A new "iron genny" for Pelagia! (Betamarine Beta50)

Installed: Pelagia's new Betamarine BETA50

 HAPPY CANADA DAY! 

Our trusty Yanmar (4JHTE) was getting on in years (37 yrs!) and hours (~6600 hrs). It was running well but showed several signs of upcoming issues, some quite pricey. (We received a "worst-case" scenario quote of C$22k!)

We decided to repower. 

We looked into getting a new Yanmar, but were put off by several issues: (i) Yanmar's base price was 2x a Betamarine Beta50, (ii) the Yanmar technology was more-advanced "common rail" relying on a electrical control unit (ECU) -- the problem was this would be more sensitive to fuel issues and any repairs would require a Yanmar dealer/mechanic, something not easily found North of Campbell River, and (iii) for the install, the local Yanmar dealer required Pelagia to be hauled out for an unspecified duration (add $$) and there have been issues with work timing here in Vancouver.

We decided on a Betamarine Beta50. The engine is a marinized version of a Kubota tractor engine, so parts and diesel mechanics are easily available. The technology is more simple, thus easier to maintain and repair.

The installation was done by the Canadian Beta distributor Gartside Marine Engines in Sidney BC. We were able to bring Pelagia to their dock and the Yanmar removal and Beta50 install done while Pelagia was still in the water. (There was no charge for time at Gartside's docks.) 

Sad seeing the old Yanmar out of the boat...

 

Of course, the install took longer than planned (well, welcome to boats...), and Pelagia's 3-blade fixed propeller had to be "re-pitched" twice. The first sea trial resulted in smooth engine running but the engine RPMs couldn't get up to the 2800 specifications. This meant a 2nd propeller re-pitch was required. Also, the propeller produced a very loud "singing" for RPMs between 1000-2000 rpm -- something the propeller wizards could correct. The 2nd re-pitching added another week, BUT the end result was success: no more propeller singing and no problem getting RPM up to 2800.  

We've had a few cruising days with the new engine: 2 between the second re-pitching (as the problems were discovered on a Friday), and 4 getting the boat back home to Vancouver (including a raucous sail across Georgia Strait).

Gartside also completed some other improvements, such as (i) all-new sound insulation of the engine room after cleaning, (ii) moving the external regulator so that it is now easily accessible, and (iii) new raw water strainer that was moved to a new, easily accessible location.

We also purchased (as an addon) a "NMEA2000" module for the Beta50. David ran cables and hooked this up to our existing NMEA2000 network (upgraded to allow more instruments) yesterday and now we have engine RPM, TEMP and OIL PRESSURE on our chartplotter in the cockpit.

Furuno chartplotter engine display (sample)

SO FAR, we're happy with our new Beta50. The process took longer (4 weeks rather than 2 weeks) than expected, wasn't cheap (but FAR FAR LESS that what a Yanmar installed in Vancouver would have cost us!). We definitely would recommend Gartside Marine Engines (Sidney, BC). 

Hopefully it keeps Pelagia going for many years to come.    

Now for some Summer cruising.... 

A new stove for Pelagia

In its box, ready to install

 

Our old Force 10 stove was about 40 years old. It had served its two owners very well. Lately, the burners were burning yellow and sometimes poofing (?) out. Michelle suggested she wanted a new stove for her birthday. David worried about the cost (well over C$3000) but started looking, daunted by the thought of the money and all the work required. 

 

Old dependable no more...

It was the propane sniffer (rather, multiple sniffers) that quickly made up out mind. Suddenly, we had 3 different sniffers telling us there was a leak. So, time for a new stove.    

We looked into both Force 10 and Dickinson stoves. A review on YouTube thankfully made it clear the Dickinson wouldn't work for us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRuda57AHk4

D read and re-read the Force 10 literature, and finally got help re sizes directly from folks at Force 10 (here in British Columbia). The North American Standard size would fit (both 3- and 4-burner models were identical sizes) our stove space. They were now 2-3 cm taller, but still would fit. 

The 4-burner was C$1000 pricier, was not in stock so might entail a substantial shipping charge, and would require about 4 weeks for delivery.  (In the 17 years we've had Pelagia, we've never used all 3 burners on our old stove.) The 3-burner Force 10 was in stock at Steveston Marine, and I could pick it up in 2 days. No delivery charge. The price was not cheap (~C$3700 with taxes)... we could buy 2-4 stoves at Home Depot for home for that price. Yeah, it's a boat, so special boat prices. 

I had some help from neighbours on the docks at VRC lifting the stove into the boat (Thank you Jonathon and Greg!). After some minor modifications, the stove fit beautifully and gimballed back-and-forth perfectly. And it is very shiny.

AND! No more propane sniffer alarm! 

The shiny new Force 10 3-burner installed

 

Video: gimballed stove heating up kettle while we sail across Strait of Georgia

Haulout 2024: Lions Gate Marina

Hull wax and polish

 

Haulout was required this year primarily for a marine survey (required every 10 years by our boat insurance). Might as well get new bottom paint (last done in 2022) and hull waxed.

In the past, we've hauled out at Thunderbird Marina (past Point Atkinson) and even as far away as Nanaimo. After our bad experience in Nanaimo in 2022, we decided to stay close to home.

(This was all in the midst of our move to Squamish... just to add to the stress....)

Lions Gate Marina is a relatively new "dry" marina (no water berths) which is in North Vancouver, directly across from Stanley Park. A huge plus as it meant no worries about weather or seas and no extra travel and no motel. (Nanaimo usually entailed an extra night each way plus paying for motel while out of the water.)  LGM also used a "Sealift" rather than a "Travel Lift", which means being lifted from underneath by a trailer with hydraulics ... NO dangling from slings.

Driving on to the Sealift trailer

Position on the trailer; still partially afloat

Another difference from travel lift: owner/skipper stays on the boat as it is lifted (an odd experience, at first)

Out of the water, on the Sealift

A wave from the skipper... before he came down

The bottom painting, wax/polish, and marine survey required 2 nights on the hard. One day less than previous haulouts (even more if one considers time to get to/from haulout facility).

Bottom paint finished (1 coat of Micron CSC), new zincs, polished hull and completed marine survey.

Going back in the water was easy peasy, with a nice calm harbour to motor back to the Vancouver Rowing Club, where Michelle was waiting to catch the lines.

All-in-all, Lions Gate Marina was so much easier than our previous haulouts.  We were thankful given our already too-busy schedules with our move to Squamish!)

LGM: Recommended!

 

Haulout in Nanaimo 2022 -- bookended by great sailing

Nearing completion...

 

We booked a haulout at Stone's Boatyard in Nanaimo for 8am on April 5th. (Why Nanaimo? Well, we had an excellent experience at Stone's in 2013, so we thought we'd give it a try. Booking and getting marine work done in Vancouver has its issues.... As it turned out, so does Nanaimo.)

Big winds were forecast for Georgia Strait for April 3rd and 4th, so we headed across on April 2nd. We had a wonderful sail over to Silva Bay on Gabriola Island. A beam reach with mostly 10-15 kn winds, comfortable sailing with both mainsail and genoa. No distress; all fun.

The next day, April 3rd, winds were pinning us against the dock at Silva, and we wondered if we could get off the dock; but slack times for the passes were awkward if we didn't leave early. Seas were up on the outside (north side of Gabriola) as were winds. So we were not sure whether the outside might be a little to unpleasant. As luck would have it, a sailboat we knew left in the morning; we called SV Hannibal on the VHF, and Oliver indicated it wasn't so bad on the outside. So we decided to give it a try... if we could get off the dock, which we managed successfully (on our second try...). Out in the straits, we found rolly seas but 15-20 kn SE winds. A reasonably comfortable downwind sail under genoa to Entrance Island, where the wind and seas decreased, and we motored in to Nanaimo and caught a mooring buoy at Newcastle Island (which was nearly empty).

Two nights at Newcastle Island, we had little chance (or wish) to go ashore due to a constant sequence of gusty cold winds, sun, heavy rain, seeming to repeat every 30-60 minutes. And it was cold: fresh snow was low on the hills around Nanaimo. Our Espar hydronic heater was much used!

Tuesday April 5th, we arrived at 7:55am at Stone's, and they were ready and waiting to haul us out. Haulout went smoothly, and Pelagia was pressure washed before being put in the stands by about 930am. We then waited for work to begin (we had decided to hire Stone's for painting, wash & polishing, and some minor mechanical).  By 3pm, nothing significant had begun. So, we went off and checked in to our motel room at the Buccaneer Inn (highly recommended), just down the road. 

We were happy with the 2018 application of Micron CSC bottom pain. After 4 years, the bottom primarily had only a thin algae coating, and the bottom paint still looked pretty good after pressure washing (except for mussels under the keel, and worn pain at the bow, along the waterline, and the trailing edge of the rudder).

 

Lifting out of the water at Stone's

 

Pressure washing Pelagia: the 4-yr-old bottom paint was in pretty good shape!

Work finally began in earnest on Wednesday 6th -- better late than never: Two coats of Micron CSC anti-fouling (we were surprised by it being black --we never asked for this colour change -- but decided we liked it), stuffing box repacking, a new throttle cable, and another try at the small leak in the hydraulic steering.

We were pleasantly surprised by friends Gillian and David from SV Carousel, who offered to drive up to Nanaimo for us to get together. We had an nice dinner together at a nearby Greek restaurant. Thanks G & D for entertaining us!

We had hoped to "splash" back in to the water on Thursday 7th. But this was not to be. The second coat of antifouling, which we expected to be applied on Wednesday, was done Thursday. The stands were moved and a 1st coat on the new bare spots were finally applied late Thursday.  Waxing and polishing didn't start until late Thursday (4 pm'ish). It was not finished that night. 

We also did some work ourselves: the topsides were waxed/polished; the pilot house non-glass windows polished to remove yellowing and some scratches (Novus7100 Plastic Polish Kit); windshield wiper motor connections repaired; several new zincs added.

Friday April 8th: We were worried we would not make the ~12-1 pm tide window (it is very shallow at the haulout): waxing/polishing still had to be finished, plus the 2nd coat on the stand patches needed to be done. Management further encouraged the waxer/polisher to rush the job (which he did, with some patches missed and lots of splatter).  By noon'ish, we were essentially ready to splash. Once in the water, the mechanic came to adjust the stuffing box after some "burn in" time.* We got away with only about 0.5 metre extra depth to spare, and headed back to Newcastle Island to the same buoy to decompress -- a day longer on the hard than should have been needed. But we celebrated it being finished.

Heading back in to the water... better late than never

 

Saturday April 9th: The forecast for the Strait of Georgia was suggesting 15-25 kn NW winds. We decided to give it a try. Just before Entrance Island, we found winds of 10-15 kn, so we rolled out the genoa. We ended up have an excellent fast downwind sail (genoa only) all the way to Stanley Park, at times a little rambunctious with winds 20-25 kn (gusting to 30 closer to Vancouver). But again, no distress and mostly fun (except for trying to get into our berth at VRC with a 15-kn crosswind).

Downwind sailing to Vancouver (visible in the distance)

Our new position tracker at: https://followingsea.net/track/PELAGIA (only the endpoints with dates are accurate!)

Conclusions: it was a long way to/from Nanaimo, to find boatyards there now have some of the staffing/timing issues found in Vancouver. BUT: the work got done. And the sailing was excellent. Not so sure about the next haulout location... we'll see. [Update: NO, we will not return!]

 

Update: One week since splashing and sailing back, the hydraulic leak is almost stopped... perhaps only 1-2 drops since splashing.

* It turned out that the Nanaimo mechanic put in packing that was too large: 1/4" instead of the required 3/16". This caused much problem, stuffing box over heating, constant adjusting, until we had it re-packed while in Sointula.  Later, in September, Nanaimo boatyard (Stones) apologized and refunded 2 hours of labour.

Pelagia back in the water...

Pelagia "splashed" Tuesday. 

All went well until we tried to start the engine. Nothing. Yet we had brand new batteries. Looked for a loose wire but saw none. So, we called Rafa, who had done all the work on the engine over the Summer and last week. 

Indeed, his shop had left off a wire. Bingo, engine started easily. But, now, no water out of the exhaust. (We had worried about this possibility, and David had looked for any blockages before going back in the water, finding none.) After going through the same things plus a few more, and a lot of head scratching, Rafa and colleague discovered a gear had gone on our just-rebuilt raw-water pump. No problem, it is "guaranteed". All this after we had to be towed over to a dock at the marina.

Next day, re-rebuilt water pump back in and engine running well and spitting out water as it should.

On the positive side, the new windows look great, the welding looks great (new system holding the anchor and additional bracings for the pushpit railings), the hull has a smooth newly painted bottom (all the old bottom paint had been removed and a new barrier coat added), and above the water line nice new blue stripes and waxed hull.

But, elsewhere, Pelagia was a mess, we had a LOT of cleaning inside to do. Decks still need cleaning. And to top it off, David has the flu or something -- and cabin temperature reaches 35 degrees C by mid afternoon.

So, we are working out problems, suffering in the heat. (No, there is no swimming pool.)

Loving the life....

Back to Mexico (Mazatlan)

After three wonderful weeks in our home at Whistler, we are now back in Mexico. At the Mazatlan airport, Michelle got the "green light" at Mexico Aduana (customs), so no issues there (wouldn't want them to discover all those Red Rose tea bags...).

Hauling Pelagia (at Fonatur) tomorrow morning (October 21st) for bottom-work and other miscellany, including some minor welding (to strengthen bimini/solar panels, and to better-secure the Rocna anchor), boot-stripe repainting, and new portlights (5 of 7). Unfortunately, we discovered that the new pilot house windows we had installed over the summer (while we were away) are totally inadequate. So, we will also have these redone with thicker, more-appropriate windows. More time (and money) required....

On the positive, the engine is all shiny with new or overhauled parts, the teak shiny, the boat clean, and there does not appear to be any mold/mildew. Oh, and the tacos and margaritas are pretty good.

Will likely be here for 2-3 weeks -- may take a road trip.

Haul out at Fonatur yard, Mazatlan

Haul out at Fonatur yard, Mazatlan

Preparing Pelagia for a Summer in Mazatlan

Pelagia ready for the Summer (... we hope)

Bimini, dodger, solar stored...

 
We have spent most of the past 9 days "de-commissioning" Pelagia for the Summer in Mazatlan. We've found it very tiring, all the worse as it is hot and humid here in Mazatlan.

So, what did we do? In preparation for a Summer of heat, sun, humidity and rain, and possibly for a hurricane, we have done the following:

• Removed, bagged and stored below all sails
• Removed dodger and bimini (to be washed, dried, and stored below)
• Removed solar panels (stored in v-berth)
• double-up on mooring lines (a total of 7 mooring lines)
• purchased additional fenders; all fenders covered by old t-shirts (for sun protection)
• items on deck (BBQ, stern anchor, jerry cans, etc) removed and stored in anchor locker

The above items were done in case of significant winds (e.g., hurricanes)

• put tin foil on ~ half of the windows
• wrapped tin foil on nav lights, GPS antennae, cowl vents, and other plastic items that would be damaged by sun
• reflective tarp put over boom
• fluttering VCR tape place on lifelines etc, hopefully as a bird-retardant
• drained fuel from outboard engine; covered with old t-shirt
• engine oil & filter changed; transmission fluid changed
• diesel fuel tanks topped-up
• removed (gave away) all perishable food or tinned food nearing "expiration"
• all other food (tins or unopened packages) placed in bin in refrigerator icebox (fridge turned off, washed, and lid left open)
• water tanks topped up and biocide added
• cockroach "bait" placed in many locations 
• stuffed exterior vents with mosquito screening (metal) -- hopefully to discourage rats and other critters
• Disconnected and stored (in plastic bags) major electronic equipment
• Propane shut off at bottles and hoses disconnected
• Shower sump flushed with fresh water
• Toilet & holding tank thoroughly flushed with fresh water then "pickled" with treatment
• Bilge washed; bilge pumps flushed
• speedo removed and replaced by dummy plug
• All clothes, linens etc washed; most bagged and stored
• Cupboards, floors, etc washed to retard mildew
• cushions moved to allow air circulation
• cupboard doors left open for air circulation
• AC fan purchased and left on
• All seacocks closed
• DC electronics turned off

Likely the above list has missed some things -- it has been a lot to think of and do.

We have arranged (i) engine work to be carried-out over the Summer (by Rafa') (ii) haulout, bottom work, minor welding, etc next October, and (iii) exterior woodwork and window repair/replacement.

Finally, we have arranged for Tony, Grant and Hector of Tony's Boat Management to watch over Pelagia, regularly opening up Pelagia's hatches for air, checking mooring lines, batteries, bilges, and looking for any bugs or mildew. They will also run the engine and wash boat monthly, as well as arrange bottom cleaning, zinc changing etc. This gives us significant peace of mind.

Mazatlan: Back in the tropics

We arrived at Marina Mazatlan Sunday morning, after first running the gauntlet of the crazy narrow opening into the estuary, its small breakwater proving only a small area free of breaking waves (but less than a boat length away the swells were crashing on the rocks). Going past El Cid Marina, the surge was still remarkably strong.

* A warning to other boaters: make sure no boats are coming out as you come in: it IS that narrow.

Marina Mazatlan is well up into the estuary and far from the madness. Marina staff were waiting for us to tie up. First impressions are reasonably positive (especially of Loli in the office).

Visited downtown Mazatlan (easily done by AC public bus) yesterday. Oh Toto, we're not in Kansas (I mean, La Paz) anymore. Frantic, big, interesting. Much more humid. We both noticed women dress differently here than La Paz (tighter, shorter skirts or shorts); didn't see any of the joggers we would see in La Paz. Overall impression: La Paz is a nicer place to be if staying longer.(That is, we made the right choice by staying in La Paz this Winter.)

We are now preparing Pelagia to be left in Mazatlan for the Summer (emptying interior of non-canned food items; cleaning all cupboards etc ; removing sails and canvas; etc).

Free to pee again...

Middle of the night, an unpleasant surprise: the head (toilet) has stopped working. Plunger jammed; will not go down. 2 am and David is taking apart the head, hoping to fix it before Michelle wakes up. This didn't do the job. Clearly, more is wrong....

First problem turned out to be most of the hoses totally clogged with calcium deposits. 1.5-inch diameter hose reduced to  <0.25 inch! This even though we regularly flush vinegar through the system.

hose filled with calcium buildup -- yuck!

Although other cruisers suggested several flushes with muriatic acid should clear the hoses -- which David tried -- this was not good enough. The only solution was to open things up, pull out hoses and replace with new hose. This is not an easy job, and required removal of the large "vanity" in the bathroom.

Vanity removed -- white hoses are the new replacements

 
A few of the shorter pieces of hose were extra-flexible hose, needed to make several sharp turns. As this type of hose was not available here in La Paz, David elected to "ream out" these pieces, flush them, and re-use them. 

Finally, after all the hoses were replaced or (mostly) cleaned out, the head (toilet) itself needed a rebuild. The primary problem was the "joker" valve, which was distorted and would not close  properly. Fortunately, we had a full replacement for the pump unit.

a used joker valve; ours looked way worse

All put back together, everything worked as new. Free to pee again!
 
All in all, a smelly, messy and physically demanding job. (But a job that would have happened back home as well as here.) We will have to be more vigilant with our head maintenance.

Ahhhh... boat work in exotic places. We celebrated our restored head by going out for dinner.

Repairs in exotic places... we must be cruising!

OK,  Alameda is not exactly "exotic" (but it is a nice,  friendly and relaxed place).

We have done a number of fixes/improvements,  but we are still shut down trying to figure out/repair our hydraulic steering.  (Rebuilt helm pump but slipping still a problem.  Now will rebuild ram/cylinder. Fingers crossed.)

No idea when we will be done.

PROJECTS FOR JULY/AUGUST

Time is ticking for our late-August departure south.

We have many projects we are hoping to complete. Some are important; others are "nice-to-do".

For example (in no particular order):

•  Haul boat, paint bottom etc (completed)
• Install fans in v-berth (completed) and quarter berth, and more in main salon
• Purchase and install solar panels (in process)
• Minor engine work (new impeller, etc)
• Re-tune new standing rigging
• Remove forward diesel tank (under V-berth, we've never used it) and replace with water tank (in process)
• Purchase/install pedestal chair for nav desk
• Install tie downs for liferaft
• Non-skid for deck
• Dodger revisions (add opening window)/minor repair (in process)
• Install lee cloths
• Install new refrigerator (of course, our old one now seems to be doing fine...)
• Add tie-downs for various items

This is a short list of a much larger list -- our Excel spreadsheet is up to 160 items -- 96 of which have been completed since 2011. Many of them major, such as new sails (2011), new running (2011) and standing (2013) rigging, SSB (2012),  Hydrovane (2013), new instruments, etc.

Then there are the non-sailing "administrative" things required to sail south. Sell condo (done), storage locker (done), mailbox (done), new passports (done), etc. etc.

But we are getting there.

Haul-out in Nanaimo: Good experience with Nanaimo Boatyard at Stones Marina

We hauled out at Nanaimo Boatyard (“NB”) at Stones Marina. Our first time at this boatyard, we had heard good reviews from friends, their prices were better than Vancouver area and, importantly, they have a large Travelift, so we would not have to remove our backstay.

Now that's a dirty bottom...

Our plans were fairly simple: (i) haul out and pressure wash the bottom (by NB), (ii) wetsand/clean the bottom then 2 coats of bottom paint (by us), (iii) replace 3 zincs (by us); (iv) fair keel’s very minor nick (by NB) , (v) repack stuffing box, check stern tube hose, and consider dripless stuffing box (by NB), and (vi) if time, polish hull (by us).

We booked a nearby motel, not being sure what it would be like to stay aboard at this boatyard. Turns out, this was not necessary. The boatyard allowed staying aboard and would have been perfectly comfortable, with good showers, etc. Oh well, next time….

The haul out (and splashing back in) was the most careful we have yet experienced. The yard very organized. The pressure washing was definitely the best we have seen. But the better surprise was how quickly NB staff got onto the items we requested them to do. Half a day into the haulout, the stuffing box was shining, repacked and with a new stern tube hose (turns out, after measuring, they determined a PYI dripless box would not fit), and the keel was faired and sanded (as I said, it was minor: it only cost $42 to repair!). Meanwhile, David was still scraping/sanding the bottom, and Michelle polishing! After two nights (due to low tide, we had to haul out/in in the later afternoon), we were finished.

Very impressed with Nanaimo Boatyard at Stones Marina.

After splashing back into the water, we spent an evening at the Nanaimo Yacht Club's reciprocal docks (good facilities), then had an excellent sail across to Howe Sound -- so much faster with a clean/smooth bottom!), where we recovered in Port Graves for 2 nights (we were tired!) before returning to our home dock at VRC in Vancouver.

Hydrovane installation and first use

Our new Hydrovane is now installed and (thus far) works great!

Our Hydrovane "Fin" installed on Pelagia

First try -- "Fin" worked great immediately (sailing in English Bay)

We purchased our Hydrovane just over a year ago. Will Curry (who is currently sailing their Beneteau Hydroquest in French Polynesia) from Hydrovane came down to Pelagia to check measures and suggest placement. Will recommended mounting the Hydrovane with an "H" bracket on the stern grid (after "beefing up" the stern grid) and an "A" bracket on Pelagia's transom. Will's in-person check really helped (of course, it helps that "Hydrovane International" office is located in nearby West Vancouver)!

Last Spring (2012), we contacted an installer recommended by Will -- unfortunately, that person turned out to be completely unreliable and strung us along and finally never showed up. (Yes, we noted our negative experience to the Hydrovane folks.) Lucky we had, by then, postponed our departure by 1 year. 

It turns out that our rigger, Paul at Ocean Rigging is also an installer recommended by Hydrovane. One thing we know about Paul, besides his good work, is that when he agrees to a job, he does it when he says he will (weather permitting, of course).

Paul and Gus came down to Pelagia a couple weeks ago, and we began the process of mocking up the placement of the Hydrovane. (The "mockup" uses PVC pipes to determine placement of brackets and lengths required for the stainless steel pipes.)  This was a rather drawn out process, and we ended up with a placement of the "A" bracket that was somewhat different than suggested by Will. (Will thought the "A" bracket would go to either side of the transom walk-thru, but this was not possible with the fixed 40-degree angle of the bracket.) We found that one arm of the "A" bracket could be placed below the walk-thru and the other arm placed starboard to the walk-thru. A benefit of this is it allows easy access to the stern grid (for swimming, dinghy access, and for putting on/taking off the Hydrovane rudder).

Gus & Paul check angles of mockup (white tubes are PVC)

"H" bracket on stern grid (not yet reinforced); "A" bracket on transom

Significant reinforcement of stern grid underside (all stainless steel)

"H" bracket on top of anodized aluminum backing plate

It took a little over a week to complete the reinforcement of the stern grid -- we did a little more "beefing" up than suggested by Will Curry. Nothing wrong with building something stronger.

Last week, we got together again, and did the final measures and installed the Hydrovane. This too required the better part of a day.

The next day, Michelle and I headed out on Pelagia for a few days sailing (in the sun!). Immediately upon entering English Bay, we hoisted our sails and tried out "Fin" the Hydrovane (well, it looks like an Orca's fin, and Vancouver fans will know "Fin"). Amazingly, we got Fin to work on our very first try! (It probably helped that we'd had previous experience with a windvane -- a Monitor -- when sailing on SV Berkana back from Hawaii in 2004.) After several tacks, we set course across Georgia Strait: Fin guided us all the way across to Porlier Pass, where we then anchored in Clam Bay. A couple days later, Fin again guided us from outside of Silva Bay all the way back across the strait to Bowen Island.

In Snug Cove (Bowen Island). Fin "resting" after steering us across the strait

Look Ma, no hands! Fin steering us in English Bay

It is still early, but we are pretty happy with Fin, our new crew member.



(Again, thank you to Paul and Gus of Ocean Rigging, and to Will of Hydrovane.)

Pelagia sails again -- Mast re-stepped (finally)!

Sailing home after re-stepping mast (Point Grey and North Shore mountains in distance)

After way too many months without mast and rigging (late September 2012 to March 2013), Pelagia is again a beautiful sailboat.

Again, the weather made things difficult for us. With an appointment at 2pm on Tuesday with the crane in Steveston, Sunday and Monday gave us strong (20-25 kn) northwesterly winds -- which would make the 27nm trip at best uncomfortable and possibly worse (wind over tide at Sand Heads). We waited and watched all day Monday; finally saw a decrease of wind and seas late afternoon. Forecast was for a further decrease, so we left at 5pm, making for "Coward's Cove" at the end of the North Arm of the Fraser River, with plan to anchor just before the sun went down at 730pm.

Arrived Coward's Cove 7pm, after an exceedingly rolly trip when beam-to the seas around Pt. Grey. (My goodness, how a sailboat without its mast ROLLS with small waves!). "Cove" was empty and looked like a good choice for the eve (this was our first time here). Charts show 10 ft at zero tide; we arrived on a rising tide, currently at ~4ft above datum. Surprise, surprise, we bump the soft sandy bottom (i.e., <6ft). Becoming darker, we decide to anchor closer to the river channel in about 8 ft. Luckily, a calm night windwise, but the river remained busy with commercial traffic all night. Not much sleep -- noisy and rolly; up at first light to hi-tail it out of there. (No, we're not likely to re-visit Coward's Cove!)   

Arrived Steveston early (1130am) -- moved crane appointment earlier due to coming severe weather forecast. (Gale warnings, rainfall warning; even a waterspout warning!)

Mast re-stepping went very smoothly -- again thanks to Paul and Gus at Ocean Rigging.

Mast in parking lot (in the distance, Michelle checking out boom)

Mast rolled out to crane/travel lift slot

Mast lifted

Gus and Paul being very careful...

putting in mast partners

Mast boot... tried-n-true inner tube method

Completed mast boot (lots of rain overnight w/o a leak!)

Next day (Wednesday), we were stuck at dock in Steveston with gale-force winds all day, until sunset. Thursday morning the winds were down to Northwest 5-15 knots, giving us a perfect sail all the way from Sand Heads (end of Fraser River South Arm) to Snug Cove on Bowen Island (after first visiting the Stellar's sea lions and cormorants near Sand Heads). Our first night "cruising" since September! Friday, we managed another sail most of the way back to Vancouver.

A very large (male) Stellar's Sea Lion

Cormorants and sea lions at Sands Heads

Sailing north

Finally, a mast with sails!

Pelagia at Snug Cove (Bowen Island), after a great sail from Sand Heads

Great to be sailing again!