Dreaming of Smaller Boats

Schock's definitive family sailboat doing what it does best. Photo by S/V Desdemona

  This will end up being one of this rambly posts that those of us in the boat building/owning blogsphere are infamous for. I have several already on this very blog so add some wood to the fire, get a good foot reast and bile up a pot of tay. We need to talk about the next boat.
 Have no fear for Essie dear reader. I still have great plans for her. This season will be new standing rigging, new sails and continued improvements overall to increase the livability and performance of her as a scheduled daysailer.When it comes to introducing friends to sailing or going later afternoon cruising on a bay there is no better boat that I can imagine. As I've sailed her this season I can't help but think that W.D. Schock had it right when he figured out her lines. Truly a classic boat and a joy to have on the water. But I can't make her become what she is not no matter how hard I try. She will never be an limited expidition solo sailboat.
  Sure I could keep trying to cram her into a space she really doesn't belong. There are plans to really try and make her capable of spending the night in a bay somewhere in relative comfort. And I think that can happen. And one of her slightly older sisters did make the Texas 200 successfully. But how well designed was the boat for that application? She's at home cruising with four people out for an afternoon or dashing around buoys and at that she excels. In fact I'd put her up against any vessels in her class, all comers. But the downsides to solo work are higher then I'd like.
 She really is a crew boat. At least one other hand is so nice to have it's almost a necessity. From rigging and launching to tacking and retrieving it's better with four or more hands. Her weight of 310lbs is rather unmanageable with one and even with a stick going forward will always be a chore. She has no kick up rudder and her hull is not for dragging up a beach.
 So I need another boat. Again. We've been down this road before. I've kicked around the Mayfly 14, the Cartopper, a PDR. All of these boats have several things in common. All are wood. All are homebuilt. And all can be had for cheap. And now a new entry has entered the fray and it's ticking all the boxes and then some. The Piccup Pram.
 With my current health finding a small light boat is something I need to consider. And at 100lbs the Piccup seems to fit that bill a bit better then my current boat. And at 11' it is a bit easy to store and maneuver on the hard. Room for sleeping aboard according to her designer and space for a few days worth of stores. Kick-up leeboard and rudder and great beaching ability. A boat that is able to sail Frenchtown pond one day and Dayton Bay the next.
 I'll continue the research but I would not be surprised to find plans on my front stoop in the next month or so. It's been awhile since I've actually built a boat and the thought of making form out of nothingness excites me a bit. But more-so is if done right this will be a boat for sailing, not building. But good workmanship will be it's own reward. And when I want to simply go mess about with a boat perhaps later in the day and closer to home, a Piccup will allow me to do so. And that is something I've been missing.

1st Annual Big Arm Messabout

The three boats of the messabout. (L-R) Esmerelda, Dragonfly, Desdemona

 Well the first official function of the Western Montana Small Boat Association is in the books. And by any measure it was a great success. Three boats on the water, new people in boats, and camping to boot. When I started this idea of trying to get more small boaters together this is what I had in mind.
 The event started for me on Friday, the 15th. With a newly repaired trailer the S/V Esmerelda was loaded, provisioned, and trailered up to Big Arm State Park. With me were The Mate and The Crew. The idea was for a late afternoon sail, then camping. Jim of Desdemona was already in the area and we camped behind him, spot B12. We had a lovely view of the lake and a good spot for our tent.

Our camp from the water. Jim was in the Airstream next to us.

 The camp was made up and we got the boat ready to head out. We splashed, motored out a ways and the lake was like a millpond. No wind at all. It was rather disheartening as the forecast at that time was the possibility of thunderstorms and winds in the 9-12kt range. After we drifted for a bit The Crew spotted the end of the wind shadow and we were off! I got to try the newest additions to my boat, the tiller extension and the self steering rig.

  Looking at S/V Desdemona and how Jim had set her up to single hand I made the decision that the ability to let go of the tiller was paramount. So the Typesetter knocked me up a version of the wooden cleat that Jim used and I purchased some bungee. Then came the nerve raking experience of drilling two holes in my boat and hoping that it worked. Well with some wind on the bow I cleated my mainsheet, let go of the tiller and Esmerelda plunged on. It was a wonderful feeling. The steering gear proved it self when tacking allowing me and my sometime suspect balance at times cross over the boat after a tack was completed. Following the tack I'd steady on the new course, set the tiller, cross over and resume my command. With Mate and Crew at the jib sheets the lake was ours.

Look ma! No hands!

 We docked and hauled out, returning to camp where Jim had started a fire. The Mate and Crew were tired after the days sailing but Jim, his lovely wife, and two furry kids stayed up and talked about sailing and hoping for good winds in the morning. Eventually though it was time to turn in.
 The next morning was promising. We got breakfast and got the boat set up. Then it was off to the ramp. And there sitting off the dock was S/V Dragonfly, a beautiful Caledonia Yawl skippered by Steve. Now Cal Yawls have always held a spot in my heart because it was the first big boat I sailed on in memory and that was the Luna at the Homebuilt Boat Show in Seattle. So to see one of her sisters on my home waters warmed my heart. Then Steve mentioned he'd read this blog and that floored me. It was going to be a good day!
 My friends Koda, Jim, and Rose had made the drive from Missoula to attend and we outfitted them with life jackets and got them aboard. Koda and Jim with Steve on Dragonfly, Rose with Jim and his wife on Desdemona. And we set off!

Dragonfly

 The winds started light then dropped away to nothing. Huge swaths of the lake were in wind shadow. The Mate was working on her understanding of right-of-way rules and having other boats in the water really helped. We tacked out to the east, sometimes under the "electric spanker". The sailing was good when we had wind and not so when we didn't. But we were messing about in boats and that made it worth it.

The Crew at the new extension. She's trying sitting out for the first time too. Go Flames!

 Eventually we made our way back to the dock and Steve had to head for other things. Jim and I talked about what to do next and The Mate suggested we go back out. The wind, gone when we docked was rising so out we went. Esmerelda delighted in the wind, sailing flat and fast. Had we wanted to circumnavigate Cromwell Island we could have. But we had to get to dock and the voice in my head told me that was the better part of valor. And all at once the fun was gone. The wind predicted arrived a day late and by the time we got Esmerelda tied up she was rearing on her bowline like a caught trout. We were done for the day.
 So all in all a great event. But before we go out again we have a laundry list of needed improvements. And those will come first.

• Better set up of the hands free steering system. Right now it's cumbersome to attach and remove the bungee as needed.
• Jib improvements: Downhaul system and brass hanks.
• Switching to sail slugs on the mainsail. The bolt rope is about at the end of it's life and to finish the season slugs are the way to go. 
• Better cushions all around. 
• Trailer work, mainly remaking the bunks and installing waterproof LED lights.

 I've also decided that we're The Herons. In Oregon there is a fabled race of small boat sailors, The Coots. I've always liked that name so in the finest traditions of the privateers I'm borrowing the idea. Also a group of Herons is called a siege so short of a proper messabout, we'll hold sieges. Dovetails well with my other medieval pursuits. 
 So all is well that ends well. Our next gathering is set for the 27th of June at Finley Point State Park. There might even be another Lido 14 in attendance! I know I'm looking forward to it!

Jim and Desmonda

Essie looking pretty.

Dragonfly and crew.

I can now work on my reading underway. The book is Jagular Goes Everywhere. Every small boat sailor should have this tome.

The Crew (l) and The Mate (r). Can't thank them enough.

Happy skipper on a great sailing day.

We even found a mermaid! She has legs because she's on land.

Hope to see you at our next siege!

How to Make a 14 Foot Boat Bigger

She might not be the youngest girl at the ball but she'll turn a head or two.

To make a 14 foot boat bigger, wax it by hand. I will admit I don't think Esmerelda has been this white as long as I've had her. She's a long way from looking new but wow what a difference a good cleaning and wax will do. Same thing happened when I had my Beetle. Shines up a like a new penny.
 With the trailer still being broke I need something to occupy my time and with a Messabout fast approaching no rest for the weary. As near as I can tell the gelcoat issues are mainly cosmetic. So what do do about the crazing and oxidation? A few hours on the internet gave me an idea but she's not worth a full hull restoration. So I decided getting the hull as clean as I could and giving it a good wax. The biggest issues were rubber scuff marks along the hull. I used an off brand magic eraser to get the worst of the marks off and applied the new Lido decals to the sides. I added the hailing port too.

The only vessel in the fleet of West Riverside. Makes her the flagship then.

Then the waxing began. I did the foredeck first to get a feel for the 3M restorer and Wax. Then it was on the hull. And that took all afternoon. After the first two feet my right arm was toast. But after a viewing of "The Perfect Storm" and a Mountain Dew it felt much better. Then another foot. Then another. Once the hull was done it was the rest of the topsides, the transom and the top of the port bench. And there I stopped. I have a friend who has kindly offered to do the rest on Monday. She'll have fun I have no doubt.
 The Typesetter will be over on Tuesday to help rig the tiller extension and "self steering" gear. I'm basing mine on what Jim had on S/V Desdemona. A bungee rigged between the the thwarts and a wooden V on the tiller. No moving parts and you can still move the tiller. It's quite brilliant. This will mean drilling into the boat and tiller but this is a boat to be sailed and if that's what I need to do, then that's what I need to do.
 I am entering uncharted waters here. When Schock built the the first Lido 14, four years before my own #1280 in 1958, single handed expedition sailing was not what he had in mind for this boat. I'm guessing the percentage of Lido's set up to do so is infinitesimally small. So small that there are no articles, no images, no mention save one Lido 14 (1964 vintage) that participated in the Texas 200. And the changes to that boat seemed to be a new tiller and the addition of reef points to the sails. So this entire project is new territory for the Lido 14 and I hope the community will benefit from it. I know I will.