Blog of S/V Salty Beach

 Another issue last season was when the boat nearly broke free of the mooring after the mooring pennant chafed against the bow chocks. The bow chocks were strangely not even stainless, but chrome-plated and had begun to get pitted and a bit rough. I realized this was the root of the issue. After further thought, I opted to get rid of both chocks and the center bow cleat to be replaced with two stainless steel cleats mounted on the gunwales near the bow where the chocks had been. I discovered a USCG-compliant all-round white navigation light that had 1/10th the power consumption of even the LED one I installed last year, so I upgraded that. I replaced the red/green bow navigation light with a lower power one too. Last season it was a challenge to keep my little outboard in the water without having everyone near the stern, so I decided to lower the motor mount as well. Being a rectangular mount, I simply moved the upper bolts to the lower holes in the transom, filled the upper hole...

 Besides the keel binding due to rust, I discovered a few other issues last season. Perhaps the most concerning was the leaking keel pivot bolt that could have sunk the boat! I believe there were a couple factors that contributed to this. First, the friction between the cast-iron keel and the stainless-steel pivot bolt was immense, despite having slathered the bolt in Lanocote before launching. This caused the bolt to rotate in the keel trunk periodically when raising or lowering the keel, thereby breaking the adhesion of the Life-Seal I added inside the cabin between the sides of the keel trunk and the bolt/washer combo. Second, I used flat neoprene sealing washers with flat fender washers. I was unable to find stainless-steel cone washers at the time. This likely resulted in the neoprene washers being squeezed outward from the bolt under compression, leading to leaks. To remedy this, I first added the previously described bronze pivot bushing, reducing friction, still using Lanoc...

 It has been much too long since I posted, but I have been busy. First off, my fiancee and I got married over the winter! While that occupied much of my time, I did start on the keel work some weeks back also. I used a furniture dolly and rolling car jack to drag the keel over near my basement for easier access to my tools and compressor. Then came the hard part, grinding and chipping the rust off. I had gotten an estimate of $700 for sandblasting, and that was if I dropped it off and picked it up, but it was just not in the budget. I opted to try my angle grinder with various wheels: metal grinding disc, flap wheel, stripping disc. All worked to varying degrees, but I realized some of the rust was in layers, so I tried a hammer and cold-chisel. It worked well! Then I remembered I had a compressor and pneumatic chisel. Even better! Still, it took at least six hours of exhausting, messy work to get the keel down to solid cast iron. I finished off with a wire wheel on the angle grind...

Ever since launching and discovering the keel wouldn't lower all the way, I've been anxious to get the keel out of the boat. With it safely on the hard for the winter, and the weather still fairly warm, it was time. First, I jacked up the trailer and put it on jack stands to prevent sagging as I climbed aboard. Next, I used a bottle jack to lift the front of the boat and placed 4x4 blocks on top of the forward part of the bunks to raise the boat 4" off the trailer. I used a hi-lift jack to lift the transom and do the same at the aft end of the bunks. This was to allow enough clearance between the trailer and boat to get the keel out of the partial trunk of the boat. I put a jack gently under the forward edge of the keel, just barely touching, in an effort to remove load from the pivot bolt. Next, I climbed aboard, used a putty knife to scrape off the Stay Afloat wax I had sealed the pivot bolt with, and removed the nut with a socket and ratchet. A couple whacks with a hamm...

 Forgot to take any pictures, but it went pretty well. Chose a nice sunny day with little wind. I towed the empty trailer with my Toyota Corolla over to Newport where I had rented a U-Haul pickup to tow the boat. Swapped the trailer over and headed down to Newport Yacht Club for haul out with the 2-ton hoist. My dad and brother came down to help. I had originally hoped to drop the keel out of the boat with it on the lift, but my concern that it might be stuck in the slot combined with limited time and my brother's suggestion that we wait and he would help made the decision easier. I removed all the standing and running rigging to minimize weather exposure. Thankfully, it was a smooth drive home. I decided to park the boat on the strip of grass alongside my driveway, closer to my house. It took a bit of maneuvering, but I finally got it just right. Then I returned the pickup and drove home in my Corolla.

Took Tiffany and my future step-daughters out for a light-air evening cruise to Potter Cove in Jamestown for a swim and sunset sail. The light air made for a longer trip than expected, but it was relaxing for a quick swim before heading back. We were treated to a lovely sunset, though didn't return until after dark and our usual launch had stopped running. Consequently, I docked to unload the boat, then motored it solo out to the mooring and took Old Port launch (pay) back. On the bright side, an old friend of mine was the launch driver so it was great to catch up for a few minutes. Tiffany wasn't feeling the greatest even before the sail, but otherwise I think the girls enjoyed it.

 With my middle son Ian as crew, the original plan was to leave Friday, sail to Third Beach in Middletown, RI where my dad has a mooring, then leave in the morning for Cuttyhunk. The weather had other plans. There was virtually no wind Friday, and Saturday's forecast was for gusty conditions from the east, the direction we needed to go. In a typical southwesterly, Cuttyhunk is an easy ride, but I didn't want a long beat for a shakedown cruise, so we changed plans. I saw the Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta was taking place near Bristol around noon, so I figured we could head up the bay and maybe see some of the classic yachts, including the legendary S&S-designed Dorade (for whom the cowl vent boxes are named). After, I figured we could possibly grab our friends' mooring in Potter Cove on Prudence Island, or sail down the west side of Jamestown and anchor in Dutch Harbor. As it turned out, we were much too late leaving to catch any of the action. We were so late we opt...