Winter Tarp Frame

Last winter, when the boat was delivered to the house, I bought a large blue tarp at Ocean State Job Lot and covered her up snuggly and tightly.  I had to adjust my tie-downs the first time, having been warned not to tie them to the boat stands -- a very strong wind pulling on such a line could shift the boat stand and destabilize the raised boat.

Piao under her old tarp

I also learned, the hard way, that it is better to have the tarp drawn taunt, at a steep angle, to facilitate run-off of snow and rain and prevent accumulation of pools and puddles -- which freeze into surprisingly heavy chunks of ice.

Piao topless

Hoping to avoid repetition of the great spring tarp-ice melt, I decided to build an A-frame for the deck of the boat.  I hoped this would create a steeper pitch in the tarp, would better protect the mast and shrouds, and would raise the tarp so there was less contact with the hull (where water may also collect and, with prolonged exposure, cause the gelcoat to blister).

To my surprise, the Admiral supported the project.  After a few days of research, including some helpful user forums at SailboatOwners.com, I came up with a plan.  Then, the other weekend ahead of a forecast storm, I drove over to Lowes to purchase a hack-saw and a bunch of PVC pipe.

Parts for the Project

The pipe I found came in lengths of ten-feet.  I bought three 1.5" pipes (for the ridge pole that will run the length of the boat), three 1" pipes (with which to fashion several vertical pillars to support the ridge beam), and twelve 0.75" pipes (flexible enough to use as ribs for the frame), as well as two end-caps for the ridge pole, and T-shaped connectors of various sizes.  Total cost: $106.98

It took me a couple of hours.  The trickiest part was getting the initial piece in place.  I started from the stern, cutting a length of 1"-pipe and lashing it vertically to the stern pulpit.  At the bow and stern, the A-frame ribs protrude slightly to produce a more sheer drop when the taped is draped.  In retrospect, I probably should have taken very careful measurements and pre-cut all the pipe using the table saw.  Instead I took the hacksaw up on the boat and cut pipe sections as I went along, using my knee as a saw horse.  Fortunately, my hack job was hidden by the T-connectors that were fitted to the ends of the pipe sections.

Almost finished

View from the stern

When the Admiral returned home, I asked for some help in pulling the tarp back on the boat and over the new frame.  The following day, I went and bought a much smaller tarp (10'x12') to cover the stern section, and to allow easier access when I want to climb up to work on the boat.

Piao with her new cover.

Frosty, my winter night-watchman, dangles from the bow

Tonight some arctic air moves in, bringing temperatures in upper teens to low twenties and twenty-knot winds, with some snow in the forecast.  Let's see how it holds up....   

2014.XI.8 -- Haul Out

8 November 2014

HW 0826
LW 1436
Sunrise 0624
Sunset 1629
Temperature: 38 (F)
Winds: WNW 16, gusting 24
Waves 2-3'

Alas, all good things must come to an end.  Loathe as I was to haul out Piao and to close the season, it was time.  Weather had been pretty fair all autumn, but the first week of November -- and one snow blow -- had come and gone.  More pointedly, Dexter's dock had been pulled out of the water at the high astronomical tide in late October.  I still had access to the boat, but now I had to drag the dinghy through the tidal grasses and mud.  It wasn't an insufferable inconvenience, but by November the water was getting a bit chilly around the ankles.

My friend, Ric, the PO and my local go-to guru for hands-on learning, had graciously offered to go with me when the haul-out date finally arrived.  This was to be my first haul-out, as the boat was delivered to the house last winter.  It has been wonderful to have the boat's previous owner onboard to teach me what-needs-to-be-done, and to offer some handling tips particular to this boat.  We started by "prepositioning" one car at the haul-out point: Old Town Landing in Marion's Sippican harbor.  We grabbed some coffee at the local Cumberland Farms, where I also bought another lottery ticket (I play the same numbers each time and save my completed form, ready on hand, so that I can not win again next week).

Last Man Standing

By 7:00 am, we were down at Dexter's Cove.  Piao sat all alone in the water.  First in, last out.  I found proud.  A thin layer of ice covered the bottom of the dinghy, laying on the hard.  Ric looked at me but said not a word.

A bit of the ice removed from the dinghy

The plan was to motor the entire trip, roughly ten nautical miles, from the mooring to the town ramp.  Running on motor power would give us an opportunity to haul down the sails and to stow them below with the running rigging.  Time was a factor, as well, since Ric had another commitment at noon.  It took about one hour, from our final cast off the mooring, to round Bird Island and turn northward for the mouth of Sippican harbor.  I drove the boat up the winding channel, as Ric encouraged me to avoid the money.

We arrived at the town dock about fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, which made me very pleased about my float plan.  Next year I will endeavor to sail more purposefully, to selected destinations along Buzzards Bay, with projected arrival times based on calculations of currents, tides, and winds.  I also want to learn to trim sail more effectively.  The haulers from Brownell showed up at the dock just five minutes later, also ahead of schedule.  We were soon in position, and they backed the trailer down the ramp and into the water, then guided me as I drove the boat right up onto the submerged trailer lifts.  The lifts were raised into place, holding the boat snugly, and the trailer pulled up the ramp and parked, so that we could unstep the mast and disassemble the standing rigging.  Within half an hour, the shrouds were off, the boom was stowed, and the mast was lashed down to the bow and stern pulpits.  The trailer pulled out for Edgewater Lane.

Kind of a sad sight.....

Piao's Returns to Winter Residence

Last year, when the boat was delivered to the house, I learned a few lessons.  This year, I had prepared new lengths of chain (including a spare third length) for the boat-stands.  I also cut little squares of wood to place under each leg of the boat stands, dispersing the weight of the boat a bit and helping to prevent the legs of the boat-stands from sinking into the soft ground.  I also procured a couple of extra old railroad ties as additional keel blocks.

I was impressed to find the hull free of barnacles.  That is a testament to the efficacy of $250/gallon MicroExtra ablative bottom paint from Interlux.  My neighbor, Jolly Jack, used a cheaper bottom paint on his Grady White and found it covered in barnacles when he hauled out for the season soon after Labor Day.  Piao had only a thin coat of soft slime that was easily removed with boat soap and a power-washer.

The 'worst' spot for marine growth was on the retractable centerboard.

I asked the Brownell guys to place the keel blocks fore and aft of the centerboard so that I could lower the centerboard while the boat was 'on the hard' for the winter.  I wanted to clean the centerboard, and to paint it with ablative in the spring.  They were happy to oblige.  Unfortunately, the height gained by the additional keel blocks was insufficient to lower the centerboard completely (when fully deployed, it increases the draft of the boat from 2'3" to 5'4").  One temporary solution would be to dig a (rather deep) hole under the keel, so that the centerboard could be fully extended.  Meh.  Another option would be to get Piao in a boat-lift, maybe at spring launch, and get to the centerboard at that time.  That sounds expensive.  A third option would be get taller boat stands, if I can find them at a good price.

One of the end-of-season tasks involves removing the outboard motor for winterization.  This presented an unforeseen challenge, for summer-long exposure to the salt water had corroded the padlock that secured the motor to the transom mount.  Outboard motors are not cheap, and sometimes they are stolen off boats during the night.  I have a bracket and lock that secures the 9.9hp Mercury outboard to its mount on the transom.

Master Lock's outboard brass bracket lock

($27.99 at West Marine)

Now I discovered the internal mechanism of the lock had rusted.  Initially, I could not even insert the key.  After lubing up the key with a generous application of WD40, I was able to achieve penetration but was still unable to turn the key.  Misery loves company, and before long three spectators came by in succession to observe my struggle.  Each suggesting, in turn, that perhaps I had the wrong key.

My next-door neighbor, Henry, used to own an O'Day 23 just like mine.  Henry is a handy-man, a modern-day Homo habilis who seems to possess every tool known to humankind.  Last year, when our cat was stuck high up a tree for five days, I asked Henry if he had a long ladder I could use to up and bring down the cat.  "No," he said, "But I have a gun.  Why go up?"  Now I went next door to explain Henry my predicament.  He, too, asked whether I was using the correct key.  Within minutes however, he was at the stern of the boat with his "Sawsall."  Now that was a cutting tool....

The "Sawsall"

I gotta get me one of those for the Zombie Apocalypse

Henry's Declaration of Intent

It took him about fifteen minutes, but Henry eventually cut a large enough gap in the metal bracket so that I could slide it off and thus free the motor.  O Henry!

Over the next week, I dowsed the seized-up MasterLock with a good deal of penetrating oil, but was never able to get the keys to turn the cylinders.

Just today, I found this other set of keys in my desk drawer, labeled 'Master.'  Don't tell anyone....





Next up: wrapping Piao in the winter tarp -- and maybe building a tarp frame (!)