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What I Saw
- Thread starter Philpott
- Start date
Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
Oh, aren't you just so generous. Thank you. Yes, that was a helluva start. Sails do matter, especially sails by Dave Hodges.
View attachment Chris driving.pdf
Thank you to my crew, Chris Naughton, who usually sails with a blind friend, Walt Raineri, on Chris's boat s/v Bravo Zulu, in South Beach races. According to Chris, Walt is very competitive and takes the tiller. How do you sail with a blind captain? Lots of verbal communication.
Bravo Zulu is kept on the hard at the Treasure Island sailing school. I am told that all the boats have been moved to a different location on the island in anticipation of a bigger and better marina. Bigger and better: It's hard to know what that means nowadays.
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Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
A couple of weeks ago I drove down to Half Moon Bay to attend a power point presentation about Carliane's Pacific Cup trip last summer.
Carliane is a member of the HMB YC and the members turned out in force to listen to her and her crew. I counted at least fifty people, all of whom are strong Kynntana supporters. It was a lot of fun.
Carliane is a member of the HMB YC and the members turned out in force to listen to her and her crew. I counted at least fifty people, all of whom are strong Kynntana supporters. It was a lot of fun.
Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
For those of you who haven't been over to Alameda lately? Those old decaying but beautiful warehouses along Buena Vista Avenue? The former Del Monte canning factory? I thought the idea was to incorporate housing into the development of Star Harbor, while remaining respectful of Alameda's maritime waterfront heritage.
It seems to me that somebody misread the memo.
It seems to me that somebody misread the memo.
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Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
I don't know where everybody is or why nobody's writing about nuthin, but here's something to read. I had the nicest time over in the City awhile ago, chatting with Stephen Buckingham. He is now a brand new member of the Richmond YC. Singlehanders are colonizing the place.
Where Do Brand New Small Wooden Boats Come From?
One of them might just come from a garage near you. This month I write about the boat that is being built by a friend in the Mission District of San Francisco. In a month or so I'll write about another small boat that is being built in the Financial District.
Really? Yes. Really.
What is a RAID class boat? Well, the word raid refers back to the Vikings, who were famous for raiding villages, plundering and looting along the way. There is ample evidence that the inclination to plunder and loot has oozed into our current world, beyond the Vikings to some of those nice people who might even live next door to you. One has only to open a newspaper to a recent business section in order to see evidence of looting and plundering by a whole new crowd of people. Who knew?
But I digress: For anyone new to the concept, the idea of a RAID is to gather a fleet of small open boats, usually under 24 feet long, and send them off on a series of passage races, exploring scenic areas. The objective is to encourage the development of new boats for recreational voyaging which are able to carry on the sail-and-oar tradition.
One type of RAID boat is an ROG, the acronym for River Of Grass. It is a small boat preferably with a retractable keel or centerboard, which makes it capable of sailing in narrow and shallow waters.
STEPHEN BUCKINGHAM AND HIS ROG
Some people just aren’t satisfied with sailing boats that you can buy off the shelf. Stephen Buckingham decided he wanted an ROG (River of Grass), and he wanted to build it himself. Since he didn’t have his own garage he rented one in the Mission District of San Francisco. It’s a very small garage. Stephen has been planning and building his kit boat for six years now, chronicling it on the forum of the Singlehanded Sailing Society. If you are interested, you can follow his progress yourself here: https://www.sfbaysss.org/forum/showthread.php?1903-New-Boat-4-Tchoup
Back in 2009 I attended my very first skippers meeting of the Singlehanded Sailing Society. It was held at the Oakland Yacht Club shortly before the SSS’s annual singlehanded race to Vallejo. I didn’t know anybody, so I sat down next to a nice man who smiled at me. He introduced himself as Steve Buckingham.
I knew just enough sailor etiquette to ask what kind of boat he had, and he told me. At the time he owned a custom made sloop named Starbuck. I told him that my boat was a Cal 20 named Dura Mater. He was gracious, told me that, with my boat’s PHRF rating, I would be very competitive.
“Really?” I asked.
“Absolutely!” he answered. New sailor that I was, I actually believed him. At the time I didn’t understand how much more important than PHRF ratings were sails, bottom paint, sailing experience and local knowledge to successful sailboat racing
I had only a vague idea about what a PHRF rating was and I had NO idea how to get from the start of the race just south of the Richmond Bridge to Vallejo. Regardless, I appreciated his kindness and have never forgotten it.
It has been quite remarkable to follow Stephen’s boat project as it has progressed from mere musings, then to hundreds of small parts and finally, to the almost finished project.
In early February of this year I invited myself to visit Stephen and his boat.
Stephen’s boat lives in a small garage in the middle of The City. On the audiotape of my interview with him the sounds of car horns and sirens are really loud, reflecting the very urban surroundings of this tiny little boatyard.
Stephen: I was looking forever for a place to build so I talked to Joe at the corner store across the street here. Joe knows the owner of the building and he got me this fully self-contained garage. Then I said, “Joe, I just might try to build in there. What do you think?”
He said, “Yeah, go for it. It’ll be fine!”
Jackie: Are people intrigued by the fact that you’re building a boat here?
S: Yes. Lots of people check it out and come by. I’ve kinda gotten used to it. One day a guy comes by and he says, ‘Hey! How’re you doing?’ I thought it was just another guy, chatting me up. He asked, ‘Remember me?’
I said, ‘No’
He said, ‘I rented you this garage.’
I was worried at first, that I would get busted half way through the build: “Nope! You’re out!” Instead, he was super cool, asked, ‘So, you’re building a boat?’ Then I met his dad and he was super friendly and nice, too.
I’m very lucky to have this garage. I’ve had it for less than a year. I can just walk up a block from my apartment, work here at night, crank up the stereo. I just wasn’t finding anything except in far places. So I decided to go for it. I work on my boat when I can between my work schedule.
[A man has stopped on the sidewalk just outside the garage, asks when Stephen will be sailing away.]
S: [laughs] Probably not today.
The man smiles, says ‘I’ll be keeping an eye out for you.’ walks on.
S: Thank you.
[Stephen turns to me] You see? I get a lot of that. I get all sorts of stories. Usually from my dad, my granddad or my uncle, so it’s obviously a geezer thing: “I built a boat in my garage.”
Obviously I couldn’t use regular boat paint in here. It would kill me and somebody above me. So I’m using all this system 3 stuff, their epoxy, super low vsc so I don’t have to wear a mask when sanding it. I’m using their water based paint. It’s an epoxy two part primer, also, which is water based. I think it’s pretty good and I love the red.
J: I love the red, too. What made you decide to build this particular small boat?
S: I started to look at available boats, of course, West Wight Potter? Not performancy enough, too cutesy. Lots of small boat designs seem to do that. They just try to shrink down these big boats. You don’t have side decks on a 16’ boat! You don’t walk up to a foredeck! You know? This one isn’t scaled that way. It’s different. It doesn’t have any of those big boat features. So, those type of boats? I don't like any of those boats.
J: You think this will be faster?
S: Hell, yeah! I wanted a little hot rod performance boat that I can sleep in. I also wanted to find a small boat that I could trailer, but I was hoping that I could still race. I wanted a boat with a drop keel that I could trailer and also wanted a little beachable RAID sailboat. I definitely couldn’t find anything on the market that was sexy enough for me and then I saw this design and said to myself, “That’s great.”
I called the designer and asked, “Are you gonna sell that boat when you’re done?” And he said, “Nah, I’m probably not gonna sell it.” Then I talked with him a bunch and basically he said that he could cut me out on his C&C machine the shape of the centerboard and rudder out of Western red cedar and mail it to me for $500. That and the kit made it easy.
I said, “Okay” because that would have been the hardest part: Lofting up the foil shape, that would’ve been pretty difficult. I have the composite skills. I definitely don’t have any woodworking skills.
J: So you kept the features you could do, cut out the stuff you couldn’t or didn’t want to do, and you approached it from that perspective.
S: Yeah. It seems like all small boat kits for home builders are more traditional looking. Some shivvy little thing with tan bark sails? [he smiles, shakes his head]
J: I love the beautiful wood on this boat. It doesn’t kill you to paint it?
S: I’ve spent a lot of time varnishing. I’m perfectly okay with painting it. I’ve used this lumber yard in Windsor, north of Santa Rosa. It’s called Storm Forest, that’s where I got this stuff. It’s aircraft-grade Western Red cedar. It’s beautiful.
Richard von Ehrenkrook (a mutual sailing friend who is a custom cabinetmaker) gets ahold of it and he said, “This is from a 150 year old tree! They don’t drop trees like this anymore! This was probably chopped down in the 60’s or 70’s and has been stored ever since.”
I haven’t found one knot in this wood. I went up and bought another board. I’m going to take it to his shop. He’s gonna help me plane it and dress it.
I purchased a lot of tools for this project. I bought a table saw, a chop saw, a drill press. That’s all in my other shop in the basement of my apartment. I built a lot of this stuff over there. After I’m done here this turns back into a garage for my car and my motorcycle.
The garage door is open and a neighbor walks by on the sidewalk:
Neighbor: I see it’s on wheels now. And there are green and red lights?
S: That’s how we do it in the boat world. That’s so you can tell which way the boat’s going in the middle of the night.
N: So one color is on one side and the other color is on the other side?
S: That’s it.
[I ask the neighbor whether he is a sailor.]
N: No. I just walk by. I go to the grocery store over there, and I walk back in this direction.
S: He comes by all the time.
The neighbor walks on, and Stephen begins to walk me through the modifications he has made to the original design of his boat. He shows me the solid carbon fiber ring frames, with folding pad eyes on each side, located at the strongest points of the boat and reinforced with carbon fiber filling. Stephen had to determine how best to locate them on his boat in order to use a hoist, which hadn’t been anticipated in the original design.
S: The design called for a kayak cockpit with a canvas cover. But I'm in Northern California! That little spray top? [he shakes his head] Plus I want to able to lock it up. So I built a hard top. [Lifts up one part of a companionway top that slides vertically under a second piece, with molding around the edges. Stephen shows me how several parts fit together, similar to the dovetailed drawers of fine wooden furniture].
Steve McCarthy designed sails for me. He runs Hogan Sails, in Alameda, in the new Svendsen’s complex there. We bought the cloth, 4 oz something dacron. We cut ‘em out and I’ve sewn the seams all together. There are four batten pockets on each sail.
J: What do you think you’re going to name your boat?
S: Still undecided, but maybe … don’t tell anybody … [I promised but my fingers were crossed behind my back] I kinda like iota. It means something tiny. See all the tabbing that I’ve done at the seams? This is all tabbed with carbon fiber. I still need to do more, as you can see on a few seams in here. Then it will have all white interior like the hull of the boat.
J: That makes it stronger? [he nods]
S: The designer of this boat calls for 6 ounce fiberglass everywhere. Instead I’ve replaced it with 4 ounce of carbon fiber for greater stiffness. [Stephen hands me several short lengths of wood coated with the two different materials for comparison]. The carbon fiber is stiffer than the fiberglass, right? It’s expensive. I didn’t do the outside but I have used it for all the inside tabbing, just to be fancy.
See these little double-sided micro cleats? It’s fun to play with this, problem solve, if only to avoid spending time sanding pieces of wood. The little mizzen sail is only 48 square feet. And then this! [he holds up a tiny little Harken brand traveler track] This is meant for a little dinghy. It’s going to be perfect for the main sheet!
Water ballast tanks are here, solid flotations there in the back. The pump goes in under here. [shows me a whale gusher worthy of a big keel boat which will be used to transfer water ballast from one side of the boat to the other]. It’s gonna mount upside down right there. So you’ll just reach under to pump the water through those hoses.
J: Of course! You couldn’t just build a small boat. You had to have water ballast, two masts … Whenever a racer gets on my boat he or she is always tweaking something here, tweaking something else there. I ask, ‘Can’t you just sit still? Can’t you just enjoy the experience?’ What is it with you racers? You’re always jumping around!
S: I didn’t design it!
J: But you chose it!
S: I just chose the most complicated design. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make enough adjustments. I wouldn’t have enough strings to pull. [We both laugh].
S: I just made this little cradle for the boom. It’s made from scraps of carbon foam. The epoxy is still wet here, so be careful. And here is the 24 volt cooler that fits right in there. It’s actually a freezer cooler, attached to the batteries. Here’s another cradle on the other side that holds the carbon fiber toilet, that I also built out of this scrap. As you slide it in, a little hole in the box docks with the mechanism there that attaches to the small puffer fan that is the desiccator part of the system.
Instead of hardware latches I’ve experimented with built-in magnets, embedded directly into small dowel-shaped holes in the cabinet door on one side and the receiving end of the cabinets on the alternate side. I don’t want hard metal latches. The magnets seem to work just fine.
[Stephen obtained the magnetic parts on the McMaster-Carr site. We talk about how invaluable this company is as a source for boaters: https://www.mcmaster.com/ ]
J: That’s brilliant.
S: Pretty handy, huh? When I drop the mizzen, this is where the solar panels will go. It will be like having an electric motor. Plug it up there and be able to sail while charging the batteries. Solar sailing!
J: Where will you first take this boat?
S: First road trip? I’d say overnight on Tomales Bay! So easy. Just put money in an envelope and launch up there at the public boat ramp. I also want to go to the Missouri Breaks and maybe to the Trent Severn waterway. It’s a series of locks in Canada. One of the locks actually uses a railroad car … I’ve seen pictures of it filled with sea kayakers all sitting in their kayaks taking a ride over the top.
J: Is this pretty much a singlehander’s boat or is there room for another person?
S: The designer calls it an expedition micro cruiser. In his jargon, solo for 5 days, a couple for a weekend.
J: You’d have to really like the other person.
I am shopping for a standard bunk trailer this summer. The boat measures 15’3”, 5.75’, centerboard up: Six inches. Board down, 46”. I want to go places with it and I’m gonna get it wet, so I need a galvanized trailer. I want a reliable decent trailer, so I might have to buy it new.
Stephen and I talk a bit longer and then I leave for the 24th and Mission BART station. As I turn to go I feel a very slight tinge of guilt. I’ve enjoyed myself while Stephen hasn’t made any progress on his project. The last thing I say is:
J: I really kept you from working but I’m not sorry at all.
As I walk away I hear him talking to himself, and this is what he’s saying:
S: I don’t know if this is going to fly, but I kinda want to build a little tiny jib.
Where Do Brand New Small Wooden Boats Come From?
One of them might just come from a garage near you. This month I write about the boat that is being built by a friend in the Mission District of San Francisco. In a month or so I'll write about another small boat that is being built in the Financial District.
Really? Yes. Really.
What is a RAID class boat? Well, the word raid refers back to the Vikings, who were famous for raiding villages, plundering and looting along the way. There is ample evidence that the inclination to plunder and loot has oozed into our current world, beyond the Vikings to some of those nice people who might even live next door to you. One has only to open a newspaper to a recent business section in order to see evidence of looting and plundering by a whole new crowd of people. Who knew?
But I digress: For anyone new to the concept, the idea of a RAID is to gather a fleet of small open boats, usually under 24 feet long, and send them off on a series of passage races, exploring scenic areas. The objective is to encourage the development of new boats for recreational voyaging which are able to carry on the sail-and-oar tradition.
One type of RAID boat is an ROG, the acronym for River Of Grass. It is a small boat preferably with a retractable keel or centerboard, which makes it capable of sailing in narrow and shallow waters.
STEPHEN BUCKINGHAM AND HIS ROG
Some people just aren’t satisfied with sailing boats that you can buy off the shelf. Stephen Buckingham decided he wanted an ROG (River of Grass), and he wanted to build it himself. Since he didn’t have his own garage he rented one in the Mission District of San Francisco. It’s a very small garage. Stephen has been planning and building his kit boat for six years now, chronicling it on the forum of the Singlehanded Sailing Society. If you are interested, you can follow his progress yourself here: https://www.sfbaysss.org/forum/showthread.php?1903-New-Boat-4-Tchoup
Back in 2009 I attended my very first skippers meeting of the Singlehanded Sailing Society. It was held at the Oakland Yacht Club shortly before the SSS’s annual singlehanded race to Vallejo. I didn’t know anybody, so I sat down next to a nice man who smiled at me. He introduced himself as Steve Buckingham.
I knew just enough sailor etiquette to ask what kind of boat he had, and he told me. At the time he owned a custom made sloop named Starbuck. I told him that my boat was a Cal 20 named Dura Mater. He was gracious, told me that, with my boat’s PHRF rating, I would be very competitive.
“Really?” I asked.
“Absolutely!” he answered. New sailor that I was, I actually believed him. At the time I didn’t understand how much more important than PHRF ratings were sails, bottom paint, sailing experience and local knowledge to successful sailboat racing
I had only a vague idea about what a PHRF rating was and I had NO idea how to get from the start of the race just south of the Richmond Bridge to Vallejo. Regardless, I appreciated his kindness and have never forgotten it.
It has been quite remarkable to follow Stephen’s boat project as it has progressed from mere musings, then to hundreds of small parts and finally, to the almost finished project.
In early February of this year I invited myself to visit Stephen and his boat.
Stephen’s boat lives in a small garage in the middle of The City. On the audiotape of my interview with him the sounds of car horns and sirens are really loud, reflecting the very urban surroundings of this tiny little boatyard.
Stephen: I was looking forever for a place to build so I talked to Joe at the corner store across the street here. Joe knows the owner of the building and he got me this fully self-contained garage. Then I said, “Joe, I just might try to build in there. What do you think?”
He said, “Yeah, go for it. It’ll be fine!”
Jackie: Are people intrigued by the fact that you’re building a boat here?
S: Yes. Lots of people check it out and come by. I’ve kinda gotten used to it. One day a guy comes by and he says, ‘Hey! How’re you doing?’ I thought it was just another guy, chatting me up. He asked, ‘Remember me?’
I said, ‘No’
He said, ‘I rented you this garage.’
I was worried at first, that I would get busted half way through the build: “Nope! You’re out!” Instead, he was super cool, asked, ‘So, you’re building a boat?’ Then I met his dad and he was super friendly and nice, too.
I’m very lucky to have this garage. I’ve had it for less than a year. I can just walk up a block from my apartment, work here at night, crank up the stereo. I just wasn’t finding anything except in far places. So I decided to go for it. I work on my boat when I can between my work schedule.
[A man has stopped on the sidewalk just outside the garage, asks when Stephen will be sailing away.]
S: [laughs] Probably not today.
The man smiles, says ‘I’ll be keeping an eye out for you.’ walks on.
S: Thank you.
[Stephen turns to me] You see? I get a lot of that. I get all sorts of stories. Usually from my dad, my granddad or my uncle, so it’s obviously a geezer thing: “I built a boat in my garage.”
Obviously I couldn’t use regular boat paint in here. It would kill me and somebody above me. So I’m using all this system 3 stuff, their epoxy, super low vsc so I don’t have to wear a mask when sanding it. I’m using their water based paint. It’s an epoxy two part primer, also, which is water based. I think it’s pretty good and I love the red.
J: I love the red, too. What made you decide to build this particular small boat?
S: I started to look at available boats, of course, West Wight Potter? Not performancy enough, too cutesy. Lots of small boat designs seem to do that. They just try to shrink down these big boats. You don’t have side decks on a 16’ boat! You don’t walk up to a foredeck! You know? This one isn’t scaled that way. It’s different. It doesn’t have any of those big boat features. So, those type of boats? I don't like any of those boats.
J: You think this will be faster?
S: Hell, yeah! I wanted a little hot rod performance boat that I can sleep in. I also wanted to find a small boat that I could trailer, but I was hoping that I could still race. I wanted a boat with a drop keel that I could trailer and also wanted a little beachable RAID sailboat. I definitely couldn’t find anything on the market that was sexy enough for me and then I saw this design and said to myself, “That’s great.”
I called the designer and asked, “Are you gonna sell that boat when you’re done?” And he said, “Nah, I’m probably not gonna sell it.” Then I talked with him a bunch and basically he said that he could cut me out on his C&C machine the shape of the centerboard and rudder out of Western red cedar and mail it to me for $500. That and the kit made it easy.
I said, “Okay” because that would have been the hardest part: Lofting up the foil shape, that would’ve been pretty difficult. I have the composite skills. I definitely don’t have any woodworking skills.
J: So you kept the features you could do, cut out the stuff you couldn’t or didn’t want to do, and you approached it from that perspective.
S: Yeah. It seems like all small boat kits for home builders are more traditional looking. Some shivvy little thing with tan bark sails? [he smiles, shakes his head]
J: I love the beautiful wood on this boat. It doesn’t kill you to paint it?
S: I’ve spent a lot of time varnishing. I’m perfectly okay with painting it. I’ve used this lumber yard in Windsor, north of Santa Rosa. It’s called Storm Forest, that’s where I got this stuff. It’s aircraft-grade Western Red cedar. It’s beautiful.
Richard von Ehrenkrook (a mutual sailing friend who is a custom cabinetmaker) gets ahold of it and he said, “This is from a 150 year old tree! They don’t drop trees like this anymore! This was probably chopped down in the 60’s or 70’s and has been stored ever since.”
I haven’t found one knot in this wood. I went up and bought another board. I’m going to take it to his shop. He’s gonna help me plane it and dress it.
I purchased a lot of tools for this project. I bought a table saw, a chop saw, a drill press. That’s all in my other shop in the basement of my apartment. I built a lot of this stuff over there. After I’m done here this turns back into a garage for my car and my motorcycle.
The garage door is open and a neighbor walks by on the sidewalk:
Neighbor: I see it’s on wheels now. And there are green and red lights?
S: That’s how we do it in the boat world. That’s so you can tell which way the boat’s going in the middle of the night.
N: So one color is on one side and the other color is on the other side?
S: That’s it.
[I ask the neighbor whether he is a sailor.]
N: No. I just walk by. I go to the grocery store over there, and I walk back in this direction.
S: He comes by all the time.
The neighbor walks on, and Stephen begins to walk me through the modifications he has made to the original design of his boat. He shows me the solid carbon fiber ring frames, with folding pad eyes on each side, located at the strongest points of the boat and reinforced with carbon fiber filling. Stephen had to determine how best to locate them on his boat in order to use a hoist, which hadn’t been anticipated in the original design.
S: The design called for a kayak cockpit with a canvas cover. But I'm in Northern California! That little spray top? [he shakes his head] Plus I want to able to lock it up. So I built a hard top. [Lifts up one part of a companionway top that slides vertically under a second piece, with molding around the edges. Stephen shows me how several parts fit together, similar to the dovetailed drawers of fine wooden furniture].
Steve McCarthy designed sails for me. He runs Hogan Sails, in Alameda, in the new Svendsen’s complex there. We bought the cloth, 4 oz something dacron. We cut ‘em out and I’ve sewn the seams all together. There are four batten pockets on each sail.
J: What do you think you’re going to name your boat?
S: Still undecided, but maybe … don’t tell anybody … [I promised but my fingers were crossed behind my back] I kinda like iota. It means something tiny. See all the tabbing that I’ve done at the seams? This is all tabbed with carbon fiber. I still need to do more, as you can see on a few seams in here. Then it will have all white interior like the hull of the boat.
J: That makes it stronger? [he nods]
S: The designer of this boat calls for 6 ounce fiberglass everywhere. Instead I’ve replaced it with 4 ounce of carbon fiber for greater stiffness. [Stephen hands me several short lengths of wood coated with the two different materials for comparison]. The carbon fiber is stiffer than the fiberglass, right? It’s expensive. I didn’t do the outside but I have used it for all the inside tabbing, just to be fancy.
See these little double-sided micro cleats? It’s fun to play with this, problem solve, if only to avoid spending time sanding pieces of wood. The little mizzen sail is only 48 square feet. And then this! [he holds up a tiny little Harken brand traveler track] This is meant for a little dinghy. It’s going to be perfect for the main sheet!
Water ballast tanks are here, solid flotations there in the back. The pump goes in under here. [shows me a whale gusher worthy of a big keel boat which will be used to transfer water ballast from one side of the boat to the other]. It’s gonna mount upside down right there. So you’ll just reach under to pump the water through those hoses.
J: Of course! You couldn’t just build a small boat. You had to have water ballast, two masts … Whenever a racer gets on my boat he or she is always tweaking something here, tweaking something else there. I ask, ‘Can’t you just sit still? Can’t you just enjoy the experience?’ What is it with you racers? You’re always jumping around!
S: I didn’t design it!
J: But you chose it!
S: I just chose the most complicated design. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make enough adjustments. I wouldn’t have enough strings to pull. [We both laugh].
S: I just made this little cradle for the boom. It’s made from scraps of carbon foam. The epoxy is still wet here, so be careful. And here is the 24 volt cooler that fits right in there. It’s actually a freezer cooler, attached to the batteries. Here’s another cradle on the other side that holds the carbon fiber toilet, that I also built out of this scrap. As you slide it in, a little hole in the box docks with the mechanism there that attaches to the small puffer fan that is the desiccator part of the system.
Instead of hardware latches I’ve experimented with built-in magnets, embedded directly into small dowel-shaped holes in the cabinet door on one side and the receiving end of the cabinets on the alternate side. I don’t want hard metal latches. The magnets seem to work just fine.
[Stephen obtained the magnetic parts on the McMaster-Carr site. We talk about how invaluable this company is as a source for boaters: https://www.mcmaster.com/ ]
J: That’s brilliant.
S: Pretty handy, huh? When I drop the mizzen, this is where the solar panels will go. It will be like having an electric motor. Plug it up there and be able to sail while charging the batteries. Solar sailing!
J: Where will you first take this boat?
S: First road trip? I’d say overnight on Tomales Bay! So easy. Just put money in an envelope and launch up there at the public boat ramp. I also want to go to the Missouri Breaks and maybe to the Trent Severn waterway. It’s a series of locks in Canada. One of the locks actually uses a railroad car … I’ve seen pictures of it filled with sea kayakers all sitting in their kayaks taking a ride over the top.
J: Is this pretty much a singlehander’s boat or is there room for another person?
S: The designer calls it an expedition micro cruiser. In his jargon, solo for 5 days, a couple for a weekend.
J: You’d have to really like the other person.
I am shopping for a standard bunk trailer this summer. The boat measures 15’3”, 5.75’, centerboard up: Six inches. Board down, 46”. I want to go places with it and I’m gonna get it wet, so I need a galvanized trailer. I want a reliable decent trailer, so I might have to buy it new.
Stephen and I talk a bit longer and then I leave for the 24th and Mission BART station. As I turn to go I feel a very slight tinge of guilt. I’ve enjoyed myself while Stephen hasn’t made any progress on his project. The last thing I say is:
J: I really kept you from working but I’m not sorry at all.
As I walk away I hear him talking to himself, and this is what he’s saying:
S: I don’t know if this is going to fly, but I kinda want to build a little tiny jib.
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I suggest Stephen take a look at the Trailex trailers. I have an aluminum one for an expedition wherry. It would be case of checking the weight and dimensions of the super ROG to the trailer capacity. After touring the Texas interstates at high speeds I was amazed at the trailer stability and capability of the 8-inch trailer wheels.
Superb job on the the boat and a super-superb job on the interview.
Cheers,
Ants
Superb job on the the boat and a super-superb job on the interview.
Cheers,
Ants
Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
Macapunoless again, but I have a story:
Yesterday the SSS sent Cliff off to the Polynesian Islands in style. Brad Belleville sailed over from the Estuary aboard his Beneteau encore!
Greg Ashby towed his speed demon Akumu down from Goldrush Country, launched her, and met us near the north tower. It was pretty bouncy, so I missed a photo of him once we entered the Golden Gate.
Randy Leisure motored over from RYC aboard The Buffalo. He looked good at the helm but it seemed a bit odd to see the big green boat without its sails up. Well, that was soon remedied: Seems Jim was below being inspected by SHTP Chair, David Herrigel. In the interest of saving time and all that. Why be inspected at the dock when you can go sailing and accompany a friend out the Gate? As soon as Jim and David appeared, up went the mainsail. Aaaahhh. That looked better.
Newish SSS member and singlehander Chris Holbrook was out there just south of Angel Island, minding his own business aboard Mutual Fun, his Newport 30-2. We hailed him and invited him to join us. Here he is.
And Dura Mater was out there with her new mainsail by Dave Hodges. There was enough breeze to justify reefing, but ah heck, let’s see what she’s got. Here’s a photo from Randy. She’s such a sweet fat boat, we all did fine, even though it doesn't look like it.
While waiting for the show to begin Carliane sat at the mast drinking tea. Oh, dear. It was a little chilly. So Cecily Knepprith turned to port. There you are. On the sunny side again. Carliane thought that was mo betta.
It was a very nice day and now Cliff is offshore, on his own. If you would like to follow his tracker, here it is:
https://share.garmin.com/CliffordShaw
I asked him if he plans to write? “Not really”
I asked him if he will call when he arrives? “I don’t think so”
Will he take photographs? “Probably not.”
Huh. What a throwback to an earlier era is Cliff, compared to today’s culture of “If there’s no photo it didn’t happen”.
I had a very nice time because Cecily was my slave – er, crew for the day. “Pull that blue line!” “Not that blue line! The other blue line!” “Make us some tea, please!” Cecily was great. She has been sailing in the SSS races doublehanded aboard Grant Kiba’s 911 Take Five More. Look at the race results: They’ve been doing quite well. I have a feeling that she won’t be willing to be my slave for much longer.
More photos on the next post.
Yesterday the SSS sent Cliff off to the Polynesian Islands in style. Brad Belleville sailed over from the Estuary aboard his Beneteau encore!
Greg Ashby towed his speed demon Akumu down from Goldrush Country, launched her, and met us near the north tower. It was pretty bouncy, so I missed a photo of him once we entered the Golden Gate.
Randy Leisure motored over from RYC aboard The Buffalo. He looked good at the helm but it seemed a bit odd to see the big green boat without its sails up. Well, that was soon remedied: Seems Jim was below being inspected by SHTP Chair, David Herrigel. In the interest of saving time and all that. Why be inspected at the dock when you can go sailing and accompany a friend out the Gate? As soon as Jim and David appeared, up went the mainsail. Aaaahhh. That looked better.
Newish SSS member and singlehander Chris Holbrook was out there just south of Angel Island, minding his own business aboard Mutual Fun, his Newport 30-2. We hailed him and invited him to join us. Here he is.
And Dura Mater was out there with her new mainsail by Dave Hodges. There was enough breeze to justify reefing, but ah heck, let’s see what she’s got. Here’s a photo from Randy. She’s such a sweet fat boat, we all did fine, even though it doesn't look like it.
While waiting for the show to begin Carliane sat at the mast drinking tea. Oh, dear. It was a little chilly. So Cecily Knepprith turned to port. There you are. On the sunny side again. Carliane thought that was mo betta.
It was a very nice day and now Cliff is offshore, on his own. If you would like to follow his tracker, here it is:
https://share.garmin.com/CliffordShaw
I asked him if he plans to write? “Not really”
I asked him if he will call when he arrives? “I don’t think so”
Will he take photographs? “Probably not.”
Huh. What a throwback to an earlier era is Cliff, compared to today’s culture of “If there’s no photo it didn’t happen”.
I had a very nice time because Cecily was my slave – er, crew for the day. “Pull that blue line!” “Not that blue line! The other blue line!” “Make us some tea, please!” Cecily was great. She has been sailing in the SSS races doublehanded aboard Grant Kiba’s 911 Take Five More. Look at the race results: They’ve been doing quite well. I have a feeling that she won’t be willing to be my slave for much longer.
More photos on the next post.
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Dura Mater has become a "go fast" sailing machine! The new main and jib are BEAUTIFUL. And I hear she has a new "go fast" bottom too. Next stop Hawaii? 
As for Cliff... I hear his first stop is...
Per wikipedia...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuku_Hiva
Nuku Hiva (sometimes spelled Nukahiva or Nukuhiva) is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as Île Marchand and Madison Island.
Herman Melville wrote his book Typee based on his experiences in the Taipivai valley in the eastern part of Nuku Hiva. Robert Louis Stevenson's first landfall on his voyage on the Casco was at Hatihe'u, on the north side of the island, in 1888.
Great Circle Route San Francisco to Nuku Hiva is 2,969 nm. Maybe a month voyage... that is more north to south and less east to west.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San...ee905826f07bc!2m2!1d-140.1420882!2d-8.8604808
As for Cliff... I hear his first stop is...
Per wikipedia...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuku_Hiva
Nuku Hiva (sometimes spelled Nukahiva or Nukuhiva) is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as Île Marchand and Madison Island.
Herman Melville wrote his book Typee based on his experiences in the Taipivai valley in the eastern part of Nuku Hiva. Robert Louis Stevenson's first landfall on his voyage on the Casco was at Hatihe'u, on the north side of the island, in 1888.
Great Circle Route San Francisco to Nuku Hiva is 2,969 nm. Maybe a month voyage... that is more north to south and less east to west.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San...ee905826f07bc!2m2!1d-140.1420882!2d-8.8604808
Great pictures. What a fun and beautiful sailing day this was! In addition to seeing all the SSS friends, it was particularly special with the bay full of birds, harbor porpoises, sea lions, and a humpback whale (https://youtu.be/CZYjORVEVXA). I had a real laugh at Jackie's nervous statement-not-really-question at the end when she asked how deep it was where the whale dove. "So he could........come up" 
Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
All sorts of SSSers in here. Steve Hill was treasurer in 2009. He sent me my burgee when I joined. Steve Buckingham aka Tchoupitoulas, then Starbuck, is temporarily boatless, and has been working on the Race Deck this year. Bob Johnston has been snagged by RYC and is currently Rear Commodore, with several years of blazer-wearing to go.
https://yachtsmanmagazine.com/what-i-saw-by-jackie-philpott-15/
https://yachtsmanmagazine.com/what-i-saw-by-jackie-philpott-15/
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Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
The Voice of Reason and I took a ride to the CBC yesterday and found Skip up on his roof with friend Fox, trying to find a leak in the roof.
"Hey, you guys! Come on down here right now! I want my macapuno!"
I met Fox years ago at one of Skip's birthday parties, but he didn't stay long. Before it became the Capitola Boat Club, the building was already famous, locally known as "The House that Fox Built". But that's another story.
This story concerns the fact that Skip gave me one each of his two books. I am very excited to own them because they are limited editions and signed by the author. Amazingly, and despite the fact that the Dazzlers visited only three days ago, there was still Macapuno in the freezer. In fact, there were two tubs/half gallons of it. Maybe there were three when they arrived? I don't know. There was no evidence, no dribbles around the refrigerator.
Coloring the pages requires serious research: https://www.allturtles.com/turtle-species/
I have to read the texts carefully to decide which kinds of turtle and bear are George and Robert. Turtles in particular are so very exotic looking, with beautiful shells. I need to carefully consider their personalities. I can't just choose ordinary turtle and bear colors. These two are a sailing duo. Besides, what does it mean to be an "ordinary" talking turtle or bear? Sailors yourselves, I'm sure you understand my quandary. What colors would you choose for yourself?
I'm leaning toward jade green for George and french grey for Robert. Skip asks me to consider using watercolors but I don't think the paper is the right type. What do you all think?
By the way, I asked whether Intermission had come by to collect his macapuno. Skip replied,
"Not yet. All he has to do is call and set up a time."
Then we all went down to the waterfront and had lunch together.
"Hey, you guys! Come on down here right now! I want my macapuno!"
I met Fox years ago at one of Skip's birthday parties, but he didn't stay long. Before it became the Capitola Boat Club, the building was already famous, locally known as "The House that Fox Built". But that's another story.
This story concerns the fact that Skip gave me one each of his two books. I am very excited to own them because they are limited editions and signed by the author. Amazingly, and despite the fact that the Dazzlers visited only three days ago, there was still Macapuno in the freezer. In fact, there were two tubs/half gallons of it. Maybe there were three when they arrived? I don't know. There was no evidence, no dribbles around the refrigerator.
Coloring the pages requires serious research: https://www.allturtles.com/turtle-species/
I have to read the texts carefully to decide which kinds of turtle and bear are George and Robert. Turtles in particular are so very exotic looking, with beautiful shells. I need to carefully consider their personalities. I can't just choose ordinary turtle and bear colors. These two are a sailing duo. Besides, what does it mean to be an "ordinary" talking turtle or bear? Sailors yourselves, I'm sure you understand my quandary. What colors would you choose for yourself?
I'm leaning toward jade green for George and french grey for Robert. Skip asks me to consider using watercolors but I don't think the paper is the right type. What do you all think?
By the way, I asked whether Intermission had come by to collect his macapuno. Skip replied,
"Not yet. All he has to do is call and set up a time."
Then we all went down to the waterfront and had lunch together.
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Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
Need new interior upholstery for your boat? Look no further than North Beach Canvas. And no, she doesn't do canvas anymore. That is the mystery of Liz.
Regardless, read to the end:
https://yachtsmanmagazine.com/what-i-saw-by-jackie-philpott-16/
Regardless, read to the end:
https://yachtsmanmagazine.com/what-i-saw-by-jackie-philpott-16/
Intermission
Member
<sigh> I know, I know . . . Not for lack of desire; when school is out, and my first mate is available weekdays, I will make the call and then the journey.