New Years Resolutions?

   Well it's a new year and a happy 2012 from all of here the IP&NCo.! It's going to be a great year and sailing will feature prominently. There are two resolutions I have that involve boats and the water. The first is spending more time during this dull off season working on the boat. Procrastination and excuses because it's cold and I can't sail get me no closer to to it being warm and able to sail. I posted a list a few entries back about what needed to be done to get Blue Flower finished. A more important list would be what I can do now.

1. Sand the mast, boom, and gaff in preparation for varnish.
2. Prep the interior and exterior for painting.
3. Order new sails.
4. Purchase hardware prior to installation. Jam cleat, deck plates, assorted.

   That alone should keep me busy through the cold. I just can't sit here and do nothing on my boat. Doing a lot of reading on the gaff rig and small boats in general. And after a conversation with the Typesetter, we all know how those go, looks like the Mayfly 14 is back in the works. I know I was all hot and bothered for the Ocean Explorer and I still may build it. But it's not getting me any closer to THE boat. It's cute, unique and would be much fun to build but when it's all said and done it's a one person boat if I'm honest. And I'm not really interested in a one person boat. Sailing is so much more fun with two. Or with the load of provisions a two person craft can take!
   So what crazy changes are you making to the Mayfly you're asking. Gaff rig? Jib? Yawl? Dagger board and trolling motor? I really hate to disappoint but I'm leaning towards none of that. Shocking. The plan is pretty solid and although I'd love to buck it, you can't deny the utility, ease, and power of a balanced lug rig. The leeboard is a pretty bullet proof and safe for re-orienting the hatches I don't see a need for a major change in the boat or rig. This is going to be a boat for the Flathead and I think I need to keep her pretty close to plan.
   Over the holiday season I re-watched Tom Cunliffes wonderful Boats That Built Britain series and was again blown away by the knowledge contained and the production value. Of particular interest are the episodes on the schooner HMS Pickle and the big herring lugger Reaper. The HMS Pickle segment deals with the development of the fore and aft rig and the Reaper episode the evolution of the Scottish fishing craft. Seeing as I sail a gaff rig and am familiar with the lug sail it's good to see it on such a scale. Not a bad way to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winters night!
  The second resolution for this year is simply to sail more. Looking back at this last summer I'm reminded of the days I could have gone out and did not for a variety of pleasant distractions and reasons. But where would I be now had I hit the water if only for a few hours? Granted I didn't have a trailer hitch but that has been rectified so I do hope to spend more days on the water as opposed to the shore wishing I was on the water! So I'll leave this post with a picture of what will become a common sight here in the Garden City. If you see us, stop by and say "hi". We love visitors and love to talk sailing. Here's to a great and wet 2012!

Quiet Times and Reflections

HMS Wee Rose. A Bolger Nymph done up to the nines by Rick Cambell. If a Nymph can do it, why not a Teal?

It's been quiet on the physical front but certainly not quiet on the mental one. One of the ideas forwarded to me about the S/V Blue Flower by it's former owner and co-builder Andrew Linn was that I should turn her into a show boat. That is make this Teal and example of the breed for wooden boat shows across the Pacific Northwest. And that is the route I've decided to take. This will require a bit of work over the coming fall and winter. The list is quite long and growing but for prosperity's sake I figured I'd throw it up here. And here it is in no particular order.

1. Take the gunnels down to bare paint and brightwork them.
2. Remove all spars and brightwork them.
3. Rework rigging as required to achieve the proper look
4. Repaint deck in Royal Blue
5. Touch up interior as needed
6. Brightwork the seat, rudder and lee board.
7. Rework the seat to make it removable and stowable
8. Make duckboards for the floor
9. Repaint the Hull
10. Get a proper cover the boat itself
11. Figure out a proper anchor set up
12. Make and brightwork a boom crutch
13. Design and make a boom tent.
14. Get new sails built and/or ordered
15. Install deck cleats fore and aft

The idea again is to make a windjammer in miniature. It'll be a longer process then I was thinking and a bit more expensive but I think the end result will be worth it. A very unique vessel with a strong pedigree that will with luck get more people into building and sailing their own boat. The goal is to have all this done by the CWB's Home Built Boats weekend 2012 where the S/V Blue Flower will make her full debut.
  I downloaded and watched a delightful multi-part BBC documentary called The Boats That Built Britain hosted by master mariner Tom Cunliffe. It was a wonderful look at some of the vessels that grew the mighty British empire and should not be missed by any true sailing or boating aficionado. As an outgrowth of my interest in Mr  Cunliffe I ran across one of this books Hand, Reef, and Steer: Traditional Sailing Skills for Classic Boats. This is an amazing in depth look at setting up and sailing the gaff rig. From handling your vessel under sail in a harbor to rigging a forestay this is a must have for those who sail this classic rig. It is a bit dense for those of us with a hobby knowledge of the rig but the wonderful illustrations and photos help guide one along and all those new words and actions start to make sense.
  Tom answers all his own email and I am tickled pink that he's graciously put a signature in the post for me. Technology is truly amazing when a new gaff rig owner in the high mountain dessert of Montana can correspond with one of the worlds greatest gaff rig sailors halfway across the globe.
  What of the PDGoose you may ask? Well it's also in the list of things to get done this autumn, at least to the point I can in good conscious leave it over the winter, ready for spring. A name has been tentatively given and the S/V Flying Fox should make a grand sight on the inland waters of Montana.