CS34 Cockpit Remote Mike Holder

Before I went to the Boston two weeks ago, I ordered a holder for the remote VHF mike to clip the VHF to the binnacle rail.

Before

After

Had it delivered to my hotel in Boston.

Great addition for $15!

http://www.zarcor.com/products/snapit/snapit_p3.php

I like the products from Zarcor in Texas.

CS34 on the mend

Here is a picture of the where the prop shaft attaches to the rear of the transmission:

You can see the shredded key stock on the fiberglass below.  I could spin the prop shaft on the output flange by hand.  The key was completely gone.  Plus the two metal bolts that keep the prop from coming out of the output flange had completely sheared off too!

Walter Pingle helped me move the prop shaft back enough to get the flange off.  The 1" prop shaft is in not bad shape, however, the output flange is worn out so much that you can wobble it on the shaft. 

I made a call to Durham Marine, and they would have to order the flange (5-10 business days).  Called Ontario Boat Wreckers and they said they would have one.  Walter and I drove to Sunderland (45 minutes).  We had to crawl on a bunch of boats, but in the end didn't find one.  Most of the boats there had smaller shafts.

We went into Port Whitby Marine, and Martin ordered us one ($160) and we will see it on Tuesday.

At the Toronto Boat Show, I had purchased an Electromaxx serpentine pulley kit.  Still Time goes through alternator belts when cruising.  If you are at anchor and draw the batteries down, the 90 amp alternator would chew new belts making lots of noise, and creating lots of belt dust.  Never got a chance to install it.  The install was fairly easy, took about half an hour.  However, the serpentine belt with the kit was WAY to long, and would not fit.  I called the company and they confirmed that the kit should have come with 390J instead of a 440J belt.

I called them today, and they wanted me to ship the  old belt back to them before they would ship the proper one out.  I decided to drive to Beamville after work (about 90 minutes) and solve the problem.  Coming back, it took me half a hour to get to the 427, and another 2 hours to get to Whitby!  The Pan Am games are on and the HOV lanes started.  So normally there are four lanes in the express, reduced to three lanes.  Plus there was an accident at Victoria Park, reducing the lanes to two: PLUS emergency vehicles were blocking a lane in the collectors further contributing to the chaos.

The belt took two minutes to put in:

You can see the belt dusk on the fiberglass

view from top

The weekend weather was so bad that we didn't goto the boat at all.  On Monday morning I got an email from a dock mate that big Still Time was sideways in her slip.  All the wind and waves on the weekend had pulled the decking holding the cleat that had the stern line on it:

D'OH

The spring line (white line above) kept the boat from any damage.

Hopefully I get the replacement output flange and Still Time will be ready for a Canada Day fireworks cruise!

CS34 Stern Perch Seats

The stern perch seats I ordered at Annapolis Boat Show came in by mail today.

Top

Bottom

Not shown here are some aluminum poles that need to be cut to length and mounted on the bottom.

CS34 Tank Monitor

Picked up the tank monitoring system for big Still Time. 

Had it shipped to my hotel in Boston.

Display panel, with touch buttons for the two water tanks and the holding tank:

Will probably mount it below the breaker panel above the chart table.

Rear of the panel, have to supply 12v to it:

Below the display panel is the interface board:

 

10baseT cable runs between these two. 

 

At the bottom of the picture is one of the sensors that mounts on each tank.  The peel and stick pads are mounted at the 1/4 1/2 3/4 and Full positions on the tanks.

 

 

 



CS34 Tank Monitor

When in Annapolis, I wanted to purchase a tank monitoring system. 

Big Still Time has two water tanks located under the salon settees and one blackwater (poop) tank located under the aft cabin.  The only way to check water levels is to remove the cushions, the access boards, and have a look with a flashlight.  The black water tank is black plastic, so you can't see the level in it.  The only way to know is if the "stuff" is overflowing into the vent line on the transom (ewwwww).

No vendors in Annapolis had units for purchase.

Practical Sailor had some recommendations:

http://www.sailorssolutions.com/BodyPages/Other/PracticalSailorTankMonitorComparison.pdf

Decided on the Sensatank Marine 100.

Found the unit online for $175US (on sale) with free shipping.

Since I am in Boston next week for a conference, they are shipping it to my hotel.

Ford City Picking up Sails

Sail Care said they would have my sails done for around noon.  Hotel check out was 11am, so I called them.  They said they are working on them and would be ready "sometimes after lunch".

Not much to do around the hotel, so we walked around Walmart.

We drove around Ford City.

This was on the front lawn of a house:

 

...and at the curb was:

We went for lunch at Lindy's Restaurant (it was nice):

This was on the wall:

 

 

Which made this picture from outside the restaurant even funnier:

 

 

Restaurant patron:

"blow me a kiss"

 We got to Sail Care a little after lunch and they were still working on the sails.  They were just finishing sewing the new material on the leach of the main.  They were putting the sail numbers on the genoa and cleaning up the stitching.

It is amazing how clean and crisp the sails are!  Excellent job.  Yes it did cost close to $1,000 for the cleaning and repair, but I left feeling it was worth it!  New sails for big Still Time would be between 5-8 grand.

While waiting for the sails to be completed, they had various blocks for sail in the front office, and low and behold they had a reefing cheek block for 1" track for $25.  Perfect, one of things I wanted to find in Annapolis.  This winter I will mount some 1" track on the boom and this reefing car on it.  This will allow me to properly reef both mains on little Still Time.

Crossing the border at Fort Erie was painless.

Traffic was stopped on the QEW near St Catherines, so we stopped for something to eat, and got back around 9pm.

Trip Odometer: 358 miles
Moving Average: 56 mph
Moving Time: 06:22:00

Google Earth Track: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12535935/Still%20Time/2013/20131014.kmz

CS34 Sail Care

I woke up WITHOUT an alarm before 7am.  For those of you that know me, that only happens for golf and sailing!  I set out single handed.

 

I had packed the sails from big Still Time in the car for drop off at a place called Sail Care in Ford City PA, about 45 minutes from Grove City.  Sail Care specializes in the cleaning, re-conditioning, and repair of sails.  They do THOUSANDS of sails a year.  To ship big bulky heavy sails there and back are a couple of hundred dollars. 

 

I had called Sail Care and asked if I could drop them off on the way to Annapolis, have them perform the work on the sails, and pick them up on the way back.  I had to drop them off early on Thursday morning because it takes 24 hours for the cleaning and re-resining process.

 

I also brought the main from a Hunter 41 to drop off for a friend.  Dave Ackerman has used Sail Care before and was VERY impressed with the job they do.



 

We unfolded and inspected the sails.  My sails were filthy!  There were lots of repairs that needed to be done:

• replace some batten pockets
• repair leach line on the main
• replace leach line pockets
• re-sew some seams
• repair luff tape on head of genoa
• replace leather on clew of genoa
• install missing main slide

The Sail Care dry cleaning and re-resining process also removes the tell tales and sail numbers/logo.
They typically would sew around the numbers/logo, and it would cost 2 hours of labour to do this.  I looked at my numbers and logo that were faded and in rough shape, so I agreed for them to put new ones on.

The people at Sail Care were professional, courteous, efficient, and obviously loved their jobs!

On the way there, I saw some sailboat moulds on the a flatbed trailer, so I stopped and took a picture on the way back:

Turned out to be a mould for a J-24 and some other 30ft sailboat.

In the meantime, Rita was back at the hotel getting ready for a shopping day at the Grove City Outlet mall that opened at 10am.

Trip Odometer: 107 miles
Moving Average: 59 mph
Moving Time: 01:48:00

Google Earth Track: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12535935/Still%20Time/2013/20131010-1.kmz

Whitby to Grove City

We had packed the car the previous night with our clothes and the sails from Big Still Time.

I had ordered a new rudder and pintels/gudgeons from Catalina Direct.  To ship it Canada would have cost another $50 in shipping, a customs brokerage fee of another $56, PLUS HST on everything.  US Address charges $5 per package for you to ship to them.  I figure that I saved over $200 on the purchase doing this.

Rita and I left after work at 3:30pm.

We had to get across the border and to the US Address place that closed at 5:30pm.  Miraculously, the 401 across the top of the city was clear, but we hit some traffic on the 403 in Mississauga, but we used the car pool lanes as we had the two of us in the car.  We zipped to the Queenstown Lewiston bridge for 5:15pm.  I called US Address place for them to get the package ready, and we got there right at 5:30pm, the lady there stayed open for us. Good thing I called.

The rudder barely fit in the car with the back seats down!

We got to our hotel in Grove City a little after 9pm.

Trip Odometer: 300 miles
Moving Average: 60 mph
Moving Time: 05:08:00

Google Earth Track: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12535935/Still%20Time/2013/20131009.kmz

C22 Whitby Last Singlehanded Race

Only boat out for the last singlehanded race.
Colin could not make it.
Cam is sick.
Chris is seeing Les Miserables play in Toronto (the horror!)

I went out anyway BECAUSE I WANTED TO TRY THE NEW SAIL.

Winds were 7-14 knots from NW, so I rigged up a double reef with the old main and the new genoa.
New sail is a full host, using all of the forestay.  PERFECT amount of sail.

Got going over 5 knots on a close reach toward the Ajax weather buoy.  New sail is different; more draft which I needed because the waves were between 1-2 ft.  Pointed the boat to close hauled and sheeted the new sail in.  To my surprise, the sail came no where near the spreaders.  Much more draft to the sail. However, the leech of the sail does touch the upper shroud when oversheeted.  Like it; MUCH different than the other #1 sails I have which are more flat.  More of a forward drive than a healing drive.

I moved the cars back to twist the top of the sail and really liked how the sail powered up.

This new sail will be great in light air, and wavy conditions.

Really like the draft stripes!

Coming back with the waves on a close reach, I had the boat going regularly over 7 knots.

Trip Odometer: 6.99 miles
Moving Average: 4.4 knots
Moving Time: 01:34:00

Google Earth Track: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12535935/Still%20Time/2013/20131002.kmz

C22 New Sail

Port Whitby Marina was hosting a boating yard sale on Saturday morning.

Got down there and picked up a Garhaurer double block ($10) for the end of the boom in the double ended mainsheet.

There were various sails there, many of them older.

There was a Quantum sail there, and the guy said it was from a CS22.  Quickly Googled the rig dimensions of the CS22, and almost identical to the C22.  It  looked brand new: high tech mylar carbon fiber fabric, hank-on, with draft stripes.  Guy said it belong to a friend who purchased the sail new a couple of years ago, but never used it more than couple times before selling the boat.   I unfolded the sail and measured it, would be a perfect fit!  Couldn't get the $200 out of my wallet fast enough!

In the sail bag was a bill from Quantum Sails from 2009 for $1600!

SCORE!!!

 

Melissa and I hoisted it on little Still Time on Sunday, and the fit looked good.

Can't wait to try it in the last singlehanded race on Wednesday!

C22 Double Ended Mainsheet

On a Catalina 22, the traveler and mainsheet are on the stern rail.  There has been many a time when single handing, or with crew, when it has been difficult to trim or more importantly dump the main in a puff.  When sailing downwind the boat likes crew weight forward, or even in the cabin by the keel (just not at the stern)

Catalina Direct sells a kit to install a double ended mainsheet:

 http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=609&ParentCat=29

The kit is $199 and includes several blocks and tools to set it up.

I ended up purchasing a Harken 140 swivel block with cam cleat from Nat's Marine for $90.  I used some blocks and line that I had around:

Really like how the forward end of the mainsheet drops right at the companionway steps.  I can even trim the main from in the cabin!

Can't wait to try it out singlehanded tonight.

CS34 Stack Pack MOD

Marilyn had said she was going to come to the boat to fix the baggy sailcover:

She had picked it up yesterday:

Today she installed the fixed up one:

MUCH BETTER!!!

CS34 Head Intake

The electric head on Big Still Time was making noises and not flushing right.

I had installed a raw water strainer (called a pump saver):

It was clogged with weeds!

Problem solved.

CS34 BBQ

On our cruise, we were using our 4 year old KUUMA BBQ in Cobourg to cook some steaks.  I was talking to Judy and she looks over my shoulder and exclaims YOUR BBQ IS ON FIRE!!!  There were flames about 2ft high coming out by the regulator.  I quickly went in the propane locker to turn the propane tank off, while Rita doused the flames with a glass of white wine.

Turns out the LPG propane hose had split and was letting raw propane gas to exit the hose BEFORE the regulator.  BBQ is toast.  I never really liked it because is was very small, could only do a couple of items.  It kept going out in the littlest of wind.  It was not that hot, and was permanently mounted to the rail.

Old BBQ on the rail

The old unit used to rattle with engine vibrations, so I would prop the stern line in the open lid.

After researching the market, I decided on a Dickinson Spitfire 180. 
Lot bigger grill, same width, but taller and deeper.
MADE IN CANADA (Surrey BC).
Really well made.

It heats up quickly with real even heat. 
It was blowing 20 knots from the stern and it didn't blow out.

Bought the quick release rail mount, so it can be stored down below.
Also bought a stainless tray for cooking vegetables/bacon/pancakes etc.

As an added bonus, it has feet so it can be used ashore using the 1 lb propane bottles.

Comes with cover

11"x16" cooking surface

Thermometer (center) and Igniter (left)

You can see the stainless drip tray on the bottom

Tray for vegetables and stuff

Very shiney!

CS34 NAVPOD

Got the NAVPOD mounted properly on the binnacle guard, and the instruments mounted and hooked up.

Getting depth/speed/temp/wind data displayed on all units. 

View from front

View standing at helm

Still have to properly run the Seatalk NG backbone to the Nav station; may need a LONGER cable.

Still have to hooking the VHF to talk to the E7 Chartplotter to exchange GPS info and AIS targets.

Still have to figure out where to mount the remote RAM mike (its inside the NAVPAD now).