Category: Beaton’s

Ice!!!

First ice of the season; just skim and slushy bits, nothing too solid yet. Though Sjogin’s bilge has frozen over, the pump hasn’t. It allows the electric pump to be used, followed by scooping out most of the slush. Fred, one of the Beaton irregulars, is keeping an eye on her between my visits.

The new Beaton Flatfish, Serena, is at the varnish build up stage. Her rudder’s done along with the seats and margin boards. I expect the spar work should start soon.

The above and other recent pics follow:

serena
Getting ready for one of the half dozen varnish coats.

Claire
Sjogin’s slip mate this winter, son David’s Claire.

Sjogin
Last Saturday, blowing 30, about 20 degrees. Getting colder but no ice then.

Skim ice
Skim ice in the pond this morning. Should be gone with a brisk nor’wester.

Bilge
And skim ice in the bilge. It’s that time of year, though much later than usual. Just slush mostly, easy to scoop out with the bailer.

Donut
Ice donut on the stern line.

Crescent
Ice crescents form around the pilings and then are set adrift. Not a bad day.

219
Early last Saturday morning.

Sneakbox
New hunting machine turned up this month. It’s towed to a likely spot and anchored. The sloping gray deck is said to be sufficiently camouflaged to not need marsh stuff.

No 2007 sailing yet.

Over the last two weeks either the water’s been too low or the breeze insufficient or no time. Still managed to have a fire and a cuppa every weekend morning. Today looked promising with a chance of showers and temps in the 40’s with a light mist but absolutely no breeze. Had a watch below, finishing Melville’s Billy Budd.

Beaton’s is making good progress on the new Flatfish, Serena. The cabin top’s on and sheathed with the finish work in the cockpit started. Looking forward to an early Spring launching.

Pics follow:

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How appropriate for drinking tea and rum while reading Billy Budd

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Quiet morning at Beaton’s last Saturday. Just time for a fire and tea. Could have gone out but we went to see the NY Philharmonic with Dave and Cheryl. Very warm day; 72 in Central Park by the afternoon.

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Nothing like a sizzling slice of Joe Leone’s provlone and hot sausage bread.

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The view from the shop window at Beaton’s last Saturday.

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Sunrise, January 4th.

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Brant in Stockton Lake as seen from our bedroom window.

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Flatfish progress.

Visit from

Julia this morning. Bright sun, not too cold. I went down earlier and got the fire and tea ready. While I waited I almost finished reading (for the Nth time), The Riddle of the Sands, Erskine Childer’s Frisian frolic. Perfect book for our thin waters. Nice breeze today, about 8 to 12 from the SW but spent the morning in the slip as Christmas needs called. (Tree erection and lighting today.)

Julia
Julia on board for tea and a mild smoking from the ship’s stove. Very cozy.

Bright
Bright below with the sun aft. Tea warming and waiting for a splash of Pussers.

Aft
Showing off her delicate quarters.

Swag
The usual swag seized to the mast.

Serina
Progress on the new Beaton Flatfish. Learned this weekend her name is to be Serina, a character in E. B. White’s story The Sword in the Stone. This continues the convention of naming this fleet for characters in White’s books. Charlotte, my Brother’s Flatfish, is named for his best know character.

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And here’s Tom, surveying progress in front of Serina. Oh that Herreshoff bow.

Squirrel
Finally, a local recycling our leftover Thanksgiving gourds and pumpkins. We’ll probably have vines all over the place come summer.

Winter position for Sjogin.

When the late fall winds start to blow from the Northwest I turn Sjogin around so the stove will draw. Also the late morning Winter sun can fill the cabin which makes it quite pleasant. No sailing last weekend, just ships work. Blew too hard Saturday and absolutely no wind Sunday. Sat by the stove finishing the new dock lines. I did go out the week before and took the usual photos.

Also an example of another little cottage in town that’s ripe for a teardown.

Finally a pic of Dave Sherman, a WoodenBoat Forum friend who came for a sail with me on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. After our sail he launched the kayak he built and headed out for a cruise in the local marsh.

Winter position
Winter position, bow to the northeast. With the chimney on the lee side for a westerly breeze the stove will draw better.

Reaching
Reaching for Swan Point on Thanksgiving weekend.

Teardown
Here today, gone tomorrow. Tiny cottage on a lagoon that’s not long for this world.

Dave
Off to the marsh south of Beatons.

Ship’s work today

as I’m making up a new set of dock lines. Stocked up on shop scraps and sailed off the dock into a declining NNW breeze. About 45 or so and pretty damp so the stove felt welcome. Had some Joe Leone hot sausage and provolone bread crisped up on the stove along with the usual tea and Pussers. A very pleasant morning with some occasional sun.

Here are some pics from today, last weekend and other odd bits….

Reaching
Reaching to Swan Point. About 5kts worth of wind with occasional gusts to 12.

PRM
Swan Point ahead. Plenty off water today, surprising with the Westerlys we’ve been having.

Tony
One of the Beaton irregulars enjoying the Bay.

JL
Hot sausage and Provolone bread from Joe Leone’s, a world class purveyor of Italian delights.

Sunrise
Sunrise as seen from our tiny patch of salt marsh last Thursday.

Sheep
Finally, one of the highlights of my commute from Manasquan to Route 1. The farm is between Clarksburg and Roosevelt in Western Monmouth County.

First fire and tea of the new Off Season

last weekend. After struggling to get the stove pipe together, friend Paul loaned me a crimper to narrow the top of the first section. (The lower section in the photo below.)

Pics follow, including some other photos taken in the last week:

First fire
First fire after finally hooking up the new stove pipe. Last years Galvanized elbows rusted away. Thanks Paul.

I still need to have a custom flue made with a proper cast iron damper. Maybe copper? Are you reading this Quinten?

Candy
A bowl of “candy” from Venice. It’s Murano glass, twisted to look like wrapped candy. Tres cool.

Plan
This may be hard to see but it’s the Construction drawing of a 24 foot Scow Motorsailer I designed for Phil Clarke in 1978. I drew this for him while taking the Westlawn course. Through Phil I met the Beaton family and the rest is a very pleasant history for the last 25 years.

Solitude
An image of Sjogin and myself taken and refined by a local Artist, Paul Barlo. There’s a great story about this image that I’ll get to soon.

Lift
Another Barlo work of the old lift at Beaton’s with the Yard Garvey lying in the slings.

Still floating

and waiting to get rigged. She was supposed to have her mast put in yesterday (just finished with the varnishing on Wednesday) but the recent Northeaster had something to say about it. We had water on Stockton Lake Blvd. for the first time this year. Still blowing NNE about 20 as I type.

New heaving to pictures will have to wait for our return from Italy. In the meantime here are some pics from the A-Cat Worlds held last Saturday:

Mixing it up
Raven leading at the windward mark.

Leewartd mark
and Raven leading at the leeward mark. There was great, close racing due to a half mile windward/leeward course.

B&B
As an added treat, Bull and Bear were racing as well.

More pics here.

Progress pics

of this Summer’s work on Sjogin. She was hauled on the 1st and put in the South Shed at Beaton’s. She’s in the back, near large doors that are open to the breezes. It’s often 10 degrees cooler in there on a hot Summer afternoon.
This year’s projects include stripping the paint off the canvas cabin top, rails, hatch, hatch frame and the cabin sides. All will be patched, puttied, sanded and sealed and then painted or varnished.
Also some garden and sailing pics as well. Went sailing with John H. on Wednesday in his Sandpiper. Tacked down along the 3 foot line behind Island Beach. Ran back to SPYC as the sun set. Delightful.
Here they are:


It begins. Fan on the foredeck to help the breeze blow away the paint fumes.


The hatch off and the paint half stripped off the canvas.


Implements of destruction.


Dodgy bits; the canvas is missing and will need an epoxy patch. I plan on sealing the canvas with thinned epoxy. Also the cabin top was nailed on with galvanized nails which are now little volcanoes of rust. They need to be cleaned up, sealed and filled.


Not too bad for 44 year old Fir plywood. The corner of the cabin top needs to be sealed and refastened.


John H sailing along Island Beach


Sunset over Barnegat Bay.


Sunrise this morning at 6:10. A perfect summer day. I plan on taking off this afternoon to get caught up on my hedge trimming and weeding.

Last sail of the Summer

as Sjogin is to be pulled next week for her annual make-over. Although I’ll try to get her back in before the Equinox, it will indeed be fall before she’s launched again.

Most folks do their painting and repairs in the spring, use the boat in the Summer and put it away in the fall. Since I sail through the Fall, Winter and Spring, this time of the year is spent tending to her needs. After hauling and washing the bottom she will be put in the South shed at Beaton’s, a relatively cool spot with plenty of ventilation and a moist dirt floor.

Today, after the sail I stripped the sails, boom and running rigging in preparation for the haul out.

Here are a couple of pics from today’s sail:

Hove to off Reedy Creek
Hove to off Reedy Creek. Though hot I had a nice breeze from the WNW to NW at 8 to 12 with gusts to 15.

Russ
Comfortable in the shade from the main. Had a nice long reach back to Swan Point, then a beat through the moored boats back to the dock.

Raven
Raven being single-handed. It’s pretty rare to see one of these boats being sailed by one person. No comment on the reef.

Mark Beaton

to the rescue. I ran aground this morning just outside the basin at Beatons. Sailed too close to the marsh and got hung up on a shallow spot. It was the first time in years and of course in full view of the boatyard. No amount of pushing with the scull or heeling her over worked. I was ready to go over and push when I saw Mark coming. He noticed me from his sail loft and came out in the garvey to tow me off. Oh the indignity.

This incident happened just after I took Cary and his expectant wife Pam out for a quick sail and a heave to. Cary’s a cousin of an old friend and just happened to be at Beatons this morning. It was the first time Pam had ever been sailing. It’s a special treat to introduce someone to the particular magic of sailing for the first time.

There are also some pics of our mid week sunset sail with Dave and Cheryl, our BVI sailing partners.

Pics follow:

Mark
Mark Beaton to the rescue.

Cary and Pam
Cary and Pam hove to off Swan Point

Dave and Julia
Dave and Julia who bless her heart is passing up beer and wine.

Russ and Julia
Julia and I enjoying the sunset as Sjogin takes care of herself.

Cheryl
Cheryl driving home. Wind 8 to 12 out of the SSE. Delightful.