Vacationing to MD, afraid of boat cops.

[Thermo]

So, in the middle of this hectic summer, we're also leaving for a few days on a camping vacation to Frontier Town Campground.

It's situated on Chincoteague bay, about 3 miles south of Ocean City, MD. We're wanting to take the SummerBreeze this year and play around the shallow bay a bit, and already have basic 'permission' from the campground to keep it at our bayfront campsite.

This is an 11' little open skiff with a lugsail. It doesn't need to be registered in WV because it's motorless. (We keep a couple paddles in it for getting back in when there's no wind at the lake.) There's one channel through that part of the bay, and it's not heavily trafficked, and we aim to avoid it if possible anyway.

Are we going to run into trouble with the boat cops on Chincoteague bay midweek? We've got PFD's that we actually wear, plus one spare (for a butt cushion!) and a whistle. We've got a bailer and a sponge, and paddles tied to the inwales.

Is there some Maryland thing like a course I must take, or a license, boat number registration, or some strange bit of gear that's required? In WV, and even in the lake I usually sail in, you just drag the boat to the water and go. I make sure the PFD is on and visible from a distance mainly to avoid trouble.

If it's too much trouble, I'll just leave the little guy at home. It's just that I built it with the idea of exploring the water surrounding the campground, and it would be a shame to leave her at home.

Any Marylanders know the MD rules, or a link to a page explaining it?

[Kaa]

I don't know Maryland rules, but in general if you are not a resident of the state and are just visiting (usually defined as less than 30 days of being there), you are not subject to this state's registration, etc. requirements. You're still subject to boating safety regulations, but these vary a lot.

Check the web or just call the local cops/park rangers/whoever polices the waters.

Kaa

[switters]

summer breeze pictures please?

http://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/statelaws/WestVirginia.html

all the info you asked for, the summary is that you do not need to register, just operate the way you described you usually do.

have a great trip.

[Thermo]

summer breeze pictures please?

http://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/statelaws/WestVirginia.html

all the info you asked for, the summary is that you do not need to register, just operate the way you described you usually do.

have a great trip.


Thanks for the help, thanks to everybody else too who replied!
I'm going to also take the CGA Safe Boating course that the campground is offering next week for $3. Not a bad price for a three-night course 100 yards from our tent!

Here's our Summerbreeze "Sparrow" (named by my kid after Jack)
The back deck is off here on launch day, as we were leak-checking the aft airbox. That's the Upper Potomac river as it winds past my town's boat ramp.

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s12/smagmags/launch.jpg


Here's the campground where we like to stay, we usually tent on that sandy point on the right. At he extreme right edge of the pic, there's a little lagoon behind the tents kayakers use to launch in, and you can see the little channel through the marsh grass to the bay.

http://images.marinas.com/med_res_id/38222

[switters]

Good looking boat, and kid. Thanks for posting the picture,

[Woxbox]

Looks like a beautiful spot for a vacation. Reminds me of times past. And no video games all week, right?

[Mike Vogdes]

The Frontier Campground is an awesome place to take the family camping.. I stayed there a few times back in the eighty's, we had a great time. There was a guy with a roach coach (coffee truck) who would come around in the morning with coffee and good breakfast type stuff, then in the late afternoon he would return with steamed crabs. He was real popular...

I fished a few times aboard one of their outboard john boats, it was allways great fun. Its typical back bay salt marsh area, you will have a blast sailing there, just don't forget the bug repellant of your choice, the bugs can be pretty nasty. And you do need to be mindfull of the current, getting hung up on a strong ebb with no wind, will carry you pretty far in no time. A handheld VHF or cel phone at the very least, could come in handy. Those boat cops allways back off a little when they figure out you built your own boat. Have fun.

[PatCassidy]

You probably will get the answers to all your questions from the local Coast Guard Auxiliary.

[Thermo]

The Frontier Campground is an awesome place to take the family camping.. I stayed there a few times back in the eighty's, we had a great time. There was a guy with a roach coach (coffee truck) who would come around in the morning with coffee and good breakfast type stuff, then in the late afternoon he would return with steamed crabs. He was real popular...

I fished a few times aboard one of their outboard john boats, it was allways great fun. Its typical back bay salt marsh area, you will have a blast sailing there, just don't forget the bug repellant of your choice, the bugs can be pretty nasty. And you do need to be mindfull of the current, getting hung up on a strong ebb with no wind, will carry you pretty far in no time. A handheld VHF or cel phone at the very least, could come in handy. Those boat cops allways back off a little when they figure out you built your own boat. Have fun.

I'll have a celphone and/or a FRS radio, whatever looks the easiest to keep dry at the time.

I like that bay, my kid likes to pick up horseshoe crabs and play with 'em. We've camped there for the past 8 years and always liked it.

When / if I get to build this Chebacco, we aim to sail it all the way down that bay to Chincoteague and back.

[Tanbark Spanker]

Bay Nazis, eh?

[Bryan Robinson]

Boating rules are posted in the Department of Natural Resources for Maryland. Here is a link
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/

[Thermo]

Hey I got back from vacation with the Sparrow. Didn't run into the boat cops, but I saw one once.

However...

1. The bays are too shallow, my leeboard and kickup rudder were almost always 'up,' destroying any windward performance.

2. No matter which shore I tried to launch from, the wind would change to give me a big lee-shore issue to deal with. Coupled with the lack of pointing, it meant a lot of hassle and not much sailing.


3. I broke my rudder mount, and had to make a temporary fix from the hardware store.

4. I broke my tiller. I should have made a beefier tiller.

5. The rig has horrible lee-helm and I have to rework it. I'll probably make a new sail altogether before summer is out.

but no boat cops messed with me. Probably couldn't get their launch into the 10" of water I was trying to sail in.

[paladin]

once upon a time in a land far, far away.......I messed up a new engine....by not running it periodically......had it pulled in Annapolis for overhaul.....never liked engines much anyway.....since I was from "outta town" I didn't have Md stickers on the boat...the water gestapo would cruise around looking for boats with no stickers......I've been stopped a dozen times.....and the idiots always came aboard to look for an engine.....I didn't need no stinkin' engine and felt better sailing without it...they would never take my word for it...

[Thermo]

Really, my boat trip to the bay was a bit of a fiasco. You'd all laugh at me if I wrote it up. Suffice to say I won't be making any plans to sail on these Atlantic back bays again. I guess there's a reason I never see any sailboats when I vacation out there. Next adventure will be in the neighborhood of the Chesapeake instead.

[Vince Brennan]

Really, my boat trip to the bay was a bit of a fiasco. You'd all laugh at me if I wrote it up. Suffice to say I won't be making any plans to sail on these Atlantic back bays again. I guess there's a reason I never see any sailboats when I vacation out there. Next adventure will be in the neighborhood of the Chesapeake instead.

Oh. come on... 'fess up! We're all friends here and NO-ONE would laugh at you.... not really....

Well, maybe a giggle...

[Thermo]

Oh. come on... 'fess up! We're all friends here and NO-ONE would laugh at you.... not really....

Well, maybe a giggle...

Day 1:
Arrived at campground, to find that my money was quite welcome, but not my boat.

Her: "...and no boats, etc..."
Me: But I called ahead 2 weeks ago just to ask if I could bring my dink and the lady on the phone, Beth, told me it was OK.
Her: "there is no one by the name of 'Beth' working here. Our policy clearly states NO BOATS"
Me: I wouldn't have brought it if I didn't have prior permission. I called weeks ago about this.
Her: Since you 'say' you called, you can take it in this time, but don;t bring it back any more!

Still, I hid the boat behind the tent because the fellows who patrol the campground probably would deny the existence of the reception lady if I told them this story.

Day 2: Assateage Island:

Assateage Island is a long N/S running barrier island that's all National Park land. To its East, the Atlantic, to the West, little coastal bays. At this point, we launch from the West side of the island into the Sinepuxent Bay, at a launch ramp meant for canoes and kayaks.

As I'm setting the boat up on the ramp, Joe Tourist Douche approaches me. As a West Virginian, I know a stuck up, clueless, overwealthy Northern Virginian / Washingtonian when I see one. He stinks of Starbucks and Loudoun county strip-malls. His new big SUV is double parked nest to my 1987 Ranger.

He starts heckling me at the ramp to impress his wife, who is visibly rolling her eyes behind her designer sunglasses.
"You build that thing?" Yes... "You sure it doesn't leak?" Yes... "Don't you need a license or something?" Bend over and I'll show you my license sir.

Driving to the Island I noticed all the flags and wavy-arm guys at the gift shops were strongly rippling in the direction of the Island. This worried me then, and I founf my worries justified as we shoved off.

We were on the lee shore in about a 15 knot breeze, trying to head West into the bay with the wind in our faces. Not a big problem, I thought, as there's just enough room in this cove to tack out of.

I had my course in mind, and got the boat pointed that way. My wife was in the middle, kid on the bow and myself near the back where I could reach the tiller. I had my wife move fore and aft until we seemed trimmed niceley.

But the boat didn't go. It turned downwind and vlew us toward the marsh, while Mr Heckler laughed.

Why, I thought, did the boat not go upwind? It always does at the lake. Ah! The leeboard is up. Why is the leeboard up? It's not too tight, I checked it.

Oh. The water in this cove is seven inches deep. Well that sucks!

We came around and found a slightly deeper spot, and got out of cove 1, which is in the back of cove 2. Again, up went the board, and into the marsh we did go. But at least we were now out of sight of that jerk at the ramp, so I used an old sailor's trick.

I jumped out of the boat into the knee-deep mud, and grabbed the painter, and dragged the boat, with the family in it, out around the point until we were at a place where we could get some steerageway across the wind.

Ecstatic, I began sailing on a beam reach across the big cove, and gaining speed, I began heading up, hoping to make it past the next point into some more open water. The little bay waves were splashing over the gunwales and I was happy for five minutes. Directly across the big cove was the next point, and I would have to turn to port (upwind) clear it, but the board was finally down. The Sparrow was bobbing along merrily, her mast creak-creaking in the step, little splaches of bay-water sprinkling on our faces, and I was joyous.

But my wife wasn't. It being her second time in a boat, as we turned upwind and the Sparrow began bobbing into the waves, she got awfully strange. It went like this.

Her: We're too far out to sea!
Me: We're 100 yards out in a cove.
Her: It's too deep here!
Me: The water is three feet deep, and we're not swimming.
Her: We're going to die!!!

Now my kid is crying as well. We're still in this cove, 100 yards from the point I dragged us around, and 300 from the other shore. I abandon the idea of trying to get out of the cove. If she's panicking in a with 6 inch waves, she's going to explode in the bay. I make for the other side of the cove to beach the Sparrow, all the while listening to my wife's cries of: "You have no idea what you're doing! You're in over your head! You've brought us all into danger!"

This is the same wife who ordered me to go buy a big cruising yacht 2 weeks before. She has a bit of an anxiety problem.

We beach the boat and I look back across the cove to where we started. Pathetic distance. I could have swum it in 10 minutes, or walked across in hip waders. After they both calm down, we head back there, stopping once to look at dead crabs and driftwood.

And just for the sake of justifying all my wife's harsh words, fate decides to break one of Sparrow's hardware-store pintles just as we're pulling back to the ramp. "SEE! I TOLD YOU!" echoes through my dreams.

Day 2: Same Bay, different shore

Having made a quick repair with a trip to Lowes, my rudder works again. Now we're back at the campground, facing the same bay from the mainland shore. It's two day s later in the vacation, and the wind is from the South now. Meaning I can go across the bay and back, and not have any lee shore anywhere!

I go alone this time. Wife and kid are off at the campground pool or somewhere. I drag the boat through the marshes to the bay and I'm off!

Now, this time nothing is blowing me back to shore! I head straigh out of the campground boat channel. And point upwind, ( I always start out going upwind if I can help it.) I'm moving along nicely, and am getting out to the middle of the bay.

And then suddenly I'm not..... What? Side slippage? And what's that noise? God, the whole bay is like six inches deep, and the board is up again! I begin to blow downwind, and decide I've had enough of this bay and it's lousy six-inch water! But I have to make the campground and not get blown down the bay past it, and with the board down, it's not happening.

I'm waaay over on the tiller, just making steerageway. I keep having to come off the tiller to get speed up, and steer again, and repeat.

Then, SNAP. The rudder digs into the sand and the tiller comes off in my hands! Loverly! Out of the boat I go again to drag it back to shore. This time I just strap it in the truck with it's broken tiller and try to forget about it for the rest of the vacation.

So, I won't be sailing in Sinepuxent bay no more. If I ever go back with a bigger boat, I'll motor through that bay's channel and won't even think about sailing until I'm in the bigger Chincoteague Bay to the South. Hopefully my wife will be over her fear of the foot-deep green bay of death by then.

[Woxbox]

Thermo -- Great write-up. We've all been there.

[Thorne]

Some advice from someone who's also "been there" --

First, take a lesson from other boats that are used for what you'd like to do -- copy their rigs and propulsion systems. There is a really good reason why most boats used for gunkholing and "messing about" have either oars, small outboards or both. Paddles are for racing dinghies or those who sail very protected waters with tows available back to the dock when needed. When the water is too shallow or rough for sailing, row!

Second, as someone who's wife doesn't swim, do it alone first. Once you know you can handle the boat in the waters, wind and tide conditions of the cruising grounds === THEN take guests, kids and wives out...

Third, build for heavy usage and extreme conditions. Many small boats have large skegs, kickup rudders with oversize hardware that are completely shielded by the skeg when kicked up, and other features that allow sailing in shallows without breaking anything. Quick 'n dirty construction or cheapest/lightest parts will always bite ya when least expected. Having broken two masts, a bowsprit and a centerboard on my dory skiff in three years, you can regard me as the voice of experience in making those particular errors.

[Thermo]

Well, I've already started a bit with the new tiller. It should be stronger, I hope, with solid cherry rails. The rudder mounts are being beefed-up as well.

Here's the old, broken tiller sitting along side of the New Ultra-Mega Tilla' 2000™
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s12/smagmags/newtiller.jpg

[Kaa]

Um... I see the new tiller as being much prettier and lighter. But I don't see any reinforcement in the spot where the old tiller broke -- your new one is likely to break in the same way in the same spot. Maybe you want to add some metal straps?

Kaa

[Thermo]

Um... I see the new tiller as being much prettier and lighter. But I don't see any reinforcement in the spot where the old tiller broke -- your new one is likely to break in the same way in the same spot. Maybe you want to add some metal straps?

Kaa

Ok, how about this then? (But with some flsh head bolts instead of these?)

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s12/smagmags/newtiller2.jpg

[Kaa]

Ok, how about this then?

Much better, I think.

Kaa

[dpincus]

There ya go!

When I was a kid I had the exact same kind of failure. I made two new tillers before the third replacement worked because I made it stronger with a reinforcement on the outside just like yours. But hey I was 8.


dp