Category Archives: Sailboats

We’re Covered

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While Melissa has been rambling across Scotland with her mum, I’ve been doing what men always do when left unsupervised;  sitting around in my underpants, drinking beer.

But a fellow can wallow in his own filth for only so long before he is called to action by his sense of duty. And so it was with pleasure that I received the main sail cover for Galapagos.  Finally, a reason to wear pants!

Our old, saggy, baggy sail cover with a million snaps

Our old, saggy, baggy sail cover with a million snaps

The old sail cover is actually well made and the material still has some life in it but what a hassle it is to take it off or put it back on.  With about fifty twist lock snaps to undo plus the sheer effort of moving that much canvas around, it made a daysail with the main much less likely. And, as you can see from the photo, about six feet of the cover is only accessible from the dodger,  which meant two trips up top to remove and install the cover.

As problems go, this is not up there with global warming, but I am determined to make Galapagos easy to handle for one person.  I consider that a safety factor and a quality of life issue for both Melissa and myself.  Despite her size, I want to make Galapagos easy to use and enjoy for a few hours on Commencement Bay or a few months in the South Pacific.

And so I contacted Jamie Gifford of SV Totem to ask for his advice on replacing the existing cover with with a Stack Pack style cover.  Jamie is a sail maker, full time cruiser and co-captain with his wife,  Behan Gifford, of Totem.  Although Jamie and Behan are currently cruising the Indian Ocean, Jamie was happy to entertain my many questions.

As Jamie was busy cruising the  Maldives, I was referred to Phil Auger of Zoom Sails in New Zealand. Phil guided me through the measurement process and was available to answer the more detailed questions that one inevitably has about something as intimate as canvas work. The cover itself was built in china.

Zoom Sail New Logo

Zoom Sail ‘s New Logo

We paid a bit extra to have the cover made with a non stock color. I was very happy at how well it matches the old canvas and how well it blends in with the sail

The old sail cover on the left.

A close color match.  The old sail cover on the left. The new cover color is Sunbrella’s ” Parchment”

The new cover blends beautifully with the existing sail.

The new cover blends nicely with the existing sail. Maybe we’ll do the mizzen next year.

The installation was fairly straight forward.  I had to remove the sail and old lazy jacks, install the the cover and new lazy jacks, and then bend on the mainsail. The new sail cover uses the groove for the sail foot’s bolt rope which means the main is now loose footed. The new sail cover also came with lazy jacks that are attached to battens that run the length of the cover.  That meant removing the the old lazy jacks that were attached to the boom proper.  This makes for a cleaner install but I had to climb the mast four times to attach the new lazy jacks; once to figure out what was needed and three times to install cotter pins that wanted to jump into the Foss Waterway.

Nice and Tidy

Nice and Tidy

I have found that a boat hook works well for zipping and unzipping the cover. It allows me to reach over the dodger without having to crawl up there.  I still have some tweaks to make on the cover but so far I am quite happy with the improvement.  On Sunday, I took Galapagos out for a sail and used the main for the first time single handed. Lowering the sail still requires some care as the lazy jacks can still allow the aft section of the sail to fall out of the cover if you aren’t dead into the wind.  Still, it was a two minute job to stow the main.

DSCN1405

The sail is fully stacked on top of the boom, minimizing potential snags on the dodger.

I am looking forward to showing Melissa the new cover. The old cover was a source of irritation for both of us.  Phil Auger of Zoom Sails and Jamie Gifford are both great resources and I would recommend their services for anyone looking for sails or canvas work.

Solar Power Achieved!

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When we first set eyes on Galapagos, one of her many charms was a pair of solar panels mounted, fetchingly, upon the hard dodger. Like any relationship that begins at the hormonal level, we overlooked some of the shortcomings that these solar panels might possess. For example, they were only 60 watts. Or that one was only putting out three volts.

One of the older Solar Panels. We were young(er) and in love. We did not notice that these were older polycrystalline cells. Or that they were shorted out.

Still, the mounting hardware was well placed and the all important wiring into the electrical system was good.  So, like any new and budding relationship, we set about to change the object of our affection to suit our ideal.

For this project, I chose to replace the existing panels with the Renogy Monocrystalline 100 watt panels.  This selection was made in part because of one of the cruising blogs we follow, Sundowner Sails Again. They installed the Renogy flexible type panels onto twin wall polycarbonate panels.  Also, the reviews on Amazon for these panels was glowing. We paid $320.00 for two one hundred watt panels, a 30 Amp charge controller and some rather nice but unnecessary electrical connectors. Check em out here: Renogy Solar Panel Bundle 200Watt: 2 100w Solar Panels

Since the old panels were the rigid style and the mounting hardware on our dodger was set up for that, I chose that style. However, I may buy a pair of the flexible panels and place those on the stern as Sundowner did or even on the foredeck when at anchor. Supposedly you can walk on the flexible panels which could be useful on our dodger as occasionally we have to climb up there to mess with the mainsail.  Still, it seems unwise to walk on solar panels.

The new panels. Slight modifications to the mounting brackets already installed on the dodger made installation fairly easy.

The new panels. Slight modifications to the mounting brackets already installed on the dodger made installation fairly easy.

The Renogy panels come with a small junction box mounted below which contains the blocking diodes and terminal connections to short cables fitted with MC4 connectors.  Two points here.

  1. The wires to the terminal board in the junction box were crimped but not soldered.  I went ahead and soldered the connections; it just seems like cheap insurance and I was a little disappointed that it had not been addressed during manufacture.
  2. The MC4 connectors seem to be a reliable, sturdy method of hooking these thing up. However, they are large and I would not drill a  hole into my dodger large enough to pass them through.  I ended up cutting them off and splicing on a length of 10/2 cable to the factory cable and then pushing that through the existing holes used by the old solar panels. That was then sealed up with Life Caulk.
A view of the cables hanging down inside the dodger. I re-used the holes drilled for the old panels.

A view of the cables hanging down inside the dodger. I re-used the holes drilled for the old panels.

The original panels had a controller mounted under the dodger not too far from where you see the black windshield wiper motor on the left in the photo above. I wanted to mount the new 30 amp controller inside, away from the elements and near where I could check the output along with the rest of our electrical devices. In a concession to the facts at hand, I re-used the old electrical cable that leads down to breaker panel and spliced all the cables together and ran the un-regulated voltage down stairs.  the cable leading down to the breaker panel is 12/2 which should be fine for the maximum of 11 amps that these two panels can put out. Snaking a larger cable through the existing raceways and holes was going to be a pain.

I hope I don't regret soldering all these connections. Electrically, it is superior, but if I ever have to modify the installation, it will be that much harder.

I hope I don’t regret soldering all these connections. Electrically, it is superior, but if I ever have to modify the installation, it will be that much harder.

Galapagos has an old but pretty well thought out breaker panel just next to the engine room and workshop.  The old solar system ran the regulated input to a 20 amp breaker on that panel. (there are actually two, one for the dodger panels and one for panels mounted astern) I was able to place the new charge controller on an unused portion of the panel, and then run the regulated output to that 20 amp breaker. This allows me to switch the charge controller in and out of the battery circuit with a simple flip of the breaker.

The blurry) Renogy Charge Controller.

The (blurry) Renogy Charge Controller. In the lower right corner, you can see the breaker labeled Solar Dodger. It is nice to be able to easily turn charging current off to the battery while working on the electrical system.

No project is ever complete without dressing up the wiring.  For this, I used some simple cable raceway with an adhesive backing that I cut to fit.  It isn’t perfect but it looks a sight better than a bunch of dangling cables.

Cable Concealers

Cable Concealers

I almost undid all of this work when I thought I would make sure the conduit would stay in place by driving a small screw into the base. What I actually did was drive a screw right through my freshly spliced cable! Fortunately, the screw missed all  wire and just barely nicked the insulation of the black wire.

Lucky Miss!

Lucky Miss! A little self annealing tape and we are as good as new.

So, now the question is, how well do the panels work?  I haven’t really had an opportunity to put them to a hard test yet.  Melissa and I spent a few hours sailing and anchored out on Vashon Island this past Sunday but that is hardly a test; We just don’t have a lot of current demands until the new refrigeration unit is installed.  Hopefully we will have our holding plate delivered next week and then we will be able to see if the two panels will be able to keep up.

The solar panels represent an important project completed prior to our Vancouver Island trip this July,  The dream is to be able to anchor in a seculded cove for four or five days without using the engine to top off the batteries.  I  have spent a lot of time insulating and sealing the icebox and if the refrigeration unit is as efficient as advertised, we hope to live off solar power exclusively.

S/V Elsa, 1974 Ingrid 38

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Let’s all get real clear about one thing: It is Mike who is building the refrigerator system on Galapagos.  In his post on Reefer Madness Mike consistently used the prounoun ‘we’ to refer to all the work being done on our boat. In Mike’s case, he doesn’t generally refer to himself in the plural form as though he were royalty. Mike is not known to say things like ‘Take us to the royal bed as we are tired.’, or ‘We disagree with the lowering of taxes on the masses as we love our money.’.  No, he may speak the ‘Queen’s English’ as a rule, but he doesn’t generally speak as though he WERE the Queen.  Or King. Or whatever.

Mike aboard S/V Elsa took this shot of us as we passed each other out on the bay.

Mike aboard S/V Elsa took this shot of us as we passed each other out on the bay.

So I can only assume that his use of the collective term is meant to somehow imbue me with a sense of having participated more than I actually have. Or perhaps he is using the term the same way people do when the woman has given birth. You know, as in ‘WE had a baby’. Well, NO, ‘WE’ did not. The woman had the baby and you, pathetic man, stood by and watched with helpless awe and wonder. You got to be there for the fun part before, and the fun part after, but the actual growing and birthing of the child? Not so much. And don’t you forget it!

So let’s get real clear about the fact that it is Mike’s job to build this baby. My job is to stand by and watch with pathetic awe and wonder, my jaw usually on the floor. My how our roles have reversed in the last 30 years.

I got this photo of S/V Elsa on a beautiful winter sailing day in February. Could there BE a more perfect name for this boat?

Mike is burning the candle at both ends lately and I am waiting for the crash and burn. He hasn’t set a pace for himself like this since 1992 when we tore the roof off our second house to add another floor on the same day I went into labor with Andrew. If it were not for me, he would be working himself into a lather, and not the good kind. When he started becoming sleepless due to constant perseverating over the fridge project,  I knew I had to intervene and I would need some new blood in order to get his attention. I decided ‘we’ would take a break and have dinner with some new friends of ours and then go and view their beautiful boat, an Ingrid 38 named Elsa. There is nothing like new friends and their boat to get a guy’s attention, especially when the two guys have so much in common, not the least of which is their mutual first name. (Hint: MacGyver.)

If blogs are good for anything it is meeting other like-minded people. We have met a number of great folks through our blog, most of whom live nowhere near us. S/V Elsa’s people, Michael and Kristin, live in Kirkland and keep their boat in Tacoma at Hylebos Marina, where we used to haul out Moonrise, our old Cal 34. Kristin contacted us through our blog late last year and we arranged dinner together. It was great to see them again this year, hear about their new precious grand baby, and finally swap boat viewings.

Bronze samson posts. 100% saucy.

Elsa is a 1974 Ingrid 38 and Michael and Kristin are the third owners. They bought her from someone who had loved her well, started a lot of projects, then had to sell before seeing them completed. Fortunately for them, he left the boat full of brand new parts and pieces of beautiful wood to finish the old girl.  Michael and Kristin, like all old-boat owners who love their vessels, have found a project to fill their hearts and their days as they finish what the previous owner started. Michael’s goal with Elsa is to have a vessel with simple systems that sails beautifully, staying as true to the classic ways of this lovely boat as possible. Apparently owning a boat like Elsa has been a lifelong dream of Michael’s. He’s living the dream!

The previous owner made this block himself. He left a box of them on the boat.

Stepping aboard Elsa you can feel her solid structure under your feet. She rides in the slip gracefully, no jerky movements to put you off balance and plenty of room to move around. In fact, the Ingrid 38 is designed to be sea-kindly and to sail well in rough seas. Originally designed to be a wooden boat, she has the salty look of a much older sailing vessel.  It’s really so lovely to just be able to ‘step’ aboard a boat rather than climb aboard as you have to do with Galapagos. Different boats, different compromises. At 38 feet, Elsa is just right for a couple who wants to do coastal cruising in this area and she is built for off-shore sailing in mind so they have the perfect ‘go anywhere’ boat for two.

All new opening ports, added by the previous owner. Wow!

Like all ‘new’ boat owners, Michael and Kristin have a number of little projects and plans for their girl, but they are also dedicated to sailing her as much as possible. Between sailings there are plans to paint the deck a different color of tan, change the boot stripe color to a pale grey, and they receive their mainsail with new strong track attached this week. We are envious of that little addition to their sailing system and will be keeping a gimlet eye or two on how that performs for them. I get the impression that it is sailing first, boat work second.

MacGyver at his best.

In the photo above, note how Michael solved the problem of adding winches to his mast without drilling extra holes in the hollow wooden spar. Since the spar is painted, he cannot tell for sure what’s underneath the paint except to know that it is a hollow wooden box, many feet tall. He wanted winches, but not holes. So he had these steel brackets fabricated and mounted the winches onto wood boards. These can be easily removed to make sure moisture is not causing trouble underneath the wood. He also had that bar for the staysail fabricated to allow it to move freely as needed. Sweet.

Elsa’s heart.

Elsa’s Volvo engine is accessed through this hobbit door behind the entry steps. For a 38 foot boat, the engine space is generous and I enjoyed Michael’s description of how he would lay down a tarp and ‘swan dive’ into this space, being careful of the crunchy bits against soft flesh. I believe he may have shed a tear or two when beholding Mike’s engine room aboard Galapagos, but hey, you buy a 47 foot boat and you, too, can have an engine room. We all have our trade offs.

Here’s what made me shed a tear or two myself:

Two guesses what this is.

You’ll never guess what Elsa has on board due to the previous owner’s creatively devious mind. This, my boaty friends, is what amounts to a Japanese sitting tub. Yes, that is not me making this up just to make Mike feel guilty. This is an actual fact. Aboard this Ingrid 38 there is a sitting tub in the head. It’s also a great storage space for life jackets but the point is that if they WANTed to sit in a tub of warm water after a rough sail, they could. And I am dead jealous of that. My tub will be sorely missed when we move aboard Galapagos. I see those little tubs in boats like Spencers and Maple Leafs and it makes me swoon just a little. As I fall to the ground on my knees with desire, I have visions of how I could get me one of those aboard Galapagos. I see this one is built in place rather than fabricated and then installed. Hmmmm. The little grey cells begin computing…

V berth on the Ingrid 38.

While Mike and Michael compared notes on things like electrical systems and such, Kristin and I viewed the V berth with a critical eye. Kristin and I share in common a love of a good comfortable sleeping space on a boat. By ‘comfortable’ I mean one that has headroom, light, and that doesn’t require a herculean effort crawling over a sleeping spouse in the middle of the night when nature calls, as it so inevitably does. (And with more frequency, I might add, as one gets closer to that certain age, whatever that is.)

Kristin and Michael are planning to remodel this area. We will be watching closely. Photo credit to their blog.

So she is looking at a remodel of the salon to make cuddling up easier, and create a space for them to sleep more comfortably. I understand her pain. It seems we both have a certain type of space in mind, and while we agree that we understand sailing and safety systems come first, our desires will not be thwarted forever. Stay tuned for updates to all of that on our mutual blogs.

New sinks, countertops, and faucet.

Their galley is adorable and functional. The previous owner put in a new sink and faucet, lined the icebox with nice formica, and resurfaced the countertops. These are all projects that will be happening aboard our boat, too, so I was extra curious about this area. It’s really a lovely space. He maintained the feel of the interior and kept the surfaces easy to clean. Notice the sink is not yet plumbed, but all the stuff is there waiting to be put in place. Here are a couple more shots.

Really nicely done ice box.

Love that easy-clean area on the bulkhead behind the stove.

Notice in the photo above you can see that the previous owner added insulation to the boat, at least above the waterline. Ok, I am dead jealous of that.

For extra coziness on those wet winter days.

Kristin and Michael have a blog you can follow to watch Elsa’s progress as they complete the myriad projects they have in the works. She is already a beautiful vessel and has obviously been well-loved. By the time they are ‘finished’ (HA HA HA) with her, she will be the Queen of Commencement Bay. ‘We’ will be pleased for them.