07/10/2008, Grand Haven, MI
The Grand River Sailing Club graciously invited Erin and I to participate in their annual "8+8 Sailing Rally" and we happily accepted.
The 8+8 Rally is a laid back "race" that uses a handicapped start so all boats finish relatively close together. The course is set so the race has one turning mark 8 miles out on a beam reach. I know many of the regular GRSC members don't really consider the 8+8 to be a race, but believe me, Erin and I were racing! This was our first organized sailing event together with Hannabel and we're happy to report she did great!
The race started with dark storm clouds looming overhead and 15 mph winds bustling about. But the conditions quickly mellowed out and all participants were sitting still in the water with little to no wind for about an hour. At that point the race committee decided to shorten the 8+8 to a 6+6 (6 miles out, 6 miles back) race. Because of our PHRF handicap starting place, we were the first boat to round the turning mark and head back for the finish line. The wind increased to 15 mph all the way back and we cruised along at a steady 6-7 knots. We ended up finishing in 6th place out a total of 12 boats. Not bad for a couple of newbie sailors!
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07/09/2008, Grand Haven - Milwaukee
It's been a while since I've updated the blog, so I thought I'd take the time to make a few posts.
I was blessed with the good fortune of being asked to crew on 37 foot sailboat for the 2008 Queen's Cup race. For those unfamiliar, the Queens Cup (http://www.ssyc.org/queenscup/default.asp) is one of the oldest cups in world-yachting still being offered for competition every year. The race begins on the western shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee and finishes on the eastern shore in Grand Haven.
Our boat and crew crossed on Wednesday morning from Grand Haven to Milwaukee (approximately 72 nautical miles) in near perfect sailing conditions. We had 15-25 mph winds on our beam nearly the entire way and averaged about 6.8 knots for an 11 hour crossing.
The race back home was even better. We started in a thunderstorm and tacked around the starting area with a double reefed main. Eventually the storm passed and we shook out the reefs and enjoyed an all night sail with the same winds (15-25 mph) but an even faster average speed of about 7.5 knots for a 9 hour and 47 minute crossing. The boats, stars, lake conditions, skipper and crew were all very enjoyable.
I learned a lot about sailing and Lake Michigan and am grateful to the skipper and crew of Windfeather for allowing me to take part.
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06/03/2008, Grand Haven to Muskegon
This past Sunday marked the first trip on Hannabel that was more than a mere daysail. Erin, Hannah, Isabel, my mom, dad and I all shoved off from the docks at North Shore Marina at about 11:00am and headed north to Muskegon for lunch.
The weather called for light air (5-10kts) out of the north, so we knew might be in for a long, slow trip of only 24 total miles. Still, we were eager to get some mileage beneath our keel so we worked our way windward...for about 3 hours. The trip to Muskegon was uneventful, as we munched on my mom's almond bars and basked in the sunny (but cool!) 1st day of June. Just west of Grand Haven we observed a couple of the USCG boats practicing towing drills as we sailed by at a very leisurely pace.
We pulled into the Muskegon breakwater and channel around 2:30pm and motored our way to Dockers. The food was good, even if they did take the very memorable calamari off the menu. There was also a live blues band and plenty of activities for the girls.
The trip back to Grand Haven was equally mellow. The winds remained at around 5kts, but shifted to a more NW heading. We sailed with the main and genoa about half way and then started the motor to give us a little extra push. The air temperatures were a bit warmer on the return trip so we all soaked up sun in the cockpit and on deck. Hannabel returned safely to her slip around 7pm.
We can't wait for our next trip!
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06/03/2008 | Paul (daddyp72702 att yahoo dott com)
Sounds like a beautiful day. I grew up in Twin Lake and now live in Mobile AL, but never had the opportunity to sail the big lake. We purchased our first boat about a year ago and are in the process of completing the refit. I'm jealous you beat me in the water. Well off to grind fiberglass in 90 degree heat!!!!
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06/03/2008, Grand Haven, MI
This is a brief but important post I should've made long ago. We decided very early this year that the name of our sailboat is to be "Hannabel", which comes from simply combining the first four letters from our daughter Hannah's name and the last four letters from our daughter Isabel's name. Tricky, huh?
In any case, our beautiful little boat is hence forth to be known as the sailing vessel Hannabel!
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05/10/2008, Grand Haven, MI
Our first sail on our "new to us" boat was short but ever so sweet!
We tried our sails and running rigging at the slip before departing for the lake. Everything seemed like it was working as it should, so we shoved off for Lake Michigan. Once reaching the big lake, we motored out about a half mile before shutting down the outboard and preparing to hoist the sails. Erin took the helm as I scurried about the deck and cockpit setting the sails and sheets. Once the jib went up, we were off! The conditions were light (wind to 10 knots from the North), but we made headway and enjoyed every minute of the first sail. We practiced making a couple of tacks and alternated between beam and broach reaching.
On the way in we encountered engine problems, as the pull cord for our outboard broke, the choke stuck open and caused the engine to run poorly and to top it all off, it wouldn't stay in gear! Luckily we had my mom and dad nearby with the mothership (their Carver motoryacht) for assistance if we needed it. Erin and I both were nervous bringing the boat back to the marina and slip while dealing with a motor that kept stalling, but we did so without incident. Erin worked the tiller like an experienced helmsman!
Here are a few pictures from the outing taken from the "Mothership".
Motoring out of the marina:
Readying the sails:
Sailing!:
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05/29/2008 | Wayne (ewh2000 att hotmail dott com)
She looks great Kevin. You did a fine job and should be proud!
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05/09/2008, Grand Haven, MI
The big days for our little boat keep rolling in. Today we splashed her at her new summer home, North Shore Marina in Grand Haven.
The marina staff used a modified fork lift that is typically used for their "in and out" service to lift the boat off the trailer and set her gently down in the water. Even though the staff knew exactly what they were doing, I was still quite nervous as I watched the boat lift from the trailer and be set into the water.
I was also nervous after the hull hit the water. Would it keep the water on the outside where it belongs? Or did I miss some hidden spot on the hull where water could get inside? Will the swingbolt for the centerboard be water tight? Time will tell.
Anyway, here are a few pictures (courtesy of my mom):
And finally, resting peacefully in her slip:
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05/07/2008, Grand Haven, MI
Finally...the day I've been anxiously awaiting since last fall has arrived. Today we stepped the mast. Obviously, this is a big day since it moves us that much closer to actually sailing our "good old boat". But despite my excitement, I was also very anxious because of the unknown. I've never stepped a mast or rigged any sailboat larger than a Laser.
Luckily, I received a lot of great advice from forums members at Sailnet and a few other trusted Helms owners. Based on this advice, I constructed a gin pole from Home Depot materials (10' 2"x6", 4 eye bolts, ratchet strap) that made the job very manageable. I cut the gin pole to fit around the base of the mast and used the ratched strap to hold it in place. We then attached the forestay to the opposite end of the gin pole and ran a line from the same end through a block on the bow and back to the sheet winch in the cockpit. One person stood holding an extension ladder which supported one end of the mast. Another person operated the winch. Yet another stayed at the mast hinge to keep the mast from tipping to either side. The fourth person moved frantically about the deck attaching stays and shrouds to chainplates. It was a beautifully orchestrated dance, in hindsight, of course.
I was fortunate enough to enlist the help of my wife, mom, dad and two little girls. Six novice "steppers" working together to get the mast up before sunset. I'm happy and proud to report that we did it without incident! Yes, we had some tense moments when I thought the halyards had come off the sheaves after the stick was up and when the weight of a heavily leaning mast lay on my shoulder when we forgot to cleat off the tailing end of the line from the sheet winch. But I can't express the shear joy of seeing our little boat with an upright mast waiting just feet from the water for her day to be splashed!
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05/07/2008, Grand Haven, MI
Today was a big day for our sailboat. Most of the hard restoration work has been completed and she's moving to her new home in Grand Haven on Lake Michigan. We loaded her up with all of our crusing gear and towed her west.
Recently completed projects include:
-New compainionway hatchboards installed
-New teak handrails installed
-Refinished teak railslides installed
-Transom boarding ladder installed
-Fishing rod holder installed
-New dinette table built and installed
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05/07/2008, Grand Rapids, MI
It's been a while since I've made a blog post, but I have a legitimate excuse: I've been busy with spring boat projects!
Over the last three weeks, I finally finished up the new paint job. We painted everything above the waterline on the boat (hull sides, boot stripe, cove stripe, deck, non-skid, cockpit). As with many projects, the preparatory work was the hardest part. In preparation for painting, I sanded the entire boat first with an orbital sander, than by hand. Next, I washed over the sanding residue with warm water and a bit of soap.
I then applied one coat of Interlux Pre-Kote. This, of course, was followed up with another round of sanding. Then the next coat of Pre-Kote primer was applied. Followed by more sanding. Needless to say, my forearms are now Popeye-esque from all the sanding.
After priming, my dad (thanks dad!) helped me roll and tip two coats of Interlux Brightsides polyuerethene onto the hull. We were both very impressed by the ease of application and the end result of a shiny, hard finish. I also used Brightsides for the new dark blue boot stripe, dark blue cove stripe and white cockpit. Interlux Interdek was used on the non-skid portions of the deck. Interdek is a polyuerethene very similar to Brightsides, but with small polymer beads added for traction. It also has a low sheen/gloss finish to cut down on glare. What follows are before and during pictures. Stay tuned for some "after" pictures very soon!
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03/16/2008, Grand Rapids, MI
Today I picked up a of Lewmar #7 single speed winches from a fellow sailor who was scrapping one of his sailboats. The winches are in excellent condition and should make good spares or upgrades for both my halyard and jibsheet winches. My starboard side jibsheet winch is currently dismantled in my garage and in need of a tune-up. I may replace it with one of the Lewmars.
Anyway, I took the two Lewmar winches apart for cleaning and oiling. As soon as the weather gets warm enough to apply adhesives (3M 5200), I'll look into installing them.
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04/29/2008 | Wayne Holmes (ewh2000 att hotmail dott com)
Kevin-The Lewmar #7 looks very close to the no name winches that are on the Helms 25. Do the base mount bolt holes match? I wouldn't use 5200 if you ever want to take the winch off again to service.
Nice job, good luck, Wayne |
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05/05/2008 | Greg Braun (g dott braun att comcast dott net)
I have a Helms 25 hull #62. Interesting blog. Loke the pictures, sister to my boat. My boat is a blast to sail, very fast. Keep working, it's looking great!!
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03/13/2008, Grand Haven, MI
So the calendar says there's only one week to go until spring. Today I got anxious and decided to take a drive out to the big lake and see how she's doing. As you can see from my pictures below, we here in Michigan still have a fair bit of thawing to do before we can declare the boating season open.
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03/12/2008, Grand Rapids, MI
As spring draws closer, we're getting more and more excited about the upcoming sailing season and "splash day" for our sailboat.
We now have our slip reserved at North Shore Marina in Grand Haven, Michigan. We can't wait to enjoy the summer breezes coming off of Lake Michigan while we rock away the days on the boat. We're also very excited to be able to have a spot at the same marina where Kevin's parents keep their boat.
Bring on summer!
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01/21/2008, Grand Rapids, MI
As you may recall from some posts late last summer, most of the teak on our sailboat's deck was severly rotted. Perhaps the most rotted of all were the teak railslides for the sliding companionway hatch. I was fortuntate enough to come acrossed a fellow Helms 25 owner who happened to have a spare set of used railslides for that fit my boat perfectly (Thanks Wayne!). I continue to be amazed at the level of support and information provided by other sailors whom I've met online at places like Sailnet and the Yahoo Helms forums.
The railslides I received from Wayne were dirty and definately in need of some cosmetic work, but the teak wood was solid. I begin restoring the old railslides by sanding them. Next, I washed them in our shower much to the chagrin of my wife with a mixture of dish detergent, TSP and bleach. Then I carefully applied three coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane over the course of four days. I also used more epoxy to patch a couple of spots on the bottom of the railslides where the screws had damaged the wood.
I'm very pleased with how the railslides turned out. As you can see in the pictures below, they're quite an upgrade over my old rotted wood. The first picture shows (from top to bottom): 1) sanded railslide 2) railslide as received in the mail 3) my old rotted railslide.
The bottom picture shows the finished product!
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01/17/2008, Grand Rapids, MI
This post will briefly highlight the cosmetic enhancements we made to our auxillary outboard. As previously mentioned, the motor cowling fell off on the highway while the previous owner was towing his boat. During the tumble down the highway, the cowling sustained cracks, scrapes and broken corners.
I start the repairs by filling in the hollow spaces between the fiberglass outer-cowling and the foam insulation with styrofoam. Then I used hand moldable "metal" epoxy putty from PC Products (similar to the PC-11 marine epoxy used on the hull) to pactch the cracks and holes in the cowling. The epoxy sets really fast, so you need to be quick with shaping it. Unfortunately, this epoxy doesn't sand down very nicely, so you're mostly stuck with whatever shape the epoxy sets in.
Next, I cleaned the cowling and sanded it with fine grit sanding sponges to remove grime and painted decals. I then used 3 coats of an exterior latex paint with ceramic additives to finish the job. All in all, the cowling came out looking much better than when I started. After we settle on a bootstripe color for the sailboat, we may come back and add a decorative stripe to the motor cowling to break-up the generic looking white.
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01/07/2008, Grand Rapids, MI
After a lot of research and much debate about how much of the overall restoration budget should be spent on an outboard motor, we finally made a purchase. We ended up spending well below our targeted price of $600 and picked up this little Johnson for $240.
There are some old salts that will tell you a sailor doesn't need a motor at all. After all, sailing is about coming to balance with the forces of nature (wind, currents, waves, etc.) through a sailboat. However, we feel having auxillary power will be a huge blessing on those days when the wind doesn't blow. We also anticipate using the motor to move to and from our mooring as well as helping us navigate through busy channels and marinas without having to use our sails. And of course there's an argument that a motor on a sailboat can provide a bit of safety if your rigging gets damaged. Whatever the ultimate reason, we're happy to have an outboard.
We spoke with several other Helms 25 owners as well as owners of similar size/displacement sailboats. The concensus was that a longshaft outboard from 8 to 15 horsepower would do the job. Considering that we'll be sailing on the Great Lakes and won't have to deal with strong currents or tides and will try to avoid conditions with large waves, the 9.5 horsepower our choosen outboard should be sufficient.
Our Johnson is a 1973 9.5 horsepower 2-stroke outboard. I've read that this particular model was produced from the mid-1960's through 1974. They are said to be very reliable and very repairable. Many parts are still readily available. Another benefit is that the motor only weighs 60 pounds, which is lighter than most comparable 9-10hp motors and is more similar to the weight of many 6hp models.
Our particular motor seems to run and start very well. Cosmetically, it could use some work. The previous owner had the engine cowling fly off when he was towing his boat down the highway. So the cowling has several scrapes and a few holes in the fiberglass. I'll post another blog entry detailing the cosmetic repairs that I'm doing.
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