Red Dwarf

A Few Changes

2010-07-22T20:44:00.001-07:00

After NOOD it became clear that a few changes needed to be made to help make the Tbird easier to sail. June was spent drilling holes in the cabin top, routing out balsa core, filling with epoxy, re-drilling.

Ebay came through with two lightly used Lewmar 8 winches and I rebuilt and rearranged the cam cleats on the cabin top. Much better arrangement for control lines and the spinnaker is now much easier to control.

2010-07-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

2010-07-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

Inboard genoa tracks.

2010 NOOD Regatta

2010-07-22T18:50:00.001-07:00

Yep. Over 21.

The sailing was awesome. The rum was pretty good too.

New Rope Clutches

2010-05-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

The wind conditions for the first evening of the Spring Series was as good as anyone could wish for. A nice, steady blow that challenged the new crew for the first time, as well as aging hardware.

The vang came undone, the traveller is causing grief, an issue I hope to deal with in the near future, and the old Spinlock XA clutches were having trouble holding the halyards in place.

The rope clutches had been suspect for some time and I had previously picked up two new Spinlock XAS clutches off of Ebay for a reasonable price. The great thing about the XA to XAS swap, beyond the new functionality, is that you get to use the same holes.

2010-05-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

The old Spinlock XA clutches had an unidentified black sealant visible around one of the bases and I was a bit leery about how well bonded the clutches might be to the cabin top. After removing the through bolts I was pleasantly surpirsed when, after a firm sideways knock, each clutch popped right off.

Most of the sealant was a sticky white substance that gave up without much of a fight and, as the opportunity arises to update or repair items on the Bird, is turning out to be the goop of choice by the previous owner for installing deck hardware. I did notice that no precautions were taken to protect the balsa core of the cabin top. The PO just drilled the holes and installed the clutches with the sealant. Luckily, there was not water damage to the core that I could see or feel. I suspect I will be re-bedding all of the deck hardware over the summer as a precaution.

2010-05-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

I put a 1/4 inch router bit on a Dremel and cut out the Balsa core around the previously drilled holes, filled with thickened epoxy and re-drilled the holes. I counter sunk the holes and bed the new rope clutches with 3M 4200.

2010-05-08T10:19:00.000-07:00

New Headboard Shackle

2010-05-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

The new Ullman genoa was delivered back in March and was in use for the Meyedenbauer Yacht Club Spring Regatta. The delivery of the new main was delayed by a few weeks but made it to Seattle in time for the first race of the Lake Spring Series. When we put it on it was apparent that the Winchard shackle (left) that fit the old UK Sails main wasn't going to work. We had a spare shackle on board that we were able to squeeze over the headboard, just barely. The day after the race I went to Fisheries and purchased the Ronstan shackle (right). It's the simple things that make life better. Now my Winchard shackle key has been retired to light duty (bottle opener).

New Splice (re-splice?)

2010-05-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

Ever since I put the new genoa halyard together I've been wanting to turn my John Monk main halyard cover to core splice into a taper. Check that one off the list.

Last day of early 2010 racing on Lake Union

2010-02-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

Boomkicker is finally on.

2010-02-21T17:31:00.000-08:00

Gearing up for 2010 sailing I moved the spinnaker halyard to the mast and installed the boomkicker.

Back in the water

2009-09-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

After some keel work and a coat of bottom paint the Tbird is back in the water. She's actually been back in the water for about a month now, I just haven't taken the time to update the blog. In that past month I've been taking care of odds and ends in preparation for the North Point Race on September 19. And sailing.

I put on the best looking main from the inventory that came with the boat. It looks old and tired, but it appears to be holding its shape well enough to use and abuse for a little while longer. On the other hand the racing genoa, a UK Halsey tape drive sail, looks like it probably won't survive much longer. The first big wind may just carry off what's left of the mylar, leaving me with a load path doily.

Autumn is on it's way, evidenced by some rainy days and cooler tempuratures, and on one of those rainy days I spent some quality time sitting in the cabin observing where water was finding its way into the boat. The next day, thankfully a sunny one, I traveled around the outside of the boat sealing up points of intrusion. I believe I was able to seal them all, all but the mast. Any suggestion on keeping water from working its way down the mast is appreciated.

Out of the water and on the hard

2009-08-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

I took the short trip from the slip to CSR Marine to have the boat hauled out so that I could take pictures of the bottom to send to the insurance company. After taking a close look I decided to have CSR perform some minor repairs to the hull and paint the bottom. I'm also having them repair some fiberglass damage at the transom motor opening and devise a closure method for the hatch.

New halyards

2009-07-31T21:41:00.001-07:00

It was clear the that main and genoa halyards were well past their prime. John helped me with replacing the main halyard and now I'm working on replacing the halyard for the genoa, which has given me the opportunity to strip the cover and put a transition in the line for the first time.

The Center for Wooden Boats Thunderbird Regatta is this weekend and I'll be crewing on John's boat so I probably won't have the time to feed the new halyard back through the mast until Sunday afternoon. Once I pull it thorough I'll put a locking eye splice in the core end of the halyard and whip the bitter end.

Wall to wall carpeting

2009-07-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

I dig that the Tbird came equipped with a stiched rug of a totem pole with a Thunderbird at the top.

Three Days and 88 Nautical Miles Later

2009-07-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Three days and 88 nautical miles later the Thunderbird is moored in her new slip on the north end of Lake Union.

The Ballard Locks

2009-07-26T11:13:00.001-07:00

About four hours after motoring out of Port Ludlow we arrived at Shilshole and the Hiram Chittenden Locks at five o'clock. The sound had been flooding all afternoon, but even with a relatively high tide we were able to fit under the BNSF railway bridge.

The second of two set-backs in Port Ludlow

2009-07-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning we returned to Port Ludlow to find that the 8hp Honda outboard that I borrowed from Jarred for the trip down did not want to stay running after we started it up. Rather than risk the engine troubles on the last leg of the trip with a cranky outboard we drove to Port Townsend where I picked up and new 6hp four stroke Mercury from West Marine. (Ouch)

We dropped the new motor in place and loaded the Honda in Dee's SUV, then we set off for Seattle.

Marrowstone

2009-07-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places on Earth.

After securing LCM #2 we stopped at the store and went to the house on Marrowstone where we enjoyed scotch, steaks and a shower.

2009-07-26T10:25:00.001-07:00

Dee and Lilly

2009-07-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

Joe and the replacement LCM.

Port Ludlow

2009-07-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

According to Officer Barnes at U.S. Customs in Friday Harbor, the T-bird remains a Canadian vessel until registered in the U.S.

We arrived at Port Ludlow at about four o'clock in the evening on Monday when the first of two set-backs in Port Ludlow occurred.

While walking back from the Port Ludlow Marina office Joe discovered that his pipe was missing. After a quick inventory of his pockets and a thorough search of the boat it was clear that the pipe, the little crew member (LCM), had gone overboard as we were securing the T-bird to the dock. Joe tried to play it off as no big deal, and claimed he could go without for the remaining day of the trip, I knew action had to be taken if we were to have a stress free trip down to Seattle the following day.

Fortunately, my mom, Dee, was was up at the house on Marrowstone at the time and was en route to pick us up from Port Ludlow. First order of business? A trip to Port Townsend to find a replacement for LCM.

Port Townsend Ship Canal

2009-07-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

We reached the Port Townsend Ship Canal between Indian Island and the Quimper Peninsula at slack.

Strait of Juan de Fuca

2009-07-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Just past Smith Island.

The Strait of Juan de Fuca was calm as well, and the Admiralty Inlet was flooding.

Cattle Pass

2009-07-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

The current was flowing in our direction.

Departing Friday Harbor

2009-07-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Departing Friday Harbor Monday morning we were greeted by clear and calm conditions.

Apple, meet orange(s)

2009-07-22T23:47:00.001-07:00

The marina at Friday Harbor put us in a 40 foot slip for the night.

Friday Harbor

2009-07-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

After beating against the current in the Speiden channel for what felt like an eternity, and working our way through the roughest seas of the trip just east of the Speiden channel, we arrived at the U.S. Customs dock in Friday Harbor four hours after we left B.C.

A few days before the trip to Sidney I made a call to employ the services of a customs broker in order to ease the transition of Red Dwarf from Canada to the U.S.; probably one of the smartest decisions of the trip. The broker provided forms required by U.S. Customs to import the boat and communicated with Customs about what I was up to and forwarded the forms to the Customs office.

I contacted the Customs office in Friday Harbor an hour before our arrival to let them know we were on our way and again via a phone handset on the Customs dock once we arrived. I was instructed to make my way up to the office located just on shore where I was greeted by officer Barnes, a fellow about three times my size outfitted in border patrol regalia. He asked for my paperwork and I provided him with the U.S. Customs power of attorney required by the customs broker, the U.S. Customs invoice for the Thunderbird, the NAFTA certificate of origin, and the bill of sale. Glancing down at what I had presented he asked "where is the rest?" I told him that what I had given him was all I had. He rephrased the question, asking if I had registration paperwork for the T-bird that would provide proof of ownership on the part of the seller and the manufacturer's serial or identification number for the vessel. When I told him that all the paperwork I had was in front of him he gave me a brief glance that I interpreted as his disapproval at the dearth of documentation before gathering it all up and moving to a computer terminal in an adjacent room. After about thirty minutes of entering information on the computer and asking the occasional question we walked back down to the Customs dock so he could inspect the boat.

When we arrived at the boat, and from the relative comfort of the dock, Officer Barnes asked where the hull ID number could be found. I told him that I did not believe the boat had identification of any kind on the hull, inside or out, and mentioned that the old, weathered class measurement sticker just inside the companionway may have some useful information. The boat heeled under his considerable weight as he stepped down into the cockpit and then carefully eased himself through the companionway. After a moment of looking around inside the boat he emerged, stood up in the cockpit, looked and me and said that the sticker really had no information. He stepped back onto the Customs dock and looked down at the vessel entrance or clearance statement and the entry/immediate delivery forms he held in his hands. He gave a shrug, signed the forms and handed them to me. We shook hands and he told us to have a safe trip.

The Thunderbird cleared U.S. Customs.

Quiet, fast, and much larger than us

2009-07-22T22:56:00.000-07:00

Our course to Speiden Channel was briefly interrupted when we paused to watch the freighter glide by.

Goodbye, North Saanich

2009-07-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

We ventured out of the harbor at six-thirty in the morning on Sunday into calm conditions.

Thunderball

2009-07-22T22:45:00.000-07:00

We were picked up from the ferry terminal by Gordon and transported to the Marina in North Saanich to find two other Thunderbirds, set up for cruising.

If your Thunderbird is named Thunderball your tender is named . . .

2009-07-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

Restless

2009-07-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

On the ferry to Sidney, B.C.

2009-07-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

Joe and the carry-on.

We left for Sidney on Saturday July 18.

Heading to Sidney, B.C .

2009-07-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

It feels like I've got all the bases covered. All of the paperwork is in the hands of the customs broker, Canadian currency should arrive at the bank this Friday, time off from work verified, charts of all points between Sidney and Seattle, outboard motor, and a ride to the Anancortes ferry terminal. And, of course, a crew of one (thanks, Dad). I will be bringing Thunderbird #1021 down to Seattle to her new home in a few days.