The power of a straight line

I have been thinking about acquiring another fiberglass sailboat, the Venture 17, to be more specific.  I have found a nice 40 year old example in good condition, for a reasonable price.  The dilemma I face is wether or not to acquire another "plastic" boat, another adequate boat, another compromise, but something that would get me quickly out on the water.
This morning, it being a grey, damp, chilly, Autumnal sunday, and not having any other commitments than the coffee pot, the wood stove, and thinking about boats, I was looking at the picture I have of the Venture 17 and wondering what it was that I found so unappealing about it.  I then looked at pictures of my other boats and the thing became obvious right away.
The Ventures have a plum stern, straight up and down, and look as if somebody just came along and cut off the section to be used as it came sliding out of a sausage grinder or the playdough machine/toys we had as children.  This alone is not such a bad thing and has plenty of practical things to recommend it.  The rudder and outboard are much easier to hang on this kind of stern.  The volume, and thus the useful space inboard carries all the way to the end of the boat.  The water line length is potentially greater.  It could add reserve bouncy astern.  It's easy to construct.  This last bit shouldn't really be a concern for a fiberglass boat that can be molded to any shape pretty easily.
The Ventures also have a straight sheerline, with no rise at the bow or stern.  This gives the aft quarter the visual similarity to a shoe box.  Because the bow is higher than the stern, this gives the over look a rather crude, blunt and unappealing quality when viewed from the side.
I do think that the boat looks just fine in plan or while standing at the dock looking down onto the deck.  The beam and shape from this perspective is very good, I think.
In the boats I designed and built for myself I have always had a bit of shape to the sheer, a bit of arc in the sheer line.  That has as much to do with the nature of a plank of wood bending in 3 dimensions to accommodate the  beam, flare and the ends coming together, as it does with my own aesthetic preference.
The curved line in the sheer seems to reflect something a bit more natural and less humanly forced.  On the transom a bit of angle there gives the idea of continuation and motion and seems more able to interact with the sea than a flat surface would.
So, the end result was that I am putting off the acquisition of the Venture 17, for at least another day.  I won't buy it today because I don't have to, or really want to.  It would be too much of an aesthetic compromise and how I feel about a boat is very important.
While looking at the photos of my other boats, their construction and their launchings, I was reminded of the feelings I had then.  I was excited about them, inspired by their looks, proud of the thing that I had coaxed out of some unrelated bits of wood and glue and fasteners and paint and daydreams.  That is a very different feeling than what I was anticipating having in purchasing another assembly line fiberglass vessel with little in the way of looks or spirit.  I will say that this particular vessel is well kept and probably given it's stewards a good bit of fun, adventure, and pride, or at least it's condition would reflect this.
I have the good fortune to ask a little bit more of a boat than just economy, or just convenience, or just immediacy of ownership.  I have had to wait before, and had to do the work, and had to come up with the craft and suffered the discovery of my own limitations in the application of that craft, and it has all been a positive experience.  So, if I can, I will NOT buy this boat and rather build my own answer to my sailing challenges.  After all it is such good fun just daydreaming of a boat that might be and what it might do with me in it.

On the practical side it would also be in my econmic favor to build the boat, if my past builds can be used as a measure.  I also really need to finish getting the shop in order so that I can add the centerboard to the skiff and see what difference that makes in it's sailing ability, and thusly, my enthusiasm for taking her out on the water.

New adVENTUREs for Venutura!

Yes, it's true, Ventura is now in somebody else's hands.  In a fit of feeling overwhelmed by all the STUFF I have, (8 boats) I put Ventura up for sale.  Just over 24 hours later she gone.  Weird.
I don't agree with the saying that the two best days for any sailor are first, the day he buys his boat, then second, the day he sells it.  It was not a great day or feeling to see the boat being driven away on it's trailer.  We went thru a bit together in a short time.  Each of us came close to ending our days.  It was a rough day for both of us, but we each returned to the water and are here still.  We each have a good story to tell from it.
I think that some young boys are going to be the new captains of Ventura, there fathers will be crew.  I never got her name painted on, only penciled in, and I kind of hope the boys pick a name for her that makes the boat even more their own, though I do think that VENTURA is a pretty great name.
Now what?
Sail the skiff?  Paddle the kayaks?  Row the pram?  Get the Bristol in order and launch her?  That sounds almost too good to be true.  It has been so long, too long since I have sailed that boat.  She really is the boat.  She got me thru some allot.
Well what ever is next, as long as it's 'messing about' it should be good.

Best wishes and fair winds to the new owners of VENTURA.

The first week of summer

The summer solstice was just a few days ago and today, after 14 months since the knock down, Ventura sailed once again!

It was a very nice day though I could have used just a touch less wind, but in the end it was just fine.  Trying to get this rig back together and sort out everything is tedious and time consuming.  One really needs to be happy just "messing about" in boats with a trailer sailor because so much time is spent getting the boat to the water and ready to go, then doing the reverse at the end of the day.

Our sail was only about 2 hours, but it was enough time to take the boat thru it's paces.  We raised both main and jib.  We reefed the main.  We tacked.  We jibed.  We docked and we used the motor.  It is all working again.  The only thing we didn't really do was anchor.

I have along "to do list" after the sail.  Mostly things I forgot, some important, some not so much.  I forgot to put on the rigging for the reef point, that was very annoying.  I made it work with spare line onboard, but heavily chastised myself for not thinking it all thru.

The out board was a bit inconsistent as we left the dock and eventually died, but we had decent wind so we just sailed.  On the return I ran it for a while and it eventually evened out and ran the entire time we needed it.  This was the first time it has really run since it was IN the river.  I did maintenance it after it's sinking but hadn't really run it very long since.  I think it will be fine.

In truth my enthusiasm for this kind of boat, this kind of sailing isn't very strong.  I miss my full keeled cruiser on it's mooring.  But I will make due with what I have right now.

It was good to be back on the water and even sailing with in sight of where I took my very cold swim, the one that was almost the last thing I ever did, was fine.   I really only gave it a thought for about 2 seconds, maybe 3.

There is a lot of summer ahead.  Todays sail only cost 10 dollars at the launch ramp.  I have to do quite a few of those to equal the cost of a slip for the summer, so that makes spending the 10 bucks a lot easier.  Let's see what the summer has in store for us.

Fair Winds!

Although I am thinking of having a new mainsail built for Ventura and using her as much as I can I will say that if anybody needs a very, very cheap boat and trailer I am open to selling her.  I have too many boats right now and I really miss sailing my Bristol

sails

I know that there is something elemental missing from these photo's, like water, but one step at a time.  Presenting the Venture 21s.  "S" stands for short rig.

Formerly the staysail, now the jib.  Kinda small but it'll work

The shortened main sail.  Always was short along the foot.
The sail actually has roach to the leech but I don't have the battens in.

Cut and pasted jib, from the first photo into the second and now we
have all working sail up.

It's not a lot of canvas but I ain't racing and at this point in my experience with this boat, I'd rather be under canvased.  (Wink, wink, nod, nod).  I hope to be in the water next week.  Before the equinox would be nice.

My rigging measurements were good

New rigging copper swaged eyes, slathered in lanolin and
covered in heat shrink tubbing.
Workboat handsome, or industrially cute?

I stepped the mast today with the newly made rigging.  All the measures were good.  The turnbuckles were about 60 % open when it was all snugged up.  That should leave some room to take up if and when things stretch out under strain.
It was a breezy day so not only was I wishing that I was launching, but I also had to be careful about raising sails while the boat was on the trailer, which I did to see how things fit.
The small jib which was the staysail is truly small, but, it fits nicely on the forestay.  I have yet to alter the jib and genny to fit the new rig measures.
I also set the main, which was much easier for the topping lift that I added to the boom, but still awkward as the mast is really designed to have the luff, as well as the foot of the mainsail in the groove.  This main has the roping on it to set it this way but lugs have been put along the luff.  I'm not sure why this was done and only realized this now after owning the boat for a year and a half.  Duh!
Anyway, the mainsail's new height is good.  I may end up with a lot of chafe as the leach passes under the back stay and the topping lift.
I took pictures but my phone is having issues sending them to the computer.(piece 'o' shite!)  I'll add them later.
I will say again that it is so much easier to raise this mast now.  I suppose that the 15% of length that is no longer out at the end of it makes a lot of difference.
I'm not sure what is next, maybe launching her and sailing.  There is a thought!  It's been a while.

Jib (staysail) is ready

I had to stitch a new clew onto the staysail that I am using as the jib.  It works pretty well for stronger weather.  I added a patch and then a roped grommet to the clew and we are set to go!
I also moused all the upper rigging points.  So I guess the next thing is to try raising the mast again and seeing how it all worked out!

Main's done

I got the main all put together and it came out pretty good, I think.  I hand stitched the new patches and used aluminum pop rivets for the head board (I reused the old head board) and then pounded in a grommet for the halyard to attach to.

Re-cut. shorter, stronger....
and hand stitched

I did have to put 4 of the sail slides back on but I used 3 of the old ones and one new one I had lying around.  I put in on the mast, as the mast is by the shop on saw horses and it seems to fit just fine.
Now on to the jib that has a torn out clew.  I think I will add a patch and then a roped grommet for the sheets to tie to.
Memorial day is this coming weekend, unofficial boat season beginning.  I have no intention of being on the water this weekend because it is usually madness.  This also means I am in no rush to get these projects done other than needing to move on to others in the shop, oh yah, and I'd like to go sailing again someday.

Re-cut the sails for "short rig"

The Venture 21 was considered a pretty quick boat in it's day.  It certainly seemed to move thru the water easily when I started sailing Ventura, even though the main sail was not the original, and about a foot and a half shorter along the foot, and two feet on the luff.  Now with the mast being about 3 feet shorter from the damage and the repair, the sails a little bit tall.
I am cutting the mainsail down by about a foot, and I need to loose about a foot and a half off of the jib and genny.  The staysail will continue to work as is if I fly it on the forestay in heavy weather, as I did before because the boat didn't have a inner stay rigged as was the original sail plan.  I will in fact rig an inner stay so as to assist the new rig.  I hope to set is up in the fashion of a running back stay so that it can easily be set and slacked for tacking.  It's an idea.

Old main, cut down, patch to be added, reused headboard

In re-rigging the boat I have had to raise and lower the shorter mast a few times and the few feet of lost length has made the job very much easier.  Yahoooo!  I am not overly concerned about the lost sail area.  On the main sail the loss will come from the head of the sail, a portion of the sail that has very little drive or area.
The jib and genny are a bit of a different story.  I don't really want to just lop off their tops, so I am considering putting a grommet for the tack up a foot and a half from the original and adding reefing nettles, and continue to use the original clue.  The sails could always stay "reefed" but the original area would be preserved.  Why I want to do this I am not really sure.  Partly because I am concerned about getting a good shape of the head sail if I recut it.
It is good weather for sitting in the shop with the big doors open and hand stitching the sails.  It is better weather for actually being sailing. All things in their time.
I found that a sail maker I have used before would build me a brandy new main sail for under $500, including shipping.  It is VERY tempting, but mostly because I am lazy.  The old main never set very well, was blown out and old, but, I do own it already and this boat is about spending NO money(which I have failed at, but it is a boat so I can't be to hard on myself can I).  If after launching the boat seems to have a good place in my life then I might splurge and order a new main someday.  For now it is snip, snip, stitch, stitch.
If I ever do order the new main I think I will have the change the insignia from V21, to V21s, to signify the short rig.

"New" Standing rigging

My new standing rigging is finished!  After much research, and a bit of stepping back to look at the big picture, I decided to go with the "nico-press" type of fittings because it was inexpensive, I could to the work myself, I didn't need expensive new tools or machines, and I could reuse a bit of the material I already had.  I fully realize that many might be critical of the use of this type of fitting, and I might be to, if I were setting up a boat bound for open water or even strong weather, but in this case the boat is to be used for recreational, fair weather sailing, and having "made" the rig myself, I will be more mindful, and aware of the conditions of both the rig and the weather.

Had I been using this rig a year ago, I might have been more conservative about what I put the boat thru, decided to quit sooner, or not gone out at all, and saved my self the experience of being very, very cold and wet. (on the good side, I now know what that is like.  Ignorance can breed fear, and knowledge allows for better judgement, I hope)

SS thimble, 2-Swaged copper sleeves on lower shrouds
coated with anhydrous lanolin, then covered in shrink wrap tubing

Some info on this rigging technique:
-1x19 S.S. doesn't want to bend the short radius of the thimbles.  It seems that the sharp bend may compromise some of the strength of the rig.
-1x19 S.S. requires 2 copper sleeves, each swaged 3 times along their length.
-I made sure that the sleeves did not actually touch the thimble, or each other.  I did this to promote a full compression of each swage.
-The end of the SS wire stuck out of the lower swage, but was covered by the heat shrink tubing.  Before the tubing was applied the entire fitting was slathered in anhydrous Lanolin for protection.
-I used a swaging tool that uses 2 bolts, tightened down to compress the copper sleeves.  This tool was the least expensive(a priority in this boat), smallest (so that in the future it can be kept on board my larger boat for emergency rigging), and it was simple.
- I checked the swages with a micro meter to see if they fell in the specs that I found on a forum thread about home built airplanes and this type of rigging.  the tool was pretty consistent with the thickness of the finished swage and that dimension collaborated with the aviation specs.

I believe that Brian Toss mentioned that most of the boats he'd seen rigged in this way were in the UK.  He didn't recommend these fittings very highly and seemed to think they were the wrong "tool for the job".  I wouldn't disagree with him ultimately, but, I think that they will serve fine in this application.  Most of the negative comments I found on the forums about pressed copper sleeves seemed to be about the way the finished fitting looked.  I actually like the work boat kind of look they have.  It is even more attractive because the look reflects that I did the work myself.

Using this tool with these parts required really taking my time setting up and making each swage, three for each sleeve, two sleeves for each eye, two eyes per stay, six stays, plus a few practice sleeves.  I have to enjoy each moment of the work or I will rush to be done and botch the job.

Now on to recutting the sails.

Presto! the mast is in one piece again.

Here is the repair of the mast with the pop rivets in.  I found that the epoxy got thick pretty quickly so I worked fast.  I think that with the number of rivets, the epoxy, and the area of the scarf, the mast should be pretty strong.

Looks like I took a Bedazzler to by mast!

 The mast does have some slight twist and bend to it but not so much that I don't think it will work fine.  The sail track lined up just right.  I am hoping that with the rigging I can pull it into as true a shape as is necessary for it to work.  The distortion is only slight.

I had to cut off about an inch of the spreaders because on got smashed on the inboard end.  I don't think that will be a real problem.  As I have been going thru the rigging I think that I can get three of the six pieces of wire rope from what I have.  I think the back stay can become the forestay and the upper shrouds can become the lowers.  All of the wire rigging was cut by the tow company when the recovered the boat.  Kind of seemed like somebody just got a new wire cutter and had to try it out.  Oh well.

epoxy and fiberglass

Yesterday I did the fiberglass work on the Venture.  Working with this stuff is so distasteful that I seriously considered not doing, stripping the hull and taking the boat to be scrapped, then building a wooden boat replacement.  In the end I couldn't deal with the idea of being so wasteful and started mixing up epoxy resin.

I had ground down the holes in the deck so that I could layer in the fiberglass patches already.  So I taped up the wholes from inside the cabin to create a bottom and wet out the hole with epoxy for bonding then added a layer with fairing compound so I could shape it from the underside should I go that far, but I seriously doubt I will.  Then came layer upon layer of chopped strand and mat fiberglass.  After that had gotten somewhat solid but still green, I put a layer of epoxy thickened with fairing compound so that I could create a smooth sanded surface.

I was lucky that the day was cool and a slight breeze kept the smells from just saturating me.  Checking this morning it all looks pretty good.  At the mast step I added extra layers of glass for strength.

I may start sanding later today.

I am very much considering cutting down the mast height a bit.  I don't race and want a boat that will be easy to use.  I think the mast was about 24 feet long and a 21 or even 20 foot mast would be that much easier to rig at launchings.  The reduced sail area would be a bit but I am not to overly concerned.  I still have to scarf the mast back together so nows the time to make these choices.

IT has begun

Yesterday I started the repair of the Venture 21 by taking the old winch rig for the centerboard off and sizing up the new replacement one.  I also bailed out all of the water that had leaked in over the past couple of months during the heavy rain storms, about 10 gallons.  I have been leaving the hatches open to dry it all out.
I also took off the starboard forward lifeline stanchion and straightened it out, almost to what it was.  It is plenty good enough.  I took off the remaining wire life line in preparation for replacing those lines with rope.  In my thinking rope is plenty strong enough and it has more elasticity.  Stanchions are know to rip out or bend and at least leak after being worked by force on the lines.  On my larger boat the lifelines are rope and have served just fine.

Today I got the grinder out and ground down the spots on the deck that will need to be repaired with fiberglass and epoxy patches.  The four points where the bow pulpit was and the mast step.  I intend to use just fiberglass to repair even where it was cored with plywood.  I like my repairs to be stronger than original if possible.

Getting all the gear together and protection for myself I was reminded of how much I hate working with fiberglass. This alone is enough of a reason to get rid of my glass boats and make the fleet all wood.  Upon starting in with the grinder I was immediately taken back to the days when I remodeled my Bristol by cutting out the cockpit and making a flush deck, by the smell of melting/grinding gel coat and polyester resin.  It isn't a totally unpleasant smell in that it has connotations of really great times doing fun and crazy things with boats back when I first started boating.  It is really the dust that goes everywhere and is always itchy later on.  I have found the best way to get if off is to shower in COLD water with shampoo to float all of the dust off.  The cold water keeps your pores from opening up and letting the dust get deeper in to your skin.

It is good to see these great big holes in the deck right now because I know that they mean progress.  In truth I'd much rather just scrap this boat and build a wooden replacement for it, but I hate just throwing things out when they can be made useful.  Nobody nibbled at the Craig's list add for the boat, so I guess that I am stuck with it for now.

I am thinking of it as the "Frankenstein" boat.  I will patch it, and get it back on the water with whatever can be had for free or really cheap.  I intend not to do anything about the accommodations below.  The boat is just to get me on the water as cheaply and easily as possible for daysails.  If I stick to this line of thought I might just get back on the water for Fall sailing.

Mother's day on the water

Went out to the lake for a row/sail on Mother's day.  I decided that if I am going to be celebrating all of the Mother's that I know and care about Mother Earth should be in the list too.
Got to the lake and it was blowing white caps into the launch ramp again so we left the sailing rig on land and rowed out to the lee of an Island and enjoyed the sun, a cup of coffee and each other.  The pine trees on the island were the special treat filling the nose with the scent of pine and the ears with the swishing sound  that they make in the breeze.  It's against the law to land on these islands but anchoring in the little bites or bays of them is fine and that is what we did.  It is almost preferable to stay aboard and just spread out in the bottom of the boat.  The waves bob us around and the sun heats our bones.  The dog would prefer to explore the island, and chase some of the geese that roam there, but eventually she settles down and lies with us in the boat.
I think that I still have a few residual affects from the April sail lingering around in my head.  While rowing out in the skiff the wind would gust up and push on the topsides and our bodies, enough so as to heel the boat slightly.  It made me aware of it, and reminded me how much I prefer full displacement boats with all that ballast below the water line to keep the top of the mast above water, and the keel under the water.  We had a 17 foot daysailer for a while and I was always concerned about getting it knocked down.  I guess this says more about the kind of weather I've tended to go out in.  Since I learned to sail and have mostly sailed on ballasted boats I suppose my sensitivities to wind strengths are more appropriate to them.  I should think it would not be a bad thing to learn to be more conservative, as would be appropriate with a light weight boat, in my judgement of wind strength.

on the lake

I have gotten a few inquiries about the Venture.  I do think it would make a good project boat for somebody willing to put in the work.

Skiffing again!

Working on a project for the skiff.  I'd like to add a rudder to her, so, I tried out this one that I made for a fiberglass dinghy. just to see what it looked like.

rudder from another boat just for size.

 It seems pretty close to being about the right size so I decided to glue up some cedar decking on edge to get the width I want.  I will add some horizontal "straps" to  help the glue hold the rudder together.

reclaimed cedar decking being glued up for a rudder.

I'll have to work on the actual shape of the rudder and I may need to weight it to counter the buoyancy of the cedar.  I am thinking that instead of a typical tiller I will use a fore and aft steering stick so as to make it all less cumbersome.
I am sticking with the Gorilla Glue for the adhesive and the cedar decking is already in use on the boat.  I may offset the cedar with yellow pine cheek blocks, or the luan plywood, but I haven't decided yet.  I'd like the cedar to be varnished.
It was extremely pleasant to be working on this boat again and to be in the shop again.  I hope to get the boat out for a row soon, maybe tomorrow.  After the winter dealing only with the Venture I had forgotten how fond I am of these boats that I made with my own hands.  Makes me kind of wonder why I ever bothered to get another fiberglass boat.

Speaking of the Venture, I found some scrap aluminum in the shop today, some plate, some tube.  I think that it might be usable as the joint for the mast so that I don't have to cut down the mast anymore.  If this works out then I will have only lost a foot of mast height, which may mean that I won't have to recut any of the sails.

clean cut

Today I cut the rough edges off the mast to begin the repair.   I cut out a 4 in section to experiment with how I might make a sleeve/insert.  After cutting a slot on the back side of the mast I realize that I will need to cut down the diameter of the insert quite a bit in order to get it to fit in the old mast.

Cut off ends and a section to experiment with.

 I have done some looking around online to see what others have done and I think I am narrowing down my approach.  Right now I am thinking that I will cut the insert in half, lengthwise in order to make 2 shaped plates that I can then mechanically attach the 2 mast pieces with.  Since I am planing to reduce the rig anyway I can make the insert/plate about 3 feet long, which should give enough area for the scarf, a foot and a half in each section.

Clean cut ends ready to be joined back together.
Now what?

I am sure the most challenging part will be lining it all up so that the sail slugs run clean in the track.

I finally got inside the boat and got out the water that the tow boats bilge pumps didn't pick up, about 12 gallons.  I also put the port sheet winch back together.  Amazingly, I still have all the pieces to it, even after the sinking and 2 days under water!  I also put some plastic and tape over the holes in the deck that will eventually be repaired so as to keep them from allowing more water in the next time it rains.  I have a feeling this boat will forever smell of the Hudson River.

#14

It was just to nice out not to sail a little bit.  The wind was very light.  The water surface only riffled in patches and the current was still coming in.  I figured even if I just sat there for a while at least I will have come out and done all the business of leaving the slip and motoring out of the marina and raising sail, as well as the return and reverse of it all.  After all, it is the working of a sailboat that is enjoyable to me, and even though I love being on a long tack and just feeling the wind on my face, it is actually all the pulling of lines, setting of sail that is interesting and part of the game of figuring out how to trick the wind into taking me where I want to go.
As it turned out I was able to sail, and even make distance to windward and against the tide.  I forget that this boat is much more slippery because of the underbody.  It has so much less wetted surface area than I am used to having on my boats.
With all the sail up that we could muster, the genny and the full main, we coaxed a gurgle out of the wake that the boat cut.  Kind of hard for me to believe really.  On the leg, upwind and across the current we kept the sails just filled but the illusion was as if there was no wind at all.  Still, we made our distance.
I sheeted in the genny just about as far as I could and then before I sheeted in the main I took a line and used it as a cunningham to tighten up the luff and pull out some of the belly of the very blown out sail.  This seemed to work very well and actually gave a pretty good shape.  The telltales on the jib were streaming out horizontally, like they were painted on and the sound of the wake picked up a note.  Pretty good for a 44 year old boat with a used, old, and mis sized mainsail.
Even though it was only an hour or so of sailing it was quite pleasant to not have to wear foulies and gloves and I even took to the shadow of the sail a few times to avoid the sunshine.  That was unfamiliar and made me smile.
We are down to $35 a sail now and the quality of each sail seems to be on the increase!
The marina is starting to get active.  The power boaters have begun to return.  Why do they always seem to have such mundane, jejune, names on their boats?  Anyway, soon my time in the slip will be up and it will be just as well as I will start to be unhappy when going to the marina at the thought of the people who will be showing up in increasing number.
I suppose I should go over the trailer soon and make sure it made it thru the winter alright.

#13

Got out early today to take advantage of the wind that was blowing.  On days like these it seems normal for the breeze to die away as the sun warms up everything around, and that is just what it did today.  I did get to go thru a range of sail combinations.  I started out with the working jib only and ended up with full mains'l and the genny.
With today's sail I have got my costs down under $40/sail.  With 14 days left till the end of my winter contract I think I can get that down a bit more.
Though it is warm out, the high 50's f and sunny, the river banks still have that depressed winter look to them with the trees all brown and grey and no visible grass yet.  Even so, the birds are plentiful and talkative and the sun is bright in a brilliantly blue sky, so it all feels hopeful and good.

The Right Rite of Spring

Spring sprung yesterday, and magically, or maybe not, I got to sail yesterday too.  The ice had been clearing over the past 4 days or so and I have been watching and waiting for the moment that seemed right to go down to the docks and restore the outboard to it's proper place on the stern of the boat.  Yesterday was warm but rather breezy and I wasn't sure that I'd do much more than get the boat set up by putting the motor back on and checking out all the rigging.
The wind was out of the west and gusty and that meant that I could just beam reach up and down the river, hugging the eastern shore to get some shelter from the land.  But this always means that the gusty shifts are stronger as they are affected by the land features.  Using just the staysail as the jib we probably averaged 4 knots the entire time and only once got the rail close to the water.  Mostly it was just nice sailing, with a cool wind, but a warm sun.
It was about 3 months without sailing, almost literally the whole of winter, to the day.  I always get a little nervous about beginning to get sailing again after being away for so long.  Mostly it is because of having to negotiate the marina, which is a tight space and has to be done under power of the motor.  Sailboats are not designed to be the best under motor power, but this little boat is better than the Bristol.  I think it has to do with the Venture being lower in the water, it has much less freeboard, and having no canvas dodger to catch the breeze and be blown sideways.  If the Bristol where a heavier boat it might be a bit less affected by cross winds and such when under power, but it weighs in at a light 6600 pounds.
Another large difference in the ease of handling the Venture is the placement of the outboard motor.  It being on the transom puts it next to the rudder, instead of behind it, as on the Bristol.  When the prop is behind the rudder steering in reverse, as one does when leaving a berth, is very difficult.  The wash from the prop pushes the rudder over hard and makes subtle steering almost impossible.  If the motor was steerable on the Bristol, which it is not due to it being in a well instead of accessible like the transom hung position on the Venture, then the tiller could be made fast and the steering could be done with the outboard.
I have about 25 more days left at the marina under my current contract.  I have to decide wether or not to try to purchase a slip for the summer.  The price is more than I really think is reasonable but I do benefit so much from having a boat in the water and ready to go.  I'd have to sail 25 days a month for the entire season to equal the cost of just launching at the ramp when I want to sail.  I'd like to be sailing that much but I don't think it will happen.
I do believe I would sail more by having the boat in the slip and ready rather than having to hook up the trailer, drive to the launch, step the mast and rig the boat, & launch, all before I get to sail each time.  There is also the benefit of being able to just go to the boat, even just to sit and be on the water that makes the marina an attractive idea.
According to the calendar, Spring has begun, and according to my boating meter, Spring has begun.  It was a happy coincidence.

Frozen messing about

After a week of snowy days and frigid nights
down below everything was dry and cozy-ish.

Simply messing about in small boats is usually enough to keep me happy.  Oddly enough, two days ago, when I was doing just that, messing about that is, and it was beginning to snow again, I was pretty happy.  The gray sky and the wind and not much in the way of fresh water but quite a bit of snow and ice, all made me happy because I  was at the little boat, even though we wouldn't be sailing.  The docks were a bit tricky to negotiate as the snow was almost 2 foot high and rounded on top, giving one the feeling that I was going to slip right over and into the water, er, ah, I guess I mean onto the ice.  I reasoned that even if I did fall off the dock I'd probably not go thru the ice as it was pretty thick.  Any other reasoning just made me uncomfortable.

After shoveling the snow off the boat it rose up about an inch on it's lines.  The snow was wet, heavy and icy.  From the cockpit I could see the few other boats in the basin and many others on the hard.  I could hear the clanking of halyards against aluminum masts from the boats who's owners weren't considerate enough to cat off their lines.  I could see a few sea gulls gliding on the wind and one bald eagle on an ice floe out on the river.

Even though I was only sitting on a boat that wasn't going anywhere soon, I was quite a bit happier to be floating, on a boat, my boat, a boat that I hope within a month will be sailing thru not so frozen water.  That was enough to make the snow blowing down my collar not so cold or uncomfortable, but really just a bit silly.  Sometimes just sitting and daydreaming about things I am pretty sure will come, is enough.  For now it has to be because our world here is still frozen and buried in snow and ice.

#10 !!!!!!!

Sail number 10 today. This has us down to $50 per sail so far and there are 4 months still to go.  I think we may soon be entering a period when the water gets to cold and hard (ice) to sail thru, but today was great.  I didn't even wear a hat.

49'f and steady winds WSW
Taken by Tom Ersk on his Pearson Wanderer "TnT".
Thanks Tom.
She looks like a long 21 feet to me!?

I did have to motor thru some ice pancakes in order to get out of my berth.  My berth was clear of ice but just a boat length or so away it was about a quarter to a half an inch thick.  The hull shape had us push up on top of the ice and then the weight of the boat would break thru.  The little motor had a little bit more work to do but nothing significant.  Maybe I got some of the bottom scraped clean in the process!!!

At my return I went to the marina office and made arrangements to shift to a new slip as many others were closer to the marina entrance and had an ice free path out.  Now I walk a little further to get to the boat but I have to motor less to get out passed the breakwater and I might be able to get out a few more days when I might have been frozen in at the previous berth.

With the working jib and a reef in the main we had the lee rail in the water when the wind was strongest, but mostly it was just easy peasy lemon squeezy!

▶ 2013 sail #10 - YouTube

I am more and more impressed with this boat each time I sail her.  Today with the working jib and reefed main the helm was pretty close to balanced but the thing that is impressive is how quick she seems.  I think that all my time sailing full keeled displacement hulls was led me to be surprised by the lighter planing hulls and their quickness.

Well if I don't get out again for a while I can look back fondly on a good season thus far.  Averaging one sail a week is just fine for me.  I am hopeful that at the end of the spring time I will get more time out each week but considering that most boats have been put up for the season I feel pretty fortunate.  I will say that I was not alone out there today.  It was with great pleasure that I saw 3 other sail boats out, 2 under sail and one just drifting and motoring but enjoying the warmth the day offered.

It is a good way to end the year, and begin the new one.