Splash and The Bay of Quinte Cruise

It has been a long cold winter but it finally ended and Cork was launched on May 10th. The launch day was sunny and everything went as planned. The engine started right up..which is always a worry after sitting all winter... there were no problems with the throttle control that I had fixed over the winter... and Cork never sunk when they dropped her in....aaaahhhhh it was a great day!

I started prepping the boat for the big  " Bay of Quinte Cruise of 2014" and tested the new Tiller pilot ( Raymarine T1000) that I had installed. I tried out the banked on sails now (I got removed my roller furling because of trust issues) and was very happy with the results. It's nice to return to simple things that work without worry. Roller furling is a convenience item that performs a task that most sailors hate...going out on the bow to take down sails. Myself....I would rather go out and take down the sail easily...than deal with a jammed furler when it's blowing 30 knots...just my personal preference.

My buddy Adam picked me up on Thursday morning , May 28 at the crack of dawn and we loaded the dinghy that I built last year into his truck and headed for the marina in Newcastle.

We were on the water and headed for The Murray Canal entrance about 45 nautical miles east of Newcastle.

We arrived too late to transit the canal...there are two swing bridges to go through and they only operate from 8:30 am to 4:40 pm...so having some time to kill we tied up and made dinner and listened to the hockey game. 

The Next Morning we were up early and had breakfast and headed down the canal to the first bridge ... "Brighton Road Bridge". We got there a little early so we docked and waited for the bridge master to arrive, which he did shortly thereafter. He swung the bridge for us and away we went down the five mile long canal to the next bridge...The "Carrying Place Bridge". The bridge master swung the bridge for us as we neared and we exited the Murray Canal into  "The Bay of Quinte" near Trenton.

We raised the sails and had a great sail down throughout the bay until we neared Belleville and pulled into the marina for lunch. We tied up to the Government Dock ...free of charge I might add.... and spent a couple of hours cooking and eating lunch before casting off and sailing again across " Big Bay". We neared  "Quinte Point " and decided to find a spot to anchor for the night so we hopped into a small bay behind the point and dropped the hook in 10 feet of water. The new  "Rocna 10 " set instantly and we backed down on it with 120 feet of rode payed out and never even budged. This is a great anchor!!!

Adam and I decided to have a swim and see how chilly the water was after such a long winter... we were surprised at how warm ( now lets just say that warm is not really a correct description but ...) the water was... it was just above freezing :) Oh well ... it felt good to have the first swim of the season... it's been a long time since the water was swimmable !! I got up often to check on the anchor and make sure we weren't dragging and sat and watched the stars for a while.

The next morning was Saturday and we were on a schedule to get back through the Murray Canal before the last swing of the bridge at 4:40 pm so away we went and started the journey back home. We made it throughout the canal by 2:00pm and went out through Presquile  Bay and around the lighthouse. There was a beautiful breeze and we passed a bunch of sailboats racing so we thought it was going to be a fine sailing day. Strangely enough...there was not a breath of wind outside the bay and into Lake Ontario. We turned on the little Yanmar engine and motored for 9 hours ...all the way back to Newcastle.

We arrived at Newcastle at about 11:00 pm and here's the last of the suns rays going down on Lake Ontario at 8:46 pm. It was dark when we got in but I felt my way into the harbour ... without any knowledge of this harbour I wouldn't have chanced it ...but it's Cork's home and we knew the way.

This ended the early season cruise of Cork to the " Bay of Quinte" for 2014. Adam had a great time sailing and is now a convert to the cruising life!!!! He told me that this was the best trip he's ever had.  I'm glad that he enjoyed it and he was a fantastic guest/ crew and is welcome aboard Cork anytime.

Well that was one of.. I hope ... many adventures of Cork. 

See You  On The Water!!

Tom

S/V Cork

Progressing slowly towards launch day

It always seems to take a lot longer to get things done than you think it will..

It's still pretty cold outside but Cork is well on her way to ready for launch day on May 10th. I've been down working on her for the last few Sundays...those were the only days it wasn't raining! Sooooo let me see...where to start... I've been installing solar panels that I got on sale at Canadian Tire. They are 40 watt panels and were regularly $250 but they where on sale for $100 a few months back so I picked up a couple. I have a 400 amp/hr battery bank and with 80 watts of solar I doubt I'll have to rely on a marina for power. I should be self sufficient and able to anchor out while cruising with no problems. I don't have a lot of electronics... I have navigation lights and interior lights but I use lanterns for light inside... I like the  glow of a lantern much better that a light bulb :)

I mounted the panels on the stern rails and attached them by using rail clamps. I'd read an article on the internet at www.pbase.com ( highly recommend this website) and this is how they had installed a single solar panel and it is quick and easy to do.

Below is a close up of the hinged rail clamp and the fitting I used for the panel itself.

I used 1/4 -20 X 1" SS philips head screws and nylock nuts to attach the hardware to the panels.

My next project was to install a tiller pilot and to begin I needed to install the power connection for the pilot. I chose to mount it at the engine panel instead of drilling another hole in the boat. Again it was pretty straight forward ..drill hole , mount electrical connector that came with the pilot and also drill a hole to insert the "pin" that holds the pilot in place when you attach it to the tiller for use.

The electrical connector is the small square between the two knobs. It has a " cap" that screws over the connector to protect it from moisture when it's not being used. I ran the wiring for it through the cockpit lockers and into the engine compartment and from there into the battery area which is in a locker behind the quarter berth.

My next project was to get rid of my holding tank and toilet and switch to a composting toilet. I removed the old "head " and the holding tank as well as all of the hoses associated with it and pitched the entire works into the garbage....good riddance!! I will not miss it!! This also gives me a lot of extra storage space under the forward v- berth so that is an improvement immediately.

I placed a 24" X 20" sheet of 3/4" plywood between the bulkheads and cut out the " privy" hole and mounted a toilet seat purchased at Rona. Under the hole is a bucket....also from Rona. The bucket gets a layer of Peat Moss and then every time it gets  "used" you cover your "deposit" shall we call it...with a layer of peat moss. There is no odour ... and no need for a pump out ( saving some money too). When the bucket gets full you put the cover on it and place it outside beside your compost pile to "compost for a few months" and then you dump it on your garden...just like the farmers do with cow manure. Obviously you need two buckets for this process..one to compost and one to use while the other is composting. At $5 per bucket...it isn't a problem!!

This is not finished but I've got the plywood in and framing to support the weight of a large person. I'll make a jig to keep the bucket from getting tossed around and I'll close up the bottom so it " looks proper.....but that's for another day.... right now I'm beat and join to hit the snooze button... that was enough work ....till next weekend :)

See you on the water

Tom
S/V Cork

Finally it's time....

Well we finally got a little bit of warmth up here and it was a balmy 4 degrees with the sun shining so I headed to the boat to try to get some of my projects completed.

There was still a layer of frost on the boat when I arrived at 9:00am but it melted away by about 11:am and the outside of the boat dryer up so I could sit outside and do some work in the cockpit.

I had a problem with the throttle and shift control on Cork at the very end of the sailing season and had to remedy that first. The throttle / shift lever was loose and made it difficult to shift the transmission into and out of gear. I had family and friends out for a sail ...  and of course when you have an audience and the wind is blowing hard and your docking...the sailing gods pick just that moment to throw a wrench into your well oiled plans. Sooooooo  the shift lever ended up malfunctioning just when I returned to the dock. I was almost to the dock and I had a bit of way on because of the wind and tried to put the boat into reverse to take some way off and low and behold the control lever just spun around, when I tried to shift.

Luckily I had my dock neighbour Paul and his wife's brother to throw lines to and they reacted quickly and got the lines around a cleat before I ran into the end of my slip. I remember hearing Paul saying "ummmm  you might want to put it in reverse , you're coming in really fast". He didn't know that my shifter had failed just as I was trying to put it in reverse...I did mention it after I got the boat tied up, but he probably thought I was trying to cover up my poor docking skills and likely still thinks I'm an idiot..but he still talks to me, so that's a good thing... because I like Paul.

  The throttle/ transmission control body is inside the starboard locker and is held in place by a metal ring nut outside. There is a threaded flange that protrudes off of the body through to the outside of the locker wall into the cockpit and this in turn is also where the shift lever attaches. The lever is held in place with an allen screw on the very bottom of the lever.

I removed the lever and greased all of the cables and moving parts and reassembled the throttle / transmission cables to the body and tightened it all up. Tested it after and it works great... hopefully no more problems with it this sailing season!!

My next project was removing the head and holding tank! I've never liked the heads on boats... I don't like pump outs , the smell that comes from the tank vent and the hoses, the occasional blockage and the resulting work that goes along with that particular problem... I don't like any of it!!

I removed the toilet and all the hoses and that was easy. The holding tank actually came out pretty easy as well. It fit through the opening in the v-berth after I removed the 90 degree elbow at the very bottom of the tank. There was probably 2 gallons of leftover waste that never got pumped out from the fall...another reason I don't like holding tanks is that they are never truly empty... they always have a few gallons left after the pump out. I took the tank over to the pumping station and cleaned it out before throwing the whole thing into the garbage.

My solution to the heads problem now is to use a composting toilet. I'm not purchasing an "Airhead" or a "Natures Head" because of the cost. One thousand dollars is a lot of money to spend on a toilet so I'll try making one first. I've seen some home made units in RV's and they have been getting good reviews from women ... and if a bunch of women don't have a problem with it...then I don't think I'll have a problem with it!!

I'll try to document my composting toilet install and post some pictures when I start it. I'll let you know how it works and if it will be the answer I've been looking for to the heads issue on Cork.

Until next time......

See you on the water

Tom
S/V Cork

Lake Ontario to The Bay of Quinte - May 28th to 31st

It's still cold and I'm not sure winter is leaving us this year... I have my doubts!!! Here it is almost April, -20 last night , snow still on the ground and Cork is still on the hard....sooooooooooo what else is there to do but dig out the charts and cruising guides :)

It's time to start thinking about sailing this summer. I think I'm like most sailors ...I find that planning a trip is almost as fun as sailing the route you choose.

A co-worker and good friend of mine wants to go on a sailing trip with me this summer. He has never sailed before but is an avid fisherman and has his own boat and doesn't get sea sick so I immediately said yes. We needed to book time off work but can only get a few days so we've planned a 4-5 day trip to The Bay Of Quinte and back starting May 28th..

The entrance to " The Bay" as it's called is about 50 miles east of our starting point at Newcastle Marina on Lake Ontario. We'll enter the bay from the west end of the lake and have to transit the Murray Canal to enter the Bay itself.

The Bay of Quinte is the small craft route leading down Lake Ontario to the Thousand Islands. It allows boats to avoid the exposed  "outside route" which can be nasty in a 20 knot wind. There are a lot of shoals and not many places to hide on the outside route when Lake Ontario decides to start acting up. Throw in the large cargo carrying ships that are called "Lakers" that use the outside route to get to and from The St. Lawrence River and " The Bay" has a lot of appeal :)

Now I'm planning the route and working on Cork and hoping that old man winter leaves soon so I can get Cork launched in May.

See you on the water!

Tom
S/V Cork

Life In The Slow Lane

I've noticed a pattern in many of the sailors that I've met...we all seem to enjoy life in the slow lane. What I mean is that we all seem to like things that are peaceful and unhurried. We all seem to like quiet things like kayaking and cycling. As a circumstance of sailing, and always wanting to explore new ports, we seem to enjoy walking as well.

The video above, I took while sailing my boat home from the Mimico Yacht Club on the day I bought it. I managed to sail at 5.8 knots with about 12 knots of wind from behind. The waves gave me an extra push and helped get me to Whitby in about 7 hrs. I took the boat home in two jumps...the first was singlehanded from Mimico Yacht Club to Whitby Marina. I was having guests over for dinner that evening so had to leave the boat and pick it up again the next day!! The second jump was from Whitby Marina to Newcastle Marina but on this jump I had my daughter with me which was great. I know that for me, there is nothing as sweet as the moment I turn off the motor. The only sound I hear is the water as it gurgles past the hull and the wind in the sails...at about walking speed. It doesn't get any better than that...That is my heaven!


 Kayaking does the same thing... you hear the paddles dipping rhythmically into the water ....you hear the waves lapping along the shore...as you move along at about walking speed. Cycling gives you the same feeling. Although you can pedal your bike at a fast speed...because of the gearing on the bike..your legs are only moving at walking speed :)

 I like the silent way a sailboat moves through the water and I like the way that a kayak can let you experience nature because there isn't a noisy motor to scare all the wildlife away. I like cycling because it is quiet and it lets you travel distances in a shorter time than walking, doesn't add pollution to our already polluted planet and it's great exercise. I have met a lot of cyclist's who are sailors....or is it sailors who are cyclists...either way, and I've met many sailors who enjoy kayaking and it seems more than a coincidence that we have these hobby's in common.

Kayaking and cycling are examples of life in the slow lane....they are very similar to sailing in that they are done at a nice relaxed pace and most times they let you explore new places. The picture above is of my buddy Adam,  fishing from a kayak while we were kayak camping on Wolf Lake in the Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park.

It's nice to remember these sunny summer days when it's -20 outside and snowing...brrr..I can't wait for summer...and more life in the slow lane :)

See you on the water

Tom
S/V Cork

To Furl or not to Furl....that is the question

I've decided to remove the roller furling unit from Cork and to be honest it's an easy decision for me because I've had a very bad experience with roller furling in the past and ever since then I just don't trust them.

This is the first glimpse of Bermuda you'll see when and if you sail there but the picture shows why I will never trust a roller furling unit. If you look closely you can see that the furling unit has no sail on it...as a matter of fact , if you look closer you will notice that it also has no furling line. That's because while in a storm 200 miles west of Bermuda the furling line broke under the strain of the wind on the furled sail. Now this may seem like a "no biggie" ...so the furling line broke. Let me explain what happens when the furling line lets go in a 50 knot wind. All of the sail comes out and pulls the jib sheets completely out to the ends until they stop on the figure eight knots ( called stopper knots) that are now jammed in the fairleads...requiring the sailor to cut the stopper knots to allow the sheets to run free before the flogging sail takes down the entire mast. Then ...as the sheets run free...they wrap themselves around the sail and furler unit and tie themselves in knots that a boy scout would be proud of...which leaves the sailor with the top half of the sail full of wind...while the bottom is tied around the furler. Picture a balloon on a stick in 50 knots of wind....Oh and did I mention that this happens at the worst possible time 3:00am and pitch black , with rain and in 30 foot seas!! To make a long story short we ended up cutting the sheets and the sail off the furling unit and didn't lose the mast or any people overboard, but it took two of us a long time on the pitching bow with waves washing over us.

If this was just a one time incident I would pass it off as bad luck but we had a buddy boat sailing 24 hrs behind us who had the same experience. The owners son Rob, was washed overboard while trying to work on the furler that blew out and luckily he was wearing a harness and was recovered although he was badly shaken

Sooooo I've taken my sails to the sail loft to have good old hanks put on. I've adopted the KISS principal Keep It Simple Stupid. Hanks are easy and the sail comes down whenever you want it down. Release the halyard and the sail falls to the deck.

The Toronto Boat Show just finished up and the store had "Boat Show" pricing still in effect so I got some good deals on boat stuff...

I've purchased a new anchor...a  "Rocna 10" because a good anchor lets you sleep at night and I've heard good things about these anchors. I'll let you know this summer how well it works. I now have 2 anchors a Rocna and a Danforth.

I was looking at replacing the broken tiller pilot  that came with my boat so I picked up a Raymarine ST100 plus tiller pilot as the tiller is already set up for this make and model and I won't have to do any modifications to the boat to install it.

The sailmaker also does canvas work so I ordered a new dodger for Cork. She doesn't have one and it gets pretty warm out on the lake and makes great cover when it's raining or when spray is flying.

It's -20 outside and snowing......I'm sure looking forward to summer!!

See you on the water

Tom
S/V Cork

Beginnings Winter of 2014

I guess I'm not like most sailors because I never stepped foot on a sailboat until I was 36 years old, none of my family were sailors and I never grew up on the ocean. I'd always wanted to sail so I did things as I usually do and took Nike's advice...I just did it!! That was 2003 and I've been sailing ever since.

I sailed from Toronto ,Ontario, Canada to Bermuda in 2004 with two other guys and had an adventure that most people will never get to have in their lifetime. I sailed over 1000 miles inland through Lake Ontario, The St. Lawrence Seaway, Lake Champlain in New York , down The Hudson River and 750 miles  out into the Atlantic Ocean that summer. We had cold weather ( 0 degrees Celcius) and rain to start our trip and a 3 1/2 day storm on the Atlantic Ocean 200 miles west of Bermuda with winds blowing 50 -60 knots and 30 foot waves...that's when I knew I was a cruiser!

I am a cruiser. A cruiser loves to travel by water whether it's under sail or by motor we don't care! Because it's the trip that is important. We don't concern ourselves with having the sails adjusted perfectly or try to tweak an extra 1/4 knot of boat speed out of the sails we just love being out there and to feel the boat moving in the direction of wherever we dream of going.

This blog is going to chronicle my adventures in the sailing vessel "Cork". Cork is my 1981 Bayfield 25 sailboat and we sail out of "Newcastle Marina" on Lake Ontario. Now having mentioned that  "I'm a cruiser" for those of you that have heard of a Bayfield 25 sailboat you will understand why I named her " Cork" but for those who do not know of the Bayfield 25 I will enlighten you. Bayfields are not racing boats....they do not look like a racing boat and they do not sail like a racing boat. They need 10 -20 knots of wind to keep them moving...below that ... they have an engine :)

Above is a picture of a beautiful Bayfield 25 ...not mine! Mine is pretty plain jane at the moment. I wanted to give you a look at what a Bayfield 25 can look like until mine is pretty enough for a picture. That is me sailing her on Lake ontario in the late summer of 2013 when I bought her. No dodger, bimini, nice looking teak trim...nope none of that...just a good cruising boat .... and cheap!

I hope to update this blog as I sail and fix up my boat. I wanted to blog about everyday life on a boat so that people can see that sailing isn't difficult and boats are not dangerous. Too often we hear about the big storms and such and it seems that people want new sailors to be scared. I'm not saying that stuff doesn't happen... it does... but some common sense and basic safety will see you through it.

See you on the water

Tom
S/V Cork