Author: Russ

Here are a few pics from the last month or so.  Some Sjogin stuff, some Speedwell stuff and this and that.  Pics first because it’s so easy now; captions later.

Edited to add: And now the captions are done.
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The Classic View.  I’ll count the pics taken from this spot some day.

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A quiet morning last week.  Fine weather for creek crawling in Speedwell.

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Here she is after our quick adventure.  You can see the deck seams showing.  When the boat was built in the 1950s, Phil Clarke used splines in the deck planks.  Sixty years of sanding and fairing have taken their toll and now the plank edges are curling.

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Hers a Prisma effect that works.  This pic goes back to last spring

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New neighbor.  Bigger than our usual Ospreys, it’s a Bald Eagle.   I heard that they had been in the area for a few years now. I think there’s a nesting pair out at the Manasquan Reservoir but this is the first time Ive see one here. Just the other day I saw two more males that were twisting and turning in the air over our yard; most amazing sight.

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Finall, Sjogin from a different angle.  Out testing the steering or on Speedwell.  Seems OK in light air but a shallow draft rudder would work better in more breeze.  Perhaps an end plate on the rudder per Mr. Bolger.

 

On Fishers Island Sound that is. The skies were certainly operatic. 

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But first, a NYC miracle.  Our virtual and actual friend Paul Plessner flew in Monday from Hell before we headed to Mystic for our Aïda adventure.  He lives in Hell, Michigan 48619.  

He asked if we could stop in New York for a slice of real pizza on the way to Mystic.  I checked with my street food expert son (on the left) and managed to park right in front of his building in Soho.  The proper use of the word literally is appropriate here. 

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Our magic carpet Aïda, a Nathaniel Greene Herreshoff shallow draft yawl.  She was built at Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in 1926 and lovingly restored by Doug Hyland in 2008.

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WoodenBoat Forum member Mike and the Morgan on the way down the Mystic River  Note her position.  

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Here she is when we returned.  The Morgan will be hauled out for a bit of bottom work.  That’s the Sabino on the right. 

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It was a bit breezy on the Sound.  A solid fifteen with gusts to “whoa”.  Decidedly not my usual sailing conditions.

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A cool and lumpy day waiting for a Northeaster to arrive.  We covered a good bit of ground though sailing with just the jib and mizzen.  Certainly a jib and jigger kind of day.  

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A smiling Steven Bauer driving while the watch below keeps warm.  Without a wood stove I might add.

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Paul driving Aïda to windward.  Skipper Bryan Hammond tends the mizzen.  He’s a very good photographer as well as an accomplished sailor so we may have some better pics soon.

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Added treat: Brillant returning home after another trip.  One of Olin Stephens finest designs.

Great trip with fine friends. Next year with sunshine and Sjogin breezes please.

It was just a quick kindling fire, more for the cedar scent that any real heat.  Simple pleasures.  

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More soon as friend Paul P is flying in tomorrow and he’s a Sjogin fan.  Adventures to follow. 

After years of doodling, I finally came up with a scheme to allow sculling and steering on Speedwell.  The standard Duckboat rudder extends about a foot below the skeg and bottom.  It’s useful to be able to sail in thinner water.  Which certainly applies to Stockton Lake where she may sail soon.  I also screwed down the mast step to take any wobbles out of going downwind. 

We’ll see.

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In the steering position more or less.  The line will go through the row lock to set the amount aft and prevent loss by fumble fingered sailors.  (Ask me how I know.)
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Cedar off-cuts serve here as a proof of concept.  (We hope.). The finished version will be in teak and wide enough for horns on both sides.  The piece of the left will be fastened to the transom as well as a piece next to the stern post.  Both will have a double taper to hold the row lock by tapping it in place.  And perhaps a bit of leather for protection.  

The deck is fastened to the transom directly. Any standard row lock socket would use some end grain. The wood row lock may be more in keeping with the work boat background. I thought of a folding one, like the ones on the old hunting boats but it would always be there. This way, when it’s out, I can’t see it from where I sit.

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Sculling position in deep water.  Useful for working in narrow ditches and such.  Recognize the dinghy in the background?  It’s the Columbia Model that I helped Tom Beaton build many years ago.  

Stay tuned.  News from deep into the Beaton Marshes soon.

Sitting here waiting for a few minutes of my Dentist’s time to look at the piece of me in my pocket.

Here we go:

This is the ad in the new WoodenBoat Store catalogue. 

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This is a screenshot of the Sjogin plans for sale.  What a treat.

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This is the marconi version similar to Sjogin’s current rig.

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Ready for Hermine who had the grace to take her bluster elsewhere. 

That was easy. 

The vagaries of Hermine spared us this time.  Had she started her meanderings a bit further west we could have had some serious flooding.  It’s especially worrisome on the back bays where repeated tide cycles back up and up.  The docks at Beaton’s barely got wet this time.

Here’s Sjogin after the storm and back in operation. 

 
Checking out the Osprey nest on Sloop Point.  Nice sail.

Video link soon.

Here we go with an upgraded WordPress page.  As mentioned, I can now post from my IPad/Phone.  Here we go:

 
Here we are ready as we can be for the vagaries of Hermine.  So far so good and this served as training for when we eventually get hit.

 

for ignoring you all though I expect true Sjogin fans know where to go for current photos and updates.

The Sjogin page on FaceBook is public along with the Instagram page.  Wish I could post more often here but here we are.

The Duckboat Worlds are this Friday; hope to get a big Post up next week.

Thanks for sticking around,

Russ
  

Ps: Just tried to post a pic from the WordPress App and they’re now sized to fit automatically.  Expect a lot of iPad posts!

PPs: Just looked at the site on my laptop and see the the photo is very, very large. Huuuuuge one coud say. I’ll try to fix this.

Arrrgggghhhh

Here’s another try at posting a photo uploaded directly to WordPress

Don’t be alarmed if the look of the page changes. Upgrade on it’s way. Be patient Jake.