S/V Ripple

The first of May.  All the canvas work is done.  A wee bit o varnishing to do, maybe some touch up paint.  The punchlist still includes first aid and provisioning, and this 'n' that. I acquired the last bit of instrumentation for the trip today.  Installation tomorrow. May 12 is the scheduled day of departure. Sitka, here i come.

I finished the sewing for the dodger on Saturday, but didn't have the nerve (and the snaps) to try to fit it to the boat until today.  The most difficult aspect of the process of patterning and sewing is that you have little sense of whether you're accurate enough until the end.  The very end. Today, under warm sun, I installed the snaps (every 4 inches) and studs, working from the front and moving around 1 snap on each side at first, then a pair at a time.  They all went in securely and easily. I set the snaps in the canvas by hand, rather than with a fancy snap tool, but it went ok. The straps I will set to the forward jamb cleats in the cockpit, the forward most hardware that exists in the cockpit.  The angle is slightly acute (less strong), but the whole assembly seems to be plenty strong enough, and not too difficult to move around in order to gain access to the foredeck. I am thinking about how to do an extension (about 24 inches) aft from th...

Having watched the Sailrite video on dodger construction 4 times through (completely, twice, various sections as many as 4 times), I grow envious each time they pan across a sewing table (a loft floor, really) that exceeds the size of some bowling alleys of my youth.  I've put together a sewing table that I hope will suffice to build my dodger. The pieces for the dodger are as long as 9 feet, and in order to sew them without skipped stitches and wavy stitch lines, it is necessary that they move serenely through the sharp bits of the sewing machine. My feed table is a mere 6 feet in length. I should get the materials by tomorrow and get busy cutting and basting and seaming.

I'm starting to wonder about provisioning... 2 people x 90 days x 3 meals plus per day.  Interesting challenges, especially if culinary interest is one of the objectives.  I did my first experiment with bread making aboard today, and the result was surprisingly close to the mark.  In fact, I slathered some butter on the product and ate the whole thing.  What a treat -- fresh bread amidst the canned stews and freeze dried and prepackaged fare I expect to have going. The set up: Dutch oven atop a two-burner camp stove Cake tin inside to keep the loaf off the bottom of the pan Small loaves, one at a time. The fuel consumption for 20 minutes of baking was about 70g, which is about 1/6 of the capacity of the fuel canister.  Half a buck to a dollar for a small loaf, including ingredients: The recipe: 1 cup all purpose unbleached flour 3/4 cup water 1/2 - 3/4 tsp yeast a bit of sugar in warm water to proof the yeast. salt to taste, some in the recipe...

My brother's picture of yours truly beavering away on the patterning.  (those of you who know him may recognize his thumb in the upper left corner) In a scant four weeks I expect to pass through the Ballard Locks heading to Sitka.  I've carefully organized my task list so as to maximize the drama of these last few weeks.  Spring varnishing is underway,  and it looks like the weather for that will cooperate.  Why settle for the unvarnished truth when you can have sparkle plenty , as my Mom is wont to say? But the real drama is all about the dodger. I've known I needed to make one since a day two years ago in early August in the Broughton Islands with Terry.  The warming summer sun was obscured by a weeping marine layer.  I was wearing every stitch of clothing I had with me -- five layers -- and I was still cold. In August. Protection against wind and spray will be pretty important (which is why I left it to the last possible moment). Knowing y...

The Yanmar 1GM10 is the simplest of diesel engines, and mostly it just works.  Its natural reliability can lead one down the path of negligence, however, and so it has been for me with regard to the zinc that is embedded in the cooling channels of the engine block. The engine block has a zinc anode because it is raw-sea-water cooled, and because this water is frequently salt water, the potential for electrolysis within the engine block is substantial.  The problem is that this zinc is hard to get to, requiring moving the alternator out of the way so as to get a wrench or a socket near the bolts that hold the zinc-bearing plate in the block. Having done so, the plate comes off easily enough, and I had the zinc and necessary gaskets on hand. My intentions were good, you see... I've had these parts for two years, knowing that it had almost certainly been too long since the zinc was last renewed. The evidence: Nothing left.  Not the smallest remnant of zi...

Maps (and their maritime versions, charts) are abstractions of the places we travel.    They project geography, history, technology, politics, commerce, and even art. The very definition of explorer rounds to traveler without maps.   We celebrate those who traveled the uncharted world and secured it with soundings, but dismiss as imprudent those who would travel without a chart today. The term itself --  uncharted   territory -- remains a primary abstraction for the dangerous unknown, though few regions of our world have remained uncharted in the lifetime of any living person. Today's recreational boater may have few paper charts.  Traveling close to home, especially in the Pacific Northwest, you're seldom far from visible landmarks, and the shoal waters are the exception rather than the rule.  The electronic surrogates for charts are rich in functionality and reduce the complexity of navigation, telling you your heading, orienting you on ...