2022 Spring Commissioning - Painting and Launch

 

We take off the both roller furlings so the travel lift bar can go back far enough to balance the boat and fit it in the launch well. We leave a line attached to the staysail (inner stay), but it's pulled back to keep it tight and out of the way.

We're ready. What could Dave POSSibly be worried about? : )

Clean!

Dave had removed the bow thruster to clean the propeller and repaint it with special paint. We scraped off a few barnacles from the area and painted bottom paint in the tunnel.

View from the top of the marina! Getting Dock lines ready which are in the lazarettes there. Gotta be so careful walking around so high, especially without the lifelines up. Must hold onto rigging or something all the time.

Clean and Pretty!  There is enough of the zincs left to leave for the year. Waiting for the Delaware City Marina to remove the jackstands, when they are ready.

Stopping traffic on the road for a little bit

Below, at the launch well, waiting for the highest tide and tidal current to stop so we are not swept to the side when backing out.

2022 Spring Commissioning - Bottom Paint Prep

 

Justice had many years of paint layers. Each year we did scrape some of it off to make it smooth for a new layer to adhere, but most of it remained on. It was time for this extra weight to come off and start fresh. Dave decided to scrape it off himself with a carbide blade scraper, avoiding going past the barrier coat of epoxy applied in year 2000. The green you see is all that remains of the first layer put on the boat 20 years ago. The grey is the bare hull.

After scraping, there was some sanding to be done to make it smooth for the first fresh layer.

Really back-breaking work, gotta have the scraper at the right angle or danger of going too deep. Took several days to do this part 

In Spring 2021, we only had time to do the starboard side.

This Spring 2022 was time to do the port side.

Serious racers don't let an extra layer weight of paint slow the boat down. Now that we are getting 20 layers of paint off "at once", we expect to notice a performance improvement. Last year we joked that since the boat sailed in circles because the port side slowed us down 😁

Below you can see the paint chips on the tarp. These were very heavy. I sweeped them into piles and scooped them into double bags, wearing a dust mask of course, to not breath in the paint dust.

Below, you see the starboard was already done, and the port side scraped and about ready for new paint.

Meet C & D

If you are visiting our site for the first time, 

please see our first page here:

https://sailingjustice.blogspot.com/2019/03/cruise-planning.html

Use the chronological menu on the right to read about some

 of our trips or skip around.

Remember, you can click on any photo to make it BIGGER!

Also, we just found this wonderful film about the C & D Canal History from Maryland Public Television. Watch a nighttime passage at minute 25 (sped up in time)!  

https://video.mpt.tv/video/chesapeake-and-delaware-canal-gateway-to-the-world-w69up9/?fbclid=IwAR0uja7sd2h2KSdTtZjJ4JWKtvKsY9Cdyeey4kwoPWA6ZTo9wxYorNC6woA

Big Red "Sails" from the fence (video at end). New sail part 3.

Each edge needed finishing tape

We double sided taped it in place

The luff had a line built into the tape for placing in the jib furler track slot.

The other 2 sides need an adjuster line to be sewn into the open space, sewn in as we go. A video will show that later.

These 2 sides needed a break in the tape for the lines to be accessible at the bottom for adjustment, and little line "cleats" sewn in.

Here is the front and back of the cleats we sewed on below the line outlet. Photos from Sailrite.com

Then the rings were sewn on...

Head ring done here:

Now the tack started

now the clew where the sheets will be attached:

double sided tape again before placing

then we cut butterfly shaped leather to cover the corners and stitched.

Ta Da! Sailrite makes a great kit!

Video of sewing and the sail in the wind "on the fence"!

Press square lower right corner for full screen play of video.

 

Sailmaking - Need a bigger house. New sail part 2.

 

Found a bigger house...

Put tape on the lowest 2 panels, then...

pull off the tape while aligning the two together

After sewing the seems, added two draft lines over two seams

pressing along the way to avoid wrinkles

The last corner can be applied. The Tack.

Folding over the extra and clipping so it can be pulled along the sewing machine easier

all clipped

and sewing another seam

More to come...

2022. New Year. New Sail. New sail part 1.

 In the light winds of the Chesapeake Bay summer, we'd like to sail more - motor less. For that, we need a bigger sail.  A BIG DRIFTER!

We have a spinnaker, but that can only be used going downwind. A big jib drifter can be used going upwind and other angles.

Dave measured for a 150% jib kit, cut as a drifter from SailRite ( www.sailrite.com ) (A 150% means it covers the full triangle from the jib furler to the mast, plus half the "J" measurement going back to a winch. Here is link to all the basic measurements of a ketch or yawl:  https://www.northsails.com/sailing/en/2020/02/sail-plan-dimensions-north-sails 

Dave is going to sew it himself! (I'll try a few stitches too)

One of the hardest decisions was picking the color! We looked to the internet for inspiration and Justice's personality. Wonderful marine photography, like Sharon Green's photographs (https://www.ultimatesailing.com/ ) was inspiring.

We decided on all red! It's time for Justice to be a little sexy!

The compact package arrived with everything we need. Could there really be about 567 square feet of sail in here?

Yes! VERY thin layers of 1.5 ounce nylon sailcloth VERY neatly packed.

Precision cut! The seam overlap is marked by a line for exact overlay. All edges are labeled and the panels numbered. Each corner labeled of course with clew, head or tack.

Dave double-sided taped our first seam and took off the tape cover. This narrow tape works well.

It assures the layers won't move out of position on the sewing machine.

We started with two of the smaller panels that we could lay out in one of our rooms. 

I think we're gonna need a bigger house.

The corners are very reinforced. This is the underside of one and will be covered by the red sail.

There is a ring and strap reinforcements to add last on each corner.

Place double-sided tape again where each seam would go.

Then line them up before taking off the tape cover for each layer, and sew your heart out.

~~~/)~~~

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Here are the 2 top little panels #9 and #10. So cute!

It shows the nice four-point zig zag seam Dave made after checking the thread tension on a practice sheet provided by Sailrite. They say to stitch right off the panel. The ends will get reinforced edging and double stitching later. There will also be a leach and foot adjustment line. The luff will have a piping that fits our jib furler.

We are using mostly 4 point zigzag (4 stitch zigzag) which is stronger than 2 point zigzag.

It goes 1-2-3-4 in one direction then 1-2-3-4 in the other.

 More to come... I may add more details to each page, as we review them, until we are done. - Claire