New mast step

The original mast step I made for Golightly was a pair of aluminum angle bars that were drilled for a bolt that was to go through a tongue at the bottom of the mast:

The big idea was to be able to cant the mast forward or aft to get the balance right. The big problem with it (aside from what just happened) was getting the bolt through those holes where visibility is extremely limited.

This is why it came apart:

The bottom piece should look like the top piece, with wood from the bottom plank stuck to the whole length of it—but the epoxy obviously didn't stick to more than half of it. I forgot to sand the epoxy into the metal. That bottom piece is the piece that came off with a crack. The top piece I chiseled off.

It's just as well that it came apart, because it was way too much hassle getting the mast set up, and I didn't see a reason to cant the mast, since the balance seems to be just fine. Maybe it would be an issue with a larger triangular sail?

Anyway, I made a sleeve and stuck it to a piece of fibreglass, which I then epoxied to the bottom of the boat:

The dirt on the right is mud from Oak Bay at low tide. Smelly stuff! It's washed off now. The sleeve is too large (John's fault), so I put a bump around the bottom of the mast to make it a snug fit.

She needs paint!

Broke mast step

I took Golightly out for a sail on Tuesday last. The wind was a steady 15 knots, about, with nice gusts on flat water at Oak Bay. When it's from the West, it's offshore there.

The boat sailed really fast across the bay and then I tacked to sail back, and in the next nice gust, the mast step broke with a loud crack—I'll post photos of the pieces when I have them; in the excitement of it all, I've neglected to do any photo documentation. Right now I'm building a new mast step, so Golightly is on top of the car, going back and forth to the shop getting fixed, and Bobber Ann is relaxing in my living room:

On the work bench in the right foreground are some of the things I take sailing or paddling. The black plastic jar is the potty, which sits on top of the duct tape that I take with me in Bobber Ann. On the back right is sun screen. In front of those things is a sailor's knife in a sheath, which I haven't taken with me since Firefly. The small black fanny pack in front of that holds the nuts, bolts and tools to make Golightly into a trimaran. In front of that is a waterproof camera case.

The painting (not mine, but from a photo I took) is a view towards Cortes and Read Islands from Rebecca Spit on Quadra Island. It's an autumn evening around sundown, and the last boat of the day to Cortes is an invisible part of the story.

Post-script: I'm really enjoying the quality of the photos I'm getting with my 10.5" iPad Pro. And the vibrancy of the colours on the screen makes some of the photos look three-dimensional.

Buoyancy tanks installed

My neighbour Vladi gave me some industrial strength hook-and-loop webbing that has the hooks on one side, the loops on the other, and something like nylon webbing in-between. It's super strong, light, white, and requires no fasteners!

The photo shows the Point Ellice (Bay Street) Bridge over the upper harbour.

The horizontal part of the webbing is all one piece that tucks behind the frames; the vertical part is one piece whose ends are captured between the two layers of the overlapping ends of the top piece. Being pulled forward, the buoyancy tank is held in by the inwales, so the webbing is mainly to keep it there. The tank makes a good foot brace.

Below, the new Johnson Street Bridge! This bridge is an excellent design that is a pleasure to use, as a vehicle driver, cyclist or pedestrian; they really did it right.

The very top part on the left is the bascule support tower of the old bridge on the other side of the new bridge. The old bridge is being dismantled this weekend. Most of it is already on the deck of the Dynamic Beast crane barge.

Buoyancy tanks

The first buoyancy tank built was used as a mold that I waxed and applied Partall to, and built the second tank around: two sides and end, in a thin layer of fibreglass. After I coaxed the original tank out of the new shell, I closed in the top with a piece of the same urethane foam that I built Golightly out of, and glassed it to the sides.

Now there are two buoyancy tanks. After I took this photo, I used some hook and loop webbing to tie them in. Neatly. I didn't want to attach them permanently, but wanted to be able to take them out if I wanted to.

John thinks I'm fussy because I prefer things neat rather than carved out of chunks of styrofoam or something. I agree wholeheartedly: I am fussy! 😀

Bobber Ann named

First, she was painted with two coats of Pettit Easypoxy semi-gloss white.

I really enjoyed the translucent quality of the clear-finished cloth, but cringed every time I saw the boat baking in the sun in a parking lot on top of the car.

Aesthetics are always top of mind, but practicality comes just ahead. After all, it wouldn't do to have a pretty boat that fell apart due to sun damage.

Lettering positioned.

Overlay coming off.

"Fredly" font has a break between the 'e' and the 'r' that I closed using Illustrator.

She's "Bobber Ann" because she's so corky. And because I enjoy the song. (Yes, I know it's technically "Barbara Ann", but I spelled it the way the Beach Boys sing it.)

Above the name you can see the racing stripe that I painted over because it wasn't coming off well.

I thought it would be easy to find racing stripe tape, but it's not. The skinny one is dark blue, and an official racing stripe.

I wanted a green stripe about ⅜" wide. The green one is ¾" PVC tape such as electricians use. Both are on temporarily (I hope!).

Yes, I could do it the old-fashioned way and paint a stripe on, but I'm too lazy. I don't like either of these solutions, so I'm considering not having a stripe at all now. I can always put one on some other time down the road.

Buoyancy tanks are done and painted. Putting it all together tomorrow. Stay tuned.

What to do with Golightly

I found that Golightly was too much to deal with as a car-topped trimaran with my crappy back. Or even as a kayak (Bobber Ann has fixed that nicely!). Friend Andrew suggested I join the Cadboro Bay Sailing Association, so I did.

They don't have a spot in their compound for me yet, but it might happen this summer. Meanwhile, I'll build a proper dolly with fat wheels for crossing the beach, and get out on the water in Bobber Ann (the wee skin boat).

I'll keep Golightly rigged up for sailing (with akas and amas stored on top, to minimize space taken up) and on the dolly ready to wheel to the beach, where I'll put the pieces together. I'll keep the mast and leeboard on, and possibly the rudder as well, if there's space aft.

Cadboro Bay is a great place to sail since it's so protected. There's also access to Oak Bay and Chatham and Discovery Islands. The currents don't get crazy till you get out of the bay.

Cadboro Bay looking SE

Red arrow in the pic below shows where the CBSA compound is at Cadboro Bay, with the short path to the beach. The adjacent compound to the NE is Uvic's. Royal Victoria Yacht Club is at the bottom.

This post is a major departure from routine, since it deals with a possible future, whereas all other posts have been made after the fact. I've kept this plan under wraps since I joined the CBSA last August because I really didn't know if it would happen at all. But I went to their AGM last night and was quite impressed with the calibre of the people, as well as getting some assurance that I would get a spot within the compound in the not-too-distant future.

Also, I've applied for housing in the Niagara region, so doing anything more here was somewhat up in the air. However, I have about five years to wait for housing in Niagara, so I thought I may as well make best use of my time here.

buoyancy tank again

I applied polyester resin to the outside of the buoyancy tank, and when I came back the next day, two of the planks that make up the forefoot (if it were a boat) had sprung apart. Their forward ends snapped off when I tried to push them back into place.

So I left it for the winter and just got back to it. I used bondo and finger-clamped the two pieces back into place, then glued the snapped-off forward end bits back on. The job isn't as smooth as planned, but it's just a buoyancy tank, right?