That's it

There's not too much to report now that Ariel's out of the water. Perhaps the only news is that her cradle appears to have been damaged during summer storage. One of the poppets is slightly bent and needs to be straightened and beefed up with a new support. I'm thinking I might be able to borrow a welder from the shop teacher and weld up a new support.

The cover went on a couple weeks ago. The boys and I spent a Sunday (or holiday Monday?) constructing the PVC frame and securing the cover. This season marks the fourth season the cover has been in use. I'm pleased with how it has held up. The only maintenance was a bit of restitching where the thread had begun to chafe. Otherwise, it is doing well.

We're in the midst of another storm, so it's pretty windy. I checked on Ariel yesterday and tightened the cover a bit. Additionally, I placed two containers of moisture absorbent to keep Ariel's cabin dry.

The winter worklist might get some attention as soon as I finish a couple of canvas projects. Some of the things we'd like to accomplish include: install new instrument package and secure mast cables; install new diesel deck fill; loft and construct new yankee jib and staysail; construct new mainsail cover; construct and add lee cloths; re-bed sintered bronze plate; track down a head odor; and other miscellanea.

I've taken an engine oil sample that I will send to Blackstone Laboratories for analysis. We have never had the oil analyzed, so I'm curious to know just what the report indicates and whether it might reveal something related to the increased cranking time we've been experiencing lately.

On blogging

What more can I say? (Lots, I know, but who's going to read it?)

On the hard again

Ariel was hauled around 10:00 this morning. I arrived at the boat (with Jake) around 8:30 and proceeded to slack the rig so I could disconnect the backstay for haulout. Not surprisingly, the allen key for the furling drums was nowhere to be found, so I had to borrow one from the yard. I started up the engine and let it run as I was messing with the rigging so the oil would be nice and hot for the end-of-season oil change. Once again, the engine cranked quite a bit more than usual before catching. I sure hope this isn't the beginning of something bad.

I stripped the dock lines and backed toward the fuel dock. Ariel, as usual, had other plans - she just won't back predictably. I finally spun her around to starboard and brought her starboard stern to rest right by the end of the fuel dock. From that point I gently coaxed her back, using a blast of forward every now and then to get her bow in the right direction. After pumping the holding tank, we moved Ariel to the slings and up she went.

Jake and I had to make a trip home after Ariel was out of the water because I had forgotten the anti-freeze and extension ladder (it never fails!). I think there were at least three other trips to various places before I finally had the oil changed and the engine and head winterized. I stripped off some gear, but I'm going to have to make a few more trips.

The mast is scheduled to come down Thursday. I need to modify the sawhorses before then to accommodate the roller furling units. I wish I could buy some time; there's just too much to do this week.

October sail

The four boys - Jake, Josh, my dad, and yours truly - got out for an October sail this afternoon and, boy, was it chilly! The temp was 40 and the wind was NW around 8-10, gusting to perhaps 12-15. Waves were about 4-6 ft with a couple of bigger ones every now and then. We departed the channel around noon and returned a couple of hours later. We spent the rest of the afternoon stripping sails and getting Ariel ready for haulout tomorrow. It's a sad time of year, but given the weather lately it will be nice to have her out of the water so I can quit worrying.

The haulout date approacheth

The weather Sunday turned out slightly worse than the forecast. A local weather station recorded a 65mph gust, and the surge was actually as bad as it had been during the previous storm. Dad and I spent the night aboard just to be sure that Ariel stayed put. She did. Once again, other boats didn't. A nearby sailboat and a small powerboat broke stern lines and banged against pilings. Most of the other boats had cleared out of the marina following the earlier blow, so there were only a handful remaining. The night was mostly sleepless and a heck of a way to begin a new week, especially after a long (and tiring) weekend at leadership conference.

Haulout is scheduled for Monday. I have the day off, which will give me a chance to winterize the engine and other systems and get Ariel ready for storage.

Here we go again

Mother Nature is back at it with her typical fall weather.

301 PM CDT TUE OCT 6 2009
...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING...
.TONIGHT...SOUTH WINDS TO 30 KT BECOMING WEST GALES TO 40 KT THIS
EVENING...AND THEN VEERING TO NORTHWEST GALES TO 45 KT OVERNIGHT.
CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES 14 TO 18 FT.
.WEDNESDAY...NORTHWEST GALES TO 35 KT IN THE MORNING BECOMING WEST 10 TO
15 KT BY LATE AFTERNOON. WAVES 10 TO 14 FT SUBSIDING TO 5 TO 8 FT IN THE
AFTERNOON.

I've scheduled Ariel's haulout for Monday, so she'll just have to hang tight. She weathered the last storm fine and she's still tied up as she was. Dad is here for a series of talks at my school so I suppose he'll have the privilege of staying aboard this time. I'm still trying to catch up from last week and a weekend at a leadership conference.