Happiness is a Small Boat

[Boulter]

Hi:

So my Ontario 32 is in pieces and I have no notion of launching this year. I'd rather do things well than fast, just my nature. But getting that bummed out feeling that I'd rather be sailing.

Then there was my Father's cancer news a week ago. One of the things I want to do with my boat is to take others out, like Dad. What if next year is too late for him. Heck, what if it is too late for me, I am a cancer survivor too. One just never knows.

What to do, what to do ...

Behind door number 1 was a North Channel charter, but I likely don't have the experience to be entrusted with a craft.

Behind door number 2 ... a Sandpiper 565. Now many folks my age could not abide such a small boat, however I come out of a cycling/camping culture, so this is luxury in comparison. The cuddy cabin is about 3 times the size of my tent. All for essentially the same money as 1 week chartering.

The nut I really wanted to crack was to be trailerable behind a Jeep Patriot. Oh, if I owned an F150, I would likely have looked at something 22 foot range, but I don't. Plus, I got the mast up solo first try. I think it was easier than raising the mast on my Albacore.

So in the next two weeks or so: change the trailer bearings and tire rubber, replace the running rigging, get the 5HP 4 cycle 2006 damn near unused engine serviced, replace the wiring including VHF coax and I am out there!

I hardly know where to first launch. I am 2 hours from the Ottawa River at Ottawa, 2 hours from the Ottawa river at Pembroke, 2 hours from the Bay of Quinte, 4 hours away from Georgian Bay ... or 30 minutes from decent sized inland lakes.

I have a bounce in my step that has been missing of late.

Boulter

[snort]

Glucose deprivation activates feedback loop that kills cancer cells, study shows

Just in case they're not promoting a no-glucose diet, I wanted to include this link. Distilled water instead of tap too.

Wish I could help with the boat selection, but don't know that size range all that well.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by snort

Glucose deprivation activates feedback loop that kills cancer cells, study shows

Just in case they're not promoting a no-glucose diet, I wanted to include this link. Distilled water instead of tap too.

Wish I could help with the boat selection, but don't know that size range all that well.

Having had cancer, I am fairly certain that doctors will not promote this approach based on one exploratory study. There are no specific treatment options listed there, so doctors would have no way to know of knowing how to approach this.

The brain runs on two things: glucose and oxygen. Drastically reduce your glucose and you could face a common medical crisis faced by people with diabetes: a low sugar crisis, which can produce coma and even death.

Please. Don't recommend that people try to kill off cancer cells themselves this way. This approach is not ready for prime time. A low blood sugar crisis is very serious. In addition, dementia has recently been linked to low blood sugar.

See what I mean? One can't look at medical research articles in isolation.

[snort]

This isn't one exploratory study. It's being promoted in Europe, but I don't know if it's getting the same exposure here.
There's a leading cancer research scientist in the U.S. who came out with his studies in December. When I find the link on Amazon, I'll include it. One of many, but he holds more credibility than most.
Maybe saying no-glucose is simplistic, but you get sugars in many foods. Consciously avoiding sugar when you have cancer is probably a good thing, based on many studies.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Boulter

... there was my Father's cancer news a week ago. One of the things I want to do with my boat is to take others out, like Dad. What if next year is too late for him. Heck, what if it is too late for me, I am a cancer survivor too. One just never knows.

I lost my Dad about 20 months ago. One of my big regrets is not taking him sailing, though we did manage many other things. Appreciate them while they're still here.

Behind door number 2 ... a Sandpiper 565. Now many folks my age could not abide such a small boat, however I come out of a cycling/camping culture, so this is luxury in comparison. The cuddy cabin is about 3 times the size of my tent. All for essentially the same money as 1 week chartering.

The nut I really wanted to crack was to be trailerable behind a Jeep Patriot.

Welcome to my world. Starting season #7 with our Sandpiper. Still very happy, still fun to sail (5 hr solo yesterday), still inexpensive (though we are now moving to an in water-slip which will cost a bit more per year)

People are towing Sandpipers with Toyota Tercels, VW New Beetles, minivans... Towing weight is approx 1800 to 2000 lb, if you pack stuff in the boat. Your Patriot should have no problems

I hardly know where to first launch. I am 2 hours from the Ottawa River at Ottawa, 2 hours from the Ottawa river at Pembroke, 2 hours from the Bay of Quinte, 4 hours away from Georgian Bay ... or 30 minutes from decent sized inland lakes.

All of the above. We've sailed (including overnighting at anchor) everything on your list except for Pembroke. Hoping to do the North Channel someday soon.

[SunDevil]

Can the Jeep tow a Ontario 32? Would you need to tow it? Is there some way to get it done quickly by hiring an outside helper/builder/poor sailor? Or do you know enough people that might be willing to help and volunteer fixing it up?

[charliehows]

go small, go now. Good onyer.

[Boulter]

Originally Posted by SunDevil

Can the Jeep tow a Ontario 32? Would you need to tow it? Is there some way to get it done quickly by hiring an outside helper/builder/poor sailor? Or do you know enough people that might be willing to help and volunteer fixing it up?

Hi:

Thanks for everyone's concern re my Father. It isn't imminent death for sure bad news, just run of the mill he is 76 years old and cancer is creeping up bad news. It has not spread from the primary site. He starts treatment in a few weeks. We will just have to see how things unfold.

It is also likely that for sure my mother, and likely my father too are at a point in their lives that going multiple days in a boat isn't on. So for just the day sailing experience, I think the Sandpiper will be splendid. Then get them ashore to the hotel in Kingston or Belleville or wherever.

It is funny, he first bought the Albacore that started me sailing, but never actually sailed much himself in the end. A year or so later I bought a laser I and sailed it almost exclusively because it is just a more dynamic ride for a teenager. I guess working, taking care of kids and house and cottage just didn't leave much time for it. A few years back he said he'd like to go sailing again.

Boulter

[barnakiel]

Hi,

If you come from the tent and bonfire territory, you are not likely to have any issues sailing and living onboard a small sailing boat. Because it is actually the same thing - sorta living in a tent that can be put up on the waters.

We have been living onboard and sailing our 26' boat for over 10 years now (2 of us here) and believe me that (small) size of our ship is the least important factor in one's happiness. Doing what you love is what makes one/many happy. If you find your boat too small, you will step up to a bigger boat.

Good luck and let us know your adventures!
b.

[Boulter]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Hi,

If you come from the tent and bonfire territory, you are not likely to have any issues sailing and living onboard a small sailing boat. Because it is actually the same thing - sorta living in a tent that can be put up on the waters.

We have been living onboard and sailing our 26' boat for over 10 years now (2 of us here) and believe me that (small) size of our ship is the least important factor in one's happiness. Doing what you love is what makes one/many happy. If you find your boat too small, you will step up to a bigger boat.

Good luck and let us know your adventures!
b.

Oh, for sure. The cuddy cabin is equal to at least 3 tents! And I don't have to pedal up hill into the wind. If I squeak 100W of panel off the back, we could even get some refrigeration going. Luxury! We will have a blast I am sure.

You must have missed, I already have the bigger boat, it just isn't launching this year. We wanted to have some fun this year, not just be up to our eyeballs in boat work.

Thanks for the greetings.

Cheers,

Boulter

[Boulter]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Good luck and let us know your adventures!
b.

So an update.

A few weeks back we headed down to Belleville to launch at the public launch. I picked up a Minn Koka 55 electric as I figured it would do, saving me the trouble of getting the 5 HP gas serviced and in operation. Another Sandpiper I looked at had one and I thought it would be a reasonable idea. I was wrong.

I was also wrong on set the stays any old way and figure it out on the water. Most of the time there was plenty of wind, too much really to play about with the stays and mast position. With a good wind, I didn’t notice a problem, but when the winds got light, like say near shore at dusk when trying to dock, I could not steer into the wind. Who knew that too much lee helm could make a boat not able to sail! Had to jump in and pull it the last 100 metres or so, being both unable to sail and unable to motor. That wasn’t the only time we got trapped by no helm in low winds.

Turns out the Minn Kota is only usable in perfect conditions. A bit of wind and rampant weeds is not perfect conditions. It was flat out useless.

So lessons for next time out: Get the gas engine booted up. Set the mast tipped all the way back and hopefully have heavy weather helm so that I can hunt down the sweet spot in between. Get some mechanical advantage so that I can tighten up the furling jib halyard and not have such a saggy headsail. Get a long paddle.

So I get a recommendation on a shop and bring the engine in. I ask to be able to watch the servicing as I am an electrical guy, not mechanical. Never been a motorhead which is unfortunate as nothing electronic made after about 1980 is repairable whereas engines made today look quite similar to those of 30 years ago and are still quite able to be worked on by a home mechanic. I intend to work on this hole in my education. So the lady says sure and sets up an appointment for 10 days hence.

Of course, the 10 days goes by and I show up. No, I can’t watch, insurance you know. So an hour later they come back with fluids changed, but won’t go into reverse. Leave it with us.

Now some 3 weeks after the maiden trip, we head out with newly serviced engine and 4 day plans. We last 1 day before heading home. The engine wouldn’t reliably run. We couldn’t even get started as we launched in Combermere and needed to motor down the narrow Madawaska River to reach Lake Kamaniskeg. Changed fuel filter. Changed fuel. I was highly pissed as I clearly indicated to the shop that the machine had not been run in years and I was completely ignorant. I would have thought that a new fuel filter and a new spark plug for the $15 would have been automatic and a no brainer, but I would have been and was wrong. The fuel filter was certainly old as the white plastic was yellowing, and the spark plug didn’t look virgin either.

I can’t say for sure whether my problems were latent in the engine and the service job was bad, or that the original gas was the problem. I got the first gas from a campsite and it was quite yellow, as compared the more clear colored fuel I later obtained at a busy gas station. Both were billed as 91 octane, which as I understand is likely to have less ethanol in it.

So the next day, I grab the trusty 55 gallon steel drum that had been sitting around doing nothing but rust for the 5 years since my buddy gave it to me, and set it up under the engine which is mounted on the boat. Filled it with water and proceeded to play around. By now, I had another clear plastic fuel filter installed that I purchased from a small marine repair shop in place of the lawn mower filter I got at a hardware store. At one point I saw a rice sized piece of crud float in and out of the filter. It was clearly time to get aggressive with the fuel system.

I cut the hose off downstream of the primer bulb and fuel came streaming out. That part was running free. I poked the compressor blower fitting into the fuel connector and blew out that section and reassembled with a hose clamp. Then I blew out the first little piece of hose inside the engine too. I changed the spark plug, but that was likely not the issue, more likely I flooded the engine and a dry plug fixed that issue. Don’t know for sure what was the magic, but now the engine worked and works to this day. Thanks to hanging around here the past 2 years, I knew that the fuel system and fuel is suspects 1 to 5 in a misbehaving engine, and was the culprit here too.

We headed out again to Belleville for 3 or 4 days and I don’t recall anything being materially wrong. It was windy as stink most of the time. We probably should have not been out, and if I did not already know how to sail, could have had some serious trouble. At one point, we had just reefed main up and it was still too much sail. We had anchored out in Hay Bay and had plans to get to Picton, but my wife was getting nervous with the rough beating to windward, so we turned around and made Deseronto on a broad reach and stayed there for the night anchored out off the island. The next day we got back to Belleville, beating the whole way for about 7 hours. I don’t seem to have a tack angle under 110 or 120 degrees and am not sure yet if it is me or the equipment. Probably both. Anyhow, it wasn’t fast.

The most recent trip was 2 days on Lake Kamaniskeg near Barry’s Bay, followed by 2 days on the Ottawa River at Pembroke. Nothing particularly noteworthy by was of equipment issues or captain incompetence.

I know I want some more sail options. It is frustrating to roll up the 120% because the gusts are pounding, then to only make maybe 3 knots in the lulls under main sail alone. (It is frustrating that I only have roller furling not roller reefing). Of course I am not sure if the winds I encountered are typical, I mostly see people complaining of too little wind in Ontario during the summer, not too much. At the other end, it was a slow drift down from Trenton way one hot afternoon without some kind of light wind downwind sail or even any means to pole out the 120% jib.

All in all it has been fun. My wife says she is very pleased we picked up this boat as it is a much more suitable learning platform than the Ontario 32 will be. The new name will be “Teach Her”, a play on both the fact that she is learning to sail on this boat, and the fact that she is a teacher. I don’t know exactly what it will be but I suspect all the blundering around we do on this boat will save us money equal to the cost of the boat, or more, on an expensive cock up avoided in the Ontario 32.

Cheers,

Boulter

[mrohr]

Super thread and great post. I spent many happy days and weeks cruising a gaff rigged sharpie of 900 lbs. ;no plumbing or electric, compass and hand held gps only. Trailer sailed from Canadian border after circum nav. of L. Champlain to East Cape of southernmost Fla. after first ever(?) solo sail thru Wilderness Waterway in the Everglades. Did this in my fifties after selling my last boat of 10 tons.

Small boats rock! I had just as many adventures ( and misadventures) on my 18 ft sharpie as I had crossing the Atlantic or a number of sketchy deliveries with a clueless crew. Seamanship skills will be sharpened while many very cool places can be visited that are totally inaccessible to larger craft. It is true that any one with camping experience should find cruising in a mini craft an easy transition. There is no lugging of gear,no sleeping (and eating) in dirt and far less biting insect life ( well OK, Everglades excepted).
I have since moved back up to a larger boat but now keep the sharpie at the ready should advancing years mandate a craft that truly meets the definition of "handy".

O yeah, then here is cost.

...........love you all............mike............................... ..........................