April 4 Titusville to Rockhouse Creek New Smyrna 31 2 Miles

Well the good news is that apparently felines have short memories. So Witty is not a permanent victim of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but his old pesky self. It was Saturday, the day before Easter, and warm and sunny so EVERYONE was out on the water. We saw hundreds of boats from Stand Up Paddleboards, to kayaks and canoes,

to fishing boats of all sizes,

to what I call motorized rafts.

And people were wading and swimming in the ICW too.

I put out the genoa and later the small jib but the wind was too close to our bow much of the time and too erratic. Anchor to anchor from 9:30 to 3:00. Only two opening bridges, one on request and the other every twenty minutes, which we made easily. The tide helped us the last third of our passage, except the last mile, once we got to Ponce de Leon Inlet, and we turned down the engine to near idle speed to give the watermaker two hours to make water before we arrived. We passed some nice modest waterfront houses

and some waterfront trailer parks also known as fishing camps....I think.

Rockhouse Creek runs east-west, connecting two  N-S waterways. (It is the horizontal in an "H".) When we arrived it was very crowded with perhaps fifty small boats and a few large ones. Folks had gone to the beach. We can only enter from the ICW, western end because it gets too shallow for us at the other end, but many powerboat people think that circumnavigating the unnamed island that forms its south side is a nice trip. We heard five of them comment on ILENEs name as they passed us. We had dropped anchor and settled in and by six p.m. there were only three boats left (one other sail and a trawler)

and we were too close to the sailboat, especially because there was so much room everywhere else and strong winds from the east were expected. So we picked up and dropped 150 feet further away from that sailboat. Our other neighbors were a family of campers.

There was no one on the other side of us, where we would turn right and be back in the ICW.

Im having trouble with the new snubber hook, (as well as the underline function) specifically in getting it to stay hooked onto the anchor chain; it falls off and dangles uselessly under the boat instead of doing its job. I tried tying it on but this wasnt working well so I next tried wrapping one side of the hook with rubbery tape to narrow the slot into which the chain sits, but that fell off. 

Here in Rockhouse, I knew it had fallen off when the wind came up at night: the chain took the load instead of the snubber and when ILENE hunted from side to side, the anchor chain snaps over in the bow roller making a sound like the boat is being pounded by a sledge hammer.

I created a way to mount the red and green dinghy navigation light using a suction cup, a piece of scrap plexiglass, a nut, some washers and a piece of thin line.

We have been noticing that Florida has given nicknames to its geography much as in Manhattan, neighborhoods like SOHO and Tribeca that have no legal or governmental significance  are used to define neighborhoods. The southern part of Florida: Miami, Fort Lauderdale and maybe Boca is called the Gold Coast. Heading north, next comes the Treasure Coast including Palm Springs, Stuart and Fort Pierce, so named because Spanish treasure galleons sank off this part of Florida. Cocoa, Titusville and New Smyrna are called the Space Coast. I hadnt noticed this before.

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The Garcia Exploration 45 Jimmy Cornells New Boat

Aluminum Boat Building Is Alive And Well (in France)

Allures and Garcia Yachts http://www.garcia-yachting.com/ were well represented at this years Annapolis Sailboat Show. With the Allures 39.9 and the Garcia Exploration 45. In this review I will be discussing the Exploration 45 built by Garcia Yachts. Also known as Jimmy Cornells New Boat.

The Exploration 45 was designed with the input of veteran sailor, voyager, and cruiser Jimmy Cornell. The design comes from the board of Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design.

Even though this is a new design, and something I have not seen before, it does have something in common with other Garcias and the Allures Yachts a centerboard with twin rudders. This design makes for a very efficient sailing design because one rudder is alway vertical under sail. At slow motoring speeds having the twin rudders without the benefit of prop wash can make this type of design difficult to maneuver. The Expedition 45 solves this problem with the installation of a bow thruster. I was impressed with how well the boat maneuvered in the tight confines of the marina. With a draft of 3.44 with the board up and 9.14 board down shallow water cruising opens up a new world not usually visited by monohulls. With the board down windward performance is better than you would think of a centerboard yacht. As with all boats this design is a compromise of shallow draft and windward preference. It is a compromise I can live with! In our sail off of Annapolis, Maryland in 15-20 knots of wind we obtained speeds of 7-9 knots. The Exploration 45 handled well, which was to be expected of the design. In the afternoon the wind continued to increase and we decided to put a reef in the main. The process went with out a hitch. Over all, sailing this boat should be very easy for a couple.

One of the most impressive features of the Exploration 45 is the navigation station. The navigation station is located in the forward saloon. This allows great visibility out of the house windows. I was impressed in the fact I was able to see over the bow from this position. The interior was easy to navigate underway and comfortable. My only complaint is the limited access of the engine which is below the sole at the companion way which could make servicing the engine underway difficult. I found the filters and strainers were easy to access. The cockpit felt safe and comfortable. For the watch there is a safe place to sit behind the house with the chartplotter/radar within easy reach.

Down Below Underway

What about the construction? I took a very close look at the construction of this yacht. I am thankful that the Builder and Swiftsure yachts allowed me access to the bilge and systems areas of the boat.

I was very impressed with what I could see. The metal work stands out on Exploration 45. The hull is fair, the welds are well executed, and the hull to deck edge is beautifully done. The cabin top is made from fiberglass composite. The aluminum decks are covered with cork decking to give the appearance of a teak deck. The footing of this deck is very good and it feels good on the knees.

Hull Framing

I would very much enjoy finding myself hundreds of miles offshore, watching the miles tick by on an Exploration 45.

With Allures and Garcia Yachts being marketed in the USA by Swiftsure Yachts http://swiftsureyachts.com/garcia-exploration-45-2/ 

I hope to see more aluminum boats on the water here in the states. I look forward to when these yachts are on the used boat market and I find myself surveying one.

To view a video of the of the Exploration 45 underway go here:  Exploration 45 from Swiftsure Yachts

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Sutton Manor New Rochelle Americas Sailing Community

My hometown, Annapolis, has the slogan "Americas Sailing Capital" whereas Newport, Rhode Island, long-time home of the Americas Cup, about 640 km (400 miles) north of Annapolis, goes one better with their slogan "The Sailing Capital of the World". Notwithstanding the competing Chamber of Commerce hype of these two East Coast sailing towns, there is one community that, between the war years of WWI and WWII, could rightly maintain they were Americas Sailing Community.

Sutton Manor, of New Rochelle, New York was a 50 house bedroom community of New York City that began development in 1914. The community butted up to Long Island Sound and the harbor of Echo Bay that included Tank Island, Harrison Island and Echo Island. There were three active yacht clubs, all predating 1900, within several miles of the community; the Huguenot Yacht Club, The New Rochelle Yacht Club (now defunct, located in Echo Bay on Harrison Island) and the Larchmont Yacht Club. The names of some of Americas most distinguished yachtsmen made Sutton Manor home:

• Stan Ogilvy
• Cornelius Shields
• Bob Bavier
• Howard McMichael, winner of championships in the 210 Class, the International One-Design and Hipkins Trophy.
• Walter Coursen, a Commodore of the Larchmont Yacht Club and the New Rochelle Yacht Club.

Also, two prominent sailors featured in the Earwigoagin historical archives; Larry Huntington and Harry Hall, owned houses in Sutton Manor.

To take a stroll through Sutton Manor during the 1920s and 1930s, one could, every couple of hundred steps or so, have a very interesting conversation about boats and sailing.

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April 5 Rockhouse Creek New Smyrna to St Augustine 54 7 Miles

9:45 to 7:45 -- a long day, longer than planned. Our plan had been to go to the anchorage by Fort Matanzas on the Matanzas River, only 42.3 miles to break todays trip into two legs. The various sources we use: Skipper Bob, Doyle and Active Captain, have different ideas about how best to enter this anchorage. They all involve turning east into the Matanzas from the ICW but some are crowd sourced and some say to make the turn just south of green buoy 81A while others said to make the turn north of that buoy, and there is a discussion that the sands shift. We turned in just south and went from 12 feet of water to hitting the sandy bottom within 20 feet. Whump! Naturally, in such chancy circumstances we were going slow, as slow as the current in the ICW would allow. But if we had not been making some speed the current would have pushed us backward when we turned. We were able to back off in perhaps 15 seconds. But now we knew that we did not know how to get in there, though we saw another boat anchored within. So this episode took the bloom off the Matanzas anchorage rose and we motored the remaining miles 12.4 miles that we had planned to do the next day, to the Municipal Marinas mooring field in St. Augustine.

The waters were as vacant during this Easter Sunday passage as they had been crowded with people and boats the day before. This may have had something to do with the weather. It did not rain, but all day the meteorologists predicted rain and the skies looked like they were planning to let loose. It was reasonably warm until late afternoon. In the morning the winds were quite strong, gusting to 20 knots, so we flew the small jib while motoring and made more than seven knots. Later we made such speed when favored by the tide but only 4.8 knots when it flowed against us. Someones idea of an unusual waterside home:

It was a bit foggy, misty lets say,  toward the end, diminishing visibility of "the next buoy" which is our holy grail. This reminded me of how dependent I am on the most primitive navigation device we have: the human eye. But the mild fog in the mooring field is what permitted me to capture the loom of the Saint Augustine Lighthouse (one white flash every 30 seconds) at dusk.

We were visited buy a pack of four Porpoises, which swam against our boat on its mooring, probably seeking to eat seaweed growing on our hull, which reminds me she needs a cleaning.  Ilene believes they sensed our cats and wanted to make friends.

We plan to use our dink to run errands and for sightseeing tomorrow, and the launch, which only runs only once per two hours from 10 a.m to 6 p.m., on Tuesday and Wednesday, when the dink will be repaired. Weather permitting, we will sail, outside, to Cumberland Island by the St. Marys River on Thursday. less than 60 miles and ILENEs first sail since Miami to Fort Lauderdale.

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December 11 13 Daytona Beach to New Smyrna and Two Lay Days There Only 16 Miles

It took only three hours with a fifteen minute delay at a bridge near our destination that opens only every twenty minutes. Cold but clear with more wind than yesterday so we used only the small jib. We passed the Ponce de Leon Inlet with its distinctive lighthouse by the sea.

There were alternate buoyed routes at two points in this short passage and we took the one officially marked as the "ICW route" which was inland from the light. The last time I was here was crewing on a northbound 74 foot motor yacht, m/v "Sea Leaf," in 2012. Then we stopped at a marina by the light before jumping out into the Atlantic for a romp up to Beaufort NC.
Today we could have gone another 32 miles to Titusville, but we broke the trip there from Daytona into two parts by stopping here because Lene heard or read that New Smyrna is a nice town.  This has emerged as our plan for the winter: We are going south in Florida slowly. We are already in Florida but have several hundred miles to get to the Dry Tortugas, which is as far as one can go in the U.S.  This involves a lot of the ICW because many of the ports are not easily accessible from the sea. The two hops from Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale and from there to Miami Beach, will be out in the Atlantic, during good weather, because of bridges. There are so many bridges that you have to wait for in the first such hop and a fixed 56 foot bridge in the second that we just can not ever get under. And the trip in the Keys is planned as a mix of inside and outside jumps. Having stopped almost everywhere in Florida on our way south, we plan to skip a lot of these same stops on the way north by going outside. A plan that has sort of come to us and like all plans is waiting to be changed.
Anyway New Smyrna is a very nice cozy well run, friendly municipal marina with good showers but mediocre wifi.

We are at the furthest out slip, which, given how small this place is, was not a disadvantage. In fact it was an advantage because we had a clear unobstructed view of the Christmas Parade of lighted boats on Saturday night from our cockpit. About 20 boats, both power and sail, decked out in vastly colorful lights came up the ICW right past our cockpit. The photos do not do the spectacle justice.
They have a decent history museum here run by the historical society with interesting local artifacts such as the equipment used to cut "cats faces" (shallow "V" shaped slashes) on pine trees to collect the sap to make turpentine. The town got its name from the home town of the founders wife in Greece. The Marina is in the background, two blocks from the museum and between them is a 20 foot high plateau

on which is the ruins of the foundation of either the home that was shelled and burned in a naval bombardment from two US gunboats during the Civil War or a fort. The signage was more directed against vandalism than providing information. The museum has a copy (or original of an affidavit signed by a survivor, after the war, in support of a claim for reparations, asserting that no member of the family lifted arms in support of the Confederacy. I was interested in how the legal form of the affidavit has been relatively unchanged from then to today.
One thing I forgot to report from the museums in St. Augustine is that during the civil war, excluding the native Americans, the total population of Florida was less than 10,000, more than half of them slaves. But you cant believe all you learn in museums: In Fernandina I was told that the original native Americans here were a peaceable and matriarchal society; in St Augustine the story was about the chiefs and the wars between them. Because we can not talk to them directly anymore, each historian draws his or her own conclusions.
The main drag on this half of town, west of the ICW, is called Canal Street,

about six blocks long. We had dinner one night at Yellow Dog Eats on that street, which specializes in variations on pulled pawk. Saturday the street was closed for an antique and classic car show. My friend Jim would have loved the car show. Meticulously maintained and highly shined cars from the 30s through the 70s simply parked on the street, with their owners in lawn chairs nearby to answer questions. Some pride themselves on all original components while others have replaced the interior mechanicals with more powerful and efficient engines.
We took the shuttle bus that picked us up at the far end of Canal Street at Dixie Highway and took us to the beach.

The fare is $0.75 one way for a senior. After a stroll on the beach, we walked the two plus miles back through the main drag of the beach side of town, Flagler Street, and across the bridge that detained us on our passage into town.

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January 1 16 New York Boat Show and One Work Day

This was a really crappy boat show, for sailors -- not even one sailing dinghy! It was purely a power boat show and even the large vendors of electronics and other chandlery supplies had given this show a pass. But the Club manned a booth. Like most clubs, we need new members and use the show to strike up conversations, invite the prospects to an open house and permit the Club, with its great location, its facilities and its friendly members to sell itself. Last winter I was in Florida  and not able to help. So I volunteered for a double shift - noon to nine. I used New York Citys newest, one month old, extension of the number 7 line from Grand Central Station to get to a new station, a block from the Javits Convention Center -- at Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street. The show was not in the large southern pavilion of the Center as in the past, but in its central pavilion.

Peter, our Rear Commodore, who has a ton of leadership ability and energy, worked with me the first half, replaced by Phillip, our Race Chairman and Jill at around 4:30.  In these shows we always have more than one person at our booth so everyone an get relief periods to eat and explore the show a bit. PC Art was working on the other side of the hall, selling power yachts, but came over to say hello, and Bill, our Board Member responsible for the Restaurant and Bar, helped for a while too.

                                Bill, me, Jill and Phillip at the booth.
And while there was a long line of folks waiting to be let in at noon, the crowd had thinned so I was released at 8 p.m.

One of the only two things I did for ILENE at the show was to figure out how to send our EPIRB out for a battery replacement, after five years in readiness - which I call use. This being the toy that alerts the Coast Guard to come rescue us, we are fortunate not to have actually "used" it. And its the kind of thing you want to have a nice strong battery, in case. I have to send it off in time to get it back before we leave for Nova Scotia in June. The other thing was to contract for the installation of a faux teak deck to be measured, cut and installed on the swim platform. This area is quite small and rather ratty looking and I figured out how to install it by removing the folding retractable swim ladder and reinstalling it atop the new decking.

The reasons for only one day of boat work during this period were first that my back had gone out a bit and second that winter has indeed finally arrived in New York. But the one warm day I worked with mechanic Ed, for six hours. Thats twelve man hours. The results: both it ILENEs two large "primary" winches were disassembled, all parts had all old grease scraped off and then scrubbed with a toothbrush in a bucket with paint thinner to get what couldnt be scraped. Once clean, the parts were dried, regreased and reassembled. The book says this should be done annually! After 17 years, the last five with heavy use, these workhorses were overdue for the TLC they got. The other two winches that Im going to do are those on the coach roof. (I dont think I have to do the fifth winch, the one on the mast, because it gets so very little use.) The next two are smaller and with the benefit of our learning curve, should not take as long.  Having learned a lot from watching Ed, Im thinking of trying to do these myself, taking off the parts and cleaning them in an indoor location. Then will come the steering and some electrical work, with Ed.
And here is a picture of ILENEs mate, just cause I like looking at her.

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Fellow Boaters!

Some of us have put our boats away for winter while some in the south and in the islands enjoy boating year around. Whether you are using your boat or have winterized it, it is a good time to come up with a to do list for your boat for the upcoming season. Some examples of things to add to your list:

• Is your safety gear up to date and does it meet federal and your state requirements? Here is a link for the USCG requirements: http://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/workflow_staging/Publications/420.PDF
• All boats with living space should have smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, do you? If so, then this is a good time to change batteries if you have not done so.
• Do you have an EPIRB? If so is the registration and battery in date?
• Remove your hand held fire extinguishers and turn upside down and hit the bottom with your hand, can you hear the dry powder settle? If not your fire extinguisher might be compacted and need replacement. If any doubts you can have inspected professionally. When was the last time the fire extinguisher in the engine room last inspected?
• Check you thru-hull vales, are the handles easy to turn, how do they look, corrosion, when was the last time they were serviced? 
• Check all of the hoses and hose clamps, replace if needed.
• Inspect your fuel lines and condition of your fuel system. Does your fuel system meet USCG requirements?
• If you have lead acid batteries, check the electrolyte, are you batteries secure? Are the wire terminals tight?
• If you have an inboard engine, how is the condition of your stuffing box, cutlass bearing? Is your engine aligned properly.
• How is the condition of your lifelines? I often find lifelines that need replacement because of corrosion and cracks in the swage fittings.
• If you own a sailboat, when was the last time the rigging inspected? 
• On sailboats chain plates are often neglected. Inspect for water intrusion, pitting and cracks. I have found Thermal Imaging to be useful in finding signs of trapped moisture in chain plates embedded in fiberglass.
• If laying your sailboat up for the season, this is a good time to remove your sails and have them inspected at a sail loft. Also it is a good time to order a new sail, some lofts offer discounts over the winter.
• Make a list of improvements you want for your boat and get estimates and see if any yards are offering discounts for work completed over the winter.
• For us with metal boats this is a good time to inspect our bilges, sail lockers, lazarettes, and engine rooms for corrosion. Insure these areas are clean. 

I am sure I could keep going, but you get the idea. I am wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable 2014!
Happy Boating!

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December 14 15 New Smyrna Beach to Titusville and First of Three Lay Days There With Car 35 Miles

Motoring in the ICW is not a peak experience. During this trip and while at Titusville, there was almost no wind. It was sunny and not as cold. I put up a head sail for about an hour but then the wind was gone again. Companions make it more interesting. These guys, from New England, said that they were in training for the spring racing season and wanted to be on our "wake". They kept up with us, motoring at 5.7 knots, for about half an hour before turning back. They said "Were your dolphins!"

We also saw more dolphins than ever before, in small and large pods, close to a hundred total, during the five hours we were underway.

In Titusville one simply takes an available mooring and then calls the Marina to tell them the number. The Indian River is as much as three miles wide but with a depth of only one to six feet, except for the ICW channel with twelve feet depth that is perhaps 50 yards wide. Near Titusville the river has a piece that is seven or eight feet deep and several hundred yards wide. This is the anchorage and mooring field. We took a mooring near the ICW and near the outer end of the private marked channel leading from the ICW to a large marina with many slips that was dredged in the western (mainland) side of the River. The chart showed three low bridges, one shortly before we arrived and two further south. The first is for a railroad and is apparently open unless a train comes. The second was replaced by a beautiful new high expensive bridge, shown here from ILENE at sunrise,

and so only the third requires us to request an opening. I think they made a mistake in deciding which of the two car bridges to replace: the high one leads to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and is little trafficked. The remaining low automobile bridge also leads to the Kennedy National Space Center at Cape Canaveral and has a lot of cars and buses to be detained. Id be interested in what local politics caused the decision to replace the wrong bridge.
We took both our dinghy lights (so others can see us) and our flashlight (so we could see the unlighted channel markers and find our way home after dark). We had some wine on Autumn Borne with Dean and Susan. They are planning to haul, do their bottom and visit relatives back in Buffalo and will catch up with us later on. Also aboard were the crew of Seeker, Earl and Kathy, and friends who sail but live in Florida and did not have their boat here: Eric, an engineering colleague of Dean, and Joyce, a biker and tennis player, from Holland. When Erik and Joyce had to leave, the rest of us had dinner at Crackerjack, by the foot of that new bridge.
Next day was the first of our three with a rental car. After breakfast out we went to the Kennedy Space Center. We took the bus ride out along the path that the mammoth mover travels carrying the rockets (at one mph), and saw about four videos, each in its own theater, walked through a lot of objects, large and small and heard a great talk by former astronaut Don Thomas, who made four shuttle flights, the highlight of the day, actually.

Each stripe in the flag is eight feet wide!

Lift off!

End of Stage Two, with me, below, to give a sense of scale

Lene by capsule, looking lovely, as usual .

The Rocket Garden

We were there from 10 to 4 and were quite tired by the end of it. We have access to a movie house here and Interstellar was playing but no, a quiet evening aboard.
The Space Center is operated entirely without government support, it brags: But taxpayers pay for it. Driving there for two seniors includes a $10 parking fee and $97.00 admission. it was not as expensive 25 years ago when I was here last.

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Yellow boat 4 FPV camera view Purau New Zealand 2 1 14

Yellow boat 4 mostly Hobby King bits balsa epoxy fiber glass hull 
http://kiwitricopter.blogspot.co.nz/2012/09/3-hour-yellow-boat.html



Twin Turnigy 450 Series 3800KV Brushless Outrunner Helicopter Motor
RPM: 3800kv
Max Current: 35A
Max Power: 365W

2 X HobbyKing 30A BlueSeries Brushless Speed Controller with shared enlarged air cooled heatsink with an 30mm fan
Cont. Current: 30A
Burst Current: 40A
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=13429&aff=652823


coupled to modified NQD jet drives with flex shafts and custom 3 blade impellers 

ZIPPY Compact 2700mAh 3S 25C Lipo Pack
Capacity: 2700mAh
Voltage: 3S1P / 3 Cell / 11.1V
Discharge: 25C Constant / 35C Burst
Weight: 203g (including wire, plug & case)
Dimensions: 137x15x44mm
Balance Plug: JST-XH

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=21349&aff=652823

Purau
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/preview#!q=Purau%2C+Canterbury&data=!4m15!2m14!1m13!1s0x6d322f14fc09c6a3%3A0x500ef868479e4b0!3m8!1m3!1d338144!2d175.3085223!3d-37.6203018!3m2!1i1366!2i642!4f13.1!4m2!3d-43.6390402!4d172.7489035

Yellow boat 4 FPV camera view Purau New Zealand 2-1-14 from nickatredbox on Vimeo.

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Free New yankee workshop sailboat plans

Tips New yankee workshop sailboat plans these days i discovered the actual New yankee workshop sailboat plans Search results for New yankee workshop sailboat plans it is not easy to obtain this information In the survey I get that not a few people who need a pdf version for New yankee workshop sailboat plans here is the content one photo New yankee workshop sailboat plans

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Access New wooden boat plans

New wooden boat plans Foto Results New wooden boat plans Homemade Fishing Pontoon Boat Plans Classic Wooden Boat Plans RC Model Boat Plans Free Wooden Boat Building Plans Free Plywood Boat Plans

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