Bristol-Blue Lake Michigan Sailing Adventures

Around a year ago I published a post about sailing alone with a three year old.  Today I thought hey he's a whole year older.  Sailing alone with a four year old is different than a three year old.  Sure three and four year old's both want to help and be engaged.    However the four year old is far more capable of "helping out" on the Typhoon.  This can be good, it can also be bad. Four year old's remember stuff.  They know where you put those sail ties and can retrieve them for you. Four year old's remember stuff and will tell on you . Four year old's are stronger so when it comes to light wind days they can actually trim the jib.  "Maybe next year we will learn to tie off cleats." Four year old's are stronger so they can break things more readily. Four year old's can help rinse the deck with a hose when you are cleaning. Four year old's have their own ideas about how clean the boat should be, and may fill yo...

I bit the bullet here and decided it was time to suck it in and climb my way to the back of the Typhoon.  This has been some time in the planning but just hasn't happened until today.  I've been using my Genoa blocks for my Spinnakers for sometime now. With the new full mast length spinnaker the time has come to set up some proper blocks at the stern of the boat.   Into the black abyss Sky light. Thru bolts In the following picture you can see the difference this will make.  When I'm heading up I can get a lot more out of the kite turning 10-12 degrees higher. Genoa, Spinnaker blocks  For my final set up I plundered the blocks and stand up springs off my ice boat. The mount is through the taft rail one bolt and the rear is actually a screw.  I was a bit worried a bolt on the aft might puncture the hull.  I can tie off the sheet lines at the rear dock cleats or run my line backup into the cockpit. Final set up 

It's been a while since I've posted.  Oh well, I've been busy sailing.  I finally stopped long enough to do the maintenance coat on the varnish.  My wife got home from work and I made a B-line for the door.  I spent a warm warm summer evening scuffing and coating the varnish.  I thought I'd done a pretty decent job with the exception of one location where I knew I had a run but couldn't get it to work out.  I figured I'd scuff it out in a few days and touch up the area. Cape Dory Typhoon at sun set. Now the problem.  I ended up with a heavy dew setting in that night.  The result was a a glazed effect on all of the teak I'd done the night before.   Glazed teak from early dew. I was less than thrilled.  After a couple of days of grousing about it, I headed down again.  This time on a warm/hot morning.  I ended up scuffing up all the teak with some 220 sand paper and then going over it again with a fine 3M scuff pad. ...

Masthead Spinnaker Fitting on " Kraken ".  Cape Dory Typhoon.  Cape Dory Typhoon Spinnaker Fitting. Cape Dory Typhoon Cape Dory Typhoon Spinnaker Set up.

So this season I have been gearing up and changing my rigging around bit by bit as I find pieces here and there.  My ultimate goal is to  rig up a mast top spinnaker for use later in the season.  So far, I've got the mast head halyard set up.  Today I took the next step and installed a removable compression post.  My Typhoon has the saddle supports that came with older Cape Dorys but I thought it best to add a bit of extra support before trying out the mast head spinnaker. So here is what you will need:  A nice piece of teak, two other (less nice) hardwood boards for underneath the floor cut to 4 1/2 inches,  epoxy, 3M permanent mounting tape and a master lock adjustable door jam.. I routered the teak to give it a soft edge for when I bang my head into it.   Nice board ready to install. Setting the Teak upper. I drilled holes in the back of the teak plate to match the mast step through bolts.  I did not remove the mast step and ...

Just out for a sail on a nice clear day.  Lake Kalamzoo was fun as usual.  A little lunch and a bit of sailing.  We even pulled out the small spinnaker and played with it for a bit.  Check out the pictures below. Cloud Through the Spinnaker. J A wrinkle in TY. Look at that. Mom said smile.  The Headless helms woman.

Trip 3 out for the season already.  Most boats are still sitting in their cradles here in Michigan.  They are preparing and the boat yard is full of sanders, ladders, paint brushes, rollers and saws.   I have defiantly found one advantage of the smaller boat.  Less work more time on the water.   I have taken the Typhoon out 3 times already this year!  Our last big boat we took out 6 times the whole season. This boat is working great for sailing.    This last trip out was a blast to.  The wind was stiff but shifty.  Changing 20 degrees at times as I crossed the lake.  The toe rail was buried in the lake several times as I crossed the surface of the lake.  When I got back to the dock the deck and port lights where still wet.  A sure sign you have had a good day sailing.  I even pulled out my smart phone and tried out my Sailing Tactician App .  This app has been fun to play with. ...