S/V Ripple

I took Ripple out for a sail last Sunday... A perfect February day... Cloudless, 60 degrees.  Mostly motoring, the reassuring pockety-pockety-pockety of the engine taking me up along the eastern shore of Lake Washington to my neighborhood. I called Joe Kerchen along the way, and he came down and took some pictures from the dock of my landlady's lake cottage, under renovation. I arrived back at Ripple's berth on Lake Union with a touch of sunburn and the satisfaction of bringing her home solo without a hitch.  This is getting easy.

Michael Braly, freshly returned from China with the latest member of the Braly clan, joined me on Ripple for a February sail today.  Quite a lovely day, though not much (any) wind to speak of. We did set the mains'l and the stays'l, but it was eyewash.   The only moving air was in the exhaust of my one-lung Yanmar. We ventured into Lake Washington to collect sunshine and listen to the thruming of traffic on the 520 bridge, and Michael regaled me with stories of their life-changing 3 week sojourn in China. Coming back, I asked Michael to spot me on our return to the dock.  I applied the trick that Lynn Reister told me about bringing a boat into the dock single-handed: tie the ends of the bow line and stern line together in a large loop bow to stern, and hop out at the appropriate time and you've got each under control.  I managed to foul the joined lines with the spring line and the lifelines, but it proved only a small problem.  Basically, It worked lik...

Over the six months I spent looking for boats, 98% of what I looked at were fiberglass pocket cruisers... a lot of 25 to 31 foot sloops, 25 to 40 years old, $5,000 to $20,000, seemingly impervious to time... at least their hulls.  Sort of.  I was attracted to, but afraid of, wooden boats, and heaven knows there's reason.  Joe Kerchen prodded and poked me on this, and shamed me into a broader perspective.  Randy, my elder brother and professional boat maintainer, snarled something to the effect that a boat unsullied with character is scarcely worth owning (let alone, sailing). A sail plan that inspires is more important than cabin headroom (let alone, a head room).  Lines trump lounging space.  And to lay out on a berth within the planked carcass of a well-built wooden boat is to understand that most everything surrounding you had another life, and has been assembled into a complex and dynamic construct that feels living, even if good sense says otherwise...

2010-01-18 The Martin Luther King holiday was beautiful in Seattle.  A lot of sun, a breeze, and temperatures in the mid 50s made an afternoon on Ripple inevitable.  I wasn't sure whether Marguerite would join me, though, so I went with maintenance puttering in mind.   I called her from the dock when she returned from her shopping and she came down with lunch munchies.  I had the boat ready to go, and I coached her on what we would need to do coming back in, and we rehearsed it, and then set out on our circumnavigation of Lake Union. The wind was snappy, and temperatures brisk, but it was a pleasant trip ogling boats and houseboats, and seeing the city from the water.  Rounding Gas Works Park, we set the fenders, and lined up on the marina, and brought Ripple down to dead slow, what breeze there was, dead on the nose.   I slipped her nose in toward the dock as we pulled past Nancy's houseboat, and eased her in to the dock.  M was in her...

2010-01-17 Joe and I went out today... my first sail since taking possession of Ripple .  Flew both the jib and the stays'l, as well as the main.  Getting to know the drill... lots of things to keep track of, including raising the gaff spar on the correct side of the topping lift.  I didn't, and had to lower the rig and reset it.  Good thing there wasn't much wind, because we weren't exactly snappy about setting sails. We ended up in the starting line jockeying of a modest lake union race, that had everything from tiny day-sailers to 40 foot blue water racers.  Weird menagerie.  We weren't a threat.  As a full-keel boat, Ripple isn't exactly a speedster, but there wasn't a prettier boat on the water, and her record at drawing appreciative compliments on outings remains at 100%. Returning to the dock, still the most stressful part of a sail, is starting to feel a bit more routine. We tested the Force 10 cabin heater for the first time since ...

2010-01-16 I finished up the fuel-filter relocation today; installing the new bracket went smoothly, and I started the engine and ran it for 15 minutes or so, checking for leaks and any signs of rough running.  Started up easily and ran like a top.   The exhaust was without appreciable smoke and only a trace of oil or carbon on the water when it started.  The only remaining engine system to check at this point is the raw water filter.  I will need to fabricate a tool to help me get the cap off the filter reservoir (visible in the photo, to the left). Next is the electrical system, which I know to have some issues in need of attention.  The ammeter that was in the boat was fried, from some combination of too low capacity (it was a 50 amp meter with a 70+ amp aftermarket (Balmer) alternator), and loose connections (both at the shunt and at the battery charger as well).  I have a new meter to install, and will re-locate it in the process, installing ...