Strapped and Jacked

Hurricane season has started in SW Florida and it's also the hot, rainy, no wind season with allot of unsettled weather. So.... Kimosabi³ gets strapped down on the trailer at home for 3 months while we are NOrth.

We got out sailing 4 times in the short time kimosabi was in the water. Hopefully we'll get to enjoy it allot more in the fall...

lift off!

We got the boat on our boat lift today for the first time. I had to amend it obviously to accommodate a folded Corsair. We'll haul the boat out in a week and store it strapped down on the trailer in hurricane mode while we are in northern Wisconsin for the summer. To properly store a boat on a trailer, vehicle stands are placed under the trailer to remove weight from the wheels and the trailer itself is also strapped down in the driveway.

Makin' Wind...

Since launching kimosabi³ last week and getting the boat ready to sail, we have been waiting for a weather window. We have had quite a period of unstable conditions with late morning and afternoon thunderstorms. Anyway, wanting our first ride to be uneventful we were finally able to get out this morning. Winds were forecast to be 6 knots out of the East.

Unfortunately, it never happened. The most we saw was probably 3. However our little 2000 lb boat behaved very well in those conditions.

I was quite pleased with what we were able to do....

Launch Day

Yesterday we got kimosabi³ launched. As I was preparing to raise the mast and straightening halyards, I discovered the previous owner had the screecher halyard connected to the jib. As a result we had to disconnect the mast from the step and work to get the correct halyard on the jib. In the process my phone fell off the boat and smashed. Having fun now... We launched and motored home and I continued to set up the boat. I still have a few issues to resolve concerning the previous owner's use of the boat. While setting it up I discovered the Cunningham and mast rotation control were new, never used. Not surprised...

Corsair number four

Yesterday we came home with our fourth Corsair,  a 2014 Dash MK2. It's been five years since we sold our 24MK1 and we have missed sailing on these wonderful designs. After a bit of maintenance and a new bottom we will be back in action.

The previous owner kept the boat in the water folded. As a result the floats had bottom paint on them. Part of my purchase requirement was the paint be removed. Well, it was when we picked the boat up but it will take a bit of elbow grease to get the new look shine. In that I had allot of Hull work to do, I decided to go for a better shine at the next haulout. Perhaps I'll go for a wrap... Anyway the bottom is done using Pettit Vivid white, the same paint I've used on our last two Corsairs. Looking to launch soon!

Next...

The Admiral waves a sad goodbye to kimosabi. Life is short and there are so many boats out there to sail. By now, what used to be our F-24MK1 kimosabi is with its new owner in Grand Haven, Michigan. We had allot of fun with this boat. We bought it to do some short-term cruising. We set it up for that, but that isn't what we did. We raced for two winter seasons here in Florida, At this point in our lives with aging backs, etc., we find for cruising we prefer our Buddy (Buddy's Blog). We still want to sail and race but need something smaller and simpler, something even easier to tow, set up and sail. It has to sail well and fast. What do we do?

Stay tuned...

The Cup

Above is a photo at the finish of kimosabi's last race, the chase race in the Conquistador's Cup Regatta held by the Punta Gorda Sailing Club. Winds averaged about 18 mph. It was a great ride, sailing against 37 other boats. Below is a video of the finish  Results  Regatta Results

Finally sailing!

We have finally been able to do some sailing. The weather has warmed up and we have been out two days in a row! 8-12 winds, flat seas and sunny warmth... Yesterday a friend and fellow F-24MK1 owner from the Detroit area joined us for a sweet ride...

Sailing into the sunset of 2014...

It's been a while since I've posted to the blog, but we are still here. We have been getting settled in our new home and doing a bit of boating and sailing. We are now 5 minutes from open water sailing in beautiful Charlotte Harbor. Last evening we took a sunset sail in typical SW Florida winter conditions. We're hoping our future has many more times like this on the water...

A super fall, winter and spring of sailing.

This is the first time we have sailed for 7 months straight. In the past it was 4-5 months during Wisconsin summers and three months during Florida winters. We will be leaving kimosabi in Our Florida driveway for the summer and probably re-launch in Sept.-Oct. We are looking forward to driving the 1,600 miles NOrth next week not towing a boat... After over 50,000 miles of long distance towing, it will be a welcome change. In the fall we will be bringing our Rosborough 25' Sedan Cruiser south - an 8,000# tow...

Leukemia Cup Regatta

This past weekend we participated in a local Leukemia Cup Regatta. It was reported over $30,000 was raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This is what our little 24 foot trimaran looks like on the starting line between a 39 foot and a 28 foot trimaran of the same design...

Time flies...

Since arriving south in Mid-October we have been doing allot of sailing, mostly racing. Before coming south this year I anticipated we would be doing more "cruising" on our little tri than we have. So far we have been out for one overnight sail to Cayo Costa State Park. The rest has been day sailing and racing here in Charlotte Harbor. Following are images taken this past weekend while we sailed in the Golden Conch regatta hosted by the Platinum Yacht Club in Burnt Store. http://www.ppycbsm.com/racing/racing.html

Winter home

Last week we headed south for the winter. Kimosabi was launched a few days ago and we had a light air sail to our winter home. We''re definitely looking forward to doing more warm weather sailing this winter then we did all summer...

Not playing with a full deck...

Last week, in preparation for Kimosabi's winter in saltwater, I removed the centerboard. That wasn't an easy process as whoever had worked on the board last must have used about a gallon of silicone to seal the centerboard trunk cap... After spending a few hours to get it off, I was able to easily remove the board. I discovered that the previous work done on the centerboard limited the amount of downhaul because the downhaul turning block was placed too high on the board. This prevented the centerboard from being lowered completely. After cleaning the centerboard box and applying a coat of Vivid bottom paint, I sanded and completely bottom painted the centerboard using Teflon based VC17 on the top portion of the board. I then re-primed and painted the centerboard cap. New smaller diameter downhaul and uphaul lines and a new Starboard exit plate were also installed. I used closed cell foam gasket material to seal the board. While I was at it, I also made and replaced the compression pads on the forward beams. The boat is now ready to head south.

The green area shows that portion of board that could not be drawn down

The misplaced Downhaul block

Board after Application of Vivid and VC17

New uphaul and downhaul lines installed.

Closed-cell foam gasket

Cap re-installed after re-painting

Almost ready...

The Admiral has most of the canvas work now completed on the boat. Just no see em screens and rain side curtains for the bimini are left. I removed the non-functioning brake system on the trailer this past week and replaced it with a new disc brake system. In addition, I completely rewired the trailer light system switching to LED lights and reverting back to the original removeable lights that get mounted to the rear mast roller support when the boat is on the trailer. A lot yet to do in the next two weeks before we head south...

Back in Cruise mode...

The race weekend was 8 days of work for me, hauling the boat, doing some work on it and the trailer, traveling 17 hours, drying the boat out and getting it back in the water, etc... Here we are sailing yesterday before the wind picked up and the head of the old jib blew out...

Great Lakes Multihull Championships

August 22nd brought a trip to Bay City, Michigan to participate in the 2013 Great Lakes Multihull Championships. Friends Bob and Paul came along as crew. The first day of racing brought Force 5 winds coming right down Saginaw Bay. We were the littlest and slowest boat in the 16 boat fleet. The fleet was divided into two sections, we being in the first section with boats rating from 0, to us at 99. With the closest boat in our section having a 51 second rating advantage, we had no boats to sail directly against. It was a busy and tiring day, but we came up with two fifths and a sixth in 3 races. The second day was an 18 mile distance race in super light air. While we were the last boat to finish and were rather lonely out on the race course, when we made it back in to the dock, we discovered we took 3rd in section for the day. The last day of racing we're not going to talk about.... After 3 days of racing we ended up at 12 of 16 overall. Bob and Paul were super as crew! The Captain was worn out...

Crossing the Mackinac Bridge

Jan Gougeon's  (RIP) Cat "Strings"

Bob, Paul and kimosabi At BCYC

Strings after first day demasting... It was rough out there!!

Friday Dinner at Gougeon Brothers

Bob's light air technique

Quite the the facility

Friday Night

Typical trailering adventures...

Lazy Summer Sailing

Last weekend we sailed across the bay to Menominee. We took our time and had a nice sail. Then the wind switched to 15-20 on the nose for the last 6 miles.... About 7 PM we arrived at the marina only to discover it was the annual waterfront festival. No room at the inn... We decided to motor up the river to see if we could find a dock as we had no food aboard. We ended up at the rack store dock at Harbortown Marina. Some folks with a slip there felt sorry for us and loaned us a key to the heads and showers for the night, we walked a short distance to dinner and all was well. The next morning the bay was calm, after refueling we motored home...

Dodger done...

We've been a bit busy this summer, so it took a while... Last week we got out sailing 3 days and I'm hoping to go today as there's a breeze on. Next on the Admiral's schedule is the new sail cover and bimini.... Wait! We don't have a schedule...

Cruising comforts...

I continue to work on kimosabi. The strange cold weather pattern continues here in northern Wisconsin. The water is cold, so having a way to dodge it is important. Today I made and mounted the Dodger frames for the Admiral to begin her magic. I also installed the autopilot. Later this summer we will add a bimini and partial enclosure.

Spring reincarnation

After 3 weeks of work, the "new" kimosabi has been launched. Because kimosabi will be sailing in salt water during the winter months, the first week entailed sanding the old VC 17 bottom paint off. The next week the epoxy barrier coat was replenished and new Vivid white bottom paint was applied. The hulls were then buffed out and waxed. The nets were repaired and re-coated. A new spinnaker halyard exit block was installed on the mast and all halyards were replaced. The deck sheet stoppers were replaced with new Lewmar D2s. The float deck hatches were replaced. The Depth/Speedo was replaced, along with the compass. New soft shackles were made on rainy days. A new jib was made. And the list goes on..

We be sailin'

Watch "We be sailin'" on YouTube
On Tuesday we hitched another ride with Captain Ron on Tri Angel. It was a super day for sailing on Charlotte Harbor with the wind building to 12-15. Here we are close reaching at about 12 knots. The multihulls had a great day to play...

Golden Conch

We spent the past weekend sailing on Pam and Jim's F-39 "Screech", racing out of Burnt Store. Not many multihulls showed up, but still a good time.