Seattle2021

Preparing the Kitten Class catboat Lucile at the Center for Wooden Boats. The only sailing Kitten in the world.

   We didn't make it to Seattle in 2020 for obvious reasons. But we did make it this year and I wanted to post some of the sailing highlights for this trip. I ended up getting on the water three times, two sailboats and a fast ferry. And with the trailer being down it was great to get on the water in a small boat. But let's talk about big boats first.

S/V Obsession at Pier 56

  I've known for years about the big sailing boats at the Seattle waterfront. I even have pictures in my last Seattle post about them. And I've been determined to sail on them. Well this was the year. After a minor scramble to get a date and time that would work with our packed schedule we were set up for a 4:30 afternoon sail. We departed on time and soon the motor was shut off and we were under sail in very light airs. 

  I've never been aboard a sailing vessel this big. S/V Obsession was designed by Sparkman & Stephens, the famous east coast yacht builders and launched in 1986 as an IOR Mini-Maxi Ocean racer. She's 70' on the waterline and an overall weight of 34 tons. It should be noted the keel alone on Obsession outweighs her stablemate Neptune's Car by a considerable margin. The mast is 100' tall and we were the biggest, fastest sailboat on Elliot Bay. The cruise is very low key. You can sit in the cockpit with BYOB beverages and watch the wonderful scenery all around. you. It seemed most were doing just that. We had some salespeople enjoying the day and a member of cabin crew taking a break. Winds were light and we ghosted along at two knots.

Seattle from the sea

Downtown

Obligatory sail shot

 Soon as I was able I got up and headed aft the cockpit and asked sailing questions of the crew. As you do. Watching them use both a big hydraulic winch and a grinder set to get the sails up was fascinating. I'm only used to the smaller winches you find on most recreational sailboats and here I was on a boat more then twice as big as some of the largest boats I find at Dayton. The captain was young but he'd been sailing a long time. He too started in a Lido 14 and did some of his sail training at Center for Wooden boats. Seemed he's sailed all over the world and I'm sure there are more stories I'd like to hear. The mate was younger still but absolutely competent in his duties.

"I'm an amateur sailor" "Oh, so am I"

 Eventually I just asked if I could steer. And they let me. The wind picked at once and we were sailing! Looking out over the deck I took in a deep breath of salt air and all was right with the world. We picked up to five knots, touching six. The wheel on the boat was incredibly light and responsive, very much like the wheel in a car with power steering. It was a trip to move the wheel three inches and see the bow start to move. Something new too was working wind instruments. Knowing where the winds was coming and at what strength in real time without the need to crane my neck was wonderful. I was on the helm for most of the trip, the crew certainly didn't mind once they figured out I sorta new what I was doing. I tacked, I gybed, we did a close pass with Neptune's Car that was pretty cool. There was a sailing schooner that fired upon us with cannons. We showed them our stern with proper aplomb. 

"Set my course for 'that way', aye"

Bring me that horizon. I could get used to this.

 Eventually I had to turn the helm back. And we did a slick little docking maneuver that they do several times a day. Got to see why you set your spring first when docking in reverse. Pulls your stern in and gives excellent control. I'd like to thank Sailing Seattle for a great time. I plan on joining again next time I'm in town. I'd suggest you do to. 

 The next day I had a sailing lesson at The Center for Wooden Boats. And I was going to sail a catboat that very few people have gotten to sail. A true Seattle boat by way of Vancouver, the Kitten Class catboat Lucile. Let me copy and paste her story from the CWB website: 

"The Kitten was designed in 1920 by John Winslow of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. A 15-foot wooden sailboat, the Kitten was designed to teach young women how to sail, and a detailed article on how to build the small craft was published in Pacific Motor Boat Magazine that year. Two years later, Winslow relocated to Seattle, bringing along a small fleet of Kittens to the Seattle Yacht Club. He made fast friends with local sailors, and with the help of famed Seattle boat designers and builders Ted Geary and Norm Blanchard, he modified the design of the Kitten. A fleet of these boats were built and used to teach Seattle’s young sailors. The new design made the Kitten the first self-rescuing dinghy on Puget Sound. This small vessel has marked heritage significance to King County’s maritime history, and today, there are no known seaworthy wooden Kittens."

There is one that survives and it sits outside of the main building. But it's far from seaworthy.

The Kitten

  This spring I set up a lesson with CWB's online scheduler with the notation "Would like to use the Kitten". I called about two months out and got to talk to Josh Anderson, the lead on the Kitten Project and the Executive Director of CWB. He told me confidence was high it could happen but to call a week before my lesson to check in. I did that and it seemed like it was going to happen. My backup was the Beetle if the Kitten was not available. Oh no.

Showing up early has it's own rewards.

Obligatory seaplane picture.

Kitten

I changed into my sailing crocs and put my sailing gloves in my pocket and checked in at precisely eleven. I was directed to the docks where I meet my instructor. Turns out it was his first time sailing the Kitten too. We got it figured out, rigged, and set out. 

Two topping lifts and running backstays

My job at this point is to keep the mainsheet from catching

Should have let the other topping lift off. Oh well.

 I don't have much to report on her sailing habits. She sailed like a catboat should. We didn't have any really good wind but we did have a few moments of good sailing. The tiller was very neutral and comfortable. She tacked and gybed readily. The biggest issue was something very rare on catboats, running backstays. I'm not sure why these were included in the design but it was simply an added step when coming through the wind. I had asked on Obsession the day before how they set their running backstays. "By eye" was the answer and it seemed to suffice on Lucile as well. Couple of figure eights and finish with some round turns and the stay was secure enough and yet easily cast off. An hour is not a lot of time to get to know a boat but I think I got a good look at the boat and would be happy to sail it again. I may attempt a checkout in Lucile the next time I'm in the city. I'm fairly confident I could get it.

Kitten underway

 I think my proudest moment was when Kat reported the front desk person was wondering if I was the catboat fanatic. I'm pleased to say yes, yes I am. If you get a chance for a sail in Kitten I also highly recommend it. It's worth it and it's rare when you get to sail fifty percent of a sailboat class. 

Lucile post sail

  So that concludes my sailing in Seattle for 2021. Certainly making up for lost time. I'll end the post with boat pictures we took along the way.

Schooner Bay Lady. She fired upon us.

M/V Dusseldorf Express. She's almost 1000' long!

El Toros

Tugboat

Water Taxi

Ferries seen from The Great Wheel

M/V Tacoma. She hailed us on VHF while sailing

M/V Ornella Also almost 1000 feet long.

Pocket Yacht Palooza 2021 or That Time We Were in Washington for a Year One Weekend (Part II)

 

Boats on display at PYP 21. S/V Kat Boat ended up at the front!

 The day came early for us but that was the plan all along. One of my favorite things about being in the Pacific Time Zone is the extra hour one gains coming from the Mountain Time Zone. We busied about the campsite for a few minutes then hooked up the trailer and headed into town. Port Townsend is magical in them morning. The urban deer, common in Missoula as well, are out in force. There we plenty of fawns to gaze at and it makes for a very bucolic scene. We dropped the boat at the Northwest Maritime Center, found parking for the Suburban and headed to one of if not the finest breakfasts in town, The Point Hudson Cafe. If you remember my last time here I took photos of and raved about the cinnamon raisin french toasts. I'm pleased to report they are just as good as ever and I'll spare you another photo. 

 Then it was time to  prep for the show. There were many amazing boats on display. We checked out our favorite bookstore, had good sandwiches for lunch and all in all it was a good day messing about with boats. The following day, Sunday, was designated as our tourist day. And after an dinner at the award winning Sea J's Cafe, another good nights sleep was had by all. 

 

Pocket Yacht Palooza 2021 or That Time We Were in Washington for a Year One Weekend (Part I)

S/V Kat Boat at the PYP21. What's that in the background?

 The Kat Boat returned once more to the Pocket Yacht Palooza, held over the the third weekend of July in Port Townsend, Washington. The whole process took quite a lot of planning and logistics. The Navigator got our campground at Fort Worden State Park back in December. We did not manage a beach spot, good news as it turned out, so we got the final RV spot in the forest section. Kat Boat with the tow vehicle is 40' long so that's a must. Galen of the Port Townsend Pocket Yachters was a great help getting news out and ensuring things happen when they need to. We packed up on Thursday the 15th of July and ensured we went to bed early.

 The goal was to "search and destroy" on the way out of town. It's a ten hour drive from Missoula to PT so we left at 0400ish. The Lady and I picked up The Navigator and The Typesetter at their respective abodes and after ensuring everyone's comfort and safety we hit the road. Ahead of us were 566 miles, four mountain passes, two invasive species checks, and the section between Spokane and Ellensburg (The worst!) The drive thankfully was relatively uneventful and we made good time. There were almost no stops or slow downs for road construction, rare on I-90, and the only real sticking point was the slog through Tacoma. The Lady and I had a sailing charter on a catboat at 1700 and were projected to arrive at 1300. It looked like all was going to plan. Famous last words. A restroom stop was needed outside of Silverdale, WA and we dismounted the rig. That's when we found out what the odd metal screeching noise we were hearing intermittently was. The right side bearing. Except there was no bearing there anymore. 

 All that was left was the gaping maw of the hub and the naked stub of the axle. How the wheel didn't fall off we don't know but suddenly things got a whole lot worse in a very few seconds. The Typesetter quickly and correctly identified the problem and the prognosis was not good. At the minimum new bearings at the worst a new axle. I called Galen to let him know we were going to be late and if it was alright if I dropped the boat in the morning. He thanked me for the call and said that was fine. That out of the way we could move on to trying to fix the issue at hand. There were a few RV/trailer dealers nearby but no one had the needed parts and if they did or could get them they were three weeks out on openings. With nothing to loose we headed to the Silverdale NAPA to see what we could find there. It was the longest two mile drive of my life. It's sorta like the cartoons and walking off a cliff. You're all fat and happy until you look down. Well we had looked down and I certainly had my little sign up that said "%#!$@". 

  I can't say enough good things about the store or it's employees. Without them the whole trip would have been done with. We couldn't park with the trailer so we separated the units and got to work. The Typesetter is amazing in these circumstances. His knowledge of a wide range of mechanical skills are impressive. We needed to remove the remnants of the old bearing to ensure we could even attempt to get new bearings on. The entire hub and spindle had been red hot at one point during the debacle so things were not moving easy. We lost the head of a hammer trying to pound it off. The replacement bearing ended up being free due to scratch and dent so that was a minor miracle, not that it needed to be mind you. The tools we could buy and borrow. And that which we couldn't get was nearby. It was the most fortuitous circumstance in the near worst circumstances we could be in. We bought everyone lunch at the golden arches and a faint glimmer of hope was setting in.  It was getting on time wise and the Lady and I needed to head out for our charter about an hour way.  We left the boys to finish up and made the delightful drive to Port Townsend, a Victorian seaport and arts community.

 Early in the spring I learned that there was an honest to goodness catboat sailing out of Port Townsend. All I knew was I had to see her. I reached out to Left Coast Charters on Instagram and asked if I could come down and see the boat. This turned into a two hour charter. And it turned to be worth every cent paid. We arrived at the Port Townsend Boat Haven on time and met Erik, the day's captain and one of the boats owners. His wife Alyce Flanagan is the other owner. We were directed down the boat and climbed aboard. Katie M. was built in 2000 at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. She's a Crosby design, a sister to the Breck Marshall of Mystic Seaport fame. 20' long and around 6,000lbs displacement. She's optimized for the day sailing trade and is kept in immaculate condition. When Erik purchased her in March 2021 she could not float. But several weeks of work and the boat is the equal of any cat on the water. 

Katie M.

 The most interesting thing about the boat was it's electric propulsion system. The system was by Torqeedo and Erik had set it up to be perfect for the type of work he does on the boat. The spinning prop charges the battery while underway and I can attest to it's ability to maneuver the boat equal of any diesel engine. After a short safety brief we were underway. This was the same route The Navigator and I took when we sailed at the 2019 PYP in Kat Boat. This time it was just in a much bigger catboat! Soon it was time to raise sail and I jumped at the chance. It was just like on my boat and even with the greater amount of canvas and much larger spars it was easy enough to hoist the peak and throat by hand, belay the throat and top off the peak. I don't think it's any more difficult on my boat actually. It was all so familiar but vastly different, if that makes any sense. We nosed off the wind and were off. I was offered the tiller and spent most of the voyage there. I should not I forgot how to sail for a bit but it came back soon enough. Katie M. responds as any boat does but I could not feel the legendary push and pull of the barndoor rudder. It wasn't near as bad as people make it out to be and once comfortable the boat was a dream to steer. Erik manned the mainsheet and put up with my occasionally lubberly handling of his boat. We took her as close as she'd lay to the winds and never once did she exhibit bad manners. I tacked, gybed, took power boat wakes, and attempted to avoid the ever present navigational hazards of crab pots, giant bull kelp and state ferries. It was a great time.

Drive panel and mainsheet. The panels stows completely when not in use.

Heading out in a bigger catboat

 

 

The Lady enjoying her cruise. I'm told the goal is to keep the flowers on the table.

Taking the helm. Not a fan of the tiller extension.

Tiller in hand and looking ahead. What a great sail!

It was race night and the schooner Martha was in fine form

Can't wait to sail again.

 While underway we got news the boys had succeeded in their task and were ready for pickup when we were done. We sadly said good bye to Erik and Katie M. and headed back to Silverdale. The bearings had been successfully applied and the would most likely get us home. If we were near the bottom of the barrel we were now on our way upward. It was a great feeling of relief. We made it to the campsite at duck, recreating the last time we were in town in 2019. The forest side of the Fort Warden campground was wonderful. Shaded and secluded it made for a wonderful place to fall asleep. Whatever tomorrow may bring we were in town, with a boat ready for a show and the entire weekend in front of us. 

-Information on some of this entry was taken from the Port Report Summer Fall 2021 Newsletter of the Port of Port Townsend. I'll update this entry once it becomes available online.

Spring Time?

If you use your imagination your can see where our skeg will go on these plans.

  We've had a spat of unreasonably nice weather for march recently, we've seen sixty degrees! So of course I took full advantage. After much world problem solving and general jaw jacking the Typesetter and I have decided to add as skeg to the S/V Kat Boat. Jim was kind enough to include the space where a skeg could go in the plans. He did have drawn plans for a keelson but we've decided that a small foil at the back will do as well. This entailed the work I mentioned in the last post. Mainly getting the boat off the trailer. And one sunny day, it happened.

The Typsetter setting blocking.

She's up and off!

 Not only will this allow us to work under the boat but we can do some necessary inspections and work on the trailer in the meantime. I drew a center line on the bottom, taped it, and added paint remover. I let it sit for half an hour and then attacked it with a wire brush and a scraper. The scraper did nothing. The wire brush was genius. The Lady was a great help as my energy was sapped by the process. But with a little bit of sandpaper we got the area relatively clean.

Before

After

 In the following days I got a sheet of offsets for the skeg and The Typesetter was kind enough to cut out a single 3/4" blank. With some shaping it should join it's twin and once the weather returns we'll get it attached. Our Memorial Day Plans are now for an overnight so looking forward to that for sure. 

I should mention some auction and Craigslist doings. There was a wonderful it tired wooden boat up for auction at The Center For Wooden Boats'  gala auction. There was a bid placed but it was far outstripped. But the threat of the buzz saw has been avoided and that is a win our book any day. I tossed in my oar on some assorted vintage radios but no luck there either. Maybe next year. As we congratulated ourselves on missing the financial boondoggle that is bidding on marine hardware I happened to check our local Craigslist. I have a link to a search for sail powered vessels on my browser toolbar. And wouldn't you know it, a free small sailboat showed up. No centerboard or sail but decent enough kit for a knock about boat. Hope to get it in the water soon. WMSBA strikes again!

We're not sure of the make but it fits in a pickup bed!

Trailer Work

 

First sun of 2021!

  With two days of decent weather The Typsetter and I did some trailer work. With a full season in front of us and June being far closer then we think it is far better to do this work now then later. The original plan was to pull the trailer out from under the boat and send it for a tire check up. That was the plan until the RV landed back in our rear parkway. So new plan. I figured we could service the bearing buddies ourselves and I could take the tires in for a professional opinion. My opinion on tire ends at the point if they roll or not. So this required getting the tires off the boat.

 I acquired a grease gun and marine grease from Murdoch's and we returned to my place. After the required coffee mind you. The bearings were easily greased and at the rate I'm using it I have enough grease for approximately 243 years. Then it came time to jack and block the trailer and boat. Now I know very little about blocking and jacking. I was present when the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad volunteers moved some passengers cars around my old stomping grounds of Nevada City. Said one "You can do anything with jacks and enough blocking." And he was right. The previous day I had gone to a local building recycling center and purchased about 21' of 2x4 solely for turning into blocking. Turns out that was a good idea. 

 The Typsetter moves giant printing presses for a hobby so he's a good guy to have around when I attempt stuff like this. He did the first starboard side, and I the port. The wheels came off as they should and there was no obvious issues with the bearings or axles that we could surmise. That was a good thing. It's so important to look at stuff like this when you get a chance. Far to often I imagine boat owners don't. And a few hours of sitting in the mud will pay off handsomely once the season starts. Water takes no prisoners no matter if it's boat, trailer or sailor. 

The Typesetter contemplating how he got here.

 

 It's a good thing I took the tires in too. They are ripe for replacement and we'll go from the four ply to six ply in the process. I don't want to be out Port Townsend way and have any sort of issue. Heck I don't want to be up Flathead way and have any sort of issue. We've been there and done that.

 So the boat is on blocks until such time the tires are replaced. I need to get a spare and get that mounted as well. Did I mention the missing fender? The weather is only supposed to be this good ending today so we'll have to await our next work window But it does feel good now knowing I'm just a little bit closer to June.

Lighter by two wheels.

 

 I also purchased the foam for bench cushions and we'll start that project here soon too. Moving the Type IV's on every tack is really annoying and it's like sitting on concrete after two hours or so. Hopefully this will ensure a more comfortable ride in 2021.