May 22 - 27 — Two Sails and the Solution of the Water Problem

During neither of the sails was the wind strong enough to be exciting. The first was with Sheila, Lene,  Christine and Heather on ILENE. We sailed off the mooring to avoid exposing the the boat to the engine area leak and sailed until the last 90 seconds when we used the engine during our second attempt and successfully grab the mooring. Our track was back-and-forth across the mouth of Eastchester Bay with a long trip of the Eastchester River and back down again. It was a hot day and by keeping the wind at or forward of the beam most of the time we achieved enough apparent wind to cool off. The clever launch operator maneuvered the launch so I could capture a pleasing background as well as the beautiful crew.

The second sail in this period was aboard Bennett’s Ohana with him and five other Old Salts, joined by four more who sailed with Dave on his Lady Kat and who joined us on Ohana for the libations. Bennett was contented to let me try to keep the boat moving in light air with dead patches. A good time was had by all. Thanks, Bennett!

From the left: Mike, Dave, Virginia, Clare, Janet, me, Bennett, Sandy, Rich and Beau. Photo credit: Social Member, Anne, thank you.
The next day I spent 2.25 hours with a new, to me, diesel mechanic, Peter, who I met while he was working on someone else’s boat at the Huguenot this past Winter. He seemed like he knew what he was doing and mine was his first job at the Harlem. I was mindfull of the time because I’ll be paying him for it. It took him two minutes to find the leak associated with the diesel that I had not been able to see. The black hose transmitting water from the sea, through the seacock to the raw water strainer providing cooling water to the engine is taken off the input pipe each fall to permit the entry of antifreeze the the engine and then replaced and its hose clamps tightened. After more than 20 years of this the clamps had cut a slit in the hose. Bottom of the next picture. This was temporarily fixed using the clamps and new replacement hoses were purchased the next day, to be installed soon.

Similarly, it took no time for him to figure our that the old Rule 1500 bilge pump was kaput, to install the new Rule 1500 automatic one, with built in float switch. It fit into the existing base without the need for new screws and the existing discharge hose attached to it. A test wire from the battery showed that it works well, but most of my time with Peter was spent trying to find out why it did not work through the existing wiring and the the electrical control panel. I knew there was a fuse back behind the panel and that it worked, but the culprit was another one, chased down (by the control number in the book and the color of the wire to it behind the control panel) to an in line fuse near the batteries under the aft cabin berth. Missions accomplished. Then an hour and a half putting the boat back together and putting all the tools away, and the salon table reattached. Like with some many other toys, the time and expertise goes into finding the problem; once found, fixing it is easy.

Next day I picked up the new custom made aft cabin mattress from our upholsterer and brought it to the boat and put it in place. I also measured and purchased from Bridge Marine the two replacement hoses. Installing them will be the next job. I’m planning to keep the new mattress covered in sheets, i.e., ready for its intended use. This for two reasons. First to keep it from getting stained by folks, including me, traipsing in and out of the aft cabin and second because the new fabric is slightly more “nubby” than the old and hence a slightly more attractive target for the kitties razor sharp claws.

May 10 — 21 — First Sails, But The Water Problem Is Not Yet Fixed, Though Managed Through A Sail and The 139th Annual GIC.

 Well the first sail was with Bennett and Dave, bringing “Ohana” from the Huguenot to the Harlem. But with a stop along Island, in Port Washington for lunch at Louie’s. Thanks, Bennett! Thirty years ago that restaurant sold good fish at low prices with a salty unambitious ambiance. It keeps upgrading its ambiance, its service and its prices. But it still offers free dockage while you dine. During the season they have a man on the dock to catch your lines and tie you up. But the season has not started. Bennett did a good job without him.

The only other sail was the inaugural convening of the Old Salts aboard ILENE, her first sail of the season. There was great wind from ten to noon, while I provisioned, put out flags and cushions, took off instrument covers cleaned a bit and put in the first reefing line, in case of high winds. But during our lunch the winds died, so while we sailed for ninety minutes, it was generally a slow day out there. But everyone was happy to be out on the water.

I had experienced crew aboard so I put Dave at the helm on a safe course while motoring and tried to find out where the salt water was coming in. It definitely is coming in from in or near the engine, but I could not find the source. Until Pete, the new mechanic, comes on the 26th, I have to use the engine as little as possible, remember to close the seacock that admits seawater to cool the engine when it is not running, AND most importantly, remember to open the sea dock before running it to avoid letting it burn itself up. So I’ve been going to the boat frequently and will continue to do so — to pump out what comes in before too much of it builds up. Pete will also be installing a new bilge pump with built in float switch, to pump out the water as it comes in, at the nominal rate of 1500 gallons per hour, almost half a gallon per second. Actually a bit less because the pump has to pump the water up before it pumps it out, which reduces the pump’s effective capacity.

Here, on the launch at the end of the day, from left to right: Mike, Richard, Janet, Beau, Dave, Christine, and Sandy.

For several days high winds had prevented my trying to mount the sails, and the mounting occurred on four separate days thereafter. First came the Mainsail, in which task Dave volunteered to come over and help. Thanks, Dave! His help was most useful in connecting straps, one on each side, from the top front of the stack pack to loops attached to each side of the mast. Someone has to lift while the other one clips on; I’ve done it alone, but it was so much easier as a two man job. 

Before that lifting I almost caused a catastrophe by pulling the working end of the outhaul line through its clutch and into the tunnel under the main deck. I pulled to loosen the outhaul to make it easier to attach the clue of the sail to the outhaul but I pulled it too loose, causing me to lose the working end of the line. This gave me the opportunity to demonstrate to Dave how snake tape works. We fed in the stiff metal tape, attached it to the line and pulled out it’s missing end. No harm done, just a preventable waste of time. 

Another calm day I attached the two head sails to their furlers. But at the end of that I day realized that the smaller one had been coiled backwards, with its blue protective canvas coating on the inside rather than doing its protecting. So the third day,  again in very light wind I unfurled and reran the furling line around the furling drum the correct way and was able to furl that sail properly. 

With the help of Rear commodore Doug, who ran the technology, I chaired a meeting of about ten boaters of the Harlem and City Island Yacht Clubs who are interested in a summer cruise, as a club (with the fellowship such cruising permits) of longer than two days. They selected an eight day duration to start on August 2, and left it to me to fill in details. I love cruise planning.

Another day was a full one at the Club, without a visit to ILENE. After complimentary bagels and coffee we got started at about 9:15 and worked until almost 3:00 before the complimentary lunch. Who says we don’t work for food. But in reality we work for the good of the Club and the opportunity to bond with our coworkers. Several big and small projects got accomplished. I joined a team of about ten men who  put up a fence along the south side of the Club’s parking lot.

It involved providing a straight level surface to attach the five by eight foot panels of posts, strengthening each panel by glueing and screwing additional horizontal boards across their backs. To make them stronger and more rigid. Others with more skills lined up the mounting boards to existing posts. Those are 4.5” long hex head screws I’m screwing in with a powerful electric drill.

I also drove in about 400 shorter screws to hold the bracing boards together using a less powerful portable electric drill. The learning curve that the team climbed made the job much faster for the later panels than the earlier ones.

My safety taboo in this picture is not the risk of my accidentally swallowing the screws, but that I averted my eyes from the work.

And the Harlem’s 139th annual Going Into Commission Ceremony and Party was another success. The weather cooperated with a nce sunny afternoon and evening and the party is always timed for a Saturday with high tides when the club looks its best. 

The highlight of the ceremony was the announcement of the new name of the newly refurbished launch, after our late honored and beloved Past Commodore Fred Haymon. During the winter our Luanch Chairman had spent months completely refinishing it’s underwater hull, it’s brilliantly gleaming dark blue freeboard and the multi layered coat of varnish or poly on its teak rails. It literally looks better than it did when it was launched some 40 years ago.

Changes to the ceremony and party since  COVID, however. The new additional deck (for outdoor dining mandated by COVID) at the north side of the lawn reduced the lawn area making for several ranks of uniformed honored past and present commodores and Flag officers.  But more significantly we finally came to grips with the reality that the full sit-down  multi-course dinner in the upstairs ballroom with several entree selections could never be successfully accomplished in a timely fashion out of our small kitchen. And the hot and cold hors doeuvres during the cocktail hour between the ceremony and the dinner were better than the dinner itself. So we they eliminated the sit down entirely and extended the duration, quality, variety and quantity of the foods in the cocktail hours. A new cash bar will inhibit alcoholism and drunk driving. A lovely party  except that I put on a few pounds.

I was on City Island during nine of the twelve days reported on in this post — summer has arrived.

May 4-9 — Yes, Launched, But Not Sailed — Due To Currently Unsolved Water Problems.

 Before motoring away from the Huguenot on Tuesday I checked the bilge and it was essentially dry. The next check was on Thursday, with plans for David and I to help each other mount sails on each others’ boats. But there were about 40 to 50 gallons of water in ILENE’s bilge and my half of our time together was devoted to removal of the water and trying to find out how it got there. Then we mounted the Main on David’s boat. 

The bilge is only about six inches wide at the bottom, but widens to about three feet at the top. The water was still six inches or so below the bottom of the cabin sole so no harm done. But the automatic bilge pump,  like a sump pump (controlled by a float switch) in suburban homes, was not working. And it still is not, despite a couple of hours work by David to try to find out what is wrong. He found that electricity is flowing to the switch on the circuit breaker that controls the sump pump, but it does not turn on when that switch is turned.

I’ve started using a hand-held battery-operated liquid transfer pump and a five gallon bucket to measure how many gallons I pump out each day. 

Five on Friday, and salty. There is also a separate shallow square sump under the diesel and I noticed that it was full and took out four more gallons from there. This suggests the water if coming in from aft, possibly the bearing where the propeller shaft exits the boat. Maybe the large volume came in while motoring for an hour on Tuesday.

Saturday the Harlem’s scheduled work party was rained out by heavy rains and winds.

Sunday, Mothers’ Day, was supposed to be the first sail of the season with some new friends, but it got rained out and also thwarted by the fact that the sails are not mounted. The day was a huge success for our caterer, with many families dining in the restaurant in two seatings. Checking the bilge after two days with all that rain, the shallow sump under the engine was rather dry, I pumped twelve gallons from the bilge and tasted it. A lot less salty. This suggests rain water from the top.

Also, after removing the boards of the aft cabin giving access to the propeller shaft and exhaust “elbow”, I ran the engine for a few minutes and even put it in forward for a few seconds, straining against the mooring, to look for water entry, but found none. If the theory that the water is coming from back there is correct, maybe I have to run the engine at a higher speed for a longer time (after the sails get mounted, and I can take it off the mooring).

Meanwhile I have obtained a sheet of rubber to fashion a better barrier against rainwater entering the boat from the top, through the mast partner — the hole in the coach roof through which the mast passes on its way to its base just above the bilge.

Frustrating, but this too shall pass.

April 20 - May 3 — LAUNCHED

 Four work days, two with Ilene’s help and one with Fred, who lives in our building and has sailed with his wife and us. Lene concentrated on the interior and Fred on the exterior topsides.  A lot of cleaning still needs to be done. But the inside looks pretty good again after removal of all the winter work supplies. The salon table top looked cruddy but washing, abasing with toothpaste and pledge has restored its luster. My eagle eyes detect that the narrow center panel and the port wing, which are left up most of the time gave developed a very slightly blonder shade of cherry than the starboard wing which is normally closed down in the vertical position and hence gets less sun. Modest amounts of mildew on the overhead this past winter are all gone. I trashed the old reading lights in the Salon and butt connected the wires and mounted the shiny new ones. But there was a fifth light, in the aft cabin, so I took the least tarnished of the old and spent an couple hours applying brass cleaner and elbow grease and then polyurethane, rather than order a fifth fixture. 

I purchased two LED “bulbs”  to fit the floor lights, as an experiment, to see if they fit. Doctor LED  knows his bulbs and the ones he sent, subject to refund, do fit. But at $27 a piece, I will not replace the other four. I got one in red for nearest the companionway. Red light does less harm to night vision than white light. In removing the fixtures to get to the sockets I removed 23 years of accumulated grime from the reflectors behind the bulbs.

That may be the reason, or part of the reason, that the LEDs appear to be brighter than the older bulbs.

It was a thrill to restore the blocks, lines and life sling to their useful exterior positions on ILENE, to get her rigged for summer. For one set of shackles, those holding the blocks for hoisting the dink to the davit bar, installation must be done ashore; in case a piece is dropped by Mr. Butterfingers, it might be found by diligent search in the gravel below rather than being irretrievably swallowed by the seawater and the mud below. No droppage this year.

I’ve used pieces of the vinyl tape normally used to “paint” boats’ names on their sides to hide scratches and peeled spots in the dark blue boot stripe. I asked the BoatUS Boat Name department  for scraps of Navy and offered to pay and for shipping, but they sent me a large supply, not scraps, totally free. Sadly one can’t look a gift horse in the mouth and the color is just slightly lighter than desired. If you look carefully you can see the spot:

I worked with Bennett of “Ohana” at our mastheads, using the services of his talented and brave friend Jesse and my new electric winch handle to install wind instruments.

Bennett’s now works fine, but we discovered problems at my masthead, and following a reply by Davis Instruments, a return trip will be required. 

The hole at the top of the post into which the instrument should screw seems blocked. I can either drill out the bad parts or buy a new mounting post. 

And it’s a long way down!  

And the port tank is full of fresh filtered water.

The actual launching on May 3 was uneventful. David, of “Hidden Hand”, helped me. We drove to the Huguenot in my car and after lunch and painting the bottom of the keel he drove my car to the Harlem Yacht Club to wait for me to motor the boat over there. The launching was exactly at 2 PM, as scheduled, at the high tide. But the yard men who have to reinstall ILENE’s forestays before I could leave the dock had to launch another boat while the tide was still high enough, so there was about an hour’s delay. David persuaded me that I did not need to further delay to mount the small jib before departure — that in the unlikely event of engine failure, I could anchor before ILENE went on the rocks and mount the sail while on anchor. But the sail was laying on the foredeck and the wind started to whip it around a bit so I let auto pilot steer for a few seconds, re-folded that sail and secured it to the deck.  

At the Harlem end of the short passage, I found my mooring but the pennant had gotten wrapped up in the pickup stick and I had to use the boat dock to catch the pennant and attach it at the midship cleats. Then I ran another line from the pennant to the bow of the boat, released the pennant and tried to pull it to the bow cleat. But the wind was too strong for me to actually physically pull it all the way in. I could hold the line by the friction of the cleat but not pull it in. And then the Cavalry came riding to the rescue: David on the launch. I had negligently failed to check the very early-season hours of operation of the Harlem launch. It was scheduled to operated only until 4 PM and David persuaded our competent and helpful chief launch operator, also named David, to remain a few minutes later to come out and get me. Also, when David came out on the launch he was able to board ILENE, and at my direction put her in forward gear, very briefly and slowly. This relieved the strain on the temporary line so that I could properly attach the mooring pennant to her bow cleat.

David and I plan to return to our boats in a few days to help each other mount our sails. And I already have a sailing date for the weekend. Ilene will be away for a week at a spa in Baja California.

But it has not been all boat work either. I attended both a zoom meeting of the City Island Yacht Club‘s Cruising Committee with which we are cooperating, and a live slide show meeting at that Club by a knowledgable local resident of Norwalk, Connecticut. He described each and every one of the 25 so-called Norwalk Islands (some mere sand bars) where a two-day mini-cruise that CI YC has organized for themselves and Harlemites is scheduled to anchor in June. The speaker also described many famous and not so famous people who have had experiences in the Norwalk area since colonial days.

I’ve also solicited the members of both clubs who may want to take a longer one or two week Joint cruise this summer to attend a Zoom meeting to find out who can go on such a cruise, whether they can all get time off from work the same time and on the proposed itinerary. I plan to offer the eight day cruise that the Harlem did not “use” last summer as a starting plan, subject to the changes any of the participants want and can agree to. The Fleet Captain is not a commander but a volunteer unpaid “trusted (somewhat) servant” whose job title could be “cat herder”. But ILENE cannot actually sail with the group, if such a cruise comes off this summer because we plan to be sailing to Canada.

Learning that a new couple who have joined the Harlem has bought a Catalina sailboat lying in Greenport that has to be brought to City Island, with their permission I solicited all of our members for an experienced sailor who may want to accompany them. If no one accepts the opportunity I may volunteer myself.

Another member wanted to bring a very classy antique Herreshoff ketch from Eastern CT where they bought her to the Harlem in a three day sail and requested my advice on good spots to spend the two intervening nights, which it was my pleasure to give them.

But the most fun of all in this route planning activity was to create the first draft of ILENE’s scheduled itinerary from the Harlem to and in the St John River in New Brunswick, Canada during the period July 5 to August 12.  The homebound portion of the cruise, back to the Harlem to arrive around Labor Day, is still entirely unplanned except that I’d like to stop a few days in rugged unspoiled Grand Manan Island, in the Bay of Fundy, and at a port on the western coast of Nova Scotia to meet up with Greg and Wanda, our Scotian friends. Planning cruises is almost as much fun as going on them!

Social life has also continued, including four evenings of theater, one with Bennett and Harriet, dinners with Tom and Marie who are not sailors but love to sail with us, and Bruce and Linda, former Harlem sailors who now belong at the Huguenot  and drive a trawler, “J-ERICA”. Bruce taught me a lot about racing back in the early 90’s and sailed ILENE with me and others on her first voyage out of the Chesapeake (to the Harlem) back in 2006.

A highlight of the social scene during this period was the very imaginative, well planned and very tasty “1812 Dinner” at the Harlem. It was conceived by Rear Commodore Doug, planned by social chair Erin and executed by Caterer Anne. It was based on a menu of foods that might have been eaten by Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin of Robert O’Brian’s swashbuckling novels of the Royal Navy during the wars against Napoleon. Those flawed heros would have been very lucky to have had such good food.

Soon my posts will be shorter, more regular and hopefully more interesting,  now that sailing season has commenced.