Category: Columbia 29 refit

Splash

Splash

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There is nothing like a boat with no wi-fi connection to help the writing process. Now that Tranquility is launched I have the luck to enjoy Fairhaven Shipyard and finally live on my boat. There is no fresh water, no working head and no lights, but everyday a new improvement happens and soon all the liveaboard necessities will be satisfied.

There is a small electric heater and comfortable bunks where I can nap or read or write under a warm blanket. Days are becoming shorter and there are so many projects to do and sea trials to run before we can possibly think to set sails for the south. We have a deadline though: leave on the first possible weather window from November 15th.

It looks like it is going to be a hell of cold and we have a lot of miles to sail before we can possibly say that we are out of the winter. So far New England has been very magnanimous and fall has been mild with unexpected hot days. But that won’t last for very long and we are trying to do our best to get going. Freezing northerlies already showed up and it’s catching one of those that will take us out of the harbor for our first leg of the trip.

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Photo © Kate Zidar

Everyday Tranquility looks more like a boat, a pretty one after all the care she received in the last six months. The first sail test was amazing. On a cold windy day we manouvered all around the New Bedford Harbor, tacking and gyibing with all our sails up on a 20+ kts day. Yankee, staysail and full battened mainsail are all brand new from Leesails in Hong Kong and they all fit the new beefed up rig. At the helm Tranquility was so governable and with my surprise she was not heeling too much when close hauling. The electric engine keep taking us in and out of slips with almost no power consumption.

A harbor seal showed up to salute the first sail of Tranquility. We hope it’s a good sign for the future.

This is the end

This is the end

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This is the end of the yard period. At least it is what we hope as the deadline has moved forward, we are getting closer but we never reach it. I am overly cautious on the date of the splash, a day that would say the word end to the dry period to move into the wet and cold one. The moment when we will see if we float or sink.

Experience tells me there are always bad surprises on the go but I also see signs that tell me it is happening.

First reason we have no alternatives. Everything is set for leaving, winter is coming and South is our course. We are cutting all the lines that hold us fast to the New England area. There is no plan B.

Second reason Kate came back to disciplinate my chaotic work. Working for one month by myself was hard indeed and the return of the best worker I have ever had it’s a great improvement. I did a great amount of work by myself but the presence of a co-owner, co-designer and co-worker it’s adding a whole 100% to the project, and it’s also giving me a huge relief from stress.

Third one, there is no money left so we have to do with what we have, and this also mean finishing and closing projects. Ther will be a time for improvements and enhancements. The wish list is not closed, we have tons of ideas and parts we want to improve and this will keep us busy for the next part of the project.

I am probably writing this post as a motivation exercise, a way to whip up my tired self and conclude this first chapter of the boat project. Everything obviosusly got delayed, expenses grew out of control and mistakes bloomed over time. We could have done better, cheaper and faster. Well maybe next time, if there will a next time. For now, it is what it is.

Plan vs Reality

Plan vs Reality

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I find myself reluctant to write about the boat works lately. I felt completely overwhelmed and unable to contemplate the whole picture. In fact, there is no whole picture but a series of consecutive blocks of problems to be solved, with new blocks adding everyday, in a perpetual tetris puzzle.

I am prisoner of my own restoration plan, incapable to see progress. I just put the head down and work, pushing the rock ahead.

This also becomes a constant source of conflict between me and Kate. She is more of a rational planner, I am a non-linear intuitive doer. She likes to plan, execute, terminate and evaluate a task. I jump from task to task and keep things on hold. It was hard to pull it through together with such different attitudes, but eventually we worked out our differences, or at least we learned to tolerate them.

Shame is also part of the process and realizing that you are involved in a project  that uses time, materials and labour inefficiently is not exactly an invigorating tonic for the ego. I stopped writing about the improvements because I failed to recognize them.

But progress was happening, in a mysterious way.

Before I embarked on this project I scanned the literature about boat restoration. Among others This old boat by Don Casey was illuminating and also fun to read. I applied the author’s planning method on the paper and I tried to follow it. The reality mixed everything up.

We made mistakes, hold over, went backwards, fought, made peace. Following the plan was the most difficult part as well as evaluating the progress. I gradually sunk in a “just keep pushing” modality while I was finding everyday new obstacles.

August and the first part of September summoned the demons that others evocated when we started this journey:

Statistics – 90% of people who buy an old boat with the goal of fixing it up and going sailing on it fail.

Dream – every man has a dream that won’t work.

Fatigue– it’s a lot harder to do than you think it is.

Bankruptcy– You’d need the funds to go on for at LEAST a year without working.

Now after some unpredictable turns the whole picture came back and it’s even scarier. It may be possible to have the mast on an the electric engine wired and back to work by the end of next week. And then it’s all about putting the pieces together on deck, hoping that the sails are arriving on time and finishing a couple of painting projects. Then what?

Then the demons of leaking thru-hulls, faulty installations and unespected quirks around the corner will show up, gathered by a sort of fear of the fear amplified by the discomfort of the approaching cold winter. While the clouds of the final act are massing on the horizon there will be time to hum this annoying but truthful chorus:

“Keep pushin, keep pushin, well even if you think your strength is gone
Keep pushin on”

REO Speedwagon – Keep Pushin’

Life at the boatyard

Life at the boatyard

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Time has many meanings and occurrences. This August has been particularly dense for me. My birthday has just passed with a fair amount of celebrations stolen to the boat project. Soon to come 2 years anniversary for me and Kate. And of course  the third month of boatyard with Tranquility, hopefully the last one. In this 40 seconds video you have a glimpse on how is life at the boat yard.

 

Tranquility is coming back together. The exciting part of the refit is happening with big projects, expensive but necessary.

Rigging

The replacement of the standing rigging is ongoing. Tranquility is a sailing boat and her means of propulsion (aka sails) depends on the integrity of the rigging. We found some of the 1×19 stainless wires and fitting stranded or cracked, and we don’t know how old is the rigging anyway, so we seek the advice of a local rigger recommended to us by the owner of Fairhaven Shipyard.

Sails

After some uncertainity about taking sail measurements without old sails and with the rig down we finally place an order for new sails coming from China. We chose Lee Sails following the recommendation of a friend, but also very attracted by the price.  The full battened, 2 reefed mainsail has been ordered along with the roller furling yankee jib and the staysail. A couple of more sails will be added in the inventory from the used market, even if nothing seems to emerge from internet or consignement centers.

 

Engine repowering

Repowering our electric engine it means new battery bank. We are looking for a 200 ah solution with four 12v AGMs. We are visiting a big distributor in our area to have OEM prices and hoping for some scratched battery that sells for less.

The rest is stuff, some of it helpful and important some of it unnecessary and fancy. We hope to keep a good balance and a frugal attitude while we move forward in designing our boat and our home. It’s not so easy.

Simple and tough foul weather gear

Simple and tough foul weather gear

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“When the shit hits the fan there’s no superyacht bullshit”

Fabio Brunazzi

If I was a rich man I would get me one of those Musto HPX Ocean Jacket with those fantastic trousers. I had the chance to wear one during various deliveries on big sailing yachts. Nothing against them, it’s robust stuff, warm and comfortable. Oh yes, and all the sailors of the Volvo Ocean Race wear one! But unfortunately for me I am a poor guy and I don’t have 1400$ to invest in the foul weather gear only. Incidentally that’s the cost of a nice brand new mainsail for Tranquility.

What I could do, and I did, was to see if the commercial fishing industry offered serious stuff for something cheaper. New Bedford is America’s #1 fishing port since the start of the 21st century and fishermen from New Bedford are out in the North Atlantic with any weather. They definitely need resistant clothing, suitable for intensive and aggressive seas.

There is a shop close to the boatyard that is Guy Cotten distributor for the US. After a brief research on the brand and the products we finally stopped on the way to our boat to see if the intuition was true. We were dazed and amazed by the glossy colors of the PVC coated jackets and trousers. There were aprons, waterproof bags, neoprene sleeves, crab fishing duty gloves. The salesman made a good job in keeping us focused on our needs without wasting our money. Yes he suprisingly advised us against too heavy duty garments or too pricy items and guided us through all the sales and fabric descriptions. Here is the result.

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Complete foul weather gear for 82$

For sure it’s not very fancy or made out of high innovative fabric but I am sure it has nothing less than the pricy sailing branded ones in terms of waterproofing and durability. Maybe it won’t be very comfortable or breathable but when all hell breaks loose the most important thing is to stay dry. And I would let the fishes judge if it’s stylish or not.

Pictures for words

Pictures for words

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The project is taking a big toll on us, we are working hard and we are totally absorbed by the project.

The result is very little writing.

This time I will use images to describe what’s going on, I hope you like them.

Tranquility has an electric heart

Tranquility has an electric heart

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Electric engine
Electric propulsion aboard Tranquility

Our boat comes with an electric engine. It is an Electric Yacht system that was installed by one of the previous owners of the boat. It was a total surprise for me as the most common mean of auxiliary propulsion on sailboats, and the one I was used to, is marine diesel engine. This is what I expected to find and what I was looking for. A small good old diesel engine.

Diesel has a couple of good features: a high flash point that allows a relatively safe handling and a good energy density that provides satisfying motoring range with limited storage required. It’s not uncommon on a sailboat to turn on the engine if the wind shift to an undesired angle, if the batteries go down or to fight against tides and currents. And of course wind is not always blowing. These days, with the decreased costs and new tiny engines that fits everywhere, nearly all modern sailboats would qualify as motorsailers.

Every sailor has a story about a capricious diesel engine that needed some cajoling and improvised repairs. Oil and filters change, belts, starters, alternators, electric connections, water pumps are some of the most common maintenance issues that force crew to kneel and assume awkward postures to reach remote corners. Even assuming and registering that a little dose of fuzzy logic is always present diesel engine is far the most used and realiable marine propulsion. Service and parts are available worldwide and experienced cruisers know and share a lot of tricks.

But what about electric drive? After the initial surprise curiosity started to peep in. I remember Kate asking me that her desired boat would have an electric engine. That time was even before we met Tranquility and the answer from me it was “of course not! This is Sci-fi”. My experience so far has always been on diesel engines (including an overhaul and an installation of a brand new one) so my limited mindset suggested me that her idea was a profanity. Well it happened that we purchased a boat with an electric drive.

Electric propulsion has its pros and cons, like anything in this world. One of the pros is that you get rid of fuel and oil, fumes, noise and vibrations. That is extremely good if your engine sits in your living room, as it happens on our tiny boat. Electric propulsion is clean, and helps fighting seasickness that is amplified down below by fumes and miasmas.

The cons are its limited range and having to deal with a bit more complicated electric system. While the system is no rocket science if you are familiar with DC current, the range is the big limit, as batteries are still not the most efficient way to store energy. You need a big and heavy bank of batteries to get a 20nm range, that is nothing compared to what diesel engine and even an outboard can give you. Or you can resort to LiFePo4  (Lithium iron phosphate) batteries if you have the dough to pay its exorbitant price, but even with that budget your range will still be inferior compare to an internal combustion one. A cost wise installation of the “old technology” lead acid batteries, will give a 30ft boat around 15 nm range. The Electric propulsion adds new components to your electric system, and if any of these components fail, the whole system is useless.

The average sailor (assuming that such a thing exists) would find these cons very hard to overcome. There are two things that are keeping Internal Combustion Engines the favorable option for sailboat. One is that the technology for electric drive is not fully developed. This is true especially for batteries. All lead acid batteries provide about the same capacity/weight.  You need to go to LiFePO4 batteries to go lighter and have extended range due to a higher tolerance to discharge.  They are roughly 5x the cost of good AGM, (so likely well out of my budget!), but prices are coming down and renewable energy is quickly developing.

Another thing is the average sailor mentality. It is strictly related to our car driver mentality, so if I have to get there I will and when I want. It’s the reason why people get mad at traffic, it’s between them and their goal! It’s not a favourable day for sailing, well let’s go out anyway bobbing around with the engine. Would tacking upwind take too long to get there? Let’s pack the headsail and motor into the wind. Is the current too strong? No way I am giving up, let’s use any single HP why would I carry around this heavy and smelly piece of iron otherwise?

I am an average sailor myself. So why did I decide to keep the Electric Yacht?

I think that an Electric propulsion will make me a better sailor. Having a small range doesn’t mean to have no range at all. I would keep mooring and anchoring under power and will do it under sail just for fun or to impress friends. My first sail in my life was offshore and engineless and since then I had more than one diesel engine failure that forced me to do everything under sail. That made me a little bit skeptical about any propulsion system. Electric propulsion will make me plan my sailing better, considering currents and piloting hazards. If I am in trouble for some reason 10 nm is plenty of range to find refuge. Liveaboard will prevent the hurry of going out no matter the sea and wind conditions because that’s the only day I can go sailing.

There are so many reasons to chose an electric propulsion as auxiliary power on a sailboat, and one of my favourite is that Electric Drive is truly the present and the future of propulsion!

Slow progress

Slow progress

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 “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
Confucius

Today I feel like the boat beat us. After an entire day spent working we have been able to complete the installation of only 1 porthole. We have 7 more to go. It is so frustrating. We should do better tomorrow, as we learned the process. This achievement was not painless tough, as we had to fight a lot to find the right way to do the job and to work as a team. Sometimes things are not as easy as you imagined.

Drilling new holes for the portholes
Drilling new holes for the portholes

We won great battles so far, like having the deck painted, the steering wheel removed and the enormous battery bank (500lbs in total) out of the boat. We removed and cleaned the head that was sitting on a rotten floor, we got rid of three frozen seacocks. Any of these projects obviously come with a plethora of collateral small jobs, tools to buy and parts to find or restore.

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Heavy batteries

Everyday looks different, we have good days where we complete our tasks, and we have bad ones and we are behind our schedule. I guess it’s not different from any other life. There are good and bad days, but you have to keep the pace and go ahead.

Kate sorting out the wood trims
Kate sorting out the wood trims

To keep track of our work and not feel lost in the general execution of the projects Kate created a special binder that summarizes our plan. It’s divided into weeks and so far we planned eight weeks that should take us from the yard to the water. It already looks like they re going to be 16 probably… and that we are about to spend the whole summer on the boat.

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Some of the products we use onboard

Tomorrow we will try to speed up and be more effective to complete the job on the portholes and have the deck finally sealed. Same script, we wake up and we do the same journey to the boat, one more day of work and one step more toward the sea.

Being lightweight

Being lightweight

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I recently helped a friend launching his boat in Buzzards Bay during a nice but chilly afternoon. I just finished to roll up a coat of primer on Tranquillity’s deck so I abandoned the yard works to join Freddie for the launch of Destinada.

Once in the slip and afloat  he tried to back up but the notorious poor reverse manoeuvrability of the long keeled boat forced him to an audacious turn around in the slip. The manoeuvre in close quarters happened with myself hangin from the boat life lines and pushing with my legs against the dock, making the boat spin.

Pushing Destinada was like pushing any decent size tender. We moored on a floating dock with ease: from the dock it was easy to move Destinada just pulling the mooring lines. When I asked Freddie what was the displacement of his boat he answered 7400lbs. Same as Tranquillity!

I noticed for the first time that a boat can be lightweight! I assumed they were not because I never really sailed a boat that weigh less than 20 tons. For this class of weight human power can’t do much. You better have big lines and powerful engine and motors. Everything has to be powerful and heavy duty. This seems pretty obvious but this last experience had the effect of an epistemological revolution on my boating experience.

Now my boat is a 29ft. and displace 7400ft. The cleats and the deck hardware look like toys to my eyes but they were there when the boat sailed offshore to Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean. They were there facing Hurricane Hugo in 1989. When I consider the refit of the boat I have to let down my previous experience on big boats and learn a completely new way. What do I need?

I have to look at different examples. Like Jeff that sails his Bristol 29 singlehanded in and out of the mooring without an engine. The engine simply doesn’t work but it’s not necessary, he says. And when there’s no wind all he does is sculling with the rudder. It takes some time but it works.

It looks like that the more I go into this refit the closer it gets to the essential. It scares me but maybe I don’t need all the fancy equipment I planned to install. I thought I was being an extremist already but I feel now I am acting in a very consumistic way. I am starting to feel that being lightweight is good attitude towards boating and perhaps life.

Paint problems or "How to figure things out"

Paint problems or "How to figure things out"

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The first days have been so hard as the project looked so overwhelming. Oh my God we have to do everything! Anytime I started a job and I posed my sight on a different corner of the boat I saw an umpteenth job to do and then another one and I felt I was going crazy. Actually I did go crazy. Luckily Kate intervened to keep me focused on doing one thing at a time and to avoid compulsive shopping.

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In four days of full time work we accomplished several tasks but most important we found a method. It took one fight and some snipping, we also hit dead ends or wandered around the boat (not that much walking though!). Not that now everything is under control, we learned to move slow but with a constant pace. For both of us it’s the first renovation process and learning requires time.

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Another important factor is alliance. In 4 days we were so lucky to have good people around. From John and Sue who not only welcomed us in their home but also wired us up to the most useful connections around, last but not least a young couple of fairhaveners who owns a boat. It sounds like we have new friends. Their boat is much more ready than ours and that means we may be able to go sailing soon with Freddie and Heather!

Columbia 29

The biggest hassle at the moment is painting the boat and which paint to use. There are different brands (Awlgrip, Interlux, Imron, etc.) different types (one or two part epoxy or polyhuretane) and different prices, including a guy who is selling paint 10$ a gallon of the weirdest colors on earth. It looks like we are not able to make a decision right know and asking the experts only adds confusion as anyone has own different opinions. We could be very close to have the deck and the topside painted, but we miss the paint… It is just a matter of luck I guess. Anytime the situation overwhelmes me I try to focus on the small things I have ahead. There is a lot to do anyway and if we are not ready to make a decision about paint it’s because it’s not the time. Something will emerge. In the meanwhile we just express preferences… out of many possibilities.

tranquility_colorstranquility_colors_final

Boat project has begun

Boat project has begun

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In few hours I will finally lay hands on my boat again after 4 months. After purchasing Tranquillity, Kate and I went through a process of preparation that kept us apart and far away from the boat. For her it meant cutting the dock lines that kept her moored in NYC for a very long time. For me it was to wander the caribbean and harvest the necessary gold to start the restoration and equipment for Tranquillity. The rigor of New England’s winter contributed to postpone our project and the yard work. In some ways, we are still wimps.

We are brave however, when it comes to the decluttering process. We need to select and reduce our belongings to fit into a car first and then into a 29 ft sailboat. The task is not easy but I am lucky because Kate became a professional in this kind of operation and she is a great help. To reduce our belongings involves binning a lot of clothes and items, it means also merging departments and discarding surpluses. Sometimes I am terrified when I have to let go something, I feel like a real part of me is going away. Wait for an hour and this feeling disappears, and your pile of clothes and junk look more tidy, eventually fitting into a small place.

I am a very lazy guy and as many others I have this tendency to occupy all the available space, like a stuff Big Bang. Choosing a small boat means to seek discipline in this matter. There will be no space for the surplus, we will have to pick the essential and take care of what we have.

The decluttering process pointed out to me the importance of quality. While I was ironing my clothes I was amazed at how old but still beautiful is one of my shirts. That garment is probably more than 10yrs old and it has been with me in any place I traveled and went through third world washing machines, but it is sill pretty while other relatively new cheaper clothes show signs of wear. Quality is something to consider when purchasing equipment and even if we run on a small budget we should get few essential quality items.

Now we have no excuses, we finally moved ourselves and a well-sorted pile of things to the proximity of Tranquillity, in Fairhaven, MA. A kind friend, Keith, helped us to find a temporary nest in his parents’ house while we go through this project. For a long time Tranquillity will be not suitable for occupancy due to the restoration process and we will be shore-based in the place where Moby Dick took form, a place where the ocean is part of daily life and wrote important pages of history.

GO small GO simple GO now (but fix the boat first!)

GO small GO simple GO now (but fix the boat first!)

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Go simple go small go now

Lin and Larry Pardey coined the phrase ” Go small Go simple Go now “. When it comes to sailing, I think it is a good philosophy to keep in mind.

I never made a bucket list (false, I have at least “live in Buenos Aires for  a while”) or had a lifetime dream.

The truth is that I have always had several dreams running in parallel and connecting randomly one to the other.

For example I’ve always wanted to buy a small RV like the old VW van and make long journeys on it. It hasn’t happened yet but what happened is that I bought a small sailboat instead.

A small RV and a small boat have a lot more in common than the mere adjective.

Both are vessels that pursue the idea of a nomadic and self sufficient life. That is true even if for most of the people they represent a mean of transportation for the spare time. They share a destination that is beyond the horizon and they give you a cozy and comfortable support during the trip.

Why dreaming small while I could dream about a big luxury RV or a 90ft sailing yacht. Dreams are for free they say, so why don’t exaggerate?

Coziness and simplicity of a living space have a great attractive power over me. The smaller and simpler is the shell that separates you from the environment, the less is the interference with the experience. Insulation from elements has always been an important feature for a living space but it seems that today we removed ourselves from nature completely.

If you consider yourself limited and defined by the walls of you home why would you buy a mansion? If you want to travel the World why would you watch it from the window?

Going small and simple has many advantages.

Simple and affordable equipment put less obstacles in your cruising project. Maintenance,and repairs can be made cheaper and quicker, with less need for technical expertise. It means more time and more money for cruising.

Handling sailsm lines and equipment is easier and requires less manpower, even when the situation gets gnarly.

Small boat are capable of great things, allowing you an easier access to shallow anchorages and more available slips in the marinas.

A small cruising boat it was also the only possible option due to our limited budget.

The original project was to save at least 80k$, necessary to buy a certain model of boat, and investing the rest in a complete refit and outfitting, in order to have a perfect boat ready for bluewater ocean voyaging.

I soon realized that the 80k budget was not a sustainable goal for my finances, and that if I really wanted to go cruising and live aboard I should reduce my expectations and go as soon as possible, with what is at hand.

Saving up for years in order to have the budget someday was a way to avoid the problem. Maybe it would have been a wise financial move, but it would require to delay the start of the project. Instead  I checked my balance in the bank account and make a plan according to what was my real available budget.

Two events participate in the decision to go now and not wait for the future.

ùThe first one was reading about Matt Rutherford circumnavigating the Americas singlehanded, non-stop facing the Northwest Passage and Cape Horn aboard a 27-footer Albin Vega. This exploit opened my eyes on the fact a certain type of small fiberglass sailboat are capable vessels that can sail the oceans even in high latitudes.

I inevitably fell in love with the small but sturdy Albin Vega and started to make more and more research about the so called Good Old Boats, small vessels strong enough to take you everywhere you want.

Unfortunately, Rutherford’s exploit made the price of Albin Vega’s rise quite a bit  on the used market. But the Albin Vega is only one of several good old boats on the market, and with 10k$ or less there’s an universe of sailboats that can take you anywhere.

The second event was reading about Daeung Sunim, a 42yrs-old Korean Buddhist monk that is going to bike his way across Canada, the United States, Mexico, and finally on down into South America. Asked why he was doing it, the quiet monk put his hand to his chest and said, “To test my spirit.”

The shocking part for me was to learn that the monk faced this challenge with no previous experience or training and that he just took this challenge on his shoulders because he wanted to see if he was able to do it.

Another event that made go now a feasible project is the fact that my partner wanted to do it too and so finally Kate and I bought a Columbia 29 with the idea of fix it up, go living aboard and cruising around.

It’s our first move to “test our spirit” and I am sure the refit will be a very demanding one, but this is the best way we could find to follow the adage ” Go small go simple go now “.

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