The last two weeks I’ve been working on the rudder. We took it off, opened it up to assess the damage and then slowly put it back together. This is my first time working with epoxy and fiberglass so it was an awesome learning experience.
Remove fiberglass and scoop out mud.
Clean out the void.
Close up of the pin.
Epoxy and adhere the pin and cracks.
Lay fiberglass for support.
Add epoxy filler.
Sand surface down.
Build up area with fiberglass mat.
Layer over with more mat around the leading edge.
Layer fiberglass over mat.
Another layer of fiberglass and sand it down.
More epoxy filler for the final build up.
Sand it down to shape it.
After opening it up I discovered a void that was there from manufacture. The material inside appears to be some sort of epoxy filler. At some point the rudder cracked open and so the inside was filled with mud. The rudder post and pins are bronze and extend into the rudder via smaller pins for structural support.
This weekend we crewed for Jonathan Adams on Laughing Gull (hull #197) in the Annapolis NOOD Regatta. It was exciting for Sara and I as it was the first time we got to sail an Alberg 30. There were three days of sailing with light winds on Friday and Saturday. The wind picked up on Sunday but came with rain so the whole weekend was a bit challenging.
Preparing to race!
We learned to put up a spinnaker under pressure and then fly it. Then to jibe with a spinnaker, I still need to think through that procedure. In addition to the frequent and multiple tacks it was fantastic to get used to sailing heeled hard over.
Overall Laughing Gull came in third out of six boats. Congrats to the winners and to all the competitors involved!
Finally we are at the boat in Galena, MD. For the past five days we’ve really started the work. The boat needs some work on the rudder, we’re going to strip and repaint the bottom and I would like to remove a knot-meter and use the hole as a thru hull for a deck wash down pump. Our days have consisted of waking up, doing breakfast together, doing some morning devotions and then trying to figure out how to do the work that needs done.
Rudder Shoe
I’ve pulled off the rudder shoe, started drilling a new hole which I’ll need to tap in order to screw in a new rudder pin. One of the guys here at the boat yard says that I should wait until I have the boat in the travel lift so it’ll be easier to do the work under the keel. I totally get that, it’s been a pain in the butt to be working under the keel up to this point.
We’ve also started to strip the bottom paint from the hull.
Scraping the Hull
It’s kind of a tough sell as to what is the best method. We’ve tried sanding and scraping. Scraping so far seems to be better but it’s still slow going. Three days and we’re still only about a quarter done. After the scraping is done I’ll have to go over and sand anyway. Pretty messy no matter what anyone says.
Once we get all the paint off the bottom and sand it we’ll cover it with a barrier coat and then put on a couple coats of anti-fouling paint. Plus a boot stripe. Got to have a boot stripe.
Last week we had the opportunity to set sail from Fort Lauderdale, FL down to Biscayne Bay for a whole week. We went with the Blue Water Sailing School on a Dufour Gib’ Sea 43 captained by Jaye. It was a great experience, we got used to sleeping, traveling, cooking and maintenance on a boat. And we were able to take away some great ideas for our own boat.
We showed up at Fun in the Sun Marina in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday the 7th without knowing what to expect. We showed up a little early and met two other students, David and John. David is a developer for a publishing company in Indiana. John is an accountant from New York with a passion for numbers and adventure! He’s skilled in scuba diving, horseback riding, flying airplanes and now sailing. David ended up assigned to another class for the week aboard “Gitana.” So our crew consisted of Sara, John and myself. Captain Jaye was our skipper and instructor.
After meeting Jaye and boarding our vessel “Third Wish” we were assigned berths and started by going over the boat systems and finding all the safety equipment. The next day we headed started on the ICW then out the Port Everglades inlet and to the Atlantic. We motor sailed down to the Biscayne Bay through Miami Harbor.
Miami Harbor
Most of our time was spent in Biscayne Bay where we drilled and practiced navigating. We anchored two nights off Key Biscayne, one night in Miami’s Marine Arena and once at a slip in Dinner Marina. Navigating in and around the marina we practiced docking and picking up a mooring ball, easier said than done!
South of Key Biscayne there’s a neat little area called Stiltsville with an interesting history. We charted a course through the Biscayne Channel one day to go out and get a closer look.
Stiltsville
Once we got out of the channel and into the open water we happened to find “Gitana” the other sail boat out from Blue Water Sailing School. Naturally a little light-hearted competition ensued. Gitana’s crew had to shake out a reef and once done it didn’t look like we’d be able to take them but then they made a fatal error and tacked allowing us to tack ahead of them and steal their wind! Pulling away from them was a treat and they even took some parting shots at us in the form of rotten fruit directed at our stern. Thankfully no damage to our vessel.
Pulling away from “Gitana”
Coming back into Biscayne Bay through Cape Florida Channel we happened upon a small fishing trawler powerless in the water. The family aboard didn’t speak English very well but Sara acted as an interpreter and learned that their fuel line had malfunctioned and they accepted a tow back to Rickenbacker Marina. We attempted to set up a bridle tow but it quickly became apparent that we needed practice with our knots. Captain Jaye had to quickly help us get them right and then tossed the line to the other boat where it was tied to their bow. After getting them to the marina and saying good-bye most of our light was gone and we took off to the Arena to anchor for the night.
It was an amazing week. Learning the ropes of a larger vessel makes me feel more confident to take out “Rose Anne” in the Spring and practice all that we learned. Also getting a feel for cooking and sleeping on the boat helps us to know what to expect. And of course meeting new people, hearing about their lives and working alongside them is I think one of the most meaningful parts of our time. We already miss Jaye and John and look forward to seeing them again!
We returned to Annapolis Sailing School to rent a Rainbow 24 and practice the skills we learned over the summer. It was well worth the trip as we need the experience! This was the first time that Sara and I sailed together without anyone else with us. It was an overcast day with winds from the northeast at about 15 knots. So we went ahead and reefed the main before heading out. We got out to the bay pretty quickly on a broad reach practicing jibing the whole way out. Once we got out out of the traffic we pulled in to a beam reach and continued to jibe and tack back and forth. I attempted a man overboard figure eight maneuver but didn’t want to luff the sails as the wind was causing them to whip sharply.
At the helm, helping with a jibsheet
Coordinating the turns and walking the boom over took some getting used to. When Sara was at the helm and walking the boom over for the first time she didn’t let go of the mainsheet and was pulled right across the bench! I turned around to see what was happening and her shoulder was bumped up against the leeward cockpit coaming!
As we were returning to the dock we had our first experience heeling! It took us quite by surprise! I asked Sara to pull the jib in to close hauled as I turned up into the wind and pulled the main in. Sure enough we heeled right over and I struggled with the tiller for a while to figure out what to do! I was too surprised to even estimate how far over we were heeling or to even think through what needed to be done. This happened twice more as I struggled to figure out the balance! It wasn’t until we were driving back home and Sara was reading about heel that we finally got to think through it and figure out what to do next time.
In all it was a great first experience. We definitely want to get out and explore more of the bay. It was tough staying within the bounds of the school when we wanted to just sail off into the sunset. Looking forward to the Spring when we can get Rose Anne in the water!
Over Labor Day weekend we took a class at Annapolis Sailing School to begin learning how to sail a sailboat. We spent three days going over the basic physics of sailing, all the different parts of a small keelboat, safety procedures, and basic navigation. By the end of the week we were performing sailing drills confidently and received our ASA 101 certification.
We met some great guys, Mark and Matt who were also from Pennsylvania. Hope to sail with them again soon!
Our class at Annapolis Sailing School
We were learning with a Rainbow 24 sloop in pretty light winds for the first two days. We tacked and jibed back and forth and back and forth for probably a good three hours each day. Then we went further out and practiced figure eights and man overboard drills. On the third day we got a good breeze and practiced reefing before we went out. Once we were out on the water we released the reef and made full use of the sail.
