Fall 2004 Trailer/Sailors Association

Transcription

Fall 2004 Trailer/Sailors Association
The magazine of the
Trailer/Sailors Association
Fall 2004
Trailer/Sailors Association
www.trailersailors.org
Features/announcements
Front
Cover Welcome aboard
1
President s column
9
Treasurer/Membership Report
9
Treasurer s Membership Challenge for 2004
14
From the T/SA Discussion List
18
We Do It
28
BoatUS and the Trailering Club
Back
Cover Welcome new members
Cruising Articles
2
Lake of the Woods
4
Ramp Report - Four Ramps On Florida s West Coast
10
The Cruise from Hell or The 11th Annual Thousand Islands Cruise
19
Trailer-Sailing 'Up North' in Michigan
How to:
7
12
17
Trailer Sailing with a 9.9 HP Yamaha
Starting A Stubborn Diesel Engine
Rigging a Self-Tacking Jib on a Small Boat
Boat Review
26
Kansas Coastal Cruiser?
CS Editorial Staff
John Clement
David Craigie
David Craigie
Ed. John Coppedge
David Craigie
Charles & Diane Johnson
John Ulmer
Tom Larimer
P. Karyn McDaniel
Henk Vanderhulst
Lowell Loweke
John Burrows
Laurence Wright
The authors of the newsletter disclaim any and all responsibility for any kind of injury or damages sustained which may result from the
application of any or all ideas or suggestions appearing in any articles of Clipper Snips.
The authors of the newsletter furthermore give no warranty, express or implied, as to the merchantability, fitness for purpose, advertised
quality, or any other matter of any products advertised in Clipper Snips or appearing in any articles of said newsletter.
Clipper Snips
Page 1
Fall 2004
Welcome Aboard...
Another sailing season is now
closed. The boat is winterized, and awaiting (our first
attempt) at shrink wrapping. I
imagine that Unicorn, is contendedly hybernating, and
dreaming of our good times
this season. Despite many
difficult times within our extended family, Sue & I were
able to "leave our troubles at
the dock" on several outings.
spite the name (and my not
having been there) it reads
like a fun cruise in an interesting area with some fine cruisers.
Doing this issue, I took extra
pleasure in Karyn McDaniel's
North Michigan article, because it included crew Simon,
the family dog.
Charles & Diane Johnson
describe a 1 week cruise in
Lake of the Woods area, just
northwest of Lake Superior.
Although they anchored with
otters, beavers, deer and
moose - they were pretty good
at finding remote civilized dining,
too.
One of our challenges and
blessings this year has been our
new puppy, Abby Gail. Our previous 2 Westies were never comfortable on board, so we really aimed
at getting her well adjusted to life
on board. And we got our wish.
Abby would rather be on the boat
than walking down our street. She
plays in the cockpit with her toys,
watches the gulls, boats, and water.
She sleeps (it's a dog's major job)
and since Sue has her kennel
trained, she's comfortable "in the
brig" when sailing/docking conditions require our total concentration. I'd like to write an article
about doggie boat potty training,
but that chapter hasn't resolved itself yet. Happily we have no 'teak
and holly' floors - fiberglass wipes
up fine with 409 spray.
Last issue, president John Clement
suggested taking people sailing.
We agree, but just don't leave the
pets at home.
This issue has a good mix of T/SA
articles:
John Ulmer sent in his Ramp
report: Four Ramps on Florida's West Coast, and then
promptly left to cruise the
Ohio river in a home built dinghy for 10 days.
Sailor Abby
Michigan the 5 member McDaniel family chalked up fond family
memories and 225 nm in 12 days
sailing their Chrysler 22.
Henk Vanderhulst shares some
How-To motor ideas in Trailer
Sailing with a 9.9 HP Yamaha.
From some pictures and notes
from John Clement, editor Gary
Felix assembled this useful article.
Kansas Coastal Cruiser describes Laurance Wright's search
for a twin keel trailer-sailboat
finding one in in Kansas.
Tom Larimer wrote The Cruise
from Hell... or The 11th Annual
Thousand Islands Cruise. De-
The Clipper Snips Winter issue:
Deadline: January 1, 2005
Focus:
We do it & we did it articles
Winter Fix-up/Improvement Projects
Cruise Reports: All Venues
Summer Cruise Plans/suggestions
In Trailer-Sailing 'Up North' in
Clipper Snips
Page 2
A full page of New Members is
included. If you see someone
from your geographic area, postal
code, someone with a boat like
yours, or someone who has the
love of your life listed as their
crew, then give them a call, drop
them a line, or zap them an
email.
With pocket cruisers getting bigger with more energy needs, diesels are making inroads in trailer
sailing. Lowell Loweke provides
some maintenance ideas in Starting A Stubborn Diesel Engine.
John Burrows single hands his
Rhodes 22, and he describes
some modifications to help in
Rigging a Self-Tacking Jib on
a Small Boat
Dave Craigie accumulated a
number of We Do It notes. I
think these "notes about our
boats" are at the core of our
association ideals, of helping
others and making better use of
our boats.
Fall 2004
President s Column
John Clement
It s Sunday morning of the
(Canadian) Thanksgiving long
weekend as I write this. Those of
you who celebrate Thanksgiving in
November still have a few weeks to
wait. The 2004 northern boating
season is drawing to an end, but
perhaps there s another memorable
sail or two before the boat finally
rests beside the garage under her
winter tarp. My last outings have
been day-sails, contemplatively
sliding across the bay with both dog
and memories as companions. Not
a bad way to end the season.
It s a time of year for gratitude.
Gratitude for the serenity of quiet
waters, for the almost mystical feeling of power as our sails harness
the wind, for safe anchorages, for
good companions and friendship,
and for the togetherness that comes
from shared experiences in small
boats. Trailer sailing provides the
means of access to some truly wonderful parts of the world. Cruising
in a group adds camaraderie and
sometimes perhaps just a little
friendly competition (even if noone is ever prepared to admit it).
I was going into the grocery store
this past week when a (first year)
fellow Trailer Sailor jumped out of
his car to share the story of his
summer cruising. We d sailed together for a while in the North
Channel, until Bob had branched
off in company with other boats,
and he enthusiastically recounted
how his boat had ended up the
cruise by making several complex
solo passages. My mind went back
to just a few months ago when Bob
had first phoned, concerned about
whether he and his novice cruising
crew would be able to handle the
demands of the North Channel. I d
invited him over. We talked cruising for a couple of hours, and he
Clipper Snips
left with a few pages of notes.
Now just a few short months later
he s a confident, experienced
cruiser, talking of next year and
planning a number of modifications
to his boat.
two.
That to me is the essence of T/SA.
The security and added safety of
cruising along with experienced
folk who ve seen it all before, the
chance to compare, to learn and to
grow by watching and copying.
There s also the pleasure of sharing
and seeing others learn.
And your final assignment is,
starting now, to plan for next
year s cruising. Try to find at
least one new body of water or
new port to fit into your plans.
Read books. Read Clipper Snips.
Surf the web. Email your fellow
Trailer Sailors. Contact Ramp
master, John Ulmer. Get dreaming.
One of the important benefits of T/
SA is the directory of fellow sailors. (These are by definition nice,
interesting people. They re Trailer
Sailors after all!!). I ve had good
experiences contacting folk out of
the directory when traveling in different areas of North America.
This usually leads at least to an interesting chat, and at times to invitations for sailing or for visits.
(Hey, that thought plus the signs of
Fall evident in the tree-tops leads to
a brilliant idea .. For those of
you fortunate enough to live where
sailing is year-round, why not
adopt a northerner to come and
share some of your winter sailing
experiences??.)
And now it s time for your assignments.
Over the next months try to think
of at least one environmentally
responsible modification to make
to your boat and/or tow vehicle,
and at least one safety-related
project as well. As members of
T/SA we need to be constantly
raising the bar in terms of environmental sensitivity and safety.
After you ve done these changes
please feel free to reward yourself
by making a comfort change or
Page 3
Sign up for a boating course. (In
this area I recommend the Canadian Power and Sail courses. I ve
taken 5 or 6 of these myself).
For those able to make the trip to
Toronto for the Annual General
Meeting, the T/SA group here looks
forward to welcoming you. The
Michigan group is, however, a
really hard act to follow. There are
so many of them, they re such super people, and after so many years
hosting the weekend they ve gotten
things to an incredibly fine art. By
the time you read this, our (novice)
tiny Toronto team will have hosted
our first AGM. Don t be surprised
if there s a public clamour for a
return to Michigan for 2005. For
those of you unable to come in November, we ll miss you but I hope
to see you on the water.
Just remember to keep em Tall
Side Up .
Fair winds,
John Clement
Notice
Webmaster, Mike Nelson,
says the 2004 north channel
cruise photos are available on
the T/SA web site at
www.trailersailors.org/
photoalbums.html
Fall 2004
Lake of the Woods...
Charles & Diane Johnson
The idea of sailing Lake of the
Woods came from the stories I had
heard about the area over the years
from many of my fisherman acquaintances. Now that I have been
there, I know the tales of getting
lost, huge waves, bays that so large
you could not see across them.
They are all fisherman tales.
Enough said.
Imagine a lake with 65,000
miles of shoreline, 14,582
islands, 90 miles long and 55
miles wide.
Ahhh
.sweet serenity!
www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com/
The only additions I added to the
boat for this trip were very simple.
A Magna cooker on the back rail
was a plus. It is very well made,
works great and gets the heat and
mess out of the cabin. Varnishing a
flat plywood floor for the rubber
boat gave us more stability getting
in and out. A piece of PVC pipe
fastened to a stanchion to hold an
umbrella for rainy days never got
used, except to hold our fly swatters. The anchor lock added last
year was modified with four links
of chain and a snap hook.
We got a late
start from our
home in
DeKalb, IL. We
tow our Sovereign 23, Trust
Me, with our
motor home, so
we slept near
Black River
Falls, WI that
first night. On
Monday, we got
an early start
only to lose time
near Virginia,
MN with a
blown tire on the trailer. With the
right-rear tire in shreds, fender bent
and trailer light gone, Tires Plus
was very happy to help us. All our
tires were new last year. Oh well!
Because this cost us some time, we
stayed in Caliper Lake Provincial
Park just south of Sioux Narrows
that evening. Beautiful!
The launch at Sioux Narrows is
easy to find. It is at the visitor s
center and has one big pier, one
ramp, adjacent parking, and $5.00
launch and $5.00 per day parking
fees. The ramp is good, but a little
shallow with the water being three
feet.
We left Sioux
Narrows after
lunch in town
on Tuesday.
The town isn t
exactly what
we are used to
- finding a
sandwich
proved to be
tricky. We
cleared the
bridge with no
problem because of the
Sioux Narrows launch
Clipper Snips
Page 4
low water. I knew about the
bridge, but not about the hightension power line. Trying to find
the height on the chart while moving slowly along kept me from
looking up, when BANG! We ran
aground next to a marker warning
of large rocks.
After the embarrassing grounding,
we traveled northwest along a
buoyed route to Yellow Girl Bay.
Sailing in open water and motoring
in the narrows, our first evening
was spent in a perfect cove north of
Nepetugain Island. It was a narrow
entrance, but one could ride out a
storm there if necessary. Our evening there was like a nature video.
Otters played in the water, three
beavers swam with branches back
and forth in front of the boat, and
two deer grazed on shore. Diane
was in heaven!
Wednesday brought more sun and
warmth. Leaving the anchorage, I
was a little south of center and
bumped just a little on some rocks.
I made a mental note, knowing we
would return. On our way to
Kenora, we passed Yellow Girl
Point, Shore Island and French Nar(Continued on page 5)
Fall 2004
...Lake of the Woods...
(Continued from page 4)
rows. As the wind picked up, my
squawk meter was making noise, so
I chose a protected route through
the islands and dropped the sails.
That night, our anchorage was by
Strawberry Island. We were closer
to Kenora now; more homes and
traffic, and no wildlife.
Due to high winds, we motored
Thursday between the islands to
Keewatin Channel following the
buoyed markers to Kenora, arriving
in town with 30-knot winds. Docking at the city dock was tough (no
breakwater). We had to move the
boat for services; no fun, but it was
uneventful. We rented a city mooring ($10.00) for the night and relaxed in town shopping. Supper
was at the Hotel Kenricia, a 1890s
landmark. Breakfast at the top of
the Best Western (10th floor) gave
us a great view of the bay and the
floatplanes hurrying in and out.
Friday was a late morning departure
back through the Keewatin Channel
and then south on a charted main
track route. With 10-knots on the
beam and sunny all day, we sailed
past only a few houses and people,
and had a beautiful scenery-filled
day.
Passing through Crow Rock Channel, to the west is a cove charted at
three feet. My sounder showed four
feet. It was very muddy, but we
stayed anyway. Cruising with our
rubber boat, we spotted a turtle with
at least an 18-inch shell and many
large shore birds fishing. Eagles
were abundant on this trip, and
watching them fish is always exciting.
Sunny Saturday and we decided to
breakfast at Willy Point Lodge. It
took us about an hour to get there,
and it was not on our charts. Not a
good practice, of course, but worth
Clipper Snips
the anticipation
of a nice meal
with excellent
service. Considering the remote
location, the
premium price is
justified. When
we travel, we
keep a list of
special places,
and Willy Point
Lodge made that
list.
Departing Willy
Point in late
morning, we
sailed south and
east to Sunset Channel. This was a
hot, light wind day, and Gull Rock
Shoal showed its ugly face. Ouch!
We entered Sunset Channel, anchoring on the southwest corner of
Cliff Island.
In the morning, I spotted a cow
moose grazing in the reeds. She
stayed long enough for pictures.
Traveling along the channel, Diane
spotted two more moose; a cow and
a bull swimming to an island. They
don t usually travel together. It
must have been the season! The
moose approached the island and
the wind blew us slowly toward
them. A roll of film later, we were
on our way. This part of the lake
has few homes and markers, but
great scenery.
Sunset Channel leads northeast to
Yellow Girl Point, the anchorage of
our first night. Remembering the
rocks, I checked the chart and the
channel is a little north of center.
So we idled in this time, and stuck
so hard the motor in reverse would
not pull us off the rocks. Down the
ladder in 13-feet of water I went to
climb on the rocks on the port side,
wondering how I was going to push
Page 5
Bullwinkle
two tons of boat off the rocks. I
leaned into the boat and the damn
thing was floating, so I grabbed the
bow hook and had Diane back us up
into deeper water. (The channel is
dead center, 13- feet and marked on
my chart.) This evening, we encountered more deer, eagles, pelicans and a beautiful sunset.
We had been covering the lake
faster than I had expected. On
Monday we went through Yellow
Girl Point, Long Bay and Whitefish
Narrows straight south to Bell Island. This takes us through Whitefish Bay. The water clarity seems
better here, and away from Sioux
Narrows there are fewer homes and
markers. Southbound on Whitefish
Bay, it was a hot 92-degrees and
sunny, wind at five to ten knots and
a very pretty day. Later in the day
on the southwest corner of Bell Island, we found a small shoal
charted. Going slowly, giving
plenty of clearance, I spotted a
group of birds well past the chart
area. Either they were very
friendly, or on the same rocks. I
moved 20 to 30 feet south and
turned east. It wasn t a minute, and
(Continued on page 6)
Fall 2004
...Lake of the Woods
swim and
realized the
large black
rock across
the way was
moving. It
was a black
bear. Still in
the water, we
did not get its
picture.
Maybe next
year!
Lake of the
Woods was a
great trip for
us; seven days of sun, 85 to 100degrees, only one too-windy day
and one no wind day. You can
navigate Lake of the Woods with a
map and compass if you want, but I
Trust Me & Captain Chuck
(Continued from page 5)
the sounder was buzzing. A hard
right and neutral motor, and we
missed the rocks by inches. Anchoring behind the island, we had a
took a simple GPS and got along
fine. The large waves the fishermen talk about are possible, but I
would be behind an island long before that happened. The sun was so
intense two days that the sun
shower was too hot! We anchored
alone every night. Anchorages are
everywhere. We will sail this lake
again.
Looking ahead to next season
God willing, we will do the channel
with the Trailer Sailors, Island
Royale or the Apostle Islands if
anyone wishes to join us.
I have some out-of-date charts and
literature to share if anyone is interested in Lake of the Woods.
Fair winds,
Chas & Di
Ramp Report - Four Ramps On Florida s West Coast
John Ulmer
Now that I m retired, January has
become my favorite month. That's
when my wife and I head south for a
month on Florida's sunny Southwest
coast. Last year we were lucky and
were able to rent a cottage right on
the Intercoastal Waterway at Englewood, a small town just south of
Venice. Of course I couldn't stand
to be without a boat, so I loaded up
my Sunfish and hauled it down too.
The southwest coast of Florida has a
lot to offer anyone planning to bring
their boat south for the winter.
There is good sheltered water, sailing in Tampa Bay and Charlotte
Harbor, and the Ten Thousand Islands provides a maze of wilderness
islands to explore. There are harbors to visit, beaches to walk, and
almost perfect weather. Day after
day the TV weather girl kept repeat-
Clipper Snips
ing, "Highs in the upper 70 s, lows
in the 50 s or 60 s, with only a
slight chance of rain."
Connecting all this glorious water is
the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway.
But the Intercoastal is not a good
place for slow, low powered boats.
The waterway goes through a series
of very shallow bays, where straying out of the channel will often put
you aground. In many places I even
had to raise the board of my little
Sunfish to get over the shallow
spots. Bigger boats, even those
with swing keels, will find themselves pretty much stuck in the
channel, wallowing in the wakes of
the big power boats. Local sailors
have two ways of avoiding the powerboats. They either cruise on week
days, when there are fewer power
boats on the water, or they avoid the
Page 6
Intercoastal entirely by doing their
long distance sailing in the Gulf.
If you prefer to sail in one direction,
without having to backtrack to get
to your car and trailer, a one way
trip is possible. All the major towns
and cities in southern Florida are
connected by Greyhound bus service. For more information on bus
service, call (800) 231-2222 or see
them on the web at
www.greyhound.com
You will find good ramps all over
southern Florida. The problem, as
always, is finding ramps where you
can safely leave your car and trailer
while you cruise. I've found four
good ones. Pick the one that suits
you best. But keep in mind that this
part of Florida took a terrible beating from the hurricanes last fall, and
(Continued on page 7)
Fall 2004
...Ramp Report - Four Ramps On Florida s West Coast...
(Continued from page 6)
some of the information in this report may have changed, so call
ahead to check
conditions before
you go.
Barron River
Resort - Everglades City
Everglades City
is not a city at
all; it is a very
small town with
a wonderful location. It sits at
the northwest
end of Everglades National
Park, right at the
start of the famous Ten Thousand Islands. If
you are dreaming
of a wilderness
cruise to tropical
waters, this ramp
is for you.
Everglades City is
just off of State Rt. 41, 35 miles
south of Naples. Turn south on
State Rt. 29, and town will be about
four miles ahead. Barron River Resort will be the first thing you see as
you enter town. It's on the right,
just after you cross a small bridge at
the edge of town. It comes up fast,
but don't worry if you miss it. The
town is so small that you can't get
lost, and turning around is easy.
Trailer parking at the ramp is limited, so call ahead if you plan to
arrive on a weekend. The ramp is
16 feet wide and 4 feet deep 20 feet
from shore, giving an angle of 11
degrees and 20 percent slope. The
ramp is a lot longer than the 20 feet
I measured, but I couldn't get to it
with my lead line because there is
no dock at the ramp. The marina
Clipper Snips
says they launch 40 foot houseboats
here without a problem.
here for as long as you want, even
the entire winter, if that s what you
need. The cost is $8 to launch and
$16 a night
or $110 per
month to
park.
The safe
long term
parking
makes this a
great
launching
place for
anyone
planning to
spend the
whole season on their
boat. Pine
Island is
located right
in the middle of Charlotte Harbor,
which is a
great cruisFour Ramps On Florida s West Coast
ing area.
There is
Though there is no dock at the
plenty of open water for sailing,
ramp, there is a handy bulkhead to
plus lots of shallow water and mantie to after launching. The ramp fee
grove islands to explore where laris $10, and the parking fee is $5 per
ger boats dare not go. There are
night or $30 per week. There are
also the famous barrier islands of
also a hotel and camp ground availSanibel and Cayo Costa, and ports
able at the resort. For more inforlike Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte,
mation, call (800) 535-4961.
and Ft. Myers to visit.
Pineland Marina Pine Island Charlotte Harbor
I discovered this marina by accident
and it's a real find. Imagine, a marina that WANTS to store your car
and trailer. This is basically a dry
storage marina, with a few docks
for wet storage. Living aboard a
docked boat is NOT allowed.
The marina has a very good ramp
and a large parking lot. You can
safely leave your car and trailer
Page 7
Longer cruises are also possible.
By using the Caloosahatchee River
and Lake Okeechobee you can get
to the Atlantic coast, or even circumnavigate the southern part of
Florida.
Getting to Pineland Marina is easy.
Take I-75 south to Rt. 78, which is
the last exit before crossing the Caloosahatchee River. Follow Rt. 78
east until it ends on Pine Island.
(Continued on page 8)
Fall 2004
...Ramp Report - Four Ramps On Florida s West Coast...
ida.
The ramp
is at a city
owned marina in the
center of
town. It's
right next
to the business Rt. 41
bridge over
the Manatee River.
There are
overnight
Palmetto City Boat Ramp
docks
available at
(Continued from page 7)
the marina, or you can anchor out
in the anchorage across the river
Turn right (north) and follow the
from the marina.
brown signs for the Cayo Costa
The ramp is 23 feet wide, 15 feet
Ferry, which leaves from Pineland
long and 4 1/2 feet deep, giving an
Marina.
angle of 11 degrees and a 19 perThe ramp is 26 feet wide, 44 feet
cent slope. I measured 2 feet below
long and 5 feet deep at high tide,
high tide. There is an unmarked
giving an angle of 6.5 degrees and
drop off at the end of the ramp.
11 percent slope. Tidal range here
Check for it with your boat hook or
is only about 2 feet and I measured
lead line before you launch.
about one foot below high tide.
There is a dock at the ramp and you
There are good docks on both sides
may tie up temporarily at a concrete
of the ramp and no drop off at the
bulkhead near the ramp. There is
end of the ramp. For more inforNO overnight parking allowed at
mation on Pineland Marina, call
the ramp, but there is safe long term
(239) 283-3593
parking available at VALUE SELF
Palmetto City Dock And Ramp
STORAGE, which is located just
The city of Palmetto is located on
one mile north of the ramp on busithe north side of the Manatee River,
ness Rt. 41. You can leave the boat
which is a large river just south of
in the marina or tied to the bulkTampa Bay. The bigger and more
head while you drive the rig to the
famous city of Bradenton is located
storage lot. If you don t want to
across the bridge on the south
walk the mile back to the boat, you
shore of the river. This is an excelcan get a ride on a city bus.
lent place to start a cruise of Tampa
For more information on the storBay or a sail down the coast to
age lot, call (941) 729-2400. For
Charlotte Harbor and Ft. Myers.
more information on the marina,
Because of the very safe long term
call (800) 257-6020
parking available near by, this is a
Pete's Pier In The Town Of
good ramp for those planning on
Crystal River
spending the entire winter in Flor-
Clipper Snips
Page 8
The town of Crystal River is located 60 miles north of St. Petersburg. There is no Intercoastal Waterway on this part of Florida's west
coast, but Crystal River is within
sailing distance of Yankeetown on
the Withlacoochee River, Cedar
Key, and the Suwannee River.
Rt. 19 is the main road through
town. If you are heading south on
Rt. 19, go through town and turn
left (west) on Kings Bay Dr. The
turn will be just south of Kings Bay
Shopping Plaza. If you are going
north on Rt. 19, you will see Kings
Bay Dr. just as you enter town.
Follow Kings Bay Dr. for about a
half mile, then turn right at S.W.
1st PL. It will be marked with a
brown state ramp sign. Pete's Pier
will be right in front of you.
There are two ramps, which are
fairly steep. Each is 13 feet wide,
14 feet long and 5 feet deep, giving
an angle of 19.5 degrees and a 35
percent slope. There is a drop off
that is even with the end of the left
hand concrete side. Tides here are
2 to 3 feet, and I measured 6 inches
below high tide. The ramp is free,
and there are transient docks available at the marina. There is a $5
parking fee for the car and trailer,
which you will pay when you get
your parking sticker from the pier
office. For more information, call
(352) 795-3302
There you have it - four, good, safe
ramps in paradise. Come down and
join the fun.
Send your ramp reports to :
John Ulmer
659 S. Canal St.
Canal Fulton, OH 44614
Phone : (330) 854-3796
email address: j.ulmer@juno.com
Fall 2004
Trailer Sailing with a 9.9 HP Yamaha...
Henk Vanderhulst
The following may be of interest to
those of you who use a 9.9 hp Yamaha outboard. Several years ago,
I changed my Johnson for a Yamaha on my 23 ft Precision Go
Gently. It did not take long before I
realized that I would have to do
something about the tilting of this
motor. Due to the position of the
motor on the transom and the situation of the stanchions, it was practically impossible to reach the tilt
support lever. Also, the grip at the
rear of the motor requires one to
reach dangerously far over and by
then you do not have sufficient
power to tilt the outboard.
Tilting the Yamaha 9.9
I came up with a simple solution
that you would find quite easy to
copy. First, let us look at how to
make it easier to tilt. For this I use a
3 in 1 tackle made up of a fiddle
block and a single block with
becket plus a length of 5/16 line.
With a short piece of line (or a
metal strap), attach the single block
to the stern-rail above the outboard.
The fiddle block is attached to a
triangular plate at the back of the
motor above the grip by means of a
2 ss carabiner. The 5/16 line (of
Clipper Snips
sufficient length) is attached to the
rail alongside the single block, then
run through the blocks and tied to
the becket. We now have a simple
tackle to tilt the motor.
Next let us look at this unreachable
tilt support lever on the port side of
the motor. The photo below shows
a short length of ¼ shock-cord run
through a small cable-clamp (knot
at the end) which is held under a
bolt about 10 below the tilt support lever.
I found the most difficult job came
at this point. The top end of the
shock-cord had to be securely attached to this lever. The best way is
to drill a ¼ hole through the lever,
thread the cord through and tie a
knot so that the cord
is under sufficient
tension to pull the
lever down when the
motor is tilted. The
drilling of this hole
proved to be difficult
as the metal is quite
hard, but a good
drill-bit will do the
job. Now a 1/8 line
is tied around the
lever, behind the
shock-cord. It goes
straight up through a
small eye-strap on
the side of the motor,
Page 9
then is tied off also to the rail. This
is all there is to it. Let s see how it
works.
First tilting the motor up. Push the
tilt lock lever at the front of the motor down. By means of the tackle
line, pull the motor up. The shockcord will then pull the tilt support
lever in the lock position. Now let
go of the line and the motor is in
tilt. To lower the motor into the
water, first pull the tackle-line tilting the motor a little more. Now,
while holding it there, pull the thin
line up with the left hand, unlocking the support-lever, then let go of
the tackle line lowering the motor.
That s all there is to it. Good luck.
Cold Starting
My choke would not always close
when I wanted to start the motor. I
learned that by first putting the
shift-lever in forward , then turning the throttle to full power a couple of times, next back to idle and
the shift-lever to neutral, the choke
will be in the closed position and
you are ready to push the start button. Since using this procedure, I
have not had any problems starting
my outboard.
Gas and Electrical Connections
I use two 6-gallon gas-tanks with a
fuel line with primer bulb attached
(Continued on page 10)
Fall 2004
...Trailer Sailing with a 9.9 HP Yamaha
Editor's note: John
Clement comments that
a similar solution on
Taranui came from
installing a trolling motor plug in the transom.
This has a cover which
closes when the motor is
disconnected and offers
a high capacity connection for the outboard to
the battery.
to each. In
this way it
is quick and
simple to
change
tanks when
one runs
out.
The cable
from the
outboard to
the battery
is another
thing to
look at. I
have cut
mine and
installed a
good industrial type connecter block
with socket-head setscrews on the upper left hand corner of the transom.
The one part of the cable goes from
here directly to the battery. The shorter
part runs from the outboard through an
eye-strap to this block. Loosening the
block screws and the eye-strap allows
the cable to be pulled free. Make
sure this section of cable is long
enough. I have simply rolled the
bared cable ends in my fingers rather
than using terminals or solder. Solder tends to weaken the wiring.
the tackle is another S-hook that hooks
into the lifting harness.
The lifting harness is made of 5/16
line. One end has a small bowline loop.
43 away is another small loop and
another one 7 away at the end. This
end has an S-hook attached with the
one half squeezed shut.
The way this all works is again simple.
The loop at the long end is passed
through the opening below the motorbody and brought up. Now pass the Shook through this loop and also the
other loop that is the lifting-loop. The
S-hook goes into the hole of the tiltplate above the grip. With the bottom
S-hook of the tackle hooked into the
harness loop you are ready to lift the
motor off the boat.
I have made a small two-wheel dolly
out of ¾ oak. This could be fabricated
out of a store-bought dolly. The most
important part is a solid arm on the
port side sticking out at 90 degrees.
This is to clamp the motor to, so it
Transport and Mounting
These outboards are heavy and when
you are past 65 (or 75?) you should
no longer lift such a weight. I use a
cheap 7 in 1 tackle bought in a hardware store; it s called a generalpurpose rope hoist. I replaced the
poly-prop line with 1/8 nylon line.
With the mast laid horizontal and
securely attached to the stern rail for
trailering, a short piece of 5/16 line
with a small bowline loop at each
end is thrown over the mast directly
above the motor. One loop goes
through the other. From the hanging
loop close to the mast you hang the
7 in 1 tackle by means of an S-hook, Henk s arm acts as stand-in for the horizontal mast in demonstrating the set-up
tailing end up. At the other end of
Clipper Snips
Page 10
needs to be high enough from the
ground. In this way the dolly with motor can be laid into my van with the
oil-sump in the right position. The
dolly has a fold-away support leg to
prevent it from falling over.
Have the dolly right there with the
support-leg out to prevent it from
falling over. Once the motor is on
the dolly, undo the tackle, fold and
secure the support-leg, trundle the
dolly to the van (door open), turn
it so the handle can be rested into
the van with the wheels blocked
with a stick. Now it is just a matter of lifting the bottom end of the
dolly and shoving the whole thing
into the van: presto. Don t forget
your tackle etc. Putting the motor
on the boat is this simple job in
reverse.
By the way, I enjoy my Yamaha
very much. No more mixing of
gas and oil. No smelly exhaust:
better for our health and the ecology. I get more power using less
gas with less noise. And also more
amps from the alternator. I hope to
enjoy it for a few more years yet.
Fall 2004
Treasurer s Report
Dave Craigie
As I sit here luxuriating in our
semi-wondrous Oklahoma weather,
my thoughts tend to wander a bit
south, to our Florida and Gulf
Coast members and the murderous
hurricane season they have had to
endure. Our thoughts and prayers
are with you all and we do hope
that you have not endured any personal losses.
Situations like the one in Florida do
raise some interesting thoughts
though. How many of us still have
dreams of owning that 30 to 40
footer? Perhaps living aboard and
seeing the islands? Romantic
thought isn't it? But what a reality
check when you see the horrific
pictures of all these boats stacked
like cordwood on the beach.
Now, isn t it a great thought that as
Trailer/Sailors we can have a
choice? If a weather situation
comes along, we quickly remove
our boat from Harms way, in a matter of hours, not days. We can
choose to sail a one way trip, with a
favorable wind, or perhaps only go
as far as time allows and then return with the truck and trailer and
go home. Trust me, big boat owners will snub their nose at these
choices, until you get them alone
and they admit to being a little jealous. Owning a big boat certainly
has its advantages, but so does
owning a trailerable boat. :-)
Please contact me with any issues
concerning changes in your mailing
address or other information that is
contained in the Directory. We do
want to be current with your information.
Fair Winds from Oklahoma,
David
Incipient
Treasurer s Membership Challenge for 2004
The Treasurer s Membership
Challenge is an opportunity for
current members to give a Gift
Membership to a prospective
Trailer/Sailor at a reduced rate of
half price. It works like this:
Every T/SA member knows someone who would enjoy, and benefit
from membership in the Trailer/
Sailors Association. You may
have tactfully tried to get this person to join by speaking of the Association and perhaps have given
them a membership form. But
nothing has happened yet. Now you
can give a personal gift to this
sailor and send them a Gift Membership.
The Treasurer s Membership
Challenge will be available
through the end of 2004. There
will be no prizes or awards given
out with this challenge .just the
satisfaction of knowing that you
have shared T/SA membership with
a friend .
Membership Fees:
Clipper Snips
For membership between June 1st
and December 31st 2004, the membership fee is $20 ($24US for Canadian addresses) which pays for
the remainder of the current year
and all of 2005.
Your cost would be half of the
above amount.
Particulars:
The prospective member must
own, or contemplate owning, a
trailerable sailboat.
The member giving the gift must
be a current member.
The membership form and payment must be received from the
current member.
The quickest way to enroll a new
member is on line at
WWW.TrailerSailors.org Go to
the membership section where a
special membership form will be
found titled, Treasurer s Membership Challenge. This membership form can be filled out and
submitted on line. Payment can be
Page 11
made with your credit card through
Pay Pal, after you have submitted
the membership form.
Membership can also be done by
mail and any membership form will
do. Simply write your name on the
form in the area, Sponsor or
How did you learn about TSA?
Mail to Don Ziliox at the address
indicated.
The new member will receive a gift
certificate in your name. What a
wonderful gift to give a fellow
sailor. This, along with the fact
that you are helping promote the
TSA, has to make one feel good all
over.
I would like to challenge every
member to give at least one Gift
Membership to a friend. I know
I will.
Smooth Trailer Sailin ,
David Craigie,
Secretary/Treasurer,
Trailer/Sailors Association
Fall 2004
The Cruise from Hell... or
The 11th Annual Thousand Islands Cruise
Tom Larimer
The 11th Annual Thousand Islands
Cruise was truly an exciting event
this year. Quite cool and very
windy, that's what it was If you
throw in a few boat malfunctions,
you'll understand the title.
blew overboard so we turned it into
a man overboard rescue drill. I'm
glad the hat was a floater and I
hope all MOBs wear a life jacket.
We continued onto Canoe Point
and spent the night at a dock.
The Thousand Islands are located
in the St. Lawrence River where it
starts in the northeast corner of
Lake Ontario. Carroll Seibert and
Bob Borden laid out a rather ambitious itinerary for us this year but
we had to cut it short due to the
prevailing weather conditions.
Next morning we returned to
Wellesley Island State Park to meet
some more cruisers; Windblown a
Mac 26X with Walt and Paula
Murik aboard, and another 26X,
Harmony with a five-man crew:
Roland, Valerie and Amy Duperron
plus Jack and Ann Kachanis. Bob
Bordon launched Tabber J and
brought his grandson, Jay Smith,
and Jay s friend Ashley as crew.
There were eleven boats involved
in this expedition; a few from Ontario, some from Pennsylvania and
points east and us, we're from
Ohio. Several boats launched at
Wellesley Island State Park in New
York on Friday, the18th of June:
Roger Davis in his Hunter 23, Cerulean, Carroll and Anne Seibert in
their Mac 26, Sandpiper, and Jan
and Tom Larimer sailing Trojan, a
Mac 26.
Our first night's rendezvous was at
Canoe Point State Park, three miles
SW of the launch site. Just after
leaving Wellesley Island, my hat
En route to Canoe Point, we saw
our first casualty. Tabber J had a
lot of rigging in the water and
Sandpiper was standing by to assist. Bob Bordon's prototype mast
support system wasn't up to the
strong gusty winds we had and it all
ended up in the water. The Seiberts
escorted him back to Wellesley
where they stayed for the night.
Bob drove back to Wellesboro, PA,
picked up the original mast and
returned to Wellesley. It took all
night but he didn't want to miss any
of the sailing.
Roger Davis s Cerulean from Trojan
Clipper Snips
The rest of us
proceeded to
Canoe Point and
were joined by
Bob and Cristine Mattocks
aboard a Mac
26, Carpe Diem
and Mike Morris sailing his
newly completed Luger 26,
About Time.
Next day, the
Page 12
five of us had a good sail over to
Gananoque, Ontario, to clear customs. We got there about 11 and
decided to stay for lunch in a quaint
little restaurant nearby.
While we were eating, the wind
piped up and blew the cockpit
cushions and chart out of our boat.
We retrieved everything OK, but
did you ever try to navigate on a
waterlogged chart! The wind was
so strong that we had doubts about
being able to leave the dock. While
we were hanging around, John and
Hillary Burgess showed up towing
Shoestring. Getting it ready to
launch, a fitting on the mast broke
so they gave up and headed for
home.
Later in the afternoon, the winds
abated a little so, with a little ingenuity, we were able to get away
from the dock safely. We motored
to Beau Rivage Provincial Park and
found enough dock space to accommodate our group for the night.
This is an interesting little island
and worth exploring if you have the
time.
By this time - it's Monday morning
- we're wondering about the rest of
the group; Tabber J, Sandpiper
and the Cleveland s Polly IV from
Wellesley Island -- also Robert
Pacquette on Compromis. A few
minutes after 8, we heard Tabber
talking to Carpe Diem so we knew
that the group from Wellesley Island were on their way.
Good wind. We followed Mike
Morris on About Time and took a
peek at "The Forty Acres" but it
was too windy to try it so we went
into the Bateau Channel and headed
(Continued on page 13)
Fall 2004
...The Cruise from Hell...
Faire Jeanne through the gloom
west toward Kingston. The Bateau
and fog. I took a couple of pictures
Channel is a long narrow waterway
but I wasn't sure they'd turn out.
between Gananoque and Kingston Within a couple of hours the wind
just north of Howe Island. We
calmed down a bit and so did the
were able to sail almost all the way
waves. Later, it turned into a pleasuntil the channel turned toward the
ant sail with a little bit of sun, 10-12
wind. We picked up
Robert Pacquette enroute to
Kingston. He made radio
contact and came out of his
launch marina in time for a
perfect intercept. We arrived in Kingston about
1:30 and docked at the
Confederation Basin Marina. The entire group
went to dinner at the Kingston Brewing Company,
just a short walk from the
marina. Kingston is a nice,
large city and well worth
Faire Jeanne through the gloom and fog
taking an extra day to look
knots of wind and one foot waves.
around. The next day provided an
We arrived at the Loyalist Cove
opportunity for most of the group to
Marina in Bath, Ont., about a quardo just that.
ter after three. We weren't even
On Tuesday morning, "the weather
close to Picton and it was much too
was not nice", to quote my log
late to even think about it.
rainy and windy. Between rain
That evening, someone from the
showers, I filled my gas can at a
marina staff came out and delivered
nearby Shell station, sampled Tim
a message from the group at KingHorton's blueberry fritters and wanston. They decided to scrub the leg
dered back to the marina. We
of the cruise to Picton and Desemilled around trying to decide what
ronto and sail directly to Cape Vinto do. Picton was about 35miles
cent in the morning. Good deciaway, the wind was about 20 kts.
sion.
and it was getting late. About
10:15, Bob Borden and I decided to
To quote our log: "We left the mahead out. The remaining eight skiprina about 9:30 with almost no
pers elected to stay and explore
wind; we made 2-3 kts for the first
Kingston.
hour, then 3.5 - 4. Later, it piped up
big time." After we rounded the NE
We motored out into the murk
end of Amhurst Island and got into
about 10:30 and put up a double
the main part of the lake, we had
reefed main and a storm jib. Bob
about 25 - 30 knots of wind with
flew a jenny only - no main. We
meter plus waves (call it almost
were making about 5 knots. Waves
four feet). Maneuvering in that
were about a half meter at the start
kind of wind and waves is difficult
but the wind piped up a bit and the
especially for the single handers
waves built to near one meter.
who can't let go of the tiller to
About noon, we saw the brigantine
(Continued from page 12)
Clipper Snips
Page 13
shorten sail. We must have had a
lot of leeway because Tabber J and
Trojan got perilously close to some
shoaly areas. And we heard another
skipper with a navigation problem like "where am I?".
Once we got onto the St. Lawrence
River with the wind behind
us, things calmed down a
bit. As we neared Cape
Vincent, we overtook
About Time and Mike motioned to us to come closer.
He had a problem
no,
two problems; 1) his radio
wasn't working and 2) he
couldn't start his outboard.
I radioed ahead to Sandpiper who was already in the
marina and asked them to
give him hand signals to
show him where to dock
and to have people ready to
assist him in docking. It worked
out well. He probably did better
under sail than I did using the outboard. Due to the wind, waves and
surge in the marina, some of the
boats were tossed around quite a
bit. Roger Davis's boat, Cerulean
took a bad hit and the dock chewed
off part of his rub rail. He moved
the boat to a calmer location. The
group is now split. Carpe Diem,
Harmony II, and Compromis are at
Beau Rivage; the Clevelands went
to Wellesley Island and WindBlown, Sandpiper, Tabber J, Cerulean, About Time and Trojan are at
Cape Vincent. We cleared US Customs and went into town for dinner.
Next morning was bright and clear.
About Time, assisted by Tabber J,
went to a nearby launch ramp.
Mike had to take a ferry back to
Ontario to get his tow vehicle and
return to pull the boat out. The rest
of us continued on to Clayton, New
York, home of the Antique Boat
(Continued on page 14)
Fall 2004
...The Cruise from Hell
(Continued from page 13)
Museum (well worth an afternoon s
visit). In addition, Jan and I got a
personal tour of the Faire Jeanne
which just happened to be docked
there. It is a replica of a brigantine
(hermaphrodite brig) and was built
in 1982. The construction is fiberglass over a steel frame. The original owner sailed it across the Atlantic several times. It is now used as
a training vessel for youth and is
also available for cruises for special
groups.
The rest of the group left Clayton
before we did. One word about the
transient dock at Clayton - don't
dock there. There is a bad surge in
Clayton Harbor and it really beats
up the boats on that dock. We had
some minor damage from our three
hour stay. We took off down river
on a dead run through the American
Narrows heading for Keewaydin
State Park, which is a mile or so
SW of Alexandria Bay. Going under the Thousand Islands Bridge on
I-81, we were making 7.5 knots
with a full main and a working jib
and a little help from the current.
Keewaydin State
Park has a nice
marina. It is
well protected
and has a launch
ramp, pumpout,
gas, ice, etc.
Long term parking is $2 a day,
$10 a week and
$125 for the season.
We left the marina at midmorning and
sailed past Alexandria Bay and the
Boldt Castle, turned north between
some islands into the Canadian
Middle Channel and headed west.
We went under the highway bridge
at Georgina Is. and continued
through the intricate channel all the
way to Canoe Point again. Roger
Davis went into Wellesley Island to
pull out. We got together on Sandpiper and had a smashingly good
party with Seibert's home made
wine. (You missed it, Roger) The
three of us went back to Wellesley
Island in formation the following
Boldt Castle
morning. Bob Bordon and the
Seiberts are super efficient; they
had Tabber J and Sandpiper derigged and ready to roll before Jan
and I got Trojan out of the water.
For those of you in the North East,
the Thousand Islands area is a very
interesting place to sail. And it's
nice to go along with someone who
has been there before; which is the
biggest benefit of our T/SA membership.
Tom Larimer
Starting A Stubborn Diesel Engine...
Lowell Loweke
Diesels are generally more difficult
to start than a gas engine. Diesels
use the heat generated from compression pressure, and not spark
plugs to ignite the fuel mixture.
Because of this characteristic, diesels generally start harder when the
air temperature is colder. This is,
of course, because the cooler air
temperature that you begin with
lowers the combustion temperature.
If you have a diesel in a small trailerable sailboat, it is going to be a
small diesel, most likely a one cylinder. One-cylinder (4-stroke) diesels are the hardest to start because
Clipper Snips
they only fire once, every other
revolution. A multi cylinder diesel
will fire more times in the same
time period and thus are easier to
get running. If your diesel falls in
the category of difficult to start, the
following points may help it start
quicker.
Assuming you are getting air and
fuel (in the correct quantities),
and the engine is adjusted correctly and has normal compression, cranking speed is the number one reason for a no start . If
the engine doesn t have the required cranking speed, it will not
Page 14
start. All Diesel s have different
minimum cranking speeds but
they are usually around 110
RPM. A high cranking speed not
only reduces heat loss from the
combustion chamber but improves swirl and fuel atomization as well as provides the necessary inertia to keep the engine
rotating if it does fire.
The battery must be in a fully
charged condition. You must
have starter cables in excellent
condition or you will experience
(Continued on page 15)
Fall 2004
...Starting A Stubborn Diesel Engine
(Continued from page 14)
a voltage drop between the battery and the starter motor during
cranking. Your battery may be
freshly charged and measure 12.6
volts, but the poor starter could
only be seeing 11 to 12 volts. To
maximize cranking RPM you
want to have the highest voltage
your system is capable of. I have
observed my 1GM10 to fail to
start, or even cough, if the battery
voltmeter says 12V. Switching to
the second battery that measures
a half-volt more will kick it off
right away. All voltmeters read
differently, but my point is, ½
volt at the starter motor makes all
the difference in the world when
it comes to starting. The electrical system on your diesel must be
kept in excellent condition.
Cranking at low voltage increases the current flow through
the starter and also builds up unwanted heat in the starter. Continuous cranking will burn out
the starter motor and you do not
want to go there.
If the weather is cold, then the
engine and lube oil are also cold.
Cold oil puts more friction in the
system and slows the cranking
speed. I use a 15W40 oil, which
works for me, but a thinner
10W30 oil would benefit a hard
starting engine. You also want to
make sure your marine gear is
using the proper weight oil and
not a high viscosity oil.
Because a diesel is a compression
ignition engine, the ambient air
temperature makes a difference
in start times. Raising the air inlet
temperature at the inlet manifold
during cranking results in a
higher temperature in the combustion chamber. If the temperature in the combustion chamber
isn t hot enough, the fuel will
Clipper Snips
never ignite. When you are
cranking your engine and it isn t
firing, you can help yourself by
fooling the engine into thinking
the ambient temperature is higher
than it is. To do this, simply preheat the air at the air inlet. An
electric hair dryer works wonders
if you have 110V available. If
not, I have used a propane torch
to heat the air in the intake. You
have to be careful and use common sense but these things will
get the engine running in an
emergency.
You can also increase the engine
cranking speed using your compression release. Crank the engine for a couple seconds with
the compression release on.
Then, with the engine still cranking, restore the compression. The
engine will be spinning a little
faster and it might fire when you
restore the compression. If the
engine doesn t fire, additional
cranking will probably have no
effect.
The compression pressure developed by the piston during cranking, heats up the combustion
chamber. By the same token,
each time the injector injects atomized fuel into the cylinder, the
fuel has the effect of cooling off
the heated air. If your engine and
starting system are not in peak
condition, this characteristic may
be responsible for a no start . If
you crank the engine for a few
seconds with the fuel shutoff in
the off position, the piston will
heat up the combustion chamber
without the cooling effect of the
injected fuel. Then while the engine is cranking, release the fuel
shut off and the injector will begin squirting atomized fuel into
the pre-heated combustion
chamber and a start is much more
likely to be obtained. This alPage 15
lows the heat generated during
cranking to pre-heat the combustion chamber. Generally,
most diesels have a governor that
forces them to start in the full
fuel position, so adjusting the
throttle probably will make no
difference.
When you do get the engine
started, make sure all the fuel
lines and fittings are leak tight. A
loose connection on the suction
side of the fuel pump will cause
the fuel system to suck air and
aerate the fuel. If you have aerated fuel, it will make starting
that much more difficult, if not
impossible. If your fuel becomes
aerated when the engine is running, the engine will begin to
miss and lose power dramatically.
Also, if the engine injection timing is not correct, it will make a
big difference on whether you
start or not. The engine is a compression ignition device. The position of the piston in the cylinder
determines the amount of compression (and heat) in the combustion chamber. If the piston is
on the upstroke, the compression
(and heat) is building. If it is on
the down stroke the cylinder is
decompressing (and cooling).
Since the amount of compression
in the cylinder determines the
temperature in the combustion
chamber, you want to squirt the
fuel into the combustion chamber
when it is the hottest. That point
is a small degree band when the
piston is at or near top dead center. Squirting atomized fuel into
the combustion chamber prematurely will not initiate ignition if
the compression temperature is
too cold. By the same token, you
do not want to squirt atomized
(Continued on page 16)
Fall 2004
...Starting A Stubborn Diesel Engine
(Continued from page 15)
fuel into the combustion chamber
too late (after top dead center)
because the pressurized air will
have already reached its maximum temperature and will be
cooling down as the compression
ratio decreases.
As a last result, if nothing else
works, you have starting ether.
Starting ether ignites at a lower
temperature and can be used if
the engine is unable to raise the
combustion temperature enough
to initiate ignition. You do not
want to go there unless it is absolutely necessary. Squirting too
much ether into the inlet system
could seriously damage the engine. Starting ether is generally
used if the engine is worn out
and the compression ratio has
deteriorated to the point where it
will no longer raise the combustion temperature high enough to
support compression ignition.
Another time, it may be neces-
sary to use starting ether, is in
sub-zero temperatures and the
engine just needs a little help to
get it firing. However, this most
likely will not result unless you
are cruising in the Arctic!
Diesels, like all engines and other
mechanical devices, require a little
maintenance and TLC. If you treat
them nice, they will not let you
down!
lowell loweke
lloweke@hotmail.com
From the T/SA Web Discussion List ...
John Coppedge, Board Moderator
The following is a synopsis of the
threads on the TRAILSAIL message
board that are, I think, of interest to
most members.
Phones in North Channel
Jack Johnson: Sam's Club phone
cards cost 3.47 cents per minute for
calls within the US. It can also be
used to call outside the US but you
get charged more.
Robert Paquette: Wal-Mart
phone cards charge by the minute.
A call to or from a phone anywhere
in Canada or USA, the cost is the
same. The best deal I've seen so far.
Rod Brandon: Our experience is
that you can use your cell phone
anywhere you can see Manitoulin
Island. Even at the very protected
Croker Island anchorage, if you
climb to the top of the hill, you can
get service.
water.
Walt Murek: The instructions
advise you to not mount it on a
horizontal rail, as it's almost impossible to make it tight enough to stop
this from happening.
John Coppedge: We bought a
small round propane grill from
Wal-Mart for around $10. I altered
the lid so it hinges and added fasteners so guts can't fall out or even
move. The thing is fastened to the
stern rail with galvanized electrical
conduit and SS hose clamps. Forming the conduit was the only part
that took and thought or luck - it
took a couple of tries to get it right.
The assembly can be mounted (or
taken off the boat) in a couple of
min. and, once on, is quite solid
and cannot rotate or move. Total
investment - about $15.
Boat Grills
Trailerable Trawler (Rosborough
246)
Dutch Junge: Be careful when
you mount a grill. My brother put
one on his Catalina and it spun on
the rail dropping all the food with
all the guts from the grill into the
Steve Gilchrist: Someone at Scarborough Bluffs Sailing Club has
one, and I'm told he (they) is quite
thrilled with it. It looks quite good
- almost a houseboat with tons of
Clipper Snips
Page 16
interior room, but much more seaworthy.
Dan Simpson: I spoke an owner
who said the Rosborough cruised
about 12 knots and was very comfortable and roomy for the two of
them for extended cruising. His
was very well equipped with radar
etc. He had twin 60 hp mercury o/
b's plus a 10-horse kicker for trolling, as I recall he said it only drew
about 18 inches of water yet cut
through the rough water pretty
well. I thought it looked very well
built.
Florida Launch Ramps
Jack Johnson: Hi, We launch at
Stuart. Nice ramp, storage of trailer
and tow vehicle at $2.00 per day.
Contact me for more information.
Trailer Wheel Bearings and
Brakes
John Myers: Most trailer axle
parts are for 2,000 lb., 2,500 lb.,
3,500 lb., 5,000 lb. etc. standard
axles. Most RV dealers, a few
(Continued on page 17)
Fall 2004
...From the T/SA Web Discussion List ...
(Continued from page 16)
boat dealers, K-Mart and Wal-Mart
carry bearings for them. I use Timken or New Departure - trailers are
no place for Chinese parts! I recommend you buy a spare hub, with
the bearings and seals. Grease and
install the bearings, put a new nut,
washer and cotter pin in the dust
cap, then duct tape over the rear
seal and place in a small box somewhere in your vehicle.
Rich & Pat Zets: If you jack the
trailer up, spin a wheel, and work
the surge coupler (I use a piece of
2x4 as a lever) the wheel should
stop if the brakes are working. Do
the same for both sides.
Solar Chargers, anchor lights,
and batteries.
Allen Egenriether: Our 10 Watt
panel will let us monitor the radio
and still put a very small charge in
the battery in good light. We use a
depth sounder when entering anchorages, use one interior light for a
few minutes a night, and monitor
the radio for 4 or 5 hours a day
when the light is good. I use a digital voltmeter to monitor the state of
the battery's charge frequently.
Wayne Bell: I know of others who
have used rechargeable garden
lights as anchor light--works well if
the day has been sunny. LED
would work well also.
Rich Zets: I use two 6-volt golf
cart batteries (Sam s Club, about
$45 apiece) as my primary battery
source, which has a 200+ amp-hour
capacity. Davis has a masthead
anchor light that only draws .2
amps (224 ma) with the brighter
bulb, and .07 amps (74 ma) with the
less bright one. It comes with a
dusk to dawn auto sensor switch in
it.
John Clement: We can get along
Clipper Snips
with a 10 watt panel with frugal use
of power and a low watt Mega anchor light. You typically get about
2/3 rated wattage from solar panels
during good sun - maybe a total of
some 4 - 6 amp hours a day. This
will run the VHF, depth, GPS,
Davis anchor light, and prudent of
cabin lighting. A digital multimeter
is a must, for tracking battery voltage (state of charge), current draw
and tracking solar panel performance. You don t want to discharge a
battery more than 50% of its capacity or you will erode its performance.
John Myers: The Solar Panels you
mentioned are for maintaining a
batteries charge not for charging a
battery. Wet cell batteries loose 1%
of their charge per day without being used. The LED units made for
cars are not all that efficient they
are wired in parallel. Currently fluorescents are the most efficient lights
for general lighting even on D.C.
Laurence Wright: We have a 30watt amorphous (flexible) solar
panel. This seems to recharge our
battery (rated at 120 minutes reserve power, which I reckon is
about 50AH) from 11.80 volts to
full charge in about five hours.
While the amorphous panels are
less efficient under perfect operating conditions, they're more efficient in the real world and are more
nearly bulletproof. The flexible
panels are also very thin, and can
also store under a bunk cushion
when not in use.
Porta-Potty in Canada
Rod Brandon: Assuming portapotty can be plumbed, all that is
required is a waste deck fitting, a
vent fitting, hose and clamps. If
you only wish to have it plumbed in
for rare occurrences, you could put
a deck fitting and vent in a piece of
Page 17
plywood mount it in the forward
hatch. (That way you'd be in full
compliance and yet you can easily
convert back and not have holes in
your boat. The receipt (for dumping a portapotty) is evidence that
you have broken the law.
Howard Staley: I purchased the
SaniPottie Model 541094, with the
pumpout accessories because it had
the largest tank (5.2 gal). It can be
used as a regular porta potti and/or
as a pumpout unit. I plumbed it
with the through deck pumpout capabilities. I did not run a vent line
as recommended, but you must
have the slide valve open at least a
¼ inch during pumpout. I still have
the option of "carrying" the holding
tank to shore if necessary.
John Coppedge: We have one of
the convertible potties with the
standard plastic screw type (no key)
fitting on deck. We have never had
a problem with adaptors in Georgian Bay or North Channel.
On our last trip to the FL Keys, we
had an interesting time trying to
find a place to dump it. The marinas
could pump you out but had no
place they were willing to let us
dump it.
Laurence Wright: A few points
concerning porta-potties needs to be
clarified:
1. It is the provincial government
(Ontario that regulates sewage discharge from boats. Canada Customs
does not inspect the toilets of boats
entering the country.
2. Porta potties are illegal in Ontario, unless they are PERMANENTLY fixed to the boat. If you
can remove it, it's illegal.
3. You are NOT illegal if you don't
have a toilet on your boat!
(Continued on page 18)
Fall 2004
...From the T/SA Web Discussion List
(Continued from page 17)
4. The penalty for being illegal is a
fine of CAN$150 (or approx.
US$105)
5. The Ministry of the Environment
did NO boat inspections between
1996 and 2000. In 2001 they hired
four students to do inspections for a
fact-finding operation.
John Myers: I am aware of only
two sizes of Pump out pipes. I
made an adapter using plastic pipefittings, a male to fit your tank and
a female for the larger size and used
it twice while in the North Channel
with the group in 2001.
Dinghy
John Clement: We use a 8 ft
wooden dinghy ("Sabotina" design)
hat we carry on a roof rack when
trailering and tow behind our P23
when cruising. Tows and rows
well, but does not fit in or on the
P23.
Howard Staley: We use a hard
shell kayak as our dingy in the
North Channel. It lets us enjoy all
the nooks and crannies of the anchorage sites. It glides so easily that
you don't even think about wanting
a motor. It tows very easily both
when under sail, and motoring. It
can also fit (although very tightly)
on the deck of our Neptune 24, if
required.
John Coppedge: We have the
smallest real rubber dingy I have
ever seen with a slat floor. We tow
it rarely (costs us ½ knot or more
and dealing with it in a squall it
something we didn t want to
chance). Blowing it up is a bit of a
pain, but an electric blower helps
(careful, electric pumps use 4 to 6
amps). The bad part is manhandling
it in or out of its home. In spite of
all that we can generally launch it
within 15 min or so.
Clipper Snips
Mike Nelson: A few years ago we
encountered Steve Christensen on
his P-23 who was using an 8 ft Folboat--he claimed that, folded, it fit
along the quarterberth below while
under way. It sets up easily, and
seemed to row fairly well.
Walt Murek: There are also nesting dinghies available (bow and
stern sections that bolt together and
the bow fits inside the stern for
storage). I think I also saw a plan
one time in wooden boat magazine
for making one.
Tim Ruggles: I ended up buying a
Bombard AX-3 with a slatted floor
and a Tohatsu (same as Nissan) 3.5
HP with forward and neutral. We
added a separate inflatable thwart
seat. On long open water passages
with any chance of high wind or
waves, I deflate it and stow it on
deck or down below.
Refrigeration
Dan Bodnar: I converted the
Coleman cooler that was built in to
a thermo-electric cooler, with space
for an ice in a sealed container and
mounted on a bulkhead adjacent to
the V-birth. It works well for day
trips. It is also very quiet. It does
generate a fair amount of heat and
must be protected from any and all
moisture.
John Coppedge: We get around
the problem by having a cooler
with an ice capacity of around 10
gal and starting out with almost
everything frozen. Even so, we are
generally good for the first week
and then need ice every 2 or 3 days.
Any feasible alternatives I have
found would buy a huge amount of
ice.
Rich & Pat Zets: I have found
that the air temp in the cabin is 1020 degrees cooler than the outside
air, which raises the efficiency of
Page 18
the unit. I have no ice melt while
running the unit. I double insulated
the icebox and use a separate double cooler for ice storage. We wrap
the ice in towels and in both the
icebox and cooler fill the voids with
that reflective milar curtain material
to cut down on air currents. Most
times we are good for 4-5 days,
even if it exceptionally hot.
Laurence Wright: On Abuelita,
we're trying to approach this by a
different route. We have an efficient Igloo cooler, which keeps ice
for four to five days.
No Refrigeration Meals
Howard Staley: For dinner, Lipton, "Pasta in an envelope" with
canned chicken, canned homemade
spaghetti; meatballs, beans, tomatoes; pesto with angle hair; store
bought chipped beef to combine
with cream sauce for that old Navy
tradition (of s#!@% and shingles;
and egg meals. Eggs coated with
cooking oil will keep unrefrigerated
for two weeks. We also carry
canned juices (cooled at a dept of
15 ft. overnight), mandarin oranges,
canned vegetables, jasmine rice,
potatoes, dried (cooked) bacon and
hamburger. For the first two or
three days we eat food we take frozen.
John Schilling: I use the Hormel
"Dinty Moore" meals, Banquet
plastic bags of stews, flavored noodles with a small can of chicken or
tuna, and "Indian" Dal meals
(sometimes with meat). For Lunch I
use lots of Raman noodles, Thai
noodles and tortilla with peanut
butter and honey, and fruit
"leathers" or I heat cans of Hormel
or Armour of ravioli, etc the AM
and put in a small thermos. For
breakfast, oatmeal or cheerios with
dried fruit, dried milk (yuck) and
Tang. For the first 5 days I have
Fall 2004
Rigging a Self-Tacking Jib on a Small Boat
John Burrows
I have always had a problem sailing Zed Two, my Rhodes 22, sin-
wanted burden on my aging body
and equally aged standing rigging.
Because of all
this, I usually
decline to set
out if the winds
are forecast to
be in the teens,
and thereby
miss some of
the best sailing
weather.
So I decided to
set about trying
HeadSail Fuhrled
to rig a smaller,
self-tacking jib
gle-handed when the wind got
for stronger winds. General Boats
(the Rhodes people) offer their own
much over 10 knots. Beyond this
version at a whopping $1.750! I
point, the boat starts to get overtherefore set out to make my own.
powered by its 175% Genoa, and I
The process involved 5 steps.
have long since found little joy in
sailing on my ear. I can of course,
1. I wanted a boomed sail, so the
partially furl the rolling-furler sail,
first need was to find a sail,
which, while
but that distorts the sail shape and
large enough
reduces its pointing ability. Also,
in total area,
even with partial furling, I still
can easily
have a hard time handling the
swing across
sheets in a blow, putting an unthe bow without fouling the
forward
shrouds. I
found a used,
high-aspect
sail from Bacons, which
came originally, I think,
from either a
Soling or Star.
Surprisingly, it
is made from heavy grade cotton
- the first all-cotton sail seen by
Bacons in years and came
complete with heavy-duty clips.
Clew Attachment
Clipper Snips
2. A friend gave me an old dinghy
whisker pole, which I cut down
to size. The forward end attaches to an eyebolt I fitted on
the deck, just abaft the furled
Genoa, and the tack and clew of
the jib attach to either end of the
Page 19
boom.
3. I had to fit an additional forestay
that could be easily rigged or
unrigged, because the furled
Genoa would still be in place. I
have a rope stay, the upper end
of which is permanently attached
some % way up the mast. When
in use, the lower end is attached
to the same eyebolt that the
boom is attached to. When not
in use, the lower end is made fast
to a cleat on the mast.
4. The all-important sheet. The
precise layout for this is still a
work in process, and further
modifications may be made with
more experience. The present
arrangement has a short length of
line running between the two
forward shrouds. This serves as
the traveler. The sheet itself
leads from the tail of a block that
runs ++on the traveler, through a
Two Headsails
single block attached to the end
of the boom, then through a
small lead block on the mast, and
back to a cleat on the cabin top
(See photo)- giving a mechanical
advantage of 2.
5. The easy part - hoisting and lowering. I have a halyard and a
lightweight downhaul, both of
which lead back to the cabin top.
(Continued on page 20)
Fall 2004
Rigging a Self-Tacking Jib on a Small Boat
Wing N-Wing Headsails
Traveler/sheet rig
(Continued from page 19)
Thus I can raise the sail from the
cockpit, and when lowering the
sail, the downhaul ensures that
the sail is quickly
doused and brought
under control. This
way I do not have
to leave the cockpit
- except for the inevitable foul-up we
all make from time
to time!
I am still testing the
new rig, but so far
it seems to work very well. The sail
is fully self-tending, the sheet needs
very little effort to adjust, and the
boat points 5-10° higher than with
the Genoa. I have so far only sailed
in 12-15 knots of wind, but at those
speeds the boat is a joy to sail. In
lighter winds, I have had fun deploying both Genoa and S/T jib simultaneously (See photo). If anyone is interesting in fitting a similar
rig, I would be happy to share my
experience.
John Burrows
We Do It
A collection of notes from T/SA members about their trailer/sailing experiences.
Recent members Gary and Celeste
Felix of Omaha Nebraska trailed
their Rob Roy 23 Aegir to the
North Channel in the summer of
2003 and had a grand time. Gary
wrote the following note concerning Claiborne Young s article,
Cruising the West Coast of Florida.
Back in 1993, when Celeste's and
my sailing experience consisted
of nothing larger than a Hobie 16,
we chartered a 30' Catamaran for
a long weekend out of a marina at
Isles of Capri, between Naples
and Marco Island. We sailed
down to the Indian River, went up
Clipper Snips
it to Everglades City, and back.
In the last Clipper Snips, I chuckled at the Claiborne Young article. He related the tale of the Indian River anchorage and fishing
fleet traffic as if it happened to
him, which it may have. But in
his cruising guide circa 1993,
there was no mention of boat traffic. So, Celeste and I anchored
there on our first night out. The
fishing fleet encounter happened
to us exactly as he described.
After we returned from our trip, I
wrote him a letter for which he
thanked me and published the
letter in his Salty Southeast news-
Page 20
letter. What are the odds of seeing that tale in print again 10
years later!
Bob Hodgson wrote concerning
our Association flag:
120 MPH with the Nissan towing
his boat is not all surprising if
Laurence as carrying a T/S A
flag. There was an incident reported of a member rashly putting
two flags on his Yugo on his way
to Kentucky Lake, such was their
potency that he found himself in
San Francisco before he could
slow it to a halt. Bob Hodgson.
(Continued on page 21)
Fall 2004
...We Do It
(Continued from page 20)
Derek Henshaw added:
Bob, Your observations and cautionary story are most appreciated. It should also be pointed out
that if one were to fly one's T/SA
burgee whilst traveling by roadway that one should be most particular about on which part of the
vehicle it is flown. The undeniably dramatic forces involved (and
I do speak from the perspective of
a physics professional) would
predicate it to be displayed on the
tow vehicle. Displaying on the
trailer would create a most unfortunate condition whereby the
trailer would try with all of its
cunning to arrive at its destination
several minutes before the tow
vehicle. As this would be most
unfortunate since the boat would
undoubtedly want to be away
from the dock at the earliest opportunity, it is highly recom-
mended that steps be taken to
keep the whole matter in hand...
bolt the burgee to the front license
plate and avoid being "left behind."
Derek
New Members, Gene and Stella
Holland sail their Chrysler 26 Shalom out of their northern port of
Grand Rapids MI. They sail a
Newport Neptune 24 from their
winter home in Ft Meyers Beach
FL. Gene wrote a nice letter about
his sailing history and how he came
upon membership in the TSA:
It was with great joy that we
headed for the North Channel
from our slip in Hartshorn Marina
on July 1st. We sailed on to the
North Channel --visiting Detour,
Thessalon, Bear Drop, Little Current and a host of other areas.
What a surprise to see the fleet of
Trailer/Sailors in the Crocker Is-
lands anchorage. The invitation
to a blueberry pancake breakfast
and to join the fleet of Trailer/
Sailors was irresistible. Thank
you all for a wonderful time.
A standing invitation from the
Philip & Sheron Merilier who live
in Fellsmere FL and sail their Catalina 22, Swizzle Stick;
We would be happy to host other
T/SA members coming to FL to
sail. We could also store their
vehicle and trailer while they
cruise from one area to another.
We have ten acres behind a
locked gate. People could also
store their boat and trailer there
between cruises. Call or e-mail
for information and availability.
772 571 1593
basecamp97@yahoo.com
Send a note, about your boat to:
Dave Craigie
Dcraigie@aol.com
Trailer-Sailing 'Up North' in Michigan...
P. Karyn McDaniel
Each July, we pull our Chrysler 22
Celestial out of her homeport at
Prairie Creek Reservoir in Muncie,
Indiana, and head for Lake Michigan. Our favorite place to 'put in' is
Elk Rapids, Michigan. Situated on
the east side of Grand Traverse
Bay, it is a good starting point to
head to many other ports - depending on which direction the wind is
blowing. The town of Elk Rapids
provides eateries and shopping
within walking distance of the marina, and there is a convenient place
to leave your car and trailer for an
extended period of time. By far,
the Elk Rapids Marina is the finest
facility we've ever stayed at. It is
immaculate. They have a multitude
Clipper Snips
of transient slips, excellent launch
ramp facilities, friendly helpful
staff, and even fresh flowers in the
restrooms! Each time we 'put in' or
'take out' we remark that we should
allow more time to simply stay put
in Elk Rapids for a few days, as it
is such an enjoyable place to stay.
This year (2004) was a sunny 80degree day when we arrived at Elk
Rapids on July the third, perfect
weather for stepping the mast and
launching. The annual Cherry Festival was in full swing in Traverse
City, but unfortunately the local
cherries were not ready yet. We
usually stop at any one of the roadside stands along the highway from
Page 21
Traverse City to Elk Rapids. Little
did we know that in addition to
missing out on dark sweet cherries,
this day had the last sunshine and
warm weather for the next week.
This year the Celestial crew
[Donnie (49), Karyn (41), Emily
(14), Ellen (12) and Simon (the
dog!)] sailed 225 nm in twelve
days, visiting eight different ports.
It may sound as if we were really
hurried and on the move, but most
of the jaunts are pleasant day tripsthat is, when the wind and weather
cooperate!
Our first stop was to Charlevoix,
beating into the wind and waves in
(Continued on page 22)
Fall 2004
...Trailer-Sailing 'Up North' in Michigan...
ride into Round
Lake. A short
trip through
Round Lake
dumped us into
Lake Charlevoix.
We stayed at
Northwest Yacht
Club, just around
the bend.
Though it is a bit
pricier than the
municipals, we
opted for their
heated swimming
pool for the kids.
(Continued from page 21)
a very cold rain. Not a fun sail, but
the weather wasn't looking to improve over the next several days so
we decided to head out anyhow.
Cruising into Charlevoix is a unique
experience, as you must time yourself to reach the drawbridge that
opens on the hour and half hour.
With the current pulling you in
from Lake Michigan, and the traffic
of other boaters, it can get a little
hairy! Seeing that we were about
the only fools to be out in such miserable conditions, we had an easy
Hobos are a camping treat
we fix on the coals of an
open fire. It's hamburger,
diced onion, sliced potatoes,
carrots, green beans, peas,
and mushrooms all wrapped
together in foil. You melt
Swiss cheese on them when
they come out. Throw on a
loaf of garlic bread, fix some
fruit pies for dessert and you
have a complete meal. We
love 'em!
Karyn
Clipper Snips
The next several days were in the
low 60's, rainy, and cold, and the
forecast was not looking to improve. We could have day sailed
around Lake Charlevoix, to stay off
the big water, but instead we decided to move on. We had a south
wind behind us, and though it was
still cool and a bit squally, it was a
more comfortable ride (run) to Petosky in Little Traverse Bay. Unfortunately, Petosky brought more
rain, and even the locals were lamenting about the weather. It was
becoming evident that our wardrobe
of bathing suits, T-shirts and shorts
was not nearly enough...time for a
road trip. The local taxi took us to
Wal-Mart where
we bought sweats
for everyone, better foulies for the
kids, a rawhide for
the dog, and a
much-needed bag
of Oreo cookies!
This is beginning
to sound like the
weather was putting a damper on
our vacation.
While it would
have been nicer to
bask in the sunPage 22
shine up on the bow, we still made
our own fun, from shopping and
sightseeing, to sampling local restaurants, to exchanging books along
the way at used bookstores, to our
nightly game of cards. The rain
would stop on occasion, like in time
to fix hobos for supper on the grill.
Actually, the weather got to be a
joke. What are you going to do
anyhow? No point in getting upset.
A quick 45-minute sail across Little
Traverse Bay and you can port at
Harbor Springs. This is a favorite
stop among several of our sail club
members, but it was our first stay
there. Cruising in on our 1975
Chrysler 22, we were quickly humbled to see how the 'other half'
lives. To say there is quite a bit of
wealth in Harbor Springs is an understatement. We had no sooner
docked and made a quick walk
about town, when we met our
neighbors at the marina - a brand
new Palmer Johnson 142' motor
yacht. It took moving three other
boats and 45 minutes of maneuvering to get Regency docked an impressive sight. The Regency dinghy outboard engine was worth
more than our boat! We thought it
was quite comical, and the passersby's remarks were all in fun.
Regency & Celestial
(Continued on page 23)
Fall 2004
...Trailer-Sailing 'Up North' in Michigan...
(Continued from page 22)
Needless to say, Regency created
quite a stir. It's not often that Harbor Springs receives a 10 million
dollar, 10-man crewed motor yacht
at its marina. We discovered that
this was her second shake down
cruise, after being put in the water
at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. She
was on her way to her homeport, Ft.
Lauderdale. There was much
speculation and gossip surrounding
the ship, and it became a bit of a
circus with all of the onlookers
strolling the docks to take pictures.
We were taking all of the noise and
attention in stride until we were told
that there had been a request by Regency to have our boat moved.
days in a three-ring circus, the sun
finally shone, and it was time to
move on.
the locals and other boaters for a
treat on the lawn. Pat put out free
beer and wine for the guests and
brownies for the kids. When asked
if we could chip in on the party favors, she refused saying that it was
'her treat' and she just wanted everyone to have a good time.
Southeast winds allowed us to sail
on a comfortable 37 nm run to Beaver Island. Beaver Island is one of
our favorite destinations, a must
stay according to the kids. Bike
rental allows us to explore the isWhat started out as a band for enland, the toy museum is a hit with
tertainment, ended up being only
the kids, and they
have the best bakery
anywhere - located
right across the street
from the marina.
Beaver Island also has
two lighthouses, a
maritime museum, a
nice public beach,
It was suggested that Celestial was
some interesting isbringing down the value of the
land history to dis'neighborhood.' I am happy to
cover, a dive master
share that the harbormaster said he
to explore area shipwould not be moving our boat, as
wrecks, and some of
several boats had already been
the nicest people
moved to make room for Regency.
you'd ever care to
(Score one for the underdog!) Acmeet. The weather
tually, the harbormaster was very
was gorgeous (finally)
gracious, stopping by our boat to
and we made the most
see if we needed anything and if we
of it. Saturday afterDonnie (guitar) in concert at Beaver Island
were enjoying our stay. We really
noon sixteen sailboats
appreciated his kindness. In the
came into the harbor
two locals who showed up with
end, we decided that we have more
on a two-day race to/from Charletheir instruments. It was not a disfun on our boat and lead happier
voix. I don't think that Pat, the
appointment, however, as it ended
lives, than any of those who have
owner, and her staff have ever seen
up being 'open mike' night. Anmore material wealth. After two
so much activity in the marina at
other boater got his guitar, and folks
once! Everyone
took turns on stage sharing their
had slip space, and
talents and songs. After much
there was much
coaxing, (and a few glasses of
cajoling and story
wine) I was able to convince my
swapping amongst
husband to take the stage. He
the racers and
played guitar and sang with the othcruisers. On Saturers for nearly an hour. It was a riot!
day night, the marina posted a sign
The weather forecast was calling
that said "Music for south winds and only 1-2 ft.
8:00 pm". Our
seas, so we decided to head to the
family always is up
upper peninsula, to Manistique.
for some good muManistique is approximately 37
sic, so we joined
Charlevoix Ferry to Beaver Island
(Continued on page 24)
Clipper Snips
Page 23
Fall 2004
...Trailer-Sailing 'Up North' in Michigan...
them. All the
storefronts are
full, and it is
very much a
thriving small
town. It was
nice to experience the atmosphere of
Manistique,
away from the
usual 'tourist'
shops you
find at many
other ports.
Ellen (12) at the helm
They even
have a cin(Continued from page 23)
ema, so we treated ourselves to a
miles northwest of Beaver Island.
movie that night.
It was a gorgeous day for a sail;
One of the things we love the most
even the kids took a turn at the
about trailering our boat up to Lake
tiller.
Michigan, (aside from the sailing,
Coming into Manistique was a bit
of course!) is the people we meet
of a disappointment, as Lake Michialong the way. This trip was no
gan was crystal clear up to that
exception; from the harbormaster at
point. Unfortunately, a paper recyHarbor Springs, to Pat at Beaver
cling plant in Manistique has
Island, to the power boaters Sean &
caused the water to become a foul
Eileen and their girls, and to Lanny
tannin color- not very inviting.
and Cathy at Manistique.
However, the beautiful lighthouse
Lanny and Cathy are exceptional
on the jetties at the entrance of the
people. The day we sailed into Maharbor was welcome scenery.
nistique, Lanny was aboard his
As we idled into the harbor, we had
Catalina 22. He had purchased the
trouble calling the harbormaster on
boat just the week before, because it
the radio. There are only 22 slips at
"sounded like a good deal", and he
Manistique; 16 of those are tranwas anxious to get a hold of my
sient. The harbormaster was out
husband to get some help with his
mowing the lawn and couldn't hear
rig and sails. The mast was up, but
his radio! He was very kind, and
just barely, as only a few threads
the facilities are well tended. The
were holding his stays. In exchange
harbor sits in the city's park, with
for the help that Donnie provided,
plenty of room for the kids and dog,
Lanny insisted on doing something
and a beautiful view of the lightnice for us in return. He took our
house. A short walk under the tunfamily (and dog in tow) to see his
nel, and you are on Main Street, just
'little cabin in the woods'. Mind
a few blocks long. It reminded you
you, Lanny and his wife are probaof a step back in time - like to Maybly in their early sixties, but they
berry- where life is less hurried and
have the adventuresome spirit and
simpler. For a small town, Manisfortitude of people half their age.
tique really has a lot going for
They purchased some land with a
Clipper Snips
Page 24
hunting shack on it about six years
ago when Lanny retired. Since that
time, they have built quite a home
for themselves. They have their
own little piece of heaven there, and
it's become their summer home.
Lanny and Cathy then took us on a
tour of the area surrounding Manistique, and it is still quite wild and
wooly! Deer were standing along
the road in broad daylight. After
pointing out several sights, they
took us to Big Springs State Park to
see the natural springs. This was an
impressive sight, as you pulled
yourself by cable across the springs
on a glass bottom raft. It had rained
a bit when we first arrived, but the
sun came out and steam was rising
off the spring. It was simply gorgeous. The water is crystal clear.
You could watch the fish swimming
forty-five feet below. Big Springs
also has a nice gift shop, complete
with homemade ice cream. After
souvenirs and an ice cream cone,
and a stop at the local grocery store
for more supplies, they took us back
to our boat.
This is where things began to get
interesting. We were one of only
five boats at Manistique. Two other
powerboats were two retired couples from Wisconsin that had spent
the holiday up at Mackinaw Island.
After some engine troubles, they
were anxious to return home. We
also had a fair amount of sailing
ahead of us to eventually get back
to Elk Rapids. All day the weather
forecast called for severe thunderstorms through the late afternoon.
Though the sky looked threatening
at times, we only received a few
rain showers that didn't amount to
much. Nevertheless, we all continued to listen to the weather radio,
and we spread out our charts to
chart a course in the GPS. The
(Continued on page 25)
Fall 2004
...Trailer-Sailing 'Up North' in Michigan...
(Continued from page 24)
wind was right out of the north,
which would allow us to make a
run- the decision was whether to go
back to Beaver Island or continue
straightaway to Northport.
Since this was our third year on
Lake Michigan, and we got as far as
the Upper Peninsula, my husband
and I decided that we were ready to
make an overnight passage to
Northport. It seemed that the
storms had moved through, and the
overnight forecast called for north/
northwest winds at 5-15 knots, and
only 1-2 ft seas, building to 3-4 ft.
seas the next day. We calculated
that if we left at 10:00 pm, charting
a course in three legs, we'd travel
about 65 nautical miles to Northport. We hoped to get into Northport around 10:00 am the next
morning.
The power boaters decided to stay
put, to see how the weather faired
the next day. We were comfortable
with our plan though, and the kids
liked the idea of being able to sleep
through a longer passage. It was a
gorgeous sunset at 9:40pm, and we
sailed out of the harbor before it
was hard dark. The first three hours
were just as the forecast had predicted; nice steady winds and easy
following seas. We motorsailed,
and at times were wing-on-wing as
we enjoyed a star-filled night overhead. My husband even saw a
passing satellite and a shooting star.
It was looking to be a pleasant passage. I sent my husband down below to grab a nap, and I took the
tiller. Now only I can appreciate
what a feat this is for me to take the
tiller, alone, in the dark of night,
even under the mild conditions.
Suffice it to say that early on I had
to become acclimated to sailing; I
was not a 'born-sailor'. Sadly, my
calm turn at the helm only lasted
Clipper Snips
about twenty
minutes!
I had a
freighter to my
starboard side,
which looked
to be on a
course straight
for us, I had
lightning striking at a distance on my
port side, and
straight ahead
the stars had
disappeared
and the sky
was inky black! Because my husband can fall asleep in a matter of
three breaths, I kept calling for him
but he couldn't hear me. In the
meantime, the wind had picked up
significantly, as had the waves, and
I was not comfortable trying to hold
a wing-on-wing in those circumstances. I pulled in the mainsail,
changed course a few degrees,
brought in the jib some more, and
continued to call for my sound-
knot winds, with gusts to 40 knots.
In no time the seas were 4-6's, and
by 4:00 am they were 6-8's. We
have never had Celestial at more
than 6.5 knots, but this trip she flew
- surfing waves steadily at 7.5+. At
some point in the night the GPS
clocked us at 9.3 knots! I knew the
boat would handle just fine, and I
trusted my husband to manage as
well, so after 1:30 am I went down
below. My only concern throughout the night was for the kids, as
We ve never had Celestial at more one of our daughters is a bit
frightened of sailing even under
than 6.5 knots, but this trip she
the best of circumstances. By
flew - surfing waves steadily at
far, this was the worst of circum7.5+. At some point in the night
stances we had ever experienced.
Surprisingly, the kids did great.
the GPS clocked us at 9.3 knots!
The pitching and rolling became
a bit of a joke as well, with
books and clothes flying about, the
asleep husband! The kids finally
dog going airborne a few times, and
heard me, and woke Donnie to
the unfortunate timing of an overaccome out. For someone who seltive bladder! Again, there was no
dom takes the tiller, this was a lot
point in getting upset about it, as we
happening for me in a short amount
had no choice but to carry on. The
of time! Donnie took over, and I
kids quipped that it felt like they
stayed with him for another half
were on the Mayflower crossing the
hour or so until things settled down
Atlantic.
and we could make sense of what
By 4:00 am, I heard the mainsail
we were dealing with.
jibe one too many times and I went
It became obvious that we were in
(Continued on page 26)
for a blow. We had sustained 25-
Page 25
Fall 2004
...Trailer-Sailing 'Up North' in Michigan...
North and South Fox Island were
the weather radio to listen to the
up to see what all the slamming was
coming up, but it seemed prudent to
forecast. I replied, "What in the
about. It was taking every bit of
h**l do we need a weather forecast
stay on course. Celestial was takDonnie's concentration to handle
ing it all just fine - the kids were
for, we're right smack in the middle
the 6-8 foot following seas. It was
fine- the dog was fine. Surprisof the weather!" It broke the tenconstant pushing and pulling on the
ingly, I never felt the least bit
sion for the moment, and caused a
tiller to ride the waves just right.
scared - or concerned for that matchuckle, as the weather forecast was
One slip in concentration would
ter. (Not even when I was clamorobviously wrong to begin with.
have put us broadside to the waves
ing on top after the traveler
As we listened to the waves ride up
and we could have been in trouble.
snapped.) I trusted my husband and
and break behind us, and we caught
It seemed to me that he had too
the boat completely. I also knew
the backs of the waves in our bow
much sail out, and between the
that if I let fear creep in, it would be
lights, we decided it was probably
wind and the waves he was overinfectious to the whole family, and
best that we opted for an overnight
powered. The next jibe caused the
we were just a little over half way
sail. Had we been in this mess in
traveler to snap and sent our
broad daylight, we might
mainsail swinging out over the
have completely fallen
port side of the boat. I clamapart! What is that phrase
bered up on top of the boat to
about it is 'always darkest
grab a line whipping in the
before the dawn'? (Or somewind. As soon as Donnie could
thing to that effect) That
hold the line, the sails were
was certainly true for us bedropped completely so he could
cause from 4-5:00 am, just
make a quick repair. The girls
before dawn, the wind was
passed up his tool kit, and
gusting 45-50 knots, and the
thankfully I have a husband
waves were a constant 6-8
who knows how to fix things
feet with some confused
quickly. While he was workseas thrown in for good
ing, I was left to hold the tiller
measure.
(not my favorite job to have
By 6:00 am, the wind had
under these conditions). I
abated some, though we
glanced at the GPS during all
were still sailing with the jib
this mess to see that we were
McDaniel s at Big Springs State Park in Manistee
only. The waves were still
still sailing at 3 knots under
6-8's, and we were amazed
bare poles! To say the wind was
at
the
size
of them, especially comthere. I decided the best I could do
howling is an understatement.
pared to our small boat. It was kind
was to stay in the cockpit with
In no time Donnie had the traveler
of fun really. I'd watch a big one
Donnie. I called out the bearing
repaired, the main pulled in, and I
come up from behind, warn my
numbers and course to him as he
secured the sail. At this point she
husband to hang on, and away we'd
steered, so he could give the tiller
felt more stable with the jib only. I
surf. We got a kick out of the GPS
his full concentration. We really
could see that in all of this Donnie
clocking our speed. The girls were
worked well together in this way,
was beginning to get weary, and
finally able to doze, and by 7:00 am
and I at least felt useful in the lousy
perhaps concerned, too, but I could
I went down below to tidy things up
conditions.
not take the tiller to relieve him.
a bit and nap. I woke up around
I mentioned earlier that when we
There was simply too much wind
8:30 am, just as we passed Grand
were in a situation beyond our conand wave action for me to hang on Traverse Light. Soon after, a larger
trol, it was best just to make a joke
it jerked me from my seat. We discabin cruiser sped by us heading
of things, as there was no point in
cussed ditching our sail plan and
out. A few short minutes later we
getting upset. Somewhere in the
trying for Beaver Island, but we
heard him call the Coast Guard on
dark of night, in the midst of all this
were too far west, and we had no
his radio to say that he was in 6-8'
chaos, Donnie calls to me to grab
desire to sail on a beam reach.
(Continued from page 25)
(Continued on page 27)
Clipper Snips
Page 26
Fall 2004
...Trailer-Sailing 'Up North' in Michigan
(Continued from page 26)
seas and NO small craft should be
out in this weather. No kidding!
We just came through that mess.
We think he was talking about us.
As we continued on into the western arm of Traverse Bay, the waves
subsided to 3-4's, comfortable
enough for us to want to eat some
breakfast. A mile out from Northport Marina we called into say we
were on our way and wanting slip
space. Donnie mentioned we had
just made a crossing over night
from the U.P., and he was hoping
they could find a slip available for
us. Word must have spread
quickly, for by the time we docked
our boat, several folks came up to
ask if we were the "little boat" that
had been sailing overnight. I was
extremely proud, of all of us, for
maintaining the right frame of mind
to safely see us through a very long,
treacherous night. I was especially
proud of the girls- they were in-
store, and our favorite eatery,
Woody's Settling Inn. We were a
little disappointed though to discover that many storefronts are now
closed. I hope this isn't a foretaste
of things to come, as Northport had
always been another one of our favorite stops. Since there was a prevailing north wind, and we had seen
all we cared to see of Northport, we
headed south the next afternoon to
Sutton's Bay. We weren't able to fit
Sutton's Bay in our trip last year,
and the kids wanted to return there
for the "cool science store". In a
matter of a few hours we were pulling into Sutton's Bay, where nearly
all of their transient slips were vacant. As soon as we tied down and
stepped off the dock, we remembered why we love Sutton's Bay so.
Like several other places we've
been, the marina is located next to
the city park. There's a nice marine
store at the top of the hill to pick up
any hardware or supplies, and the
town itself
is alive
with shops,
antiques,
taverns,
and boutiques. We
turned the
kids loose,
and all
went our
separate
ways to do
some souvenir shopping. My
husband
Donnie and Simon (the dog)
and I were
doing some
credible through it all- singing,
"boat browsing" while the kids
laughing, and making jokes.
shopped. There was an O'Day 25
parked on a trailer at the top of the
Our day in Northport took us to all
hill. Donnie called the owner, and
of our usual favorite places, Doghe came out to show us the boat.
Eared Used Books, the ice cream
Clipper Snips
Page 27
She has many more features than
our Chrysler 22; standing headroom, sleeps six, has a marine head,
a small galley, an anchor locker, a
hard-bottom dinghy, etc. The
thought of selling Celestial though
nearly made me feel sick and sad
inside; especially after the way she
took such could care of us in a
heavy blow.
The evening was spent stowing
away our packages, and discussing
the pros and con's of making an
offer on the O'Day. In the end, it
seemed that the O'Day will better
suit our needs in the coming years,
at least until the girls graduate from
high school and my husband is retired. It will be much more comfortable down below, we can still
trailer-sail, we have room for
guests, and no more taking apart the
V-berth to get to the porta-potty! In
the end, we decided to make an offer on the boat. As the girls and I
sorted through and stowed all of
our belongings for the return trip to
Elk Rapids, Donnie sealed the dealwe bought a boat! What a crazy
vacation.
The weather forecast was calling
for more rain (imagine that), so we
decided to forego the last day on
the lake in exchange for a Back-toSchool shopping trip at the Outlet
Mall in Traverse City. All in all it
was an eventful and fulfilling summer trip, and it couldn't have ended
on a sweeter note - the dark sweet
cherries were in season. We
stopped at a roadside stand just out
of Elk Rapids and gorged ourselves
on the long trip home!
Karyn
Fall 2004
Kansas Coastal Cruiser?
Laurence Wright
Joan and I have been sailing out of
Toronto for eight years. All that
time we ve owned Abuelita, an 18foot, drop-keel, Sandpiper 565.
Each year, we ve trailered her up to
Lake Huron s North Channel for
the T/SA annual cruise, and we
once took her down to Florida for a
couple of weeks. But I ve always
dreamed of longer voyages. One
reason I learned to sail was because, for as long as I can remember, I ve fantasized about spending
my retirement cruising among
tropical islands. Several years ago,
we started to plan our first long
trip: a six-month cruise in the Bahamas, which we ve provisionally
scheduled for the winter of 2006/7.
Our Sandpiper is obviously too
small for the task (we ve already
been finding her a bit cramped even
for a couple of weeks in the North
Channel). So we started to look for
a boat that was both large enough
to live aboard for six months and
sturdy enough to withstand possible
rough water while crossing the Gulf
Stream. It also had to be small
enough to trailer as we don t want
to spend several months getting to
and from Florida on the IntraCoastal Waterway. We wanted a
shoal draft, not just for ease of
launching but also to navigate the
shallow cuts of the Bahamas and to
enable us to snuggle into small
bays and to anchor in more protected waters.
After researching boats for more
than a year, I became convinced
that boats with twin keels held several advantages over those with
drop-keels. Twin-keel boats have
two shoal keels, one on either side
of the hull. They are very common
in England, where they are designed to be moored in tidal estuar-
Clipper Snips
ies, being able to sit upright on the
bottom when the tide goes out.
One of the advantages that a twinkeeler has over a drop-keel is that
there are no moving parts that can
fail, (I know of pivot pins that have
snapped on swing keels, pennants
that have broken, and keel/
centerboards where rust has frozen
the board inside its casing). Also,
being able to take the bottom when
the tide ebbs, allows the boat to be
moored even closer to shore than
most drop-keel boats, which usually have a stub keel that doesn t
allow the boat to sit upright on the
bottom.
However, of course, all boats are a
compromise. The downside of
twin-keelers is that they re slower
than most drop-keel boats. They re
built heavier (two keels are heavier
than one!) and there s more drag
below the waterline, because of
greater wetted surface. Also they
don t point as well. The upside is
that they re stiffer and can take
stronger winds (a definite plus in
the Bahamas, where 20 knot trades
are prevalent). They also tend to
yaw less on a run.
One further problem is that, twinkeelers are somewhat rare on the
North American market. With a
few exceptions, such as Tylercraft,
who produced a limited number of
boats on Long Island, and Clipper
Marine, who made a 23 footer with
twin keels in California, most
twin-keelers have been imported
from the UK. Very few are listed
for sale at any given time, and
those that are available are invariably more than 25 years old.
A few years ago, to get more information on these boats, I began subscribing to a quarterly newsletter/
magazine called Twin-Keeler that s
Page 28
mailed to some 135 subscribers.
Regular checking of classified ads
in Twin-Keeler and on-line listings
(such as www.boatraderonline.com,
www.sailboatowners.com and
www.usboat.com ) suggested that
the most feasible possibility would
be a Westerly, of which quite a few
turn up for sale in the US (and, very
infrequently, in Canada). In particular, one of their models stood
out: the 23 foot Pageant, of which
more than 750 were built between
1969 and 1979. The Pageant
weighs 4,300 lbs and has standing
headroom. While it s an extremely
well-designed and sea-worthy boat,
there were a few things about it that
I didn t like: there s very little
cockpit storage space, and the cast
iron keels are hard to rust-proof
(expansion and contraction when
stored on the hard in an extreme
climate like Toronto s means the
anti-rust coatings tend to flake and
peel off).
Then in the summer of 2003, TwinKeeler re-published a 1970 article
taken from the British magazine
Practical Boat Owner that reviewed a Vivacity 24. I realized at
once that this was the boat I
wanted. Weighing in at 4,200 lbs,
its LWL (of 20 9 ) is almost 2 feet
longer than the Pageant s and its
draft (at 2 6 ) is 4 inches less.
Also it has three huge cockpit lockers, and the keels are lead encased
in fiberglass, so there are no rustproofing problems. However, I
doubted I d ever find one for sale
on this side of the Atlantic. Not
many were built. In two years of
on-line boat searching, I d only
seen one Vivacity for sale in North
America (that was a 20 footer) and
only a few 24s listed in the UK.
(Continued on page 29)
Fall 2004
...Kansas Coastal Cruiser?
(Continued from page 28)
Realizing that our chance of owning
a Vivacity 24 was negligible, Joan
and I decided we would drive our
truck south in the winter of 2005, to
see if we could find a Westerly. In
the meantime we booked off the
last two weeks of July 2004, intending to take Abuelita up to the North
Channel for one last time. However
just before leaving, Joan learned
that she had to be in Toronto for an
important meeting during the second week of the vacation. So we
changed our plans, left Abuelita in
Toronto and drove up north for a
week, returning home the following
weekend. While Joan was preparing for her meeting, I did some
net surfing. And
there it was! A
Vivacity 24 listed
on sailboatowners.com, for sale
in Kansas. The
timing was perfect. After
Joan s meeting
we would still
have five days of
leave left: just
enough to drive
to there and back. I emailed the
owner and arranged to get together.
The day after Joan s meeting we set
of for Lake Cheney, about thirty
miles west of Wichita.
The obvious question was: what
was an obscure twin-keeled boat
built on the east coast of England
doing on a reservoir slap-bang in
the middle of the USA?
Our first surprise on arriving in
Kansas was the Ninnescah Sailing
Association, the sailing club where
the Vivacity was moored. Although the road leading to the club
wasn t paved with yellow bricks,
arriving there was almost as surreal
Clipper Snips
for us as Dorothy s landing in Oz. I
was expecting a primitive facility in
a parched setting. But though Lake
Cheney is just seven miles long, the
club is as nice a facility as any
yacht club I ve seen. Located
around two small bays at the south
end of the lake, surrounded by
trees, the club has an impressive
two-storey log clubhouse, and slips
for 160 boats, with yard space for
300. Among the boats in the water
we saw a couple of 32 footers and
some immaculate Beneteaus and
Hunters. All transported in and
destined to spend their lives on a
landlocked reservoir! The NSA
members we met were very friendly
Racing twin-keelers is like racing
cart-horses. (For comparison, the
MacGregor 26D has a Portsmouth
Yardstick rating of 92.6, the Catalina 25 is at 94.4 and the Precision
23 is at 95.8. The Vivacity 24 is at
101.8!).
Allen and I spent a sweat-soaked
day (the temperature peaked at 99
degrees) putting the boat on her
trailer and getting it ready for the
highway. Then at dawn the next
morning we set off for Toronto.
Trailering it home was quite a trip
(we almost lost the boat), and we
took a day longer than expected, but
that s another story
.
After I got back to Toronto, I emailed Jim Carlisle, the Commodoreelect at the club, who
had owned Shaken not
Stirred before Allen, and
asked him about the history of twin-keelers on
Lake Cheney. He replied:
and very helpful. Allen, the Vivacity s owner, had just bought an
O day 27. He d owned the Vivacity for four years and had re-named
it Shaken not Stirred. The name
was written in large letters on both
sides of the hull, along with a martini-glass emblem. Allen had had
some boat shirts made up, with
Shaken not Stirred on the front,
and written across the back, My
liver is bad, it must be punished !
The second surprise was that Allen s Vivacity was not the only one
that had been at the club. Apparently there used to be many of
them, and they used to be raced!
Page 29
There used to be a guy
named Jack Harper who
had a part time business
called "Mini Yachts"
and he sold twin keel
boats he found in England. This all
started about 1970. They usually
landed in Boston or Houston (mine
came to Houston) and were hauled
by their owners overland on a
trailer similar to yours. At one time
we had about 8 Alacrities, 10 Vivacities, 2 Snapdragons and a
twenty footer (I can't remember
what it was called). All the boats
have now dispersed to various locations, St Louis, Kansas City, Dallas,
etc. It was a sight to see all the Vivacities sailing together as a fleet.
I originally thought a twin-keeler
being in Kansas was bizarre. But
(Continued on page 30)
Fall 2004
...Kansas Coastal Cruiser?
(Continued from page 29)
twenty of them?
Shaken not Stirred is now sitting
on her trailer at Scarborough Bluffs
Sailing Club. Not long after arriving home, I fell and broke an arm,
so I guess we won t be taking her
out on the water this year. I think
we ll have to give her a new name
before we do. The Toronto Marine
Police have a low tolerance for
drinking and boating, and with a
name like her current one I can see
frequent boardings! Joan and I
haven t agreed on a name yet. I m
pushing for Not Anymore After all,
(to paraphrase Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ) she s Not in Kansas
Anymore
BoatUS and the Trailering Club
I received the following note:
Dear Joe,
I was looking on the Boat/US web
page yesterday and wondered if
Trailer/Sailor Association was a
cooperating member.
Roger and I have been members
since something like 1985. A couple years ago, they started
a Trailering Club6 and we
joined that.
MOANE - now New England Trailer Sailors is a
cooperating member so our dues to
NE-TS saves us $9.50 on our Boat/
US membership.
The bottom line for me a month ago
was road assistance in early September to replace a trailer tire (I
didn't have a spare and even if I did
I wouldn't have wanted to change it
myself). In about 1½ hours, I had a
exact replacement trailer tire and
was back on the road. It only cost
me the price of the tire, because the
road assistance that came with the
Trailer Club membership paid $150
of the towing charge. I would
strongly recommend the BoatUS
membership with the trailering option (I think it is $19.50 if you are a
cooperating member) to anyone
who is trailering.
Barbara Garland (Whale s Tale)
T/SA has been a Cooperating
Clipper Snips
Group for years, and my annual bill
shows the group number and the
reduced membership fee. We have
our insurance with them, and we ve
used the $50 towing credit once.
With their magazine (pretty close in
quality to Clipper Snips, but with
advertising), and the articles on
their web site, it think it s worthwhile investment for us.
BoatU.S. provides a vast range of
services, information and savings to
recreational boaters, including:
· Members-only discounts and
Member Rewards with BoatU.S.
and West Marine equipment purchases
· Discounts on fuel, overnight slips,
and repairs at more than 750 marinas nationwide
· On-the-water towing, with your
choice of service levels from
$50 per incident (with Membership) up to Unlimited service
provided by the nation s largest
towing network
· Access to high-value, low-cost
group-rate boat insurance
· Full year subscription to the
award-winning BoatU.S. Magazine, as well as the 1000-page
Page 30
BoatU.S. Annual Equipment
Catalog
· An effective lobby that fights unfair taxes, fees, and government
regulations that single out boat
owners
Because of this special arrangement, you can get 50% off the regular annual dues rate of $19 when
you join BoatU.S. the
nation s largest Association of recreational boat
owners. Your dues are
only $9.50 for the year!
($15 for International Members
regularly $30)
For more information, contact John
Clement, to get the Cooperating
Group ID number for the specially
reduced rate.
And give some thought to the benefits of trailer club. The details of
Boat US trailer club can be found at
www.boatus.com/trailerclub/
highlights.asp The web site also
has several articles from previous
issues of their trailering magazine
(although in one of them, they state
Lake St. Clair is the smallest of the
5 Great Lakes.). Their trailering
articles are first rate, although some
of them are obviously more suited
to power boat trailering.
Joe Orinko
Editor, Clipper Snips
Fall 2004
Welcome new T/SA Members
City
ON
State
L4G 1S2
Postal
734
905
433
726
2338 joeb6570@yahoo.com
1805 bobanderson15@yahoo.ca
Trout Run
NY
PA
44224
12553
17771
775
330
845
570
671
324
945
496
995
2365 beanha@rogers.com
9296
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7934 rdianetti@neo.rr.com
8520 adistenfan0@aol.com
5811 rdavis@pct.edu
Email
Address
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48118
6017 cburt022@comcast.net
8225 Rt. 14 Hwy.
New Windsor
OH
89509
732
327
122 whitson@yorku.ca
Ph1 Ph2
Mate
77 Spruce St.
MI
916
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153 Shore Drive
Stow
NV
7748
705
424
199 holderness@sympatico.ca
Area
First
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610
227 carib99@yahoo.com
Roger
Mona Hatkin
536 Treeside Drive
Reno
NJ
L3V7M1
705
741
2432 ricohorner@yahoo.com
Last
Bob
4702 Kalmbach Rd.
19533
685
Davis
Tony
Angie
3260 Markridge Dr.
Middletown
ON
L0M 1T0
519
778
5101
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PA
248
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Bob
Mabel
145 Kingfisher Drive
Orillia
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N2N 1E3
219
263
Joe
Leesport
48382
Dianetti
John
Dorothy
10 Dancy Drive
Utopia
ON
46350
410
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Bennett
1540 Fairview Drive
MI
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RR1, 8389 6th Line
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Commerce
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5005 Driftwood
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6522 N. Fail Rd.
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33955
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Hill-Whitson
Chris
Richard
118 Carroll Drive
FL
James
Holderness
Clare (Chico)
Diane
Punta Gorda
5433 rkidston@hotmail.com
Coleman
Horner
Don
4037 Big Pass Lane
85615
388
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269
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49006
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David
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4774
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732
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218
14501 Cottontail Drive
56470
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Mn
Jeff
Park Rapids
Lindstrom
8875 maxmiller2002@yahoo.com
Columbus
486
1469 Lake Shore Dr., Unit A
614
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43204
Max
WI
OH
Miller
McFarland
9494 dollhoff@chorus.net
2789 Willow Court
838
Barbara
608
Dale
Adrian
53558
Olhoff
Rt 1, Box458
2585
Patti
297
Ed
65785
816
Ortstadt
MO
7794
Stockton
276
14900 N. Orleans Trail
417
Emmie
5364 par2058@yahoo.com
Harry
292
1152 julie@circle7.net
Rowe
942
405
470
714 puddlejumper@rogers.com
519
73071
952
L9W 4Z7
OK
55331
ON
Norman
MN
98902
Orangeville
332 Emelyn St.
Excelsior
WA
315 Dogwood St.
Lorrie
1940 Whitetail Ridge Court
Yakima
Theresa
Paul
Daniel DeWeese
110 N. 16th Avenue
Brian
Reynolds
Julie
Theresa
Ruttle
Thorndycraft
Robin
rozeller@aol.com
Zeller
Fall 2004
Page 31
Clipper Snips
Trailer/Sailors Association
The Trailer/Sailors Association is a non-profit organization formed more than 15 years ago. Its members provide a
exchange of ideas and information about all aspects of sailing trailerable sailboats.
Our more than 500 members are scattered across the USA and Canada, and the diversity of their experiences enrich
the association and heightens our collective interest in small sailboat cruising.
Clipper Snips, published in a Winter, Spring, and Fall issues, is the official publication of the organization, providing cruising articles, association announcements, how-to articles, and free classified ads.
Association Officers:
President: John Clement, 51 Hillside Dr. Aurora, ON
L4G 6E1 Canada, (905) 727-3492, E-mail:
clement@istar.ca
Treasurer: David Craigie, 101 W. Marshall, Midwest
City, OK 73110, (405) 741-2555, E-mail:
dcraigie@aol.com.
Assistant Treasurer: Jack Beggs, 2586 Cheswick,
Troy, MI, 48084-1012, (248) 646-5082, E-mail:
jackbeggs1@aol.com.
Trailersailors.org Webmasters: Mike & Diana Nelson, 2717 N. River Rd., Yellow Springs, OH 45387,
(937) 767 9487, E-mail: webmaster@trailersailors.org
TRAILSAIL Discussion Board Leader: John
Coppedge, 2557 Queenston road, Cleveland, OH
44118 (216) 932-9126, E-mail:
jbcoppedge@yahoo.com
Cruise Recorder: Don Ziliox, 1340 Elmdale NE,
Grand Rapids, MI 49525, (616) 361-8230, Email:DonZiliox@Yahoo.com
Clipper Snips Editor
433 Lincoln Avenue
Erie, PA 16505-2449
Launch Ramp Advisory: John Ulmer, 659 S. Canal
St., Box 4101, Canal Fulton, OH 44614 (330) 8543796, E-mail: j.ulmer@juno.com
Gizmos, Gadgets, and Galley Column: Debbie Bell
(ed.), 344 Creek Dr., Slippery Rock, PA 16057 (724)
794-4704, E-mail: BellsToil@zoominternet.net
Public Relations: Gary Schafer, 2578 Pembroke, Birmingham, MI 48009, (248) 649-4911, E-Mail:
trailersailor@comcast.net
New Member Secretary: Dick Zets, 11420 Country
Line Rd, Forestville, NY 14062-9741, Email:richpatzets@a-znet.com
Clipper Snips Associate Editor: Gary Felix, 5121
Western Avenue, Omaha, NE 68132, (402) 553-2011,
E-Mail: gfelix1@cox.net
Clipper Snips Editor: Joe Orinko, 433 Lincoln Avenue, Erie, PA 16505-2449, (814) 456-6469, E-mail:
unicorn@velocity.net
Trailer/Sailors Association
Forwarding Service Requested
Clipper Snips
PRSRT STD
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PAID
Erie, PA
Permit #554
Dated Material Please Deliver Promptly
Page 32
Fall 2004