Beaton’s – Page 2 – Hove to off Swan Point

A Cats and a video

I see that once again I’ve managed to allow another month to go by without a Post. But then again here I am with another month’s sailing and having watches below at the dock under my belt. And a straining belt due to said watches below with sausage bread.

Anyway, here are a few recent A-Cat pics as the first races are but four quick weeks away.

And a video to close of a very quiet sail last Saturday, May 14. Surprisingly few boats out.

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Cats!
Raven and Lightning ready for another Season and looking Beaton Fresh. First race is on June 25th. Hope to be back in the water by then after a fresh coat of bottom paint and such.

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Myth and Vapor
Myth sporting her Summer Cabin and a very yellow Vapor.

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Vapor's next
Vapor’s mast getting ready for raising.

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Two Pauls
Another fine varnish job by Paul Smith. Beaton Fresh indeed.

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Your very happy Skipper out on a beautiful Saturday morning in the middle of a too cool May.

This and that

Here are some pics from the last few months, especially Beaton’s pics.

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Spring!
A sure sign of Spring: the Garvey afloat and ready for another season.

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Quiet
Homage to Jay Fleming. A very quiet morning last month.

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Circa 1991
A quarter Century ago. Fitting the step scarf on Ghost’s coaming/cabin joint. Note my initials on the cork sanding block. Valuable item.

Photo courtesy of W. F.
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Model painting
Even the half hull models get a fresh paint job.

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Good draw!
Healthy draw from the stove on the Starboard tack. This is a big plus. Extending the bulkhead to the keel helps keep a positive flow.

More to come but I just realized it’s been a month since my last Post. Not much new, just the everyday joys of being able to go “check on the boat” and maybe squeeze in a quick sail or a watch below. Happy Spring all.

Rudder success

You may have noticed in past pics Sjogin’s rudder is always canted over one way or the other. That was due to a combination of buoyancy in the immersed plywood blade and the weight of the rudder cheeks forward of the pivot line. The solution added about ten pounds of lead the the aft edge of the rudder to allow the rudder to sit upright. Paul drilled five two inch holes in the plywood and filled them with epoxy and lead buck shot. In one of the photos below they look like caviar.

Worked just as guesstimated. It could use a few pounds more as the tiller weight still holds it over at extreme angles. Works fine enough for now. I expect to pull Sjogin for a quick refit soon. She’s not been out of the water since re-launching in September, 2104 except before her star turn last August.

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Floppy rudder
You can see how the rudder wants to float on its side. Now fixed.

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Caviar?
Looks like fresh Beluga. Maybe one more hole filled with lead when she’s hauled.

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All painted up and ready to go. Jeff Reid helped with the installation. Before hanging it we let the rudder go slack on the line we attached and found it still floats. Good to know.

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Works!
Hanging damn near vertically. A bit more lead should do it.

Sailing pics and video next.

Sjoginmania spreads to the Antipodes

Here’s a snap from WoodenBoat Forum friend John B catching up on the latest news from Barnegat Bay. Photo taken during the family cruise up to the warmer bits of New Zealand. The joy continues.

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An Antipodean
Looks quite comfortable as we gird our loins for a nasty Northeaster.

Here are a few more from the last few weeks. Not surprisingly, one involves hot and crispy sausage bread.

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Snow!
This morning with the first snow of the season. The photo taken next Monday should show quite a different scene. Thankfully no serious ice yet.

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Smell it?
Once again, at the sizzle. Which the frequency of will need to decline lest I fail to fit through the hatch. But so good; especially on days like this. Hope to have some down below after the coming storm.

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The current read on board. It’s been years since my last trip around with Brother Joshua. This is a 1900 second edition just scruffy enough to fit right in. It’s a long read, so this book should see me through to Spring.

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Classic
Finally, one more last look shot. Never get tired of it.

Last sail of the year

Took advantage of a break in the weather today to get in one last sail this year. Overcast and about 50 or so with a light southeasterly. Cool enough for a fire and a sizzle. Had the Bay to myself so sitting below was no problem while actually hove to off Swan Point.

Here are a few pics from today and the last few weeks.

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Manto to weather
Reaching along the Mantoloking Shore this morning. Hope they all enjoyed it.

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Ready to go
Earlier this month waiting for crew. Best late fall/ early Winter sailing yet. Keep it coming.

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Beating up to Reedy Creek on a very warm December 10th.

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Close encounters
Close enough. The Bay was up about a foot or so and fairly clear. Clear enough to get within inches of the marsh edge.

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Here’s a new video of sailing along the all too near edge of the marsh on December 10th.

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Foggy
Foggy morning in early December. No wind and little water. A watch below was called for.

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Happy Shipper
Your very happy and grateful Skipper.

Well this has certainly been an eventful year with the return of Sjogin sailing in her home waters and her face all over the cover of WoodenBoat.

Thanks all for following along and here’s our best wishes to you gentle reader for a fine New Year.

Beaton’s pics as promised

Here are a few photos from Beaton’s over the past few months:

Shadow
Here’s Shadow, a tired Blackjack being given a new lease on life.

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Myth
Myth, looking Beaton Fresh.

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S is for Sad
S if for Sad. One of Nat Herreshoff’s S Boats slowly fading away. She needs a savior.

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Wedding prop
Here’s the Columbia model dinghy I helped Tom Beaton built all nice and clean after being used in a local wedding.

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Finally, here’s Paul Smith working on something other than Sjogin. This is a small table from the Orient that’s been in my family for several generations. More fine work from Mr. Smith.

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Slow sailing
OK. At least one Sjogin pic. Heading out early one morning this Summer. She’ll be hauled next week for some bottom paint, cabin work and attending to a couple of nagging leaks. Then back in for the hot stove season.

Safe and sound

Just a quick note to let all know that all’s well so far. Sjogin was moved around to a slip in the creek in case Joaquin took a Sandy like left turn. We’re still dealing with a slow moving Northeaster that has the water in the upper Bay pushed south. When the wind lays down, the water will come sloshing back and sure to flood Beaton’s.

Cozy

Back to normal… almost

What joy to be able to say “…going down to Sjogin for a quick visit/pump out/sail.” There have been a number of them since early July, most just sails of an hour or so, running the same old upper Bay circuit. What a lucky so and so.

Paul has installed the the new seats and they are just as I imagined. Next is the cabin sole, battery and bilge pump, limited furnishings and most importantly, the Sardine wood stove.

Here are a few pics from the last few weeks or so:
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Have a seat!
Do sit down. The bespoke Paul Smith seats are very comfortable and sturdy, matching Sjogin’s robust proportions and just what I had in mind. The cedar slats and teak trim will turn silver with age.

What a treat to be able to step down on a solid surface rather than a loose milk crate with a teak lid. Sorry about all those bruises and such over the years.

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Same as it ever was
The classic “last look before you leave the boat” image. Not so very different from the photo taken on October 28, 2012.

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Fine view
At ease this morning during a quick visit and pump. In a perfect world Ed Lowe should be in the opposite slip in a similar comfortable position. He passed peacefully this year at age 98 after a full life, well sailed.

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Ready
Ready to go. Or just back and ready to go again. It’s an embarrassment of riches to be able to lose track how many times I’ve gone sailing since Sjogin’s commissioning in early July.

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Ghosting out of Beaton’s, Witch to leeward.

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At ease again
Here we are hove to off Sloop Point for a change. Do you see a pattern here?

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New coat!
Thanks to the lessons learned from Hervey Garrett Smith’s The Arts of the Sailor
we have a new mast coat. Please don’t look too closely at the cave man stitching.

Beaton’s and other pics to follow. (ed: We’ve all heard that before.)

Deck fittings

Running out of excuses not to go sailing. Installed the new jib sheet fittings today along with the quarter cleats and the out haul cleat on the boom.

Tomorrow the sails get bent on and I’ll see if I remember how to heave to.

The new jib sheets will go through the fairlead at the forward corner on top of the house and then to cam cleats on the aft corner. This way there will not be any blocks or sheets on the deck.

Sandy survivor. This is the simple little block I use to keep the wire halyard off the mast. It was right where I left it when Sjogin was recovered.

Paul Smith fashioning a Duckboat rudder. Nice breeze blowing in the window. Ahhh…..

As promised

Sjogin’s mast was stepped yesterday after far too long. I forgot the customary 1985 Bahamian quarter with a local sloop on one face. A quarter was used yesterday with her traditional coin to be slipped under the mast today. That should please Poseidon.

Looks like I managed to label the shrouds and stays correctly as everything seems to fit. The rigging will settle down over time and especially after a few sails. (Sailing, what a concept.)

Here are a few pics from yesterday: