This post is dedicated to my friend, Margee, who was stuck at work on the day we were sailing. I promised her this post and wrote it so she could sail vicariously through me. I’d like all my readers to wish her congratulations as she recently graduated from veterinary school and is now [...]
Multihulls have some advantages and disadvantages compared to monohulls, and a lot of how severe those advantages/disadvantages are depends on the exact design you’re looking at. Whether one will be suitable for your purposes depends a lot on what you’re trying to do.
For instance, a lot of the charter market catamarans have trouble sailing in [...]
I originally wrote the following post for the International Telstar Owners Association Forum. I’ve decided to re-publish it here as well, since many of the visitors to my blog are interested in the Telstar 28.
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The Telstar 28 was introduced in late 2003. Since the boat was introduced, it has had some changes to the design [...]
The Telstar 28 was introduced in late 2003. Since the boat was introduced, it has had some changes to the design as it has evolved.
The original boats had a centerboard with a draft of 4′ 3″. It was offered in two models, a base version that was essentially the hull and mast, but [...]
Today, I went over to Wickford Harbor, in Rhode Island. I went to see if I could help Wyatt out with some issues he’s having on his Dehler 33. He seems to be having some problems with the VHF radio, which is original to the boat from 1997. I brought my SWR [...]
Recently a friend asked me what work I’ve done on my boat. Here’s a list of the various upgrade projects that I’ve either done or am in the process of doing on the boat over the last two years. The ones with the asterisks are works currently in progress.
Main Hull and Bottom
Installed Jacklines [...]
Woohoo!!!
I just got a package in from Garhauer Marine. If you don’t know what Garhauer Marine is, you’re missing out on one of the best vendors for blocks and such on a boat. They’re a family-owned company in California that sells both direct to the public, and to manufacturers. Catalina and several [...]
On a sailing forum, the question of capsize or pitchpoling a multihull came up recently. That’s a good question, how common is capsizing a cruising multihull? The poster was talking about two trimarans that had pitchpoled. I’d like to look at that now.
The risk of capsize on a cruising multihull is miniscule, provided the boat [...]
The s/v Pretty Gee is Telstar 28 hull #334, made by Performance Cruising, Inc. of Annapolis, MD.
She was built in April 2006 for me. She is classified as “sport trimaran” like the more common Farrier-designed Corsairs, but was designed to be a cruising trimaran, rather than a racing one. She was designed by [...]
Six years ago today, I was cast Adrift At Sea. The amazing woman who had agreed to marry me in September 1999 finally lost her fight with pancreatic cancer. Gee passed away at 11:00 am, six years ago today, exactly seven months and seven days from the start of our wedding.
Even today, [...]
In the last week I’ve had some friends and family visit Boston and the surrounding area. My friend Cindy, who lives in New Mexico, was in town for a training last week. One aunt and uncle came here from Honduras to celebrate my mother’s birthday. Another friend, Alex from Portugal, has been working [...]
Here is a photo of the finished cockpit stereo speaker installation.
The speakers aren’t behind deckplates as I originally planned. However, the space they are installed in does not let water into the boat’s bilge as it drains into the rudder quadrant locker. This space doesn’t really present any danger of flooding the boat if [...]
One of the projects I’ve decided to do this year is creating a bridge deck on the Pretty Gee.
A bridge deck is a raised section in the front of the sailboat’s cockpit that is designed to prevent a pooping wave from entering through the companionway. Currently, there is no bridge deck on the Telstar. [...]
The 2007 Sailing Season has finally arrived. It really seemed that winter would be hanging on for a few more weeks, but it has gone out with a bang. My friends Norm and Elizabeth delivered their new boat, Averisera from Connecticut up to Boston, with only a short delay due to the Nor’Easter [...]
Well, winter looks like it has finally decided to give up and move on. The boating season is almost upon us. I have been told that the Pretty Gee will be coming out of storage mid-month, and I have a few spring projects to do on her. Unfortunately, my schedule for projects [...]
Saturday, October 7, 2006, I went out for what will now be my last sail of the season. Even though, I would personally prefer to be sailing until the snow falls, it turns out that life has had other plans for me this year.
Eric is one of the people I’ve been talking to about [...]
Well, this weekend was spent hauling the Pretty Gee out of the water. I went down to the marina on Friday to get her ready for the haul out.
The main reason for hauling the boat out of the water in the middle of the season is the waterline. The waterline, where the [...]
Yesterday, I took the Pretty Gee out on Buzzards Bay again. My friend Dave, and my other friend’s son, Johnnie, and daughter, Lauren, along with a friend of theirs, Brandon, were along for the day. This was the first time that Lauren and Brandon had ever been out on a sailboat. [...]
I am almost done with the boom brake install. The final step of the install is mounting a Spinlock Powercleat on the cabintop, just outboard of the port genoa sheet winch, which should be done tomorrow.
Here are the details of the installation.
Hardware:
1 x Dutchman Boom Brake BB500
1 x Wichard 1/4″ extra-long shackle with captive [...]
I spent most of the weekend working on the Pretty Gee. The three projects I worked on were the boom brake installation, adding a solar-powered ventilator, and the ground tackle system.
Boom Brake Installation
I rigged a tentative boom brake setup, with the line running from the starboard chain plate, to the Dutchman Boom Brrake mounted [...]
Ground Tackle System
I spent the Tuesday evening looking at the foredeck—trying to figure out how I’m going to mount the bow roller, windlass, chainpipe, mooring bitt, and chain tensioner. It looks like I’ll have to move the starboard bow chock and the current bow cleat. I was planning on adding another bow cleat [...]
Early this morning, I took the Pretty Gee out on Buzzards Bay. It was the first time I’ve taken her out single-handed. Once out on Buzzards Bay, I put up the main sail with two reefs in. After sailing for about 45 minutes under just the mainsail, I decided to head back [...]
I’ve been going over the work done by Peter Kennedy Yatch Services on the Pretty Gee, and it isn’t very pretty. Even though Peter Kennedy came very highly recommended by several sailors I had e-mailed and spoken with, and by Performance Cruising, the manufacturers of the Telstar, I would not recommend him. While I [...]
Over the last week, I’ve spent a fair amount of time getting the Pretty Gee organized and doing small projects to get her ready for use. A lot of the recent projects have had to do with USCG regulations. Yesterday, I mounted two fire extinguishers, one in the cockpit, and one in the [...]
Apparently, the definition of what passes for quality, professional work, has gotten lower. I asked around and was given Peter Kennedy’s name as the go-to guy for doing the electrical upgrades on my Telstar. He was recommended by several sailors I spoke with, as well as the Telstar manufacturer, Performance Cruising. Given [...]
Friday
I drove up from Annapolis on Friday. I trailered the Pretty Gee up to Fairhaven. Here’s a photo of the Pretty Gee on her trailer with my truck at a rest area in New Jersey.
The drive up went smoothly, after redistributing the weight in the boat. Initially, the trailer tongue weight was [...]
This morning, I went down to Performance Cruising to put a few things on the boat. While I was there, I mounted the ensign flagstaff on the stern arch. I also checked out the handheld VHF charging cradle and GPS chartplotter. The handheld VHF has very limited DSC capability, and needs [...]
Okay, it’s only a partial Yay! I had a chance to go sailing on a Telstar today. It is only a partial Yay! because the boat wasn’t mine. The Pretty Gee is still being worked on, and sitting on her trailer, as you can see here.
When I got to Performance Cruising today, [...]
Paperwork
Well, I’ve gotten started on the USCG paperwork for getting the boat documented. I’m working with Judy Grovner, over at the BoatUS Documentation Center. Unfortunately, the documentation process has been delayed by a problem with the builder’s certificate of origin. The certificate, as I received it, had figures for the boat’s measurements [...]
A reader recently asked me about what are the real price differences between the Telstar and Corsair F28 and F31.
So I repeated the exercise I did last year, and I’ve just gone to the Lavida Starships website to use the Corsair price calculator and this is what I’ve come up with.
The boats are equipped [...]