Day 39-42 Becoming a Sailboat Again
07 November 2013
OK, now we’re out of the canal, we seem to have more choices and more freedom ahead of us. That also entails more responsibilities. Now we have to watch the weather, the time, the current, the tide, the wind, our direction, and our speed to make the best possible choices to a destination. Then you have to plan contingencies, just in case. This is the first time we depended on NOAA paper charts, too, much harder to read and interpret than a canal chart.
By noon, we went through the Troy Lock with no problem since this was the 36th lock to go through. The noticeable difference was that you had to use your own line around a pipe to hold you in place. After the lock, we were moving downstream at 8 mph. Doesn’t sound like much if you are not a sail boater, but it is such a great sail when we hit 7 mph and that’s with the sails up! Remember, our masts were lying down on the deck. Around 3 pm, we grabbed a mooring ball at Castleton on the Hudson. We learned quickly to have everything secured. This was a major traffic area and there were some very large barges and commercial pleasure crafts passing by. Their wakes caused some discomfort, but also knocked loose items around.
Next morning was so foggy, that we postponed our start. Instead we ate a hearty breakfast and downloaded marine charts. The clouds and fog gave way to blue sky and 46 degrees as we headed to the Catskills. We still got to Hop-o-Nose Marina in the early afternoon with an appointment for 5 pm to steppe the masts. Sean and his crew work efficiently and effectively. After two hours, we were a sailboat again, although we had yet to tighten and inspect the rigging and put on the booms, sails and lines. We celebrated by eating at the marine restaurant along with the crews of Ocean Cowboy and Amicus, who would be stepping their masts the next day.
Thursday’s start was later than usual, but the work began right away. John started with the stays and shrouds (the wires that steady the masts). I was the gofer… getting tools and materials…when suddenly the companion hatch stuck. I could not slide it back to enter the cabin of the boat. Push or pull, no movement. To go below, I had to crawl in backwards and down the stairs. Was it moisture? Was it deck compression? Did it go crooked? We let it go for a while since we really wanted to put the boat back together. The spreader lights kept snapping off, possibly from the water that had accumulated in them, so we thought some drying time would correct that problem. The roller furler line chafed and made it difficult to roll up the jib sail. That was solved by moving the four blocks to starboard so the angle of the line on the drum did not rub. Finally, John’s attention came around to the companionway. The companionway cover needed to be removed to figure out why the hood could not slide. Our beautiful curved teak, the main feature of an Endeavour sailboat, has to be cut apart in two places. John cut the teak along the original seams and popped the bungs out to unscrew and lift out the curved center. Luckily, the fiberglass hood stayed attached to this center piece and the whole top lifted off. Inside there were the broken hood pieces, rotted wood, and debris. I cleaned this up while John made new wooden slides and glued/screwed the broken hatch pieces to the slides and to the main hood. We removed all the old caulk around the edges and applied new to seal it all…for another 36 years. It was long past dark when all the tools were put away. As we surveyed the final product we both realized that it was a great job and everything that John needed was on board. We were tired after 12 hours of nonstop work, and a little hungry, too.
Friday, October 11 was a continuation of getting Antares ready for sailing. John had to go up the mizzen mast to change the spreaders. He had always noticed that something was wrong about them and now had the facilities and help to figure out what was so odd: the spreaders were on up-side-down and backwards. Now they look right (only to an expert; I couldn’t tell). He did so much more: fixed the main mast spreader, put the mast boot on, lashed fuel tanks, organized spare lines, hosed off the deck, and more. I went shopping with Annette from Ocean Cowboy in Catskill, and enjoyed looking out over the marina and Antares from the bridge we crossed. It was 32 days later, but yes, she was a sailboat again.