First Sailing Weekend. And More Work.

Fat Cat 2 #001 floating at the dock.

    The season as been for me at least ongoing for two weeks and what a busy two weeks it's been. I've had some wonderful sailing, broke the boat, and am set to to do the sailing part again. But we'll take it one step at at time. Saturday the  14th was the first day Kat Boat was on the water. And it was wonderful. Drove down the lake Saturday late what with the work that needed doing. But thanks to the help of fine friends the work got done. I launched solo and as usual my first one of the year wasn't as smooth as I would have liked but it did get the job done. I'm sure I amused the small crowd on the deck of the house next to the ram but one should speak nicely to a boat. 

    A bit about the work that was done. When I first got Kat Boat nee Julie L. she had a few things that were upgrades to her rig. One was a different set of gaff jaws from plans and the other was the Sandell Tabernacle. In the six years I've had the vessel both had their pluses and minuses. First the tabernacle. I was and am very impressed with the engineering that allowed for the rig to be raised from the ground. If you have a Fat Cat it may well be worth doing for your particular circumstance. It certainly does make raising the mast easier. But it did have some issues. Mainly that the holes for the pivoting bolt were not sleeved meaning they didn't stay the same size. Same with the pin bolt that held the mast in place. Finally it didn't pull the mast to it's factory rake meaning the boom was low in the cockpit and the COE was every so slightly off.  By eliminating this system I've returned the rake to design and the boom clears the cockpit by a few more inches. Kat Boat lives in a yard now so I should only step the mast once a season. And honestly the mast isn't that difficult for me to pick up and drop in the spring and pull in the fall. 

    The gaff jaws as reimagined by the builder were pretty slick. They featured triangular gussets that allowed the mast to rest flush with the boom and have the top of them still clear the tabernacle. The builder said he broke the jaws several times on a previous build and wanted to do better. Last year they developed a sticking issues particularly on dropping the rig that was proving troublesome. The plans specify 1" plywood for the jaws and that I believe is a mistake. We did a set out of oak based on the plans and a set we saw in Seattle on S/V Bay Lady. They seem to work just fine. I also reduced the throat halyard from 2:1 to 1:1. 

New gaff jaws. Still a WIP but coming along.

    First sail of the year was just after launch. We were motoring south along the big dock and I thought "Why not raise the sail?" which should be a feeling familiar to any sailor.  The new jaws slid up the mast easy and she took the wind and we were off. There wasn't much wind but there was enough. We sailed around the big dock, did a lap of Dayton Bay and lowered the rig. That was the big test and I'm pleased to say the vessel passed with flying colors. The differing halyard ratios take some adjustment but over all I'm very pleased with how it all works. 

Evening on the water.

    I returned to the mooring ball and got settled in for the night. It is always amazing to me how simply right my own little boat feels. Knowing that everything aboard has a purpose and a place.  That the term sitting headroom in small pocket cruiser is different then in a bigger boat. The lake was calm and sleep came easily. Waking up to unfamiliar surroundings is always interesting.  But the sound of water on the hull and the view of the overhead as light filters in through the curtained portholes never gets old. Breakfast was had and after a few hours of boat chores and general lazing about it was time to go sailing. The boys were going to meet me so I didn't go far. Just cruised the bay a few times. That is really how you should do a first weekend. There will be time for grand adventures later. 

Morning on the mooring ball. 

    Eventually the boys arrived and I took them aboard for an all to brief sail. The weather was acting up and while we didn't forecast anything to terrible we'd much rather not. So a few laps with them and it was time to head to the dock. We dropped Dan off to pick up the tru
ck and trailer and motored over to the dock. There may have been a slight alliding with a pier post on the big dock but we made it to the dock nonetheless. After tying up I needed to get my keys. Now it should be noted the lake is down about a foot and a half and in a smaller vessel that means more then on a larger vessel. Well one thing led to another and I got into a fight with gravity and ended putting my foot through my starboard seat. The one I has reinforced last season.  

This is a lack of bueno. 

    One thing The Typesetter is great for is perspective. And he's right, it's no that bad. An hour of work and then overnight and it'll be as right as rain. And it's a good thing it's raining THIS weekend as no sailing is happening. The Cedar Island Odyssey is going to have to wait for better weather. And we'll spend an evening and get that fixed. YC Opener is coming up and the self appointed flagship needs to be on the water. 

Can't resist pictures of my boat. 

Spring Work Begins

First look under the tarp for the season. All was snug and tight.

    It's that time of the year, when catboats come home to roost. Well it's only temporary as they are prepared to splash in the coming weeks. Facebook is full of mast stepped forward boats either about to go or in the water. And SV Kat Boat is no different. She's come south from her roost in a very tumultuous boat yard and is once more safely sitting in the front yard. There are parts missing, the annual USGCA Vessel Inspection is looming in a few days and a launch date is set with an overnight dinghy cruise event coming soon. It's busy as it should be. 

With the leeboard and guard removed.

    There are  few major areas of work to be done on the boat this year. It seems the leeboard guard has been cracked and will need to be either repaired or replaced. The guard takes a bit of abuse but that's why it's there and we're pleased the hull behind it remains sound. The gaff proper actually came back before the boat. 2024 was a season of unsatisfactory performance from the gaff in the area of lowering. The gaff didn't always hang up except when you actually needed it too and going forward while doable is not ideal. So The Typesetter has taken it upon himself to redo the jaws in a more traditional fashion. I picked up a band saw, most likely a former meat saw, for future wood work. The phrase "Just use a bandsaw" was getting more and more common in our talks and it became apparent one was needed. 

Cutting gaff jaws. The saw does remarkably well for what it is.

Roughed out gaff jaws.

    There is a history of gaff jaws with this particular boat.  The original builder actually built another Michalak catboat the now unavailable Vector. This racy narrow hulled boat showed the error of the plywood gaff jaws that are specified and he broke several pair. This meant that the Kat Boat nee Julie L sported a gaff design of the builders. But it's come full circle and we are now fashioning jaws rooted in both tradition and good oak. We'll know pretty quickly if they work and if so what needs to be done to make them work.

    It's going to be a busy year. Yacht Club stuff aside the Western Montana Small Boat Association and the Inland Northwest Chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association have two major events planned. First up is Cedar Island Odyssey, based on the short story of the same name. This overnight event serves as an opening to our small boat season. And the big event this year is the Wild Horse Messabout an overnight in Skeeko Bay and a day sail to Big Arm and return. All of the information can be found on our website.

Kat holding a Cat with a catboat named Kat Boat.