This is my blog of my sailing "adventures". Not all that adventurous at the moment as I am mainly on metro/city lakes but, you never know when I might venture out somewhere..... The boat? A 1992 Beneteau First 235. Hull #421.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Maybe we can launch..... maybe
Things have been very strange with the weather around here this "spring". After I took the cover off the boat we had no less than 4 major snow storms in the 3" to 8" ranges. Overnight, from May1st to 2nd, southeastern Minnesota got slammed again. A record 18", yes you read that correctly, 18" of snow fell in some areas. This is May for cripes.... The ice is officially off the lake and I have puttered around a bit inside the boat. So I guess that is a positive note. I just need a warm stretch to get outside the boat work done. Oh and today as I look out the window here at work, it is snowing.... the image below is a screen cap from a few minutes ago of the weather radar. Be nice if it was moving to the east but no, it is coming up from the south and moving due north...... Next week is looking like things will be back to normal.....
Friday, April 5, 2013
Spring has sprung
It is officially spring now and the weather hear at 45 degrees north is actually starting to behave. Its been above 40 for a while now and doesn't appear to be going below freezing at night either. Got the cover off the boat last night and poked around on the boat a bit. Things look like they weathered the winter nicely. I will be redoing the cover frame for the end of the season though. Need something easier to deal with. Will need a new tarp also as the one I have been using has got a few too many holes in it now.
So the project list before launch is as follows;
So also I had the son of the owner of Giulietta, a custom built 12 meter in Portugal, and he also owns the Anything Sailing website, do some custom name graphics and come up with a logo for my good old boat. Fred is 15 or 16 and is an aspiring graphic artist. I figured who better to do this for me. I want it done, he wants experience, and I even paid him! So below is what he came up with. I like them and that's all that maters.
Anyway, all I need is a few weekends of decent weather and I can get my projects done. Then ice out on the lake and then splash. I will be at Wayzata Yacht Club this year and will be doing some PHRF racing too. I figure why not, will be great fun and I will learn a lot.
Lots to keep you all posted about over the upcoming season.
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| Tarp off and yes, still a little snow and ice left on the ground. |
So the project list before launch is as follows;
- Mount deck organizer and clutch to run halyards to the cockpit.
- Refurbish startboard winch.
- New halyards.
- New mast head sheaves.
- Mount the porta potti. Really don't want that to be mobile.....
- Remount toe rails. Pulled them last year and never got around to mounting them.
- Replace one, maybe two of the trailer tires. One for sure as it no longer holds air.
- Possibly new name graphics but, not that high of a priority.
So also I had the son of the owner of Giulietta, a custom built 12 meter in Portugal, and he also owns the Anything Sailing website, do some custom name graphics and come up with a logo for my good old boat. Fred is 15 or 16 and is an aspiring graphic artist. I figured who better to do this for me. I want it done, he wants experience, and I even paid him! So below is what he came up with. I like them and that's all that maters.
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| Name Graphic |
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| Logo. Cause I can..... |
Anyway, all I need is a few weekends of decent weather and I can get my projects done. Then ice out on the lake and then splash. I will be at Wayzata Yacht Club this year and will be doing some PHRF racing too. I figure why not, will be great fun and I will learn a lot.
Lots to keep you all posted about over the upcoming season.
Friday, February 1, 2013
That time of year
Yep, its that time of year here at 45N lat that we really start looking forward to spring. It is February 1st, 2013. The air temperature right now is -13F, that's -25C for you metric folks. Yep, its damn cold out but what does one expect at this latitude at this time of year. Oh well, about 12 weeks +/- until we can launch. About the earliest here is mid April.
I have made some progress on things boatwise and in the winter in MN, that means I have spent some $$ on the boat. Getting things together so I can run the halyards to the cockpit. A few nice to haves like brand new fenders that I probably paid too much for but.... And a new Windex as I snapped the vane on mine last fall as I was puttering about. Might be an annual expense at this rate.
I will not be in Excelsior bay this season, I will be moving to Wayzata Bay on my lake and will be a member of the Wayzata Yacht Club. I will be trying my hand at racing this season. Yes I know what ya'll is thinking. He is going to race an O'Day 25 CB? Yep, why the hell not? Will be learning a lot and having fun doing it. I will still be on a buoy but, hell that's fine with me. So as you can see below, these are the current docks at Wayzata..... frozen and lonely.... But in a blink of an eye and some more boat bucks spent, it will be launch day before ya know it.
I have made some progress on things boatwise and in the winter in MN, that means I have spent some $$ on the boat. Getting things together so I can run the halyards to the cockpit. A few nice to haves like brand new fenders that I probably paid too much for but.... And a new Windex as I snapped the vane on mine last fall as I was puttering about. Might be an annual expense at this rate.
I will not be in Excelsior bay this season, I will be moving to Wayzata Bay on my lake and will be a member of the Wayzata Yacht Club. I will be trying my hand at racing this season. Yes I know what ya'll is thinking. He is going to race an O'Day 25 CB? Yep, why the hell not? Will be learning a lot and having fun doing it. I will still be on a buoy but, hell that's fine with me. So as you can see below, these are the current docks at Wayzata..... frozen and lonely.... But in a blink of an eye and some more boat bucks spent, it will be launch day before ya know it.
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