Pointing the bow high into the wind or do you want to race me?

All of us Nauticat owners find out very quickly, that our yachts are no racing sleds. They are darn comfortable cruising yachts but racing? Well, not so fast. Part of the problem is that we cannot point very high and that puts us at a definite disadvantage, while cruising or racing. Part of the problem has got to do with the forestay. If it is not drum tight, your pointing capabilities are even less. The so-so manual solution is to turn the backstay turnbuckles a few times. While this does improve things somewhat, you now must remember to turn them back, too. Plus, turning the turnbuckles is an unscientific way of accomplishing this important task. So, what to do?

During the past couple of years, I have read about hydraulic backstay adjusters being used on those, well, racing sleds. It all sounded very good and made a lot of sense. Then I forgot about this again until the next time, I saw this referenced in the sailing mags. Several weeks ago, I was talking to my rigger and asked him about hydraulic backstay adjusters. This turned into a lively conversation. No wonder. He stood to make some good money on such a deal... :-) ... But, what the heck, we must support the economy and so I agreed to his deal. Bremer Speck has split backstays. They are now equipped with hydraulic adjusters and, wow, what a difference. Pump, baby, pump! I keep them pressurized at about 1000 lbs and can safely go up to 3000 lbs and how easy it is to do. No sweat at all. You wanna race me?

Welcome Aboard! Is what you say to your visitors!

The emphasis here is on "most", especially, those who come to visit with a "six-pack" in their hands... :-)

But, there are other kinds of visitors, which come and stop by. Most of the times, it is just a quick visit, like, when dolphins come to play in your bow wake for a few minutes, which is always great fun to watch. At other times, the visit may last a little bit longer. Especially, when birds do visit. When you are at sea and a bird lands on your yacht, it does usually mean that the bird is exhausted and looking to rest. They may stay for an hour, a day and sometimes even longer. The smart bird heads right down below, where it is cozy and warm and bread crumbs can be found or will be offered. Plenty of stories about such visits can be found on the net. The guy (or gal?) shown in the photo came to rest for just a little bit and then flew off again. He was not much of a talker, either.

How to get a close-up look when the object is 12 meters above the deck!

I have been up and down my main and mizzen masts many times over the years and even though, I am usually very afraid of heights, on the boat, height does not bother me. So going up the mast is a routine. However, sometimes, you remember that you forgot something, just as soon as you come back down and stand on the deck. Now you have 2 options. No.1 is to go back-up, No.2 is..... Well, that is when a digital camera comes in very handy, indeed! I needed to confirm hole locations at the masthead to use for mounting an ACTIVE-X RTE antenna. A couple of snapshots later, using my 10X optical zoom, I now know what to do!

My Hand Still Hurts....

From having had to hand-pump a zillion gallons of motor oil a few weeks ago, when the oil cooler blew and the motor nearly filled-up completely with sea water. See a previous post for a look at the sludge which got pumped out. An additional 5 gallons or so of fresh motor oil was later put through the motor, to help flushing out all of the remaining sludge. The hand-pumping went on for several hours over 2 days. Not again. I sure hope I will never again face such a dilemma. To assist with future oil changes, I have now installed an electric, 12 volts "Reverso" pump, as a back-up to the hand-pump. A valve allows easy switching between the two.

THE Skipper

I have been mentioning Skipper 150 so many times that I thought I should show you a photo of the real Skipper. It is an old and somewhat grainy photo and shows some crooked teeth, but, hey, I cannot deny it, it is me.

Being Green Is Not Easy! Or, My Favorite Yacht!

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Saaiilllling, Part II

Another photo which was taken at the start line in Marion a couple of weeks ago.