A lot has happened in the last 9 days!  At the beginning of last week the mast was re-stepped by the boat yard - when I first saw her I realized how much difference the mast makes in the overall lines of the boat.  She was starting to look like our boat again.

 My first job was to re-connect the mast wiring.  This was my job as I had done the disconnection.  I was pleased to find that my careful notes made the job pretty easy and I was finished in about half an hour.  My goal was to be sitting in the cockpit relaxing when Peter arrived, which I was.  The only issue was that despite my careful work, the instruments wouldn't function.  Peter couldn't find the issue either, so we motored back to our marina ready to tackle this the next day.  Here is a quick shot of the wiring.

After taking time to follow the wires from the initial wiring panel, though connection to the instruments, to the wiring panel at the base of the mast, we still could not find the problem.  We looked at one of the wires that appeared to be   compromised, and cut back to "fresh" wire, but that didn't correct the problem.  I wasn't sure what we could do at the point short of getting help from an expert.  Another night passed and Peter woke up with the solution.  He remembered that there is a switch on the log tracking instrument - and found that this switch controlled the current to the instruments as well.  So all is good!  (Lesson learned - often sleeping on a problem helps you find the solution).

On Wednesday my shipment arrived from Sailrite - a new heavy-duty sewing machine, and materials to start work on replacing all of the teal colored canvas with new forest green canvas.  The old canvas was literally falling apart in places, so this is much more than a cosmetic need.  I was able to knock off one winch cover and the tiller cover over the weekend.  Next up is the mainsail cover - and I need to order more material for the remaining 6 winch covers.  We have plans for a number of other small canvas projects (line bags, jib sail bag, instrument cover, etc.) but the biggest job will be making a new dodger.  I'll get myself comfortable on the machine and materials with these small jobs before I take that on, but my initial feeling is that I'll be able to do this!

After the wiring, Peter took on the task of running the lines - he had marked all channels and was able to get things re-assembled fairly easily.  He took time during the process to wash the lines, many of which were a bit green with moss, so they look much better now.  Then on Sunday morning we put the mainsail on the boom and she was a fully functional sailboat again!  We took her out for our first sail since March - it was a nice day with sun mixed with clouds; not much wind but lots of boats out for spring sailing!

It Must be Spring!

It is a beautiful weekend in Portland.  Typical spring in the northwest, we have alternated heavy rain with warm sun, but the temperatures are in the 70's.  We started the weekend listening to a presentation on tips for crossing the Columbia River Bar, given at the Portland Yacht Club. We had a dual purpose:  of course to listen to the presentation, but also to walk the docks at the club as we expected to see a number of Cascade 36s.  The talk was really good - conducted by a man who regularly crosses the bar with his fishing boat, and supplemented by Dave, from the US Coastguard, who drives one of the Coastguard vessels at Astoria.  The talk was pretty casual, but had a number of good points and things to consider when making the crossing.  Afterward, I realized I forgot to ask my super newbie questions:  a) where is the best place to "sit" while waiting for optimal time to cross and b) how long in total does it take to cross?  So how do you know when to leave your sitting place and head out?  Any advice is welcome!

Our visit to the docks was disapointing in that we only saw one Cascade, but also good as we ran into Blain who was getting ready to head out sailing - we later saw them out on the river racing.  Interesting themes - Blain told us he felt his son kick in Robin's belly for the first time today (wow!), then as we walked up the dock we saw these adorable baby geese.  Must be spring!

Weekend Projects

We have been investigating different products to clean and buff the deck of the boat - the gelcoat has some oxidation and is dull and a bit stained.  Over the weekend we worked on one side using a 3M cleaner/polish followed by wax - a two step system.  Peter did the initial cleaning and I followed with the wax.  It took quite a bit of effort but the results are good.  It is hard work - your arms get tired quickly.

Our other weekend project was to install the new battery remote.  The original one was defective.  Fortunately, Peter left the newly installed wiring in place and we were able to just put in a new unit.  It worked like a charm.  Kim at the Columbia Marine Exchange was great about the return/replacement.

The final project was to replace the bulbs on both mast lights - they were not burned out, but while the mast is down it makes sense to replace them.  We don't know how long they have been in place and if it means one less trip up the mast in the future, I'm in favor of that!

It was nice to spend some time on the boat, puttering about.  But we are anxious to get the mast back so we can go sailing!

No pictures of our work, so I'll simply post a couple of sailing shots from last fall to get us thinking about getting out on the water soon!

  

In the Water

She is in the water (shown here at the boat yard dock).  On Monday, she was lowered and we planned to drive her to our marina, which is more sheltered than the Schooner Creek dock.  But there were storm fronts moving through with wind gusts at 30 - 40 knots, so we didn't want to risk using the braille method to get into our slip.   Although our marina is protected, and the wind effect would be minimal given our mastless state, it didn't seem wise.

But Tuesday was a calm day, so at day's end we went to the boatyard and fired her up.  I was more concerned than usual to get directions straight on how to back out from the dock, and realized that without rigging to grab ahold of, it would be a bit more challenging to climb quickly on to the boat.  But I worried for naught as Peter just backed smoothly out of the slip and I stepped aboard.  We headed up river, winding our way through the fishing boats trailing lines  on the river with the opening of the Chinook season (I think).  Without a mast to worry about, we motored carelessly under the I-5 bridge.  It was cloudy but calm.

We didn't have a depth gauge, as apparently we disrupted a link when we disconnected the mast wiring.  But the channel is clear and we knew our way into the marina.  It could not have gone more smoothly - we wound our way to G dock and Peter pivoted into our slip.  A few weeks ago we changed from using a bow line to a center line when docking, and it makes it so simple to pull the boat up to the dock and then move to the bow and stern to tie off.  I'm much more comfortable with this, although I'm still perfecting the timing on pulling her in far enough before moving off of the center.

We fussed for a while to get the lines set to minimize bumping against the dock - the paint is still in the hardening stage - connected to shore power and headed home.  Looking back as we walked down the dock, she looks like a new boat; happy in her snug slip.

Beautiful Boat

Isn't she beautiful?  I have to say that while these photos are remarkable, in my opinion, they don't compare to the impact of standing next to the boat.  Ablission is now a shiny, clean white boat with classic green cove and boot stripes.  The name looks great - not too large or too small (we decided on 6" letters), and I like the slight slant, which seems to line up with other lines on the boat.  Peter and I could not be more pleased with the result.  Of course we are very anxious to see her in the water; and to buff the deck so she looks as good on the top half.

We expect that if all goes as planned, she will be put back in the water tomorrow.  However, the new fore stay for the mast has not yet arrived, so we will have to wait to get the mast in place.  Its been very windy here the last 24 hours, so we are a bit concerned about her getting banged around at the Schooner Creek dock.  We will likely motor her back over to our marina, which is more protected, and then bring her back to the boat yard when the mast is ready.

We will have a bit of work to do to re-attach the mast wiring - here is a shot of the panel before I disconnected everything.  I made a careful diagram and complete notes so I should be able to put things back correctly.  Peter also carefully labeled all the lines so that putting things back in place top sides should go smoothly.

After that, the next big project will be making new sail covers, dodger, winch covers and other assorted canvas.  More on plans for that project later.

And just for grins, here are the before and after shots, side by side:


  

Quick update - three coats of paint and she is shiny and smooth. Mark should be adding the stripes and the name later today or tomorrow. (the white marks you see are reflections of the fluorescent lights)