long time cp23 sailor saying hello again

[curtisv]

Just saying hello again.  I was active on cpyoa then got busy with other stuff and dropped off for a while, a very long while.  I've sailed a CP23, Remote Access, most years since she was new in 2001, so this will be 20 years.  I missed a number of seasons including 2020 but made a new CP23 owner friend nearby and we crew for each other in non-pandemic times.

In 2014 I retired (at age 49), started consulting (months later), worked full time again (2007-2011), did a small amount of consulting, and retired again in 2013.  At that point I found myself volunteered as race committee co-chair at Orleans Yacht Club which sounds like a big deal but OYC is a small down to earth club with inexpensive membership and the adults only race daysailers, plus we run one small daysailer regatta and a sunfish regatta in fall.  I had no idea how much time this would take up.  This year I resigned from the race committee so I should have more time on my hands some time soon other than a certain boat project.  There was no 2020 race season but I picked up a new project in 2019.

In Nov 2019 I bought a not quite trailerable boat.  At 36' and 17,000 lbs you'll need a hefty tow vehicle and raising the 53 ft 500-600 lb main mast is not something you do by hand.  I don't own a Brownell trailer or crane or travellift so I need to hire out for this.  So I won't be making it to the CLR but I never was much for trailering any distance.  The local ramp where I launched my CP23 is 3-4 miles from my house and my mooring is a 0.6 mile walk and short swim away, though some prefer to use the dinghy.  I removed the diesel and will repower with electric.  I was going to remove the diesel tank, but maybe if I can get it thoroughly cleaned I can store rum in there.  Only 40 something gallons so would have to refill if I head for 2021 BBB.  Not sure what to clean the tank with.  Powerful solvent like PBR might do it.  Or I could take the tank out and store bottles there.

The new boat (Mariner Yacht 36 or MY36) is going to be a huge project.  Started in late 2019 and might be done for launch in 2022.  Maybe just in time for covid issues to clear up.  Otherwise sail for blue water, pitch and roll for a few weeks (that 40 gal tank could come in handy), and head back because you can't actually go anywhere now, not even the next state.

I started a topic in "off topic" on renaming the MY36 so if anyone has ideas, please speak up.  I know some of you on this forum can be shy at times but don't hesitate.

Curtis

[jthatcher]

Good morning Curtis,
   I too have been absent from the site for a number of years, but I am now back to checking in from time to time, and also have our boat back in the water after a number of years on the hard - or I should say, will have it back in come May!     We are in mid coast Maine.  When you get the MY36 ready to sail, you might want to Put Derektor Robinhood  (formerly Robinhood Marina )  on your list of prospective stops during a cruise along the maine coast..   I work on the dock there part time , and we keep the boat there - nice quite spot! 
Good luck with the project - sounds like fun.  jt

[curtisv]

JT,

Thanks for pointing out the marina.  I've seen the name but haven't been there.  I'm considering buying property in Maine, building a high efficient house and moving, but further east in Castine to Deer Island area.  Would be glad to stop by if I'm ever done with the boat.  I might keep the CP23 or sell if I move.  I offerred to donate to the yacht club to use for adult sailing lessons but nothing was going on in 2020.  Maybe they will try it out and 2021 and take the donation.  Not a good time to look at land in Maine due to covid and due to snow and ice making it harder to walk the perimeter and also to get a sense for the surrounding area.

The project is fun when it is making progress and when it isn't seeming overwhelming.  I just chiseled and shoveled the ice off my deck and now have to get the ice off the companionway cover so I can plug in the heater and accellerate the melt, then carefully remove ice and snow with a plastic shovel.  Nice scupper icicles but sort of real bad for CP23 if ice bursts the PVC pipe that leads from the cockit to the scupper itself.  The larger boat has two 1.5 inch scuppers (and 1/2 inch or more glass layup) and the scuppers go straight down.  Also a few sidedeck drains.  No progress right now just trying to avoid ice damage.  There are a few things I could do in the garage.

Curtis

[Bob23]

Welcome back you two, I remember both of you! Of course there is the absentee surcharge we'll need to discuss to reinstate your memberships, but I think you're both grandfathered in!
Cheers!
Bob23

[Tim Gardner]

Been there,  done that.

[jthatcher]

Bob.. here comes the annual invitation - i know you had a reasonable excuse last summer for not stopping by, but.. maybe this summer will be different and you will be able to cross the maine state line , even if you are from NJ!    We just agreed to stick around in our current job/setting as  property care takers, and we are looking forward to another summer season on Robin Hood Cove. 

Curtis .. Deere Isle has a certain allure.  Dan Fogelberg had a house there,  and, he sailed a Robinhood 36  which is the subject of one of his songs, The Minstrel.  Perhaps you are familiar with him and the song?    The boat was built at  the yard that I mentioned back when they were building boats there, and the current owner has brought the boat back to Robinhood.  It is a very pretty boat.    a nice pic of the boat  at  2:24 in this video   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu-IDIvCkck

It is a challenge to work on boats at this time of year unless they are inside.   I have thought that it wold be nice to build a stimson shed  so that i could at least get an early spring start with getting work done on the boat.. that won't happen this year. I already have enough projects on the table for now.   

Before we moved to Maine full time, we worked on mt desert island for 3 seasons.   We loved it up there.    But,  we love Bath which is just 20 minutes from where we now live, and we like being just under an hour from Portland.    How much land are you hoping to find?     jt

[Bob23]

JT: The Blackburn Challenge is on July 17th, allegedly. On or not, a few of us Bandits hijacked the 2020 Blackburn which was covid- cancelled and we rowed it anyway. Same thing this year so who know... maybe I'll take the week off and drift north. It'd be grand to see you and Janet again!!

[curtisv]

a nice pic of the boat  at  2:24 in this video   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu-IDIvCkck

Nice cutter rig.

Maybe your yard can help me get the staysail rigged again if I don't have that done.  I'm thinking get most of the work done here and then sail her up to a Maine yard and have then do some.  I had some work done here but everybody is busy and can't get help or struggling for other reasons.  The guy that hauled the diesel and was supposed to put in the electric motor and prop back on went out of business some time after he put the prop shaft back.  At least he was able to replace the cutlass bearing with a dripless, and get that, a coupling, and a new shaft installed before disappearing.  Its a Maxprop and I will need to drill a hole in the shaft to mount it.  Not easy drilling through 3/4" SS hardenned shaft.  The older guys that are more into sailboats and craftsmanship are getting few and some are retiring so for a lot of work its getting hard to hire out.

Before we moved to Maine full time, we worked on mt desert island for 3 seasons.   We loved it up there.    But,  we love Bath which is just 20 minutes from where we now live, and we like being just under an hour from Portland.    How much land are you hoping to find?     jt

I probably should move up there and rent for a while.  I've been to Maine a number of times, riding a motorcycle and backpacking in my younger days and staying in bed and breakfast more recently.  Another thought was to buy a small house on small lot and look around and then buy land and build.

As to how much land, at least 2-3 acres, preferably 5-10 but gets pricey.  I found a great 6 acre lot for a not too high price but someone else picked it up this fall.  I have my eye on a few others but can't get there to look yet.  I have a few things to clear up here before I go, besides the work on the boat(s).

It would easily cost thousands for a Brownell trailer to bring my boat up by land so a certain amount of work needs to be completed here.  Winter of 2019-2020 I paid for storage (masts up) and it is so nice now having the boat in my yard even if the masts are down.  I'm working on a way to get them well up in the air to make it easy to work, but then lower for transport to keep the height under the magic 14 foot limit.  With a 500-600 lb main mast a lot of care needs to be taken building the mostly 2x4 framing to suspend the masts.  The forward mast support is almost done other than 6:1 blocks.  I used a hand winch to test it.  The aft mask support will be harder to make.  It seems a good idea to get enough done that I can launch and sail to Maine rather than Brownell to Maine and then complete any remaining work.  At that point I also need to know where I'll be going - a yard with masts up storage or a short Brownell ride to my own property.  Tough logistic problems.

So a few hurdles remain before I can make it to your neighborhood.

Curtis

[jthatcher]

sounds like you have some organizing and goal setting to do.  once a plan is set, you will feel much more optimistic!   The yard is always looking for work over the winter.. and , like other yards,  searching like mad to fill positions so that they can get things done during the summer.   I gather that qualified boatyard personnel are in high demand.   

it will be interesting to follow your progress.  Best of luck, and be sure to give a heads up when you are headed this way.    there is a lot in georgetown that is not outrageously priced.. but not so sure of its suitablility..    https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/N-End-Rd-Lot-1_Georgetown_ME_04548_M95229-59103
this one is in phippsburg.. just across the river from georgetown.    https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Harrington-Rd-Lot-2_Phippsburg_ME_04562_M90118-44831

[curtisv]

Qualified boatyard personnel are becoming an endangered specieis here.  Cape Cod has become too expensive.  No young person could move in and live here on boatyard pay so help just keeps getting harder to get.  In Maine there are still skilled craftsmen and young people willing to learn their craft and help in the yards to eventually become the next generation of craftsmen.  That is no mostly history here.  On the bright side the house I bought 23 years ago is now worth 3-4 time what it was.  We have a hot market now so maybe 5.

I looked at those listing and the area.  I'm not fond of the Kennebunk - all motor boats now from what I've read.  I don't like the idea of being downriver from Bath due to prior pollution from the shipyard, though probably clean enough by now.  I also looked at some lots on Westport Island with access to Sheepscot River and further east near Damariscotta River.  Those look more promising.  I'm still tending toward further east, skipping Searport area due to the LNG terminal and chemical plant just like I don't want to be just down river from Bath.  The entire Penobscot River is down river from Bangor but I think that doesn't pose a problem.  Pollution from the lumber industry should have cleared up long ago.  I don't know of chemical plants or any sort of nasty pollution up that way.

Keep in touch,

Curtis