Mother's Day Sail

For Mothers Day we got out and sailed. Lori was at the helm almost the whole day and brought the boat to the dock for the first time. She did a great job. Most of the day was light wind but it did blow for a short period at about 10 + knots. Both Lori and Jane are turning in to sailors and soon will be able to handle the boat themselves.   

Lori and Jane at the helm

Racing ???????

Yesterday I went to the Wayzata Yacht Club for a On-the-Water Seminars on racing. I was asked if I want to go out  Clay and Pia on one of their boats Blue J . It was great to get out on someones else's boat and do some learning. I was able to get a small sample of what racing might be like. I think it is something I could really get in to. I sent in my membership today for crewing. I hope to get picked up as a regular crew member on one of the boats. They do race Thursdays,Saturdays and Sundays My plan for now is to race this summer on Thursday and spend my weekends on our boat in Afton.

Blue J

Sailing on Blue J

First Sail Cold and Windy

We did get out 2 weeks ago and get some sailing in but it was cold and blowing about 20 kts.  I  was able to do some  solo sailing testing some of the new equipment before Lori and Jane  joined me  for a few hours in the afternoon.

Today is mothers day and Lori wants to go sailing today, looks like light winds and will be warmer than 2 weeks ago.

Ready to sail tomorrow

I finish up tonight and the boat is ready to sail  going out in the morning. I do have a few odds and end to finish but nothing that that would stop us from sailing.

Almost time to Sail

New Garmin 541

I have been working off and on the boat past month when I could find time and it is almost ready for the water. I finished a few up grades this year. I installed a larger chart plotter a 541 Garmin so I can read it better at the tiller. I also added a Nexus Nx Wind Pack 1 with wireless Wind Instrument. I added a 2nd smaller battery for a backup and finally mounted the solar panel in its permanent location. I have refinished all of the exterior wood work. I had some of the standing rigging replaced along with the life lines.  

New Nexus  NX wind

Today  Lori  did some touch up on the bottom paint and helped me clean and sort a bunch of stuff on the boat. We also worked on the lift supports for the main hatch, only need to add a couple of bolts and that will be done. I still need to do some repair on the rudder and add a few more coats of finish to the wood work, and bolt it on. I plan to do a good cleaning to the exterior and buff out the gel coat before we hit the water.

working on lift supports for main hatch

If all goes well we should be able to sail next Sunday. I was at the marina this week and the ice is gone.

working inside in a heated shop is great

open water

Open water, yes the ice is going away slowly.   Yeah!!!!!! and  snow nearly gone from around boat. Planning to move to shop to start  in one week.

It's still winter but looking forward to sailing soon

Ours is the one with the gray cover stuck behind the two pontoon boats

It has been a rough winter for most everyone in the country but look like we might get above freezing  here in the coming days. I have been getting ready to start working on the boat again my list is a lot shorter this year. There are some repairs that need to be done. I need to finish redoing the rest of the woodwork. Plus I have a couple of upgrades to do. Windmill Marina is trying to clear space so I can get to the boat, it has another boat in front of it and 3' of snow. I also found a shop I can work on the boat inside and  heated, close to home. If all goes well I will start working  mid march on the boat. We should be ready to get in the water before the ice goes out. Last year was the end of April, my guess it will be into May some time. We are looking into a number of sailing trips this year and hope to have them set in the coming months.