MATTAMIKE

The weekend was beautiful, I had to check on the boat.
The shrink wrap held up pretty, except for the seagull ripping up a section
about two weeks ago. April 1st should be my official spring start date.
Attached is a photo of the shrink wrap job on the boat.
Not much to speak of over the winter, I did get a new temperature &
humidity gauge for the cabin.... That's all folks

I mentioned on the earlier blog that my diesel (universal m-20) would not
disconnect electrically. I called J-Way Marine out of Scituate. We met at
the dock in Duxbury at 8:00 am. Jay took only 40 minutes to find the problem.
I had an worn out starter key switch. You would think it would last longer
than twenty five years, they just not making them like they use to.
Anyway we tested out the new switch an every thing is fine.
We would be all set for the weekend, but now we have Tropical Storm Danny
coming up the coast ready to hit us on Saturday.
I now have another plan, I am going out to San Diego to the big marina
for an environmental conference.
We are now back in action getting ready for Labor Day.

With hurricaine Bill approching we were a little reluctant to set sail.
But with the summer coming to a screaming end I thought it was worth
the risk. So after outfitting the boat with provisions we (me, Jan & Ellen left Thursday,August 19 heading east. At first the winds were out of the east and we ran the engine till we were at least 5 miles out. Then the wind started
to head from the south and pick up. The boat raced toward Provincetown
and we were at the dock at 6:00 for cocktails.
Always looking to see how Hurricaine Bill was doing we went to town and
found out it was Carnival Week in Provincetown. The place was packed, I
had never seen so many people in such a small town like this. You could hardly
move for all the people. The only draw back was the town was hot from the
weather. We enjoyed the sites the Drag Queen Parade and all the other
activities.
We stayed 2 days and then it was time to leave. Hurricaine Bill was going
to produce some heavy swells for us on our return trip. We departed
port a 6:50 am Saturday and headed in to a SW wind. As we rounded
the neck of Provinetown I went to stop the diesel engine. I cut the fuel
off and turned the key off, but the engine would not disconnect electically.
The fuel pump was still running and the oil pressure alarm stayed on.
I finally hit the main switch and every thing went off. We sailed on,
the wind now came from the south and we barreled back to Duxbury
sometimes hitting 7.2 knots on the GPS. We arrived a Plymouth Harbor,
started the engine and was back at the Mooring at 1:20 pm.
More to come on engine repairs. Bye

Stayed close to home, worked on an electrical problem on the
cabin lights. Alternator belt problems, too loose, no replacement
available, ordered new on out of Universal.
When new belt is installed you only have 3/4 inch to tighten.
Belt life is usually only one year......
My 5 hp Yamaha on the inflatable was also giving me a problem.
The fuel selection valve has to be exactly in position for it work
properly. The motor would cut out after 5-6 minutes of use.
After several tries I finally figured out the problem. But it did
affect wheather I would depart or stay in port.......
I also tried out my kayak around the harbor....
That's it quiet weekend.

Mattamike departed the bay Saturday morning with winds from the south at 6 - 10 knots. As the day wore on the winds rose to over 20 knots with white caps over most of Cape Cod Bay. The boat was traveling 6 - 7 knots easily but was hard to control. We were going to reef the main but as the winds increased sailing began to lose it's
appeal. We were half way to Provincetown when we decided to turn around. We sailed back on the jenny not losing any speed, heavy wave action on the deck, getting soaked in the process.....
There was concern of a front coming in later that night, heavy lighting
and wind did hit around one in the morning. Last week a sailboat two boats over from us in Duxbury Harbor was struck by lighting.
It killed all the electronics on board and burned the sails.
I am being very conservative in my old age......
I did receive a call from Frank Prall captain of the Bonnie Lee.
He was up at Sail Boston Friday night and told me they resticted the
movement of the boats so much that it was not worth the sail to
Boston..... When the next Sail Boston in ten years....

Captain GIGI

We have a major decision to make for the weekend:
1. Go to Boston to look at the tall ships
2. Head east to Provincetown
3. Go south to the Cape Cod Canal to Marion or Cuttyhunk

I will let the crew decide or we will let the wind decide (no motoring).

I have just completed a small project, I replaced the cockpit storage box panel. It was not a big project, but it took a while to complete.
The wooden panel was cut as an exact replacement with five coats
of marine varnish. I would have put more coats on but became impatient with it's installation. (see attached photo)
The old panel was the original (25 Years) and needed to be replaced.