Launch day #2 Sailing in the rain

Today we launched the boat for a 2nd time with the help of friends Jenn and Chris.  The weather today was going to be light winds with little chance of rain. When we headed for the boat it started to sprinkle  just a bit. We looked at the radar, and were not concerned by what looked like some light sprinkles that appeared to be passing through. We had a couple of small things to do to the boat before heading to the lake. On the way to the lake the rain had stopped and the winds dropped to nothing. As we started rigging the mast and boom, the wind picked up and the skies got a bit darker. We launched the boat without incident, and found that the keel was hardly dripping, after fixing it.

We  found a used electric trolling motor on Saturday that we put to the test. With the winds today the boat was all over the  place till Lori lowered the keel into place. After that the motor worked fine and should be good for most of the sailing we plan to do. As we pulled away from the dock, the rain and the wind increased, and it began to thunder and lightening. We were actually able to sail halfway out into the lake with just the main sail. It will be fun once we get the jib up. The rain steadily picked up until there was a complete downpour. All four of us were completely soaking wet as we headed back to the dock. We loaded up the trailer, and as we were taking down the mast and boom, the sun came out. Soaking wet, we returned the boat back to the "Nicollet Avenue Yacht Club." After a quick change into dry clothes, we headed to Punch Pizza for warm food.

We're looking forward to some sailing days this summer. Lori is officially not going to sail in the rain again, and plans on doing only fair-weather sailing.

Launch Day

Or otherwise called Launch Fail. Today, after finishing a few last minute things on the boat, we headed for Lake Harriet in Minneapolis with Lori, Jane, myself, and our friends Jack and Shelly. Originally I was concerned that there would be no wind for the sails. We ended up with enough wind to create white caps on the lake. We considered not launching, but decided to move forward, so we rigged up the mast and backed up to the boat launch. The wind was blowing directly at the launch from across the lake. As we started to prepare to release the boat, it decided to launch itself and backed itself sideways off the trailer and then headed backwards toward my truck. We were able to retrieve it after three of us got in the water and pulled it alongside the dock. The one thing I wanted to check on was the keel to make sure it wasn't leaking before we got too far. It wasn't exactly a steady stream, but just shy of that--more of a constant drip. In light of the 20+ mile an hour winds, and the leak, we put the boat right back on the trailer. We stepped down the mast, parked the boat and truck, and spent a windy hour or so on the beach. This week I will try to find and repair the leaking area on the keel, and retest it later in the week. The short video below shows us getting the boat to the dock.

Almost ready for the water

Over ther past two weeks I have been able to finish a lot of the painting of the sides and bottom of the boat, along with installing the windows. I also reset the way the boat sits on the trailer and added new lights, fixed the wiring, added a new tire, and repacked the wheel bearings. I also reinstalled the keel and hopefully it won't leak. The exterior is nearly complete, with the exception of the top deck. I installed the new lettering and test-fitted the mast and all the rigging to make sure it was in good working order. I also ran both sails up to make sure they worked well. I think it is as ready for the water as it can be for now.