Bristol-Blue Lake Michigan Sailing Adventures

Well I packed up and headed for the marina this afternoon.  I spent the morning running around town gathering cleaners and buffing pads.  When I left it was 19 degrees.  By lunch time the temperature had broke freezing we are at about 34. Figured I'd get a jump on cleaning the hull.  After getting to the marina and untarping the boat, I went to get water.  The marina understandably has not turned it on yet but I was hoping.  So plan B work on the boom tent.   I started by sizing the tent poles and clipping them to size. Then I spread the canvas over the boom just to get a look at things.  The final plan the canvas will be below the boom and it will be a free standing structure. Here is a view from the inside.  After a few minutes it started to get warm inside.  Which confirms my suspicions.  This tent will need some screening for ventilation especially once summer arrives.  I even got a chance to test out the water proofing. ...

Someone asked the other day what I sew with.  So, I figured, why not walk you through my set up.  This is what I use: a Singer Stylist.  It is not as strong as my old Singer and it makes a cute little beep beep noise when it hits something too hard. I'd buy something a bit tougher next time or an old machine again but it works for most everything I do. One of the things I particularly like is the clear bobbin window. This helps with really long runs as you can peek under your cloth and plan when you will need to reload. I t also has a ton of cool stitch patterns. For my set up I have this old thread reel I use as a spacer.   Then the sailing thread reel goes on top.   I'm sure the professional seamstresses and sail makers are cringing at this but it works. From here on out I thread the machine as normal. Laying out the material for measuring uses most of the house.  Yeah to open floor plans. I did my cutting with a hot knife after marking it out with c...

So,  it has arrived.  The material for building the boom tent. This stuff is looking really neat.  It is a rip stop nylon, bright and blue.  It has a real interesting waxy coated feeling to it. I'm sure it will repel water.  This is going to be an interesting one once I get it going.  For those wondering where I picked up this fine material, look no further than ebay.  

One week of warmish weather makes a big difference in the boat yard. By warmish I mean in the upper 40's. This Saturday there were several people out and about. I saw ladders and heard people mushing around in the snow. Keep in mind, there is still 18+ inches of snow on the ground. Tip: don't step in your foot prints from last week. They are all full of ice cold water.  Electric cords run across the parking lot. Pry not the best idea given the wetness of the ground.  Those people who made it down the the marina last weekend have clear decks to work on. Tower Marine Panorama from the deck of Kraken It is still a bit cold to do much and with the clouds it seemed a bit colder today of course that could have been my wet feet. (See tip above)  I didn't stay to long but managed to get the chaffing guards off the side stays. They were pretty brittle and the cold weather helped make them even more so. With minimal effort, they just chipped right off.  I have replaceme...

  We have gone this week from single didget temps to mid 40's.   It feels like t-shirt weather to us.  So with this break in the cold we have started to push back against old man winter.  Breaking up the ice on the drive way. There is cement down there ... Hu who knew.     I also took the time to go down and give Kraken the same treatment.  Shoveling off the deck and clearing out the cockpit scuppers.  I figure anything that gives Mother Nature a hand in melting down this snow I'm up for. Start of the day.   Deck cleared but some work to do in the cockpit.  It's not as bad as it looks.  The tarp kept most he snow out. There was just some overflow from the back deck. See there's the build plaque. Fore deck cleared. Scuppers ice free for draining as the remainder of the snow melts off. Interior is nice and dry. Relaxing under the tent.  I suspect one or two more da...