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JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/03/2012 : 21:36:30

As you may recall, Dragon Wing's "hailing port" is a small marina that doesn't have the ability to put me in the water. Their big-sister marina (Harbour Cove), by contrast, is a sailing marina, and their marine services group (Harbour Cove Marine Services) is great. My boat was moved via trailer to HCMS last Friday, but the conditions were such that the boat couldn't be launched (I wanted them to step the mast for me, and they couldn't do it because of the winds). So, I got a call yesterday saying that the boat would be launched today, and that the mast was already up and the rigging was tuned. They asked whether I'd be able to pick it up on Friday, and I told them that I couldn't, I had (have) an all-day meeting. However, my schedule was relatively open today, so I offered to come down and move her today. HCMS was very happy at that prospect, as it would free up space for them to launch an additional boat or two. I got there at about 9:45 AM (my house is about 2 hours away, and I'm not a morning person!), and the owner was so appreciative, he decided not to charge me for storage of the boat over the past several days. One of his guys helped me attach the engine to the boat, and away I went.

As you may also recall, the bay where I'll be doing most of my sailing this summer is pretty shallow. There are well-defined channels, but most of the bay is 1-2' deep. I had checked the tides for that area, and I felt confident that I'd be able to get the boat all the way to the marina between 4:00 AM and 10:00 AM, and from 3:30 PM to 10:00 PM. Well, let's just say that, in my haste to be a good customer, I forgot about that 10:00 AM issue. See, when I arrived, the guy helped me with the engine, then I went inside and talked to [URL="http://books.google.com/books?id=Vtq4cOZWy88C&pg=PA149&lpg=PA149&dq=michael+perry+sailor&source=bl&ots=olLa1o9Fgk&sig=2Vqru5kzpG9anAa0Qjaqo0f4C50&hl=en&sa=X&ei=91KjT8y3LKqE6AHZqfAL&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=michael%20perry%20sailor&f=false"]Mike Perry, the owner[/URL]. Mike shared his observations of my boat (generally very positive, which was nice) and what he thought might need attention, we talked about racing and his boat, the Bloody Hell, and a bunch of other stuff. It was a really great conversation, and I lost track of time. So, I really didn't get to leave the marina until about 11:00 AM.

I motored out of the marina and into the channel without any issues. I passed under a newly constructed bridge with 52' of clearance, which was kind of neat. That's when I remembered that I should turn on my GPS, since it also had the depth finder. Plugged it in, tried to turn it on, but nothing. Hmmmm...I'll have to figure that out later.

I had no trouble picking up the navigation bouys, and everything was going great. I sent my father-in-law a text at about 11:10 saying that I should arrive at Sunset Bay, our new marina, around 11:30-11:45, and he said he'd meet me there to help get the boat into the slip. Along the way, I pass two more bridges, and get some neat pics using my cell phone.

I make the turn off the main channel and into the channel for the river off of which my marina is located, and everything goes well. As I'm approaching my marina, I see a series of sticks poking out of the water, and I assume they are the marina's channel. I continue down the river a bit, until I'm almost in line with the markers, then I turn in. I go about 10 feet, then I come to a very slow stop. It was almost imperceptible - the boat just slowly slid into the muck that comprises the bottom of Great Egg Bay. The only was I was sure I was stuck was to look around - I wasn't making any forward progress.

So, naturally, I put the engine in reverse. And, naturally, it tries to jump off the motor mount. Thankfully, we had screwed it down tight, and I had the chain through the screws and around the pulpit. But, still, try as I might, I couldn't get the engine to stop bucking. Fifteen minutes or so of trying has lead to the marina's channel being in even less water.

It's now amost noon, and my father-in-law calls and asks "where are you?" As I recall, the rest of the conversation went something like: "See that boat just off to your right?" "The one way off by the power plant?" "No, turn to your right more." "Oh! That's you! Great! I thought I was late!" "You are, but I'm stuck." "What happened?" "I cut the turn into the channel a little too early, and I'm aground." "So now what are you going to do?" "Call for a tow I guess."

So, I called Boat US and ask for a tow. The tow operator reminded me that we're on a falling tide (low tide is at 1:00 PM), and as a result, he said, it may take him a while to get to me because he can't just hop across some of the low spots. His guess was that the trip would take about 20 minutes. I called my father-in-law and let him know what's going on. He said "OK, I'll wait in the car."

Now, what to do with my time? I know! Attach the boom and begin setting the main and jib in place. The boom goes on without a problem. I get the main out of the bag, fumble a bit trying to decide between trying to load the sail into the mast and load it into the boom, and eventually get everything in place, flake the sail and tie it down. The jib is a bit more complicated, so I decide to hold off on that until after I'm in my slip.

I start playing with some other stuff (adding a spinnaker halyard, adding blocks to the new mast step, re-tightening the mast step, etc.), waiting for the tow guy. About 40 minutes after I called, I hear him hailing me on the VHF. He says he's almost there - he got stuck in some low spots.

Finally, about 5 minutes later, he arrives. We yell back-and-forth about what I think I did wrong, and come up with a plan for getting me into the marina. He swings out wider, lining up better with the markers, and starts VERY SLOWLY inching forward. Then he comes to a stop, still well away from the marina's channel (and the marina). He looks at me and says "I'm sorry, I can't get you in there right now. I can tow you off and back into the channel, or I can tow you to that marina over there (pointing to one right next to a very low bridge, and one which the eventual rising tide would push me into), or you can drop anchor and wait it out." It's about 12:45, and low tide is at about 1:00, so I opt to wait it out, and the tow guy heads back to his home base.

As the tow guy leaves, my father-in-law calls and says "why is he leaving without helping you?" "I'm beyond help" I reply. Then I explain. My father-in-law says "OK, I'm going to go get lunch and head back to my condo. Call me when you're free!"

In the end, being aground wasn't a bad thing. I was able to knock out quite a bit, including figuring out how the jib furler worked and hanging the furler (it took a few tries). I swapped out some lines I had bought, and did a lot of other, random work.

At about 2:30, I decided to try moving again. I fired up the engine, and was able to free the boat. I turned around, back into the channel, then tried to attack the marina's channel again from a proper angle. Of course, all I succeeded in doing was running aground again - it was still too shallow.

Out went the anchor again. A few more tasks were knocked out, then, at about 3:00, I decided to try again. This time, I made it all the way into the channel, and into the slip. Docking was interesting, because there was another boat in the slip that I thought was to be mine! I decided to dock in the slip next to "mine", but that meant that my lines, which I had set up while I was grounded, were all on the wrong side. I managed to get everything sorted out, though, and without damaging my boat, me, or any other property.

My father-in-law came a little later and helped with a few things, then we headed back to HCMS to pick up my car and drive home. It was a long day, and I'm still winding down from it. But Dragon Wing is in the water, and in her home port, so I'm feeling better!

Edited by - on

TCurran
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
588 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 04:00:19

Hey Jim, great example of turning lemons into lemonade, glad everything worked out for you. It's also a good reminder to those among us that don't have to worry about tides the challenges you all go through every sail.

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

Members Avatar

USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 04:05:48

Congratulations. At least you did not have a peanut gallery watching all the while.

She's looking good. Is that the correct slip?

Paul

Edited by - on

keeldad
1st Mate

Members Avatar

84 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 04:11:48

I saw a single mast in your marina this morning as I was headed westbound over the Patcong Creek Bridge. I was wondering if it was you. Glad to see you made it. Now go enjoy yourself and I hope to see you out on the bay soon.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 05:05:16

Nice job, Jim. Getting stuck on your first time out, while unfortunate, is still good experience.

You said the marina tuned your rig, but in the last picture it appears your have quite a bit of sag in the forestay which might explain the uneven furl of the headsail. Also, when furling the headsail, I like to put on three or four wraps of the genoa sheets for a little extra security so as to lessen the chance of this happening...

Edited by - dlucier on 05/04/2012 05:12:43

pfduffy
Captain

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USA
317 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 06:26:48

I have a slightly different observation than Don. What is the line that I see forward of the furled jib? It looks like the forestay which would make your furler install different from any that I have ever seen.

I second Don's recommendation to pull a couple of wraps around the sail for security's sake. His picture reminds me of what happened to my brother's Macgregor a couple of years ago. It was on the trailer in the marina yard in Havre de Grace, MD when a bad storm came up the bay. The yard flooded substantially and after his boat started to float - still strapped to the trailer - the winds picked up and his jib unfurled. When he got there, the boat was sailing in the yard. Turns out, a Macgregor 26 is a bit more stable when it is sailing with a trailer strapped to its arse!

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5882 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 06:39:18

If Dragon Wing has an adjustable backstay, and, if the adjuster is eased all the way, then that forestay sag looks good. If it has a fixed backstay, then I agree that there's too much sag. If it's an adjustable backstay, I'd suggest you tension it lightly (just enough to eliminate some of the sag) when you leave the boat in it's slip. That will prevent your mast from moving around so much if the wind starts blowing hard.

But, I agree with Duffy that it looks like your jib isn't attached to the forestay, as it should be. It almost looks like it's attached to a furler that is designed for flying a cruising spinnaker. Pictures can be deceiving, but that rigging looks very unconventional.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9047 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 07:05:33

Ya, his forestay is fairly taut in that pic... The furler is separate, and can probably be tensioned with a halyard. That type, as Steve suggests, is good for a drifter or asymmetric spinnaker so the whole thing can be dropped to the deck and stowed. It probably has no foil at all--the sail just winds up on itself (with a drum and swivel) and therefore can be folded for stowing. (I'm guessing here, based on systems I've seen and how that looks.)

When leaving the boat, I would neither leave it slack like that nor tighten it because either is likely to cause the rolled sail to chafe against the forestay in strong winds. It's probably meant to be lowered and removed.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 05/04/2012 07:06:53

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 07:09:36

The furler is something called a "Jib Furl", and as far as I can tell, it isn't made any more. There's a wire rope sewn into the luff of the sail, and that connects to the furling drum and an attachment that slides up the forestay via the jib halyard. The drum rotates the wire rope, which causes the sail to furl.

Here's the piece that goes up the forestay:

And here's the furler:

Tom, what you are seeing is a sag in that bolt rope. I'll have to check the tension on the jib halyard. I had to drop the jib a few times to look at/work on different things, and I may not have really pulled it tight. As to the poor wrap job, part of that may have been due to the fact that I was furling without any significant tension on the jib sheets, but I'll be double checking that (hopefully) tomorrow. At least it looks better than the first time I attached the jib, where I had wound the furling line in the wrong direction, so everything was inside-out.

Steve, given what I've seen of this boat, I'm not surprised that its unconventional. However, the Jib Furl looks a lot like [URL="http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=13132&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=50045&subdeptNum=50118&classNum=50119"] the "small boat" furlers sold by Harken[/URL].

Edited by - on

pfduffy
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
317 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 07:48:23

Ah...now I get it! Never saw one of those. When and if you decide that you don't love that furling system or if you replace your headsail, I recommend the CDI FF4. It is simple enough for ME to use!!

Last year, I purchased the furler and a new headsail from Skip Moorhouse in Medford, NJ. I could not be more pleased. Cost was a bit more than buying the package from an online sailmaker, but Skip was terrific to work with and he installed the furler so it worked flawlessly from the first time.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 10:04:21

Very nice - again, all the hard work shows.

Sailing is a life-long learning experience.

Edited by - on

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