Annoyances

I brought the boat back on Thursday. The wind was ENE at about 20 knots. It was a single handed motor trip that took about 90 mins.. A cold, bumpy, and boring start to the 2008 sailing season. Janet drove the car back to NYC and was there to help me dock the boat.

The windex came lose. My wonderful (5th?) repair once again was insufficient. My first reaction was to be angry. It was another example of the little annoyances that come with the joys of boat ownership! Hmm maybe I should view this as a psychological test! The windex and I: a metaphor for dealing with life's irritations.

On Sat. I went over to help Anthony prep his boat for the season. Anthony had his four year old son to assist. In addition to dealing with the frustrations of a non starting motor, Anthony also had to deal with the constant demands from junior for attention, e g Matthew amused himself by banging the aft cabin door on Anthony's foot. It is during these times that I realize that the joys of parenthood are best experienced from a distance. It was a good experience for me as I got a good idea about what is involved with 'big' boat maintenance.

Boat ownership isn't without its annoyances but it is worthwhile (just like parenthood). You can not stay annoyed with that which you love.

Launch 2008

Everything went well. I got to PCYC at 11 and started getting the boat prepped. The lines and fenders were put out. I replaced the spark plugs and mounted the motor on the transom bracket. The trailer tires were inflated.

The schedule was for a 12 o'clock launch but the staff, Ted and Mike, decided to take lunch. We actually got started at circa 1. I had thought that they would use the travel lift but the drysail crane was used instead. The launch was more 'do it myself' than I expected. I spent a lot of time waiting for Ted and Mike to finish launching a club boat. Ted and Mike got the boat moved to the drysail crane and operated the drysail and mast cranes. They did these steps when there was a break in their Club boat launches. While waiting I talked to PCYCers who were standing around waiting for their boat to launch so that they could take it to its mooring. PCYC Members did not have to do much at their Club launch except stand around! PCYCers were able to dock their boats singlehanded. I wonder why NYCers can't?

After we got the boat launched I got the mast ready and started the motor. A no start motor was my biggest worry. The motor did start but only after a rather long period of nothing (except my anxious pulling of the start cord.) Whew, it was a warm day. Ted and Mike got the mast up and left me to secure the stays. I took the boat over to a mooring.

I hope to finish things tomorrow: attach boom, tune mast, and get the lines installed, e g main sheet.

Beautiful day! Perfect conditions for launch with 17+ as a high and a slight breeze from the east. Everyone was 'cool', ( er laid back?). The motor started! It is great to get the boat back in the water.

Compass replacement

Last summer, when we were going to set up the compass for the start countdown, we discovered that we had an "equipment overboard situation". It had apparently been knocked out of its bracket and fallen overboard.

I never (hardly) do impulse buys. I also like to replace same with same. Simplifies my shopping experience. Unfortunately the exact same model wasn't available. I did a Google search, looked at other boats to see what people were using, and asked skippers for comments about the compass they used. A typical product/price discovery effort on my part. I decided that the Micro Compass would be a good replacement. West Marine had it but the C$ price was 20% more than the US $ price in C$. I can wait.

Flash forward to now: As part of my pre season boat prep I do another check. West Marine has the item in stock and at the US $ price. Problem solved.

It is great to see that Canadian retailers are not using border hassles to avoid passing on the benefits of loonie greenback parity! It pays to wait (sometimes).

Launch readiness (2008)

David and I got the new traveller installed yesterday. It went well except we had to do it in two trips and I managed to spill the beans! I think (?) we got everything back together. The car moves smoothly along the track.

The boat will be launched on April 17. It can be sailed over to NYC at any time and docked until the club launch. The trailer can be brought over after club launch. So looks good for some early season sailing!

I plan to do some Club Hours i.e. yard work on the Monday after Club launch.

Launch plans are in place. Now all we need is good weather!

Spring cleaning

I have done a bit of spring cleaning with the blog. That includes checking the links to make sure they still work.

I was very pleased to come across a sailing narrative (1986 Transfer Trip) on Chris's website about a week long transit to Little Current. I would say that I have experienced during my sailing career very similar events. This is an excellent story. If you read this story and have a warm and tingly feeling then you know that you are a sailor!

As I said I have spent a little time fiddling with the colours etc on the blog. Let me know if things are OK.

Tempatures Rising

Wow! Today's temps: High 15, Low 9! Maybe I should start to think about getting the boat launched?

The boat is currently in Mississauga. The repaired traveller will have to be reinstalled, the mast stepped and the boat launched. One idea would be to get the boat launched in Mississauga and sailed over to Toronto. Another option would be to trailer the boat back. Sailing back could be done in late April but trailering would have to wait until the first week of May. I will have to check out crew availability and interest in the various options. Also I will have to check with Yacht Club staff to see what they require.

I was over to see the boat last week with David. The new traveller needed some adjustments and couldn't be installed. I hope to make another attempt to get the traveller installed later this week. The big news is that the boat survived another winter.

Summer isn't here yet, but it isn't too far away.