Bandwagon, Big Food, Hornpipe & Rowan do Barkley Sound

[Autonomous]

It's two and a half days driving hard at 60 mph with the boat behind me to get to Port Townsend, or to Anacortes...

Seriously? Is your glass half empty? 'Frisco to Olympia is a reasonable day's drive, Anacortes is more work but still doable in a day.
Or do you live further south?
Set up your boat for the way you will use it, not how you might use it. As you learn her you will become more satisfied and stop longing for what could be. When you do get up here wear and carry your kayak gear. No need to sleep on the boat.
BTW the Salish Sea doesn't have our only water trail, there is one on the Columbia River too.

[WI-Tom]

Sailing on the Pacific in a boat built by me was pretty much the highlight of my year. It pretty much blew my mind, and for once I felt like I was ahead of the game. That's pretty damn rare in life. The 'charge' is real.

What's this all about? Have you done the truly ridiculous and sail-and-oared your way to Easter Island or something in Big Food?

Tom

[pcford]

Seriously? Is your glass half empty? 'Frisco to Olympia is a reasonable day's drive,

"'Frisco..." (?)

[Autonomous]

San Francisco...

[pcford]

San Francisco...

Best to call it that...particularly while in San Francisco...

(Went to school in the Bay Area...Have not been there in ages. Might be about time.)

[Autonomous]

OK, thanks. Urban Dictionary
The folks I know in LA, Bishop, Arcata etc. call it 'Frisco. Knowing it gets the natives panties in a bunch I will use it only when I want to toss a carefully aimed barb.
My apologies, Alan.

Though I have doubts, my wive's uncle lived in the marina district for decades and he called it Frisco

[BBSebens]

Seriously? Is your glass half empty? 'Frisco to Olympia is a reasonable day's drive, Anacortes is more work but still doable in a day.
Or do you live further south?
Set up your boat for the way you will use it, not how you might use it. As you learn her you will become more satisfied and stop longing for what could be. When you do get up here wear and carry your kayak gear. No need to sleep on the boat.
BTW the Salish Sea doesn't have our only water trail, there is one on the Columbia River too.

14hrs from Bellingham to San Francisco. Its been done.

Thats a single long day. Each way. Totally worth it to come here.

[stromborg]

San Louis Obispo to Seattle/Bainbridge ferry terminal in just over 18 hours. Just made the ferry. Ack that was along day.

Steve

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Alan did well to raise the question, but boy do I like Kevin's answer.

[Alan H]

And Alan, even though there are hardly any proper boat-in campsites around the Bay and Delta, aren't there plenty of nice stinky sloughs, creeks, weather shores, etc. where you could drop a hook or mud out for the night? No, it's not orcas and white-capped peaks, but it's something, and your Skerry is a good bit more capable than the El Toro that guy sailed from Richmond To Stockton.

You might be surprised. Yes, there are lots of tidal sloughs and so on down around Milpitas also around Redwood City. So yes, you could "mud-out" for an overnight there. One thing I am looking forward to doing is circumnavigating Baer Island, down here. Long story, I'll tell you when I meet you. That will be a medium day of "slough sailing" and rowing, and it could be turned into an overnight, I suppose.

You could take a trip up the Napa River, at least for 20 miles or so, anyway. And of course there's The Delta which has a lot more opportunities for this sort of thing. But "the Delta" is not San Francisco Bay. I've sailed on SF Bay for 20 years and never gotten into The Delta...truth. Then again the vast majority of those 20 years were spent racing keelboats, singlehanded. "Cruising" was never on the agenda.

Dinghy cruising up the Delta? You bet. You might notice that the other boat that did the cruise that Paul Kamen wrote about was a Contender dingy....a boat that would give McMullen, Yeadon and Hvalsoe, fits, when considered as a small cruising boat. So that's DINGHY CRUISING....which is not the same thing as this magic thing called "Sail and Oar" cruising, as per much discussion on this forum.

Personally, the last couple of months of me considering all this, including writing in this thread has been kind of eye-opening and cathartic and I'm not gonna worry about it any more. --> "Words on the Internet" and all that. I think I"ve made my point and hopefully haven't pissed off too many folks. Just gonna finish the boat and go fart around in it.

[Alan H]

You all are welcome to drive 14 hours non-stop. I will take it in two days, with lunch breaks, and the spinal nerves in my L4 vertebrae will appreciate it!

[pcford]

You all are welcome to drive 14 hours non-stop. I will take it in two days, with lunch breaks, and the spinal nerves in my L4 vertebrae will appreciate it!

right you are...why suffer. I went to school in California...Grant's Pass is a good place to regroup.

[pcford]

So that's DINGHY CRUISING....which is not the same thing as this magic thing called "Sail and Oar" cruising, as per much discussion on this forum.

I spent one golden summer sailing on the eastern San Francisco Bay in a Lido 14, a tubby little plastic boat. I thoughly enjoyed sailing over very lumpy water propelled by wind straight from Japan. I would not exchange it for a moment sailing "Sail and Oar" style in our glorious San Juans. My point is that both are great...why should a person tell another what the "correct" way to enjoy oneself might be? I get a little twitchy at that. I suspect that our three fundamentalist ayatollahs may be having some fun at our expense.

[sailoar]

I spent one golden summer sailing on the eastern San Francisco Bay in a Lido 14

Cal Sailing Club?

[pcford]

Cal Sailing Club?

yessir.

[stromborg]

You all are welcome to drive 14 hours non-stop. I will take it in two days, with lunch breaks, and the spinal nerves in my L4 vertebrae will appreciate it!

I'll see your two days and raise it to 3.5, coastal route, on two wheels.

This has been a very interesting discussion. Had it been on my radar before committing to the boat I just finished I may have made different choices, then again maybe not. We'll see after a season or so of actual use. For now though, the best boat for me is the one sitting in my garage waiting for me to come out and play.

Steve

[Alan H]

Cal Sailing Club?

The Cal Sailing Club is a great organization. Nice! .... and Lido 14's, while indeed a bit "tubby" by "modern dinghy standards" are still a good old time.

[Alan H]

I'll see your two days and raise it to 3.5, coastal route, on two wheels.

This has been a very interesting discussion. Had it been on my radar before committing to the boat I just finished I may have made different choices, then again maybe not. We'll see after a season or so of actual use. For now though, the best boat for me is the one sitting in my garage waiting for me to come out and play.

Steve

Absolutely. Yes. THIS.

[pcford]

The Cal Sailing Club is a great organization. Nice! .... and Lido 14's, while indeed a bit "tubby" by "modern dinghy standards" are still a good old time.

Don't tell me that the same Lido 14s are there...forty years later!!! Some of them were pretty whipped then!

[sailoar]

Don't tell me that the same Lido 14s are there...

Yep, still bucking like colts in the East Bay chop.

However, (ahem) let's return this thread to Barclay Sound. Somebody start a What to Do With Small Boats in the Bay thread.

[KMacDonald]

I spent one golden summer sailing on the eastern San Francisco Bay in a Lido 14, a tubby little plastic boat. I thoughly enjoyed sailing over very lumpy water propelled by wind straight from Japan. I would not exchange it for a moment sailing "Sail and Oar" style in our glorious San Juans. My point is that both are great...why should a person tell another what the "correct" way to enjoy oneself might be? I get a little twitchy at that. I suspect that our three fundamentalist ayatollahs may be having some fun at our expense.

Lets face it, there is only one "correct" way and I am about to tell you which.
Sail & Motor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chris Woodward]

Lets face it, there is only one "correct" way and I am about to tell you which.
Sail & Motor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take your motor and go
Go far
Go fast



Go away

[James McMullen]

This thread is in danger of completely heading south here. . .don't you have your very own thread to pee in, MacDonald?

So here's some boat porn starring my own favorite centerfold to try to get us back on track. One reef in the fore, two empty kegs in the beer tender for floation, headed NNE across Admiralty Inlet where the majority of the water (and the large ship traffic) for the entire rest of Puget Sound flows in and out with currents reaching as high as six knots off of Point Wilson. Now if I'd done that in a freaking motor boat, would there be any particular drama or interest at all? Having also done this crossing in a motor boat, I can assure you that there was none. None whatsoever. It was fricking boring. But in Rowan it was kickass and sublime.

[Breakaway]

James--have you done a thread on the "beer tender" or at least have photos ( that your hosting site didn't eat! )? I'd be interested in that little boat.

Kevin

[wizbang 13]

I got a pic of the wee tender!

[Breakaway]

That's great! Thanks Bruce

Kevin

[James McMullen]

Yeah, I really ought to do an actual thread on her. Still, here's a few more to tide you over until I get around to it:

[Breakaway]

She looks to tow well!

[James McMullen]

That was part of the design brief. Especially since she will almost always be towed well above hull speed in seas that are relatively monstrous for her scale. Round-sided prams do better than just about anything else under those parameters.

[gilberj]

What is her draft?? Certainly seems to hold her beer better than most guys, and is better looking.

[BBSebens]

What is her draft?? Certainly seems to hold her beer better than most guys, and is better looking.

Like!

[TomF]

What is her draft?? .

Newcastle.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Excellant. We have exited the 'fundamentalist ahatollah' swamp. Bullseye on the pathetic chart.
That Lido looks like a fun boat.

I downloaded Iphone video from Barkley Sound onto my PC - seems to have turned it into a test screen.
The sounds of water against the hull are just about my favorite part.

[KMacDonald]

This thread is in danger of completely heading south here. . .don't you have your very own thread to pee in, MacDonald?

James, don't give up soo easily. I know its hard but all things worthwile are. I think we are close to a resolution.

Is the beer tender your design or a cradle boat? I looks great.

[MoMan]

Such precious cargo should be required to be outfitted with BFDs, although I suppose they are neutrally bouyant.

I was about to ask for a better close up photo of your push-pull tiller, but this shot does the trick for me. Is the swivel connection hardware specific to tillers? Or did you repurpose it from something else?

--Mike

[James McMullen]

Is the swivel connection hardware specific to tillers? Or did you repurpose it from something else?
--Mike

Oh no, that was custom cast from a painstakingly hand-carved pattern out of the finest virgin bronze alloy by the light of a waning gibbous moon after offering up the necessary chants and sacrifices to Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth. I just couldn't find quite what I was looking for on the shelves at West Marine.

[WI-Tom]

Oh no, that was custom cast from a painstakingly hand-carved pattern out of the finest virgin bronze alloy by the light of a waning gibbous moon after offering up the necessary chants and sacrifices to Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth.

What??!!? You left out Shub-Niggurath?!!?! There's a goin' to be trouble...

Tom

[Yeadon]

New cut ...

[bott]

New cut ...

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