The water line wore well, even with a half dozen light brushings over the months to remove weed and other goo.

This week three gallons of black Ultima SR went on Charmed's bottom.  The three gallons covered one and three quarters coats.  Pettit's Quantity Calculator says three gallons should have gone two coats.  The paint was clean and easy to apply using a five gallon bucket and a paint screen that hangs over the edge of the bucket.  The Ultima is thick and likely goes on thicker than Pettit says is the one coat dry film thickness.

Charmed was painted at this point to make sure we keep a good bottom.  Now we think we might easily get two plus years before we must haul again to address the condition of the bottom.

http://www.pettitpaint.com/fileshare/product_pds/1129706.pdf

http://www.pettitpaint.com/paint_calculator.asp

DINGHY CLEANING

Charmed's one year old white dinghy looks brand new again!  Over the last year, we have kept it as clean as we could, washing it periodically, usually while in the dinghy using rain water, or while in the water next to it using salt water.  But today we had the opportunity to put the dinghy on a couple of saw horses three feet high, and we had plenty of water with which to address the dingy dinghy.

Mary Kate ON OFF Hull Cleaner is fabulous and the whole answer for the fiberglass hull.  It literally is as simple as putting the cleaner on, waiting a minute, and rinsing it off.  When dry the fiberglass is ready for wax.

Mary Kate Inflatable Cleaner is fabulous, however it is not the whole answer for the hypalon tubes.  To get the tubes absolutely clean required using Soft Scrub with Bleach in a second step, after the Mary Kate cleaner stopped doing magic in a few spray on, scrub lightly, rinse off cycles.  The Soft Scrub worked best by applying it, scrubbing medium hard with a short bristle brush, waiting a little but not letting it dry, scrubbing medium hard, waiting a little, and so on.  It probably took three fresh applications of Soft Scub to get all the brown and green off the tube area at the waterline and below.

Now that the dinghy is again clean as it is going to get, we will remain diligent about getting it out of the water most nights.  We know it will be impossible to keep the dinghy clean though.  There is a lot of scummy water on the eastern coast of the United States.

While the two Mary Kate products mentioned above worked well for us, we were completely unsatisfied with ROLL OFF.  ROLL OFF is a blue liquid that is not cheap.  It didn't do a thing for the dinghy fiberglass or tubes.  It also didn't do a thing for the stains on the fiberglass of the mothership.  It may work well for other cleaning tasks.

For others with a RIB, keep in mind debris works its way into the space between the inside of the hull and lower part of the tube, where the hull attaches to the tubes.  It was amazing how much grass, sand and other goo was flushed out of this area, along the whole inside perimeter of the boat.

THE CITY

Charmed made New York City about 2:00 pm last Sunday, having departed Port Washington four hours before.  It was a wonderful sail through the west end of Long Island Sound, by Rikers Island, through Hell Gate, by the big buildings, past the Statue of Liberty.  We planned and rode the maximum ebbing current of the East River for a fun flush between Roosevelt and Manhattan Islands and under the Brooklyn Bridge.  Over 11 knots SOG at times.  We then had to work against the current up the Hudson, hoping for a mooring at the West 79th Street Boat Basin, before the George Washington Bridge.  The moorings are not reserved but handled first come, first served.  At only $30.00 a night they are popular.  Once within radio range we were given bad news, none were available.  We sailed on, looked anyway, happened to find one, and were told we could have it.

Once on the mooring we sat amazed at the state of the river and the current.  The mooring balls were nearly under water a large part of the time.  BOAT SPEED was sometimes over three knots, and we were parked!  The waves were two feet.  The swells were higher.  It was not comfortable, and we wondered how safe we were.  The harbor master had assured us . . . .

Deciding to sit on the boat until the current was slack the next morning, we enjoyed the scenery from the cockpit until bed time.  There was no sleeping on Charmed that night!  The boat bounced and bounced.  The mooring tackle made loud, horrible noises.  We wondered whether the mooring pennants would hold and inspected them for chafe every hour.  More often for the periodic louder than loud noises.

About 4:00 am we decided we were not going to stay on these moorings.  We would not be comfortable leaving the boat for any length of time, at all for that matter.  We had not even seen business day river traffic yet!  Now we just wanted enough daylight to depart.

Once the big boats and fast ferries started passing us just before daylight conditions even got worse.  A loud pop turned out to be the parting of one of the strands of one of the two three-strand nylon rope pennants.  Now sitting at the helm, watching and waiting for sunrise, I thought it might just be best if we broke off.  Then we wouldn't have to deal with casting off.

Once Charmed started to swing with the slacking and changing current, and the light started coming up, we did cast off.  We found the Liberty Harbor Marina fuel dock up Morris Canal and waited until 8:00 am for them to open.  By 9:00 we were docked and napping in a calm cove.  Liberty Harbor's tag line is "Are you tired of being bounced around on the Hudson?"  We were, in less than half of a full twenty-four hour day.

Settled in at LIberty Harbor we now could enjoy New York.  Like all tourists we walked and walked and looked and looked.  A dinner with Cousin Jim and his friend Jason, and being in the audience of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, arranged by friend Al, were highlights of this trip to The City.

This was our second visit to New York by boat.  On the first visit we stayed in The North Cove, a marina on the Manhattan side of the Hudson.  It is a good place and very convenient to The City.  They looked full this time, and we wanted calm as calm could be.  The North Cove rocks and rolls throughout the day.  It settles down some at night.  Liberty Harbor is complete calm, and we needed that after one night exposed on the Hudson.

BOOM VANG BWOKE

Somewhere along the way, the boom vang on Charmed bwoke. The vang is a Sparcraft rigid vang, operated by gas cylinders used as extension springs. The gas cylinders failed. When, is anybody's guess because a topping lift backs up the vang to make sure the boom stays off the dodger, and the rigid vang worked as a sail control while sailing, even without the extension springs.

Charleston Spar was kind enough to say they would fix the vang and return it promptly. They said reworking the vang was not a task easily done on the boat. The issue, how do you get a vang to Charleston, SC, from one city, and get it back in another city? The issue is one of location and timing, possibly complicated by weather.

At the time returning the vang was deemed necessary, Charmed was close enough to Hellier Yacht Sales to back track and leave the vang for them to return to Sparcraft. The Shaw's Cove Bridge blocked the last five hundred yards back to Hellier, but good friend Dan happened along in his dinghy while Charmed was floating in the New London harbor. The vang was delivered to Hellier by dinghy, then to Charleston Spar by UPS.

Once repaired, we predicted where Charmed would be when the vang was returned by UPS. Good friend Al in Fanwood, NJ, agreed to accept the package and work with us to get it to the boat while here in New York City. The vang was in a box 8 inches by 8 inches by 7 feet, and once received, Al started toward Newark Penn Station on one train. I started toward the station on another. The box was lateraled with just a few stares.

The logistics of getting this vang fixed and back on board were interesting. Getting it fixed and returned could have been done more simply. Most marinas will accept packages for transiet boaters, and there are always the stores offering shipping services. Though it is always somewhat of a challenge to limit the handling and expense of getting goods to boat.

NOT FLOATING IN NORTH COVE

So the North Cove presents a new element to sailing.  Moorings are
available.  Locals may tell you there is enough water.  But there
ain't!

During the worst of the storm today, I am watching and watching.
Charmed and many other similar sized resident boats around me are
lying the same way to wind and current.  All is well.

But then a smaller boat starts swinging on its mooring, and it gets
closer and closer to Charmed.  The smaller boat is clocking around
with the wind.  Charmed is not.  When the smaller boat gets within
about ten feet I finally figure out what is wrong with the picture.
Charmed and the other bigger boats are anchored in the mud!

So I start the engine and slug my way forward about ten feet, still on
the mooring.  Viola!  Deep water.  Charmed swings and starts hanging
like the other smaller boats.  There are still a dozen boats
stuck here in the mud.  Based on the size and style of some of them,
some are in here with six foot drafts.  It is too shallow for
Charmed's five feet, except at mid tide or above.

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO GO LOOK

Sometimes you have to go look, then you find you have to turn around,
and find a protected anchorage, mooring, or slip. Today was one of
those days for solo crew on Charmed.

Charmed was at the service dock of Old Lyme Marina yesterday and this
morning to have a professional look at her valves, injectors, muffler,
belts, etc. While Charmed's crew can do these things, crew has chosen
to have service performed by a certified Yanmar mechanic through most
of the warranty period.

Since service was completed in short order, thank you very much, Josh
and Mark, by 10:00 am this morning, it was hoped Charmed could make
Clinton before the upcoming round of severe thunderstorms. It was
just not to be. First, winds were up higher than was being reported.
Second, winds were from a worse direction than was being reported.
Seas, waves, were not bad, except at the mouth of the Connecticut
River, where the outgoing current opposed the heavy winds. However,
both seas and winds would buck progress. Making Clinton was struck
from the plan.

Back to Old Lyme was one bailout option. Essex and Hamburg Cove were
others. But North Cove looked so enticing. It was near by. There
were tall masts sticking up in it. A call to Old Saybrook Marina gave
some hope it would be deep enough. A call to Sea Tow gave a bit more
hope. Both advisors mentioned moorings with a yellow streamer were
free for the taking. Both suggested not going too deep into the cove.
Charmed landed on the fourth mooring from the channel entrance on the
centerline of the cove.

At thirty minutes before dead low, there is less than a whole foot
under Charmed's keel, and I am reminded of sailor friend Gil's words
of wisdom, "All the water over six inches under your keel is wasted!"

Regarding the reason for being near here, the service work, every
valve set on Charmed's Yanmar 4JH4 TE 75 hp Diesel Auxiliary Engine
had to be adjusted. It was noted all of the turbos are being found to
have come out of adjustment, and they should be monitored as requested
by Yanmar.

LEAVING SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND

Charmed is lying Shaw's Cove again, a good spot to be while Tropical
Storm Hanna passes over. Shaw's Cove is also a good spot to mark the
place and time of the beginning of a second voyage south.

Once Craig helps move a boat to the Newport Boat Show for Hellier,
Charmed will sail to Old Lyme Marina for preventative maintenance work
on the auxiliary engine, mostly a close look at injectors and valves.
Then it's over to Port Jefferson to collect Debbie when she returns
from visiting family and friends in Florida. Then to Oyster Bay.
Then to Port Washington. Then to The CIty for several days.

Possible stops after New York will be Sandy Hook, Atlantic City, Cape
May, Chesapeake City, and Rock Hall. We plan a short haul for Charmed
in Rock Hall to get her bottom painted.

NO WHALES

Charmed purposefully crossed Stellwagen Bank twice, hoping to see whales. While reports of sightings keep coming in, we unfortunately saw none. See this site: Whale Center, for what we missed.

When in Provincetown, we almost paid for the pleasure of seeing whales. But it was agreed it would not be the same. Charmed's crew would like to see whales from our boat.

BOOKS IN BOOTHBAY HARBOR

Books at the memorial library in Boothbay Harbor are cheap! On two
shopping trips, one when we entered Maine, and now one when we are
leaving, we have added fifty books to Charmed's library. We spent
less than $20.00 on each trip.

Available books are not on the best seller's list today, but many once
were. The selection is incredible. Two or three four foot shelves
are dedicated to Stephen King, a Mainer. The library even has DVDs
for sale. Charmed's library now includes six Dirk Pitt novels, gotten
for fifty cents or a dollar a piece.

THE SCORE

Charmed 64,000, lobster pots 1!

Given we depart for Provincetown probably Tuesday, we thought we just
might get out of Maine without a hitch. It was bad thinking. While
sailing from Camden to Tenants Harbor yesterday afternoon in a field
of too many lobster pots we misjudged one that we should have given a
wider berth. Once passed the point of being able to do anything
different we watched and hoped the orange and yellow buoy would pop up
behind us. It didn't. The pot slowed us from a bit over six knots to
a bit over five knots, and you could see line trailing taut behind at
a depth of about four feet. Before we could douse some sails and slow
or stop we collected a few more pots on the line from the first one.

Once slowed, basically drifting, we pulled and pushed on the line with
a boat hook, first with the rudder full to one stop, then full to the
other stop, and then everywhere in between. But we were pretty much
anchored. It would take more than working off the swim platform.
While the water was not as cold as expected it does take your breath
away for a moment. Once off the swim platform and into the water, we
were on our way again in minutes.

Only a few more days of having our track look like an irregular zigzag
stitch at the end of the day . . . .