The Search for Sailing Forecasts

I have had difficulty finding good or even decent sailing forecasts to help in planning out upcoming sailing outings. I am not looking for much, just an easy way to quickly read if the winds are between 3 mph and 20 mph and the swell is under 10 feet at an interval greater that 7 seconds. Is this too much to ask?

Maybe this is a product of the "want-it-now" generation, but I am a little amazed nothing is done on the internet (at least that I have found) for such a generally cash rich pasttime as sailing. For the most part, I have fought the desire to techno-ize my sailing experience.  I prefer "old school" sailing with no electronics on board except for the VHF radio required by the Coast Guard. This traditional Old Man And The Sea stance not only has saved a ton of money, but I hope will give me a firm foundation of all-things-sailing.

The best forecast I have found so far is a prerecorded telephone message done by a gentleman at a nearby power plant. He's actually very good . . . . but how 80's is that?  Online, I sometimes use a mix of http://www.weather.com/ for wind and storm info and http://www.surfline.com/ for swell height and period and sometimes wind that is not always that accurate (especially off-shore).

How to Photograph Water

Instead of learning why Haiti's earthquake is worse than Chile's, we drove up the coast yesterday, during the tsunami warning, to take pictures.  Basically, I am a total hack with a great camera and an amazing landscape. I feel like I’ve cheated somehow. I don’t even know what an f-stop is, but I will now proceed to give you advice on how to photograph water.

The first rule of thumb is to take lots of pictures. In this digital age, who cares? What does it cost to take 400 pictures? Essentially nothing! So, I took about 400 pictures and then deleted all the ones I didn’t like . . . which was, oh, about 300 of them!  I used my 55-200mm lens the entire day.  And, I probably should buy a tripod . . . you will soon see why!

The second lesson I learned is to keep the horizon horizontal. It seems basic, I know. Bear with me.

Clearly I have demonstrated that a crooked water-sky line ruins the picture! 

These turned out a little better . .

The third lesson I learned is that it is really hard to photograph a rainbow.  I was using auto-focus and the camera didn't know what to focus on.  Even on manual focus, I didn't know what to focus on!  Trying to decide which particle of water was the focal point was . . . a little schizophrenic!

Anyhow, it ended up being a wonderful afternoon excursion.  We doubled back on this beautiful scenery today for Truman's long run.  He did 18 miles!  I did 6.

Is this El Nino?

So, basically, it has rained 8 out of the last 10 days.  But, we have a spot of sun today!  Hallelujah! I am off to the library to get a few books.  I've got a request queue, but only one book has come in. 

Here is my queue:
How to Photograph Water by Heather Angel
The Sweet Life by Mia King
Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway
It takes Two by Patricia Chen
The Motion of the Ocean: 1 Small Boat, 2 Average Lovers, and a Woman's Search for the Meaning of Wife by Janna Cawrse Esarey

The only one that I expect to pick up today is "How to Photograph Water".  But, hopefully, with all the rain, waves, puddles, etc....I will be able to post some great water shots by the end of the weekend!
 
I will take this opportunity to also explain why we haven't posted many actual sailing pictures.  The reason is because the Captain usually goes out on the ocean by himself or with another mate.  He takes a couple one-handed shots with his iphone...and, waalaa.....

Yes, we will definitely be working on this! 

Part II: Leaking Porthole and Portlight fixes that REALLY work!

Supplies:

3-5 sunny days in a row!
Putty knife
Acetone
Plastic shims
Masking tape
3M Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200

Step 1: Remove window.
Break the exterior window seal (ie. old caulk, sealant, gasket, etc.) with metal or plastic putty knife/scraper. Careful with a metal scaper as it can scatch the fiberglass. I ended up with a few scatches but they easily buffed out. Remove screws from galley side of window casing. From the interior, tap window frame with rubber mallet to loosen the seal.

Step 2: Remove old caulk.
Remove all old caulk or sealant from all surfaces, including window and boat hull.
Start with metal or plastic putty knife to get the bulk off and then continue with acetone or other paint thinner.

Step 3: Inspect.
Inspect all surfaces: wood core of boat hull (between the interior and exterior fiberglass layers) for water damage. If not already done, epoxy over any exposed areas. If water damage is found, please address appropriately. Good advice in general but my Coronado 25 is just fiberglass no wood core so I could skip this.

Step 4: Apply generous amount of caulking to window frame.
Insert window frame into the hole in the boat. Place the ¼ inch or smaller shims around the exterior edge of the window frame, between the frame and the hull. I used wood shims on the first window and one broke off with bits of it stuck in the caulk. Plastic worked much better. Tighten down window onto shims making sure there is a gap. The caulk will naturally squeeze out around the edge, but this is good because it creates a new seal. Wipe excess with rag. LET SET for 2 days.

Step 5: Remove shims.
Remove shims and tighten down the screws completely. Allow to SET for 5-7 days.

Sea Salt: The Salt of the Earth

The Cayucos sisters at the Brown Butter Cookie Company are on to something good! They just appeared on the Rachel Ray Show!!! But, by featuring real sea salt on their cookies, they’ve not only added taste, but nutrients that many of us may rarely encounter elsewhere. If you haven’t gotten on the sea salt train, let me entice you to come aboard!

Almost all traditional cultures use some salt. Salt provides sodium and chloride which aid in proper functioning of many organ systems, especially the brain. The chloride component activates amylases which work in the stomach and intestine to digest carbohydrates. Excessive intake of salt can be harmful, but complete deprivation of salt is equally disruptive to the system.

Why use sea salt? Sun dried sea salt is naturally occurring, comes in many colors, and appears wet. It contains traces of marine life, organic forms of iodine, magnesium salts, and nearly 80 other trace minerals. The best source comes from the Celtic Sea, is harvested according to ancient methods, and appears grey. But, most of all, it tastes better, richer, and “more complex”, to borrow from the vintner’s vernacular.

Sea salt has a dual nature in Eastern cultures. Its yin nature brings a person “down to earth”; it strengthens digestion and secretion. It is cooling, directing energy inward and lower. Salt is also thought to purify, cleanse, and counteract poisoning from poor-quality foods and unhealthy food combinations. It is thought to soften some areas of the body and tighten others. It is a “contractive” element rather than expansive.

What is wrong with table salt? Table salt is highly refined and altered to create the appearance of dryness, whiteness, and uniformity. The magnesium is removed; aluminum compounds are added. To replace the natural iodine salts, potassium iodide is added. Sea salt is truly a thing of great worth and reliability. It is good for cooking and seasoning. Try something new! It is an adventure! Once you try it, you’ll never go back.

When I asked one of the sisters at the Little Market why they used Sea Salt on their cookies and not table salt or kosher salt, she said, “Because we like the taste!”

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. Matthew 5:13 (NAS)

Sources: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

Ahhh . . . I Want More Of the Provincial Life!

When we visited Leuven, home of Stella Artois, we found these charming cafe patios filled with your average elderly Belgian afternoon beer drinkers!

Gotta LOVE it!

This morning, I tried to recreate that feeling on our front porch!

~Loo

Part I: Leaking porthole and portlight short-cuts that never work

In a 40 year old boat, leaks are bound to spring up around portlights. Many newer boats even have this problem due to environmental exposure, heat expansion, and flexiblity properties of the material the portlight is constructed of and the fiberglass that it is adhered to.

The first thing I learned during my anti-leak crusade is what many of you maybe thinking, "What is a portlight?" According to http://www.seatalk.info/, a porthole is an opening in a boat that allows light and air to enter a boat. Often a clear glass portlight is attached to the porthole with hinges and can be closed with a gasket to make a waterproof seal. In land lubber terms, if the window opens it is a porthole and if it doesn't as on our Coronado 25 then it is a portlight. Now that we have our terms straight, let's get on to some things that most boat owners try and never work.

The biggest waste of time is slopping on a nice wide stripe of clear caulk over the gap in between window glass and its frame. Other than being a complete waste time, this also looks unsightly as the clear caulk often turns a chaulky, oxidized white with sun exposure. Leaks rarely come from this area because the flexibility and heat expansion of the window and it's frame are usually not that different and the glazing material is well hid from sun exposure making for a very long life and secure bond.

What sometimes works but usually doesn't is applying caulk over the gap between the portlight frame and the hull of the boat. This is where most leaks come from. However, applying caulk over the old caulk or other material used often doesn't work for a couple reasons. Once old caulk has dried, the new caulk doesn't adhere well to the old caulk. Another cause of leakage is that the caulk bridging the gap requires a much greater flexibility tolerance than caulk directly between the two surfaces. All it takes is microscopic gap to cause a capillary effect that will actually draw water into the boat.

The final short cut that rarely works is tightening down the screws or bolts that are securing the clam shell type portlights on most boats. And the reason this usually fails? You guessed it: the boat flexes. Tightening down the frame can sometimes lead to striping of the screws or bolts, but mostly reduces the elasticity of the caulk or other material used to create the seal. Even if it does provide some temporary relief, the first crew person to walk on the deck near the window will break the seal again because the caulk now has reduced tolerance to flexing of the hull.

What did I learn? As I have learned many times before, shortcuts have very little use in sailing and usually just cause more work. Specifically for the portlights, I learned the caulk used to make the water tight seals on the portlights has two main purposes: to adhere to the hull of the boat and portlight creating a water tight seal and to provide a buffer or flex point that allows the fiberglass hull and aluminum or steel frame of the portlight to move in different directions while still keeping the seal.

My next post will go through resealing the portlights the right way!

Painting the Boat

Painting a boat is hard work! It took us about three weeks to paint the bottom of our boat. We painted from the middle hull edge to the water line. We did the whole job with the boat in the water in the slip. It might be easier to take the boat out of the water, but it costs more money.

First, you must try to clean and remove as much wax as possible. Take off all vinyl labels, names, and numbers with a putty knife. You can do this by cleaning with any average boat hull cleaner. We also did a good once-over with polishing clay to try to get any oxidation and wax off. Then, we sanded it with fine grit sandpaper. Then, we wiped it down with ammonia on a clean rag. Yes, it took a long time!

Second, we taped off all the edges with blue painter’s tape.

Third, we tried to do all of our painting on really warm sunny days. The paint dries quicker that way. A lot of sources suggest using a “Knock down” method of applying the paint to get a good even finish. This consists of applying the paint using a fine knit roller and then going over the subsequent roller marks very lightly with a high quality bristle or foam brush to “Knock Down” the roller streaks. I have never claimed to be a Picasso, but when I tried this method, I ended up with more blemishes from the paint brush than I had with the roller.

So once again using a fine knit roller, I applied two coats with a fairly light touch using standard roller painting technique. I began painting sections of the boat rolling the paint on horizontally and then vertically waiting for the paint to mostly dry before applying the next coat. After the second coat I began to sand each coat using a fine grade sand paper and cleaning any dust with Xylene and tack cloth before applying the next coat. My target was at least 5 coats, but I continued the process until there were no visible color streaks and had achieved a smooth surface. Yes, it took a long time!

Next, buy new vinyl numbers and a new vinyl name cut at a local sign shop. These can be applied easily according to sign shop specifications.

We are hoping to never have to do that again! We’d probably sell the boat before painting it again!

~Captain

p.s. A shout out to Kate J. for applying couple coats!

Flowers for Ellen! Taken with the New Camera!

I love you, Sis! Hang in there!

hugs,

Lauren

I got my New Camera!!!! Let the REAL Blogging Begin!

The Nikon D3000!!!! To Jill and Karla: You've been an inspiration!

~Lauren