Fathers Day in Keyport Harbor NJ

Sailing on Fathers Day was a blast. I knew I had the typical Dad obligations all day and had to get to the boat early so I could be home by noon. Arrived about 8:30am to the boat yard, another 15 minutes and I was pulling the dinghy up along side Lil Provo. It amazes me how dirty a boat gets just sitting there! I placed my daily supplies on board and climbed into the cockpit to stow the gear.

The harbor was like glass with no wind present at all. I gave a couple pumps to the gas bulb and started the motor, ran to the front to drop the mooring line and back to the cockpit to put the motor into gear. I motored on out into the bay where there was a great breeze for sailing. I opened the sails and let the wind take over. I hate the sound of a motor running lately. There is nothing to compare to doing six knots with only the sound of the water splashing against the hull. After a couple hours, I headed back to the harbor so I could secure Lil Provo and head home for Fathers day.

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend was the best weekend we had so far this year. The days were like summer days and the winds were moving good, as were the fish. We did run into some problems on Thursday which was our first day out. The bilge pump float died again and the boat yard chopped my look off of the cabin so they could get in and get my boom. They would usually just put her on the water without it and leave that up to me, but this year they had a new sail for me and wanted to make sure it fit. Now I have a newer jib and a newer main. They both work great! I went to West Marine and picked up a float for the pump and got that working fine. The boat was very good this weekend and it was a lot of fun. So much fun I didn't have time to take too many pictures, but what would a post be without pictures.



Next weekend we plan of have a real good time!

Lil Provo is finally ready

It has been a tough few weeks.  We have had so much rain and there is never a nice day when I am off.  It seems to take for ever to get the boat done this year.  Well, after weeks of squeezing in a little work between the raining, Lil Provo is ready.  I finished the bottom paint and the deck repair.  On Sunday we brought her down to the boat year where they will raise the mast and place her on her morring sometime today.  On Wednesday evening we will delivery the dinghy and on Thursday, I will go out sailing.  She looked pretty good when I towned her down there yesterday.  The trailer had the bnew axle and leaf springs in and I shouldn't have to worry about that stuff for years.  Here is a quick video of her on Sunday.

Weather is breaking, Boat is coming along

The spring has finally gotten here.  It is only weeks now until the boat goes into the water.  Last night we installed a new axle, leaf springs, and hardware under our trailer.  I increased the load capacity of the trailer at the same time.  Traveling home this winter taught me a lesson and I will not have to worry about the trailer being over loaded again.  We began the fiberglassing on the deck where a life line pole had broken the fiberglass under it's mount during the accident last September.  It is only a six by six section and I only need to add a couple more layers of cloth to bring it up to the level of the rest of the deck.  I can then remount the life line support pole.

We have cleared out most of the interior and will be staining the sliding door that divides the salon area from the front V birth and head. I have some redwood that I would like to add a small shelf area for more storage.  I need to also mount my fire extinguisher and organize my cockpit compartment.  I have been sliding the fishing poles down one of the settees for years now, but I will try to find someplace I can mount them out of the way.   The bottom of the boat still needs to be touched up and will have to look into getting some paint this week.  I will also need to paint the area of deck that was repaired.  I think I still have some of the gray non slip paint in the basement.

The mast needs some attention.  I need to put a hole in it so I can run the wires out for the anchor light and antenna.  This will allow the wires to hang out instead of mounting the mast and finding out you can't get to the wires to plug them in.  I will give all deck plates a coating of silicone to minimize any water passing by.  Need to purchase a new antenna and Windex to replace those lost in the September accident.  I am getting a new or used mainsheet.  Something in better condition than what I have.  The sailmaker recommended replacing the original sail and keep it for a backup.  I have a newer jib now as the original was ruined in the accident as well.

Yes, there seems to be lots to do, but working evenings and weekends, this will all be done and ready by the 21st.  Once I get her all done and I have some time, I'll add pictures to these posts. I'll be back soon!

Starting that preparation for the coming season

After having the boat repaired from the accident she had in September when she dragged the mooring during a storm, I brought her home as noted in my last blog.  On that trip the axle started to bend due to rust.  I have now ordered a new axle and expect that any day now.  I am also buying new leaf springs so I won't have to worry about the suspension for years to come. 

I just brought my mainsail to the sail maker and was told to use it as a spare.  The sail is the original and someone before me had holes at the ends of the battens which they repaired, but had to shorten the battens to stop the wear.  So now I am in search of a sail.  I will check with the boat yard first to see if they have one and if they don't, I'll have to but a new one.  The jib will be in better shape than the old one as after the accident I bought a replacement from the yard that was in very good condition.  Now all I will have left will be to replace the running rigging.

 I have been cleaning the water stains on the outside off and will wax the hull after I complete this task.  The interior will be stripped out and everything cleaned when we get some good weather.  That has been hard to find lately.  The is a spot on the deck where a pole for the life line was knocked over during the accident and I will fiberglass that once I know we will have a few good days of fair weather.

Thats it for now.  I'll keep the blog posted on upcoming events.

Lil Provo is home

Saturday, February 19th I drove down to the boat yard to see if I could get Lil Provo home.  When I arrived all the snow and ice were gone.  She was on her trailer at the top of the lot. I proceeded home and called Blue to advise him that Sunday would be the day.  Sunday morning we drove down to the shore to pick up Lil Provo. We hooked her up to our hitch and pulled her out of her spot.  We climbed on board to make sure everything was tightened down for the trip home.  I open the cabin to see there was 4" of water inside.  I knew this was adding a lot of weight to the trailer so I pulled out the hand pump and started pumping.  I eventually had to switch off to Blue and let him do some pumping.  I tried to use the bilge pump, but it was frozen in ice.  After about a half hour we got the water level down to the sole level.  The bilge was still full.  I thought that would be enough reduction in weight for the trip home.  It kind of pissed me off that the guys in the boat yard would park a boat with the nose down.  Nobody said the workers were the sharpest pencils in the tin.  We had to travel on major highways to get her home.  On the way back a guy was pointing at our trailer and trying to say something.  We couldn't figure out what it was he was trying to tell us, all tie downs looked taught and things seemed okay. When we pulled off the highway I noticed a cloud of white smoke coming from the tires, but they were full of air.  I travel a little further down the street and saw another puff of smoke. I pulled into a school lot and got out to check on the trailer.  Everything seemed fine, except the tires were rubbing on the trailer frame. The axle was bending due to the heavy load and rust! We only had a couple more miles to go and we figured we would give it a try.  We arrived at my home and parked the boat in the back yard. Out uneventful trip could have easily been a very memorable trip if the axle had broke through.

I had a chance to inspect the work done to the damage that happened in September. She looked good, could barely see any repair. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Now to set up my schedule of things to do.

Boat is in for repair

We took a ride down to the boat yard and spoke with John about the repair work.  I explained that the mosty important thing was to get the jib sail as that was distroyed in the accident.  I brought the insurance check with me to show John how much the insurance had paid.  Being the great guy he is, John said, " I think we can take care of it for that."  WOW... I was so happy to hear those words.  I asked when he could get it done as I still had things to do on the boat this winter.  He said he would bring it in after the holidays and get to work on her.  At that time I endorsed the check right over to him. Now is that a great Christmas present or what?  In a couple weeks we'll contact him to see how things are going.
Happy New Year