2011 Coastal Run to Florida

[hanleyclifford]

Finally have a tentative launch & rig date set - 6 August 2011. Kinda late, I know, but things have been busy. Engine is ready except for connection to shaft and alignment (ugh!). Paint job underway. Dave Neptune prop is screaming at me to get wet! I'm guessing I could get 2400 rpm at cruise.

[ILikeRust]

It's a race to the finish!

I just called the boatyard yesterday and scheduled the crane to hoist my engine back into the boat this Friday.

I probably will then run back up there either Saturday or Sunday to work on hooking everything back up, with a goal of getting the hull wet before July 31.

[Dave Neptune]

August??

Hanley, thanx for the post, I've been wanting to bug you about getting on the water but resisted. You guys on the EC must be a dedicated lot to do so much with such a short season of good weather. I just made my 8th weekend trip to Catalina and this is a few shy of my norm. I ususally start in April and cruise through October and sometimes if it looks good or I have an opportunity to go I do so in-between as well. Just braggin' a bit.
I hope all goes well with your launch and that the prop works well as is.

Fair Winds _/) _/)
Dave Neptune

[hanleyclifford]

Dave - I know what you mean about the short season; that's what has turned me into a winter sailor.

[ILikeRust]

You guys on the EC must be a dedicated lot to do so much with such a short season of good weather.

It's actually not as short as you might think, at least not down here in central VA. I actually know people who sail all year long. And down in the lower Chesapeake Bay, where I keep my boat, you don't have to take it out of the water over the winter. Up north, you pretty much have to haul out for the winter. But down here, the water doesn't freeze over - maybe you get a couple days when it might get slushy or a little light ice, but nothing that's going to crush your boat or anything.

My last sail last year was right before Thanksgiving. I hauled the boat only so I could yank the engine and work on it. And if my boat had been ready for it, I would have put it back in at the end of February or early March and would have gone sailing in March.

The spring and fall actually are the best sailing on the Bay. Right now, it's miserable on the Bay. Very hot, very humid, mostly windless. So August sucks for sailing. September, October and November totally rock for sailing on the lower Chesapeake.

As long as you can dodge the hurricanes.

[Bold Rascal]

Ahhh, winter

Mid winter, mid Chesapeake. Oh look, the rivers clear, let's go!
We can get 3-4 inches of ice if it's really cold.

[hanleyclifford]

Excerpt from Log, 1 December 2008

...0900 move to Godfrey Bay for S-SW gale warnings up for 35 knots...anchorage 3730.51/7620.97 depth 18'....note to captain -The smart boats are clear of the Chesapeake by 1 December...

[ILikeRust]

I should point out that most (if not all) marinas down here are not actually ON the Chesapeake Bay proper, but instead typically are on small, but navigable, creeks. I keep my boat (when it's not on the hard) in Queens Creek, which is a quite protected, being (1) behind Gwynn Island, and (2) a small creek with a narrow entrance. In fact those in the know sometimes use it as a good hidey-hole when a hurricane is working its way up the coast.

[Bold Rascal]

Huricane Hidee-hole

That's been a topic my mate and I have discussed more than once prompted by an article we read in a marine mag not long ago.

The nearest "real" marina to my slip is in Crisfield, Md. They have a few floating docks but most are fixed. I would imagine that anyone looking for a safe haven would get in thier and tie up quick. Finding a slip in time might be tough.

Whats a good strategy for safegaurding your boat in a non floating dock/slip?

[hanleyclifford]

The Chesapeake is so full of neat places to hide from the wind it makes no sense to be on a dock of any kind. I saw Annapolis after Isabel and it wasn't pretty. Crisfield is no good either. I would get so far up one of those rivers or creeks the 'gators would freak (if there are any). One good anchor (your biggest and best fluke) with lots of chain and a good bridle in the middle of the creek - that's the ticket (have plenty of cold beer on board).

[msauntry]

Rode out Isabel anchored in front of Jabin's Yard in Back Creek Annapolis. I know plenty of people that took their boats OUT of the marinas and headed for the creeks. Docks can be pretty brutal to boats when the wind and waves build up.

[chiron]

Hanley

As much as I like seeing pictures of an H28 out of the water. I'm happy to hear she is about to get wet. Keep the pictures coming. My H28 is in the process of topsides getting stripped and re-varnished. Seeing yours in a shop makes me a bit jealous. Since I can't sand the boat at the slip I have to run her out and drop anchor which is nice but I sure miss the power tools. That and its been a wet summer here in Portland Or. Keep us all posted.

[Kelly]

Can't sand at the slip? Is that a local rule or is there something else preventing you from doing this? I can't imagine not being able to do some necessary work at the slip...while respecting sleep time, aperitif time etc.

[ILikeRust]

Every marina and boatyard I've dealt with has some rule about sanding or working on your boat.

Every boatyard I know prohibits dry power-sanding your hull, unless you have some dust collection. So you either need to hook up your shop-vac to your sander, use wet sanding methods, or do it by hand with a sanding block. I will note, however, that I see people using power sanders all the time and dry-sanding. Typically on a weekend when there's nobody around...

Most marinas I've dealt with prohibit sanding anything while in the slip, because it allows pollution to get into the water and they can be held liable under state and (potentially) federal law.

[Kelly]

Wow! I wonder when the strongly centralized French government will get on the bandwagon??