Boat Journal

Those of you who have been following these posts for awhile know that I had problems with the engine not starting last winter.  Well this year I tried to avoid that problem by trying to turn it over every week or two.  But it wouldn't turn over.

Let me back up a bit, because there's more to this story that I've not had time to share will you.

Back in November, during the last race of the year, the engine died on us on the way out of the marina.  So along with getting stuck in the channel, I had a dead engine to contend with.  The tank still had plenty in it, but I added the gallon I keep around for emergencies anyway.  Now the engine worked fine, which made me suspect that the fuel was dirty.  So I asked at the marina about having the tank cleaned out.  I was told it would run about $300.  Better to just try changing the filters first.  So they did that.  And their diesel expert, who changed the filters, suggested getting the tank cleaned out.  No duh!

So the tank was cleaned.

But, if you've also kept an eye on the Mid-Atlantic weather, you've seen that we're having quite a cold winter this year. And, when the mechanics were through, I still couldn't start the engine.

Because it has been so cold, as per Nelson's suggestion last winter, I've kept a light bulb on the engine to keep it from getting too cold.  Apparently, though, that didn't make it warm enough to get it started. Brent, the diesel mechanic, suggested I might want to get something to warm the engine and see if the thing just doesn't like cold weather.

I have a sister who lives in New Hampshire.  She told me years ago about dipstick heaters that they use in the winter up there.  But when I tried to find one online, the ones I found either were oil pan heaters (which I was told weren't the best to use on this engine) and dipstick heaters that didn't warm the engine enough that it would be able to start.

Oh well!

Oh, the marina did try using a block heater.  But apparently there isn't enough flat surface on my engine to stick the thing on.

So, I talked to my engine guru, Dan.  He suggested something that would warm the antifreeze instead.  So I'm purchasing one of these:

It's a Kim Hotstart coolant heater. I'll let you know how it goes!

That's my question for the day.  Hurricaine Ida took a stroll up from Alabama to hit us here in Hampton Roads, Virginia yesterday.  We were expecting strong winds and rain, but nothing too terrible, I thought.  What we got was 60 - 75 MPH winds (that's category 1, folks) and flooding.

I always wondered how you could get flooding in a coastal town.  The water drains into the ocean, right? So how can it flood?  Well, it so happens that the wind pushes so much water in that the inland water can't get out.  Or that's at least what my brain understands.

Interesting effect, too. Wednesday, the marina calls and asks if I can tie down my boat.  If I can't, they'd be happy to do it for me.  They're quite capable.  They do great work.  But it is my boat.  So I went to West Marine to get some new dock lines to replace the ones I had on the stern that we getting worn, and to get a couple of extra long ones as well.  Then Erik and I headed down to the boat to tie her down a bit more and tell her she was going to be all right.

That night, after work, about 7 p.m., I went to check to see if everything was ok.  The docks were under water.  Not sure how much: the lights weren't working.  But enough that I didn't feel comfortable heading out in the dark to check on it.

Next morning, someone from work suggested I stay home that day because the water was splashing against the Monitor-Merrimac bridge.  That meant the James River had to be awfully high at that point.  I pulled up the Tides at the Coast Guard Training Center (see link above).  The diagram showed the tide had been consistently 4' above normal since the night before:

Note: this covers 11/11 - 11/13/2009 -

The Coast Guard Training Center is across the creek from the marina.

Erik and I drove out yesterday.  There were barriers up to prevent folks from walking on the docks.  Did that stop us? Well, we still couldn't get to the boat.  We had to be content from walking on the path above the docks.  Luckily, 4 Degrees looked like she was faring well.

This morning wasn't any better:

There are supposed to be walkways around there somewhere!

My concern right now is that the batteries haven't gone dead and that the bilge pump is still working.  I'm sure the power has been turned off. But I'll go check tomorrow morning to see how she held up!

One of the best ways to quickly improve yourself as a sailor is to race. You commit yourself to a schedule, you learn alot about your boat and how to make it move well. You learn to coordinate the movements of a number of different people to achieve your goal.

Readers of this blog have seen the trials and tribulations my crew and I have gone through when trying to learn those lessons.  But today, they paid off. No, we still came in last (although I am anxious to see our corrected time).  But we worked like clockwork today, which made for a very satisfying run.

We pulled the boat out of the docks and headed to the channel.  Just as soon as we reached it, we had someone come beside us asking if they could pass us.  We said of course, and moved starboard to let them pass.  Well, of course we got stuck.  Leave it to me to get stuck in that channel, close to high tide, with the tide being higher than usual. But we backed up, turned around, and we on our way.

It was cold out there today. Air temperature was in the upper 50's.  But the wind chill made it seem like it was in the 40's.  We had all dressed fairly warmly in anticipation.  But we all donned windbreakers with a bit of padding to help.

We motored to the buoy this time.  I didn't want to have our usual problem of getting to what we thought was close, killing the engine, then not making it to the starting line on time. We then raised the mainsail, unfurled the jib, killed the engine and heading towards the starting line. I think the race was started early - I need to check my emails about that - but we stated within about 5 - 10 minutes of everyone else.  For us, who usually start about 1/2 an hour late, that was fantastic.

The winds were perfect, putting us between a beam reach and a close haul the entire time. And even better, we were on mark by doing so.  Usually, the winds are shifting and we're having to turn back frequently, or tack frequently, to get to the mark itself.  Today, each time, we headed almost straight between the marks.

We worked perfectly as a team.  I kept on track, Paul and Grant, my crew, worked smoothly to get the sails moved. It was almost poetic.

We crossed the finish line about 20 - 25 minutes behind the last boat in the larger pack which, again, was good for us.  We've come an hour behind or, in extreme circumstances, just given up after the first leg and cruised for a bit before going in.

I think today, the only thing I could have asked for was a bit warmer weather.  Other than that, it was perfect!

The old jib is back.  Repair looks good! Thank you  Dan Winters!

Yesterday was the second race of the Frostbite series.  I wasn't expecting any crew to show up; it's been difficult to get folks to commit to a weekend, since we really hadn't planned on racing this series in the first place.  But I headed over to the boat, figured I could get the jib up at least.  If anyone showed up, I'd go ahead and race.  Otherwise, I'd just head home to do the homework I was avoiding.

No one was there by 12:30, the time I needed to head out of the slip.  But you know how it is.  The wind, the waves, the boat all tugged me out.  So I headed out of the channel, set the sails, and aimed towards the starting buoy.

The wind was lousy.  The breeze barely moved the sails.  And then there was the barge that's been on the river for a couple of weeks messing with the breezes, too.  But I headed on down, knowing the winds would be better at the mouth of the river, near the bay.

After I passed the barge, the winds did pick up.  I got a good 4 knots going. I still had about 20 minutes to reach the starting line, so I figured I was good.

I wasn't.  I was well away from the barge and the winds were still shifting.  Mind you, I was near the refinery docks. But that shouldn't have affected it that much.  Since I had a good speed, and the current tack would have taken me into the docks, I tacked away from it.  Now, though, rather than making a 90 degree turn to port, I made more like a 120 degree turn, taking me away from the mark.  Knowing the current was going to be pulling me in almost the opposite direction, however, I stayed on that tack as long as possible, then turned again.  Same thing.  Got good speed going, then the wind shifted and I wasn't heading towards the mark any more.  Rather than keep fighting it, I just turned around and figured I'd play for awhile then head in.

The wind was nice, mind you. But I really had to pay attention.  I couldn't aim towards anything an be assured I'd keep moving in that direction.  At one point, near the barge, of course, the wind shifted almost 180 degrees as I tried to set the sails.

I kinda wish I'd gone ahead and raced, though.  The winds picked up, as they had the week before, about an hour into the race.  It was probably some awesome sailing out there on the bay. <sigh!>

Sunday, I had work to do. And what's the best thing to do when you have deadlines to meet? Well, in the words of Bluto:

TOGA! TOGA!

Well, next best thing is to go sailing. So I did on Sunday.

Two weeks ago, we had some strong winds that ripped the jib. It's in for repairs and, hopefully, will be done this week. In the meantime, Steve N. loaned me one of his. It's a bit small for the vessel - it doesn't reach the spreaders and it's 7' shorter on the luff that it should be. But I'm grateful to him, since I'm not dead in the water.

So I could have called someone to join me. But I really just wanted to be out there by myself.

I drove up to the marina, got a cart, loaded in Steve's jib, grabbed some ice and headed down to the boat. I had finally remembered to pick up some extra oil - the engine was about a quart low. So I added that and checked the coolant level. Coolant looked fine.

I'd been meaning to take some time to cut the extra lines off the piling, so I grabbed my leatherman's tool and did so. Not as many creatures growing on them as I suspected. But there were about 5 extra lines there, now gone.

I pulled off the spring line and started the engine. I took off the aft lines, put on the wheel lock, put the boat in forward and rushed forwad to remove the forward lines.

It was about 2 hours before low tide when I headed out of the channel. I got stuck once, turned around, got unstuck and continued out. At 10' depth, I put up the jib.

Roller furler jibs are a dream when your single-handing it, if they're already installed. But trying to get that thing up single handing it was a pain. I finally got a balance between pulling on the halyard and getting it strung to get the thing up. I then tried to backwind it to keep the boat stable. Duh! That works when the main is pushed one way and the jib the other. Know what happens with one sail? Yup! The boat starts going in circles. Well, that was no problem. I was deep enough, and not drifting to shore. There were no nearby boats. So I turned more into the wind, set the wheel lock and started hoisting the main.

Of course, the boat starts turning off the wind as I hoist the main. So I turn on the auto pilot. But the auto pilot doesn't do alot of good if you're not moving forward. And I didn't want to do that. So I just let the boat continue it's lazy turn and I continued to hoist the main. I couldn't quite get it to the top. But that was ok; I could get it the rest of the way later when I was under way and could turn on the auto pilot and face it into the wind.

The weather was perfect! The wind was about 10 knots and warm. And I just lazily moved across the river.

I figured I might just try to make it over to the R22 (further) channel buoy. I aimed for it, but had the same problem I have on Wednesday nights: the boat drifts towards starboard as much as it moves forward. I still need to get someone on board to help me figure out how to avoid doing that.

So, I just traveled around the cargo ship that was docked just outside the channel, taking my time, just me and Auto.

I really didnt' want to head back. But I didn't want to get stuck coming in on low tide either.

Too late. I did. But not while in the channel, but after I reached the mouth of the creek. Who'd have thought? It's usually safe by the time I get that far.

This time, though, I had a Good Samaritan in a small power boat help me out. She had one of her passengers grab a line from me. We tied it stern to bow and she pulled me out of the mud. I thanked her and proceeded to my slip.

Docking went perfectly! With no wind to fight at the docks, I backed the boat beautifully into my slip.

I love sharing my boating time with friends. But there's something to be said, too, for just being on your own.