There’s nothing better than the weather we’ve had this past two weeks for good autumn sailing. The wind has been pretty solid, between 15 and 25 knots most of the time, and the temperatures, relatively reasonable, at least in that we haven’t had any snow. It’s been really hard to be stuck ashore with the wonderful sailing weather we’ve been having. They’re hauling my boat, the Pretty Gee, on Sunday, per my instructions. I’m just not really all that ready for the long dark months of winter. I know I’ll be busy with boat projects over the winter, but missing these last two weeks of sailing has been really tough.
The projects I have lined up for the long dark winter are many.
The most important one is getting the new hull paint put on the boat. I’ve got the CopperCoat paint sitting down at the marina, and I hope to have them start the stripping and painting in the next week or so.
The second most important project is the ground tackle system. I still have to get a source for the custom stainless steel base plate for the bow roller. I may ask the marine services company that is going to be doing the hull paint about getting a plate made up for me. I have the bow roller, windlass, mooring bitt, chain pipe, chain tensioner and two new 10″ stainless steel cleats. I’ve already laid out most of the equipment on a piece of foamcore board.
The third big project is leading the main halyard, spinnaker halyard, outhaul, topping lift and reefing lines back to the cockpit. I’ve got the deck organizers, the line clutches and the winch for the project. The blocks for the base of the mast are on order, but haven’t come in yet. This should make the boat easier to sail single-handed. I have to order the new halyards and lines, but haven’t done this yet. I have to measure the lines to see how long the new lines have to be.
The fourth project is adding a stereo system to the Pretty Gee’s navigation console. I have two speakers that will be mounted in the cockpit, inside the cockpit coamings, behind two deckplates. This way, if the weather or seas are really bad, I can close the speaker openings off and not have to worry about a wave taking the speakers out and flooding into the boat that way. I also have a pair of speakers that will mount forward, in the cabin. This also makes it much less likely that wasps or other critters will try and build a home inside my stereo speakers.
The fifth project is one that I’ve discussed with Performance Cruising. I plan on closing off the steps in the cockpit and creating a bridgedeck. This will increase the useable seating inside the cockpit, as well as give me a very large locker in the cockpit. The real reason I am doing this is to make the Pretty Gee more seaworthy. The bridgedeck will help prevent a following wave that poops the boat from downflooding into the cabin. It will also reduce the amount of water that can actually fill the cockpit—reducing the risk of the cockpit filling with enough water to submerge the stern of the boat.
The sixth project is modifying the head setup. First, I plan to add an inspection hatch to the holding tank. Right now, there is no way to tell how full the tank is, which is not a good thing. I also plan on adding a diverter valve, a t-fitting, and diagphram pump to the system, which will allow me to manually pump out the holding tank. On the longer voyages, this will be important.
I also have a few small tasks to do.
The first of the smaller tasks is adding a masthead steaming light. I’ve got an Aqua Signal masthead light, and just have to hook it up to the wiring that already exists in the mast. I’ve have to add it to the masthead light circuit and put a switch into the panel for it.
The second of the smaller tasks is to replace the block and tackle for the outboard motor mount. It is currently a four-to-one tackle, and I plan on upgrading it to a six-to-one tackle instead. This will make hoisting the engine and bucket out of the water much easier. I also have to install the engine hour meter/tachometer that just came in.
I’m also switching out the bulbs in the cabin lights to LED arrays, to reduce the amount of electricity the cabin lighting uses. I am going to move the current navigation light to the forward port bulkhead, and replace it with an LED-based navigation/dome light, so I can have a red light for night-time navigation work. I’m awaiting the new fixture, but it should be here by the end of next week.
I’ve still have the second solar ventilator to install. I plan on doing this when I do the lines led aft project, since I’ll be working up by the mast then. It will go just forward of the mast step. I have to find a position which still allows the mast foot to clear the vent or I’ll have to swap the vent for the deckplate when I raise or lower the mast. The first ventilator has worked out quite well.
One thing I plan on investigating is installing a mainsheet traveler on the new bridgedeck. This would require me to move the bimini a bit further aft. I have written to the company that made the boom to see if this is feasible. If it is, I will get a Garhauer unibody traveler setup for the boat, and mount it to the bridgedeck. This may be better than the current setup, since the mainsheet, the genoa sheets and the tiller will all be located closer together this way.