Bristol-Blue Lake Michigan Sailing Adventures

 Down to take some measurements today.  It's pretty frosty but the cover is holding up.

I discovered that my Mirage 24 fore triangle set up is very similar to that of a J-24. So I was able to pick up a good condition used racing sail for cheap to replace my aging Genoa. This weekend I laid it over my old sail to check the dimension would work and then got to work converting it for my furler. This is an easier conversion than last year's as the sail leading edge is sized perfectly for my furler application.  Here is the link for the process from last time.  This was much easier I simply removed the hanks and sewed the sail tape on.  No cutting or dimension changes for this sail.   Merry Christmas Here is a Quick Video I clipped together of the Stitching. @chrisbroadwater0 Sail Repair for Woodstock. ##mirage24 bristolblueblogspot.com ♬ Holly Jolly Christmas - Michael Bublé

  @chrisbroadwater0 ♬ original sound - Chris Broadwater

 The season has come and gone.  I have not done a lot of posting this year in the blog but we have sailed once or twice every week this summer.  A lot has gone right this season we day sailed, weekend over, and have had a good time sailing our Mirage 24 up and down the coast.  This season we pulled late but the weather here was not conducive to sailing on the weekends. So we visited the dock and kept to our own area social distancing being the theme of the season.  Removing the Genoa from the furler.   Bimini removed for the season.  This photo is mostly to remind me how to put the framing back next spring.  With everything off the boat looks a bit lonely there in the water.  Once on the hard, it is time to winterize the sink, head, and drains.  This season we are leaving the mast up in the boatyard. Now comes the process of figuring out how to frame the deck for tarping.  The neighboring boat went the shrink wrap route.  ...

 

 The major reason we sold or Cape Dory was to spend more time on board and to do some weekend trips. To this end, the Mirage has really been a great boat for our family. This last weekend we took off from our house Friday night and spent the weekend aboard.  Upon arrival, we started with hoisting a few flags.  Friday night we hung out at Tower Marine. Myles literally with the hanging spent a good part of the evening in the hammock. After months of cooking at home, we decided this would be a carry-out weekend. We decided to go with Blue Star Cafe for dinner. If you are in Saugatuck you should check this place out.  They have great food and really do a wonderful job giving back to the community.  Saturday Morning we ran home and grabbed our dingy. Then stopped off at Penny Royal Cafe for Breakfast. The weather was not looking promising so we stayed in Lake Kalamazoo playing with the dingy and went for a swim at the pool. Saugatuck's Harbor is super boater friend...

Sometimes refinishing is not the way to go. Our Mirage 24's teak handrails have been in pretty rough shape and I decided it was time to do something before I get a splinter in my hand. While they seem sturdy enough they are starting to crack and show their age I removed one and started to sand it but by the time I get it looking good, It will be pretty thin in some areas. It is time for them to go. One of the things about owning a boat is sometimes you can't just find the part you need right off the shelf.  I went down to Wolf's Marina and they had several of these grab handles in stock but none of them fit my boat so It's time to fabricate something.   For $15.00 I found this teak block in Wolf's scrap area. A crazy bargain for this bock. I was able to get my brother to rip it down on his table saw into pieces for me.     Next, I set up my belt sander and band saw and got to work. The pieces started taking shape pretty quickly.  To get the hand grip...