Century Club: Suzanne Fryberger
Grace at Seguin Island
Sunset at Seal Cove
Schooner Mary Day
Isle Au Haut Post Office
Looking out over Penobscot Bay from Mt Battie, Camden
Climbing Up the West Face of Cadillac Mountain
Mistake Island, Moosepeak Lighthouse
Grace Anchored in the Mud Hole at Great Waas Island
Sea Cave (!) at Cross Island
On the Beach at Roque Island
Dobbs and I cast off Grace's dock lines at 8am May 11th, bound for Maine. We spent our entire summer there, exploring the coast from west to east all the way to the Bay of Fundy. You can read about our travels in detail on my blog, sailinggracefully.com. In short, it was amazing. We were smitten with Maine's bold granite shores - strewn in kelp and veiled in fog, home to seals and hardy souls.
Expanded Waterline Barrier Coat
Prop and Rudder Shoe Primed
It'll take a lot more than 10 days to get GRACE ready for this season, but these first ten were a good start.
Day 5: At 40-degrees, it seemed a little chilly to be sanding, so Dobbs and I worked on the awning and shade curtains instead. To the awning we added a line around the main batten, amidships, to tie it up to the boom; also grommets at the ends of that same batten for ties to secure them down. We made paper mock-ups of the curtains so we could check the fit in place. The rear ones were a go, but the aft side ones needed to be shorter relative to the lifelines and about an inch longer toward the bow. We returned home and made new templates for those.
Day 6: Sand, sand, sand - 2/3rds of the starboard side, forward from the quarter. Dobbs continued on locker modification for the new batteries.
Day 7: I made it all the way around sanding a 1' swath spanning the waterline. It felt REALLY good to throw the last 40-grit disc in the trash. From here on out, it's 80-grit or finer. Dobbs finished prepping the port quarterberth locker and new custom battery box for fiberglass.
Day 8: The Micron SPC anti-fouling I applied last year is in good shape, so I didn't have any additional sanding to do. I wiped the expanded waterline area to be barrier-coated with 202 solvent and then rolled on the first layer of Interprotect 2000e. Then I scraped and sanded the prop and shaft assembly and the rudder shoe. Very satisfying to send the barnacles packing. Also, I had about an hour this morning in which I cut out the starboard aft curtain and started creasing the hems.
Day 9: Sewed beautifully mitered corners and side hems on the first shade curtain only to realize that the concavity we added to help the panels lay flat is working against us. The Sunbrella has so little stretch, especially with a double-rubbed hem, that steaight edges look right and lay better. Good thing I cut only that first one! Dobbs learned more about the Victron charger and how to wire it. In the afternoon, I applied another round of barrier coat to GRACE's waterline and carefully foam-brushed a coat of Primocon onto the prop, shaft assembly, and rudder shoe.
Day 10: Third coat of barrier coat and continued progress on installation of the new battery system.
Another two months should see GRACE shiny as a new penny and the best she's been in 59 years. Look for us on the water mid-May!
Sanding...sanding
Locker renovation for battery installation continues. Sanding continues - today I finished the port side and the stern. GRACE's long overhanging stern is beautiful, but...what a P.I.T.A. to sand, working over my head while seated! Two to three more days should see this round of prep completed.
Dobbs continued modifying lockers to accomodate the new batteries as well as add a little strength to a weak area of the hull. I picked up where I left off yesterday, sanding from the port bow back to what was already finished. I was so glad to put down the sander, and eager to get home to beer and snacks, I forgot to take a picture of my progess!
Hull Section with Waterline Paint Removed
Dobbs guided us through using a "farmer's level" to mark off the area to be sanded for adjusting GRACE's waterline. We're raising the bottom paint 2", and correspondingly the boot stripe, to keep the nice paint more clear of the water and its sticky inhabitants. With the target area defined, I stripped about 9' on the port side - first with 40-grit to remove layers of paint and primer, then finishing to bare gelcoat with 80-grit.
Meanwhile, Dobbs explored how to best fit a battery into the locker under the port quarterberth. We're replacing one of two Group 24 AGM's with two lithium batteries, and keeping the other AGM as a starter and charging "buffer".
New Dodger Awning
After working for months with my husband, Dobbs, to replace the shingled roof on our house with standing seam metal and reinstall our 27-panel solar array, we're finally free to work on our boat! Today was a perfect day for it - highs near 50, light wind, and sunny. GRACE is a 1966 Columbia 31 and we've been sailing her since 2013. During the winter, if we're not spending it in Florida, we keep GRACE at Bay Boat Works, which is just 5 miles from our home.
We arrived early-afternoon and fit a new dodger awning I designed and made, then measured for side curtains. I'd made an awning previously, but it was only as wide as the dodger and stern pulpit. With long battens, I've extended the coverage of this new one. We're looking forward to enjoying the extra shade at anchor!
The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race
Dusk, heading toward Sharp's Island, GCBSR
Sunrise at Hooper's Island, GCBSR
Dinghy beached at Bryant Bay off the Severn River off Mobjack Bay
Poplar Grove Mill, East River, Port Haywood, VA
Dobbs walking on the beach at Milford Haven, Gwynn's Island, VA
Dameron Marsh (dinghy on a shoal in the background)
A 20-mile Spinnaker Run on our Last Day for 2024!
On September 17th, we moved back aboard GRACE for another cruise. Our adventure started with the Havre de Grace YC Invitational Race, which was then followed by the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (we participate in the Invitational/ Non-Schooner Fleet); the overnight race ends with a fantastic party in Portsmouth. From there, we sailed up to Yorktown to explore the historic sites and then meandered over to Mathews, VA. Then, we sailed up the Rappahannock and poked around Carter Creek, the Corrotoman River, Urbanna, and Gwynn's Island. Back on the Chesapeake and heading north, I had the wonderful calm-weather opportunity to take the dinghy to gunkhole part of Dameron marsh and, later, the southern part of the Maryland portion of Smith Island. We spent a perfect fall evening, days before Halloween, enjoying a campfire with a friend on Chase Creek off the Severn. And to end our trip with a bang, we sailed up to Downrigging for 3 days of awesome bluegrass and a visual feast of wooden boats.
