A hearty Ahoy! to all you stingy sailors out there who have followed this blog this year. I’m not sharing a project with you this week to pass along a few personal comments and ask for your opinion. Continue reading “A Special Message from the Skipper”
After Summer Dance was badly damaged in a freak storm, the first mate and I doubted whether we would get her back in the water before the end of the sailing season. I didn’t know how I was going to fix her, whether I could do the work, or whether our insurance claim would pay enough to have the work done professionally. The DIYer in me wanted to save money and learn how to lay up fiberglass. But looking at the complexity of the damage and how long it would take a novice like me to fix it only reinforced the reality that if we wanted to sail again this year, the damage would have to be repaired by professionals.
Continue reading “Storm Damage to Summer Dance Repaired”
Early on in our sailing career, the first mate and I discovered that we really enjoy anchoring out overnight. The bays in the North Idaho lakes where we cruise are surrounded by snow-capped mountains, covered by crystal clear starry skies, and afford plenty of privacy. The problem was, Summer Dance didn’t have an anchor light, which is a shame because according to the original invoice that I have, it would have only cost $36 in 1981 when she was built. Not even $tingy Sailor can add one that cheaply today.
If you haven’t already voted for Summer Dance in the Sailrite 2014 Summer Project Photo Contest, please take a moment to vote for our photo now by clicking the preceding link. That should take you to a page with our … Continue reading Please Vote for Summer Dance!
This project isn’t on the boat at all but it can make getting the boat on and off the water faster and easier for the trailer sailor. I’ve used trailers for most of my adult life, so I’m pretty good at backing them up. But getting the hitch ball right under a coupler on the first try is next to impossible without some kind of aid, either human or otherwise. I’ve tried the antenna ball gizmos but they’re not accurate enough if you have a really heavy trailer that you can’t muscle into place. And bless her heart, the first mate tries to line me up right but it doesn’t work out most of the time, which means one or both of us can easily get frustrated. Not a good way to start or end a great cruise.
Continue reading “Speed Up Trailer Hookups with a Backup Camera”
It was supposed to be a short casual cruise to a waterfront restaurant and dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary. My wife and I were spending a four day weekend on our favorite lake with our Catalina 22 named Summer Dance. I had spent the last year refitting and restoring her from stem to stern and she was now a gem we were proud of and enjoyed cruising in. It turned out to be a grueling night that we’ll never forget and our worst anniversary in 37 years.
Continue reading “Summer Dance Badly Damaged in Freak Storm”
It seems that every C-22 owner upgrades their cabin lighting at some point. The original dome lights are not very bright or sturdy and their incandescent bulbs use a lot of battery power. In Summer Dance, the previous owner had replaced the two salon dome lights with the combination white/red LED lights from a certain Catalina parts dealership. They don’t use much power but they also don’t put out much light either.
Continue reading “Brighten up Your Cabin with LED Strip Lighting”
When we purchased Summer Dream, the only tiller control accessory she had was a contraption made with two pieces of shock cord joined in the middle with two wooden beads that formed an eye. It had hooks on the ends that could be attached to the pushpit stanchions. When the tiller handle is in the eye, the cords would hold it somewhat centered and you could adjust the tiller position by sliding the beads (and therefore, the eye) to one side or the other. It was simple and clever but the shock cord allowed the rudder to overpower it, so I couldn’t trust it to hold a heading for very long. I decided to replace it with a tiller lock device that would hold the tiller stationary no matter what. After evaluating several products, I chose the popular Davis Tiller Tamer.
Continue reading “How to Install a Tiller Lock”
When it comes time to varnish the wooden panels and trim on your sailboat, doing the job more efficiently will save you time. One way that you can be more efficient is by varnishing all sides of a piece at the same time. You want to varnish all sides of the pieces in order to seal even the backsides of parts from absorbing water that will cause varnish to peel and mildew to grow. Many people omit that step and simply lay the pieces on their work surface to dry. But spending a little more time in preparation can save time by the end of the job and give you better results. You can do this by using simple jigs to hold the pieces suspended while you varnish them.
The $tingy Sailor 