High and Dry: Diving into Winter Projects

On November 25, 2022 By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, SplendidoLeave a comment

Photo of SV Splendido, a Catalina 270 sailboat, undergoing winter repairs on the deck.

We pulled Splendido out of the lake a little early this season as Debbie and I were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary by taking a 10-day road trip down the gorgeous California coast. When we returned, I went to work on some projects that were adding up, including replacing the fasteners for the fairlead tracks, which had been letting condensation through the deck into the cabin, and staining the curtains and ceiling with a “tea” comprised of dirt and maybe rust or corrosion from the so-called stainless steel barrel nuts, some of which had just decomposed and fell out of the ceiling after all these years. Splendido is, after all, now 30 years old, so the working of the boat must’ve done its thing to the hardware.

While winterizing the boat, I noticed (not for the first time, mind you) that the boom gooseneck assembly had really worn down over the years, to the point where my sailing buddy Ancil remarked, “I’m surprised it hasn’t broken off yet.” So, the process of finding a replacement began for venerable Isomat boom parts. At length, I did find a source (and this, after contacting Catalina Yachts’ factory in Florida and another party who evidently purchased all the back stock of parts from Catalina’s factory, both non-responsive to my inquiries) and that was at Rig-Rite, Inc. I found what I was looking for on their website, but as luck would have it, their shopping cart wasn’t working today, so I’ll have to wait until Monday to call and complete the transaction.

I do want to express my thanks to Ancil, who is graciously renting me some space in his pasture once again to store Splendido this winter. I didn’t write about it before, but my experiment of keeping her up at the lake last winter was an unmitigated waste of resources. She got far more beaten up by the storms at elevation — even though she was (expensively) shrink-wrapped — than she ever has wintering on the hard down here in Reno. I was stunned at how the storms up there blew debris up and under the tight “skirt” of the shrink-wrap and so she was just filthy when I went to uncover her last spring. And, the areas that were covered by this “skirt” had a weird pink mold growing, which was a delight to clean off, let me tell you. So, I learned my lesson and she’s staying close to home this winter so I can get some work done. The list, as always, is long, but so is the dark season here, so I’ll just chip away and see that I can do. For now, it’s sealing the fairlead track holes with epoxy and re-drilling them so they’re watertight.

Additional thanks goes to Ancil, who is one of the most mechanically inclined people I’ve ever met. He’s helped me out of half a dozen mechanical fixes already, and for that, I am grateful. It’s a small community of sailors here where I live, but not a bad one in the bunch so far. I’m looking forward to getting back on the water as soon as I can. Until then …

Fair winds and following seas. DB

At least the wind is free

On May 7, 2022July 18, 2022 By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, SplendidoLeave a comment

*Pumping out is generally free, too, although a tip of $5-$20 is much appreciated by the dock hands.*

As I begin planning our spring commissioning, I am thinking a bit about the costs associated with sailing here at Lake Tahoe. Our 1993 Catalina 270 is a relatively small sailing vessel, but nevertheless, I have kept spreadsheets over our nearly 12 years of ownership to track what it costs to keep her up and sail her during our 4-5 month season here. I’m interested in learning how our experience stacks up to other small sailboat owners out there, so feel free to comment or post your own records if you’re comfortable doing so.

Every hobby comes with its price tag, and I think there is the impression out there among the general public that sailing is either a rich person’s sport, or that it’s “free” because the wind is free. This year, it’s likely to be a bit more spendy because we’re having the standing rigging replaced and we’ve kept her on the hard over the winter at Obexer’s on the west shore of Lake Tahoe while that work is being done. Oh, and I did decide to splurge and get a new furling headstay, so there’s that. But for now, I’m going to share my 2019 spreadsheet, as that’s pretty typical for what it costs us to prep, moor and sail at Tahoe each summer.

Let me know how your sailing season runs — and if there’s something wonky-looking about my expenses, let me know.

Here’s to fair winds, following seas, and (hopefully) a smoke-free sailing season! DB

On the hunt for a buoy at Tahoe

On April 12, 2022July 18, 2022 By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning3 Comments

Lake Tahoe remains one of the priciest places to moor a boat on a buoy in the U.S., with prices in the $1,500 range at the south shore to upwards of $8,000 for the five-month season as you clock around to the north shore. (The cost for slips in marinas is just staggering for working stiffs like me, so I won’t even go there.) For many years, we have been fortunate to have found a great mooring situation with a private resident on the west shore, but now our wonderful “buoy lord” is selling the family homestead, so we’re on the hunt once again to be able to sail in 2022.

I’m optimistic that something will pop up. I have an ad up on Craigslist seeking a buoy, and I’m tapping my sailing network to see if anyone knows anyone offering a buoy for rent at Tahoe this summer. The influx of remote workers from the Bay Area and inflation in general have driven up prices, and I don’t blame homeowners for asking what the market will bear. My fear, of course, is that we’ll be priced out and have to find somewhere new to sail … not a prospect I relish, let me tell you.

This spring, we’re having the standing rigging replaced down at Obexer’s, and Splendido is buttoned up tight under her shrink-wrap coat, waiting for spring to truly arrive. It snowed yesterday, with winds in the 45-60 range, so we’re not quite there, weather-wise. I’m starting to get excited about sailing once again, though it’s tempered by a bit of anxiety with this new wrinkle. But I believe everything will work out … fingers crossed. If you hear of anything, let me know.

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

Back On Lake Tahoe After 634 Days

On June 20, 2021July 18, 2022 By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Mechanical Stuff, On The Water, Splendido1 Comment

It feels awesome to have Splendido back out on Tahoe. Tracy and I launched her last Wednesday, June 16, and had a relatively smooth time of it. Launching every year is an exercise in project management—I had a three page pre-launch checklist, and still, we somehow lost a shroud turnbuckle on the drive up. Tracy, who started his working life as an iron worker before earning his degree in civil engineering, pulled out some high-tension wire and rigged a temporary latticework wiring to hold the shroud in place while we put in an order for a replacement turnbuckle. It was a work of art.

There’s a new rigger at Obexer’s named Pete Lewis, a mechanical engineer by training and a helpful guy. He put the order in for the new turnbuckle, and he and I got to talking about rigging in general—which made me think about the last time Splendido’s standing rigging was replaced. Short answer: I don’t know. So, that is also on the list for fall 2021.

I actually had a lot of fun getting her ready to sail last week, but I had to laugh—after more than a year and a half on the hard, a robin had made a beautiful, elaborate nest in the anchor locker! I just discovered it when Debbie and I went up yesterday to install the 150 genoa and attach the lines to the newly-tailored lazy bag. I gently picked up the tangle of hay, feathers and broken egg shells and set it out on the water—an avian Kon Tiki that gently floated away.

As soon as we get the new turnbuckle delivered and installed, it’s sail time. Grateful to our new buoy owner, Chris Champas, and hoping that the summer fire season is mild. Fingers crossed—South Lake Tahoe hit 91 degrees last week … six degrees warmer than the last same-day record of 85 degrees, set in 1985.

And, as happens when launching, I dropped a brand-new $38 impeller over the side at our buoy. It will be the first thing I dive for when I get my PADI scuba certification in mid-July.

Fair winds and following seas! DB

Getting the old girl ready to splash

On June 12, 2021July 18, 2022 By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, Splendido1 Comment

Life is what happens while you’re making other plans. 😀 I had all but despaired of not being able to sail this summer because the influx of folks at Tahoe during the pandemic meant that buoys were scarce, and competition for them was fierce. After putting out feelers for buoys since February with zero results, Debbie and I had begun making plans to do other things—road trips to rural Nevada, hiking, biking, etc.—in lieu of sailing. Last Saturday, out of the blue, our old buoy owner reached out to say his neighbor had a buoy for rent, just 40 yards from where we’ve been moored for the past few years.

Now, the push is on to get the boat ready for launching next week. Fingers crossed—she is dusty and dirty and I have a list of 36 pre-sailing checks to do. I’ll shoot a little video to try to capture the fun.

I cannot express how excited I am to get out on the water again.

Fair winds and following seas! DB

Back in the Boatyard

On December 6, 2020July 18, 2022 By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, Splendido1 Comment

Splendido is nearly 28 years old and it’s time for me to get after some refitting projects this winter. I am continually inspired by SV Delos skipper Brian Trautman (a fellow UW grad) not just for the cruising lifestyle but also for the hard work he puts in maintaining his 53-ft. Amel Super Maramu.

What I like best about the SV Delos video series—apart from the beautiful locales and fun adventures—is the accurate depictions about the amount of effort it takes to keep things ship-shape. So, duly inspired, I have a list of things I’m going to attack this winter:

Tailoring the lazy bag to fit the sail more snugly—hopefully with less windage
Checking all the standing rigging for signs of wear
Removing all the brightwork that needs refinishing and getting that done in the garage
Light sanding and repainting the trailer, which got pretty scuffed up in recent years
Changing the oil and filters in the Perkins Perama diesel
Polishing the fuel so it’s ready for spring sailing
Replacing the incandescent bulbs with more LED lights to reduce battery drain when boat camping
Repacking the rudder shaft stuffing box
When it warms up, touching up the gel coat
And a bunch more stuff I haven’t thought of yet.

A special shout-out to Ancil Sigman of Le Crapaud fame for letting me work on Splendido at his place this winter. Thanks, Ancil!

I’m also stoked to discover that Brian Trautman’s brother Brady Trautman and his partner Alex Blue (and their new rescue pup, Sharky) have settled for the time being at Lake Tahoe. They’ve launched a new business called Cruisers Academy and have a small fleet of Catalinas at Tahoe offering lessons for all levels. They are both accomplished scuba divers as well, and they’re offering dive adventures next year, starting with what looks to be an epic adventure for more advanced divers in the Galapagos Islands. As an SV Delos fan and supporter, I hope to see them out on the water in 2021. Welcome to the Tahoe sailing community, Brady and Blue (and Sharky, too)!

The pandemic—and my struggles with anxiety related to it—have got me thinking about how I would like to live my life with more adventure and fun in the future. I’ve decided to get a PADI Open Water Diver certification as soon as it’s safe, so hopefully I can participate in the Clean Up The Lake diving project in 2021. I’m also learning video shooting and editing to bring more short videos to this blog, so keep an eye out. I’ll start with simple GoPro videos about my projects this winter as I dip my toes in the water.

In the meantime, mask up, stay safe, and drop a note in the comments below about how you like the blog and what kind of content you’d like to see more of. As this crazy year draws to a close, Debbie and I wish you health, happiness and peace—and optimism for better days ahead.

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

Once again to Emerald Bay

On November 17, 2019November 17, 2019 By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, On The Water, Ports Of Call, SplendidoLeave a comment

On Sept. 14, our last sail of the season, Jamie Filbin and I cruised down to Emerald Bay on a glorious Saturday morning. Lake Tahoe has rarely looked more magnificent, and we pretty much had the lake to ourselves as we made our way south about 11 miles to the entrance of the bay.

Before we set out, we pulled Splendido up to a nearby public dock and offloaded a bunch of stuff for the winter – spare anchor, chain and rode; pillows; blankets and linens; kitchen supplies and bathroom décor; basically, anything that wasn’t nailed down. To me, it always feels like Splendido springs to life when she’s lightened of all the boat-camping gear. She’s a little livelier, a little more “yar,” as they say.

When we got to the entrance of Emerald Bay, it seemed like every boater left on the lake had had the same idea. These photos don’t show it so much, but there were dozens of boats hanging around Fannette Island, anchors down, girls sunning themselves on the backs of speedboats, guys trolling around, admiring the scenery.

The wind came up and we had a strong sail back north with the wind on the quarter. We averaged 6 knots all the way home, and Splendido sailed like a champ.

Once we tied up, Jamie and took off the sails and boom and stored them below for the winter ahead. I’d scheduled a pull-out later that week, so this was the last hurrah for the season.

Grateful for every day on the water, and for friends to share it with.

Fair winds and smooth sailing, until next time. DB

Final Touches for a 2019 Launch

On June 22, 2019 By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, SplendidoLeave a comment

We’ve had a rainier and stormier spring this year, which led to my cancelling our mid-May launch of Splendido and gave me a little more time to get her ready this year. My buddy Jamie helped me change the tires on the trailer, polish her up and put a nice coat of wax on so our 26-year old girl can shine.

I messed up our logo when doing some gel coat repairs.

I noticed a few small chips in the gel coat this spring, likely caused by small rocks thrown up during trailering the boat down from Tahoe, so I tried my hand at gel coat repair this year. After watching a couple of YouTube™ videos, I mustered the courage to start, and found it to be a pretty interesting process – and all in all, easier than I had anticipated. One of the side effects, though, was that when I removed the protective blue painter’s tape I had placed around my gel coat repairs, I inadvertently took off some of the hand-lettering paint that my good friend Lane Walker of Solo Signs had put on about eight years ago.

The man is a magician when it comes to sign painting and hand-lettering work.

In my eyes, Lane Walker is a living legend in the art of pinstriping and hand-lettering. I met him about 30 years ago when I worked for Harrah’s corporate advertising department and he worked for an outfit called Silver Dollar Signs hand-painting casino showcards and signage. After Silver Dollar closed its doors, Lane struck out on his own with Solo Signs, and has a bustling practice painting long-haul trucks and doing custom designs and pinstriping work for hotrodders, custom motorcycle embellishments, and all manner of hand-painted restoration projects.

Watching Lane work is a joy. He hand-mixes and matches colors before your very eyes, and the accuracy is uncanny. He explained to me his collection of brushes made from the hairs of a particular Russian squirrel, and the virtues of now-banned lead paint, which flowed like a dream off his brushes and “wore like iron,” in contrast to today’s differently formulated paints.

In about 45 minutes, Lane restored Splendido’s logo to like-new, and a quick polish and coat of wax will make her ready for launching.

Jamie helping swap the tires on the trailer.

Ready for launching at Obexer’s Lake Tahoe.

tracy-and-david-launch-2019 — Post-launch lunch at The Bridgetender in Tahoe City with Tracy Hieber.

We splashed the boat on June 21^st and the launch went fine, although writing this a day after, I am sore and tired from the effort. I am grateful to Lane and Jamie and Debbie and Tracy and the folks at Obexer’s for all their help, and looking forward to sailing with all of them on the great sheet of blue water called Lake Tahoe.

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

A Strong Start To The 2018 Season

On July 7, 2018 By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, On The Water, Overnighters, SplendidoLeave a comment

First, a word of thanks to my friends who helped make commissioning a lot easier this season: To Michael Salley, who generously let me store Splendido in his industrial yard, with access to water and electricity (and a forklift!), I am much beholden; it allowed us to get everything ship-shape in record time. To Jamie Filbin, my dear friend, fellow adventurer and sailing enthusiast, I am deeply indebted for the many hours of prep help, cleaning and waxing the hull (thank goodness for Collinite), helping paint the bottom and (this is where the forklift comes in), knowing how to drive one so we could lift the mast up 13 feet from the sawhorses it was resting on while we checked the rigging, replaced the halyards, and rebuilt the masthead.

Owning a sailboat in her prime (Splendido turns 25 this year) has its challenges, and one of them is parts wearing out and needing to be replaced. Notice that I was careful not to say “older” or “aged” sailboat – I am reminded of my favorite Aubrey/Maturin stories written by Patrick O’Brian:

Dr. Stephen Maturin: By comparison, the Surprise is a somewhat aged man-o-war. Am I not correct?

Captain Jack Aubrey: Would you call me an aged man-o-war, doctor? The Surprise is not old; no one would call her old. She has a bluff bow, lovely lines. She’s a fine seabird: weatherly, stiff and fast… very fast, if she’s well handled. No, she’s not old; she’s in her prime.

One of this year’s challenges was to repair, replace, or fabricate the masthead divider plate for our weatherly, stiff and (relatively) fast Splendido. Our masthead divider plate had worn out – had broken, in fact – and so I contacted Catalina Yachts in Florida and they searched the warehouse and couldn’t find anything that would work. So, I had to fabricate it myself, which was not difficult, and I actually enjoyed the challenge of finding the proper type of plastic and doing the engineering drawings and making the thing whole again. While I was at it, I also replaced two of the Delrin masthead sheaves (as well as the ones for the deck organizers, which had worn flat spots in them after all these years).

Once we launched the boat, I noticed a slow drip coming out of the sea water pump when it was running. Jamie and I pulled the pump, examined it, and couldn’t figure out why it was dripping. I got on the phone with the kind folks from Transatlantic Diesel, and they said it was probably the seals that had worn out. So, one evening over beer and pretzels, my engineer/brother-in-law Tracy and I disassembled the pump, replaced the seals I bought from TAD, and it’s been running like a top ever since. (Thanks, Tracy!)

Sailing? Why yes, the point of all this activity was to actually get out on the water. Long story short, the sailing has been great. Here’s a quick YouTube™ link to perhaps our best sailing day, June 25th, with Splendido rocking out in 21 knots of wind, racing southwards at 6.5 knots plus for miles on end.

On more normal sailing days, with 10 – 15 knot Zephyrs, Debbie and I have gone out and enjoyed gentler sails. On the eve of July Fourth, we had a wonderful sail with one reef in the mainsail and about 50% of the genoa out, which took us to our favorite gunkhole toward the south end of Sugar Pine State Park. There, we saw Terry Wasik and his 41-foot Hunter, Cheeseburger in Paradise, with the hook down, settling in for the night. We dropped the hook about 75 yards away and grilled steaks on the Magma BBQ while the sun sank in the western sky. As the sky darkened, we saw the flashes of fireworks at King’s Beach on the north shore, and sat on the deck enjoying the show.

Once again, I am filled with gratitude at the gift of friends, this lake, this boat, and being healthy and able to enjoy it all. To my fellow sailors, I have a deep appreciation for all the hard work, headaches, and heartburn that goes into pursuing our shared passion for life under sail. What’s remarkable to me is that every season, getting out on the water, trimming the sails, and cruising along with one foot on on the wheel and the wind in your hair is like a magical amnesiac that makes all the effort worthwhile.

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

Dude, What Happened To The 2017 Season?

On April 29, 2018 By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, On The Water, Overnighters, Splendido4 Comments

I didn’t post much last year (actually, I posted only once), and for the past six months, I’ve been thinking about why that was. The truth is, last season was a bit rough for Splendido, but we still had a lot of fun when we did manage to get out on the water. So here’s the story, belated though it may be:

At first, I thought the season was going to be a breeze. Spring commissioning went really well, with lots of new upgrades, including a new mainsail, lazy bag, and lazy jacks, Raytheon wirelesss instruments, and new Navy Blue Krypton bottom paint, too. But then…

I noticed hairline cracks in the fiberglass in the bilge area made me nervous (this does not take a lot, as friends can affirm). After grinding out the cracks and thoroughly inspecting everything, I realized the repair was beyond my comfort level, so I took Splendido to my local fiberglass expert. A cool $950 later (ouch!), she was better than new. The repairs set us back a few weeks, so we didn’t launch until nearly July. So there’s that. Then…

Wildland fires in California made the lake basin smoky for a good part of the season, so that cut into our sailing time a bit.

Thunderstorms kept us guessing for a fair amount of the season about when and where to sail.

The weather patterns seemed different, although they made for some very interesting cloud formations. I believe the clouds shown here are called mammatus clouds, and they form on the underside of anvil clouds. They have a particular beauty, especially when the sun hits them at a low angle.

When the sailing was good, it was epic, and so I tended to try to squeeze every drop out of it. Hence, the burkha-like headgear to protect my pale skin from Tahoe’s high-elevation rays.

Boat camping was a standard weekend activity for us when conditions permitted. We enjoyed a number of two-night stays at anchor, often rowing in to shore to take walks and explore Tahoe’s forests and glades.

Sometimes you can sail in the morning at Tahoe. One weekend when Debbie was hanging out with one of her girlfriends at our home in Reno, I spent two nights on the boat. This shot is of a 7 a.m. sail northwards, just ghosting along at about 2-3 knots with a gentle westerly.

Other mornings, you just hang out and enjoy the beauty of a quiet anchorage while you sip your morning coffee.

In August, the water was warm enough for swimming, and Debbie and I did a lot of swimming off of Sugar Pine State Park.

Debbie is getting a lot more comfortable being skipper, although she clearly still doesn’t like having her photo taken.

A rare easterly storm in late September shook my brand-new wireless Raytheon wind instruments off the mast and tossed them in the drink. Because Splendido was on her mooring ball when this happened, I knew they had to be somewhere within a 50-yard radius of the ball. So, on a placid day in mid October I donned a wetsuit, gloves, hood, flippers and mask and tried to find this precious gear somewhere on the lake floor. After two hours of diving and chilled to the bone (the water was 50 degrees F.), I spotted a glint in the muck at about 25 feet deep. I broke an eardrum and got a bloody nose because I didn’t clear my ears properly, but I got the d@#ned instruments. Best of all, they still worked after spending three weeks in the water.

Royal blue is not Navy blue I loved how good the Total Boat Krypton Navy blue paint looked on Splendido at the beginning of the season (see the first photo at the top of this post), but I didn’t buy quite enough, so I ordered another gallon about a month after I bought the first gallon. The day before we launched, I touched up a few areas on the hull, and the color looked normal when it was applied over the rest of the Navy blue. However, when we pulled the boat at the end of the season, I was stunned to see that the “touch up” part was actually Royal and not Navy blue. I called Jamestown Distributors to tell them they were putting the wrong color in the Navy cans, but they thought I was hallucinating – until I showed them what the hull looked like. They sent me another can, free of charge – and it, too, was labeled Navy but filled with Royal blue paint. Bottom line, I guess Splendido will be sporting a Royal bottom this year. Word to the wise: Always buy your paint at the same time – and check the cans!

Fair winds and smooth sailing, DB

Sailing Lake Tahoe on a good old boat

Category: Commissioning & De-commissioning

High and Dry: Diving into Winter Projects

At least the wind is free

On the hunt for a buoy at Tahoe

Back On Lake Tahoe After 634 Days

Getting the old girl ready to splash

Back in the Boatyard

Once again to Emerald Bay

Final Touches for a 2019 Launch

A Strong Start To The 2018 Season

Dude, What Happened To The 2017 Season?

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