A writer, storyteller and unabashed flâneur, George Davis (aka virtualDavis or G.G. Davis, Jr.) is the author of Rosslyn Redux:Reawakening a home, a dream and ourselves, a transmedia chronicle about rehabilitating an historic property in the Adirondacks with his bride. He blogs about storytelling, poetry, doodling, marginalia, flânerie, publishing, and other creativity-inspired esoterica at virtualDavis.com; posts sometimes exhilarating, often unnerving, occasionally euphoric, and always pollyanna "midlife mashups" at 40x41.com; chronicles his sailing adventures (and misadventures) at Sailing Errant; and delves into matters of parenting, babylandia, and childfreedom at Why No Kids? George formerly taught and coached at Santa Fe Preparatory School and The American School of Paris, and he co-founded and launched Maison Margaux:"Paris à la parisienne" in Faubourg Saint-Germain. He currently owns and operates Adobe Oasis in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his bride. George meanders on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube and Flickr.
To remove wheel from Catalina 310 you will first need to remove the nut.
So I mentioned in my last post (Late Winter Check-up) that I need to remove the wheel from Errant. I’ve decided to forego replacing the stock Edson wheel with a Lewmar folding wheel. I still love so much about it, but
it adds one more thing to break and maintain,
it’s a slightly spendier gadget than I should justify now,
and I’d rather “test drive” one before committing.
But I’m ready to swap out the hot-or-cold-or-clammy feel of a stainless steel wheel, and adding a suede/leather cover seems like a smart upgrade. But first I needed to remove the wheel to take it home. (More on the new wheel cover soon.)
How to Remove the Wheel
I should start by acknowledging that I got lucky. Removing Errant’s wheel was quick and easy. Apparently that’s not always the case, but I’ll leave instructions for trickier removal to my unlucky counterpart wrestling the wheel free.
In my case, the task was completed in three simple steps:
To remove the wheel from Catalina 310 you will first need to remove the nut.
Once you have removed the nut you can slide the wheel off. (Note: You may need a gear puller to loosen the wheel.)
Once you remove the wheel from your Catalina 310 be careful not to misplace the key.
Here’s what it should look like.
To remove wheel from Catalina 310 unscrew nut. You may need a crescent wrench to loosen the nut.
Once you have removed the nut you can slide the wheel off your Catalina 310. You may need a gear puller to loosen the wheel. Be careful not to misplace the key as you remove the wheel.
Once you have removed the wheel from your Catalina 310 be careful not to misplace the key.
What About the Autopilot?
Good question. I did skip explaining how to remove the autopilot prior to removing the wheel. Hope that doesn’t confuse anybody!
I have some autopilot maintenance (or replacement?) that I need to undertake and that I’ll report in a separate post. I’m still figuring out the best path forward. But, for the sake of clarity, if you have an autopilot that attaches to / syncs with your wheel you’ll obviously need to remove that before you remove the wheel.
With the snow gone and temperatures warm, I couldn’t resist the urge to drive over to the shipyard and check on Errant. It’s been over two months since I last visited her, but everything still looks great. The winter cover is still secure, and the unusually warm day heated up the interior enough to [almost] imagine it was summer. Okay, so I’m stretching it. But I did daydream a little! Soon enough it will be launch day and another season of sailing on Lake Champlain will begin.
I tackled a few small projects and removed the wheel. More on that in my next post…
Happy Thanksgiving from windy (but still not frozen) Lake Champlain!
Thanksgiving Windsurfing on Lake Champlain
What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than scudding back and forth across the lake on a windsurfer?!?! For this adrenaline-charged adventure with my intrepid bride I give thanks to the wind, the lake, health, and dry suits. Oh, and I almost forget, an especial thanks is reserved for our oven that was busy roasting the turkey while we were chasing gusts and bumps. Happy Thanksgiving!
“On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty. Today is such a day.” ~ Rumi
There’s just enough breeze to tickle temptation. Turn off the computer. Grab a sandwich and a canteen full of lemonade, a hat, sunglasses,… Rub in sunscreen and jot a quick note:
Off to sail. Back soon. Soonish. Well, maybe later.
Skip out on a busy agenda. Hooky. Worry free. Riding the wind…
Future Helmswoman
Temptation. But today I resist, stay the course, helm the desk, keep appointments, meet expectations. And dream of Sunday…
Soon enough I won’t need to dream. My bride and I will sail off with our nieces for a mini-cruise. Two days of sailing. A single night on the hook. Our first night aboard Errant. Can’t wait!
We stood a while and enjoyed the falling evening. Sailboats moaned against dock lines, water lapped against hulls, and halyards pinged against masts in the dark. Tomorrow we hope to sail. (Source: Explore. Dream. Discover.)
Miriam’s been vying for the helm since Errant joined the family last season, and she finally got her chance. It’s been a full week since the delicious dinner we shared at The Upper Deck at the Willsboro Bay Marina, and she reminded me 2-3 times that she wanted to sail before skipping town for a bit.
Today was finally the perfect opportunity, and Miriam sailed Errant admirably. Winds ranged from about 8 knots to the low/mid teens, and the sun bathed us in its soothing warmth.
Miriam spent most of the afternoon attentive behind the wheel, asking questions, listening, experimenting. And John opted to enjoy the afternoon forward of the wheel, though he pitched in with the grinders from time to time.
Miriam and John Sailing Errant
A lovely way to spend a lazy afternoon with good friends. I look forward to our next outing.
“So throw off the bow lines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain
Sailboats moaned against dock lines, water lapped against hulls, and halyards pinged against masts in the dark.
I’ve just returned home from a memorable evening with friends at the Upper Deck restaurant at the Willsboro Bay Marina. After dinner we walked out to the western end of dock number two (the dock where Errant spent her first evening this summer.) Miriam wanted us to see the view looking north — past this silhouetted spit of land — toward the mouth of Willsboro Bay.
“It feels, to me,” she said, “like the heart of the Adirondacks.”
And it did. It does.
We stood a while and enjoyed the falling evening. Sailboats moaned against dock lines, water lapped against hulls, and halyards pinged against masts in the dark.
What better way to celebrate the 3th of July than a sail with Charlie and Charlie? Charlie (my brother) and Charlie (my father-in-law) spent a lazy afternoon aboard Errant, sailing light winds and enjoying welcome weather — hot and sunny with nary a cloud or raindrop insight — after what feels like a month of rain.
Both Charlies spent time at the helm, and both helped with an exceedingly ungraceful return to my slip at the Essex Shipyard. I decided to back into the slip in order to make boarding slightly easier now that Lake Champlain water levels have flooded over the docks. Gven the tight quarters and Errant’s less-than-agile reverse maneuverability (exaggerated by my still “green” command), I made a decision to enter the channel bow-first, pivot in the slightly larger opening in front of my slip, and then back into the slip.
Bad choice!
Too much momentum and a strong pull to port when reverseing contributed to a botched pivot. Did I mention tight quarters?
Fortunately, my brother wields the force of Paul Bunyan and enough boating experience to anticipate our problem before it was too late. He managed to fend us off at midship, and helped me restore the pivot. Two friendly boaters from neighboring vessels assisted from the totally submerged finger, guiding us safely into our birth.
One of these days I am going to become as comfortable docking Errant as sailing her. Better yet, I hope to become as comfortable docking Errant as I as I have been docking powerboats for a quarter century. Stay tuned…
Any time water levels rise significantly I inevitably, anxiously flashback to the 2011 Lake Champlain floods. Until recently my concerns were first and foremost the flooding of our boathouse which spent nearly two months underwater during that miserable month four years ago.
This year the lake level roller coaster’s been a little different. We started the spring/summer with unusually low Lake Champlain water levels.
This year the lake level roller coaster’s been a little different.
For one thing, we started the spring/summer with unusually low Lake Champlain water levels. On the up side, this was exciting because it meant that we had 10+ feet of sandy beach in front of our stone retaining walls, typically what we experience in July. We anticipated enjoyable beach time with our nieces when they come to visit us soon. On the down side, boaters on the lake had begun to worry that extreme low water levels late in the season would be inevitable and potentially dangerous. (Think shallow bays, river deltas, shoals, etc.)
Lake Champlain water level continues to trend up, up, up. Rain is supposed to abate after today, June 23, 2105 (via USGS)
But there’s been another consideration too. This is the first spring that we’ve been balancing ski-surf boat use/planning with sailboat use/planning. And — as the graph above clearly indicates — those early season low water levels have dramatically and rapidly flip-flopped. Lake Champlain water levels today are high. Really high!
The rising Lake Champlain water level threatens our dock and runabout.
And this means that we’re worrying about the lift/docks. The runabout is nearly at the top of the lift range. If the water rises any higher we’ll have a problem, especially on a rough day. The dock is already getting doused with waves and will need to be pulled back in tomorrow.
Essex Shipyard’s docks are at best flush with the water level. In many instances they are actually lower than the water level.
And the marina, Essex Shipyard’s, docks are at best flush with the water level. In many instances they are actually lower than the water level. That’s not ideal for boats that rely upon fenders to minimize the change of damage. The fenders sit on top of the water, eliminating any protection, and instead boat owners cobble together “spider webs” of spring lines to keep boats from colliding with docks or other boats.
Lake Champlain water level has exceeded out Essex Shipyard dock, June 23, 2015.
The photos tell the story. Pretty. Inconvenient. Worrisome…
Fingers crossed that Lake Champlain water level begins to fall. Soon!
Lake Champlain water level has exceeded out Essex Shipyard dock, June 23, 2015.
Following the most idyllic bike ride this morning, I headed out on Lake Champlain with my parents and sister for a almost-full-family inaugural sail. Perhaps we’ll manage a full-full-family sail when my brother arrives in a little over a week?
Loosely Logged…
We had motored out of my slip at the Essex Marina and begun hoisting the sails when I remembered that I wanted/needed to install the reefing system for the mainsail.
I still need to rig one or two reefing points. I’ll try to take care of that over the course of the week… (First Sail 2015)
Fortunately I found some spare hardware aboard and managed to temporarily rig the first reef, and it turned out to be essential. The initially light 6-8 know winds quickly built to the mid-teens and before long were +/-20 knots.
I’ve now that I’ve discovered firsthand how easy and useful it is to reduce the mainsail area.
This was my first time using the reefing system, and I’ve now that I’ve discovered firsthand how easy and useful it is to reduce the mainsail area, I’m going to hustle up the requisite hardware so that I have two ready reef options from now on.
I also reefed the genoa’s roller-furler twice as the wind built. It was a powerful learning experience.
This spring while working on Errant in the shipyard at the Willsboro Bay Marina I met a friendly fellow who was spring commissioning his sloop nearby. He impressed upon me the importance of reefing and assured me that the boat would perform better once I became accustomed to reefing during heavy winds. I explained that my sailing experience is primarily rooted in small boat sailing and sailboarding which made me greedy, hesitant to sacrifice sail area when the wind was whipping. But today I learned that he’s right. The boat doesn’t round up or wallow, and no water helm to wrestle with. And I was actually able to increase my hull speed when reefed, which was an important if overdue lesson to learn.
My sister and my father sailing Errant, June 2015.
Furler Foibles
We knocked around for a few hours taking turns at the helm and familiarizing ourselves with the ins-and-outs of this user-friendly Catalina 310. Once we were ready to wrap up and head in, I asked my father to furl the genoa. I rounded up into the wind, and he pulled the roller-furler line. It wouldn’t budge. He took the wheel and I tried. Nothing.
I realized that the spinnaker halyard had become tangled in the roller furler when I reefed it earlier. How? I had secured the spinnaker halyard to the bow pulpit this winter to keep it from slapping against the mast, and I forgot to switch it over when I launched. I had noticed the halyard flapping in the wind earlier in the day, and I’d made a mental note to secure it to the mast as the end of the day. Not soon enough!
By unfurling the genoa and tightening the spinnaker halyard so that it wouldn’t re-tangle, I was able to solve the problem. Relieved. I promised myself to become more detail oriented going forward.
Docking
Docking still revs up my anxiety meter… [so] I arrived at the Essex Marina with a twinge of dread. (First Sail 2015)
I was well protected from the wind and waves when I arrived at the marina, and with the advantage of a full crew to handle lines and fenders I was able to execute a relatively confident and wholly successful docking. I’m developing a slightly more intuitive understanding for Errant under engine power, but there’s still plenty to learn before I will feel as comfortable docking 11,000 pounds of fiberglass (plus plenty of windage) with a small two bladed prop and a 25hp diesel engine as I do a powerboat. But each successful docking brings me a little closer to the goal!
