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Babby's first double-braid splice. Rigging a new mainsheet and replacing the blocks. Going with Harken carbo blocks, the old ones are lovely West Marine branded Ronstan blocks and older Schaefers.
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Feb 7, 2013 00:25
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Big Taint posted:Babby's first double-braid splice. Harken is the gold standard when it comes to light-duty tackle. Good choice. Nice splice, too!
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Feb 7, 2013 02:38
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Here's a video, filmed in 1929 and narrated in 1980, of a sailing ship going around cape Horn. It's pretty  at times.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RfuGKXOkB4
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Feb 7, 2013 03:11
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Heyo! Bet you thought I forgot this thread, but I didn't.  Quick boat update (pictures to come shortly): I have done a fair amount of basic, boring but necessary work on the sloop. Got rid of the old cruddy corroded (and dead) car battery that was powering the 12v system and replaced it with a marine deep-cycle battery. Got the cinderblocks out of the bilge (yes, someone put cinderblocks in the bilge under the cabin soles, wtf) and with a portable bilge pump, a couple gallons of clorox, and a bunch of boat sponges, I started Project Let's Pump This Sucker Dry. I also took all of the cushions, v-berth, quarter berths, everything, out and laid them on the dock, then unzipped the cases to be greeted by foam that was solidly covered with black mold.  All of them, every last one, thanks to years of leaky hatches and a permanently half-full bilge. I'm going to get rid of the foam and wash the cushion covers in an industrial machine. In the meantime I have no problem sailing the boat with no soft furnishings at all below, since I think of it more as a big kayak than anything and spend pretty much all my time topside. At some point I might want to overnight in it, but that point is months away at least.Getting the cushions out uncovered the lockers under the quarter berths and a forward bilge access in the tip of the v-berth. Both were full of water.  Portable bilge pump to the rescue again, along with lots of clorox. The ultimate goal is to get the boat as dry as possible, then work on getting it as clean as possible. The gelcoat is not in great shape and there's some spiderweb cracking to the fiberglass in places (nowhere that's important to hull integrity, thank goodness) but once I get the dirt, grime, and mold cleaned off I can start thinking about a repaint. If anyone should need a small battery-powered bilge pump, I can enthusiastically recommend this one, I've used it for probably a cumulative hour or two over this long weekend and it works great. It's really been a godsend for the difficult-to-bail places like the lockers, which have triangular bottoms and were full of about four inches of rainwater condensation each. Edit: And when I took the cushions out of the v-berth you'll never guess what I found under them, a loving sculling oar of all things. I've always wanted to learn how to scull a sailboat!
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Feb 18, 2013 22:23
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I've been waiting for a boat thread to pop up. I've been the owner of a Contessa 26 for going on 3 years and in that time I've immersed myself in boat/sailing/maintenance info. This looks like a great thread. I'll try to make a longer post later involving sealants, insurance, electrical and sailing in 12' seas later on.
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Feb 20, 2013 21:48
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This is a great thread so I wanted to make some contributions. bonestructure posted:The best view in the world, looking down a sailboat bow. I couldn't agree more. Almost everything humans make is in some way designed to overpower or overcome its surroundings but a sailboat is the complete opposite - it's designed to harness both wind and water. The result, in my opinion, is that sailboats are some of the most beautiful man made objects that exist, and that's before you consider the possibilities they bring. Nettle Soup posted:This is a good book if you can find a copy of it. Sailing round the world over two years, it kept me reading and it's one of those books I still sometimes find myself thinking about. This is my boat! Tania, the girl in the book (still the youngest woman to sail around the world I think) has the same model boat as me - Contessa 26. Needless to say I read it immediately. The Contessa is pretty well known as an inexpensive small "blue water" boat. Sadly I doubt I'll be taking mine across oceans but I appreciate having something with that history, and I simply love the look and style of this old fashioned full keel boat. Knowing the history was also comforting when myself and two inexperienced friends got ourselves into 12' seas with the nearest port 6 stressful hours away. Blue Water Boats Contessa 26 And here are some pictures:   Prepping for launch last spring.  Electrical Panel. Last spring I rewired everything.  sharkytm posted:No problem. GenuineDealz is good people. Yep I used them also. I hate their name but they do good work and it's a good value. bonestructure posted:Nice! Odays are good boats. This is really true. What I've come to realize is that it's not really the high individual cost of items - I've rarely been too sticker shocked by marine stuff individually, the issue with a boat is the number of things - lines, blocks, fittings, parts, sealants etc etc that need to be replaced/fixed/maintained. When I set out to rewire the entire boat I literally had to block out time to sit down and shop online, so many things had to be researched and purchased to get the job done. That's where the costs add up. That said, the nice thing about sailboats is that they tend to age gracefully. Catastrophic failures of the mast/rig are possible but very rare. Generally things just slowly wear out and the individual cost of replacing things isn't too high. This is why sailboats last longer than motor boats - there is less likkely to be one item that fails where the owner decides to scrap the boat. Dacron sails basically last forever and can always be patched - they stretch out and performance suffers but unlike a motor boats things rarely quit altogether. If you're stingy, and willing to take a bit of risk you can get away spending very little. If you're just sailing around the harbor you'll probably be safe even if something fails. So for example a family friend has a 25 footer (Cape Dory 25) that he paid $2k for 10 years ago. When I asked him what work he's done on it he scratched his head and couldn't come up with anything - literally. He doesn't cover it in winter or do anything other than a quick cleaning in the spring. The boat is slowly degrading but who cares? He still loves sailing it. sharkytm posted:I work on boats for a living too. I do a LOT of wiring work, and some other asst/ stuff. Electrical was my project last year - I rewired the boat 100%. Above is the custom electrical panel I made - off the shelf ones were too large and had too few switches. I wanted LED's for every circuit, and a guage and a lighter outlet so I had to go that route. All the electrical is anchor or bluesea for the most part. Both make great stuff. I also redid the mast wiring and got LED nav and spreader lights. For me, lighting is my primary load so moving to LED's cut down my power use by about a factor of 4 which is a great thing. I also set up the cockpit lighter plug so it has a direct diode protected path to the battery so I leave a $30 solar panel plugged in while I'm gone. Big Taint posted:It's nice when you get the boat to the point where you can sail for a couple hours and nothing breaks. I spent yesterday installing a new faucet in the head. Fun, a brand new toilet is my project for this spring...not really looking forward too it. But my existing one actually leaks. bolind posted:Nice boat! Damprid packages also work decently. bonestructure" posted:Early fiberglass boats tend to have over-engineered hulls because no one was completely sure of marine tolerances, so the idea was just "build it extra-sturdy just in case." That's why there are so many of these vintage 80s sailboats still around. They were built to last, and last they have. This is true. Fiberglass pretty much lasts forever. The history of the sailboat industry is somewhat interesting. Basically fiberglass sailboats came into existence in the late 50's. Fiberglass and its drastically reduced maintence really made boat ownership possible to lots of people for the first time. So there was a boom in boat production in the 60's and 70's. Because fiberglass boats never die (and sailboats especially) by the 80's boat builders started having a harder time competing with the used market. Combined with the financial crisis of the 80's this caused something of an extinction event in the boatbuilding industry in the late 80's. Tons of brands of great boats that are still on the used market all dissapeared - Pearson, Cape Dory, J.J. Taylor (Contessa), Tanzer to name just a few. In the 20-30 foot range through the 90's into today very few boats got built because there is no market for them. Martytoof posted:Forgot to mention, thanks for recommending This Old Boat. Picked up a copy just to thumb through and it's full of awesome little stuff I can also second Don Casey and recommend Nigel Calder as well. Nigel is more technical - lots of detailed info on systems and Nigel has a great cruising guide which tells you how anchor properly, plan your trip, deal with heavy weather etc etc. As for magazines I really recommend Good Old Boat and Practical Sailor. Martytoof posted:Yeah, I always assumed boat ownership would be prohibitively expensive. I'm talking like "cost of a house" expensive. But all the boats I'm ACTUALLY interested in tend to go for under 10k, and most are at or under the 5k mark. I'm not really interested in anything bigger than the mid 20s. For one, I don't think I need that much space since I'll be mostly running the ship single handed, or maybe (hopefully) with a cute girl I had the same realization when I went on craigslist and saw how inexpensive boats could be (initially). For ~25' you're looking at ~1-2k for mooring/slip depending on location (slips are more obviously). I get a mooring in a major city for ~$2300 and ~1k to $1.5k for haul out and winter storage - it's not as bad as it might seem. Over winter I build a wooden frame and cover with a 20'x30' gray tarp weighted down with milk bottles or whatever else that cost $100. Shrink wrapping is pretty expensive, close to $1k. For smaller boats <25' you can look at trailer and if you can store at home that further cuts down expenses. Martytoof posted:Is bottom painting legitimately something you can tackle yourself? Bottom painting is actually one of the easiest major things you can do to your boat. I did it one year but have since stored at a place that forces me to have them do it (to make up revenue). Otherwise I'd still be doing it. The sanding is the hard part, painting is easy and because it's under water you don't worry a lot about looks. Yes you move the stands or just don't worry about it where the stands cover it up.
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Feb 23, 2013 19:21
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asdf32 posted:
Beautiful boat and photos..
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Feb 25, 2013 20:42
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God that second photo makes me want to sell everything, buy a boat, and be on it 24/7.
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Feb 25, 2013 21:25
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Martytoof posted:God that second photo makes me want to sell everything, buy a boat, and be on it 24/7. Do it, it's awesome.
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Feb 26, 2013 20:41
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This thread is amazing and I hope it stays active. I was sitting around last night talking about how I wanted to get into sailing soon, and decided to search SA and of course this came up. The information here is great so far. For someone like me with literally no knowledge of sailing, is the "Sailing: A beginners Guide" by David Seidman the best book to start with then? I can't find many reviews about that particular book. I was also looking at sailing courses locally, which are taught on 22-26' keelboats which seem to be what you're all talking about here. I work within a mile or two of a few marinas and I look at those boats every day on my way in to the office and daydream. I can actually afford a boat (kind of) at this point in my life so the itch is getting really strong.
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Feb 26, 2013 22:41
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Sorry for the late reply but I just wanted to say that this is also a dream of mine when I'm older and have a bit more disposable income. I grew up racing dinghys (Optimists, P Class and briefly Starlings) but gave up when I was 15 but I figure sailing is just like riding a bike. Keep up the great work!
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Mar 30, 2013 06:22
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Red_Fred posted:Sorry for the late reply but I just wanted to say that this is also a dream of mine when I'm older and have a bit more disposable income. I grew up racing dinghys (Optimists, P Class and briefly Starlings) but gave up when I was 15 but I figure sailing is just like riding a bike. Something must have happened this week in child sailors because I had the same twinge and had to find the goon sailing thread. My city has decent lakes for sailing, and I'll have residency in the real part next year so I'll be able to rent a buoy on the good lake. My plan for this year is to get out on other people's boats and hopefully remember enough of how I sailed that I don't get hit by the boom every time I tack.
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Mar 30, 2013 17:34
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My mom had major surgery about six weeks ago and it didn't go as well as hoped (she's nearly eighty and has issues with anemia and her blood not clotting.) She was in ICU, then stepdown, and now she's in a critical care nursing facility. That's why I've sort of vanished off the face of the earth lately. I haven't even seen my boat in almost three weeks and I really miss it. I'm really glad other folks are keeping the thread alive. I might not be able to post much for another couple of weeks, but I always make time to check the thread and enjoy everyone's pictures and boat talk. It's one of the few bright spots recently.
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Mar 30, 2013 18:43
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Oh man, that's not good. Thoughts are with you, bonestructure. We'll keep the thread warm for you whenever you make your return from more important things 
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Mar 30, 2013 18:52
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bonestructure posted:My mom had major surgery about six weeks ago and it didn't go as well as hoped (she's nearly eighty and has issues with anemia and her blood not clotting.) She was in ICU, then stepdown, and now she's in a critical care nursing facility. That's why I've sort of vanished off the face of the earth lately. I haven't even seen my boat in almost three weeks and I really miss it. Good luck to your mom, dude.
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Mar 30, 2013 19:35
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sharkytm posted:I love my job, and there's no way I could do it if I didn't. Self-Quoting... I'm changing jobs, still in the oceanographic community, but working for a manufacturer as a field tech. I'll be making/repairing/troubleshooting/training on underwater robots from April 16th on. Sorry to hear about your mom, the boat will wait. They always do...
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Apr 3, 2013 01:43
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asdf32 posted:Bottom painting is actually one of the easiest major things you can do to your boat. I did it one year but have since stored at a place that forces me to have them do it (to make up revenue). Otherwise I'd still be doing it. The sanding is the hard part, painting is easy and because it's under water you don't worry a lot about looks. Yes you move the stands or just don't worry about it where the stands cover it up.
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Apr 6, 2013 01:29
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inspire posted:Do you use a water blaster to get the scum and barnacles off? If the water blaster is of adequate psi there is no sanding required. Or just go over the bottom of the boat with a scouring pad. You do not want to sand antifoul, it's very very toxic. Pressure washing is required by law here (I beieve) to prevent invasive species from moving around, so it's always done by the yard, but I don't think it does a lot to remove the paint. I also have a small preassure washer which does nothing to remove bottom paint. Ablative paint comes off easier (it's designed to slowly come off to maintain it's effectiveness) but eventually the paint inevitably builds up and a deep sanding is required. I sanded decently once but I'm sure I'll have to again sometime. I wish I had full respirator instead of just a mask when I did it.
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Apr 6, 2013 01:49
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Always wear a full mask with particulate filter when sanding pretty much anything on a boat. Wear one when applying the new paint as well. In fact, the full Tyvek suit and some goggles are a great idea, too.
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Apr 6, 2013 02:05
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asdf32 posted:Pressure washing is required by law here (I beieve) to prevent invasive species from moving around, so it's always done by the yard, but I don't think it does a lot to remove the paint. I also have a small preassure washer which does nothing to remove bottom paint. Ablative paint comes off easier (it's designed to slowly come off to maintain it's effectiveness) but eventually the paint inevitably builds up and a deep sanding is required. I sanded decently once but I'm sure I'll have to again sometime. I wish I had full respirator instead of just a mask when I did it.
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Apr 20, 2013 05:53
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inspire posted:Why do you want to get all the paint off? Assuming its not chipping and flaking you can just paint right over it. It just builds up and adds weight to the boat. Also, inevitably, it does chip and flake. Have you ever seen excess layers of paint on wood trim? Eventually you just want to strip it off and start from scratch. Looking around the boatyard you see a lot of boats with really thick paint and a very uneven bottom. It certainly doesn't do any good. How are people doing with their boats? I'm in the process of replacing the head/plumbing, propeller, rudder pintles and gudgeons (previous two being done by the yard), and removing and resealing the chainplates, fixing the head door which has never closed, 25 other small tasks, and rebedding some deck hardware...poo poo I have a lot ahead of me.
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Apr 27, 2013 03:01
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 Does that count?
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Apr 27, 2013 22:39
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sharkytm posted:Does that count?
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Apr 30, 2013 03:12
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CopperHound posted:Is that a torpedo? If it is, it's the most expensive, least effective torpedo ever. Its an AUV. A Remus 600 to be exact.
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Apr 30, 2013 03:40
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sharkytm posted:If it is, it's the most expensive, least effective torpedo ever. One MK54 cost twice as much as the average Remus 
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Apr 30, 2013 03:52
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What is that, some kind of wacky tow along ocean data collection phallus ? PS, cool thread, hope your doing well/sorry to hear about your mother, goondolences Also, 20 years out from cruising around the world in a liveaboard catamaran with my wife, we are at the "looking at pictures and videos and dreaming" stage of the process, we both already agreed that we would sell our house to do it to afford a nice one and would basically spend the next decade preparing. It may be feasible in 10 years time but more likely with my work it will probably have to wait until I am older. I'd love to pick up a small sailboat like yours to get the basics down but the wife is kind of poo-pooing that idea for now, what is a good way to trick a wife into letting me cruise around the coast in a 1970's day sailer
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Apr 30, 2013 04:04
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It's easier to get forgiveness than permission.
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May 1, 2013 02:12
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front wing flexing posted:One MK54 cost twice as much as the average Remus If you compare $/boom, the Remus still loses, or wins. Four knots, no boom...
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May 1, 2013 02:32
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asdf32 posted:It just builds up and adds weight to the boat. Also, inevitably, it does chip and flake. Have you ever seen excess layers of paint on wood trim? Eventually you just want to strip it off and start from scratch. Looking around the boatyard you see a lot of boats with really thick paint and a very uneven bottom. It certainly doesn't do any good.
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May 5, 2013 04:20
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inspire posted:Unless you're racing the weight/drag issue is miniscule. I wouldn't strip the paint off unless it had been painted every year for like, 15 years. Even then it wouldn't do much. It's been painted every year for 30+... but yeah, some quick math (~1/3 gallon bottom paint) suggests that weight isn't that big an issue. That said, the boat is over 30 years old and so are lots of others. Carrying around 10 gallons of paint isn't nothing. Add the drag issue in (from deep dimples and chips in thick paint), and I think it's true that a smooth bottom actually makes a difference, and it is just one thing of many things on the list that you try to get to once and a while. And if for no other reason you want the bottom of the boat to look good for the same reason you want the teak woodwork and everything else to look decent - it's just the principle.
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May 6, 2013 03:17
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chemical_combat posted:I'd love to pick up a small sailboat like yours to get the basics down but the wife is kind of poo-pooing that idea for now, what is a good way to trick a wife into letting me cruise around the coast in a 1970's day sailer 1) Take, Big Taint's suggestion 2) Find a listing for a nice looking inexpensive boat and drag her down there to look at it. Don't mention upkeep/mooring/storage money/time. 3) Build one? It's not has hard as it seems. Or so I tell people, I havn't done it. Stitch and Glue. Jimmy Skiff. Honestly if you're planning on doing that in the future it does make sense to get some boat experience.
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May 6, 2013 03:25
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There are so many killer deals on 22-28 foot day-sailers out there, just troll CL/ebay till something local pops up that looks good to you. If you have a place to keep it where you live, a trailerable one can have a very low cost of ownership. Not counting the infinite potential for tinkering/repairing/upgrading.
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May 6, 2013 17:57
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If I had $1500 to drop on a whim right now I would already own this: http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/mss/boa/3787197654.html Man, my desire to own a sailboat almost totally went away in the winter but now that it's spring it's back in like FULL. FORCE. some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 20:25 on May 6, 2013 |
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May 6, 2013 20:22
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I don't know how much experience you have sailing, but taking lessons at a local sailing club is an excellent way to get your feet wet, so to speak. I learned a great deal about handling a sailboat, anchoring, rules of the road, local navigational hazards, and so on, and had a great deal of inexpensive low-commitment fun doing so. The most important thing I learned about sailing was that I get very sea sick on anything larger than a dinghy out on the open ocean. So much for that dream.
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May 6, 2013 20:52
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Eccles posted:I don't know how much experience you have sailing, but taking lessons at a local sailing club is an excellent way to get your feet wet, so to speak. I learned a great deal about handling a sailboat, anchoring, rules of the road, local navigational hazards, and so on, and had a great deal of inexpensive low-commitment fun doing so. The most important thing I learned about sailing was that I get very sea sick on anything larger than a dinghy out on the open ocean. Oh yeah totally. There is a sailing course in Toronto that's like $600 and free rentals of their little dinghies all summer. I'm going to pay them a visit in a bit just to scope it out. I don't think I'll be able to justify dropping the $600 right now on another hobby since money is a little tighter than I'd like, but it's on my list of to-dos.
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May 6, 2013 20:55
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McMaster has a sailing club that trains in the harbour. Membership was under 200 for a term.
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May 9, 2013 16:51
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Wh--  Gotta check this poo poo out, thank you! 
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May 9, 2013 21:10
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asdf32 posted:3) Build one? It's not has hard as it seems. Or so I tell people, I havn't done it. Stitch and Glue. Jimmy Skiff. I have done this. It's not nearly as hard as it seems.
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May 10, 2013 00:41
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Rockis Dukakis posted:I have done this. It's not nearly as hard as it seems. This demands pictures. iv46vi posted:McMaster has a sailing club that trains in the harbour. Membership was under 200 for a term. McMaster? I read this while opening a McMaster order of stainless (316) screws/washers. McMaster is great for boat hardware. asdf32 fucked around with this message at 01:46 on May 10, 2013 |
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May 10, 2013 01:40
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McMaster.CA a Canadian university on the shores of Lake Ontario.
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May 10, 2013 02:08
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