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Summer days

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T O P I C R E V I E W
Voyager	Posted - 08/19/2022 : 08:17:01 The sun is still hot and the days are still long. Time and date tells me we still have 13-1/2 hours of daylight left for outdoor activities. For me, this time of year - the next 60 days it the �golden hour� of the sailing season. This is when I enjoy an overnight raft up with friends around the Sound. A buddy from Northport LI, and a guy and his family from Madison CT with a Polynesian-style catamaran. We fire up the gas barbecue and grill some steaks, burgers, and fresh sliced zucchini. Our usual haunts are Port Jefferson, LI, the Thimble Islands in Branford and the Norwalk Islands. I�m also happy to host them behind Charles Island in Milford if they�re passing by. There�s still a lot of sailing season left, so go out and enjoy it. I�m looking forward to more adventures, and misadventures too!
25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
Voyager	Posted - 01/07/2023 : 09:49:00 Very encouraging sign! Our weather here in the Northeast has been coming up from TX for the past few weeks, so it shouldn�t be too long before we start prepping the boat for the coming season. Of course, there�s still a lot of winter ahead.
GaryB	Posted - 01/06/2023 : 21:04:50 77 today and 80 tomorrow. Wish I had time for a sail. LOL
Voyager	Posted - 12/29/2022 : 21:58:39 Ha ha. That happened a long time ago. This thread has been all over the lot.
Stinkpotter	Posted - 12/29/2022 : 15:09:36 Bruce: Don't you think this thread has become a bit incongruous with its title?
Voyager	Posted - 12/27/2022 : 10:40:00 Well, we got the bomb cyclone and polar vortex weather like almost everybody else in America last weekend and for the Northeast we got 60�s followed up by 10�s and super cold windchills. This week, we�re expecting 50�s and 60�s, so as they say in New England, �If you don�t like the weather, wait a minute!� The boat, of course, is put away for winter, and I use a single tarp to cover the cabintop and cockpit (to keep the snow out). It�s getting to be excellent stream trout fishing weather and I�m going to use my trusty fish-catching method: a 10ft spinning rod with 6lb line on my Abu-Garcia reel, a #10 hook with a mealworm on it and a small orange and lime green strike indicator about 24� up. I �cast� this line into the current around a rocky section with plenty of back-eddy�s and I let the rig float with the bale open. Nibble, nibble, strike!
Stinkpotter	Posted - 11/29/2022 : 21:58:50 Scott: Thanks for the pointer! (Bruce has a different bracket--unless he replaced the one I put on.) Bruce: Having a smaller motor doesn't necessarily make it less attractive, especially to somebody in a hurry or without a crew.
islander	Posted - 11/28/2022 : 08:27:19 It�s still a good idea to help others resist temptation, so I�ll put it up in the shed this week. I know its a PIA but leaving it is very tempting. Another way they can snatch it quickly is to remove 2 bolts and take the engine and the plate. 2 bolts marked
Voyager	Posted - 11/28/2022 : 07:49:24 We had a nice day on Saturday, and I assembled the frame using some pvc pipes, 1x3s and lines. I�ll be ready for the tarp to go over the boat next weekend. I looked around the marina and we have a preponderance of powerboats, most have inboards but many have one or more large outboard engines. There are dozens of trailer boats too, many with attached outboards. All-in-all, there are about a dozen sailboats, most are diesel inboards, and mine is the only one with an outboard engine. In light of all the bigger engines around the marina, and with mine in the furthest back location against the hill, I wonder whether it�s more or less likely that my engine would be targeted. It�s still a good idea to help others resist temptation, so I�ll put it up in the shed this week.
OLarryR	Posted - 11/26/2022 : 22:03:35 I would also be concerned leaving an outboard on a boat that is laid up in storage. Oftentimes, those areas are not gated and access for others is easy. Not always an accurate indicator but talking to others at the marina, you can sometimes get a feel for how prevalent thefts have been at the marina. Keeping a boat in the water all winter sometimes lowers chance of theft especially if the finger slips have security gates. However, at the marina I used to keep my boat, there was still some theft occuring - Outsiders could enter the marina by small boat from the water-side and tie up alongside boats. I heard of one portable gas tank taken off of one boat and an outboard off another. What some boat owners would during winter months to lower that theft risk, they would move their boats further into the marina, closer to the dock gates rather than be an easier target at a slip closer to the waterway.
islander	Posted - 11/25/2022 : 19:10:36 I use one of those moving blankets from harbor freight. They work great for protection and are cheap!
Voyager	Posted - 11/25/2022 : 18:49:20 Going to get some decent weather tomorrow 55� and sunny, should be fine boat working weather.
Voyager	Posted - 11/25/2022 : 18:46:53 Larry, I can see it if you�re going to use the boat all winter long. You can�t live in fear. But when the boat is just sitting in the yard, there�s really no justification for leaving the outboard there. Except that it weighs about 100 lbs and it�s a bear to transport. I also don�t want to damage the finish, so I have to get a blanket to wrap it up so it can go into the trunk of the car. I don�t have a pickup or an SUV.
Voyager	Posted - 11/25/2022 : 18:40:21 Scott, you�re right about the bad guys being hidden in plain sight. And even if some do-gooder were going to try to prevent a theft in progress, the bad guys generally will stop at nothing to do what they�re going to do. There was a guy in CT recently who tried to stop catalytic converter crooks, and they cut him up badly with an angle grinder! Brutal. I had a nice lock and steel cable on my old engine and the lock rusted solid. So I went to Harbor Freight and bought a cheapie bolt cutter, the cable just snapped in two without much work at all.
islander	Posted - 11/25/2022 : 11:01:15 Pete, I had one of those locks and also a heavyweight chain. Neither stopped them. They also can just cut the tubes on the mount taking the engine and the mounting board. Quick and easy like a catalytic converter. It's strange but I was glad they didn't go that route or I would also have to replace the mount along with the engine. Also If you think about it, most people would just think the thieves were just some boat owner working on their boat and wouldn't give it another thought.
bigelowp	Posted - 11/25/2022 : 07:07:06 Bruce -- If you keep the outboard on the boat use a lock that can lock the clamps together so it is way too difficult to remove than most chiefs would bother with. I have used that type of system when the boat icon the mooring "just in case"
OLarryR	Posted - 11/24/2022 : 21:50:11 I keep my boat year-round in its finger slip (except for one year). Yesterday, I went out for a couple of hours - Winds 5-6 mph, sunny and temps rebounded to mid-60s, The river water was around 49F.
Voyager	Posted - 11/24/2022 : 17:32:25 I seem to recall, it was MIA.
islander	Posted - 11/24/2022 : 16:32:00 My engine is safe and sound on it's stand in my garage. I learned my lesson about leaving it on the boat in a yard for the winter.
Voyager	Posted - 11/24/2022 : 11:52:09 As happens at this time of year up north, the warm fall temperatures drop off the cliff into a winter-like routine. Instead of 60s during the day and 40s overnight, we went to 40s and freezing 20s. But before the drop, I spent a 70�plus Saturday earlier this month, cleaning the boat up on the hard, removing sails, removing dock lines and fenders, winterizing my outboard, removing the rudder and compass, and preparing the ribs and frame. I�m still debating whether to remove the new outboard and bringing it home to stay in the shed over the winter, or to cover the outboard with a tarp to keep it out of the weather. We�ll still see some moderate weather that�s good for cleaning up and maintaining the boat before wintertime sets in after new year�s. For all intents and purposes, the 2022 season is in the books.
Voyager	Posted - 10/29/2022 : 21:12:23 We had a very successful and pleasurable day today. The weather did not disappoint and the winds, while light, combined with the currents, propelled us up the river at over 5 kts. We have two drawbridges to traverse: the US Route 1 drawbridge and the Amtrak railroad bridge separated by a 300 yard long pool. The Amtrak bridge requires a reservation to make sure that they have the proper crew on duty to raise the 150 year-old structure. We arrived about an hour early so we tied up to a local public dock for lunch. We called both bridges on VHF 13 and informed them of the plan. We�re stopping for lunch, then around 15 minutes before our appointment, we�d call the highway bridge for an opening, then let the Amtrak bridge know we�re in position for a passage at the top of the hour. Everything went according to plan, so at 10 minutes past the hour we were under both bridges and underway to the marina. This stretch of the river is quite placid and as the afternoon wore on the sun got warmer and warmer. We eventually arrived at our destination and one 50ft-long tee-end dock was still available, so we sidled right up and secured our lines: bow and stern and our spring lines. A few minutes later a giant sea-ray zoomed up looking for a space. We�d taken only 1/2 the slip but apparently 25ft wasn�t enough for these folks. They must�ve ended up somewhere. While the season�s end is bittersweet, we really enjoyed it. I should have a few photos in a day or two.
Voyager	Posted - 10/29/2022 : 07:25:26 So as it has become my yearly custom, with Halloween weekend upon us, it�s time to move Passage from our summertime slip in Milford to our winter refuge in Shelton, seven miles up the Housatonic River. While we�re expecting another few weeks of good weather in the 60�s and even the 70�s next weekend, you never know when that first snowstorm will arrive. Halloween as many of you know is the separation between the season of light and the season of darkness according to the Celts, being a cross quarter day exactly 1/2 way between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. Today�s weather is expected to be perfect with 60� this afternoon, plenty of sun and light wind. Perfect football tailgating weather. The autumn leaves here are almost at peak color, and the marsh grasses along the way are golden brown. Birds are flocking and flying south, so it should be a fine day for sailing up river. Let�s hope that the bridge tender is listening on the radio!
Voyager	Posted - 10/08/2022 : 17:43:09 Friday hit 77� here, sunny, with 10-15kt soutwest winds. The seas were a little choppy but doable. I started with a southerly tack, going 5 to 5.2kts for an hour or two, then tacked around to west for awhile. I tacked up as much as possible, then made a run wing and wing downwind at 4.5kts. It was about 3.5 hours of late summer fun. Today the bottom dropped out, as it was in the 50�s. Tomorrow morning will be 40�. Things are due to warm up in the next few days, but it was a little chilly today. I�m planning to move Passage up river in three weeks� time. I�m hoping for a sunny day and no snow.
Stinkpotter	Posted - 10/02/2022 : 10:07:39 quote: Originally posted by Voyager One year we even saw a few flurries in the late afternoon. Back when we had our O'Day 17' Daysailer, we waited a little too long one year to get her on the trailer to take home... The boat club required us to be out of our slip, and it was blowing 15-20 out of the north, and the ramp faced north, so it was blowing on the ass-end of the little sailboat, and snowing. To keep the boat aligned to winch it up on the trailer, I had to go at least knee-deep into the water, with snow blowing in my eyes,........ Ever since, I err or the early side!
Voyager	Posted - 10/01/2022 : 19:20:23 While the weather has been chillier than usual and we�ve had some damp and dreary days, I believe that there�s still one or two 75� or 80� days left before Autumn takes complete hold and begins turning summer into mud season. I usually spend Columbus Day/First-Peoples Day weekend sailing for an overnight, for one last hurrah and a tasty BBQ steak. With the longer nights now, it usually gets down into the low 60�s or high 50�s by morning, thanks to the warm seas. There�s no doubt that you�ll have pretty good breezes at this time of year, so it often makes for a good trip. My last sailing trip of the year is usually around Halloween when I move Passage up-river to her winter home. It�s about 7 nm from Milford Harbor, down to Stratford light, then up the Housatonic River past the town dock where anglers ply the currents for bluefish and stripers, the highway bridge and the Amtrak drawbridge where we wait making lazy circles waiting for a bridge opening, then up past the salt marshes and the flaming red and golden maples and oaks to the docks where she�ll be hauled out in a few days and settled into her winter�s resting place. The trip takes about 4 hours, and we usually bring a few sandwiches and hot coffee in a thermos. Wool and nylon is the garb of the day. Sometimes we get sun, so we peel the woolens, other times it�s windy and chilly, or maybe drizzly. One year we even saw a few flurries in the late afternoon.
glivs	Posted - 09/09/2022 : 04:41:56 Dave, I should have said �from Burlington� rather than west of the lake. I�m just outside Ogdensburg, NY on a small River but have family at Alexandria Bay and my mother (97 and going strong) is in a care facility just outside Sackets Harbor�and a friendly marina. Everyone on LI Sound�.best to you.

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.