A Wonderful Day

Fresh from the wash. Not half bad for half a century plus.

  It was a wonderful day here in Western Montana. So after dropping The Woman at work I decided to head over to the boat. I'm not quite sure when the idea to take her to a car wash and clean her came about but that's what happened. Trailering for the first time this year was uneventful. I forget how wide a Lido is, a full three inches wider then my truck on each side. One surprising thing was how much dirt came from behind the gunwale guards. Attention was paid to the fo'c'sle as this is the first time it's gotten a really good cleaning.

The interior as clean as it ever has been.

  Then it was back to the boatyard with a very clean Lido 14. One thing I've been meaning to figure out is how to get the mast up single handed. Single handing is not something that is talked about much when it comes to the Lido 14. I plan on doing a lot of single handing this summer so knowing how to get the mast up is important. There is a method of throwing the mast in the air and catching it with a rope but that seemed likely to lead to disaster. A more reasonable solution was needed and was found.

  One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately is a method of holding the mast up while at dock or while using the motor. Lazy jacks or a topping lift are methods of achieving this. A topping lift is mentioned in the Cal Sailing Club Lido Manual, the Cal Sailing Club has since transitioned to the the JY-15, and I figured how hard could it be? Quite simple really. I used 1/4" nylon line from the top of the mast which thanks to the design for the wire halyard has a good attachment point that should be free from sail interference. At the boom end the lift is shackled for easy release. In theory when the sail is raised, it should lift the boom enough to slack the lift and allow for it's use during sailing. We'll see how that pans out.

With the topping lift.

  The jam cleats on the centerboard that control the centerboard uphaul and the boom vang are designed for 1/4" inch line, not the ancient 5/16th lines I had been using. It was a simple enough fix using the left overs from the topping lift. I also fashioned a permanent bow mooring line from my old mainsheet. In many of the illustrations  I've seen you moor a Lido bow into the wind, perpendicular to the dock. Now when you have 90° sailing only docks that's a great way to moor. But when power boaters are using the dock that is set up for ease of those with a motor and a recommended time limit, things get more interesting. I'm not sure how many power boaters we irritated our first time out at Polson but it was a few. But the fact of the matter is we've needed a dedicated mooring line at the bow and now we have one. I also replaced the 5/16th line on the trailer winch with the rest of the mainsheet.

Clean interior. Just needs sails and water.

  All in all a very productive day. Getting the boat ready for the season has been frustrating at times but as launch day draws near it seems as if things are falling together as they should. Of course today was not all sunshine and roses. The tiller, which I managed to damage on the last sail of the season, still needs to be made ready. The rudder pin, which I've managed to drop into Flathead Lake at least once, needs to be semi -permanently attached so it'll be harder to lose. A new Fish, Wildlife, and Parks sticker needs to be obtained for the year. The motor needs a prop and a test. The portside bunk on the trailer is misaligned causing the fender to rub against the bottom of the hull. And there are electrical gremlins to track down. There are always electrical gremlins to track down.

Could be dockside or at anchor.

  I'm afraid to say not much as been done on the Teal front. I've moved the trailer and boat to my yard and once the Lido is good to go work for the season shall start in earnest. The front combing needs to be replaced and the new sails set up. In addition a new dagger board needs to be made as the current one takes water.
  Boats are a great distraction. Time flies when you're working on a boat and it's a pleasant change with the weather and all from the cold grip of winter. The lake is still cold though.