What did I learn this summer?

[Anonymous]

Here in Alaska summer is on it's way south and with the close of sane boating for us we looked back at what we learned this first season on Huda Thunkit. A lot of credit goes to fellow brats for general information on subjects from anchoring to radios. The biggest thing I learned is that we can do this! Not only that but we had a blast along the way as well. There was one time however when the pucker factor was over the top and our own fault for being where we were. Not knowing from experience what 4 ft seas with 25 Kt winds and confused chop/ following seas meant when we viewed it on the NOAA site, we decided to have a look! First mistake, the trip over was not all that bad but our return was harrowing! The wind / wave action was strong enough to throw me out of the seat twice on that 20 mile leg. What did we learn, those stats are based on formula not observation, we will turn around in the future and wait it out, that big hole in the rear of the boat (transom cut out) that I had reservation about ,is a total non issue, these boats are tougher than we are.
There were some nice upgrades applied to the boat as well that will soon appear in my photo album like 2 stainless disc mounted on the cockpit wall for holding my class IV throwable. Using plastic deck material we also closed off a large portion of the splash well which gives a great location to tie down coolers, totes ets. Our motor mount plates were replaced with fully machined stainless versions and much larger than OEM. In the cabin we added a neat rod rack and made an acrilic cover for the chart which is mounted to our dinette table. Then there were the window shields which came from a c-brat as well and gave us the ability to leave the windows open enough to reduce the condensation.
We are looking forward to next season and have a very long list of planed future upgrades . Oh yea, we also learned that we can turn on the radio right in the yard and get the marine forecast and just sitting in the boat listening to the radio is kind of cool too. Mike on Huda Thunkit

 

[Dora~Jean]

Hey Mike, good observations and good info for all of us. I too get out in the nasty stuff -- more times than I'd like to admit, weather forecasts are well, just that, forecasts. Hindsight is 20-20 and we all wish we would have done something different from time to time. I can pretty much say with confidence that my boat will take more than its passengers.

I don't know when C-Dory made the change but they sealed off the cockpit to transom area some time after 2003. I prefer my arrangement though, gives me more options for storage than two hatches to go through. But one thing I wanted to point out, my boat has 4 very large openings at the rear of the cockpit right up against the transom, they are for passing cables and hoses below the cockpit. They are open and a big hazard should a large wave make it into the cockpit. I've mentioned this before on other subjects. I'm in the process of tailoring 4 individual covers that screw in place to seal them off. I've also contacted the factory if this is a ventilation problem, they said no, go ahead and seal them. Might check to see if you have the same thing.

 

[ffheap]

Hi Folks,

What I learned this summer is a little bit different in what is discussed above.

1. Never trust a promised date in the future to get some work done by a boat mechanic, both engine and fiberglass.

2. Always think out the full project BEFORE starting so that if it is half done do to time, you won't loose the season because the project has to be finished.

3. Never trust that a mechanic, because he charged you a fair price the last time, that he will charge you a fair price next time.

With all this said, I have only one person to blame. ME.

Here is the story. My boat is a 1983 Classic 22' Angler. After hearing about how great a Windless would be, and experiencing a situation that, just maybe, this sixty seven year old sailor ought to have an anchor windless. After consulting you all, I decided to install the windless. I purchased the new Pro Series H 700 manufactured by Lemar. I consulted the Tech pages of this site, and copied the drawing of where the windless should be installed. Even though it was raining, I covered the forward deck with heavy duty clear plastic, measured, drilled holes, epoxyed, and installed, perfectly.

I then purchased a large plastic bucket to put under the Windless and catch both the anchor rode and the water. HERE IS PROBLEM. The bucket would not fit. I realized that I had to build in a self draining shelf to catch the rode. I went to my favorant Fiberglass mechanic who had done a great job rebuilding my stern before I added the Yamaha 75 HP 4 Stroke engine. He did that job within a week. I had forgotten that it was in January.

This was the end of May, long before I would need to take the boat to Nantucket. He said that it would be done by June 15th. No sweat. Well June 15th rolled around, then July. All the time I was trying to get him to do the job. I knew that I was in a bad position. Push to hard, he would tell me to take a hike. Don't push enough, and it would never get done.

Finally, I called him on the beginning of August and told him I was coming up, and could he do it. One of my spies called me to tell me that the boat had left my "boat Yard" on the side yard of my Hingham house. I came off Nantucket and showed up to his place of business, and kept showing up. He finally finished the project and presented me with a bill for nine hours of work. After I pulled my self up from the floor, I paid him, and got out of there, and the next day, I made my first trip with my boat for the summer. (I since have gone up and made another trip. Now you can see why this guy is going to do the Eastern end of the Erie Canal with a bunch of other C-Dory people. )

If I had to do it over, I would first make the shelf myself. Any of us can cut wood and do fiberglassing if we take our time and think out the project to the end. (I do not think it would have taken nine hours for me to do it based on how long it took me to do the other projects on the boat.) I would then add the windless. I then could use my boat all summer.

That is MY lesson.

Fred