Little to do with Ariel

Today is one of those days that northern sailors long for: blue sky, a gentle breeze, temperatures in the high 50s…the beginning of spring. The urge to dash over to the boat, peel back the cover, and begin commissioning is almost irrepressible; however, I must exercise of bit of maturity – i.e., postpone gratification – and spend the afternoon prepping and grading due to my week-long hiatus to England for the academy’s annual Educational Tour. Sadly, this piece of writing is the closest I’ll get to messing about with the boat for the next couple of days – perhaps a small price to pay for the luxury of traveling England for ten days at virtually zero expense.

We departed for England on March 17th and spent the next ten days visiting the requisite locations: London, Hastings, Stratford, Canterbury, Oxford, Bath. It was a bit of a whirlwind tour, but as an English teacher these were all sights that I probably should have visited years ago; teachers who have seen and experienced their subject exude an enthusiasm and knowledge otherwise deficient. I was especially thrilled with our visit to the reconstructed Globe Theater on the banks of the River Thames. I have often told my students about the Elizabethan/Jacobean stage and the magic of the theater, but it has never been as alive as it is now that I’ve seen it, stood at its center and gazed at the “wooden O.”

Also especially awe inspiring were the several castles that date 700 to almost 1000 years ago. Bodiam Castle, located in East Sussex, is the quintessential medieval castle, complete with moat, towers and battlements, and a romantic rural setting.

Although I could continue telling the wonders of England, I’ll let a few pictures tell the story.

Bodiam Castle








Holy Trinity Church, Stratford, Shakespeare's Burial place

Bottom Work

I had some time yesterday to get some work done on the boat, so I went to work scraping Ariel's hull. In four hours I managed to remove almost all of the ablative paint. Once all of the ablative is off, it's time to sand the barrier coat down to gel coat.

There are only a couple of "small" spots remaining to be sanded/scraped.








I'm anxious for more time to spend messing about with boats.

For want of a sewing machine

My dad and I desperately want to add a dodger to Ariel. In fact, at this year's Strictly Sail show in Chicago my dad said he would pay for all of the materials if I would buy the sewing machine. Tempting? Absolutely. Had my wife and I not just bought a new car, I would have returned home with a brand-spankin' new LSZ-1. Since I couldn't justify the purchase then, I've been searching for ways since. If we are going to add a dodger (and I'm pretty sure we will), we'll definitely want it for the upcoming season, so the sewing machine may not be so much a question of "if" but "when".
At this point I'm pretty sold on Sailrite's machine and reputation. And the demonstration that Matt Grant, the son of Sailrite founder Jim Grant, gave at the Strictly Sail show was impressive. Nice machine.
Another attractive aspect is that we can buy the machine and materials for less than what it would cost to have a dodger built and installed. And once the dodger is finished, it's on to sails!

E3600 6-volt battery

Ariel currently uses two e3600s for the house bank and one Duralast deep cycle marine starting battering for the engine bank. The two e3600s give us approximately 440 a/h but we'd like to double that by adding two more. The additional batteries may require us to fabricate a more suitable battery box in the starboard cockpit locker. For more information on the E3600, visit: KingSolar.com

More than anxious

I am more than anxious to get some work done on Ariel. I’m tired of the nasty weather. I’m tired of too many other responsibilities. I’m tired of never having enough time to do the things I dream about doing. And spending time with Ariel (I know it sounds weird), whether working or sailing, makes all of that go away – well, at least it makes it more tolerable.
To pass the time I visit and revisit the Ariel site. I visit other similar sites (Triton Daysailor, Moonrise, Callipygia). I watch Jean-du-Sud! I read: Heavy Weather Sailing, Alone Through the Roaring Forties, etc. I pore over catalogs. I do this.
Mostly, though, thoughts of summer adventures aboard Ariel and outfitting her for cruising fill my mind. There’s the holding tank we would like to replace. The broken radome to deal with. The electrical system to think about – add two more 6-volt batteries, solar panels. Then there’s the idea of making my own set of sails, which leads me to the sewing machine, the sail loft, and virtually limitless possibilities of imagination. But back to reality – at least for now.
The things that must be done prior to launch are: 1) install bowsprit rollers and finish bowsprit repair; 2) sand bottom to gelcoat and repaint with VC17; 3) wax hull; 4) install mid-ship cleats; 5) secure mast cables using sail slides and internal track; 6) install new radar (?). Anything else we choose to do can wait until Ariel is in the water.