Sail Far Live Free

Our first sail on our "new to us" boat was short but ever so sweet! We tried our sails and running rigging at the slip before departing for the lake. Everything seemed like it was working as it should, so we shoved off for Lake Michigan. Once reaching the big lake, we motored out about a half mile before shutting down the outboard and preparing to hoist the sails. Erin took the helm as I scurried about the deck and cockpit setting the sails and sheets. Once the jib went up, we were off! The conditions were light (wind to 10 knots from the North), but we made headway and enjoyed every minute of the first sail. We practiced making a couple of tacks and alternated between beam and broach reaching. On the way in we encountered engine problems, as the pull cord for our outboard broke, the choke stuck open and caused the engine to run poorly and to top it all off, it wouldn't stay in gear! Luckily we had my mom and dad nearby with the mothership (their Carver motoryacht) fo...

The big days for our little boat keep rolling in. Today we splashed her at her new summer home, North Shore Marina in Grand Haven. The marina staff used a modified fork lift that is typically used for their "in and out" service to lift the boat off the trailer and set her gently down in the water. Even though the staff knew exactly what they were doing, I was still quite nervous as I watched the boat lift from the trailer and be set into the water. I was also nervous after the hull hit the water. Would it keep the water on the outside where it belongs? Or did I miss some hidden spot on the hull where water could get inside? Will the swingbolt for the centerboard be water tight? Time will tell. Anyway, here are a few pictures (courtesy of my mom): And finally, resting peacefully in her slip:

Finally...the day I've been anxiously awaiting since last fall has arrived. Today we stepped the mast. Obviously, this is a big day since it moves us that much closer to actually sailing our "good old boat". But despite my excitement, I was also very anxious because of the unknown. I've never stepped a mast or rigged any sailboat larger than a Laser. Luckily, I received a lot of great advice from forums members at Sailnet and a few other trusted Helms owners. Based on this advice, I constructed a gin pole from Home Depot materials (10' 2"x6", 4 eye bolts, ratchet strap) that made the job very manageable. I cut the gin pole to fit around the base of the mast and used the ratched strap to hold it in place. We then attached the forestay to the opposite end of the gin pole and ran a line from the same end through a block on the bow and back to the sheet winch in the cockpit. One person stood holding an extension ladder which supported one e...

Today was a big day for our sailboat. Most of the hard restoration work has been completed and she's moving to her new home in Grand Haven on Lake Michigan. We loaded her up with all of our crusing gear and towed her west. Recently completed projects include: -New compainionway hatchboards installed -New teak handrails installed -Refinished teak railslides installed -Transom boarding ladder installed -Fishing rod holder installed -New dinette table built and installed

It's been a while since I've made a blog post, but I have a legitimate excuse: I've been busy with spring boat projects! Over the last three weeks, I finally finished up the new paint job.  We painted everything above the waterline on the boat (hull sides, boot stripe, cove stripe, deck, non-skid, cockpit). As with many projects, the preparatory work was the hardest part. In preparation for painting, I sanded the entire boat first with an orbital sander, than by hand. Next, I washed over the sanding residue with warm water and a bit of soap. I then applied one coat of Interlux Pre-Kote. This, of course, was followed up with another round of sanding. Then the next coat of Pre-Kote primer was applied. Followed by more sanding. Needless to say, my forearms are now Popeye-esque from all the sanding. After priming, my dad (thanks dad!) helped me roll and tip two coats of Interlux Brightsides polyuerethene onto the hull. We were both very impressed by the ease of applicatio...

Today I picked up a of Lewmar #7 single speed winches from a fellow sailor who was scrapping one of his sailboats. The winches are in excellent condition and should make good spares or upgrades for both my halyard and jibsheet winches. My starboard side jibsheet winch is currently dismantled in my garage and in need of a tune-up. I may replace it with one of the Lewmars. Anyway, I took the two Lewmar winches apart for cleaning and oiling. As soon as the weather gets warm enough to apply adhesives (3M 5200), I'll look into installing them.

So the calendar says there's only one week to go until spring. Today I got anxious and decided to take a drive out to the big lake and see how she's doing. As you can see from my pictures below, we here in Michigan still have a fair bit of thawing to do before we can declare the boating season open.

As spring draws closer, we're getting more and more excited about the upcoming sailing season and "splash day" for our sailboat. We now have our slip reserved at North Shore Marina in Grand Haven, Michigan. We can't wait to enjoy the summer breezes coming off of Lake Michigan while we rock away the days on the boat. We're also very excited to be able to have a spot at the same marina where Kevin's parents keep their boat. Bring on summer!

As you may recall from some posts late last summer, most of the teak on our sailboat's deck was severly rotted. Perhaps the most rotted of all were the teak railslides for the sliding companionway hatch. I was fortuntate enough to come acrossed a fellow Helms 25 owner who happened to have a spare set of used railslides for that fit my boat perfectly (Thanks Wayne!). I continue to be amazed at the level of support and information provided by other sailors whom I've met online at places like Sailnet and the Yahoo Helms forums. The railslides I received from Wayne were dirty and definately in need of some cosmetic work, but the teak wood was solid. I begin restoring the old railslides by sanding them. Next, I washed them in our shower much to the chagrin of my wife with a mixture of dish detergent, TSP and bleach. Then I carefully applied three coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane over the course of four days. I also used more epoxy to patch a couple of spots on the bottom of ...

This post will briefly highlight the cosmetic enhancements we made to our auxillary outboard. As previously mentioned, the motor cowling fell off on the highway while the previous owner was towing his boat. During the tumble down the highway, the cowling sustained cracks, scrapes and broken corners. I start the repairs by filling in the hollow spaces between the fiberglass outer-cowling and the foam insulation with styrofoam. Then I used hand moldable "metal" epoxy putty from PC Products (similar to the PC-11 marine epoxy used on the hull) to pactch the cracks and holes in the cowling. The epoxy sets really fast, so you need to be quick with shaping it. Unfortunately, this epoxy doesn't sand down very nicely, so you're mostly stuck with whatever shape the epoxy sets in. Next, I cleaned the cowling and sanded it with fine grit sanding sponges to remove grime and painted decals. I then used 3 coats of an exterior latex paint with ceramic additives to finish the job....