Category Archives: Sailing

It’s a boat, 3

Posted on June 10, 2007 | Comments Off on It’s a boat, 3

Got the mainsail up for airing, and inventoried stuff to see what could be thrown away. Among them an empty Cetol can, which needs replacing for painting the teak trim. Glad to see no dirt dauber nests (or cells, as the learned say) on the sail or inside the horse blanket. But the activity summoned a good many daubers from elsewhere on the dock, because of all the spiders uncovered when the sail was hoisted. Daubers are evil looking wasps, but I’ve never been stung. Not even when I’ve uncovered a bunch of their cells and thrown them overboard. They are considered beneficial because they eat bugs, particularly controlling spiders which they line their nest with for their larvae to feed on. So you put up with them.

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Posted in Sailing, Science/Engineering

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It’s a boat, 2

Posted on June 8, 2007 | Comments Off on It’s a boat, 2

Meteorologist Troy Kimmel emails that we can expect scattered showers this afternoon from a cold front making its way southeast across Texas. Thought I saw a surprising amount of dark clouds over Lake Travis this morning when I was out there working on the sloop. Got the cabin cleaned out, finally, and all cushions vacuumed and the surfaces wiped down with Lysol. Next I want to paint the interior teak, before starting work on the teak bin boards and doghouse trim. Next big problem to solve is getting the outboard overhauled. The one place that works on Suzukis is swamped with work. Meanwhile I’ve a re-rigging planned for the 18th at Yacht Harbor marina, a few miles away, but can’t get there easily without a motor. Not in a hurry, anyway. I could sail back, after the rigging’s completed, but still got to get there.

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Sailing, Weather/Climate

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It’s a boat

Posted on June 3, 2007 | Comments Off on It’s a boat

Caught making lists this afternoon of things yet to do on the sloop before it’s presentable and usable again. The memory fades without lists. Proceeding at a stately pace of an hour or so a day, squeezed in between parenting and other things, I have progressed. After more than a year of no use, the boat was (and is yet) pretty dirty, but it’s improving. Finally got the hull and the deck clean of dirt, mold and mildew, and yesterday took on the forepeak, vacuuming the cushions and the surfaces and wiping everything. I got out two baseball-sized mud dauber’s nests. The smell of bleach finally got to me, despite the open hatches. About then two humongously oversized (for a lake) cabin cruisers chugged by at slow speed. They set up more wake going slow, and I was rolling around in the cramped forepeak like a fish in a can. Finally finished, fought off the nausea, and brought the cushions back in from their airing in the cockpit. Then went home. Think I got dehydrated in the 90 degree heat. Memo: next time, tomorrow, bring more water.

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Sailing

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Turnback Canyon race

Posted on May 26, 2007 | Comments Off on Turnback Canyon race

Despite the storms, the Austin Yacht Club is pressing ahead with its annual 19-mile race on Lake Travis. I’ve only tried this one three times since 1985, all three aborted about two-thirds of the way from sunburn and exhaustion. Each time, I spent the night in a small cove miles from the finish line and the parties and etc. The last attempt was the most memorable, because Mr. Boy’s mom broke her hand, hitting it on the transom when trying to start the manual outboard to help me position the anchor in the cove. Fortunately the First Aid kit had a splint and chemical ice pack, and we watched a sitcom on a small TV we had. Motored home the next morning and went to the emergency room. Hope no one has it that bad this weekend and that all arrive on time, despite the inevitable debris in the water from the flooding.

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Posted in Sailing, Scribbles, Texana

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Ignominious end

Posted on May 24, 2007 | Comments Off on Ignominious end

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A 1975 Catalina 22 finds a sad end after 32 years. It was abandoned by its owner, who had removed, among other things, the teak trim. It was leaking sufficiently that it had to be pumped out periodically, and Anderson Mill marina was tired of the game. When they couldn’t get the owner, who was no longer paying his monthly slip fee, to take care of it, they dragged it, scraping, up the ramp on its folded swing-keel. There’s a few more of various makes due to make the trip, victims possibly of the long drought when the docks were moved so far out into Lake Travis that it was hard to get to the boats to maintain them. Some of them were a lot dirtier than ours.

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Posted in Sailing, Scribbles

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Catalina 22

Posted on May 14, 2007 | Comments Off on Catalina 22

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The family sloop, a 1985 Catalina 22, looks better in this photo than it did up close, at the time, as it was covered with grey mold spots after a year without use on Lake Travis. During the drought the docks were moved to where they were inaccessible most of the time. Now it’s back and almost four weeks since the photo was taken, the exterior is three-quarters clean. Elbow grease and Sof Scrub is all it takes. Still have to finish the cockpit and clean out the cabin, but it’s coming along. The admiral wants to sell it and I had planned to, while it was inaccessible, but of course nobody wanted to buy it then. But after 22 years of sailing it, it’s hard to part. Has to be cleaned and the outboard overhauled to sell it, anyway. If I can lure Mr. B. onto it a couple of times once school is out on May 24, I may have the winningest reason to keep it. Racing is something I’ve never cared to do, but he might find it exciting.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Sailing, Texana, Weather/Climate

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The Family Sloop

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Posted on April 20, 2007 in Rancho Roly Poly, Sailing, Texana

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