Merry Christmas

Just a mid winter post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

I am working on getting some old VHS tapes converted to Digital to post. They were made in 1994ish, and show the boat sailing and at dock and some ducks.

Eric

Packed Up

We will see you in the spring.

Dude, did you hear that? buzzing?

OK I can hear the buzz,

We are damn close to launching, in fact it will probably happen this next week.

I will take a crap load of pictures.

Then we gotta sail in a circle to get all the megnetic gear calabrated. Then we gotta get all the rigging tight. then we gotta take a nap.

Soon, very soon, after a very long time.


I can feel the buzz...

Digital Scrapbooking

Diana (a Daughter in law) is into digital scrapbooking. Here you see one of her creations

Autohelm wired

We had to remove the stainless steel stantion and use a drill press to get the hole in it. We ran the wire internal to the cabin where the stantion mounts to the deck.

GPS Mounted

Yes we have spent a lot of time on the GPS unit. The plan is to have it talk to the Autohelm. We don't have them communicating yet, but we believe we gotta calabrate the autohelm first...

New Battery

Well, you gotta be rudundant. The old battery was taken out by a lightning strike. This is the replacement. Gotta love "Farm and Fleet" stores.

GPS Wired and functioning

We pulled out the old Loran C wire and ran the GPS wire. We spliced the line into a planed disconned so the antenea could be stored inside the cabin when not in use.


Test og the GPS, all good. It is an older unit, but it is the first time we took it out of the box. We have a G-Chart of lake Michigan. I will also be riggin an older laptop with Sea Clear Chart plotting software and seeing how that works out.

We pulled out the old Loran C wire and ran the GPS wire. We spliced the line into a planed disconned so the antenea could be stored inside the cabin when not in use.

All done! bottom paint

Beauty, Eh?

Bottom Paint

We are puttin on Interlux bottom paint. Next year will will sand it down to primer, but this year we are just gunna cover it for the shortened season.

Before: 8 years of rain and neglect


Cutting in before rolling it on.


Warn spot.

Auto Pilot

We are also putting in the Auto pilot.

THe unit before we have run the cable to it. We will remove the stainless steel rail to drill it for a clean internal cable run.


The units all work together and talk to the GPS unit. We will set waypoints in the GPS and the boat will stear to them, or that is the plan anyway.


Weather covers.

Navagation Station

Here is the new, mint in box, Garmin GPSmap 230. Bought a few years ago new, and now just being put in.


It will go in the navigation station mounted to that bulkhead. We will also put a folding table there.


It is replaceing the Loran C unit that was taken out by a lighning strike a number of years ago. The loran was mounted to the white bracket.

Scrub Her Down!

Well we got the deck hands to was and wax the boat. Jake (14) and Parker (8) liked getting wet on a 90 Deg day.

Top View, just for giggles

A shot taken topside minus all the riging.

Navagational wiring

What a tangled web we weave...

So out of this we have to get all the navagational electronics talking to each other, and getting the sounder, the wind unit and knot meter working. AND we have a new GPS chart plotter to put in *sigh*.

Abra Cadabra

Guess what is behind door (steps) number 1 ? Hey! that is my bunk on the left there, what is all the crap doing there!!!




Already for the Volvo Ocean race, um, well guess not. But it is a Volvo Marine Diesel motor. All one cylinder of it. We have a 13 gallon Tank and have filled it once. the boat was launched in 1989, and when we removed the tank it still had about 12 galons in it! that is pretty effecient.

Washed!

Well it is at least a little cleaner....

The boat was pulled up to the house where electrical power can be run to it. In the pic you can see the 15 foot motor boat that we use because the sailboat is on a moring.

Soarting out the mast

The mast has been removed and we can now untagle the web of lines.

Cleaning the barn

We now have a clean spot for when the boat gets pulled out in the fall.

Work to be done before launching.

1) Bath and wax.

2) Some electrical work (took a lightning strike a number of years ago)

3) New hole in hull for depth finder unit.

4) Install new GPS system (Garmen GPSMAp 230) Yes I know it is not "new" but it is still in the box....


We will also need to have it re measured for a PHRF rating, as the last one is about 10 years old.... And for those of you who ask, "What's it rate?" well the last rating was 132.

Money shot

Here is the tail of the boat. I am going to incorporate that layour into the "logo" including the Sail Number and hull number.

Boom, um, boom...

Here is the boom rigged in the back of the truck that helps stand the mast up. Two people make it easier, but with this one person can do it safely.

Free at last!

Here you see the boat cleared of clutter and pulled out of the barn.

WOW! it really needs a bath!

Still Trapped.

Here is a front view of it in the barn.

Trapped!

The boat is in a metal barn in Winnebago, Illinois. Trapped behind 7 years of clutter. Look closely and you will also see the Handa Gold wing (circa 1983) in there as well.

Um, still putting it back together

Well, the boat is still in a machine shed. It needs put back together.

We (well mostly my father) are working on it....

Sailing Blog Started

Hi, I started a blog for my father's Sailboat. A 31 foot Pierce Arrow launched in 1989.