S/V Cerridwen

2024-03-16T09:32:00.001-07:00

S/V CERRIDWEN IS FOR SALE.

IF INTERESTED PLEASE CONTACT US.

$45,000 | carey.shine @ gmail.com

fun times

2020-12-04T09:08:00.002-08:00

The world is going by so fast these days. So many things to do, and places to go, fun to be had by all. We have been having adventure after adventure. We got a new crew member, Willow. Roxi and DrifterDude are teaching her the ropes of the sailboat life. Swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, bird chasing, and the most important one, napping.

We hope in these crazy times, ya’all are being safe, and watching over your loved ones. Be happy, and live graciously

Carey the Canvas Guy

2017-09-21T10:05:00.003-07:00

Carey the canvas guy has spent the last couple of weekends on S/V Cerridwen.
He started with making a whole new Main sail cover, that turned out fabulously. Then last weekend he cut the dodger window covers, and then this weekend he made the dodger windows.

We have been planning on getting them done, but you know how life somehow gets in the middle of getting things done around the boat.

It's hard to believe we have to start readying the boat for winter.

Stretching It Out

2016-11-29T15:39:00.001-08:00

Well it looks like we will be sticking around the Bay/Delta area a little longer than anticipated. Cap'n Carey has signed up for a work extension plan. His job has turned into a bigger adventure than anticipated. He can't help but be the awesome worker that goes above and beyond. It is in his blood. We have accepted the fact that sticking out another year or so is not going to be that bad. He got an offer that he tried to turn down, but the benefits and cruising budget just got alot bigger, which means we will be able to stay cruising ALOT longer, and will still have a job offer when we decide to hang around land to re~build the kiddi, in Florida, or someplace like that.
The stay there at Glen Cove had been fun. Especially since we had a couple of friends on Shear Water, that moved there from Benicia Marina. The kiddz enjoys playing in the surf on the other side of the levee. Roxi just walks out into the water and swims around, DrifterDude is starting to enjoy the water like Roxi. When Roxi does something he has to do it too.
We are going to stay at Owl Harbor for the winter, it is alot milder than the freezing fog, wind, and rain. We still have these here, but at a slower rate. the wind doesn't howl for days, soaking everyone, every time you leave the boat. we all Love the ambiance that Owl Harbor offers. The people here are incredible. Nice, thoughtful, caring, FUN, etc. They are always concerned about your happiness here too. The wildlife here is amazing. This time of year we have the migrating Canadian Geese. the sky goes dark with them, and the noise they make is deafening at times.
We have been working away at getting things done on the boat, so that when it's time to go, we just go. She could leave right now if we needed to leave, towards Mexico, we could just get provisions, and go. That is a humbling thing to say.
Christmas season this year feels a bit different. Knowing that next year we will be on our way, or already in Mexico. The whales right now are hanging out with their calves, getting them fattened up for their journey north. So I am sure that there will be plenty to talk about, and show the images that we have filmed.
So much to do, and plenty of time to do it.
bunkmate

The Beginning Is The Hardest Destination

2016-10-19T15:31:00.004-07:00

Wow time sure has flown by, we have been busy with all kinds of projects, and life is wonderful.

It has taken a little bit longer than we anticipated. Unfortunately that proverbial time slippage, that always happens when your goal is an open end deal. The beginning is the hardest destination. When the destination begins, everything must be in place. The whole plan has got to be expected. You have to expect anything to happen. IE the following sea may wash the BBQ propane bottle over, if you do not have the proper tie down system. The Ditch Bag has got to have a certain first aid kit, for emergencies. The kayak must be in it's bracket, that is also foldaway, when the kayak is uninflated, for when making crossings etc. You have to have provisions for at least a week, most of the time you can pull into port and get more fresh provisions, some times rice, and flour, are really good things to have aboard, extra, for the ports that have families that will trade a fish, or a chicken, for them. I have heard they really like soda pop, and can't get it locally.
I find myself thinking about when we finally take that left turn just pass the Golden Gate Bridge. The last time we actually pass under, and never look back. Knowing that the next Destination, is not necessarily where, or when we get there.
So the most important thing, is on the list of the , , ,
"Will this make our boat safer and stronger??"
Why yes it will.
There are so many projects, I am working on getting some of the projects translated.
bunkmate

The Mastest

2016-07-26T13:39:00.001-07:00

We are here, and stickless. As soon as we hit dry land they took the mast off. It looks odd, and it feels pretty weird, sitting below, listening to the wind howl through everyone elses rigging, seeing the palm trees swaying, and not feel the boat dancing in the water. As soon as we get used to it being still, we are going to be getting back in the water.

We have been working the hardest right now on the wax stripping, above the water line. Our Cap'n. figured out a method of rolling the Smart Strip, rinse with Hot/Warm water, waitng a couple minutes, scrubbing , spray with Simple Green, scrub with a green Scrubbie, super spray it with water, spray with Simple Green, clean the mess, and rinse with super power water, and vwahlaw, clean.

I am working on stripping the 'non~skid' from the whole top~side. The Smart Strip is pretty cool stuff, it is 100% biodegradable, and odor free. It has a tiny smell, but not a chemical kinda smell. This stuff has to be covered with plastic to keep it from drying out. I am doing it in sections, because I have to block off the kiddz racetrack. They do laps all the time.

We went and spent the afternoon at Glen Cove Marina, and visited our friends Dave & Kelly, on 'Shear Water'. We picked out our slip, #181. When we launch, around the 1st of June, we will head straight to our slip

The only thing really we are lacking now is experience!!!!

We decided to paint the mast head RED. Which can be seen for quite a ways over water. We are also going to put 2 white with reflective tape strips, so we will stand out while coming back from shore, when there are alot of boats in the bay/marina/mooring field , , , .etc.
The Cap'n did a bunch of wire replacing. He also replaced both of the spreader lights, we might actually be able to see the deck at night. The lights that were on it were filled with sand, and not very bright to start with, all yellow and old. We replaced them with LED's. We have LED's throughout the boat now. Replacing everything as we go.
One step at a time

Meet Max

2016-06-14T09:53:00.001-07:00

The Maxwell windlass has been an ongoing process, since even before our S/V Cerridwen came into our lives. The windlass was high on our prerequisite list. You know, the list you make before purchasing a house, or a car, or truck. The 'gotta have' list that has to meet certain guide lines. The list that started out 'standing room throughout', because on alot of boats you just don't get the stand up room.

All through the entire 'Blue Water' prep that has been going on, the 'Anchor Retrieval System' has been getting done, one small step at a time.
It all started in the Battery banks, the wiring, the placement of them, how much power do we lose per-foot of battery cable, what size wire we need, should it be connected to the house bank, or should it have one of it's own, as well as where should it be located.
We decided to run it directly from the house battery bank, under the settee, where the chart drawers were. He installed all the necessary wiring, and charging bank, ran the wiring from Max directly to its own breaker box, and Max feeds now off the house bank, which is separate from the starting batteries. There was a tremendous amount of figuring out the whole process, one step at a time.
Alot of the thinking went on where and how to put Max. The Cap'n thought of a bunch of scenarios, of which we decided that Max be just off center of the bow, to allow the chain to be brought straight out of the water, and down the pipe to the chain locker. We have hundreds of feet of chain, that the Cap'n is glad he doesn't ever have to pull up and feed the chain locker by hand again... 8-)
The last part is the hatch for the locker itself. He cut the hatch door in half, and fiberglassed in a new support section from above and below the deck. We will paint the hatch also when we paint the new non~skid on, later, when I finish getting the last of the non~skid off. Which I will get done by the end of this week. I hope, , ,
More on the non~skid later, bunkmate

Return To Napa Marina Workyard

2016-04-13T14:44:00.002-07:00

It is time to put our stay at Owl Harbor behind us. We made some friends, had alot of fun, learned some stuff. We stayed a bit longer than anticipated, but, we don't have to be anywhere. Cap'n has to be at work, so we can stay just about anywhere. It all depends on how far he wants to commute. The longer the commute, the less time he has to work on the boat.
I will be working on the boat all day. slaving away at the endless amount of work to be done. Haha.
We went all the way down to Glen Cove Marina, spent the afternoon, evening with our friends Kelly and Dave, on S/V Shear Water, the couple we spent 4th of July with, up in bedrm 2.
As we readied the boat for departure, the Cap'n checked the oil, and it was all milky white!! Water in the oil is not what he wanted to see when he pulled out the dip stick. There were a couple of reasons how the water got in the oil. A leaking gasket, but there was not any oil in the water. So he drained the oil and put in 7 fresh liters. When he checked the dipstick it showed
nothing but oil, so we are thankful it was just condensation. So we fired up the 'Rattler' and off we went. We were going to change it before we went back in the water anyway, so it was just done a little early.

After we got underway, everything went smooth, there was a strong wind blowing so we threw out a hankie, and averaged about 6 knots up river. We called ahead on our new Ham Radio, and had the Mare Island Bridge open so we could get up river, to Napa Marina. Just after we called, another boat radioed that they will need the gate open too. We looked around and didn't see a boat near us to need it open. The guy on the radio again said they were doing 10 knots and would need the bridge open. So we turned around looked and there was a smaller tri~hull, booking up towards us. By the time we got clear of the bridge the tri~hull was just about to the bridge. As the boat went past us we saw our good friend Goose, from the Benicia Marina waving and taking pictures of us. And before ya knew it they where going around the corner, and gone. We saw them up river at one of the private docks, just down from Napa Marina.
If you remember how shallow the mouth is at the Napa Marina, you understand why we came in with the tide. It wasn't much of a tide, but we snuck in right down the middle, and took up space on the dock. We got here just in time, for there were a few boats that came in behind us.
So Tuesday is the haul out day, tomorrow, getting butterflies in my belly.
One step closer to our jump date.
We left Glen Cove @3ish and got to Napa, at 6:30ish, plenty of sunshine for cocktails at sunset. cheers
bunkmate

Ps. we got the two palm suite

Catch Up With Ourselves

2016-02-10T14:57:00.003-08:00

We have had alot going on, installing the windless, so our Cap'n doesn't have to pull up all the chain and rode by hand, battery box, including complete with all new wires, throughout the boat, you should have seen the glob of wires that went completely nowhere, that had accumulated every which way throughout the entire vessel.
We have been doing a little bit of transitioning ourselves for our journey south, which by the way is coming up. Most of you know part of our plans, but the one thing everyone knows is there is no schedule. We have set our 'jump off ' date, August 11th, 2016. We are not sure from where, but we are jumping. We plan to take a couple of months to get to Mexico, November is the end of hurricane season. Then the trek down Mexico, to LaPaz, and from there, , , , , we have no destinations from there. We know we want to spend a year maybe, snorkeling with the whales, dolphins, rays, all the wildlife in the Sea of Cortez.
The windless is in the top picture, bottom left'ish. It isn't mounted yet in the picture. The battery boxes that he built, and all the battery wiring is all new wires and clamps.
Drifter is helping pull the wire through the soul of the boat, to the engine compartment.
We are working forward to being in the work yard. We want to paint the top as well as the bottom. So I will be needing to scrape the non~skid off, as well as using the stripper. I want to get as much scrapped off as I can, before using the chemicals. We will be using alot at the boatyard. But as you all know how much I love chemicals and stuff by the water.
We want to jump to Napa's boat yard as soon as we can, but we can't work in the rain either. Come the end of February we are going to move. Hopefully. But on the same hand, We love it here at Owl Harbor, the people are awesome, they actually want you here, it's not just the money, and if you need anything, they are there, all the time, the facilities are always clean, they have 2 washers and dryers, huge picnic areas, even a campground. AND they have free eggs, you donate to the chicken fund when you want. They love pets, it is a pet friendly place. With biodegradable poopy bag stations all over, and trash cans, with recycle bins too.

More details on the projects to come.
bunkmate

Delta Weeder

2015-12-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

So I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep, thinking of all the stupid stuff that you ONLY think of while lying in bed trying to fall asleep, anywhoo, the hyacenth has super taken over the delta, they need to come up with something like a wheat thrasher thing, you know, the thing that is kinda like a paddle wheel, but with scooper, chopperupper thing, and turn it into somethin somethin to spread for mulch, for the fields, this is the Delta, they have alot of different foods growing.

Then today, in the rain, because of the high tides and full moon, the hyacenth is moving around alot, it just floats on the water, so it is the perfect time to navigate it out of the slough. They started early just kinda breaking it up with the running motors of the marina boats, just using the motor to move the water all over, working it out from between the dock and levee.

they brought out 'THE THING' it was just like I thought it would look like. Ok so not exacly what I thought, but, , , ,
It is kinda cool. It is more of a scooper thing. The weeds convey up the conveyer, and is put into one of the boats, then conveyed onto the tule island, to dry up and die. They have been doing it for years, every winter.
bunkmate

Our Cap'n Carey, On The Cover Of Cruising Outpost

2015-11-25T21:50:00.001-08:00

I seem to have opened a can of not being able to take something back. I accidentally sent one of my favorite pix of my husband, our Cap'n, my best friend, our crew leader, you know "THE MAN", from when we were out sailing SVCerridwen, in SanPabloBay, just inside SFBay. I snapped the image that changed the world.

Coming to news stands ALL OVER THE WORLD, on December 1st, 2015

Motorsailing the Delta

2015-11-16T12:08:00.001-08:00

We made it safe and sound to Owl Harbor. The sail was pretty much not considered sailing, It was mostly motorsailing. Thats when we have the iron genoa, Rattler, fired up the entire time. If we wanted to just sail, there was no wind to speak of. It was one of those days when the wind is calm, the warm sun in your face, and spiders with their parachutes flying across the water hoping to find a cool new place to live. We had the Genoa pulled all the way out on the whisker pole.

We got SVCerridwen loaded, just like when we head out of the Golden Gate, everything on board. The hard dinghy on the fordeck, our new *thank you Lisa for a steal of a deal* 9ft inflatable RIB fit perfect on the davits, and the inflatable kayak on top of the dodger. Everything fit good in their spots, and nothing got shook loose. Although we didn't get to sail much, it was a good field trial. It turned out to be a good day to be on the water, the tides were in our favor.
We got here just before dark, the sunset was breathtaking.

One thing I did notice though, is that almost all the buoys had seals on them. The kids had fun barking back at them as we went by. The brackish water has moved way inland, because of the lack of freshwater runoff upstream. The lack of rain and snow is letting the seawater move inland. The further the saltwater moves in, so does the critters, crabs, seals, barnacles etc. The hyacinth has taken over alot of the delta. When we moved to Oregon 16 years ago, there was just a little, and now, they can't get ahead of these weeds. They are kinda pretty, but wiping out alot of the natural foliage. Tules, and pussy willows are getting choked out of their spots they have been in since forever.

The world is forever changing. We need to be more careful with our spreading of invasive plants and animals. Our plastic footprint that we are going to leave behind is getting fatter and fatter. I hope we can catch up with it.
bunkmate

The Time Has Come

2015-10-13T13:09:00.002-07:00

Well my friends, the time has come, to raise the roof and have some fun, throw away any work to be done, let the music play on.
We have come to realize that we have started to grow roots. Putting some things on hold, to keep our comforts, and our friends. When in actuality there is work to be done. So we are pickin up and going to Owl Harbor. We have debated, and decided that we are almost ready to yank the stick* and get her bottom done in a couple of months, so there are a couple of things that need to get done prior to it, so , , , , , *pull the mast off*
We almost went straight to Napa, 15 minute commute verses 45+, but we decided to enjoy the relaxing life for a few months first, while we prep.
At the same time we were planning, the Benicia Marina has decided that our composting toilet is not allowed, because they can't pump it, and that is a required service, so, , , , , ,
Our plans were bumped up about 4 months, it happened for some unknown reason, and that is what our cruising life is all about.
So here we go, at the end of this month, I am sooo glad I don't have to pack, just untie the lines.
bunkmate

Dawdling The Delta ... Doo Dah, Doo Dah

2015-09-25T10:14:00.001-07:00

Owl Harbor

This year our July 4th plans included fun friends, a trip up the delta, sailing, fireworks, adventure, wildlife, trying new things. We decided to spend Friday the 3rd traveling up to Owl Harbor. We picked the early tide, haha, 10:30am. We headed up the Carquinez Straight, past Pittsburg and Antioch, all the way up the San Juaquin River to Sevenmile Slough, where Owl Harbor is protected by the levee.
Owl Harbor is a cool little Marina, they have wonderful new facilities. The showers are all granite. The people are awesome, and so friendly. They have a garden and give everyone tomatoes, squash, eggs, and they have bikes available if you want to go for a ride. They have campsites available too.
There was an array of wildlife. There was a bunch of big bass out there teasing the fisherman as the fished the Seven Mile Slough. There were a couple of birds that would hover, and then swoop down and CRASH into the water, it never missed while I was watching.
Dave and Kelly have 2 Badfish Stand Up Paddleboards, inflatable ones to boot, just like what ones we have been looking at but different brand. We took advantage of the opportunity to try them out. They are low profile, RED, not hard as a rock. Roxi and DrifterDude jumped on board before we did. Every time we would get close together they would trade boards. The boards felt very stable yet soft whenever I dropped to my knees. They were alot of fun.
We decided to go for a bike ride over to Pirates Lair, Moores Riverboat area. Cap'n Carey and I rode the bikes all the way there, and met up with Kelly, Dave, and Leslie, in her truck. We decided to go back to Spindrift for lunch. After lunch we threw the bikes in Leslie's truck, and she gave us all a ride back to the marina. - to be honest the wind was ripping so hard Dave rode my bike to Spindrift, Thanx a million Dave. And a huge thanx to Leslie, for giving us all a ride back to the boats.
Sunday morning rolled around and it was time to go stick our nose in another direction. We left Owl Harbor at 11:30am. The tide was getting ready to start coming in.
When we got to big water, the San Jauquin River had some pretty big white capping going on, so we tucked behind the tulle islands that run by Spindrift Marina, on Brannon Island.
We raced, haha, across the San Joaquin River by light #47, and ducked into Potato Slough. We had discussed staying in 1 of the 3 'bedrooms'. There were a bunch of boats still in bedroom 1, so we tootled over to bedroom 2, there was plenty of room there. A couple of boats still left over from the 4th of July, and they didn't look like they would be hanging around much longer.
Using the chart above, we went from my index finger to near my thumb. Bedroom 2 is just under the word 'slough' above my thumb. We nosed in and dropped our main CQR anchor, then reversed our way out and dropped our stern anchor. The Cap'n rowed to shore to secure a bowline to shore, and once we were adjusted we sat really well all week. The adventure continues.

bunkmate

4th of July Vacation Pt 1

2015-08-15T08:15:00.002-07:00

This year the 4th of July fell on a Saturday. Cap'n Carey worked only a half day on Thursday, so we could head out early on Friday.
This year we have some friends that have a sailboat too, Kelly and Dave, they live on the end of our dock, on Shear Water, she is a an Ericson 36 , and she is a beauty.

We all decided to head inland, and spend the week on the hook in Potato Slough. We are hoping to get a good spot that each of us can get nosed up to the island for protection from the wind. Potato Slough has 3 'bedrooms', which is kind of like a little bay on an island, where boats can anchor and/or tie to the island. There aren't very many islands that you can do this to, so they fill up fast, especially on a holiday weekend. We are on vacation for a week, so we decided to spend a night at Owl Harbor and wait for the weekend warriors to leave, and then sneak in behind them.

We all decided to leave early Friday morning. So we all got together Thursday evening, to check charts, weather, and such. We picked the early morning 10:30am tide. The tide will be coming in, which means we will be riding the incoming tide, instead of going against it. There is a cooling trend, which means the wind will be up, so we will sail with only the Genoa, and the NEW FURLER, whoop whoop. And only pull it out
half way(reef). We also used the whisker pole to hold the sail out the side, to catch air and prevent it from going back and forth.
We had the wind at our backs, and rode the tide all the way up.
We planned to stay at Owl Harbor Friday night, and head to Potato Slough Saturday, early afternoon. The cool front stayed an extra day, , , , so we did too.

When we woke up Saturday morning, the wind was rippin, and the coast guard was having a pretty rough day of pulling boats off the rock levees, and we decided that we didn't want to be them.
It turned into a fun time, once we knew we weren't going anywhere, we just goofed off. Dave and Kelly had inflatable paddle boards, and we took a turn on them, Roxi and Drifter had fun on them too. A friend of theirs, Leslie, came and spent the 4th with us. We watched the fireworks from the levee. We saw a bunch of little fireworks all around us, and spent the evening hours chatting about all the adventures in our lives, our dreams, our obstacles, and the fun we are having making them all.
bunkmate

Furled at Last

2015-08-12T14:26:00.005-07:00

We now have a furled Genoa. The Cap'n did an outstanding job. To me, the hardest part of all of it was the measuring and researching he did. He had measured the Forestay, which is the wire that is connected to the bow, and reaches to the top of the mast. The whole purpose for the furler is to have the sail up and ready to use. We had a hanked on Genoa, which meant that the sail had to be hooked on to the forestay every time we wanted to go sail, and the whole time we were at anchor the sail was laying on the foredeck, in the sun. We had a furler on SVSimplicity, and we loved the convenience, and ease, of pulling the sail out when needed. Also, you don't have to pull the whole sail out if the wind is ripping. The sail doesn't have to be taken down after sailing, and then store it somewhere.

We had to cut the 'hanks' off first, then we sewed a sacrificial sail on the edge, with a strip of luff tape, to feed up through the tubes
We had a chance to take it out and test it, and it is so awesome to be able to control how much sail you want out. If the wind picks up, we just furl the sail in a little, and never miss a beat.
It always sounds so simple to do, but it takes Cap'n Carey days of research, hours and hours, of calculating how many of this bolt size, and that size nut, how and where every washer goes, how many feet of sail we lost verses how much sacrificial sail we needed. How many feet of sheet (the rope connected to the sail) do we need to run down both sides, and also how much do we need, and how big does the sheet need to be for the furler itself, and where should it be mounted, which side of the boat do we need it to run down, and where to mount all the hardware to keep them out of the way while not under sail.
Our Cap'n is always looking to make things easier for me, because he knows that it is important to me, to be able to do everything, especially if something was to happen to him, I could be confident enough to know I could handle her without his help.
We are still, totally confident about our decision to follow our dream. And loving every day leading to our official departure.
bunkmate

Cruisers Life For Me

2015-06-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics of our friends around the marina, the baby ducks have been appearing around the docks, this year we do not have a family of geese, but we have about6 or 7 baby ducks.

One of our little duck family

Lisa and her furkiddz, Lexi and Lewis

Joe and Deb out and about in their canoe.
I know more of my neighbors in the marina, than I ever knew in any neighborhood I have ever lived in, on land.
It is so nice to be surrounded by people that share our lifestyle. And understand the need to be near the coastline, on the water.
bunkmate

Converting a Hank On Sail to a Furling

2015-04-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

The Cap'n has decided that instead of hanking on the Genoa, we are going to go with a Furler. With the 'hanked' on Genoa, we have to put it on every time we want to use it. And it lays on the deck while at anchor, so when we pull the anchor up, it gets muddy, and it takes up most of the fore deck.
It is a pretty good project for the Cap'n. We started by having the Cap'n go up the mast. We just so happened to have some sailing friends come to spend a few days here at the Benicia Marina, in their boat 'Fast Dash', so we got them to assist in the adventure. It was a pretty fun afternoon. We ordered the furler, and after a month of back order phone calls, it showed up. The Cap'n went to work measuring, and making sure we had the right hardware to do the job.
The Cap'n patiently waited for a calm day to get started. After more measuring and cutting, he fed the tube up the forestay. there are fittings that go inside the tube to connect the tubes, and this is not something you can do ahead of time, it has to be done while the tube is going up. The bale is a little bit oversized, but so is everything else, so it fits right together. It went up pretty easy, the Cap'n wants it to sit where it is in the pic, but we have to wait on a back ordered turnbuckle cover that will allow the furler to sit lower on the stay, so he has to fix up the brackets to do for now.
The next thing we need to do is fix the Genoa to be a furled sail, instead of Hanked on. A 'hanked' on sail, means it has rings on it, to attach it to the sail to the forestay with spring loaded clips called Hanks. A furler rolls the Genoa up on the forestay, and keeps the deck open for maneuvering. So in order to convert the Genoa to the furler, we have already cut off the forward edge (Leech)that has the rings on it, and now we need to sew the sail and sacrificial Sunbrella. We will be using the Sunbrella fabric to protect the sail on the edge when it is furled. To attach the sail to the furler foils, we are using Continuous Support Tape to feed into the tube track of the furler. That will extend almost the full length of the sail, and when it is completely furled, the sail will turn inside the Sunbrella fabric. That is called , sacrificial fabric.

The furler housing was coming down short of where the Cap'n wanted it to be. The brackets that attached to the bowsprit were almost 2" shy, so he bolted extensions on.
We now have some more grunt work that needs to be done to get it into place, Genoa and all the trimmings. Good thing we have the sewing machine, this just saved us a couple of grands. The bottom picture shows the forward sail hanked on.
bunkmate

Moisture Measures

2015-03-09T14:07:00.001-07:00

With all the moisture from our breathing, and the wet fog that hangs all morning, the mold has been running throughout the whole boat. One day it is here, and the next its there. Just when it finally quit smelling like bleach, I find more. I find that if I run the Espar Heater, and keeping everything open, it stays dryer. The canned goods are sweating their labels off, so I am starting to write everything on the cans, and should remove the labels, so the paper doesn't get in the bilge. But we really don't have the paper coming off, , yet.
The weather is getting better, and the Cap'n is pretty happy about working up top, and it not raining, or the wind isn't blowing everything away. One of the projects was servicing the winches. *so much to be said there* I didn't realize how many pieces were inside one of them.
Another task our Cap'n has taken on is converting our hank on Genoa into a furling system. This means he gets to climb the mast. and that in itself is a whole new story.
While we had some good weather we decided to flip the boat around, and stern in. This is good practice for all different wind directions, and it also dried out the starboard side, to help with the moisture issue.
I sanded the entire cap rail,and all the teak on the forward deck, and got a fresh coat of Cetol to get us thru the summer. Got that out of the way so there will be more playing this summer, less work, hahahaha like that ever happens. Being a cruiser means you get to work on your boat in exotic places.

bunkmate

Shaking the Sheets

2015-02-20T13:56:00.001-08:00

Wow that was a fast year. It is almost SF Boat Show time.
The Yacht club is having a class on boating. General safety, knots, bad weather, you know, boat stuff. I am really excited to be going to the classes. I feel pretty confident that I will be walking away with alot of knowledge in the next month or so. It seems that most all the people I know around the docks are going. There is also another class we were chatting about, that is like 2 weeks, every night, and the yacht club classes are Monday nights, for a couple of months. We opted out for this class. When Cap'n gets off work, he doesn't have enough time to get back to Benicia in time for class.
We had a chance to get away from the docks last weekend, we headed toward Angle Island. We stayed at Dillon Point friday night, and headed out around 7:30am'ish. Getting to Richardson Bay was a piece of cake. The wind at our back, going wing~on~wing most the way. And you know what that means, Wind on the nose the whole way back.

We were playing with the Genoa, it is the big sail on the bow. We had a blast, a couple of our tacks were quite comical, trying to move the main traveler while we tacked was an adventure. There were seals on the buoys, they threw quite a fit when we passed real close, boy them buggers are loud. It was pretty nice both days out. We got to Richardson Bay before sunset. Our Cap'n took the dinghy aka 'potty boat' off the transom, and we went to shore for some much needed R&R for the crew. There are alot of vagabond boats there, It was pretty busy, so we had to anchor way past the main channel, and rowed all the way there. The vagabonds all hang at the park you have to beach the boat on. Then go back out to their boats.
While on our way we passed a wicked neat boat, kinda Batman/James Bond type, but it was huge. You can kinda get a feel of the size of this boat with a sailboat just off it's bow. The back deck was like a back patio, with one of those biggo BBQs on it.
It is kinda funny how I stow everything before we head out sailing, and for the most part it all stays put, then you get the sheets tight and she dips a rail, and everything goes everywhere. The picture is straight, but if you look at the clock on the navigation station, you can tell we are not flat. And I thought the towel is a great way to show you it the other way. Towel straight, head walk through heeled over.
bunkmate

Ta Do's Ta Done

2015-01-12T12:00:00.001-08:00

Little projects have to be done too.
The little things like getting the v~berth board cut, so the bunk will be one bunk instead of two, or you can still use it as two. The next step will be getting the foam pillow cut to fit, and get it wrapped in the same material as the rest of the cushions throughout Cerridwen's interior. The sewing machine is an awesome addition to the tools we need to continue our restoration of the inside and topside. Cerridwen came with material to keep improving the interior.
The rub strake needed a little epoxy to fill a seam that needed to be repaired. The Cap'n taped some plastic so as to not let any run down the side or drip into the water. We waited a couple of days before I sanded, and put another coat of paint on the whole rub strake.
We have been working every weekend, and I have been doing stuff all week during the day while Cap'n is at work. He also does work in the morning before he goes to work. We should be able to start taking her out every weekend, and figure out the sail inventory. She came with 8 sails, so we need to go through and try them all out
The Cap'n also sanded the grates for the cockpit floor. Took it back down to wood, we are going to keep it bare wood. This pic was taken through the forward porthole on the starboard side.
This is truly the never ending list. Every time you get a project done, mark it off the list, and BAMM, 2 or more projects appear on the list
I know I have said it before, but, , ,
Cruising means, Working on your boat in exotic places.
bunkmate

Dredging

2015-01-05T14:40:00.003-08:00

Well the dredging was a fiasco. They were to be in the marina and dredging by the first of August. Then by September, there was a problem with the permit, on the Marinas side, then it was the companies problem with scheduling, then it was finally here. Well kinda here, it was in the entrance. It moved some mud out of the entrance, and it moved towards the marina pretty fast. And then it just stopped working, sitting in the entrance canal. It sat for a couple of days, then moved some mud for a couple of hours, and a biggo tug came and pushed it out of the marinas entrance, all the way out, and up river it went.

oh well, no biggie, this is only temporary
bunkmate

Another Step Forward

2014-11-30T16:47:00.001-08:00

The top is practically finished, on one side. All the pockets that have been sewn on are great. The chances of the poles wearing through, are pretty darn nonexistent.
It has been raining here almost non~stop for 3 days, and the cover is awesome, the top stayed pretty much dry.
Captain Carey has put alot of time in his research. He has been watching videos, looking up canvas work done by other boaters and tent makers. They both have great ideas on covers, and just sewing techniques. How to put the zippers in, going around corners, installing velcro, where to put the snaps, etc, etc, etc.
When the whole top of the cover is done, we start doing panels. The panels will come down from under the flap. The panels will zip on, and together. They will clip to the life line stantions, and when all is said and done, we will be able to walk all the way around the boat, standing up. When it rains, the whole topside will be dry, and when the wind blows, we will just synch the top down with a strap that goes all the way around the whole top. And the amount of shade this will give us while in the hot tropics of Mexico, is priceless.
Now the big project, to see if we can get the heater up and rolling. It is a pretty trick unit. It will be a good addition to these brisk, and damp mornings we have had lately. The rain is here, and I doubt it is going to be stopping anytime soon. I hope, because we need the water, everywhere.
bunkmate

Got It Covered

2014-11-18T14:32:00.006-08:00

Sometimes we forget to remember what was it that drew us back down river to the ocean. There is never just one thing, there where tons of pros and cons that were thrown into the cauldron all mixed up, and it ultimately came down to our sanity.

We have restored our girl quite a bit, but we have also been ‘Shinalizing’ our way throughout.
The next big weekend project is sewing the cover for the entire topside. The Cap'n took friday off, so we had a 3day weekend to try and bust out the cover. We sewed all day, and into the evening. The first day we sewed the panels together, up to the mast, then the Cap'n spent most of the rest of the weekend getting the boot for the mast done, boy is that tricky.

1st weekend done

bunkmate

Need A Spare?

2014-11-03T10:18:00.002-08:00

When we bought SVCerridwen she came with alot of spare everything. There is something to be said about organization on a sailing vessel. The amount of things that you need to carry in case of an emergency, or something breaking while at sea, or something leaking while at sea, there are a number of reasons why you need to carry so much stuff.

The amount of screws, nuts, bolts, different caulking, washers, bungees, hoses, clamps, brass nails, stainless steel nails, hooks, rivets, latches, spark plugs, oil filters, fuel filters, air filters, hinges, snaps, bungs, cleats, tape, do you have any idea how many different kinds of tape there are?
As we go along we have been stratigizing on some type of organization system. We have come to realize, the best way to go about it is to put stuff together with like items, put them in see thru containers, and label them. In order to that we had to go to the beginning, pull it all out, sort as you go, spend the whole day down below. This is also including everything from under the aft cabin mattress. The shop is so 'Shinalized' now. All the stuff under the V~berth is now sanding stuff, and painting stuff.
All the new room in the cabinets, with the new shelves, and all the organizing, things are settling in place. Just in time to start working on sewing the top on the cockpit, getting the heater all hooked up, seal all the teak up top, and get a good coat on it before it starts raining. You know, boat stuff.
Organization is a key roll for keeping things neat and tidy on the boat. There is no room for messes. No matter how hard I try, The messes have to be dealt with as soon as you get done making it. And everything has a home.
bunkmate