Messages

16

General Discussion / Re: ICW 2016

« on: October 01, 2016, 01:59:15 am »

Guys,

I'm becoming increasingly concerned about hurricane Matthew. Chris Parker's marine weather service (to which I subscribe), says that the track northward is very uncertain, and could encompass anything from a landfall in SC to missing the east coast entirely and grazing the west side of Bermuda.

As a result, he's recommending that boats in the Virginia and Delmarva region should seek secure locations by the evening of Wed Oct 5.

Since we're now planning on leaving on Monday Oct 3, our first three night's stops were looking like Galesville, Solomons, and Sandy point (off the Wicomico) on Wed.

But winds are predicted to be NE or NNE Wednesday, and this is bad for anchoring at Sandy point, as there is too much fetch to the NE.

I'm considering just holing up at Spring Cove in Solomons for a few days if this scenario looks likely, but also wonder if there are any good anchorages near Sandy Point that are protected on the NE. I looked at Ellyson Cove inside of Smith Point, but the entrance looks a little hairy.

I welcome suggestions or recommendations.

17

General Discussion / Re: ICW 2016

« on: September 29, 2016, 01:26:41 pm »

Well, with three solid days of rain in the forecast, we've decided to
postpone our departure until Monday Oct 3. This will give us
one clear day (Sunday) to do the final loading of the boat.

There's no point in starting out with everything soaked!

At last check this morning, the Dismal Swamp Canal was still closed due to high water, although the Army Corp of Engineers did manage to get out the four boats that were trapped there since the closing.

http://www.waterwayguide.com/nav-alert/4-6549/dismal-swamp-canal-and-atlantic-intracoastal-south-of-great-bridge-closed-due-to-high-water-update

18

General Discussion / Re: ICW 2016

« on: September 19, 2016, 12:02:30 pm »

We're down to 12 days to departure, and I'm getting a bit frantic with preparations!

Icebox reinsulation project is complete and tested.  Not quite as big an improvement as I'd hoped, but still much better than it was.

I've started a blog to capture our trip preparations and progress:

http://sv-dolce-vita.blogspot.com/

We're planning on having a raftup on our first day out (Sat Oct 1) on the Rhode River, up in round bay over near the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) property on the west side.  Would love to see some Pearsons there, so if you're free that weekend, hop in your boat and come on down!

19

General Discussion / Re: True Blue to Rappahannock 9-2016

« on: September 19, 2016, 11:53:11 am »

Great trip report Ron!

20

General Discussion / Re: ICW 2016

« on: August 17, 2016, 10:51:29 pm »

Well, only 6 weeks left till departure, and I'm busily trying to re-insulate our icebox/fridge from the inside.  I'd love to hear from anyone else who has done this approach.

21

General Discussion / Re: ICW 2016

« on: July 25, 2016, 01:23:50 pm »

Yes, we have had a sheet of 1" insulation that we place over the entire countertop where the icebox is for several years.  My wife stitched a felt cover for it to protect it and provide a better air-seal against the countertop.  It's amazing how cold the countertop is underneath it when we move it for access.

The one downside of it that we've found is that it tends to promote condensation on the countertop underneath it, which in turn swells the wood trim on the icebox lid, making it very hard to remove and replace.

22

General Discussion / ICW 2016 - Boat Preparations

« on: July 22, 2016, 11:46:09 am »

Just a little update on our preparations.

I've completed two of the four major boat projects we want to have done before we leave.  Dolce Vita's engine now has a 125 amp alternator, controlled by a Balmar MC-612 smart regulator.  This gets us several benefits:

• Will minimize the daily engine run time needed to recharge the batteries while at anchor in the islands
• Has a "float" mode which will keep it from overcharging the batteries during the long motor runs on the ICW
• Although the 125 amp alternator only puts out about 60 amps on our engine (due to the low RPMs), it runs cooler because its loafing at half its capacity

We also now have a pair of 100 Watt solar panels mounted over the bimini, and a Midnite Solar "KID" MPPT smart controller to make maximum use of them in charging the batteries. http://www.midnitesolar.com/productPhoto.php?product_ID=531&productCatName=Charge%20Controllers%20-%20KID&productCat_ID=43&sortOrder=2&act=p

I'm hoping that this, plus the wind generator we already have, will further minimize, if not eliminate, the need to run the engine to recharge while at anchor for an extended period.

So, now I'm off on my next project: Beef up the insulation on our icebox/refrigerator so the compressor doesn't run so much and consume so much power.

23

General Discussion / Solar panel Upgrade

« on: July 14, 2016, 09:38:46 am »

Well, after lusting after solar panels for several years, the deed is finally done, and Dolce Vita has two shiny new 100W panels mounted above her bimini!

I initially wanted to install an arch to provide a platform for mounting the panels, as well as consolidate all of the "clutter" that is mounted on the stern, but the $4000+ price was too much to swallow.  I figured that cash could be better spent on other projects.  So i designed and built a framework of SS tubing over, and independent of, the bimini and put the panels there.

24

General Discussion / Re: Magothy Rendezvous July 16, 2016

« on: July 08, 2016, 09:02:55 pm »

Just a reminder that today is the deadline to sign up for the Magothy Rendezvous next weekend!
Details at http://cbpsa.org/upcoming.php
This is always a great time, and you can come by boat or by car.

25

P-323 / Re: Step for Pearson 323

« on: July 02, 2016, 11:27:12 am »

Yes, the OEM A/C wiring is primitive.  That was one of the first things I replaced.  Here's a link to the projects page of my website describing the upgrade I did.

26

General Discussion / Magothy Rendezvous July 16, 2016

« on: July 01, 2016, 09:45:51 am »

Just a reminder that the July 16 Rendezvous on the Magothy River is rapidly approaching.  Details are posted on the Upcoming Events page of the website:
http://cbpsa.org/upcoming.php

Please RSVP with the number coming before July 8.

27

P-323 / Re: Step for Pearson 323

« on: July 01, 2016, 09:40:07 am »

Sorry you can't make it.  But I'm sure we'll eventually meet up sometime.

Since your 323 is a 1978, I'm assuming you have an Atomic 4 engine.  Ours 1977 does, and I'm quite happy with this dependable, simple, easily serviced little engine. You should look up the Moyer marine forum (http://moyermarine.com/forum).  It contains a lot of very high-quality info on the A4, as well as a lot of active and knowledgable members who are happy to help.

You should definitely look up the Pearson-323 Owners website and forum: http://www.pearson323.com/ .  Lots of 323 Owners there.  And they maintain a registry of as many of the 323s as they can find.  I noticed that hull #98 is not listed in the registry, so you should at least pop by there and send the webmaster an email with your information.

Are you having any specific electrical issues?  I'm pretty familiar with the boat's electrical system.  The original wiring is pretty sad, and ours has been further complicated by EIGHT previous owners before us!  Little by little, I've been going through and correcting the problems.

28

P-323 / Re: Step for Pearson 323

« on: June 30, 2016, 05:05:01 pm »

Hi Wayne,

Welcome to the PSA and welcome to the forum.

We too have a p-323 which also had mast step issues when we bought it. The OEM Pearson step was fabricated from mild steel which had rusted severly in the damp bilge. Even worse, galvanic corrosion between the steel and the aluminum mast had eaten into the mast enough to be of concern. This is a known problem with some Pearsons.

A few years ago, I took down the mast and completely rebuilt it, sandblasting it down to a bare pole and doing new paint, fittings, wiring, lights, and rigging. In the process of this, we had to cut off 4" from the foot of the mast and have a new step fabricated. I went with welded 1/2" aluminum plate on the theory that it would produce no galvanic corrosion with the alum. mast. Probably overkill, as the original steel step and mast lasted over 30 years!

As for the bilge, the shower and sink should NOT drain into it!  I suspect a previous owner modified it. Ours has a small sump tank located under the large floor hatch in the main cabin. The shower, small sink, and the icebox drain into it. A manually activated electric pump empties it.

If you come to the July rendezvous we can compare notes. Looking forward to meeting you.

29

General Discussion / High Winds After Dun Cove Raftup

« on: June 21, 2016, 08:09:13 pm »

On June 12, the Sunday after the race, we sailed back to the Patapsco from Dun Cove on Harris Creek, behind Tilghman Island.  The winds started out light but eventually built quite high.  The NWS even issued a Gale Warning.

We left our PSA Raftup about 9:30 Sun morning and motored through Knapps Narrows without incident. Winds on the Bay were light but unfavorable, but quickly build to 20-25 from the NW, slowing our progress to a crawl. We unfurled about half our jib only, to approximate a storm jib.  This steadied the boat,  and we were able to motor sail due North at 6 - 7 knots as the winds built to over 30. Great fun!

Just before the Bay Bridge, we took a huge gust in excess of 40 that came close to a knockdown. Listening to the VHF, we were astounded to learn that the annual Bay Bridge swim was in progress!  The bridge span had just reopened to boat traffic as we arrived, so we motor-sailed through.

But past the Bay Bridge, our course lay NNW, too close to the wind to sail. We didn't want to continue sailing North and end up on the eastern shore because we would then have to pound back through the chop that would have had 15 miles of fetch to build. So we furled our jib, hugged the western shore for shelter and called on our trusty Atomic-4 engine to get us through.

The next hours were quite unpleasant (we don't have a dodger). The winds stayed at 30 with gusts much higher. We continued hugging the shore, but crossing the mouth of the Magothy lost this protection and pushed our engine close to its limits, hobby-horsing over the 3 ft rollers coming out of the river. It seemed to take forever to cross. The GPS often showed our speed-over-ground briefly slowing to 0! The A4 kept grinding on at 2800 RPM (800 above our normal cruise) for hours with no issues.

The shoreline from Gibson island up to Bodkin Point gave us good shelter, but once around Bodkin, the final slog up the Patapsco was also long and unpleasant, with a long fetch and the wind dead on the nose.

As we entered Rock Creek, sheltered from the chop, we shook our heads in disbelief at a 15ft skiff, overloaded with 7 or 8 bathing-suited teenagers, all standing up(!), headed out of the Creek!  We kept an eye on them, sure that we were going to have to go back and rescue them, but they stopped at the mouth of the Creek as their self-preservation instincts finally kicked in!

We were finally tied up at our marina by 5:30, beat but happy after our 8 hour workout.  Nothing broke, and nobody got hurt or sick!

30

General Discussion / Re: Dunn Cove Raft!

« on: June 09, 2016, 04:18:17 pm »

There are no rules
Typically people float from boat to boat, but often end up congregating in the cockpit of the largest boat.
Bring a swimsuit and a towel for pre cocktail hour. The weather forcast looks perfect!

We're planning on going down to the West River tomorrow (Friday) and tying up at the Pirate's Cove in Galesville if they have room.  Otherwise, we'll anchor out.

I believe Bob Morrow is anchoring out up on the Rhode River Friday.