Summer Cruise Day 21

Yet another day of light airs on the Chesapeake Bay. Luckily, the winds were still blowing from the South, carrying us North. Maddie seemed unimpressed by our slow progress, as we ghosted along under full sail. I reminded her how we don't have to do any work and we are leisurely being pushed along in the right direction. 

Once again, as the sun began to set, the winds picked up drastically. We lowered the drifter and put a reef into the main. Sailing under staysail and reefed main, we worked our way towards the lee of a charted island with the intention of rowing Morty to shore. 

By the time we got into this narrow anchorage with horrible holding, the winds were in excess of 27 knots and the sun was on the horizon. We had all good intentions of taking Morty to shore this afternoon, but it wasn't practical. The island looked much smaller in person than it did on the chart, which made me think it might be all marsh, as these quickly change in shape and size. The island offered no protection from the wind, and only served as a minor breakwater to calm the seas. 

Poor Morty knew we were planning on taking him and was very upset when we changed our minds.

The anchorage we chose had a hard bottom and was only 8 feet deep. Once we dropped the hook, we drifted back into deeper water to protect the keel and rudder from groundings, but hoped that the anchor would hold on the hard bottom. 

We went to sleep with 280' of chain out with the anchor sitting 8 feet under water. All this rode couldn't compensate for the poor holding and we began to drag. By choosing the anchorage properly, we were ok with the dragging anchor because we were windward to a very nice anchorage of soft sand. The Bruce Claw slid 90 feet across the hard bottom until it arrived on the soft sand and sunk right in!

We were in bed when the anchor dragged, feeling the boat turn beam to the seas as we dragged and then turning bow to the wind as the anchor took hold again. Not the best sleep, but we did get to rest before arriving in South River the next day.

Summer Cruise Day 20

Today was another easy sail North. The winds were light but still blowing us right up the bay. I raised the anchor early in the morning and set the drifter and full main and began waiting for the wind to fill the sails. 

We sailed close to Tangier Island which brought back memories from our engagement. Then we jibed and made our way towards a quiet anchorage.

As the afternoon drew on, the winds again began to build. We switched headsails to the smaller jib in preparation for the stronger winds to come as we made our way toward the lee of the land. 

Hiding behind the hills, we were very protected from the wind and laid to the strong current that ran through this river. 

Another lazy day as we made our way North towards Fells Point, MD.

Tieing up to Larger Cleats

I rowed Morty from Fells Point to Under Armor on the other side of the harbor for his morning walk. When we arrived at the other side, I proceeded to tie up Tooth. 

The cleat was massive! I use 1/2" three strand for Tooth's docklines because I usually tie them to the cleats on Wisdom (a Morgan 45). Smaller line would get lost on the large cleats of the Morgan, just like they got lost on this cleat.

If you come across this situation, tie a bowline either through the cleat or around the base of the horns. 

New Gangplank: Part 1

The new gangplank needs to be wider than the old one, prettier than the old one, and not be to heavy.

To achieve this, we decided to use mahogany and cypress. Both woods are very rot resistant and cypress is very light for its strength. Mahogany gives the plank a lot of strength and looks gorgeous as an accent piece. 

My original plan was to use 2x2 and 2x4 planks of white oak and mahogany to build a laminated gangplank using bronze screws and wood glue. I went to World of Hardwoods (www.worldofhardwoods.com) and talked to Bryan who quickly pointed out how much work that would entail. He suggested the use of cypress and mahogany and biscuiting them together. I have never worked with biscuits and have been rather busy building my oars and working in my dental practice so I decided to have Bryan glue the planks up for me. 

After a few weeks, the wood had arrived and was ready for me to pick up. I loaded it into my car and brought it back to the boat to begin assembly. Instead of varnishing, I have been applying tongue oil to the plank to protect the wood and keep it oiled. There were a few small check lines on the plank, so I was sure to oil the wood quickly so that it would slow the rate of contraction. 

Old Gangplank

Last year, Maddie's mother (my future mother in law) kindly asked for me to build a gangplank. The thought of us leaping over the water to get from deck to dock every time made her worry. In the essence of time and cost, I made a very quick but serviceable gangplank. 

I used pressure treated lumber from Home Depot for the plank and rat bars. I drilled holes in the gangplank to secure the rat bars with line. I also secured the gangplank to the toe rail using soft shackles. 

The wood in Home Depot is all flat sawn, so I selected the least horrible cut of wood (2"x12") for $12. The wood for the rat bars (1"x2") was another $6, so for $18 I had a functional ganplank. 

I drilled holes slightly smaller than the stanchions, and pounded them into place. I then used a dab of epoxy resin to glue the stanchions and rat bars in place. It was more of a rushed job, I figured we would use it and then stop using it soon after. 

I oriented the grain of the wood so when it warped it would cup rather than dome. I figured if we did use it for a long time, it would be better for our feet to be slanted towards the center rather than off to the sides.

The rat bars proved invaluable this past winter! When the plank was covered in ice, the heel of our shoes would hook on the bar to keep us from sliding down the plank and into the water. 

After 1 year with the gangplank, we both love it and want to build a much better one. The old one did warp during the year, and the cupped shape is good for keeping your feet centered over the board no matter what the conditions. The problem is the stanchions are locked into the warped plank and have since tipped inwards. The end of the plank does rub on the pier and has worn the plank significantly.  

The 2x12 served its purpose and the price was excellent, but now that we know we like having a gangplank, we decided to build a nice one! 

A 2x12 is not actually 12 inches wide, but actually around 11.5 inches. Then the stanchions take up another 3 inches, which brings the usable width down to around 8.5 inches. When you factor in the warped board causing the stanchions to lean in, you end up with around 5 or 6 inches of walking space. We decided to make the next one much wider! 18 inches wide to be precise! And to make it pretty as well!