Dinghy Sailing in Echo Bay

Friday 15 August 2014 ~ Echo Bay

This morning we awoke to feelings of bliss, "Ah, to be at anchor and out cruising!"

J. worked with the kids on cutting some hose we brought along to form bumpers for the gunnels. Once PIPPI was done, they launched her, flipped LONGSTOCKING over, the kids went sailing while J. worked on LONGSTOCKING's gunnels.

Then J. and L. enjoyed just relaxing.

Later, after the kids returned and were spending time relaxing, J. and L. rowed over to Carrawong and visited awhile. Our friends had wondered if it was us. It was great to catch up. 

And We're Off

Thursday, 14 August 2014 ~ Semiahmoo to Echo Bay, Sucia

And ... we're off. We out waited a few thunderstorm predictions and rain to catch the tide today. There wasn't much wind, but we decided that if we didn't just go (even if it meant motoring) then the start of school would be upon us. 

The trip down was uneventful (just the way we like it) if a bit on the cool side for August. As we came into anchor we were delighted to see old friends of ours on CARRAWONG anchored near one of our favorite spots. There was even room for us to anchor near by. Anchor was down by 1940.

2014 Summer Cruise Postings

This year for our cruise we are going to try posting our events a little differently. In the past we've used each location to tell our story. This year we are thinking of posting  more day-to-day types of posts. We'll see how this goes this year.

Stay tuned as we are about to head out ...

Project: Dinghy Test Sail

Then we have the test sail.

Otherwise known as "The Moment of Truth."

First, J. with E.

Then J. with the girls.

The dinghies worked quite well, except for the pintles and gudgeons. We used eye bolts with bolts sticking down. This is something similar to what we've used before, however, the eye bolts kept twisting.

J. remembered that in the past, he used a piece of threaded rod through all four eye bolts (two on the rudder, two on the transom). This kept the eye bolts from twisting. Another trip to the hardware store, some cutting, bending and filing later, and problem solved.

Good thing we did a test run. The other method would have worked, but been a pain to use. The current method is as simple as can be. 

Sunset & the Two Dinghies

Towards sunset yesterday, we have the two dinghies lined up back to back. You can see how the rudder boards are adjustable. Also, note the mast partners. These are attached in thefollowing manner: the partners have a bolt with nut (keeps the bolt from falling through). Each gunnel has a corresponding hole in it. By sliding a bolt into a hole in the gunnel on each side (one to Port and one to Starboard) the mast partner is now in place. Afterward, lines are snugged down to the seats, holding the mast partners in the boat. The sail halyard is attached to one of the dowel pins, the sail down haul/back haul to the other pin. 

Projects: Dinghy Lee-Board & Rudder Final Product

Here's the final product of both the lee-board and rudder/tiller. 

The lee-board, with a line through the top,  is bolted to a spacer block (the size of the gunnel) and another piece of plywood that fits on the inside of the boat.

The rudder/tiller is in four pieces. There is the rudder head with attached tiller (glued and bolted). There are eye-bolts through the front for a pin piece that slides through these eye-bolts and corresponding eye bolts on the transom. The bungy cord (wrapped around three times and tied) stays with the rudder head. The rest of the rudder works like a dagger-board. It is able to slide up and down (held in place by the bungy cord) and can't fall through due to the rope handle. If we were to hit anything it can also "kick" backwards and shouldn't cause any damage. 

This is quite a creative solution that we borrowed from someone who says he borrowed the idea from some racing dinghies. Another claim is that one can continue sailing in quite shallow water.  In practice we've found the rudder system to work great. 

Projects: Dinghy - Continued Rudder and Rope Work

We continued working:

gluing up the rudder/tiller head,

and whipping lines.