SV Windrifter42

Vessel Name: Windrifter
Vessel Make/Model: Westsail 42
Hailing Port: Portland, Maine
22 September 2014 | Boston, Massachusetts
22 September 2014 | Boston, Massachusetts
13 April 2014 | Charlestown
16 December 2013 | Boston, Massachusetts
03 October 2013 | Boston
03 October 2013 | Boston, Massachusetts
23 April 2013 | Boston, MA
23 April 2013 | Boston, MA
28 January 2013 | Boston, MA
28 January 2013 | Boston, MA
28 January 2013 | Boston, MA
04 December 2012 | Boston, MA
04 December 2012 | Boston, MA
28 November 2012 | Boston, MA
28 November 2012 | Boston, MA
18 October 2012 | Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA
18 October 2012 | Boston, MA
01 September 2012 | Boothbay, Maine
01 September 2012 | Boothbay, Maine
Recent Blog Posts
22 September 2014 | Boston, Massachusetts

Ah! New Bottom Paint

We just repainted the bottom, finally switching from the dull-but-functional black to bright and flashy and hopefully also functional red.

22 September 2014 | Boston, Massachusetts

Boston Harbor

Here we are sailing down Boston Harbor. Photo courtesy of Ben Carey of Sailing Simplicity http://sailingsimplicity.com. Thanks, Ben!

13 April 2014 | Charlestown

Spring Arrives

After a bitter winter, we big goodbuy to our shrinkwrap for another year

16 December 2013 | Boston, Massachusetts

Shrinkwrap season again

Weather is getting colder ...

03 October 2013 | Boston

PlanetSolar Visits Boston

Earlier this year we were fortunate to visit onboard the PlanetSolar boat when she called in Boston. She is the first boat to circumnavigate entirely solar powered with electric engines.

03 October 2013 | Boston, Massachusetts

July 4 - Turning Around the U.S.S. Constitution

"Old Ironsides" out for her July 4th trip to greet well-wishers and to turn her in her berth.

Shrinking Your Boat, or Not

28 November 2012 | Boston, MA
I recently shared this picture with my mom. She said she had trouble explaining to her friends (at bingo of course) that her daughter lived on a boat in the winter - and that the boat was shrinkwrapped. She called back to say her friends wondered why some boats were wrapped in white shrinkwrap and we used clear wrap - what's the difference. For all you folks in warm climates, you can stop reading now and pick up your fresh coconut juice - sooo jealous. If you plan to winter in the north - read on.

Shrinkwrap comes in three colors - blue, white and clear. White shrinkwrap is used more for boats in storage or in the southern climates to reflect heat and keep covered boats cooler. There are some folks that live under white shrink here in the north. White shrink is a lot cheaper than clear. Clear shrinkwrap is used on most liveaboard boats in the north. There are also folks that don't wrap at all. These folks sail their boat in the winter (what hearty souls), or feel the wrap is pretty wasteful (despite the recycling bags), or they just don't want to spend the $300-400 (it you do it yourself) or $1000 (if you have someone else do it) for a few months of winter - in our dreams.

We have chosen to wrap for two reasons. The shrink absorbs a lot of heat and makes your boat a giant greenhouse. One day this week our boat actually hit 70 degrees inside the cockpit - ah creating summer however we can. The shrink also helps keep the snow off the decks and keeps down the dampness inside the boat (also we still buy a dehumidifier). The best way to think about shrinkwrap is that it is three days of really hard work to get it done, but provides great joy come spring in the 15-20 minutes it will take us to cut it all off.
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