Saturday, December 14, 2013

First Snow 2013

Well, the first real snow of 2013 is falling and Jenny is safely under her winter cover. 

Bringing her home so late caused some problems though as all my plans got backed up against the impending winter weather.  While I enjoyed my September/October sailing I think next time I will haul out earlier and have more time and better weather for putting Jenny  to bed.

Speaking of end of season sailing.  I have some video clips from the trip home.



Attempting to get much done on Jenny over the winter in the new boatyard is not really an option so rather than fight it I am just going to have to accept that nothing will be happening until spring.

The plan at this point is to NOT launch Jenny next year and instead finish the projects that didn't get finished this year and get an electrical system started.

I realize that life is short and I should sail as much as possible but for the second season in a row I am finding that leaving Jenny on the mooring all summer is not all that satisfying. I thought this past season that I would have time for a little cruising but my real job didn't allow it so once again I was restricted to weekend sailing. 

Day sailing on the weekends is okay but not really what I had in mind for the boat and I am finding the effort has not been worth the reward. Jenny, to me, is a vehicle to go places, not go around in a circle and having to make time every weekend to check on her even if the weather was not good for sailing became a chore by the end of the season. Plus, as I mentioned in the last post, Jenny  seems to be absorbing a lot of damage simply resting on her mooring all summer.  I think she chafes at the lack of cruising too.

So rather than experience another unsatisfying summer on the mooring I think I will keep Jenny in the boatyard where I can be so much more productive.  And if I want to go away for a weekend to see friends I won't have to feel so guilty about it and worry about Jenny while I am away.

That is the plan for now at least.  That could change by next spring.

I didn't get pictures of the winter cover this year for a few reasons.  One reason is that it looks the same as the past few seasons.  Another is that the weather was awful; cold and wet and hanging around taking pictures wasn't very fun.  A third reason is that this year Jenny is sitting in a very muddy spot and the frequent ups and downs on the ladder in the wet cold weather left the decks absolutely filthy and I am embarrassed to show the condition of the boat.  After the snow storm passes this weekend maybe I will get out to the boatyard for a check and take some pictures.


That's it.  This blog has gone rather quiet for a few reasons.  I can't say what the near future will bring. More updates come spring for sure but between now and then I am not so sure.  I will be moving towards a real electrical system so I might put my ideas up here.  Then again, I often promise more than I deliver so maybe I should just keep my mouth shut for now and hope.

Happy Holidays everyone :)

-Britton

2 comments:

Captain Ray said...

Britton, Jenny looks great in the video. I noticed that in one section Jenny was sailing herself when you were down in the cabin and Monitor did not appear to be engaged. Did you just trim the sail to balance the helm? I found it is fairly easy to do when the wind is forward of the beam. Did you have any chance to use your new asymmetrical more this past season? I am in the same place you are. I just started a major hull deck joint retabbing project that is going to take a few months (it will also include moving the anchor locker bulkhead forward a few inches and adding a water tank under the v-berth). So no sailing for a while. I guess you need to do what you need to do.

Happy Holidays!

Britton said...

Yes, I just tied the tiller and let her go with balanced sails. I sailed that way for about an hour until another boat got too close and I had to maneuver away. After that I just felt like hand steering again. Some Tritons will balance like that and some won't.

Lucky for us we like working on boats eh?... :)