Alberg 30 Refit: Bottom paint removal

And I've already run into an issue. I started working on the bottom, beginning with the nasty job of removing bottom paint. When I got Sal out of the water I realized she has between 5-6 layers of paint. This being the dirtiest job, I decided to tackle it first. Upon inspection of the hull I noticed some weird coloring where the paint had chipped or cracked away. I decided to start where I noticed this weird coloring.

That small white area is where I started. Small pin holes and the funny looking pattern immediately had me concerned.

Sanded a small area, the odd pattern and pin holes seemed to be wide spread. Can of worms opened! 

As I began to remove the paint I quickly realized that this was going to be way more nasty than I ever imagined. Blue dust was everywhere. I did have a respirator but that was not nearly enough. A few days later with a the proper PPE I decided to investigate that area more. I began sanding with a 6 inch disc sander. Very good tool for the job. Within an hour I had removed about a 4' x 3' area and the odd pattern just kept going. I was looking for the original gelcoat and it was nowhere to found. The gelcoat is the outer protective layer of fiberglass boats, that seals and protects the fiberglass. My immediate thought was that the boat had suffered some damage in the area. I was starting to get worried.

This is the area I sanded. Almost 2 hours of nasty work. 

This is a close-up of what I found

I decided to stop because I was getting pretty discouraged with how widespread the affected area was. I sent a few pictures of it to people I consider "Plastic Classic" (old fiberglass boat) gurus. After a few days of emails and a few calls the general consensus was that the boat was not damaged and I was just seeing crazed/cracked, thinned gelcoat. These pin holes were voids in the layup between the gelcoat and the fiberglass. It seems as though somewhere in Sal's past someone sanded way into the gelcoat. At this point I am still weighing options about how to address the issues I found, but in the meantime I have to finish sanding the hull. I hope to have it completed soon. I believe I can do it in a week if I just buckle down.

Stepped back a bit to get a better view, have a lot of work ahead of me!

I have been pretty busy away from the boat with everyday life. I picked up quite a few extra hours captaining the ferry to get some money into the refit fund. I also had a milestone birthday (40!) and we had some special family members come for visits. I will blog about that in coming days.

Take care~

Beautiful weekend-In progress

The last few days the weather here has been great, nearly perfect! I finished all of the welding on the trailer and finally applied some paint to most of it. I was only able to paint the front half but its getting there. This Alberg 30 trailer will soon have an Alberg 30 sailboat on it.

Here is what our Alberg 30 trailer project looks like this am, starting to come together

We went to an absolutely great Bruce Springsteen concert last night, one of the best performances I've ever seen. The E Street band was amazing. They played for 3 hrs straight. It was well worth the money. Today WE ARE GOING SAILING!!!! It is going to be close to 80 degrees and there will be a nice southerly breeze. Check back for pictures and a sailing report

Progress to Report

Had another good progress day on the trailer. At this point I believe she could hold old Sal, upright anyway. I was originally going to have the yard place Sal on the keel support and leave her there in the slings while I made the supports to keep her upright. I decided to go ahead and make the stands before hand. The decision was made after receiving a great drawing and measurements from James Baldwin of www.atomvoyages.com. The supports came out great. As you can probably tell I used old boat stands. I simply cut them up and reused what I needed, not too bad considering I paid $25 per stand! 

Yours Truly welding the support in place

More welding

Using my calibrated eye to ensure all is straight! An eye I got from my uncle and my father. Both of them taught me, from the time I was a child to the the day I left for the Navy at 18, how to use my hands to create and fix things, something that no amount of money or school could replace. I could never repay them for it either; what they instilled in me growing up is priceless. It is because of them I am able and not afraid to do what I do today...Thank you guys! 

"Laying a bead" as they say

As you can see in these pics, most of the trailer mods so far are just temporarily welded in place ('tacked' in welding terms.)

I will transport the trailer out to a friend to use a much larger machine to complete all the welding.

One support finished

Close up of the other side

I am very happy progress has been made. I was able to complete 2 of 6 planned hull supports. I finished the keel supports and cross members. I am working hard to get the trailer finished in the next week or two. I hope to have the boat on the trailer by the end of the month. I am going to purchase fenders tomorrow.
Looks like some foul weather headed our way this week, ice then snow.....so progress may be slowed once again.

Stay Tuned!

Thinking of warmer times

No trailer progress to report, the cold has settled back in this week. Snow flurries yesterday and a few more today have halted all outside projects. Tomorrow's high temperatures are only supposed to reach high 20's. The thought of that gives me chills. To combat this frigid weather I am looking at pictures of our previous Adventures aboard Salacia. 

Schooner Virginia passing us as we sail out of Little Creek on Chesapeake Bay

First mate headed down the docks as we return from a nice sail

A steady course with a 10kt breeze, very refreshing!

Ok, back to today....it is cold. It's going to continue to be cold for at least the next 3 or 4 days. I hope to get back to work on the trailer this weekend.

Stay Warm!

Progress on Alberg 30 Trailer

Made some progress on the trailer this weekend. Here are a few shots of the modifications:

New trailer jack, old one was seized up

Old rollers cut off and cross members added where most of Sal's weight will be centered. Cross Members ar 4X6X .375 angle, pretty heavy duty.

All cross members added, working on marking up keel support

3x2x .250 angle will tie all  5 cross members together to help spread weight out, keel will rest on 2x10 

Work will continue this week weather permitting. Stay tuned!

Where there's a will there's a way

I found this interesting article about a sailor, Martijn Dijkstra, from Holland. I found it very inspirational because he is cruising on what appears to be little money, a lot of hard work and ingenuity. 

http://towndock.net/shippingnews/prinses-mia

Princes Mia in Oriental, NC
(photo from Towndock.net)

Very good article that touched on his cruising philosophy and how he handles problems with little money.

Great read on another wet, windy and miserable day here in southern Virginia

Go with what you have- An Alberg 30

If you don't know by now, all boats are a compromise. Some shine at certain things and fall short on others. There is always a great debate on which boat is right for this or that. There are many opinions on the subject; just look at any internet forum. My best advice is go with what makes you feel safe, secure and comfortable. But opinions are like assholes: Everyone has one...and they usually stink. 

That being said, I am a firm believer that you should go cruising or sailing with what you can afford. I also believe in go-small-go-now; hence, my reason for buying the trusty old Alberg 30. She is slow, with a primitive inside cabin but I'm confident that she has been there/done that. If I had the money would I have a different boat but it would probably just be a larger version of the same old slow, primitive boat. I love the look of older classic sailboats, and most importantly I get that warm fuzzy inside when sailing with a full keel boat.

I have attached a link to a video of Matt Rutherford where he talks about his circumnavigation of the Americas. In the video he talks about preparing, sailing and traveling on a small 27ft classic sailboat. He says go with what you have or you'll never go. I agree

Link to video

10th Anniversary: Part 1

        I would like to start out by telling you all how lucky I am to find the woman of my dreams. For the last 16 years she has been my best friend and not a day goes by that she does not  make me smile and enjoy her company. 

For months we had been talking about how we wanted to spend our 10th wedding anniversary. I really wanted to spend it sailing the Chesapeake on our Sal. For those that don't know, my First Mate and I met on a boat, got married on a boat, and both love being on a boat. It seemed fitting to me that our 10th anniversary be spent on a boat; this time it would be our own boat, our Sal. Unfortunately, Sal was really not quite ready to go. Her v-berth has been in a construction state for...well...way too long. I am sad to report it is still that way today (updates on this later). After much debate and a few direct commands from the First Mate we decided on a road trip to Cape Cod. We had talked about going there earlier in the year to visit the newest additions to my family but just couldn't iron out any solid plans. If you love boats and the ocean but are forced to be land-bound, there's no better place than Cape Cod. Now we had a destination that was meaningful to us.

We headed off on our trip on the actual day of our anniversary. First we were going to spend a few days at Yogaville, a special yoga community and ashram, for Crystal to take part in her teacher training. We drove out west to the ashram in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, on the James River. It is beautiful there. When we arrived we set up our tent and had a nice relaxing evening. The next morning we woke up before the sun and headed to the top of Mt. Kailash to look out over the river valley and hills.

 Premium sunrise viewing spot for sure. A misty pale morning.

"I think Cape Cod is that way....yea...I'm sure of it."

Looking down at the Lotus Temple

On the James River during our hike

After our trek to the top of the mountain we went hiking for a good 2 hours along the James River, then went for a late breakfast of coffee and freshly baked goodies at Mandala, the small cafe there. It was just about then that Crystal's yoga classmates showed up. They were here as a group to further study some of the spiritual points of yoga. When they all headed off to practice I went down to the campsite to set up my portable amateur radio station and spent some time listening to the airwaves and trying to make radio contacts. After a few hours Crystal and her friends returned and we enjoyed the rest of our day together. The next morning we woke up early and broke down the tent. We were both very eager to hit the road and get to Massachusetts for the rest of our anniversary adventure.

Schooner Virginia

Yesterday while out for a great afternoon sail we had the pleasure of seeing the lovely Schooner Virginia under sail. She was sailing out of Little Creek Inlet on Southern Chesapeake Bay. What a beautiful vessel!

Summer is just about gone

And good riddance! While I enjoy nice weather I am not a big fan of anything over 70 degrees especially if the sun is shining. Great thing about summer winding down is that it means the temperature will be as well. Great for everything outdoors.

I know the blog has been a little slow lately and that is mainly due to life getting in the way. My new job has me working some crazy shifts and sometimes long hours. While this may seem like a step in the wrong direction for becoming a cruiser it really isn't. This job has relieved me of a lot stress that was present at my last job and now that I am a few months in, I am starting to get a routine down. This has allowed for more sailing.

Another new development in our adventures is that I am working towards my 100 ton Captain license. I am attending the local maritime school at night. I have most of all the prerequisites complete and just need to pass the exams. Hopefully by the end of the year I will have my captain's license completed. I am obtaining this with the hopes of being able to get summer work in ports while traveling and cruising the US. We'll see, either way it is always good to have on the resume.

First Mate and I are starting to plan an extended stay on our Sal for early October. We will keep you guys posted on our plans and adventure as it gets closer.

Out for a sail last week.

Now We Own a Sailboat!!!!

   It was now late Feb '11 and we had chosen our sailboat for our adventures. We signed all the paperwork and gave the check to the broker . We were now the proud owners of a 1971 Alberg 30. We were excited, to say the least. Our journey was beginning.  The boat was still located in Oriental, NC so that meant we would have to get her ready and make the 200+ mile journey up the Intracoastal Waterway(ICW) to Norfolk.

    Getting her ready required us to make a few trips to Oriental over the first few weekends of March ’11. Salacia had been closed up for about 10 months or longer. While she was in good physical condition and well equipped, she was a bit dirty  and damp inside. There was dust, dirt, mold and moisture to now deal with before we made our journey.  We found Sal to be very wet inside, water beading from overheads and everything else just felt damp. I am guessing she got like this from being closed up, the lack of maintenance and just not caring about her anymore.  Our plan of attack was to get her habitable and fast. We did not want to pay dock fees in North Carolina nor did we want our Sal 3 ½ hours away.

As you can see, she was wet inside! And her chainplates hardware was orginial.

    We traveled down to Sal for the first 2 weekends we owned her. We cleaned, scrubbed and cleaned some more. We removed all the cushions and set them on the dock to dry. We were very lucky during the initial visits the weather was just outstanding.  The skies were clear and the temps were in the upper 60’s to lower 70’s. We were able to open her up and let everything air and dry out.  She was starting to become a sailboat to be proud of.

Dark, dirty and damp she was! We fixed that!

    All of our research, travel and efforts had paid off. In just a few short weeks we were able to take her out and spend the night anchored out in the Oriental Town anchorage. Our Journey had begun. We were overjoyed. We had set our mind to something and accomplished it. We had an idea and we turned it into our reality. We were spending the night at anchor on our cruising sailboat!

Sal was all clean now and Crystal was a proud happy owner!!

We got a late start to the anchorage, but here we are headed out of the channel on our way over to Oriental Harbor

Here I am bringing Salacia and crew into Oriental

One happy sailor making us some eggs!

   We did it! We did it! We were now beginning our journey. Yes, we were and still are a long way from setting off, but we now were one very big step closer! We owned a cruising sailboat and had just spent our first night at anchor.

Physical Fitness, She's got it!!!!

    Many of you who know us and for those of you who do not, my wife is a fitness fanatic. It is not just a hobby but a way of life for her. She is by far the most dedicated person I know when it comes to working out and eating right. I will have to admit I am jealous because I just cannot keep up with her. She has endless amounts of drive to keep pushing herself to her physical limits. She has participated and trained endlessly for  triathlons, duathlons, ½ marathons,  1mile swims, yoga(almost daily)and crossfit and everything in between. By the way, all this after recovering from ACL tear over 10 years ago! She is a machine!

All warmed up and ready to ROCK!

    Well yesterday was no different. This was a new event for her, an event that was short in duration but would challenge her limits of physical fitness! It was called MetroDash. This event was a series of obstacles, one right after the other. This included tire flips, farmers carry, 12ft wall climb, rope traverse, concrete ball carry, monkey bars, sand bag carry…… I believe there was 15 all total. For more details check out www.metrodash.com.

Final Obstacle........scale an 8ft wall! No Problem!

    So how did she did she do? She killed it! As usual she was nervous! I never know why because I have seen her train! She kicked some serious butt out there completing obstacles many fit men could not complete! She did awesome! I am proud of her and even prouder to say she my beautiful wife! You are an outstanding athlete my dear and you should proud of your accomplishments!!

Here she is recovering with some cold water! She kicked ASS!

    What does this have to do with our sailing adventures? As many of you know and for those who don’t, sailing, especially offshore, requires a certain level of fitness and physical health. When you are hundreds or even thousands of miles from shore you can only depend on yourself and/or your crew members to handle whatever comes your way. These types of events and training for them prepare you, your muscles and your mind to be able to handle anything that may come your way. I have jumped onboard with training as well. I am nowhere near my beautiful wife’s fitness level, but I have been eating better and training 4-5 times a week for a few months now. I feel a lot better and the pounds are coming off. The wife and I have teamed up for an upcoming Toughmudder event. We will compete as a team! Check it out at www.toughmudder.com, so stay tuned! I hope I can keep up!

There she is! This Alberg 30 will be our new home and take us on a journey to true freedom.