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Jim H · 19-02-2006, 17:48

Just got back from another nice winter sail-- bright sun, just over 40 degrees, light winds. My brother and I took out the Cal 24 on the Columbia River again because our C&C 27 is "pickled" at the moment for cold weather (24 degrees again tonight), and I won't be a member of the sailing club much longer.

It was good to see about eight other sailboats out today, including a small fleet of Catalina 27s sailing in formation and chatting on VHF. My brother is sold now on having his own handheld VHF and a GPS unit on our Cal 20.

On the way there, we stopped at Sailing Life and checked out the interior of a Nor' Sea 27. I've always wanted to see the inside of one, and I wasn't disappointed. Very high quality woodwoork and rigging-- a very solid 27 footer. Cute aft cabin and center cockpit design (with boom gallows no less). I can see why people would fall in love with this design (and do long term cruising on them), and we left chanting "Lyle Hess, Lyle Hess, Lyle Hess."

That said, one could have 3 C&C 27s for the cost of one Nor' Sea 27, so... However, for a trailerable boat, I'm not sure that one could do better. Here's a link to the boat we saw:

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...hesailinglife&

Now, and most importantly, who else sailed this weekend? (Don't make me chide you... )

19-02-2006, 18:04

In all fairness, I am immersed in boat work. If it's good enough to sail, it's good enough to fiberglass. (sort of) So I have an excuse.
The Nor Seas 27 is one of my all time favorites. That one is a beautiful example.

Jim H · 04-03-2006, 19:59

Wonderful sail today. Our C&C 27 is still winterized, so we took out the club Cal 24 for a couple of hours. About 50 degrees, but bright sun and solid wind. My daughter was on a play date, so my son, brother and wife and I could be as agressive as we felt, with some significant speed and heeling today. Even my son (eight years old) got some solid helm time and experience. Most of the time I just kicked back and enjoyed the ride.

After taking everyone home, I drove back to the boats. I returned the outboard to our Cal 20 and re-installed it in the motor well. I hope we can take it out tomorrow. Then I went to our C&C 27 and spent about an hour and a half scrubbing down the decks with Boatsoap and a deck brush, almost entirely from the dock since we're lucky enough to have a single-width slip. (Once again, I'm glad we only have a 27 footer, given the cleaning time needed to keep everything shipshape).

The sun went down as I finished, so I dropped into the cabin, cranked up the stereo, and enjoyed a couple of shots of Knob Creek. It was cold, but I could have spent the night. I waved at boats as they came in, and geese swam around the moorings.

Every few years, my wife and I do something brilliant, and I think our boats are shaping up to be the best fluke ever.

So, who else sailed this week? Sorry, Kai Nui, but working on a boat doesn't count. It's a noble endeavor, but if you're not sailing, there's something wrong. (I received that advice from several sailors).

So, who's been out?

Jim H
(from deep in the sickness)

BC Mike · 04-03-2006, 20:47

I was out yesterday in the power boat. Set two marks in place for our first race tomorrow. North wind was still cold. About three more weeks of work before my small boat is ready. Old bottom paint is as hard as rock.
Michael

**Alan Wheeler** · 04-03-2006, 23:51

No boating for us this weekend. We just had our first Southerly blast from the deep south. Not as cold as I expected, but very strong winds and 6m(20ft) sea's. It's blowing at least 50knts outside still. I went out to the boat this afternoon to go up the mast. Thought the wind had dropped somewhat, but was wrong. When I got there it was about 30knts. I thought hmmm, OK so I might climb the mast in that wind strength, but there is no way I am going to release the backstays with me up there in that sort of breeze.
Hey Seafox and Southernman, still standing over there???I guess there were no sunday afternoon club racing huh?

Jim H · 12-03-2006, 11:08

Yesterday, we had our best sail of the year (so far).

It had froze overnight, and was only about 34 degrees in the morning, but the extended forecast suggested we could safely "dewinterize" the Atomic Four in our C&C 27. We also used the Newport solid fuel stove for the first time with a small amount of briquettes, and that cabin was warm and comfy for the three hours we were on the boat on the Columbia river.

In fact, the cabin was so comfy that my son slept for two hours as we sailed.

We had cool temps, but sustanined 15-20 mph winds on the river. I was glad we only had the 126% genoa on, because we were doing over 6 knots at times with the west wind. That meant more than a little tacking and jibing.

My wife and brother were along (his first time on Bailiwick), and we had a great time learning more about how the boat handled. It's great to have a more responsive boat, yet one that felt solid as we navigated up river.

We posted a small photo gallery of the sail here:

http://www.photos.sailingvoyage.com/...ilinBailiwick/

Landing at the dock was easy, and we went home tired, wind-blown and happy. So, who else sailed this weekend?

CaptainK · 12-03-2006, 11:13

Hey Jim.

What year is your Catalina 27?

I just got myself a 1973 Catalina 27 last week. She's a nice boat.

Her name is Panga.

Love your photos!!

Jim H · 12-03-2006, 13:52

Sorry, K, it's a '73 C&C not a Catalina. Good luck with your 27.

Jim H

CaptainK · 12-03-2006, 13:58

Sorry Jim.

I get them abreviations screwed up sometimes.

Thanks for answering anyway!!

12-03-2006, 16:59

Jim, We are rail down at the dock here that past few days, so no sailing, however, you mentioned your Newport stove and charcoal. How well does that work, I have only used wood in mine. What sort of fuel consumption?

Jim H · 12-03-2006, 17:22

Quote:

Kai Nui once whispered in the wind:
Jyou mentioned your Newport stove and charcoal. How well does that work, I have only used wood in mine. What sort of fuel consumption?

I've only used it once, so I'm not an authority, but here's what I know:

1) I have the original manual from '72, and it recommends charcoal briquettes, and recommends against small fire logs. The unit was $300 new back then.

2) I've heard bad reports about these stoves from our surveyor when they are used with solid fuels other than briquettes. She said with other fuels, it can be impossible to keep them from being too hot or too cool.

3) Our surveyor strongly recommended that we replace our exhaust pipe with one that is double-walled, and showed me the discoloration from heat on the wood cowling where it exits the deck.

4) The previous owner said that the stove worked fine for them, but he recommended no more than a single layer of briquettes at the bottom. To light, he had a small pack of fire starters (about 1.5 by 4 inches each).

5) We followed his advice yesterday. We used half of one of the small starters, and about 12-14 briquettes (not much more than a single layer). We started with the lower vent wide open, the one on the door fully closed, and the upper damper wide open. (per the manual).

6) It started with no problems, and we started shutting down the lower vent as soon as it warmed up. It look the cabin from 40 degrees to about 68 degrees in 30 minutes. It then kept the cabin at that temp, or a little higher, for three hours. In the last half hour, we actually opened the door to get the remaining briquettes to burn to ashes, and it could have gone longer if we hadn't.

7) One note: we kept the companion way wide open as we used the stove, and the manual says not to use the stove when sleeping. Keeping vents or windows open around the stove is recommended.

8) For a small boat, I like the simplicity of this stove. The starters and briquettes seem cheap enough, and safe to store. The burn rate seemed good for our smaller boat. We will upgrade the exhaust pipe, and until then be careful to keep it from getting too hot.

That's the report!

Jim H

p.s. I'm sorry to hear you're trapped at the dock. If the weather cooperates, we hope to do our first overnighter in the boat in a couple of weeks (especially if we have the stove for the afternoons and mornings).

12-03-2006, 17:44

Thanks Jim, These units still cost about the same as they did over 30 years ago

I usually cut small logs (3" dia) into 4" long pieces. They burn for about an hour per log, and I have had no problems with using wood. I have used the stove underway with no issues. I have a double collar where the stove exits the coach roof, and have had no problems with heat. Single walled pipe. I was wondering about the briquets for occassional use when I do not feel like cutting logs, or just want to take the edge off when I am working on the boat. Sounds like they are fairly efficient. Thanks.
We have had periods of sustained 40mph winds over the past week or two. No fun for sailing, especially without an engine. When it clocks south, it is very tempting, but but getting back into the slip is a real issue. Hard to short tack down a mile long 200 meter wide channel against 30-40kt winds