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New Boat 4 Sled
- Thread starter sleddog
- Start date
I knew this was a creative bunch...I will only say I tried MillyB's method some years ago here at CBC and fired off an expired boat flare in a gopher hole. The fumeroles were quite festive and things were good until I realized the fire department was parking out front..
Dave Wahle's (builder of the WylieCats) method on his small farm is interesting. He sits on his deck and watches a great blue heron stalk his yard...Gophers and herons seem about evenly matched.
I'm surprised CBC Port Captain Howard has not checked in. He is building what looks like a better rat trap. It's a cigar box with a hole in it, 3 longitudinal wires, and a small, round thingee that plugs in. ????
Thanks for the guesses. As of 0600 this Monday morning, the icecream and pomegranate arils remain available. The correct answer is the rat was not in a cockpit thru-hull, nor in a bino case, or under the anchor chain.. I think that leaves 4 answers possible. I know it's tough, and to help there is a hint in this post.
Sorry I won't be standing by for the award until later today. I'm off to SJ State to meet a noted marine archeologist with an X-Ray gun that apparently can age date items from 16th century ships. Do I really have a lead sheath from GOLDEN HIND or SAN AGUSTIN. Not likely say the pros...but what about the Ming porcelain shards found nearby? Time may tell. Guess again, even if you've guessed already.. Captain Bob? DOLFIN? Captain Bob had a bull loose on his ship...rat traps have size limitations.
PS While writing this I see Captain HedgeHog just checked in with the correct answer, #4. Congrats Good Sir! Have a good ferry ride this morning. Your ice cream will be waiting. Now about that cigar box.
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for those extra compulsive readers, there is an oblique reference in post #5556...
I will check with the very creative Exploratorium engineering team about the mouse trap.
There's probably something in the archives...
dolfinbill
New member
Never heard of it so I looked on the Ace website. Now I know why we don't carry it because at $179 the A24 would be the most expensive item in our store. Most customers don't really care about the feelings of the rats and mice infesting their environs and the basic snap trap at 1% of the price seems their favorite. I personally think Synthia's trap is much better but that's just me.
DolfinBill
Crealock 37
Howard Spruit
Member
The dog referred to a 3 string mouse trap
it looks more like a mouse house to me!
it looks more like a mouse house to me!
Jim DeWitt's Celebration of Life yesterday at Richmond Yacht Club was a wonderful affair. A SRO crowd heard from family, friends, shipmates. Most notable was Jimmy's wife of 50 years, Sallie, recalling all the many things Jim accomplished in his remarkable 92 years. His battle with dyslexia, his prowess as a swimmer.. Said Sallie, "there were three outstanding painters of boats under sail in the history of art: Claude Monet, Winslow Homer, and Jim Dewitt.
"
The afternoon was filled with sea stories, some told from the podium microphone, others shared amongst friends and shipmates. This one was from the podium: Jimmy had designed an ultralight racer named SANDPIPER, 35 feet LOA. Jim and partners decided to race SANDPIPER in the '71 Transpac and delivered the boat to S.Cal in time for the July 4th start.
On the way motoring to the start line SANDPIPER's navigator attempted to swing the two compasses. The port one ended up reading 15 degrees different than its starboard side mate Which one was accurate, no one knew. At the only mark, the West End of Catalina, as was traditional aboard ultra lights to save weight, the crew took showers and emptied all but one water tank. Unfortunately, there was a miscalculation, and after showers, less than 20 gallons remained to drink and hydrate their freeze dried food.
On day 6, in the remnants of hurricane Denise, the wind died and all but Class A were trapped for two days by doldrums in Denise's wake. With her short rig, SANDPIPER made only 60 miles/day before the wind filled on Day 9, and the race continued..SANDPIPER's crew growing hungrier and thirstier
Finally, on Day 13. they sighted Hawaii and steered for the finish. Due to the compass error, they were steering SANDPIPER for the wrong island, Maui not Oahu. Someone put batteries in the RDF and homed in on a Honolulu radio station, finding the finish was 90 degrees to starboard. Whoops!
After finishing off Diamond Head just after sunrise, SANDPIPER was motoring into Ala Wai harbor when her engine ran out of gas and died with breaking waves on either side of the narrow entrance channel. Fortunately SANDPIPER's thirsty crew got towed in...that was 52 years ago, and we all still had a lot to learn. The boat I was on, 73 foot ketch WINDWARD PASSAGE, although breaking the elapsed time record and winning the Barn Door, Class and Overall, suffered a mid-race crew mutiny that almost resulted in helmsman Tom Blackaller being gagged and tied up below..but that is another story.
Speaking of another Jim DeWitt sea story, a loyal member of our SSS Forum was once pitched off a J-24 while running hard down SF Bay under spinnaker. Our Forum member ended up under the boat, pressed against the rudder, still trimming the spinnaker sheet while under water. What happened is his story, not mine.
Can anyone tell us how Jim DeWitt ingeniously added a large roach and extra sail area to his Snipe one design class main?
Jim was inventive and welcoming to all, whether he knew them or not. Thanks Jim for the lessons, memories, and print of IMP.
"
The afternoon was filled with sea stories, some told from the podium microphone, others shared amongst friends and shipmates. This one was from the podium: Jimmy had designed an ultralight racer named SANDPIPER, 35 feet LOA. Jim and partners decided to race SANDPIPER in the '71 Transpac and delivered the boat to S.Cal in time for the July 4th start.
On the way motoring to the start line SANDPIPER's navigator attempted to swing the two compasses. The port one ended up reading 15 degrees different than its starboard side mate Which one was accurate, no one knew. At the only mark, the West End of Catalina, as was traditional aboard ultra lights to save weight, the crew took showers and emptied all but one water tank. Unfortunately, there was a miscalculation, and after showers, less than 20 gallons remained to drink and hydrate their freeze dried food.
On day 6, in the remnants of hurricane Denise, the wind died and all but Class A were trapped for two days by doldrums in Denise's wake. With her short rig, SANDPIPER made only 60 miles/day before the wind filled on Day 9, and the race continued..SANDPIPER's crew growing hungrier and thirstier
Finally, on Day 13. they sighted Hawaii and steered for the finish. Due to the compass error, they were steering SANDPIPER for the wrong island, Maui not Oahu. Someone put batteries in the RDF and homed in on a Honolulu radio station, finding the finish was 90 degrees to starboard. Whoops!
After finishing off Diamond Head just after sunrise, SANDPIPER was motoring into Ala Wai harbor when her engine ran out of gas and died with breaking waves on either side of the narrow entrance channel. Fortunately SANDPIPER's thirsty crew got towed in...that was 52 years ago, and we all still had a lot to learn. The boat I was on, 73 foot ketch WINDWARD PASSAGE, although breaking the elapsed time record and winning the Barn Door, Class and Overall, suffered a mid-race crew mutiny that almost resulted in helmsman Tom Blackaller being gagged and tied up below..but that is another story.
Speaking of another Jim DeWitt sea story, a loyal member of our SSS Forum was once pitched off a J-24 while running hard down SF Bay under spinnaker. Our Forum member ended up under the boat, pressed against the rudder, still trimming the spinnaker sheet while under water. What happened is his story, not mine.
Can anyone tell us how Jim DeWitt ingeniously added a large roach and extra sail area to his Snipe one design class main?
Jim was inventive and welcoming to all, whether he knew them or not. Thanks Jim for the lessons, memories, and print of IMP.
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I worked for Jimmy DeWitt in the early '70s with many other " wharf rats" who remained in the Marine Trades- whether sailmaking or otherwise. Jim was a kind man who took a chance on me as an employee when I was quite young, as he did with many others. I was already sailing with Jocelyn Nash and Lee Conn, and racing my 110 in SYRA, but my sewing skills were not that great.
North Island of New Zealand is currently getting pummeled with heavy rain and wind from Cyclone Gabrielle passing down the east coast hitting Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula. Flights canceled, bridges and roads closed, power outages, and flooding with winds 65-70 knots and higher gusts being reported.
Ironically, next door neighbors to CBC are in New Zealand cruising their 47 foot, Paul Whiting design sloop CHEYENNE. Currently anchored in Wairahi Bay, Port Fitzroy, on Great Barrier Island, they had a rough night last night even though their position is landlocked. Their baro is currently a record low 28.8 inches/975 mb with south wind steady 45 kts with higher gusts. They are in 20 feet of water, 180 feet of chain rode, good holding with mud bottom as the center of Gabrielle passes near and just east of their position.
All three aboard CHEYENNE, Alan Blunt, Pitter and Dave Fox are highly experienced and competent sailors. To hear them report a "rough night" would be an understatement. Hang on, Team!
CHEYENNE's posit on Google Earth is 36 degrees, 12.55 minutes south x 175 degrees, 20.32 minutes east.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/expla...all-pivot-near-nz/MKTDSQK3XZAUJEWKTQ5A6QUXTY/
Ironically, next door neighbors to CBC are in New Zealand cruising their 47 foot, Paul Whiting design sloop CHEYENNE. Currently anchored in Wairahi Bay, Port Fitzroy, on Great Barrier Island, they had a rough night last night even though their position is landlocked. Their baro is currently a record low 28.8 inches/975 mb with south wind steady 45 kts with higher gusts. They are in 20 feet of water, 180 feet of chain rode, good holding with mud bottom as the center of Gabrielle passes near and just east of their position.
All three aboard CHEYENNE, Alan Blunt, Pitter and Dave Fox are highly experienced and competent sailors. To hear them report a "rough night" would be an understatement. Hang on, Team!
CHEYENNE's posit on Google Earth is 36 degrees, 12.55 minutes south x 175 degrees, 20.32 minutes east.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/expla...all-pivot-near-nz/MKTDSQK3XZAUJEWKTQ5A6QUXTY/
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Good news from CHEYENNE. Extra-Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle's large eye passed nearly overhead with a baro reading of 28.5 inches/ 965 mb(!). During the lull they moved a mile north to Smokehouse Bay in Port Fitzroy to get protection from the increasing westerly, now 35, gusting 50. CBC's neighbors, Pitter and Fox, went to New Zealand to do some cruising on CHEYENNE. Some cruise. "Storm of the Century" is headline news. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/
Smokehouse Bay on Google Earth is 36-12' S x 175-19'-47" E
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As some know, San Leandro Harbor and Marina lie a mile southeast of the Oakland Airport runway. A narrow and shoal 2 mile entrance channel made for difficult access, never mind severe shoaling left no water with extensive mudflats inside at low tide. The harbor has been permanently closed and slated for development as a 500 unit residential housing complex.
The last boat standing in San Leandro Marina was the Santa Cruz 52 ROSEBUD, 54 feet overall, designed by Bob Smith and built by Bill Lee at Santa Cruz Yachts. ROSEBUD, the lightest of the '52's, was abandoned for 17 years when a previous owner was busted for running a meth lab. ROSEBUD was only a week away from going in the dumpster when 505 Worlds Champion Mike Holt and 3 of his mates acquired ROSEBUD for almost free under stipulation she be gone within a week.
If there is anyone who could spring ROSEBUD from her mud berth and undertake a restoration, it is a crew of 505 sailors. Amazingly, they got the engine running, and at low tide walked what remained of the channel, marking it with bamboo poles.
They heeled the boat to 11 degrees with a halyard to an abandoned dock and waited for a 7 foot high tide. A SC-52 draws 9', but with the engine running and the dock rafted, whenever they would stick in the mud, they would just crank on the halyard and heel the boat more.
ROSEBUD is/was at Berkeley Marine Center undergoing complete restoration. The rigging is good as are the spars. The interior cleaned up, the bottom scrubbed and painted, and Bob's Your Uncle ROSEBUD now is a back alive, looking like the million dollars she originally cost. Congrats Mike and crew!
Thanks Mike Holt for the photos.
The last boat standing in San Leandro Marina was the Santa Cruz 52 ROSEBUD, 54 feet overall, designed by Bob Smith and built by Bill Lee at Santa Cruz Yachts. ROSEBUD, the lightest of the '52's, was abandoned for 17 years when a previous owner was busted for running a meth lab. ROSEBUD was only a week away from going in the dumpster when 505 Worlds Champion Mike Holt and 3 of his mates acquired ROSEBUD for almost free under stipulation she be gone within a week.
If there is anyone who could spring ROSEBUD from her mud berth and undertake a restoration, it is a crew of 505 sailors. Amazingly, they got the engine running, and at low tide walked what remained of the channel, marking it with bamboo poles.
They heeled the boat to 11 degrees with a halyard to an abandoned dock and waited for a 7 foot high tide. A SC-52 draws 9', but with the engine running and the dock rafted, whenever they would stick in the mud, they would just crank on the halyard and heel the boat more.
ROSEBUD is/was at Berkeley Marine Center undergoing complete restoration. The rigging is good as are the spars. The interior cleaned up, the bottom scrubbed and painted, and Bob's Your Uncle ROSEBUD now is a back alive, looking like the million dollars she originally cost. Congrats Mike and crew!
Thanks Mike Holt for the photos.
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Intermission
Member
Did they make it out of San Leandro and in to Berkeley on the same high tide?
Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
That is a wonderful story and Rosebud is a beautiful boat. What do her new owners intend to do with her? Will she keep her name? Who will make new sails for her? Will she stay at BMC for awhile yet? I see she is at the BMC fuel dock in this photo, with (one of) Ruben's boat(s) there in the background. Where will she live now? Someone just captured one of the few 52' slips in the RYC harbor, after a 15 year wait, so it probably won't be there.
Critter
Desert Ratfox
Skip, so let me get this straight. They side-towed the dock out with them and used it as ballast to heel the boat? Brilliant!
Sorry to say, I've only met Mike Holt once, for 10 minutes, in the office at Dave Hodges sail loft. I was not expecting this inspirational story, nor taking notes. What I have written is from this brief interaction, from memory, and may have gaps/misinformation. I don't know Mike's plans, nor anything about whether they will keep the name, who will make the sails, where she will be berthed, etc. It's up to you, dear readers, to tell us more. CBC is just a mushroom farm when not scooping Macapuno.
I have sailed considerable miles on and against Santa Cruz 52's. The designer, good friend Bob Smith, worked for Bill Lee at the time. Bob and I worked at Tom Wylie designs back in the '70's on Clement and Willow when Bob was first designing and building boats. Thus Milly's reference to the 1/4 tonner in the Quonset hut. Most SC-52's were built as cruiser/racers with plush interiors and granite counters. ROSEBUD was built as a racer, and could hold her own against SC-50's, SC-70's...
FYI, the name of a design often has nothing to do with the actual LOA (Length Over All) SC-50's are not 50, SC-52's are not 52, SC-70's not 70 feet, and Cal-40's not 40 feet.
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Dazzler
m/v PACIFIC LOON
More of the story, with a picture of the “dock”, was in the December ‘22 Latitude 38.
https://www.latitude38.com/issues/december-2022/#70
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Thanks, DAZZLER! Mike Holt just wrote: "Here is a picture of the dock being used and us in full escape mode. We took Rosebud first to South Beach and then BMC. When we left San Leandro we were not sure we would get out, so we had nowhere booked! Rule 1 we found out is not everyone can accommodate a boat this big! All the best and thanks for sharing the story! Mike"
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