• Ahoy and Welcome to the New SSS Forums!!

    As you can see, we have migrated our old forums to new software. All your old posts, threads, attachments, and messages should be here. If you see anything out of place or have any questions, please scroll to the very bottom of the page and click "Contact Us" and leave a note with as much detail as possible.

    You should be able to login with your old credentials. If you have any issues, try resetting your password before clicking the Contact Us link.

    Cheers
    - Bryan

Interested in a boat for 2018 TransPac

D-93

Tomorrow will be 3 months to SHTP start date. 3 months ... What's left on my list, in no particular order:

1. Finalize auto-pilot setup;
2. Get and test small 2 stroke generator;
3. Get whisker pole;
4. Get life raft;
5. Cross-check med kit;
6. Sort out anchoring and shore transport in Hanalei;
7. Decide what goes in the crate to Hanalei;
8. Decide where Double Espresso goes after the race;
9. Look for better e-rudder choice.

Optional "fun" stuff:
1. Mini bilge pump;
2. Wifi AIS and NMEA data;
3. Sort out shore power;
4. Power bank for modern electronics devices;
5. Sleep sensor.

I think that's it ... besides sailing of course ...
 
D-92

I took my mother who's visiting from France to Richmond as she wanted to see Double Espresso. I dissuaded her from climbing the ladder aboard, as much for her safety as to limit surprises (it's tiny in there). She thought the boat looked nice and appreciated the espresso beans' touch on the hull. Good! Hopefully she'll rest just fine while I bounce off the coast, cold, tired and wet.

I took the opportunity to check the solar controllers' status and they all showed as charging (with the more advanced PWM showing absorption charge). It would still be nice to have an MPPT and battery monitor in there.

Since it rained quite a bit I checked the bilge too. Since I've re-bedded the stern hatch screws it is not filling up nearly as much as it used to. 10 sponge dips and the bilge was empty. It used to be full sometimes so that's very promising, maybe not everything will be wet after the first 2 days!

About the med kit what I have is the ORION Blue Water emergency medical kit, with a few personal touches. Anyone has a left over med kit from a previous SHTP they'd like to part with?

I took chart 530 back home and draw a straight line between Hanalei and San Francisco: that's my route for now.

I've continued hopping almost daily on my bicycle (indoor trainer), trying to get some of that land blubber off my waist. 40 minutes is as much I can manage these days.

Not much happening ...
 
D-89

I just realized that this SHTP will very much be a solo adventure for me, before leaving, leaving, during and after. My family will be gone summer vacationing (the kid) or working (the wife) well before the race starts. They will return early July but I considered the cost of having them travel to and stay on the island prohibitive. It looks like this is turning into the solitary transpac ... I considered to use the adjective "lonely" for a moment but I don't think it would reflect my state of mind.

Updated list: I forgot that I don't have a barometer, besides the sensors in the tablet/phone, and I now have a whisker pole (I'll just have to find a place to store it and figure out how to best use it).


1. Finalize auto-pilot setup;
2. Get and test small 2 stroke generator;
3. Get life raft;
4. Cross-check med kit;
5. Sort out anchoring and shore transport in Hanalei;
6. Decide what goes in the crate to Hanalei;
7. Decide where Double Espresso goes after the race;
8. Look for better e-rudder choice.

Optional "fun" stuff:
1. Mini bilge pump;
2. Wifi AIS and NMEA data;
3. Sort out shore power;
4. Power bank for modern electronics devices;
5. Sleep sensor;
6. (true) Barometer.

I haven't been sailing DE for a while now. I'm hoping to go tomorrow.
 
Last edited:
jamottep said:
It looks like this is turning into the solitary transpac ... .
Click to expand...

I hadn't thought of it those terms, but same applies in my case. No one is traveling to the Bay Area to see me off, no one will join me in Kauai, and it is unlikely anyone will be on hand to greet me when I get back to California. I certainly don't mind, and I doubt that such circumstances are unusual for this race. We are, after all, singlehanded sailors for a reason . . . or for several.

In any event, the company at the start and finish, plus the radio calls during the race (and likely during the return), add up to considerably more human contact than I typically have sailing. Singlehanded, yes, but far from what Webb Chiles would consider "entering the monastery of the sea."
 
AZ Sailor said:
I I doubt that such circumstances are unusual for this race.
Click to expand...

That'd be interesting to confirm ...

D-88

I took Double Espresso for a ride today. When I hooked up the mule to the trailer something went wrong. I went in forward and the cart did a wheelie; the trailer didn't budge. It took me 15 minutes to figure out that somehow the tow/back up lock was in the tow position, locking the brakes. Something I didn't know about. Next when I pulled the ladder it broke. I was getting a little concerned that the day was off to a bad start.

I chose to not use the engine today and left under main only. It took a while to get out of the marina but my back was happy at the end of the day.

I sailed to the slot and tried the whisker pole with the #3. It went reasonably well and I'm sure there'll be ways to improve.

I also hoisted the spinnaker a couple times. It wasn't blowing 25 kts but it was my first time in 15 kts. The first hoist didn't work out as the wool strings didn't pop so I had to take it down and relaunch. I pumped up the gain setting on the autopilot and that helped quite a bit; it's good that I'm finally starting to think about this.

I did a few GoPro shots so I may post these some day.

So a couple things got added to the list: fix the ladder and move the fire extinguisher (it's messing with the starboard compass big time; these newer Kidde are bad).

I came home tired but happy with my progress.
 
D-87

Being unemployed I have time on my hands. Here are a few things I did today in BYC:

1. I somehow fixed the ladder;
2. I adjusted the compasses' calibration rods (I moved the trailer around and used a handheld compass to follow Ritchie's instructions);
3. I moved forward the blocks that I use for the #3 outboard leads;
4. I flipped the #3 jib cars so I could move them a little more forward;
5. I moved the fire extinguisher and the galley (try that on your cruising boat :-);
6. I verified that for the first time known to me the mini solar panel charge controller went into float mode;
7. I installed my micro bilge pump (see picture below); I'm not kidding when I say it's tiny. I filled up the bilge half way and the pump emptied it in less than 2 minutes. Is it going to work at sea? Well, future will tell. If it doesn't I wasted $10 and 1 hour. If it does work, oh what a life saver! I fairly well know what most offshore experienced sailors think of this ... I can hear you guys chuckle this far :-)

IMG_20180328_131913996.jpg
 
D-86 and nothing to show for it ...

I thought about main halyard failure today and I realized that I don't know if my mast has one or two halyards exiting aft. I know I have 3 fore (1 jib, 2 spin).

What has been tried with success here?

1. Have a messenger line at the ready? How do you keep it out of the way?
2. The mainsail head has 3 grommets; I snap the shackle on one of them. I could lash another through the eye splice at the end of the halyard.

During the previous PacCup there was no chafe on the halyards (well, there was some at the clutch). So I think I'm good there but there's always the risk of something else failing.

Speaking of chafing at the clutch I should shorten the main halyard a bit to move the chafing somewhere else.
 
D-83

I finished Vito's book a few days ago. His adventure puts things in perspective ... I've started "party of one" and have ordered "Cap Horn à la voile".

I've got a few saved searches on CL but they're not looking promising. A while ago I had mentioned that the sheave on the jib lead car was pretty worn out; I snapped one on eBay as a backup or most likely replacement for $30 (the whole car).

No suggestion on main halyard failure management?

I spent the weekend teaching.

Oh, and anyone has a (very) specific suggestion for wool to wool spinnakers? Like a link ... Mine is just too strong.

I've continued to update the pre-departure checklist as things come to mind. Brian B got me thinking about how I spend my time at sea:

8:00: boil water, pour over dry food
8:15: check sail trim
8:30: eat
8:45: make grib/weather chart request; check in
9:00: personal hygiene
9:15: check sail trim
9:30: review routing options for next 24 hrs
10:00: log book entry
10:15: stuff cockpit pockets with snacks & water, steer
12:00: log book entry
12:15: sleep
13:15: check sail trim
13:30: boil water, pour over
13:45: deck walk through
14:00: log book entry
14:15: lunch
14:30: steer
16:00: log book entry
16:15: family communication
16:30: sleep
17:30: personal hygiene
17:45: check sail trim
18:00: log book entry
18:15: a surprise I'll have to attend to
19:00: boil water
19:15: check sail trim
19:30: dinner
19:45: deck walkthrough before night
20:00: log book entry
20:15: steer
22:00: log book entry
22:15: sleep
23:00: sail trim check
23:15: sleep
00:00: log book entry
00:15: personal hygiene
00:30: steer
02:00: log book entry
02:15: another surprise
03:00: sleep
04:00: log book entry
04:15: sail trim check
04:30: sleep
05:30: sail trim check
05:45: personal hygiene
06:00: log book entry
06:15: sail trim check
06:30: sleep
07:30: sail trim check
07:45: personal hygiene

Is this even remotely close? The surprises include things as sail changes too not just problems. If I counted correctly that's 6.5 hrs of sleep.
 
jamottep said:
...No suggestion on main halyard failure management?...
Click to expand...

I have an opinion. First the disclaimers: I am not very experience so may be overly conservative. My boat is a heavy displacement boat so much different than yours.

I have two main, two jib and two spinnaker halyards all reaching the water. (Not to mention a staysail halyard and a topping lift.) Racing enthusiasts tell me to messenger the redundant halyards and vacuum pack them in bundles down below.

I don't do that because when I need them, I imagine I will be in a hurry. There will be only me to get them and possibly, even likely, there will be something of higher priority.

The scenarios I imaging are: First halyard breaks; First halyard out of reach; Climb mast to free jam; Backstay needs reinforcing; Shroud breaks; Person in water needs rescue; Flying second headsail; Need second topping lift; Pre-rig storm sail; Lift to drag heavy sail up deck safely; Need for shrimping. :cool:

I don't see that the lowered weight aloft and wind resistance is a decisive factor outweighing the ready access to the above solutions for a singlehander (on a heavy boat).

This is one of the many decisions one makes before leaving the dock. Ask those with experiences (as you are) and make your decision.
 
Make sure the sheave is in good shape (smooth) and stitch some of this on the last foot or so (where the halyard goes over the sheave) - same for all the halyards:

http://www.apsltd.com/new-england-ropes-dcs-spectra-cover.html

My boat came with wire halyards (remember those?) and the sheaves were chewed. I replaced all of them before buying new halyards. I'll bet that's already been done on your boat.
 
D-81

Thanks for the suggestions. I looked up some of the stuff I had and it does appear that the sheaves were taken care of and a chafe guard was put in place. So I think that's good. I do need to think through the backup plan if for some reason the main sail should become detached from the main halyard.

Would anyone have had experience with Lee Chesneau's Surface Pressure Chart Workshop? I'm considering attending it at the upcoming boat show.
 
Last edited:
"Would anyone have had experience with Lee Chesneau's Surface Pressure Chart Workshop?"

Over the years, I've sat in on several of Lee's seminars, including surface and 500 mB ones. I also have his 'Heavy Weather Avoidance' book. He knows what he's talking about, his lessons are clear, and I'm glad I took the time to listen to him.
 
hodgmo said:
Over the years, I've sat in on several of Lee's seminars, including surface and 500 mB ones. I also have his 'Heavy Weather Avoidance' book. He knows what he's talking about, his lessons are clear, and I'm glad I took the time to listen to him.
Click to expand...

Thanks ... I'm going then ...
 
Re halyard lost up the mast.

This happened to me once due to a really stupid mistake on my part. I am fortunate in that I have a small flag halyard through a block mounted on the masthead plate. I rigged up an 18 inch piece of fiberglass tent pole (I carry several of these aboard) with a hook of rigging wire taped to one end. Attached top and bottom of the stick to the flag halyard and sent it up the mast. Took me about an hour of nibbles but finally got a good bite on the halyard shackle and was able to pull it down. I felt pretty good about it and celebrated with a cold beer, most likely more than one.

BTW after the rigging seminar I bought a spool of SS rigging wire on Amazon. pretty good deal and that stuff will be useful for all sorts of things including the above.
 
I'm adding a block to the masthead and will run a messenger line to the transom, from toe rail to toe rail like a split backstay.
Should be light and out of the way but there if needed.

I'll run a fresh main halyard and keep the old one for the backup.
It is in good shape other than chafe at the clutch.
 
This looks like a very worthwhile seminar: https://pacificcup.org/18/event/poa-5

Registration 11:00
Welcome and introductions Mark English 12:00
Weather Knowledge Lee Chesneau 12:10
Navigation: SF to Hawaii Stan Honey 12:45
Navigation: Hawaii to SF Mike Pasha 1:30
Break out session #1 1:40
Going Green to Hawaii and Back Rowena Carlson/Bill Robberson 2:10
Power Dustin Fox 2:45
Break out session #2 3:10
Panel Q&A 3:30
 
D-80

I did a little bit of scrubbing today and Double Espresso looks a little nicer. I also went sailing to The Brothers. Going up there is tricky. After the bridge the wind was down about half and on the way back I got into a wind hole by Red Rock.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top