Summer is halfway

With summer well into the halfway point and this year being a very busy one with work (just started with this company in Feb 2014) which has had a direct impact in my time on board.
I have been installing satellite systems for Bell express VU.
Work is busy and steady which will help the kitty more but my time on the boat is suffering.
I miss sailing the weekends away even if I am just sitting in the cockpit with a coffee.  There was always something to do on my boat always on other boats and just chatting and talking dock stuff.
Retirement cant come fast enough now, only 10 years to go sooner if I sell the house and head out and see the world from the cockpit of my boat.

Vacation plans

Planning out vacation time in advance is a spring time thing and this year as luck would have it my time off falls on two of the three big holidays this year. May 24 weekend and Canada day. I will be working the weekend of labour day but will have the weekdays off after which still works for me, as anytime out is good time. 

May 24 is a three day weekend and I am going to be heading to Leek island this year which is located on the thousand islands area for the first night and then heading to navy bay for day two with a side trip to Kingston to see family for dinner. Day three is back to the marina for a dinner BBQ party and then waking up having coffee and breakfast, followed with a good cleanup inside and then a wash down of the entire boat. Back to house for dinner and getting ready for work the next day. 

Canada day is going to be great this year as I am planning to do a night sail to Toronto for the fire works. We'll be on the hook at Toronto island and then heading back home over the next three days for a total of five days. Well that's the plan but time will tell and it could also just be a great reach to Main Duck Island and just veg out for a few days walk around the island, check out the light house and maybe bury another geocache.
 A windward day to ram island is another favorite as well. 
Kerr bay another great hangout usually a few boats there BBQing and swimming as is Stella bay. 
I guess were lucky to have a few great choices right by our home port that are a easy day sail and also offer good protection. Rounding Amherst Island is another great but long days sail, maybe Wolfe Island will be on the list this year as an weekend adventure.One thing for sure is i'm planning to put some serious mileage under the keel this year.

Commissioning the boat will be a full weekend for sure and that happens the week prior to launch weekend. 
Some of the upgrades this year include standing rigging finished, all small stays are done and waiting to be installed, Last year the main side stays back stay and fore stay rigging was done with the install of the furler.
Mast work this summer will include a complete re-wiring and new VHF antenna and cable, Mast head light, wind vane, wind speed added as well. spreader lights have been upgraded and just need to be installed as does the steaming light.
I found these red and white individual LED lights and will be placing them inside the cabin area, galley, head, wet locker, fore peak and quarter berth. Outside in the cockpit will have two installed both by the sole at opposite ends to light up for foot traffic at night. two of each will be placed into the tube of the dodger and pointing down to give full illumination of the cockpit when required. 
Combing boxes are to be marked off and installed this season glassed in and then a kiwi grip finish over the whole deck and cockpit.
Every year I just keep adding to the list of things to do on the boat and almost as fast strike them off the list.
Galley is getting propane piped to the stove so that will reduce the small one pound tanks on board to a big 20lb tank mounted on the stern with a splitter to the new Magna rail mount.

Winter setting in

With the cold winter starting to set in for another season on the hard, a reflection of the summer comes to mind of where, what, who come to mind.
What happened over the last sailing season, Ron and Lauren joined us this year in their Catalina 25 called Y-Knot also another younger fella Darrin bought in with his Annapolis 26 and had lots of questions about sailing and handling, rigging and a day sail with him started him on the right track .

Boats were repaired and tuned up, furlers were installed on a few this year and three were rebuilt on the dock. The crew at the marina is second to none, full of ideas on how to, and then do show you how its done.
Some upgrades at the marina were also done, Gary and I did some electrical outlets and rewired the pumpout dock along with power to the west section which has not been working for the last year.
we had a great turnout  on wednesday night rounding the poles with an average of four boats each week but the party always had at least 35 people joining in the fun and burgers, with happy hour being stretched to hours.
Projects are being planned out for the winter months which will be wiring upgrades and looking at a hard top dodger and an arch for the solar panels and a possible wind generator.

Xantrex Charger/Inverter installed

So I went out and got a new xantrex charger inverter 1000watt.
Some info for you to read on is in the included links here;
Data Sheet
Owners guide
Installation Manual

For my boat I had to install it in my battery electrical compartment. This also meant some cleanup of the existing wiring the previous owners had left behind.
No biggy as this was also on the list of to do's and getting it properly arranged so the feeder from the switch actually did do the power feed was top of the list.
after removing all the extra single feeds I then made a power distribution feed and connected all power here. Grounding was also set up the same so everything is grounded to one place.
The feeder was set up in two lines
1) internal components on one feed which is controlled by the panel
2) external components on one feed.which is the radio, GPS and autopilot
So now when I shut down power everything is off.\
The only exception is auto bilge pump which is direct to house system and has the panels hooked into them as well for continuous power supply.

The second issue was the shore power and that needed to be rewired as it was done improperly and only powered one side on the main disconnect, so now we have two full 15 amp circuits drawing on a 30 amp system.

If you remember this is the solar panel kit I bought in 2010 which I has hastily installed and wired two summers ago which I properly re installed and wired through an MPPT controller.
Now the panels are putting out just over 75 watts of power with a continuous 7 amp charge which really handles all the power needs when on the hook.
I can run my power cooler all day with minimal drain on the system, I shut it down at night when cooler out and it is not being opened for atleast 8 hours.

The new main sail cover has been made for the boat and it looks awesome, Thanks to Barb Harrison who custom made this for me. Cost was 300 and is very reasonable... Pictures and close ups next post.

long over due

Long time has passed by so some updates are in need.
The furler is installed
the new sails are on the boat
did a full clean up in the interior, marine cetol was used on all the wood
lines were replaced, new sail cover has been ordered and will be ready next week.
Kami and I spent the day cleaning and reorganizing inside and out, removing items that were not used or needed. Slimming down what is inventoried and carried onboard made a big difference to space as well.
Electronics were tested, some wire management will be in order over the next few weeks.
Also I will have the dodger remade over the winter and am looking for a new anchor.
Bow roller is being picked up tomorrow while we are in kingston and I will see if it can be installed while on vacation during the next week.
The BBQ needs to be replaced with a larger grill and propane as well. The charcoal is just too small and has a habit of dying out prior to fully cooking the dinner.
The go pro was picked up and I am playing with it while sailing.

Were In...

Were in, were launched, we are tied to the dock and so begins the completion of the winter refitting.
So as mentioned before we have the ESP Furler by Harken to install, the new standing rigging is being made as we speak (so to speak). Running rigging has been replaced and the new halyards, sheets, dock lines, are all sitting in a bag waiting for the new rigging to arrive so it can be put into place when we re-step the mast.
I took the opportunity to also add a second foresail halyard and a topping lift.
Lazy Jack lines were replaced and so were the reefing lines.
The anchor rode was new last year so that is good but I added a 50 ft chain to the 200 ft rode. This will give me better holding with the ground tackle and I get the stretch from the rode as well.
The interior was totally re stained and varnished, a second counter that folds away was added to increase preparation of meals and to assist cleanup.
The next big project is to again go through the stuff on-board and remove what has not been used in the last year to make some more space. Cooking items, plates, silverware and such to be removed and only enough for 4 people will be left.
meal planning will be different and provisions will also be less this year. Unlike last year I removed four grocery bags off at the end of the season so my new improved provision list will be put into effect.

My old working jib will be cut down and a bolt rope is to be added which will make a great storm sail for the furler if bad weather is lurking for more then a day.

When I got the boat everything was led to the aft, this is no longer the case, some items are now back where they belong, Foresail is at the mast due to furler, main is at mast again as I have the reef point there so I can lower the main fix the tack point of the reef and tighten, then head to the cockpit to adjust the leach of the reef point.
Boomvang now leads to clutch and topping lift as well with the new DRS foresail halyard, slightly different but well thought out.

Clean wax and polish

The season is in the beginning stages and cleaning and waxing the boat are paramount to getting ready for launch date May 5
The deck needs to be pressure washed, hull waxed and anti fouling applied.
The weather has not been the best so getting a decent weekend to accomplish all that needs to be done can be somewhat grueling in-itself.

The list of cleaning solutions and the respective use's are long seems when you own a 40 year old boat it takes more time, energy and solutions to keep her clean. From decks, to wood, to pots and pans, ropes, lines and fenders everything and anything needs to be wiped, scrubbed and some done for a second time.
I like the teak oil, it is a twice a year application and like anything on a boat requires some time and care

Tablet is here

Just got a tablet, Motorola 32 gig with the ability to add another 32 gig with an sd card.
I downloaded a few nautical themed apps  and will be testing some out and will update the results over the summer.
1) Marine Navigator
2) Nautical Routes
3) Predict Wind
4) Log Book
5) iAIS

I am just learning how to get these working and setup.
Maps will need to be downloaded and then unpacked or placed into the respective directories.
It could prove interesting on how they work and the info that is given and that is actually usable while underway.