Bristol-Blue Lake Michigan Sailing Adventures

Here we go my first ever edited video.  Watch out J.J. Abrams here I come.  Ha Ha.  I have a bit more practicing to do.   For the record Myles is not a land lover but it just fit with the music so well I had to post it.  He's been on boats with us since he was just a few weeks old. Here's an old shot of him up on the shelf of the last boat. 

It's winter not much going on here on a Sunday night.  I was looking through some of my old videos.  Not good ones but hey they are of the Typhoon so here is something for the blog. Typhoon at sea level.  Really bad videos:  Get ready to get sea sick from the shaking camera.    Got your Dramamine,  sea bands and ginger cookies go ahead push play.

  Last spring I took my first attempt at making a tiller cover for my Typhoon, but it ended up being to tight.  Then our basement flooded ruining this prototype.  My spring attempt was basically a giant tube sock.  It was a massive pain pulling the end back through on itself.  "Sunbrella is stiff stuff"   and when it didn't fit.  I had a few choice words.    So I just blew it off for the season and went sailing.   Well the summer sun is harsh and I want my varnish to last a bit longer so I decided to give it another go.  This time I plan to take the guess work out of it and make a tiller cover that is adjustable.  Similar to the one I had on my last boat  Shenanigans .   Making it adjustable will solve many of the challenges one faces with a Typhoon tiller.  The first challenge the arc.  These tillers have quite a bend in them as they come up from the sole of the cockpit floor. This arc makes it mo...

Our First snow came last night.  The weather man was calling for it.  We didn't believe them.  We've had snow here in October before but never this early.  I suspect we are going to get a lot of snow this winter.

We're waiting for ice boating season to begin and word is we may get our first snow tonight.  I kinda of doubt it but the weather man is calling for a chance.  Any ways no point in missing out on a good breeze.  We headed down to the beach stunt kites in the trunk.     First we set up.  Then we fly.   Soaring Beach exploration team.       

With summer season coming to an end here in the North it is time to focus on the other boating season.   ICE BOATING!    This weekend I pulled down my new DN hull and got the second coat of paint on it.  I picked up an incomplete hull last year at the Gull Lake Ice Yacht Club  swap meet to replace my old hull.  I managed to get all the rigging moved over and the 1st coat of paint on before last season, but never got the time to get a second coat of paint on it or get it out on the ice.  After the second coat the blue paint gleams as you can see the reflections of the ceiling in the pictures below.   I can't get over just how much sleeker this new hull is than my old one.  It makes me think perhaps I need to update the rig that goes on top off it.  Well maybe at this years swap meet.    Is it time for winter to start?   I"m not a big fan of these intermediary seasons.  I could skip Thanksgiving.     ...

It was a wet wet weekend here.  It rained all Saturday and Sunday.  Regardless I felt I needed to get the cover on.  The leaves here are beginning to fall at and accelerated rate.  I don't want them all over the deck and plugging the scuppers up so out in the rain I go.  Step 1 Ribbing  I use PVC pipe's to create a rib cage on the mast.  Here on the west coast of Lake Michigan we have been know to wake up to 4+ ft of snow, so the ribbing helps keep the snow from crushing down onto the deck.  While not a perfect system it helps.  Step 2 cover with plastic.  I like the clear plastic you find in the paint section of most big box hardware stores $14.00   Step 3  Bunch up the plastic in a ball and tie it down to the trailer.  The final product a tented boat prepped for winter.