Setting Her Up

 One of my favorite rituals is the after sail ritual with my boat. When she has done her duty and deserves some TLC for a job well done. I think these times with a boat, or any hobby, are important. When I'm on the water, I depend on my boat for my safe return home. Call it what you will but I have and will continue to view her as a living thing and as such deserving of kind words and attention. I've found things powered by steam and old cars are no different.
 First thing to do is to step the mast and raise the sails. This shakes out the rigging and makes inspecting it all the easier. Then it's on to sweeping the interior and inspecting the fore and aft bulkheads. Tonight this included tightening the eye bolts at the rear of the cockpit. One of them holds a Race-lite swivel block that has a habit of catching at the most inopportune times, leading to poor sail handling verging on dangerous. The Typesetter noticed them moving on the last sail so I decided to limit the movement of the eye. This involved removing the seat and getting into various contorted positions with a screw driver and crescent wrench. This lead to a general inspection and tightening of all screws, nuts and bolts on the entire vessel.
 The next step is prepping the vessel to sail at the next available moment. Part of the joy of a small boat is the impulsive sail. The more ready your boat, the more impulsive you can be. Having got the sailing out of my system I set the boat for full readiness. Anchor and anchor bag stowed forward. Two PFD's for captain and possible crew. A few good reading books in aft compartment as well as a small store of water, foul weather gear and ball bungees. Everything I need for a day on the pond.
 The final step is tarping the boat for storage. I use an old tent fly and secure it with railroad spikes. This keeps the water and tree needles out of the bilge.
 Today I found several interesting things I think are worthy of note. I finally got around to measuring my sails and found more then ten square feet I didn't know existed. Andy provided me a sail plan of 45sqft when I questioned him about my sails. Originally the Annas Discors sported eighty square feet of sail so a reduction seemed prudent. But according to my calculations and not to imprecise measurements I have 57.8sqft, very close to the 59sqft Leg O' Mutton specified in the original plans.
 One thing that has been annoying me of late is my seat. So today I decided to fix it. The seat itself is warped and the original Chinese pot metal screws appeared to have been attached by a palsied blind man. It's a amazing what wood screws can do. Seat now is firmly attached and ready for more use.
 One of the briefs in the making of this crafts was for a lot of strings to play with it. I'm thinking of adding one more. I've found that the inability to drop my jib has caused issues. So I'm going to rig a downhaul with appropriate line and tackle. This will make docking and a much happier experience. No longer will I clamber forward and flail at the jib hoping I don't go into the drink. Hopefully I'll have pictures of that project.
 Also my boat needs a flag. I've looked at plenty of pictures and if I have my way Old Glory will be hanging from the gaff the next time I set to see.
 Don't think I'll be heading out on the brimy deep until after Independence day. I could be wrong though.  Actually, I kind of hope I am.

Sailing, sailing!

 Storms are forecast this weekend which puts a damper on my sailing activities, but it's been a busy week. Wednesday I met up with The Typesetter for some Teal sailing. After getting the boat in the water I noticed some major differences in the wind. It should be noted the wind blows W-E usually on the pond so you can beat to the western bowl and then run to the eastern one. After some experimentation I found the wind to be hard out of the NNW. This meant almost no ground gained on the port tack and very little on the starboard. I wouldn't call it frustrating but it did change the way I went up the pond. In sailing I've learned sometimes you take what you can get and patience is a virtue when you're not really trying to get anywhere. And also that it's fun to sail literal rings around your sailing partner because you can.
 Thursday I took my friend Spark out sailing. Of course with a passenger the wind did not cooperate, but even in light winds S/V Blue Flower sails. If you can call drifting against the wind sailing. I discovered the first day I got the boat out that she'll sail in nothing. Give me good wishes and some unicorn burps and we'll make way upwind. It's a bit disconcerting, especially if you're not trying to go anywhere at the time. I think it comes down to the fact the boat is amazingly well balanced and set up right. Or that Andy just got lucky.
 People are continually impressed with the boat. This only increases my desire to finish the few projects I have and really make her stand out. The plan is now that I've sailed to get the paint and varnish on by the end of July. With the boat here at the residence I have a feeling that will go much faster now. But I am looking forward to a very full and rewarding 2012 sailing season.

To Every Season a Beginning

Let me see if I can remember the proper sequence of events. First there was disaster. Then a catatrophe. I fell in a pond. Then smooth sailing. And I've only had my first sailing day of the season! Yes the flagship of the Western Montana Home Built Boat Association and the Unofficial Tall Ship of the Circle J Trailer Court the S/V Blue Flower has had her first sailing day of the season!
I woke up this morning needing to go sailing. The weather was perfect, the kind of cloudless hot day that promises rising wind in the afternoon. Only two problems: My boat was ten miles from my house and it wasn't on a legal trailer.
The trailer itself comes from the indomitable Andy Linn who brought it up from Oregon. That coastal and smart state it seems does not require documentation for a trailer as small as this one. Not to mention it had been improved in the care of Mr. Linn. So no title, registration, or plates. After procrastination I learned fixing problem was simplicity itself. I needed to get a VIN assigned to the trailer, have a badged officer inspect and sign off on it, then pay a one time registration fee. Simple.
Except it wasn't. I called in The Typesetter for a bit of help prepping the boat. It took us fifteen minutes cold to get the spars and mast on, rig the main and jib and start trailer sailing. With that done I went to work with an eight dollar Harbor Freight stamp set to put my VIN on the tongue of the trailer. The final step was getting an officer of the law to inspect my work. I called the non emergency number and was informed an officer would show up as soon as possible. Half of Tom Clancy's Debt of Honor later I called again, simply wondering how things were going. I was told it was a very busy day for Missoula's Finest and there was no ETA at this time. Time to take matters into my own hands. I rigged the boat and trailer for motion and set out to the county courthouse with a completly illegal trailer in tow behind my Beetle intending to simply sort it out.
I forgot to mention I purchased a trailer jack as well as the stamp set at Harbor Freight. A wise investment it turns out. Makes single handling the trailer much more user friendly and far less awkward. If you have a trailer I suggest one if you don't have one. Beats the log I was using to prop it up when not in use.
I arrived at the Treasurers office, took a number, waited, and was informed they could not inspect my trailer. No problem the cop shack is across the street. I flagged down an officer and the deed was done. Eighty odd dollars and a printer mishap later I walked out with my plate. Hung it on the trailer with a few paper clips and prepared to hit the water. Did I mention the side chewing my boat took due to a poorly placed ratchet strap? No matter, I was going sailing!
Arrived at the local scum pond just as The Typesetter was getting out. He had been rowing his Teal, the S/V Pica and was knackered. I suggested he dump the sweeps and we form a Teal armada. The wind had risen quite a bit and he did not seem interested in raising sail for it, never mind the armada. I pushed on and splashed S/V Blue Flower. The locals seemed impressed. Seze seemed happy to be in the water once more but it was a front. She was scheming for revenge. With much fanfare I pushed off from the dock. The rudder pin came loose from it's gudgeons and I screamed across the pond with a bone in my teeth right into a  submerged tree on the opposite shore. I'm guessing it must have looked quite impressive right to the point I failed to turn and ran into a tree.
I first tried to remove my Teal from the tree by using profanity but that ploy failed. So it was into the drink and much fussing and maneuvering to get the boat turned round and the sail depowered. Robinson Crusoe would have been proud.Underway once more and I could not make against the wind. So it was off to another shore where The Typesetter was kind enough to lend a hand. With a better shape in my sail I managed to beat towards the dock until my boat refused to answer her helm and sails and I crashed into the far shore once more.
It is my guess my boat did not like being locked in a garage all winter and decided she could do what she pleased now that she was on the water. As I fussed and fretted we had a long conversation on who was in fact the boat and who was the captain and what that meant. I think she listened.
Throughout the preceding I had taken my main sheet from triple purchase to hand held. It was a life saver. Although fine on the boats Blue Flower impersonates it is simply to much with varied winds and a very light sail and boom. When hit by a gust the response is just slow enough to be dangerous and the sheet itself was not long enough to truly spill the wind and depower the sail. Single purchases will be the next major upgrade and it will be well worth the small expense and labor.
Out of nowhere a perfect sail shape emerged, the sun came out and the wind died down. I found the boat responsive on all points of sail. I shook out the jib as I had been running main only, sheeted home and Blue Flower hiked up her skirts and took off like a scalded cat. The next two hours was wonderful sailing. We tacked and gybed, ran and beat. Came close to hull speed a few times and impressed the natives with a very slick looking docking maneuver. This was the sailing I had been dreaming about. I closed down the park and am resolved to return next week. Worth it all and can't wait for the next time!
P.S. You may have noticed a lack of pictures. The reason is lack of camera.