an opinionated guy that sails and camps.
i have a healthy distrust that an outboard will run. every trip i worry, just a bit, that the motor will not start, or fail while running. the technology of outboards have truely improved over the years and the motors do run much better than those just ten years old. the 4-cycle outboard has provided for … More winter and the outboard motor
it is winter in seattle. rain and temps 40 degress, +/- 2-3 degrees. in the morning there is a bit of frost on the lawn when there few or no clouds overnight. not good weather for working on the boat as the fiberglass and rebedding hardware projects require a daytime temp somewhere around 55-60 degrees … More very winter
winter weather makes me think about storm sailing. when in the library last week i saw the book Adlard Coles’ Heavy Weather Sailing, 6th ed., by Peter Bruce. written for ocean sailors, the information is still helpful for smaller coastal, inland and lake trailer sailors. overall the book is well written with examples and summaries based on real boats in … More heavy weather sailing
seattle has snow. this may not seem to be ‘news’ … but seattle just doesn’t get all that much snow. puget sound is a large 45 degree ‘heat sink’ that cools the area in the summer and keeps the winters mild. about two inches fell in 24 hours. in general the greater seattle area is ‘closed’ … More really feels like winter
During the last launch of the 2009 sailing season the tongue broke 85% free from the main frame. The pictures below show that only rust was holding the assembly together. I had thought I inspected the frame completely … guess not. I was VERY lucky that the frame didn’t fail when driving. I feel that Neptune was … More Broken trailer tongue!
In March I began the project of replacing the axle and hubs. These were VERY rusted, with the remains of the drum brakes hanging from the hubs. After posting some trailer questions on the Montgomery Sailboat Owners Group (MSOG) listserve, I was contacted by a Canadian M17 owner who had a good condition Trailrite trailer axle (Update: … More Trailer axle replacement
SWEET PEA has four winches installed: two for the jib sheets installed port/starboard cockpit combing, one on the port cabin roof for raising the jib (and tensioning the jib halyard), and one installed in the cabin for raising and lowering the centerboard (needed as the centerboard is about 180 pounds). I have no idea the last … More Winch Maintenance – ARCO 6 style winch
For the last year I have been sharing a battery charger with my folks. To avoid the complication I installed a battery charger this afternoon. The best location to provide airflow is on the v-berth bulkhead in place of the large red battery switch. I removed the switch, covered the hole with a stainless 5″ louvered vent (this … More Electrical System Upgrade – battery charger and relocation of master battery switch
My first overnight trip on SWEET PEA, my ‘new to me’ Montgomery 17 sailboat, was to/from Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Is., WA. I departed from Des Moines Marina on May 8, 2009, and returned on May 9. Here is a video about the trip (sorry it took my over half a year to report on the trip) … More Eagle Harbor trip
Much of Puget Sound shoreline is developed ‘city’ with once tree lined shores now filled with ‘water view’ homes. The waters South of Tacoma Narrows, ‘South Sound’, are not as developed and those shores with homes are not as densely packed. One can still get a feeling of ‘being with nature’ when cruising these waters. … More Late September ’09 trip to McMicken Island and Jerrell Cove
M17 #375 - SWEET PEA 