Fun sailing on the Santa Cruz

With the boat at Eckerd for the Fall Break long weekend, we would have some time to go sailing for fun. The day after the race, Cody, Callie, Sheehan and I went on a couples sunset cruise. Using the old main and #4 jib, we were perfectly de-powered, yet still quick in the light evening breeze.





There was absolutely no breeze on Monday, but Tuesday brought 15-18 knots out of the south. This was perfect for a reach and run to DIYC in Tampa. Cody, Tweek and I started by motoring south down the channel and under the first bridge south of Eckerd, then hoisted the main and #4. We jib reached on starboard down the channel, then turned down into Tampa Bay and set the 1.5oz kite. With the #4 still up and trimmed loosely like a stay sail, the boat was very balanced on the 090 to 110 degree apparent wind reach and easily surfed the chop on the bay. It was nice to feel how fast the boat was downwind, as well as how dry she was too. We'll see if she stays dry sailing in the Pacific.

After about an hour of this, I saw there was a tear in the spinnaker and we dropped it before it could exploded. We set again, this time with the 1.5oz "chicken kite" with narrow shoulders, but by this point we had to turn down on a run to DIYC. Without the right spinnaker we were underpowered, but Furthur was still fast; Santa Cruz 27s love to go downwind. We pulled up to the hoist, Brian came to check out the boat, and Sheehan came to help us lift the boat and move the trailer with her Xterra.

On the drive back to Eckerd, a rain squall that had been hovering on the horizon during the whole sail hit and started pouring. We were all pretty happy that it didn't hit while we were out sailing.

The Davis Island Yacht Club Classic

The DIYC Classic would be the first time Furthur ever touched water outside of the Pacific Ocean (as far as I know). It also be our first time sailing her since SC27 Nationals in July. We launched her at 10:30 a.m. on October 24 and motored to the line for the start warning signal at 11:00. Raising the new (to us) main and 150% genoa given to us by the owner of Sumo after Nationals, we did a few short practice beats to get the sails trimmed and adjusted properly before the start.

The breeze was 5-10 knots out of the south and the start was mellow with no barging or yelling. We stalled up near the boat end to let a bigger boat roll under us, then put the bow down and got moving for the gun. Off the start we didn't have good point, but pulling on more backstay to tension the forestay helped a lot. Our tactics were to play the left side closer to the channel where there appeared to be more breeze and an ebbing tide. This started out as a good plan, until the boats on the right got a huge lift and increased pressure. From this point we tried to consolidate with the rest of the fleet and cut our losses. As the smallest and slowest boat in the Spinnaker B fleet, we watched as the other boats pulled away from us. At this point we settled in to our positions with Cody on the bow, Eric at the mast, Tweek doing pit and grinding, Sheehan trimming and calling tactics, and myself driving, and began working the boat for more speed and point. Due to the distance of the race we would be switching around a lot to keep everyone fresh.

As forecasted, the wind built and began clocking from south to north, effectively lifting us as we turned the corner out of the bay. On a close reach, the larger cruising boats began ripping up to us due to their longer waterlines. The wind continued to build and as we rounded the mark to head to Clearwater, it was apparent that we would be beating 40 miles upwind in 15-20 knots to the finish. This was definitely not the course for a small ULDB: beating, close reaching, then beating again.

We changed down to the 95% #3 jib, which involved its own challenges. The luff blew out of the headfoil during the hoist, but I had found a spectra loop from racing on a new SC37 that had the same problem, and clipped it around the headfoil to the head of the jib with the halyard shackle. This held and kept going, with the steep waves occasionally breaking over the foredeck. As the sun set, the reality that we would be finishing at about 2:00 a.m. with no wind for the delivery home set in, and we made the call to drop out of the race and head for Eckerd. I called the Race Committee to let them know we would be DNFing and we got ready for a fun spinnaker ride back to the main channel.

Unfortunately, while getting ready to set the spinnaker, Cody fell on the tiller trying to clear a wrap in the spinnaker sheet and it cracked. Afraid that it might completely break if overloaded with the kite up, we decided to play it safe and jib reach up the Egmont Key Channel, then motored up to Eckerd.

It was disappointing to be DNF in our first race, but the course the opposite of what a Santa Cruz 27 is designed for and it would be impossible to do well on corrected time. We decided to save the fun of beating up wind for deliveries in the future. On the upside, we learned a lot about sailing a Santa Cruz 27 upwind, as well as what else on the boat needs work or attention.

The wild parts were too wet for a camera, but here are a few photos (not all by me) from the beat out of Tampa Bay.

Watching the tell-tales. I couldn't find the tiller extension so steering was a PITA. I later found out that my couch had eaten it.

Not bad for free sails!

Sheehan and I

Waiting for the spinnaker set that never happened

Sheehan at the helm

Crunch Time for the DIYC Classic

In the week before the race we had a huge list of things to do to the boat including:
-Fill the rudder blisters and tip.
-Install the rudder and tiller.
-Change the sail numbers to 116.
-Re-splice the headsail halyards with a kevlar anti-chafe cover.
-Straighten the mast step.
-Step the rig and tune it (for the first time in three months and 3000 miles later).
-Run the halyards.
-Drill out and fill the holes in the deck with epoxy/filler.
-Wash and Teflon wax the hull.

And we got it all done, with some help from our friends, by Saturday morning for the start of the DIYC Classic. Sheehan especially put in a lot of time, filling the blisters and mangled rudder tip, then fairing them smooth. She also helped removed the old sticky-back sail numbers and applied the new ones. Here are a few photos!

Wetsanding in the dorm courtyard

Sail loft in the dorm. My neighbors don't even think it's weird anymore.

Getting Furthur race-ready for the DIYC Classic

Furthur's new home at DIYC

Stripping the old pipe berths out. They are nasty 70's cloth that is heavy and absorbs water like a sponge. We will make new ones out of mesh to dry quickly for the Pacific Cup.

Cody throwing the old pipe berth cloth off the boat

Gypsy yard sale

We will soon be stripping the lettering off Saltshaker, she will be re-christened as Furthur.

Removing the mast step so we can reinstall it straight. The tape is to keep water out of the holes and balsa core while we work on it.

Bunks are gone, so is the sun.

Over the weekend and today while Cody and I were at DIYC, Sheehan began filling the blisters in the rudder as well as fairing the tip. Here it is curing on my bed...


We still have plenty to do before the DIYC Classic this weekend, but it is very doable. More updates to follow as we keep working.

Working and sailing on a J/24

Cody and I wet-sanded and waxed a J/24, owned by our ex-Eckerd Sailing coach Robbie Brown, last Wednesday in preparation for the 2009 J/24 Southeast Regional Championship Regatta in Jacksonville, Florida. We started with 400 grit sand paper, then 600, finished with 800, then waxed and buffed the hull. We spent most of the day working on the boat, and Cody went back the next day to finish the buffing; in return I drove to DIYC towing the Santa Cruz to her new home in the dry storage boat yard. It was a great opportunity to use some the skills we learned this summer to earn some money to put toward the boat.

Furthermore, Robbie needed a 140 pound person to fill in the "mast" position for Regionals and I fit the bill. I had wanted to sail with Robbie, an awesome J/24 sailor and North Sails rep, for a long time and finally got the chance to. The conditions were puffy and shifty winds starting at 11-15 knots and building to 18-23, with a ripping current, by the end of Saturday's racing. I hadn't seen J/24's surf like this since the 2008 Midwinters and the racing was fast by J/24 standards. We finished the first day in second place and in contention for first place if we sailed well the next day

Sunday brought even more and colder wind, with huge puffs and shifts. We had a hard time finding a groove in these conditions, but kept second place. Team Tarheel won the regatta with five firsts and qualified for the 2010 J/24 World Championships. Robbie was disappointed with the 2nd, but I learned a lot and had a good time. Results can be found here.

Major Contributions

Last week I posted a link to this blog here on the Sailing Anarchy forums, along with some details about the campaign. I got some suggestions for the blog, words of encouragement, the usual SA flak, and an offer from a total stranger to let me borrow his safety equipment for the race.

Sailing Anarchy member "Wash" posted (#9) in the thread and offered to let us borrow his safety equipment for the race. In 2007 he prepped his boat for the TransPac, but ultimately did not start the race. He has offered to loan us a life raft, EPIRB, parachute flares, storm sails, and various things like life jackets, harnesses, headlamps, etc. This took a huge weight off our shoulders, as safety equipment can be the most expensive part of boat prep for a DH Pacific Cup entry, and Cody and I are extremely grateful for he generous offer. Wash has also raced in 6 TransPacs and has offered his advice if we have any questions.

"stinky", a Santa Cruz Sails sailmaker, offered to make us a spinnaker if we could get him the materials. Brian is helping me source some Airx 700 for the kite and Santa Cruz Sails are fast and durable; I have no doubt that "stinky" will make us a great sail. We really appreciate this, as "stinky" is also sailing in the 2010 Pac Cup as a double-handed entry on the Express 27 Tule Fog and depending on the class splits, we may be racing against them.

"dog house" offered to lend us a satellite phone with all the accesories, as well as buy me shoes if I'll wear them. A Sat phone will be our primary communication tool; the Race Committee is experimenting with the double-handers next year, allowing us to call in our position report on the satellite phone. The positions will be typed in by the RC, then emailed to the communication boat, who will read them off before proceeding with roll call on the Single Side Band radio for the rest of the fleet. This is a huge benefit for the smaller boats, an SSB is heavy and uses a huge amount of power. Sat phones are very efficient, easy to use, reliable, and lightweight.

Marc, an experienced local J/24 sailor and offshore sport fisherman, has also offered to let us borrow his life raft, EPIRB, and satellite phone for the race. I am amazed by the volume of these generous offers and may even have to turn some down. Thank you all for your contributions, they will all help us get to the starting line and race to Hawaii with speed and confidence.

There are also a great deal of people helping us with advice and knowledge. "Mr. Clean" of Sailing Anarchy gave me a lot of advice on creating a website and how to find sponsorship. "War Dog" sailed in the 2004 Pacific Cup on a DH Santa Cruz 27 and is making a list of notes about the race and boat prep. While there have been some negative comments in the thread, the positive response has been overwhelming and it is helping us make great strides in our effort to be the youngest crew to sail the Pacific Cup double-handed.

Where we're at now

Eckerd College is starting to get a little upset about Furthur's residence in the freshman parking lot and threatened in an email to tow the boat in one week. I thought about just taking the wheels off the trailer, but that's probably not the best approach. Luckily, my membership application to the Davis Island Yacht Club is almost through and then I'll be able to keep Furthur on the trailer in dry storage with access to a hoist and active racing. There is a little bit more work to do before we can go sailing, but we're almost ready for the Florida winter season. Hopefully we will get everything done in time for the DIYC Classic, a 60-something mile distance race from Tampa Bay to Clearwater.

We are also looking for sponsors and contributors. The Pacific Cup does not allow sponsor logos on any part of the boat during the race, but battle flags, team gear and pre-race advertising are all free game. We could also take sponsors out on the boat, both to enjoy a nice sail and get a taste of our life during the race.

Also, if you have any safety equipment we could borrow for the Pacific Cup (to be returned after the race in the same condition), we would be eternally grateful. Not doing the race, but have a liferaft? Please let us borrow it! Or parachute flares or an EPIRB or Satellite Phone! Any kind of contribution will be recognized here and I am working to get more viewers. If you are interested in helping our campaign to be the youngest crew to sail the Pacific Cup doublehanded, please email me at clappijh@eckerd.edu.

Further Work on Furthur at Eckerd

Moving the Mast to Kappa (our dorm)

Work area: outdoors with power, not bad

Using a dremel to round and smooth the halyard exits. A rat tail file ended up being easier to use and faster.

The dremel was perfect for grinding out small blisters in the rudder to dry out, then fill and fair.

The Drive

Furthur will have about 6000 road miles under her keel before the start of Pacific Cup. After Pacific Cup she may have that many with her keel in the water since Cody and I will be sailing her back to California for the race. We joke about difficult situations as "training" for Pacific Cup, and this drive would prove to be quite a challenge.

Driving to San Diego in the midday sun over I-5 had the Jeep close to overheating, even with the windows down and no A/C. Going over the Grapevine, the Jeep's coolant temperature began to creep toward the red, so I cranked on the heat to help cool the engine. This helped, but not enough and I had to pull off the road to let the engine cool off. The Jeep had plenty of power, but the cooling system couldn't keep up.

With the sun setting and the Jeep cooler, I made it up the Grapevine and began my descent into Southern California. The trailer brakes made a huge difference and the 4000lbs trailer didn't push the 3500lbs Jeep around at all. Between the trailer brakes and manual transmission I was easily able to slow safely, even downhill. Unfortunately, Southern California drivers can't merge at freeway speeds, even though they're driving a BMW, which forces the Jeep with the big boat to take evasive maneuvers to avoid them. At night this was even harder and I almost took out a black Mini Cooper that decided to cut me off and then do a brake check. I got to San Diego without any major mechanical issues and it was great to see Sheehan after 5 weeks of being apart.

We spent a few nice days in San Diego; Sheehan showed me the sights, including the BMW Oracle trimaran "Dogzilla." But we had to leave with enough time to make it across the country with break downs and have Sheehan in Naples by August 24th for her wisdom teeth.

Our plans of leaving early on August 17 failed, though this was for the better as our first leg would be across the high deserts of California, Arizona and New Mexico. Even still, I had to drive with the heat on full blast in the 100 degree desert sun to keep the Jeep from overheating. All I can say is this sucked. I was also amazed that there were Border Patrol check points on the freeway. All traffic had to bottle neck through a checkpoint, with each vehicle stopping to answer the Border Patrol officer's questions. My boat in the desert really interested them, but the officers were always polite, even friendly, and I was never searched. We made it to Yuma by sunset for dinner at In-N-Out Burger and an air conditioning overdose at Best Buy.

To keep the Jeep from overheating constantly and me being miserably hot, we decided to keep driving through the night. This worked much better, the Jeep and I were both much cooler, though I still couldn't use the A/C. We made it to Las Cruces, NM, by sunrise, got a motel room and crashed for the day. That night we set off again, taking an alternate over some mountains to avoid the constant Border Patrol check points. As we drove up the mountains, a thunder storm rolled over them, illuminating part of the mountains with flashes of lightning. We cruised down the back of the mountain range, the peaks silhouetted by the passing lightning storm. Sunrise found us in Texas, and while getting gas I found a leak from the rear differential pinion seal. I got more gear oil at the gas station and added some; though not much was gone. Hoping it would remain a slow leak, I decided to check the gear oil level at every gas stop (of which there were many). With the sun coming up, we stopped in Ozona Texas to get a motel room. A friendly local woman gave us directions to a nice and cheap motel when she saw me checking the rear differential oil.



As the sun set, Sheehan and I got on the road. The long straight Texas freeway never seemed to end until we hit morning traffic at dawn in Houston. Not in the mood to fight traffic after driving all night, Sheehan and I tried to sleep in the boat until it got too hot. This had been our original plan to save on motel bills, but the boat became an oven during the day. After our nap we pressed on into Louisiana. The desert morphed into wetlands and we were soon driving in white-out conditions from a rain squall. The rain was a great change from the desert sun, so I cracked another Red Bull as we drove over the rivers and marshes of Louisiana.

Other than the overheating issues in the desert, the Jeep was running great and the trailer was holding together. Near the Mississippi-Alabama border, the trailer tongue jack vibrated its pin out and made a bid for freedom on the highway. It also landed so the left trailer tire would run it over. Sheehan immediately called me and we pulled off the highway. I ran back about half a mile to find the jack in the bushes next to the highway. Amazingly it was still intact and luckily no one else hit it. To be on the safe side I threw the jack in the back of the Jeep. An hour later the left trailer tire blew out in three places at 55 mph. The trailer swerved some and eased the Jeep onto the shoulder. A quick tire change and we were back on the road, but soon decided we'd had enough carnage and got a motel room for the night.

Being able to sleep at night and drive during the day was a welcome change. Since my spare tire was a Load Range D and primary tires Load Range E, I thought it be best that I get a new tire with the correct load range. I bought a lifetime tire warranty with the tires from Discount/America's Tire, too bad there aren't any in Alabama. I found a small shop that could get me a tire in afew hours for $50; with that ordered Sheehan and I got breakfast at IHOP and waited. When the tire arrived, they mounted it and let me back the trailer into the bay so they could install it; of course it was pouring rain outside. We chose to get back on the road despite the rain, with Eckerd and Naples our final goal. This was our last leg, everything just had to hold together.

About 150 miles out of Tampa I felt the Jeep vibrate badly for a second before the rear u-joint came apart and the rear drive shaft banging between the road and floorboards. I put in the clutch and the drive shaft luckily caught itself on the e-brake cable. Coasting to the shoulder, I found myself asking the Jeep why it had to break so close to home. To keep going I would remove the rear drive shaft from the transfer case and then drive in 4 wheel drive with only the front axle getting power. To keep from overloading and destroying the Jeep's transfer case, Sheehan would tow the boat the rest of the way with her Nissan Xterra. The Jeep was now a real handful in front wheel drive because of the locker, whenever it engaged or disengaged the Jeep would try to change lanes. The Xterra was also having a hard time, its rear suspension nearly bottomed out. But we finally made it to Eckerd, I stashed the boat and Jeep in the gravel north parking lot, put some of my stuff in Sheehan's car and we headed to her mom's house in Naples to get some sleep.

Getting ready to go cross-country

After a great delivery from Hawaii to SF Bay on Criminal Mischief, I had about a week and a half to get the trailer and Jeep ready to drive from California to Eckerd College in Florida.

The trailer was made in 1979 and had some rust poking through the teal paint, but it was structurally sound. The surge brake system was shot with rust, a fender came off on the way to Nationals, and the bunks had been recarpeted by the previous owner before selling me the boat, but the wood was cracking and the bolts almost rusted through. Luckily, the bearings were good and never got how on any of the tows. I would need to get new wood for the bunks, new carpet, rebuild the entire brake system, solder the trailer wiring and get the tires replaced. And this was just the trailer!

My Jeep is also not the best tow vehicle. In high school I was really into off-roading and built my Cherokee into a great wheeling machine. Unfortunately, 32" mud tires,soft springs and locking differentials all make towing harder.


Furthermore, the Jeep likes to overheat and the rear driveshaft angle is slightly out of alignment, causing a vibration at freeway speeds. On the upside, I regeared the differentials with 4.10 gears to offset the larger tires. A lower gear ratio and manual transmission allow the Jeep to get as much torque to the wheels as possible. And I can fix almost anything that could go wrong with the Jeep.

The day after I got home I ordered a new brake master cylinder, brake shoes, wheel cylinders and tail lights for the trailer. They would arrive in a week, leaving me just enough time to rebuild the brakes and head down to meet Sheehan in San Diego before convoying to Florida. In the mean time I would have to search for a hoist I could use to launch Furthur so I could replace the trailer bunks. I decided to replace the 12'x2"x6" planks with pressure treated 14x2"x8" planks to give more support for the hull. Several local carpet stores gave me old rolls of carpet and I found one strip that was the right length.

Richmond Yacht Club was nice enough to let me use their hoist, so my Dad and I drove to Richmond to work on the boat. I let my Dad drive there so he could get a feel for the Jeep and give me his thoughts on its towing ability. Arriving at Richmond, my Dad was surprised how well the Jeep did. He taught me almost everything I know about driving, building things and working on cars, so an all clear from him was a good sign. We quickly launched Furthur and began ripping the old bunks out. The bolts holding them to the supports were undersized, rusty and almost worn through. The wood wasn't much better. Taking careful measurements, we cut and drilled the new bunks. We then bent them to the shape of the hull using a hand winch and bolted them on with galvanized hardware.

Next, we put on the new (to me) carpet, securing it with a roofing nail every foot. With the sun almost setting and Richmond about to get ridiculously cold, we hoisted out the boat, rinsed her with freshwater and put her back on the trailer for the drive home. The new bunks looked great, add more support for the hull and are definitely stronger.

My next objective was to get the Jeep in the best possible condition. I ran a heavy duty radiator cleaner through the cooling system and cleaned all the mud out of the radiator. This would hopefully help with the overheating issue as both the electrical and mechanical fans were working fine. I also changed the oil, spark plugs and did a few other service things to the Jeep.

Continuing with the trailer, I called several tire stores and got a great price on new tires. Then I checked my email and found out that the brake master cylinder I ordered was out of stock and wouldn't arrive until the day I wanted to leave. I frantically called local boat shops until I found one with the part in Stockton, so I canceled my order for that part. I installed the brake master cylinder I got in Stockton and began stripping off the old brake hardware. Two days later I got the new parts in the mail, including a brake master cylinder! The rest brake rebuild went fairly smoothly (except for adjusting the star wheels) and I learned how to double-flare hard brake line (its kind of a pain in the ass if you want to know). Bleeding the brakes was pretty hard since the fluid reservoir is tiny and kept sucking in air bubbles, but my Dad and I eventually got it. I reattached the broken fender and bolted on the wheels with new tires. Meanwhile, my Dad helped my last minute scramble by soldering the trailed light wiring. The next morning I finished packing up the Jeep and boat and headed for San Diego to meet up with Sheehan.