From sloopscoop@jewellgems.com Wed Jun 20 03:28:13 2007 From: sloopscoop@jewellgems.com (Sloop John B) Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 20:28:13 -0600 Subject: [Sloop Scoop 2007] #1, June 20 - July 1 Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20070619185443.0275d488@pop.jewellgems.com> The skipper surfaces . . . **First things first--if anyone is available to help step the mast this Thursday 6/21 late afternoon (1600 hours (4 pm) or so), let me know. Let me know even if you can be there a little later like 4:30 or 5:00 or even 5:30) If we can get it done sooner than next week then we can actually sail next week.** The boat's been in the water almost a month. Thanks to Gordon, the bottom got painted, but that was all the work that got done before we launched. People have been busy and I was busy so we didn't get any spring commissioning work done. I hope more people are available to sail than were available to work! Paul came on the trip up the river with me and it was EVENTFUL. It started off a little later with some missed communication with meeting at the boatyard. So I was in the water before we could do a bunch of stuff I needed to do before they could even let me out of the sling. But I did get the engine started right away, and I figured that was a good omen. We backed out of the slip, turned, and promptly got stuck on a sand/mudbar. Gordon towed us off on the second try (the line wasn't cleated well on the first try) and when we got off the bar I went into forward gear and the engine died. It started, went into reverse and idled like a charm, so I slipped it into forward and the engine died. Meanwhile they got Al's boat in the water and he pulled out and he and Gordon had to motor around waiting to see if we could get started. The boatyard sent some guys out on some makeshift African Queen raft and no plan to try to push us sideways and nudge us back into the well. . . eventually we got there. Rob, the engine god, hopped on, looked at the engine and, he swears, did little more than touch it; and when we put it in forward it engaged and the engine didn't die. He shrugged his shoulders. Every year he had to help get the engine started and this year it started without him . . . but the Sloop obviously needs her engine touched by Rob so next year he'll bless the engine for us even it does start without him. That would be nice if that was the end, but it died again right before the locks. It started again and was fine as we headed out of the locks but one of the neighboring boats got caught in the eddy when they let in the higher water and was swinging it's stern, complete with the mast sitting horizontally, right into us. Paul and I pushed the mast out of our way and the I tried to get into forward to get out of there and the engine died again . . . then it started and was fine for the next three hours to the harbor and every other time since. I need to adjust the shifter and the idle cables to make it work optimally, but I know I can always motor home in reverse! We had to get new stuff this year that we needed before we could raise the mast. We have a new forestay (the front cable that helps hold up the mast and the jib) and a new wind instrument. I haven't known the wind speed and direction for two years and it was bothering me. I'm also going to spring for an autopilot this year. I don't have a lot of crew available to help--they keep getting lives or their own boats! At least with an autopilot I can take the boat out by myself. and help train new crew like all of my former students who I've promised to take out sailing. We were going to step the mast on Sunday but it was too hot, there was a long line, and the spreaders needed another coat of varnish. So, the mast still needs to be stepped. I'll be out of town this weekend so I can't step the mast then, and if I can't get it stepped this week I hope to get the mast stepped the middle of next week, hopefully Thursday (6/28), and then get the boat rigged--which is a great learning experience) and the we can have a shakedown sail on Friday and/or Sunday. A later start then usual, especially since I'm really busy with work for three weeks in July, but better late than never. There are other things to do before then, so if anyone is free on Wednesday or Thursday evening this week to help, let me know! I'll send out another Sloop Scoop once the mast is stepped and give sailing dates. Sailing is essentially first come first served, except for allowing space for crew or special events. You are welcome to bring friends if we have the room. The general information (what to do and bring) and directions to the harbor (long-winded but interesting and accurate) can be found on the Sloop Scoop site at http://www.jewellgems.com/sloopscoop/index.htm Hope to see you on the water soon and often! Skipper Schuy/Lisa Land: 773-752-6266, Cell: 773-343-0153 ---------------------- SCHEDULE (a lot of really tentative dates, many things permitting . . .) ___Wednesday 6/20 Get boat ready for mast stepping, sailing. Meet at the harbor at 1830 hours. ___Thursday 6/21 Tentative Mast stepping!!!! Meet at the harbor at 1600 hours. We'll need help rigging the boat later than that so if you can't get by until later come anyway to help. ___Monday 6/25 Tentative fitting and tuning time and shakedown sail. Meet at the harbor at 1830 hours. ___Thursday 6/28 Backup date for mast stepping. Meet at the harbor at 1600 hours. We'll need help rigging the boat later than that so if you can't get by until later come anyway to help. or if the mast is stepped we'll sail, and we can meet at the harbor at 17:30 hours ___Friday 6/29 Fitting and tuning time and shakedown sail if the mast is stepped on the 28th, and a possible sail if it was stepped earlier. Meet at the harbor at 1830 hours. ___Sunday 7/01 Midday sail. Meet at the harbor at 1100 hours. Bring something to grill and something to share. ---------------------------------------------------------------- ON THE HORIZON Fireworks, July 3rd We won't go all the way downtown--probably just halfway there to stay out of traffic. Last year my pirate crew wanted to try to board the Windy and I didn't let them so I have to keep them away from temptation. Wednesday and Saturday fireworks cruises Longer cruise/crossing in August From sloopscoop@jewellgems.com Fri Jun 22 16:42:33 2007 From: sloopscoop@jewellgems.com (Sloop John B) Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2007 09:42:33 -0600 Subject: [Sloop Scoop 2007] #2, update for June 25 - July 1 Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20070622085000.0273b708@pop.jewellgems.com> Hey cruisers and crew-- (**The mast it up. Skip to the calender if you just want to know the sailing date updates.**) The mast stepping started off well: the water was clear and flat, the winds were light, the temperature was late-afternoon perfect, and the forecasted storm had gracefully avoided the afternoon in Jackson Park (is that better, Charlie?). I had eked out enough potential help. I spent the previous night on the boat and had everything ready and in place, all pins and rings and instruments and hardware tools--a first. When Mary and I got there at 1600 hours, Gordon had already moved the mast in place and put on instruments and the spreaders--complete with red and green tape on the port and starboard spreader boots and new red and green telltales on the shrouds. He said he thought I'd appreciate the color coding. I did. I just said I hoped he had help with the mast. He did. It's too heavy for one person to move around. So we *just* needed to pull the boat up, hook up the new wind instrument, and we'd be ready to go. Piece of cake. Except for two more people we needed to help. I called Marie who showed up in 20 minutes (the joys of crew from Hyde Park!), and called another slightly potential helper that I couldn't reach, so I couldn't even try begging. Gordon managed to recruit another boat owner named Brian, who was strong and knew something about putting up a mast, so we finally had a quorum, and the steward started to raise the mast. All was going smoothly. We hooked up the the new forestay and . . . it looked about two feet too long--which was impossible but that's how it looked. It wouldn't hold up any mast or sail--it sagged miserably. New things are great, but not when they don't fit. We hooked up the jib halyards and topping lift as makeshift forestays, and attached the other shrouds that were willing to be attached without fanfare. The starboard forward lower wanted fanfare. "How many people does it take to attach a shroud? Four: one to push the mast over, one to adjust the turnbuckle, one to tighten the upper, and one to pull down on the shroud. No, five: one to stand to the boat in the right spot to make the boat come up to meet the shroud." We needed that shroud. It was one of the only things that would keep the mast from falling backwards when the ginpole (crane) line that had been holding it up was released (that took some fanfare too. The joys of friction. So we walked the boat back from the gin pole to figure out what was going on with forestay, and I placed two calls to the rigger saying "this thing is way too long!!!!" We detached from the bottom and put it on the dock. We realized 1) it had come unscrewed from roller furling and 2) the bottom part of the turnbuckle still had an inch. Now five inches doesn't seem like a lot when you look at the forestay which is sagging two feet along a 39 foot mast, but the Pythagorean theorem is an amazing thing, and taking five inches off the hypotenuse does a lot more than one would think. The headfoil (which is the metal track the sail goes up one) and the top part of the furler (which is heavy and could have smashed hands if it kept falling) needed to get pulled up so we tied up the top part of the roller furler tight with a halyard and pulled it up the forestay out of the way. After much finagling, and reattaching things in the wrong order and then reattaching things again, we pulled the forestay back over to the boat and it was short enough! Hooray! Now let's lower the furler and the headfoil. Uh, yeah, we tied it tight. It doesn't want to come down. The joys of friction. We shook we swore, we got out the bosun's chair so I could reluctantly head up the mast. And then Mary, undaunted, performed some magic and it started moving down. We kept the shaking the stay and whipping the line and muttering incantations until it got down far enough to fish it the rest of the way with a borrowed extra long (12 foot) boat hook. Whew. I hate heights. Then we had to part the foils enough to get the sail feeder back on. Three people and fifteen minutes later and it was attached. Gordon had been at the harbor all day, so when I said I think we're okay and you can go home now. He said he didn't need to be told more than once and was out of there! Marie and Mary had the task of figuring out which rigging went where (I'm always in teacher mode--active learning method) and we got the boom and related lines hooked up to steady everything and left around 2045 hours. Long day. But productive. So . . all of that to say the schedule for next week has changed. First, we can sail!!! Second, I forgot I had a retirement party to go to, and I just found out I have a going away party for someone at the Adler, on Thursday, so I'm switching the date next week to Wednesday. The nice thing about Wednesday nights is there is food for sale at the yacht club. Hope to see you on the water soon and often! Skipper Schuy/Lisa Land: 773-752-6266, Cell: 773-343-0153 ---------------------- SCHEDULE (a lot of really tentative dates, many things permitting . . .) ___Monday 6/25 Fitting and tuning time and shakedown sail. Meet at the harbor at 1830 hours. ___Wednesday 6/27 Backup date for mast stepping. Meet at the harbor at 1830 hours. There is food to buy there. ___Friday 6/29 Possible sail if it was stepped earlier. Meet at the harbor at 1830 hours. ___Sunday 7/01 Midday sail. Meet at the harbor at 1100 hours. Bring something to grill and something to share. We should be back by 1600 hours at the latest, most likely sooner. ---------------------------------------------------------------- ON THE HORIZON Fireworks, July 3rd We won't go all the way downtown--probably just halfway there to stay out of traffic. Last year my pirate crew wanted to try to board the Windy and I didn't let them so I have to keep them away from temptation. Wednesday and Saturday fireworks cruises Longer cruise/crossing in August