Now We're Cooking

I'm right in the middle of a 2 week vacation that I had planned a while back to really get to know the boat.  After the boat launched I had gone out on 3 or 4 day sails/sea trials to make sure everything was working as expected, but hadn't done any overnights or long sails and stayed close to home.  There are a few things that I'll have to rework a bit and I'll post about those issues later on in the year, but none of the issues are sailing or safety related so it's game on.

The weather has been incredible except for a front that rolled through at the end of the first weekend of vacation.  Steph and I had a couple of good sails and did some much needed scrubbing of the decks (the boat had not been washed since launch).  The last night we were there, we went to dinner and the wind picked up to a steady 30kts with gusts in the 40s.  Mattapoisett Harbor is open to the Southeast and when the wind blows from that direction the anchorage gets pretty rough.  Add in a downpour and the return to the boat was pretty exciting.  Overnight, the harbor got so rough that we ended up sleeping in the main cabin because the v-berth was a bucking bronco.  

The next morning we left and the whole family returned a few days later to sail down to Vineyard Haven on Martha's vineyard for a few days.  It was HOT and humid but fortunately the breeze moderated things a bit.  We set out a bit later than planned and the wind had picked up significantly, so before we dropped the mooring I decided to put a reef in the main.  I believe the reefing system on the boat was intended to be a single line system, but the way I currently have it configured requires that I pull the reef tack onto a reefing hook on the forward end of the boom and then the line for the reefing clew runs aft to the cockpit. I may revisit this in the future, but it works well and requires minimal fuss.  In my experience, a true single line reefing system introduces a lot of friction and puts a lot of strain on the mast track.  

Anyway, the reef was a good idea because by the time we got out on the bay the wind was a steady 20kts with gusts to 25 and to get to Vineyard Haven, we needed to transit Woods Hole and we would be hard on the wind for the first leg.  I also partially rolled up the genoa to keep the boat from being overpowered.  Buzzards Bay is known for its 'Smoky Souwesters' and it lived up to to name with big winds and 3-6 foot steep chop. The boat galloped along at 7 kts toward Woods Hole and I was really surprised at how civilized it was compared to my Alberg 35.  The Alberg was a vintage CCA design with a narrow beam, low freeboard, and long overhangs that would result in wet and wild with the rail going under almost constantly in those conditions.  Weather helm was also a constant struggle because of the large main (as compared to the fore sail).

The Niagara is a different animal altogether.  The wide beam and high freeboard coupled with a more proportionate main to foresail ratio made for a downright civilized ride and we had a very steady heel angle of about 10-15 degrees.  The Alberg would have been 30-35 degrees all day long.  My dad always used to say: "If the drinks spill, it's kids stuff" and while I've always enjoyed the kids stuff, as I get older I can really appreciate a more comfortable ride.  

We made it to Woods Hole in about and hour and had the tide with us so going through was a pleasant experience.  The Woods Hole passage is a notorious stretch of water that separates the Cape Cod mainland with the Elizabeth Islands (named in 1602 after Queen Elizabeth I by explorer Bartholomew Gosnold).  The tides can run up to 5 kts and do not follow the charted channel resulting in boats being dragged over rocky bars if their not careful and even though the channel is well marked, the markers can be dragged under water or pulled off station when the tide is really running.  Add in a few car and high speed ferries to the mix and it makes for a memorable passage. Fortunately, when we transited, the current was only about 2.5 kts and all went smoothly.

Once through Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Vineyard Haven is only about 3 miles off the coast and we made it into the harbor and an awaiting mooring in short order.  We had reserved an inner harbor mooring and even though the boats are very close together, it was an easy pickup because it's so protected.  

Once we were settled and cleaned up all the lines in the cockpit we just hung out, swam a bit and watched all the happenings in the harbor.  It's very busy and there are often ferries, windjammers, and ridiculous superyachts coming and going.  Also of note is the number of classic boats in the harbor, many of which were built at the famed Gannon and Benjamin yard right on the beach in the harbor.  

We had a few ice cold tequila drinks and made black bean burgers for dinner.  I'll take a moment here to extol the virtues of boat refrigeration.  Of all the upgrades to the boat, I think this is my favorite.  I have never owned a boat with refrigeration and was initially on the fence about installing it but I'm so glad I did (Refrigeration Install).  The days of melted ice blocks and soggy food floating around in a big soggy cooler stew are over and I'm happy to say goodbye.  

We eventually took the launch into town so we could part with a bunch of money to get some ice cream and walk around town before heading back to the boat for a few rounds of Bogle before bed.  My only regret is leaving the dinghy behind because the launch service is $5 per person each way, so with the 4 of us we spent $40 just to get to the overpriced ice cream. Oh well...

The next morning we woke up, took a swim and headed back home around 9AM.  The wind was a bit lighter than the day before and we had an absolutely perfect sail back through Woods Hole and across Buzzards Bay to Mattapoisett.  Now I know the Niagara is not a racer, but we passed a few boats on the same course as us so I was pretty pleased.  We made it back into the harbor and picked up our mooring just before noon.  My son and daughter had to get back for work the following day so we had a quick lunch and said our goodbyes.  All in all it was a pretty perfect weekend and I'm really starting to get to know the boat and I feeling more comfortable on her every day.

Velorum Floats!

I've been slacking on the writeups in the past month or so especially considering this has been the most exciting month of the whole project, but it's been so busy and stressful I just haven't had much time to sit down and write.  I'll get into a few more details but in a nutshell, Velorum was hauled, launched, and sailed.

Rolling back to mid June, I was in full on stress mode trying to get the hauler to commit to a specific date (24th) and getting the boat ready for the road.  This entailed removed the pulpit on the bow and all of the lifelines I had just built up so the boat would be under the height limit (I think 12') when on the road.  I knew this needed to be done before I built the lifelines, but it was annoying to have to take things apart that I spent so much time putting together.  Such is life.

I finally got word on the 22nd that the truck would be there to pick the boat up on the 24th, so I called a few friends who could skip out of work for a few hours to help me load the mast onto the truck (the hauling company explicitly said that they do not load masts themselves and I would need help).  The driver called me the night before and said he would be there around 9AM, but he didn't actually show up until 10:30 or so because of traffic.  I felt bad because my co-workers took time out of their day to help, but ended up sitting around for quite a while.  

The whole process of loading a boat onto a truck seems very unnatural to me and it was super stressful to watch but after about an hour or so, the boat was on the trailer with the mast on the side rack and ready for the trip down to Mattapoisett MA.  I watched the boat drive off and decided that I would not follow the boat down to watch it get unloaded and just trusted that it would all get done. Sometimes it's best not to see how the sausage is made.

The next day I headed down to Mattapoisett Boatyard to spend a few days getting her ready and found the boat had arrived in one piece and happily with no damage. I found a spare ladder, climbed aboard and got to work.  The first thing I did was reinstall the pulpit and lifelines and get the navigation red/green light wired on the pulpit (I had run the wire earlier this spring, but never installed it knowing that I would just have to take it apart for the trip).  

Next up was rigging the mast. I installed the windvane, windex, and lightning arrestor on the masthead and then replaced the rope chasers with all the actual halyards before turning to the standing rigging. This was one of the biggest sources of stress for me because the new rigging I built the previous summer (here) was up until this point theoretical.  I didn't really know if everything would fit even though I checked and re-checked my measurements about a hundred times when I put it all together.  

I attached the six shrouds (2 lowers and 1 upper per side) and then re-assembled the profurl roller furler and attached the forestay.  At this point I bundled up all the shrouds and loosely tied them off to the mast near the partner in preparation for stepping the mast.  I stopped in at the yard office and said I thought I was ready to step the mast and 15 minutes later the riggers and a boom truck showed up.  It's worth noting here that the crew at Mattapoisett Boatyard are so accommodating and patient.  When I contracted with them earlier in the year, they said they could help as much or as little as I wanted when getting the boat ready to go.  I chose to do most of the work myself except for the actual step and when I said I was ready, they swarmed into action.  

Earlier I said that it seemed unnatural to see a boat loaded onto a trailer; well, stepping a mast takes it to another level.  Seeing a 250lb mast with wires everywhere suspended above your boat with nothing more than a strap is not for the faint of heart.  Fortunately, all went well other than a minor adjustment of one of the shrouds that should have gone forward of the spreaders instead of behind them.  They spotted my mistake before they even got it off the ground.  Once ready, they picked it up with the boom truck, dropped it into place and started attaching all the rigging.  Amazingly, my measurements were spot on and everything attached perfectly.  

The only piece of rigging that wasn't finished was the backstay because I couldn't get an accurate measurement from the old rigging so I put the stalok fitting on the top so I could attach it to the mast and then I cut it about 2 feet long so once the mast was stepped I could cut it to final length.  With the mast in place and all the shrouds and forestay attached the crew helped me stretch the backstay aft and we estimated the length needed.  They gave me a few minutes to cut it and assemble the bottom stalok fitting before we locked it onto the backstay chainplate.  They did a quick tune of the rig and everything checked out great (they commented on how well it had gone and that the mast went into column perfectly).  What a relief.  After that drama was over I was able to install the boom and get the rest of the running rigging and dodger setup.

The last thing I needed to do before launch was get the engine started. I had run the engine back in Canterbury after finishing up the installation, but I thought it would be a good idea to double check in case something had rattled loose during transport.  It fired right up with no issues so I gave the yard the go ahead to launch the boat.  

Unfortunately, the tide was too low to launch that day and I was out of time and had to get back to work so I had to wait until the following week and take a day off work to get the boat launched.  Steph and I  showed up the following Tuesday (6/30) and let them know I was ready to go.  10 minutes later they had the boat in the travel lift slings and the boat was hanging over the water (this was clearly not their first rodeo).  

They lowered the boat in and had me step aboard to check all the seacocks and make sure there were no leaks.  While still in the slings I started up the engine and let it run for a few minutes and then they fully dropped the slings and sent me off into the harbor to pick up a mooring.  Somehow all of this was drama free and everything seemed about right.  

Steph and I spent a few hours out on the boat cleaning things up and checking systems before heading back on the launch.  The first sail would have to wait until the weekend, but this was the milestone I had been working towards for 2.5 years.  Most of the work was over (it's never really over) and now it was time to get to know the boat.