Boat shopping adventure to Florida

[CharlieJ]

Two things- down away from the dinghy dock, there's a little creek comes in from the starboard side as you go. Tie dinghy in there and you are right behind grocery store. Tie to the trees- many other dinks in there usually.

Second- on the tiller. Had the same problem on the boat I delivered this spring. Had to CONSTANTLY hold port helm. Wound up running a bungie to the side, just tight enough to take the load.  After that, she'd almost steer herself, at least long enough to grab a drink or something

[w00dy]

Thanks CharlieJ! I had a similar idea about the shock cord. Now that I'm ashore I can hunt around to find some.

Here's a picture of our new boat!  ;D

[CharlieJ]

LOL- good luck on the gulf crossing in that ;D

Have a friend who is leaving Bradenton Beach in the AM on a 32 footer, heading for Tarpon, then possibly Panama City. Looks like decent winds the next week.

When you get close, give me a yell- Transportation is available.

[Grime]

If you are planning on returning to Port Lavaca the marina is filling up pretty fast. If you need the number I can post later.

[w00dy]

Thanks, David and Charlie. I would really like to come back to PtL, but I'm thinking Palacios might be better because of my draft (5'6"). Still undecided. Here are some pics:



Broken engine mount, currently being fixed.



This happened the first time we tried to reef. We decided to reef down to the second reef point afterward, and it was a good thing too. Not long after, a squall hit and we were lucky to have already reduced sail.



This is the bottom at 20 feet down in the Hawk channel. Muddy Texas waters, here we come!



Rachel at the helm.



View from the bowsprit

[CharlieJ]

There was a West Sail 32 named Satori in Port L for a while. You should do fine on draft.

[Captain Smollett]

There was a West Sail 32 named Satori in Port L for a while. You should do fine on draft.

And a rather famous West Sail 32 she is, too.  Survived "The Perfect Storm," on her own after the USCG 'forced' the skipper to abandon her.

Good boats, in my opinion.  Best wishes with your repairs and restoration; I'd call her keeper.

[CharlieJ]

Yep, that's the one.

As I understand it, Ray Leonard was forced to sell her to pay off salvage costs.

She's down in Corpus Christi now,  or was last I heard.

[Jim_ME]

That motor mount bracket seems quite long, which increases the moment from the motor torque. There is a vertical gusset to stiffen it, but it doesn't extend that far across the horizontal plate, which failed right at the end of the gusset. I wonder whether that plate was subjected to a large amount of torque (say prop snagged a line and jammed) and broke, or whether the plate just flexed at that point from the normal torque and engine vibration and fatigued over time and eventually failed. It looks like fairly thick plate, but is in the weak orientation without the gusset to stiffen it. I wonder whether extending that gusset to stiffen that span (and now reinforce the repaired area) would be worth considering?

[w00dy]

Got the bracket back from the welder today. I think he did a good job by "v"-ing out the crack for uniform penetration. He also added an extra stiffener piece on the underside, at my request. I think you're right though, Jim, that a gusset perpendicular to the main flange would be best. My guess is that this "fixed" one will outlast the others. I just hope the others don't succumb anytime soon. :o

The boat has allignment issues, I think. I really don't know much about diesel engines, but it seems to me that it vibrates quite a bit, and relies on a flexible coupling with the propeller shaft to make up for the problem. I only hope to get her home so that I can begin to sort through these numerous issues.

On my to do list tomorrow is to reinstall the bracket and try to straighten out the engine on her mounts. I changed the impeller and filters today, so I will also get to learn how to bleed the air out of the fuel lines. Changing the oil and filter should round out my engine chores. Then I can finish rebuilding the windvane and put her back together so we won't have to pull our arms out on the tiller the whole way home. I'll try and take some pictures.

In between my mess in the engine compartment and the disassembled windvane in the cockpit, Rachel took it upon herself to take everything out of it's locker to be cataloged and organized. The boat looks like it vomited junk all over itself after a bad night of drinking. Two or three more days here and we should be ready to go again, better than ever.

[w00dy]

Got the windvane put back together this morning and she is Smooth! Can't wait to try her out. Then it was on to the engine and it is now back on it's own feet. Unsure of the alignment now, but will have to observe it in operation and make adjustments. The flexible coupling should take care of what's left until I can do a proper alignment.
I spent the rest of the morning trying to figure out the damned fuel system so I could bleed it. It should be a simple job, but I'm missing something vital, because now she won't run. I'm taking a break before I "fix" something for good. :D



Here's the welded and reinforced bracket.



Me trying not to dump windvane parts into the drink.

[zeta]

Westsail and a pudgy too--life is good!  She looks to be a fine vessel.  Good luck and keep us posted on refit.
Mike

[marujo_sortudo]

Congrats on the boats!  We'll be following your trip and refit with interest!

[w00dy]

Thanks all.


We had good winds and managed to make it up to Tarpon Springs on Wed. Highlights include running the boat aground several times in the river here, kedging her off with dinghy and anchor, breaking the wooden tiller in half, walking around town looking for someone to lend me powertools, and learning about how well the brain functions on little sleep. This is an interesting town and I recommend stopping here to anyone passing through the area.

We've re provisioned the boat and we are planning on shooting for New Orleans next. The winds look favorable throughout the weekend and into next week. Part of me wants to just turn the boat straight for Texas, but at the rate things have been breaking, we're going to stick closer to shore just in case we need to divert.

My last picture hosting didn't go so well, Rachel typed up a  new blog, so they're here: http://peanutbutterdiet.blogspot.com

[Porter Wayfare]

Power tools? What about duck tape?! You two crack me up: here's a grog.

[w00dy]

I would have used the duck tape, but I had already used it to strap Rachel down when things got rough out there  ;)

We shoved off from Tarpon Springs into some favorable, but eventually quite boisterous weather. The NOAA forecast for the Gulf called for 15-20 kts, but I'm pretty sure we spent the night in Force 6 winds and 8ft waves. We reduced down to a double reefed main and a reefed staysail, and still we were getting 6 kts while getting continuous bucketfuls in the face. Thankfully, our windvane, which Rachel has dubbed "Flippy" was able to steer us through most of the night and the next day. Still, it was quite exhausting and by the time we pulled into Carabelle, everyone was fried. We spent a day or so just decompressing and trying to recover some sleep and then set out again for Panama City.

Really need to do laundry, shop groceries, fill the water tanks, and get a good night sleep. Perhaps I'll write more when I get some more time.

[CharlieJ]

LOL Been there, done that James. When I crossed in Tehani, single hand, I logged 5 kts for 10 hours, under just the working jib. They just can't seem to get it right on either winds or seas in that area.

Glad you guys made it in ok. Glad you came in Carrabelle also- Apalachicola is not a great inlet in strong winds and seas

[w00dy]

Thanks Charlie. There's a very small but protected anchorage right near downtown Panama City, in Massalina Bayou. Our boat is tucked away for the day while we are out doing chores, but we're happy to be ashore and resting our sea-muscles. The walk to the library was a good distance, but it's a huge and comfortable facility and we're soaking up the air conditioning. Our next jump will be to Venice, LA and we are hoping to shove off tomorrow morning. Looking forward to Texas.

Also, I recently bought a small truck, so when we return, plan on a visit from me and maybe Rachel sometime soon.

[CharlieJ]

Wish I had known you were gonna wind up in Panama City. Probably could have gotten you a ride- got a friend there

Looking forward to a visit from you two.

[w00dy]

Looking at the weather. There's a system that will be moving up through the gulf this weekend that may whip things up. We'll probably keep sticking close enough to the coast to duck inside if things get nasty again.