S/V Deep Playa - Pearson 424

I’ve been working on a document describing the refit we plan to do on Deep Playa. I thought it would be good to share it with all of you and see if anyone has feedback but also so others might benefit from seeing what I’m doing.

Here’s the first half of the document, still lots of specifics to figure out, but a good start.

Overview

This refit plan for Deep Playa includes replacing the standing rigging, re-bedding and improving the deck hardware, replacing and improving the running rigging, and new bottom paint and hull polishing.

This section will cover the highlights of the projects by area (Rig, Hull, etc) but the meat of the document with all the details will cover the projects in the phases they will be carried out.

This document will be reviewed with several yards and riggers for additional input and to help select who will do the work.

We like to do our own work where it makes sense (saves us money, teaches us key maintenance or survival skills) but there are times where specific expertise or time consuming work makes more sense to be done by a professional . To what degree we do things ourselves is to be determined.

Standing Rigging

The wire rope standing rigging appears to be original and it is overdue to be replaced. Replacing it involves dropping both masts, replacing all of the wire rope, inspecting an possibly replacing the chain plates, inspecting and possibly refinishing the spars, having new wire rope rigging made and then re-rigging the boat. At the same time any electrical, communications or running rigging projects that affect the standing rigging and the spars need to be done as well.

Planned Upgrades

· Adding a isolators to the main backstay for the SSB antenna

· Conduit for in-mast wiring

· Strong Track

· Running Rigging Related

o Route all halyards internally

§ Add Spinnaker and Mizzen staysail halyards

o Rope clutches for main, mizzen, jib spinnaker and mizzen staysail halyards

o Inspect sheaves and probably replace, internal routing probably changes them all together

· Spreader Boots

· Electronics & Communications

§ Main

· Masthead NMEA 2000 weather station

· Masthead VHF Antenna

· Masthead LED Anchor and Nav Lights

· Masthead Davis Windex

· Spreader LED lights

· Foredeck Light

· Hailer Mount

· Ensure the crane has all that is necessary for planned sails

o Spinnaker halyard

§ Mizzen

· Masthead NMEA 2000 GPS

· Masthead AIS (backup VHF) Antenna

· Spreader LED lights

· Foreword Light

· Self leveling Radar Mount

· Ensure the crane has all that is necessary for planned sails

o Mizzen staysail halyard

Open Issues

· Refinishing the spars – What’s the cost

· How many things that are bolted to the spars need replacing?

· Main and Mizzen reefing are a mess

· Rigger needs to be identified

· Rigging Inspection Needed

Running Rigging

All of the lines for the running rigging except for the Jib Halyard and the Mizzen Sheet are in a very sad state and need to be replaced. In addition to that there are several very flawed installations such as the main sheet winch and main traveler which are also functioning poorly. At this point based on pricing and helpfulness I am plan to use Garhauer almost exclusively.

Planned Upgrades

· Move main sheet winch inboard

· Replace main traveler

· Add rigid boom vang

· Increase main sheet purchase

Open Issues

· Can I get a bulk discount from Garhauer?

· Should we do this before we make decisions on our sail maker?

Deck Hardware

Beyond the rigging fittings which will be pulled and rebedded all other deck mounted hardware will be rebedded as part of this the lifelines will be moved to the toe rail as well.

Planned Upgrades

· New Garhauer toe rail mounts for life lines

· New lifelines and fittings

· Bow trim piece is broken and needs to be replaced

· Moving the windlass foreword and the hawse pipe out of the berth

· Add additional bow roller

Open Issues

· Will we use wire rope or line for the lifelines?

· Should we add any fittings for jack lines?

· Can we afford new stern pulpits placed on the toe rail? Would include:

o Bimini

o Solar Panel mounts

o Stern reel mount

· Close the Bow Tank Hole?

· Will a horizontal windlass be needed

· Can the existing windlass handle two anchors

· Will the toe rail track need to be shortened to accommodate the lifeline changes

Hull Work

The main two parts of this project are new bottom paint and polishing the gel coat. In addition to that we want to evaluate all the thru-hulls and see if any might be eliminated as well as make modifications to our ground tackle management.

Planned Upgrades

· Remove unused thru hulls

o Toilet overboard

o Toilet intake

· Stainless steel on the bow to protect hull from anchors

· Bow padeye for anchor snubber

· Rebed and inspect starboard hatch

· Combine knot meter and transducer

· Inspect cutlass bearing and plan to replace

· Upgrade transducer to one with temperature, maybe not a thru-hull; maybe add or instead use fish finder type.

Open Issues

· Do we “plug” or glass closed unused thru-hulls?

· Should we close off the galley sink intake?

· Is the crazing in the gel coat around the hull a problem or just an age issue? Will polishing clean it up? Should we even care?

· What Hull paint should we use? Need to look at the PS articles and compare NW to CA paint results

Headliner, Portholes and Hatches

Removing the headliner is a necessity to do all the other work; we plan to replace it at the same time as well. The damaged teak along the cabin top will be covered so it blends with the new white headliner as well to create a visual lift to the salon. The leaky and sealed closed portholes will also be replaced with the New Found Metals portholes we acquired this summer. The hatches are also questionable (the aluminum is brittle in places) and leaky they will be replaces as well while the headliner is out. In the final installation the teak colored strips holding up the headliner will be painted white to blend them with the headliner.

Planned Upgrades

· New Found Metals Portholes

· Replace hatches

· New headliner

· New cabin top wood (cover up teak)

Open Issues

· Brand of hatches TBD, New Found Metals is supposed to be making hatches this fall

· Headliner material is TBD, Originally wainscoting was the plan, are we really over that?

This post was written by Dawn, edited by Patrick

Everyone has heard it before…if you have ever purchased something that moves fast or could potentially be dangerous. You always receive the standard advice from just about everyone, “Just be prepared when [insert bad thing] happens, because it’s not a matter of if it will happen but when it will happen.  I’ve heard the warning as kid, while I worked at a horse farm where I rode and cared for horses.  “It’s not a matter of if you fall off, it’s more when you fall off.” And I did, multiple times, and yes, I always got up, dusted myself off and got back on that proverbial horse.  And I also heard it after purchasing my first motorcycle at the age of 21 and yes, I dropped my motorcycle, a couple times, and yes, I got back on.  And, both Patrick and I have heard it since purchasing Deep Playa, “It’s not a matter of if you’ll run aground, it’s when you’ll run aground.”  And so here is our story of running aground in Deep Playa for the first time. 

After we peeled off the raft up at the Lats N’ Atts party in Poulsbo a few of us continued our wonderful sailing trip and headed north towards the San Juan Islands for another week.  Our first stop was in Mystery Bay State Park, according to the website, is a “10-acre marine park is reachable by car or boat. The park features 685 feet of saltwater shoreline on Mystery Bay and offers a spectacular view of the Olympic Mountains.”  It sounded wonderful and peaceful especially after the debauchery of the weekend. Since we were the first boat to leave Poulsbo we arrived at the mouth of Mystery Bay a few hours prior to the other boats in our raft up.  The entrance to the bay winds through a narrow and shallow channel and then opens up to the bay.  We decided to motor all the way down to the bottom of the bay and drop anchor and wait for the others to arrive.  Absolutely no problems! After having some very “mysterious” things happen to the other boats, such as batteries not charging and transmissions getting stuck in reverse. We confirmed that our fuel tank gauge wasn’t functioning either.  Luckily, before we ran out! We decided to wake up early and head over to Port Townsend, WA to fill up the fuel tank and to top off our water tanks.  After pulling up the anchor we headed out of the bay and thought it would be a great idea to leave on an ebb in hopes that as the tides shifted to a flood that it would push us quickly over the Straits of Juan de Fuca. 

Something that we learned early on after purchasing Deep Playa was there are a few poor design decisions made by the previous owners. One of which, is the depth gauge is mounted on an interior bulk head.  The helmsman must bend over and remove his/her sunglasses and look 6 feet through the companion way to read the digital display. 

We were feeling comfortable (maybe too much) about our perfect navigation of the channel the previous evening, so I hopped down below and started making some food and getting ready for our trip.  Bad idea!  All of a sudden I felt a jerk.  I knew that wasn’t right and by the time I ran over to the companionway to see what happened, we had hit a sandbar and we were stuck!  YIKES!  After a few choice words, we both hopped into action, mentally and physically preparing ourselves and the boat for whatever may come.  We hailed our friends to attempt to pull us off of the sandbar but they weren’t powerful enough and they too were concerned about running aground.  So we hailed Vessel Assist and they were there in 20 minutes!  The captain showed up and told us that he needed another boat because his wasn’t powerful enough.  So we waited for another boat.  As we waited, the wind started to pick up (blowing us into the sandbar of course) and the rain started.  Perfect!!!! Patrick and I felt uncomfortable of the heeling that was increasing due to the tide moving further and further out but the captain from Vessel Assist assured us that that was nothin’!  We felt a little better due to his presence and his reassurance.  He told us that we should check the sea strainer since we were running the engine in shallow water.  We did, and it had some seaweed in it but it wasn’t too bad.  While we waited he said that the plan was to have the second boat tie to the main halyard while he pulled us off using a bridal off the bow cleats.  The heel from the second boat would lift the keel free and he would pull us into deeper water. 

Twenty minutes later the second boat showed up and they prepped to pull us off.  Our biggest concern was potentially damaging the mast head and the bow pulpit.  As things got underway we just sat back and held on for the ride.  As she was being pulled off and we were heeling over to the point that the lifelines and portlights were in the water I began to get nervous and in response to that anxiety, I began to chant, “She’s a good boat…she’s a good boat…she’s a good boat.”  Patrick looked over at me and said “What the heck are you saying?”  I responded, “I know she’s a good boat! So why not chant it!”  Our new tagline for Deep Playa: “She’s a good boat!” After several attempts she finally popped out of the mud and we were once again in deep water! 

After this, we sprang into action, checking all of the systems and starting the engine before the Vessel Assist guys left us.  I ran down below and opened up the door to the head and whoosh!  Water flowing down the hull and onto the floor!  I ran over to the bilge and checked, not too much water, we’re OK!  I ran back into the head and tore everything from the storage areas to investigate the leak.  The clamp fitting for the hose connecting the sea cock and the drain from on deck was spewing water everywhere.  It had become over loaded by the copious amounts of water coming from above deck.  (Just add that to the list to fix)  Luckily we didn’t take on too much water and things settled down very quickly.  However, I did lose a hair dryer to the sea that day. :-( (RIP) After we cleaned everything up and checked her over, everything seemed to be OK! (I told you she was a good boat)  We grabbed a mooring ball so we could decompress and talk about what happened and what we could have done better. 

After decompressing for a bit we decided to take advantage the weather window that was upon us and headed off to Port Townsend to get a slip for the night.  We wanted to haul her out and check the keel, rudder and prop before heading across the Straits and to the San Juans the next morning.

The guys at Port Townsend Boat Haven were great!  They took us in early the next morning and we hung in the sling while we checked out her hull.  And like, I have said before, she’s a good boat (this is a recurring theme).  No damage to the rudder or prop and minimal damage to the bottom paint.  Thank goodness for her modified full keel! We planned on hauling her out anyway this year to do the bottom paint so we were happy campers to say the least.  To make our experience even better, the guys at the yard informed us that they were having 50% off all haulouts that day!  Seriously???!! Sweet!  We told him, well, for that price, let’s do it all over again!

After we splashed, we headed to the fuel dock and filled her up and we were off to Westcott Bay on San Juan Island to meet up with our raftup! 

Things we learned from this experience:

1. Deep Playa: can be translated to “deep beach” in Spanish; the irony is not lost on us

2. Move the bulkhead mounted depth gauge to a visible location

3.  Don’t get cocky and too comfortable even if you have been successful at doing [insert verb] in the past.

4. Patrick and I make a great team and work well together under pressure. We didn’t yell at each other nor place blame for mistakes. We both had our responsibilities to take care of and we trusted each other to handle them efficiently and effectively. (It’s always nice to reaffirm this belief)

5.  All sailors will respond to this story in the most positive and comforting way: “See, it was a great learning experience for you two!”

About 24 hours till we leave for the biggest sailing trip we’ve taken thus far. We’re going to spend the first few days partying at the Latitudes and Attitudes Northwest Party in Poulsbo, WA and then we’re headed to the San Juans for a little more than a week.

The whole route is planned out precisely, but I should be able to post updates as we go. I also have a few gear goodies that are arriving as well and I’ll do some posts about the new toys as well!

Soooo EXCITED to be heading out… one more day of work. ;-)

From SNL… I think this sums up my life these days :-)

This past weekend was a good one in terms of getting things. It started out with a personal economic stimulus package when we dropped some coin at Fisheries for supplies. Mostly I stocked up on spare filters, electrical wiring components and 100’ of wire I’ll use when I put in the new speakers that I bought elsewhere, more on that later, here’s what did go in this weekend.

LED Lighting

When we were cleaning the boat this summer we pulled out the reading lights in the salon. We didn’t like how they looked, some of them didn’t work and they were a bit rickety. At boat show this year we looked at all kinds of lights some with built in LEDs and other that could take an LED bulb. There weren’t as many choices as we though there were going to be, and in the end we ended up going with two lamps from ABI. One is a classic bulkhead bell type reading light and the other is similar but is mounted on a swivel, like a podium microphone.

For LED Bulbs, we chose Dr. LED bulbs for these new fixtures and LED replacement bulbs for all the existing reading lights as well. The Dr. LED bulbs put out a nice light and they aren’t nearly as hot as the old bulbs which were so hot you could burn yourself on the fixture when pointing the light. They’re a tad expensive (ok a lot expensive) but they also reduce the energy we use which means running the engine less!!

Sirius XM Radio Antenna

When I put the new stereo in this summer, we were using the little hockey puck style antenna which we ran through a hatch and let it sit free on the cabin top. The new antenna is a Shakespeare SRA40 which I have mounted temporarily on the dodger hand railing. Eventually I plan to relocate this, the C.A.R.D., and GPS antennas, which are mounted on the other side of the dodger, to the mizzen mast or a stern mounted antenna pole. I’ve not decided yet. I think the Mizzen mast may be the only option give the mizzen boom’s swing through the stern area. I’ll decide all that when we starting working on the rigging and hauling the masts. I think the radio already holds the signal better and we’re just sitting at the dock.