Drake -- 40' LOD Munroe-influenced ketch

[J.Madison]

A little scotch helps soothe the nerves from the sound of the torrent I see.

Congrats on the launch, I think they'll have your starter soldered up in no time.

[Dave Hadfield]

That's a worry Dave. I hope it is just the starter.

I think so, John. It was running fine when I put it away. And turns OK by hand on the pulley. The electrical shop said they identified the problem and think they can repair it.

[Dave Hadfield]

A little scotch helps soothe the nerves from the sound of the torrent I see.

Congrats on the launch, I think they'll have your starter soldered up in no time.

Thanks! And you know, in a wooden boat, it tastes fine out of a porcelain cup.

[John B]

I think so, John. It was running fine when I put it away. And turns OK by hand on the pulley. The electrical shop said they identified the problem and think they can repair it.

O great, past experience has shown some of my friends that blown starters are actually hydraulic locked engines, so the alarm bells always ring for me.

[Ron Williamson]

So you might need your new mooring pendant, soonish?
R

[Dave Hadfield]

Ron, right, I don't know when I'm going to be able to pick it up. But no panic. They're at least a couple of weeks away from setting the moorings out. All the chains and such need to be inspected.

Hey, the starter was repaired. It was the classic "Wise Old Artisan" scenario. Hansen's Electric in Midland. He totally rebuilt it, sourcing parts from all over the place, pretty much all new guts, in just a few days. Then charged me half of what a new one would cost -- if you could find one, which you can't.

Then he gave me a good briefing on the industry going to crap, and d------d the Chinese. Perfect!

The Farymann fired right up, as if I ran it last week.

Dave

[Phil Y]

You could celebrate with a wee scotch, from a porcelain mug. Hope you have a great season, with lots of boat days. I liked your comment that things went well, didn't find any rot. The unsaid part being that those of who have and love our old wooden boats often do find a bit of rot here and there, we deal with it, it's just a bit of the ongoing maintenance, nothing disastrous. And then we go sailing.

[Ron Williamson]

I'm working in Meaford a bit,which is the best part of halfway...

I like to sip whiskey and rum out of an old mug.
My current one came from my daughter when she went to Hofbrau in Munchen.
R

[gilberj]

I spent my teens in Meaford. I have only been back briefly a couple of times, but actually a lot of fond memories.
last time I was there I helped a high school friend and I do some serious damage to a bottle(s?) of scotch...... no animals were hurt in this.....

[Dave Hadfield]

[Dave Hadfield]

On Drake we use shockcord to gather up the mainsail and the mizzen once they are lowered. The cord is pulled from one side of the boom, over the sail, and then hooked on the other side. The hooks were all plastic when we got the boat. One by one they have broken.

I replace them with copper.


These start off as this, 3/8" copper tubing from HD.



I flatten the piece using a wooden mallet on the surface of my table saw, then bend it to shape using wooden jaws in my vise.



They polish-up beautifully using Lee Valley's Green Honing compound on a felt wheel.



And in a few minutes are drilled and ready for installation.



It's a fun project on a winter evening, to make half a dozen small things out of copper.

Dave

[Dave Hadfield]

I can't believe I am so out of date on this thread. I'll try and fill in a bit later this week.

But yesterday I discovered that my tender, a 10 ft punt I designed, is on it's last legs. I built it out of cheap plywood -- and I wish it hadn't. Mind you, I didn't know back then (2001) what a great little boat this would turn out to be.

Anyway, if I build up some rot in the sheer with epoxy, and fit another outwale, I reckon I can get another year out of it. But when I had the outwale off, I figured it would be an excellent time to trace the side.

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And now the tracing is marked, labelled, dimensions listed, and hung on the wall. Next winter, build a new one!

[Dave Hadfield]

Sailing pictures from last year -- I got distracted with the Spitfire flight, and posted nothing.

But we got into the water early so I could take a 3-day sail with daughter Kelly, who was finishing up 3rd year med school in Ireland. She had various placements in Canada for the summer, and would be busy, so this was our time to go sailing.

May on Georgian Bay is cold. The helm needs frequent warm food.

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You own the lake.

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But it's lovely to be there and you have harbours all to yourself.

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[Dave Hadfield]

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The May sun is strong, although the water is only 6C in the open lake.

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A light strong person makes the 10ft dinghy fly...

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[WI-Tom]

It'll be two or three months before I manage to get out there again--thanks for the pictures.

I thought September was about perfect--water still warm from the summer, but everyone is pretty much gone from what I saw. May is pretty early to be out there!

Tom

[jsjpd1]

Really nice Dave, thanks!

[Mark0]

No swimming ? lol.....

[Dave Hadfield]

Here's a video from that trip, of Daughter setting out and returning from a row. It shows the tender scooting along nicely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ6h...ature=youtu.be

[Dave Hadfield]

Got the sheer-line of the side built up again by sandwiching epoxy between 2 cheekplates, installed a new outwale, and got a coat of paint on it.

Tremclad -- familiar to Canadians as sold at the ubiquitous Canadian Tire stores. A good polyurethane.


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[Dave Hadfield]

From last September, at Beausoleil Island.

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[John B]

Sweet.

[Dave Hadfield]

It's been the coldest wettest Spring on record -- and I can document that because Drake only took an hour to swell up upon launching. I had a sump-pump rigged, but didn't even use it. There really haven't been many decent days when there was no rain and the temp was +10C. I was ready to work on Drake in April, but that was a write-off.

Windy, too. I need to find a heavy, white tarp, a 14x14 weave.



But she came out of her cocoon well and unharmed.



"Drake" stands for us in the family: David Robin Austin Kelly Et al. Robin hand-carved these out of cherry cut from our property, and then gold-leafed in the traditional way. Done in 2000, and only varnished since then.







Other boat names have different meanings... I admire this owner's sense of humour, although I can't match it.

[Dave Hadfield]

Cleaned up and touched up -- no real repairs this year.



And onto the trailer, because the travel-lift can't get in to the densely-packed yard of boats.



Then transferred to the lift...



And into the slip.

[WI-Tom]

Next up: cruising and sailing photos?

Your slip must be on Lake Simcoe? When you sail in Georgian Bay, do you approach via the Trent-Severn Canal, or overland on a trailer?

Tom

[Dave Hadfield]

Here's a video I just put up of her leaking and taking-up this spring. Please excuse the fact that I held my cellphone the wrong way. (And the mess!)

[Dave Hadfield]

Next up: cruising and sailing photos?

Your slip must be on Lake Simcoe? When you sail in Georgian Bay, do you approach via the Trent-Severn Canal, or overland on a trailer?

Tom

Tom, we're in Penetanguishene, in the SE corner of Georgian Bay. It has open access. No need for the canal, or a trailer.

In fact we're a short row away from where Lt. Bayfield RN built the naval establishment in 1817, to survey and build ships and exercise more control over the Upper Lakes after the 1812 War.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wolsey_Bayfield

[TomF]

Beausoleil Island? Man, that brings back memories - I went to summer camp there for a few years as a kid. Where I really learned to sail and canoe.

[The Jeff]

I always enjoy reading your updates about Drake.

[Phil Y]

It's been the coldest wettest Spring on record -- and I can document that because Drake only took an hour to swell up upon launching. I had a sump-pump rigged, but didn't even use it. There really haven't been many decent days when there was no rain and the temp was +10C. I was ready to work on Drake in April, but that was a write-off.

Windy, too. I need to find a heavy, white tarp, a 14x14 weave.



But she came out of her cocoon well and unharmed.



"Drake" stands for us in the family: David Robin Austin Kelly Et al. Robin hand-carved these out of cherry cut from our property, and then gold-leafed in the traditional way. Done in 2000, and only varnished since then.







Other boat names have different meanings... I admire this owner's sense of humour, although I can't match it.

Where's Pless?

Sent from my CPH1851 using Tapatalk

[Dave Hadfield]

My 10 ft dinghy is back together. I hope it gets 2 more seasons. (The cheap plywood I used doesn't seem such a bargain now, although it's lasted 15 years.)

This time I used pool-noodle as fender material. (Drake's planks are cypress, which is very soft.)

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It went on quite well. I cut the stuff open in as straight a line as I could, and it snapped around the outwale easily. Then I glued the ends together, first using a polyethylene glue, which worked fine, and then hot-melt glue, which also worked but tended to melt the noodle if you applied too much hot stuff.

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It's laced on with tarred nylon seine twine.

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Yesterday I took the newly-cetoled mizzen-boom up, and bent the sail on. Then got stopped by rain. It's weird to be at a dock -- can't wait for the moorings to be ready.

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[WI-Tom]

Where's Pless?

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I thought that was his boat!

Tom

[Dave Hadfield]

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[Dave Hadfield]

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New bimini.

[Dave Hadfield]

Man, I can't believe I haven't posted here in a while...

We did a traditional voyage this year, for these parts -- up to the North Channel and back. I had not been back up there since I started the Warbird flying. But first, there were a few shakedown trips, which usually involve an overnight to Beausoleil.

I love Drake's clean, unencumbered deck.



This is a typical sail rig for a breezy afternoon when solo -- one reef in the main, working-jib and full mizzen.



And weekdays at the anchorage are usually calm and uncrowded.

[Dave Hadfield]

And Beausoleil, which is a Park and receives an on-shore wind from the clean open NW breeze off Lake Huron, has the population of reptiles and frogs that you remember from when you were a kid -- a very loud chorus on a spring night.



This is a Fox Snake. They like to swim -- I noticed this one swimming along the bottom as I rowed overtop. They mimic the Massassauga Rattlers, to help avoid being eaten.



Speaking of eating, I find this little one-burner to be very handy -- nice to fry-up the onions outside.



Mind you, there are always scavengers nearby... which find pool-noodles very comfy for their webbed little feet.



And speaking of feet...