Zipper Maintenance

Dodgers, sail covers, and canopies all rely on zippers to operate. Zippers also allow you to add panels to keep sun or weather out of your cockpit. All of these features require the zipper to function effortlessly, letting you easily position two portions of canvas and slide the zipper to unite them.

Exposure to salt spray and UV degradation can make a zipper anything but effortless. When you are adding a canvas cover to your cockpit and it is sunny and hot, the last thing you want to be doing is struggling with a zipper as you bake in the heat! You stand there knowing that once you get this zipper working, your life will be so much better. You will be able to relax in the shade, shielded from the elements, as soon as this stubborn zipper decides to slide!

Simple maintenance can provide years of flawless and easy utility to your zippered enclosures. Simply spray silicon spray onto the zippers to keep them sliding smoothly. It is recommended to use this spray at least once a year to keep zippers operating with ease, but if your zippers are old and chalky, more frequent applications can prolong the inevitable replacement of them.

A simple shot of silicon spray will keep your zippers sliding easily, giving you more "happy years" out of your zippers.

Change of Plans

Maddie and I were talking, and we decided to revise our cruising plan. Our original plan was to sail to North to Nantucket during the summer of 2017, and then head to the Caribbean during the spring of 2018 for a year. 

The idea of sailing North was to test out sailing to a far away destination that is still part of the continental United States on our own boat. This was so that our parents could feel safer about us heading offshore to the Caribbean the following year. After sailing North, and hopefully to Nantucket, we would then be better prepared to head to the Caribbean for a year during 2018. 

The truth is, we will never be fully prepared. There is always something else that needs to be done, and something new will always break and need to be repaired. Since there is never a perfect time to go, why wait for it if it will never come? So instead, we are going to cast off in the Spring of 2017 and head South to the Caribbean for a year. If we find that we really need something, we will pick it up along the way. 

The changing of the seasons is much more meaningful to me, as they denote the passage of time until we leave. I know that it will continue to get colder as time goes on, but once it begins to warm up, we will be casting off for new horizons!

Honeymoon Cruise: Day 5

Today was amazing! Monday morning came and I was excited to be out of bed! I put the fiddle blocks in the table and prepared the boat to go sailing. We raised anchor in the calm waters of Harness Creek and ghosted out into the river. 

We were working to windward the whole day so I tightened the backstay and tied a sheepshank in the adjuster to take up the slack. Tightening the backstay actually tightens the headstay which greatly improves windward performance. When the headstay is tighter, the luff of the jib is held in place and doesn't fall as far to leeward. This holds the jib in a more ideal airfoil shape which improves its windward performance. Adjusting halyard tension also helps position the draft of the headsail just forward of the middle to help power the sail more while we work to windward. All of these adjustments were made at the beginning of our first tack as we set out into the bay, holding true throughout the rest of the day. 

At various times, I would go forward and sight the mast and sails to see how the tuning is holding up, but it didn't need much adjustment as the day moved on. We worked our way South, beating against the prevailing winds until the sun started to get low on the horizon. This was our clue to find a nice anchorage for the night.

After being spoiled by the perfectly calm waters in Harness Creek for the past few nights, the last thing we wanted was a rough and bumpy anchorage in the middle of the bay. I began looking at the chart to find where we could pull in that would shield us from the swell and from the wind, but not be too far out of the way. Herring Harbor was our destination of choice, just outside of Herrington Harbor South Marina. Overnight slip fees there are $2 per foot, and at 45 feet, would cost us around $90 for the night. We decided that we would rather take that money and spend it on a wonderful dinner ashore, and we did just that by anchoring in the harbor and rowing in to the restaurant!

Herrington Harbor has a wonderful restaurant next to it called Mango's on the Bay. Maddie looked at their menu on her phone and we both fell in love with the fillet covered with lump crab meat! As Maddie was reading the menu, my mouth started to water and all my thoughts switched to having that meal melt in my mouth. The winds were steady and carried us right into the harbor where we dropped the hook and rowed to shore. 

Herring Bay is very shallow, so the closest we could get was a half mile from shore. With the dreams of this delicious meal in mind, Maddie and I rowed our hearts out to get there as fast as we could! 

Dinner that night was so special, we celebrated our 2 year anniversary (for dating) with a delicious meal, a cocktail for Maddie and a neat scotch for me! The sun had set by the time we finished our meal, making the horizon a dark abyss. We were very glad that we left our anchor light on, even though it was light out when we left, because we would never be able to find our boat without it guiding us home.

While I do feel that masthead anchor lights are dumb since they are frequently confused for stars, they do serve to alert others to your existence from a distance. When you are closer though, a masthead anchor light is not easily visible, and accessory white lights should be present to alert closer boats of your existence.

As we approached the anchor light, the LED deck lights guided us directly to our boat. I personally feel that it is very important to have lights marking the length of your boat in addition to the masthead anchor light. If a boat were approaching and confused the anchor light for a star, the deck lights would alert them to our size and position and hopefully avoid a collision.

Once back on board, we went to sleep with full bellies and an anchorage with protection from the southerly winds and waves.

Honeymoon Cruise: Day 4

We decided to sail to Oxford next, but the winds are very light today, so we decided to stay put for the day. We thought about it and figured we could either spend the day in the sun drifting with light airs at the mercy of the tidal currents or spend another day relaxing in our little piece of heaven. So we stayed put!

The day got hot and we decided to practice a man-over-board recovery (since it involved us getting in the water). This was a very good learning experience for us, as it taught us how complicated it is to pull someone out of the water and the importance to stay attached to the boat (via tether) no matter what the weather conditions are. 

We both gave it a go, one of us playing the victim and the other the rescuer, then we traded places. Both of us were successful in getting the victim raised and on board the boat under very calm and relaxed conditions. Even though everything was going smoothly in the recovery, we know that this would be very difficult to do during rough weather and we would much rather not fall over board in the first place! 

It was a Sunday afternoon, so everyone who needs to go to work come Monday morning had to return to shore. We were alone once again.

We noticed that all the power boats that were anchored out left, and only the sailboats remained. The few powerboats that we saw near sunset pulled up anchor just before dark and returned to port. The moral of this story is: If you want to stay out on a boat during the week, you should buy a sailboat instead of a powerboat!

Maddie and I looked at the forecast and decided that we would set sail tomorrow morning to begin making our way towards Oxford.

Honeymoon Cruise: Day 3

Day 3 was awesome! We woke up at anchor and had a very peaceful and relaxing morning. 

There wasn't a ripple on the water or a whisper of wind on this calm morning at anchor. I leisurely made breakfast for Maddie and me as the sun continued to climb in the sky. After breakfast, it was time to take Morty to shore again for his morning walk, giving us a different perspective of our home.

Our entire world is floating right before us, everything we have and care about fits somewhere inside of Wisdom. My main job is being a dentist, and I frequently hear people who live in massive McMansions complain about not having enough space to keep their stuff! I don't think they could comprehend the concept of owning less and filling your world with experiences and travels instead of material possessions. By living in a boat with few material possessions, we are able to take off long periods of time from work and go sailing. Our expenses are much lower than that of land lubbers, allowing us to save more money which in turn affords us to go cruising. Our only recurring debt payment is my student loans, and they only have a few years left to go before they are paid off!

I set up the rope fenders since my parents and a friend were coming out to raft up with us. Maddie's parents drove to a community pier on the creek by car and I went to pick them up in our dinghy Tooth. Today started off quiet and alone, but in a few hours, we would be surrounded by friends and family. This meant that we should be presentable, time to clean Tooth!

Tooth was looking rather disgusting! Morty and I were tracking shore mud all over the dinghy, which would dry and form a layer of filth. I emptied everything in Tooth onto the shore and bailed some river water into the hull. I then used this water to loosen the dirt with a gentle brush. With enough scrubbing, all the dirt and grime came loose and the boat looked much better.  The lines were also coiled and hung form the cleats, making the inside look more organized and the chain was stored under the bows deck. 

After scrubbing the boat clean, the dirt and mud was scooped up in the bailer and dumped overboard. I would also add some fresh river water to help flush out any last bits of mud. In the end, Tooth looked much better and much more presentable! 

As I rowed back in the now "clean" Tooth, I heard my name called from the distance. I looked around unsure from where it originated, until Maddie raised her arms out of the hammock. 

Maddie had been reading in the hammock while Morty was relaxing in the shade of the hammock under Maddie. He likes to be close to us at all times, and if he can't with you, he will be as close as possible.

As our parents and John (blue hull) arrived, they tied up to us and put the rope fenders to the test! The rope fenders managed to keep more than 1 foot of space between the hulls at all times, which kept all our topsides pleased. We hung out together and grilled delicious meals without a care in the world! 

When John left, I took the opportunity to clean that side of the hull. Later on, my parents left for a few hours which gave me time to do the other side of the hull. 

Later that evening, my parents returned and we all slept rafted together. While the day started off at a very relaxing pace, with nothing planned and nothing on the agenda; we ended up having a very packed and productive day: Morty got walked a few times, the hull got cleaned, and we all ate many delicious meals while enjoying each other company. Time on the water is special, especially when it brings people closer together.