Sad time of year

[Bolo]

Well, it’s that time of year again but it comes earlier this year for me because of future commitments. I’m talking about winterizing Vesper here in Annapolis, Md. Just pulled, flaked and bagged both sails and now it’s onto pulling the remaining canvas down, clearing out the frig, pulling stuff of the boat that we don’t want to spend the winter, and pouring antifreeze into a half a dozen places. Hope you folks down south and on the southern west coast realize how lucky you are! No sailing for me till next April.

 

[hilco woudstra]

Well, we in North Carolina are right behind you.

We had to strip Sketcher for the hurricane of all canvas and this late in the season....to much work to add all back.
My heat exchanger needed replacement, and Sen-Dure is making me a new one. After that... onward to the yard for new motor mounts.

I have a 3 point mount on the universal motor and have decided for a 4 point system. I will do a blog with pictures on the progress.
Then winter up for a great season next spring.

Hilco on Sketcher

 

[mjsouleman]

Geez Bolo,

We are finally getting great wind on Chesapeake Bay. Didn't you get out last weekend winds Friday 18-20, Saturday 4-6 and Sunday 25-30 WaaaaHooo

 

[Christian Williams]

At the turn of the century, Mississippi was giving away land to lure farmers to populate the state.

The offer was made to a hardscrabble Vermonter. A hundred acres, free and clear.

"Think about it. No snow, no ice, why, down here we farm 12 months of the year!"

The Yankee smiled and glanced at the frozen landscape around him, where nothing at all would grow till spring.

"You think I'm stupid?"

Twelve months a year in the water wears out boats and sometimes skippers, too. You can stop sailing but not maintenance.

It was sorta nice to change sports for half the year. Thinking about sailing is less work than doing it.

 

[JSM]

Skipper Fatigue.

Twelve months a year in the water wears out boats and sometimes skippers, too.

Too true. Due to the short season here in Chicago we seem to go into hyper-sail mode. Almost every evening after work and most weekends we are on the boat. By mid October we're ready to haul out and head out. (Credit card points racked up on boat expenses = two tickets to Merida, Mex.!)

 

[Bolo]

Geez Bolo,

We are finally getting great wind on Chesapeake Bay. Didn't you get out last weekend winds Friday 18-20, Saturday 4-6 and Sunday 25-30 WaaaaHooo

I did get out for a few nice solo sailing trips this fall but being a freelance photographer, at the ripe old age of 67, doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m retired and can spend all my time on a boat. In fact most every older pro photographer I know don’t retire we just fade away. (Old photographers joke stolen from a famous WW2 general. It’s history, look it up.) So I’m still getting calls from clients to shoot projects for them and that fills up my calendar and takes away some sailing time. It’s nice to be loved I guess. With all that on my calendar my normal winterizing that happens around turkey day would have been pushed back till December and I’ve winterized in the 12th month before which really isn’t fun.

This past season would have been better if it hadn’t of rained some much. We cancelled two extended sailing trips on the bay because of the weather. I don’t mind sailing in a bit of rain myself but the “admiral” doesn’t like it. So here’s hoping for next year and better weather.

 

[mjsouleman]

I'm 66 myself and new to Discovery (had her for 4 years and still learning)

I was just pulling your leg. I know just how you feel about this seasons sailing... limited with no wind, high humidity or just plain rain... no fun

To see how crazy I am about sailing, see my sons entry about sailing in 18-20 knots with full main and genoa.... that would be me pushing my limits.

The offer still stands, if your ever in the area (I am at Herrington Harbor North) , let me know and we'll get coffee and talk about winterizing the boats.

Mark J Soule (alias MJS)

 

[Bolo]

It's just a number

I'm 66 myself and new to Discovery (had her for 4 years and still learning)

I was just pulling your leg. I know just how you feel about this seasons sailing... limited with no wind, high humidity or just plain rain... no fun

To see how crazy I am about sailing, see my sons entry about sailing in 18-20 knots with full main and genoa.... that would be me pushing my limits.

The offer still stands, if your ever in the area (I am at Herrington Harbor North) , let me know and we'll get coffee and talk about winterizing the boats.

Mark J Soule (alias MJS)

Mark, It's OK to pull my leg about just about anything! As for age, it's just a number, and what counts is how much you move around. Sailboats (either sailing or maintaining them) get you moving and is one of the reasons I love sailing so much. We've had Vesper for 15 years now and before that we owned a Hunter 285 (great boat to learn on) for about 5 years. I just can't imagine turning a key and motoring around at high speed, without a sail, as being that much fun. I'd get bored! I often go out solo in winds above 15 knots because my "first mate" doesn't like being tossed about so much. I myself find it all so exhilarating because I know what I'm doing (reefing and jacked to the boat) and sailing in high winds just adds to the experience for those days when you really have to sail in those conditions. But I know that I'm preaching to the choir here.

 

[oldfauser]

the "date that shall not be named"

this Wednesday... sad day indeed.. but gives us time to do maintenance as it's hard to do when there is nice weather to go sailing

 

[GrandpaSteve]

Glory Days ready to be hauled 2018

Sails and canvas stripped for winter - ready to be hauled. Might try staying in the water next year though. Any thoughts on that? I live 2 hours from the boat so the thought of trying to get there in an emergency in winter worries me.

 

[Navman]

Sad time

We usually spend our last full weekend on The Optimist II during the first weekend of December. The weekend after that I begin to winterize and usually get pulled the week before or week after Christmas. It depends on the tides when I get pulled as the haul-out slip can be shallow at times. We typically have to wait for as high a tide as we can. I am last one out most of the time so that means first one in which is just OK by me! If I was 60 to 8- miles further south I would seriously/ definitely consider leaving it in and just do a short haul in the spring to paint the bottom. we have had some pretty hard ice-overs the last few winters above the bay bridge with the CG sometimes closing the bay down entirely to all non steel hulled vessels. so the prospect is always a risky one.

 

[Christian Williams]

Did I say I miss winter? Hmmm.

Herreshoff Design #31 ketch at left. Daughter at right is 46 now.

 

[GrandpaSteve]

I like this post. ^

 

[Navman]

sad time

Christian,
NICE. I seem to remember seeing the photo on the right at some time in the past.

 

[markvone]

Steve,

I am at a private slip in Severn House condos on Back Creek in Annapolis. This will be my first winter out of the water since I bought my boat in 2011. It seems like a lot more work to come out for the winter! For the first two winters I was at Port Annapolis Marina across the creek. They had a 24 hr staff watching the boats and bubblers so I felt OK leaving the boat in all winter. It didn't even freeze over the creek the first winter.

Last winter it froze early and often. There is a dock master for the condo development who walks the docks often and they also have bubblers. My location near the head of Back Creek is very sheltered so I'm not worried about storms. Our usual tide is about a foot but I have seen the boat do OK on it's own with both a plus and minus 3 foot tide due to high winds. I'm at the boat 2 or 3 times a week doing winter projects so I get to check on it often but I'd say now that I've done it that fear of wintering over in the water is mostly mental.

If the slip location is sheltered, there is freeze protection and there is someone watching the boats, I would prefer to leave the boat in the water for the winter. I did say 'slip location', no mooring without power. I leave my shore power connected so I have battery charging to support two bilge pumps. Although I winterize everything but the bilge pumps, I also leave an oil filled radiator type heater on low which keeps the interior above freezing. My boat doesn't leak except for rain water down the mast so bilge pump use is small. Staying in the water has to be much warmer than on land, especially for the first half of the winter. With the oil radiator cranked up and a second small space heater/fan I can get the interior warm in an hour if I'm working inside.

The advantages: no winter haul fees, you can go sailing anytime you want, you decide when to de-winterize and start the season, no waiting for the yard to launch (and haul) you, no waiting for 50 degrees to paint in Spring. I've sailed in 80 degrees in early December and early March.

Your marina will probably will find it too busy to haul you in Spring, I usually do it in August when the yards are slow and no waiting for 50 degrees to paint (2 coats a day at 90F)!

Mark

 

[GrandpaSteve]

Good and thoughtful information Mark and Don, thank you.

 

[toddster]

I have been wondering if the Webasto heat pump that I installed this year would act as an ice bubbler. But since I hauled the boat, I don't get to find out. Instead of a transom through-hull, I plumbed the output, at least for the time being, into the head discharge below the water line. In part, this was because I was worried about ice buildup around the discharge. In fact, with the boat sitting on top of a mountain, instead of floating in the water this year, I'll need to pay a lot more attention to winterizing, I suppose. It's sad to drive down the highway and see sails out on the river...

 

[Filkee]

And once you’re out of the water...

You must face the truth.

 

[Bolo]

Good and thoughtful information Mark and Don, thank you.

I too have almost always kept Vesper in the water during the winter months for many of the same reasons that Mark states. In fact, Mark use to be a dock neighbor of mine when he was at Port A. The only thing I didn’t do was to keep a oil cored heater going at low mostly because I was a bit worried about running it unattended but maybe that’s being over cautious. I do run a West Marine dehumidifier device to cut down on moisture in the boat so was the difference, right? I will have the boat hauled, bottom cleaned and painted this spring. Never had an issue with wintering in the water except if it snows a lot which sometimes makes dock access a bit tricky but there are a number of live aboards on the dock this year so that might not be such a problem.

 

[GrandpaSteve]

Thanks Bob. Do you use a de-icer?