Careening in water / to say nothing of the dog

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Careening in water / to say nothing of the dog

Postby talbot » Tue Jun 07, 2016 2:00 am

Careened my DSII today to clean off lake scum. Worked like a charm. Sailed down to a shallow area and nudged the boat into the shore. Removed the motor, oars, sails, and rudder. Put on the cuddy hatch. Pulled it over with the main halyard, standing knee deep in the lake. The boat goes over gently in the water, half floating. Took all of 15' to scrub off the algae with a Scotch-brite pad. The boat goes up gently too, supported by the water.

One downside was that the dog, who often sails with me, totally freaked at the sight of her boat on its side. Cowered whimpering on the folded sail in the grass. As soon as the boat was upright, she jumped aboard and sat on the foredeck to make sure nothing else bad happened.

Another negative is that the cabin ended up with a lot of water in it. Where did it come from? The water never even reached the cuddy hatch. I can only surmise that it came in through my additions to the cuddy: the porthole, the running light, and the electrical sockets for the battery charger and 12V outlet. It was enough water that I opened the bulkhead drains to let it into the cockpit. The lesson is that any opening in a boat, even if "sealed" according to instructions, is a potential breach when under water.

That includes the mast. All my rivets are supposedly sealed on installation. Ha. The mast came up full of water--which spurted from other supposedly sealed holes around the step all the way home. Owners who have mentioned filling the top of the mast with foam are on the right track. One more job for next winter. Oh, and for those who participated in a recent discussion of making the DSII cooler into waterproof storage . . . OK, it didn't completely fill with water, but I'm glad I took my wallet and cell phone ashore before tipping the boat over.

Finally, one plus: I have all my cuddy supplies (overnight gear, anchor, extra clothing, repair kit, etc.) in two shallow plastic tubs to keep them from shifting when the boat is heeled. The tubs lash to the bulkhead and mast, and I have a lateral strap that goes over both boxes to hold the load in place. I didn't bother putting the strap on for the careening. If I had, even with water in the cuddy, most of my baggage would have stayed dry. The plastic tubs protected everything except items that actually rolled all the way to the port side of the boat.

I'm thinking now that careening would allow a low stress capsize drill. I could tip the boat as I did today, then walk the tipped boat out to deeper water and try to right it. If it doesn't work, I can just walk it back in again on its side. Before that, a to-do list: foam in the mast; tighten all ports and latches; take out the sleeping bag, clothing, anchor rode, and anything else that will take a long time to dry. Also check my watch. I suspect time is of the essence. I'm resigned to the fact that I probably can't keep the cuddy bone dry in a capsize. But the faster I get the hull perforations out of the water, the more likely I am to right the boat and sleep dry that night.
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Re: Careening in water

Postby GreenLake » Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:10 am

Here's a picture of some folks careening a DSII in shallow water (to free a CB). That boat was fully loaded and took on no water, but the mast never came level.

1804
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Re: Careening in water

Postby KingsTransom » Tue Jul 05, 2016 12:00 am

How is sailing with your dog? I have a black lab that would probably prefer being in the water, rather than on the boat. I take him everywhere, so he will eventually be on it, but not until I've gone out once or twice without him, as it is then one less distraction to deal with. He's about 65 lbs, so I am concerned about his nails on the topside - he's already worn grooves in the living room oak flooring as he stretches off the couch. I will probably want to get him a float vest with a handle so I can retrieve him when he leaps off the boat.

Where do you camp with your boat? On the boat, or on shore? How far do you go? How do you secure an anchor (or two) in the cuddy while under way? I've thought about shore navigating north along the west coast of Lake Michigan - a pipe dream at this point, but if I learn enough, then why not? All I really need is a fishing pole and a frying pan, right?
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Re: Careening in water

Postby talbot » Tue Jul 05, 2016 1:33 am

Good questions. First-- Greenlake, could you move this over to the new "Cruising" area of the forum?
1. Dogs: We have a Dachshund, Elsa, and she's not a big stress on the boat. A neighbor at our marina has a dog that probably weighs 50 lbs and is always aboard. I have never noticed any obvious dog damage on his boat when I've sailed with him. It's a Santana 23, and he has non-skid paint on the deck, so it's possible he just paints any scratches as they occur. A problem with the nails is that they don't grip on the deck, and Elsa slides off every once in awhile. Yes, the doggie PFD's with handles are great. We attach a tether to the web handle so we don't lose sight of her in waves. The DS is so close to the water, that only once or twice has the tether pulled tight. Usually, we get her on the first grab.
ElsaCuddyTopSm.jpg
ElsaCuddyTopSm.jpg (53.91 KiB) Viewed 12434 times

Elsa does get restless on the DS, and we don't cruise for more than a couple of hours without pulling ashore to let her play. She whines when we are stuck with a long beat against a stiff wind to get home. Actually, we've all been known to whine.

2. Camping with the DS.
We have spent a night aboard in an emergency, and it's good to know you can do it. But as a couple, we always choose to camp on shore. Nothing special about it, as far as camping. In fact, it's pretty cushy. You can treat it like car camping (cooler, table, lantern, Coleman stove, the works).
Sleeping aboard is another matter. It's more like backpacking. I spend a couple of nights out on the boat a year, just to keep my hand in the game. Yes, carry an anchor, and practice with it. There is lots of advice on this forum and in the Small Craft Advisor magazine archives on anchoring technique. Also see the many discussions of sleep-aboard strategies and equipment. Some prefer a tent platform in the cockpit. I sleep in the cabin. I built a canted foam mattress that flattens the floor angle, I installed two portholes, and I have mosquito netting for the ports and doors. If you are anchoring any place where another boat might hit you, running lights and an anchor light are necessary. Once again, the DS online archives have lots of discussions. A simple solution is to use flashlight-style removable running lights. The stern light (the white one) does double duty at anchor. You tie the main halyard into a continuous loop, tie the white light to the halyard, and hoist it to the top of the mast. Someone published a how-to on this technique in Small Craft Advisor this month.

I also carry a boom tent, but have never had to use it (weather has always been good). In any case, I cook in the cockpit. I use an alcohol backpacking stove. Gasoline and propane have a risk in boats because their fumes are heaver than air, and can pool in the cabin or bilge, with risk of explosion. But if you have a gas or propane auxiliary motor, you are already in this situation, so a standard backpacking stove would be no worse. Carry a marine fire extinguisher. I mounted mine in the little lazarette (technically a cooler) on the DS II.

It sounds like you are interested in more involved expeditions, and there are other topics to pursue, all in good time: GPS navigation, VHF radio, coping with serious weather offshore, etc. I have heard great things about sailing on Lake Michigan. What about the UP? Anyway, best of luck on your adventures, and keep us posted.
--Talbot
--DS6546 Blue Moon
Last edited by talbot on Tue Jul 05, 2016 11:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Careening in water

Postby TIM WEBB » Tue Jul 05, 2016 8:59 pm

KingsTransom wrote:How is sailing with your dog? I have a black lab that would probably prefer being in the water, rather than on the boat. I take him everywhere, so he will eventually be on it, but not until I've gone out once or twice without him, as it is then one less distraction to deal with. He's about 65 lbs, so I am concerned about his nails on the topside - he's already worn grooves in the living room oak flooring as he stretches off the couch. I will probably want to get him a float vest with a handle so I can retrieve him when he leaps off the boat.

Where do you camp with your boat? On the boat, or on shore? How far do you go? How do you secure an anchor (or two) in the cuddy while under way? I've thought about shore navigating north along the west coast of Lake Michigan - a pipe dream at this point, but if I learn enough, then why not? All I really need is a fishing pole and a frying pan, right?

Kings, jeadstx and I have both camp-cruised our DS2s extensively, he on the TX200 and I on the FL120 as well as many other more "local" trips with the West Coast Trailer Sailing Squadron. We have both posted extensively on our experiences, gear needs, etc., as well as posting pix in our galleries of mods to the boat we've made for such adventures. A quick search will get you to them.

Much info can be found on these sites:

http://www.texas200.com/

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FL120/info

http://members.ij.net/wctss/wctss/

All 3 groups have an active presence on facebook as well.

As to dogs on board, well, our 70 lb white german shepherd has been along on a couple of quick, calm daysails, but he has jumped overboard more than once, so we don't think he really likes it ... ;-P
Tim Webb
1979 DS2 10099 The Red Witch
(I used to be Her "staff", in the way dogs have owners and cats have staff, but alas no longer ... <pout>)
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Re: Careening in water / to say nothing of the dog

Postby GreenLake » Wed Jul 06, 2016 2:25 am

"To say nothing of the dog", for those who do not know Jerome K. Jerome, is the subtitle to his classic "Three men in a boat".

The only flaw of that book is that the boat is not a sailboat, and the other is that it is not a DaySailer.

Aside from that, the subtitle is also the title of a delightful work by Connie Willis, which, like the original, plays in Victorian England, or, in the case of Willis' book, mostly plays there.

Couldn't help editing the thread title when I moved it, as requested.
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Re: Careening in water / to say nothing of the dog

Postby jeadstx » Thu Jul 07, 2016 3:20 pm

As Tim said, he and I have done extensive cruising with our DS2s. Check out the information Tim has listed. On the Texas 200 web page there are articles that I wrote about sailing the event on my DS2. They are under the archives sections for 2011, 2012, and 2013. All mention improvements I made each year. The Texas coast has some "skinny" water to deal with and winds 15 to 20 knots a lot of the time, heat too of course.

As for dogs on board, I have no experience there. I want to take my Australian Cattle Dog "Mate" out, but I'm afraid he'll spot a group of fish and try to herd them.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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Re: Careening in water / to say nothing of the dog

Postby GreenLake » Thu Jul 07, 2016 6:19 pm

Perhaps you could take him to a race and have him herd the other boats?
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Careening in water / to say nothing of the dog

Postby talbot » Thu Jul 07, 2016 7:31 pm

At Tuesday beer cans, our Elsa barks at any vessel within two or three boat lengths.
Others say, "Oh, she's so cute." I say, "No she's not. She's saying, 'STARBOARD!' 'LEE BOAT!' 'ROOM AT THE MARK!'"
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Re: Careening in water / to say nothing of the dog

Postby jeadstx » Thu Jul 07, 2016 11:29 pm

Good idea Greenlake, two or more of anything constitutes a herd.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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