Removing the Winter Cover

Spring is here... time to remove the cover.

Aside from cleaning the boat during the season (Vicky's hobby) the one job that we regularly do is to put the cover on in the autumn and take it off again in the spring.  It's a job we can do, we don't get too messy and it's hard to screw it up.

So yesterday morning, we made the trip up the NJ Turnpike and got to Pedersen's just before 10:00.

I climbed up and inside the cover and opened the hatch.  This step is always a little unnerving... how did she fair over the winter?  I looked in, and it looked like a cyclone had struck with open drawers all over the place, mattresses upturned, and things in general disarray.

Which is exactly how I left her.  Excellent!

(Mattresses are upturned, doors and drawers are left open over the winter to allow for maximum air circulation and reduce the chance for mold and mildew growth.)

With that, we started working on the cover... Vicky made her way around the edge, clipping off the wire ties, and I worked from the bottom, untying the ropes that secure the cover to Seas The Day.

NOTE TO SELF:  A couple of the ropes are starting to fray... get a spool of replacement to take with you in the fall.  (Yes, I read my own blog, and part of the reason to blog is to make notes for future reference.)

The work went surprisingly fast.  In no time (less than one hour), Vicky had made her way around the edges and I had wound up all the ropes and we were ready to fold (well sort of fold) the covers and toss them down to the ground.

About that time John showed up (he offered to get coffee, which got him out of working - the coffee was appreciated) and we went to his place to wash up a bit before going to lunch at Nemo's.

But not before I grabbed a selfie... a day on your boat is a great day - even if the boat is still on the ground.

After lunch, we had a quick trip back down the Turnpike and spread out the cover parts, refolding in a much better manner according to Vicky's strict guidelines.

A job well done (and completed by early afternoon)!

Winter - Knee update and winter checks

Well, it hasn't been a typical winter for this sailor.  My knee issue developed after closing down last season and eventually resulted in surgery in early December.  A skilled surgeon, a new procedure for treating stress fractures (among other ailments in the same knee) and an incredible physical therapist have resulted in my getting clearance from Doc to start sailing next month.  One thing I learned is that when you seem to have a set-back in a recovery, don't wait... head back to Doc.  (I had some fluid build up in March that once drained, gave me a great leap forward.)

So the first couple of trips back to Keyport resulted in me just checking Seas The Day from the ground (more of a "is she still there" sort of trip - yes, I also stopped by and visited John).

I also got some nice shots of the dock in winter...

Eventually, in March, I was able to climb the two ladders and get on-board...

She seemed to weather the winter OK.  We will probably go up this weekend (Easter Saturday) to pull off the winter cover.

Of course, that means that spring expenses started... yacht club launch fees, boat yard fees to prep the boat, clean her up and paint the bottom, etc. and a surprise (well... not really, known about it since December) cost to fix up my mooring.  But we'll save the mooring discussion for another day.

The Cost of Owning a Boat - "Seas The Day" (Catalina 315) 3rd Season Costs

(Image credit: Wealthmanagement.com)

First, some references to our First Year Costs and our 2nd Season Costs for those who want the full picture of the costs of owning and using a new 30ft sailboat.  This is going to be a simple and matter-of-fact post... read the earlier ones for more explanation.

Again, there are no "startup costs" so we have "Seasonal Costs" (the cost of owning the boat for a year) and "Excursion Costs" (an estimate of the cost of using the boat).


SEASONAL COSTS

- Mortgage was $12,000 (we round the mortgage payment up to $1000/month).
- Insurance was $1,441
- Maintenance was $1,414 (mostly cleaning, waxing, and bottom cleaning)
- Mooring & Storage was $2,445 (Haul out, winterizing, mooring care, etc.)
- Safety equipment was $571 (new anchor, mid-ship cleats for docking, etc.)
- Accessories were $658 (spinnaker lines and fairleads, replacing solar panel, etc.)
- Yacht Club expenses were $2,518 (dues, launch service, coupons, events, etc.)

That's a total of $21047 (be nice... I'm rounding), which is a little more than last year.  We still don't have much in the way of maintenance other than cleaning.  I hope that keeps going for a bit longer.


EXCURSION COSTS

For excursion costs, I try to estimate the cost of the typical excursion be it a day out and back from the mooring in Keyport, or a longer endeavor.  I try to include actual marina costs, any special provisioning, a guess at fuel and any tips to the launch drivers.  We basically had two types of trips this year.

First is a 4 hour day on the water - starting and ending at Keyport, NJ.  A rough guess for this trip is about $40 it's really not that expensive beyond the cost of ownership.  Note that I do NOT count the costs of meals consumed on land in Keyport.  We had 15 days like this for a total cost of about $600 (again, these are guesses).

The second type of trip was our six day vacation on the Hudson River.  This was our first time doing something like this and yes, it was a bit expensive.  Marina costs were $800, provisions $150, fuel $75 and tips of $30 or so.  We also ate in restaurants a lot at a cost of $1074.  This trip cost us $2129, and total excursion costs were $2729.


So all in all, it continues to average out to about $2K per month.


So what did we get for all this money?  A great week-long vacation, 21 days on the water total, and sharing sailing and Seas The Day with 20 people (not to mention friendships and great times at KYC, etc.).  Despite my knee issues that cropped up in August and forced an early end to the season, it was more time on the water than last year when we moved.  We also learned a lot!

(NOTE:  As of this writing, I had my knee surgery in early December and seem to be on-track to resume sailing when the season starts in May.)

Finally, some have asked "why post this?"  That's a fair question and I do it each year because back when we were thinking about purchasing Seas The Day, there was little information about what it actually costs to own a new boat.  So I share this in that spirit.  Is this exhaustive?  Probably not... I'm sure I'm missing $20 spent at West Marine or at the fuel dock here and there, but I think I'm getting many of the costs.  So how would I gauge the costs of cruising on your sailboat?  I'd look at the mortgage payment and double it.  It may not work in all cases - and it certainly depends on how you keep it, etc., - but it would get you close enough to ensure your budget can handle a new boat.

I'll see you in the spring!

Winter cover

October 16th...

Well, this is new for us... actually having everything buttoned up so early in the fall.  But with my knee issues and Vicky leaving soon for China, we had to get it done.  Pedersen's accommodated us and fast track the hauling and winterization process and yesterday we were able to install the winter cover!

So the only thing left for this season is to pay the bills!

Closing it up

So with the season ending due to my knee issue (see previous post, below), I saw one window to get Seas The Day ready before a major storm comes up the coast. Calm winds (not too much rocking) and high tide (I don't have to struggle down a steep ramp to the floating dock) meant I could go along and help.  I somehow convinced Vicky to get up early and we headed to Keyport Sunday morning.

Basically the goal was to get all the liquids out of the boat - perhaps bedding too and then get Pedersen's to haul her out.  

We made it to Keyport around 10:00 AM and found the tide high and the sea calm - both requirements so I could help.  We pulled all the bird chasers off the boat and readied everything to load onto the KYC launch. 

It was a little sad to see the season over, but we were glad to get it done. 

After having Dim Sum with the Millers, we headed down the NJ Turnpike and stopped at Auburn Road Vineyards for a snack (and a case) before returning home to DE!

An Early End to the Season

I've been battling knee pain for the past month.  Initially it was a "pinched plica" (a membrane of sorts) and I tried the anti inflammatory, etc.  I found a brace or two that helped a bit (see photo in the previous post), but on a recent business trip, it got worse and worse as I walked around.

So once I returned, I went to get an MRI and then to the Orthopedic Doc and had it drained.  Upon reading the MRI he realized it was a "stress fracture of the upper tibia" (a sort of deep bone bruise, he said).  I didn't get a copy of the MRI, etc., but the photo below looks almost the same.

Photo Credit.  www.radiologyassistant.nl

On mine, there is no hairline crack in the X-ray (why it was diagnosed as the pinched plica) and the white area on the MRI is closer to the joint.  The basic facts are I have to baby it until a brace comes next week to unload the joint and then wear that for 3 to 6 months to give the bone a chance to heal.

There's no way to boat with a cane this weekend, and once I have the brace... well there's some bad family history where (before I was born) an uncle drowned when he fell in the water wearing a cast.  As I said relating to alcohol, I really don't want "stupid boater" listed as my cause of death, so given the fast approaching end of the season, it's time to have Seas The Day hauled.


It's a tad disappointing... we were hopeful for a few more days on the water (perhaps even a week-long break).  Vicky returns to China mid-month, so we're really only loosing a couple of weekends together (weather dependent of course), and maybe a weekend or two of solo sailing (if I had pushed it to the end of the season).  Still, we had 20 days on Seas The Day this season which was four more than last year (when I switched jobs and we moved).

I never did get to try out the new single-handing rig for the spinnaker... something for next year!

Full Moon Friday

We decided to take a Friday off and go sailing.  This is the mid-Autumn festival (a Chinese national holiday), and with the full moon, it seemed a great time to go.  So mid-morning, we headed up the Turnpike and after lunch boarded Seas The Day.

The weather report had it nice with 10 knot winds, which was true for Keyport.  But halfway across the bay, they picked up to a steady 15 to 17... a bit high for my taste.  We had almost all the sail out, and since the bay had a fair bit of "roll" to it (a longer periodic wave), it was pleasant, but you needed to keep on your toes.

We made it across and back a few times, but had trouble pointing into the East wind.  

When we had enough, we pulled in the sails and then motored around to charge the battery.  Eventually heading back into Keyport.

As we made our way up the Keyport channel, the birds were out in full force.  I was able to capture a small number of them as we passed their current feeding area.

We decided to rest a bit and wait for sunset.  It proved to be a good decision, despite the lack of clouds, the sunset (and corresponding moonrise on this full-moon night), was nice.

(A side note... after nine months of trying to sell, we just ended up renting our condo, center below.)

After the moon rose, we called for the launch and I tried to capture some moonlight over Keyport photos.

Thank God for leaf shutters!  These were hand held on a moving boat!