[C38] Life on a mooring

les hlhowell at pacbell.net
Fri Jul 1 21:33:03 EDT 2011


We had JACE on a mooring for several years now.  One of the worst
features is boarding over the stern.  With chop and wave action, or
wakes, you are essentially taking your life in your hands.

	One of the things on my to do list was an amidships ladder to use near
the double stanchion for the life lines.  I had found a design for one
that folded up somehow, to be a flat package.  If I remember right it
used pianowire hinges on the steps, and had angle iron for the step
support when the steps were folded out, although with the strength of a
piano wire hinge, I think that is probably overkill. YMMV

	The other issue is folding and storing the ladder.  The stern ladder on
ours has a hinge in the middle.  When unfolded all the way, that hinge
is a slice of metal right at dinghy tube height.  I therefore always
used the ladder folded and used a bit of line to keep it securely folded
to prevent the inflatable from riding up and down on the edge.  I
thought about adding some wood spools on each side to remove the metal
from touching the dinghy, but again, never got round2it.

	Worst problem is washdowns.  If you do not have a washdown pump, that
will go on your list early.  It is amazing what accumulates on the boat,
even away from the dock.  Birds nests are something to watch our for as
well.  One year we missed out on several weeks of sailing waiting for a
nest of swallows to hatch and move on.  After that I changed the boom
cover design a bit to make it seal a bit better on the outer end. More
fasteners and a bit of an under cut to the end.

	Mussel shells GRRRR!!! the seagulls love using the boat for musseling.
They left us nice white drips on various parts of the canvass and deck,
and one time apparently one overgorged a bit.  Boy, that stuff could
market for gorilla glue.  We didn't get to it for a couple of weeks, and
it had baked on.

	The dinghy becomes a ferry boat, carrying groceries, water, and parts
out to the boat, carrying dirty clothes, trash, and everything else
back.

	A hint... We got a appliance dolly to put the dinghy on, and left it in
a storage locker at the marina.  GREAT!!! best way ever to carry a
dinghy.  Roll it up, strap it on, and wheel away.  If you are lucky
enough to have good dinghy storage for a hard dinghy you won't need
that.  Nancy made up a good sized bag to carry our life vests, the nav
lights for the dinghy, some dry cloths (to wipe it down on an overnight)
and a small first aid kit.  Don't forget tweezers for the first aid kit.
Almost all docks are wood, and splinters are an occasional hazard.  Keep
some Neosporin in there as well for the same reason.

	In California, all the gas has ethanol in it.  I don't know if this is
nation wide or not.  Gas with ethanol doesn't store well.  about 3
months is the life time in the dinghy tank.

	We discovered that a bit of vinegar or bleach will help kill the stuff
on the dinghy bottom, and the oars make good scrapers to scratch the
critters and grass off when you "forget" to take the dinghy out of the
water for a while.

	The plug for the drain on the achilles (and probably others) won't seal
after a while.  STUFF!! Darn stuff, collects in the hole, and must be
cleaned, and the little stopper apparently shrinks or gets worn and
won't fit tight.  In other words, the dinghy leaks.  Those nice tall
bilge pumps made out of PVC work OK, but they leak like the dickens
around the top and the hose.  I was able to seal the hose with some
silicone, but the top leak is because there is no O ring or stuffing of
any kind to seal the top.  I use a washrag to keep it from spraying back
into the boat.

	West Marine sells a padded cushion with a bag under it.  Don't waste
your money.  The pad was too thin, and putting something under the seat
eats up space for the back and forth stuff to/from the boat, and it was
hard to use.  We never use it.  I make a wider seat which helped more
with the comfort than anything.

	Remember that big bag? Here is the list:
	1. Anchor with 50' of line and 3' of chain.  Small danforth works well.
	2. bow light and all around light for the dinghy
	3. engine tool kit (spark plug, shear pin or cotter key, wrench(es) and
double ended screwdriver medium slot and phillips.
	4. life vests (we use the manual inflatables.  they store easily and
are not bad to just wear.)
	5. Marine radio.  If you get in trouble in a dinghy you can call for
help.  The coast guard can triangulate a marine radio, but not a cell
phone.  Might save your life.
	6. a GPS. (alkaline batteries in a waterproof can)
	7. flares of course the small personal ones work OK for this.
	8. two bottles of water just in case.
	9. Some spare line 3/8" about 20' just in case you need a tether or
have to be towed in.
	10. Because I am diabetic, we also kept a couple of energy bars.
	11. Throwable.  We keep one of the red ones in the bag.

	Like you, Nancy loved being on the buoy.  I am fat, not big, FAT!!.
Going over the stern is tough for me.  I never liked it, but couldn't
find a solution I really liked for amidships boarding.  That was my
biggest complaint.

	Good stuff.  No noisy neighbors.  Zincs last longer. No electricity,
but we added solar panels (by the way make sure if you do this, to get
the boost controller with the second output for the starting battery.
You get 15% more energy, and both batteries stay up.  I forgot the
starting battery, so I have to periodically run the engine to charge
mine.  An echo charger would work, too.

	Boat motion, mostly good.  fishing from the boat if your marina is
clean enough, great!!

	Looking at the skyline at dusk or morning.  Watching ships come and go
from the boat!

	I'm really going to miss it.

	Remember to check your CNG or propane regularly.  Running out and
dinghying a tank is a pain!

	One other good hint.  Use the boom and vang to haul heavy stuff out of
the dinghy and into the cockpit.  Used this to get 4 6V golf cart
batteries on and off the boat.

	We took a few years to figure out that we could haul the dinghy on
board with the motor on it, then take the motor off while the dinghy was
hanging above the deck.  No more heavy bending and lifting.  GREAT IDEA.
Use a bridal on the transom of the dinghy to take the strain for the
motor and adjust the bridal for the bow so the lift is biased about 2/3
back from the bow.  It works wonderfully.  We use the spin halyard for
that.  Dinghy is < 1/3 the stress the halyard takes with a spinaker.
Just make sure to keep a control line on the dinghy bow to control the
swing and position of the boat.  I use the bow line for that.

Regards,
Les H
On Fri, 2011-07-01 at 20:00 -0400, Marci Brown wrote:
> Today we abandoned the cushy world of a marina slip with power and
> water... and had a shiny new mooring dropped today. Now we’re hooked
> up and LOVING it. Okay, it’s only been one day so it’s too soon to
> know if I’ll enjoy it long term. Would anyone like to share techniques
> and experiences [lessons learned, useful adaptations, etc.] of working
> exclusively with DC, inverters, using less fresh water, keeping hot
> water access, and so on? We don’t want to run the engine all the
> time! 
> 
> We live on the hard in Winthrop, Mass. (with a bird’s eye view of
> Boston) and can row our dinghy ~ a quarter of a mile to Checksy. We
> are right on the water and can see her with binoculars. Life is good!
> 
> Have a wonderful 4th of July everyone.
> 
> Marci J. Brown
> 
> Checks in the Mail
> 
> Email: mb at seafor.us
> 
>  
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Listserve mailing list
> Listserve at catalina38.org
> http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org







More information about the Listserve mailing list