O'Day Sailing Log 2012

May 26, 2012

I put the boat in the water today for the first time this year. So I've done much better than last year.

My niece Shelly and her husband Mark and father Randy came. Shelly wanted to learn how to rig the boat, so we went through the whole thing.

Got the boat in the water with out a hitch, but then I had a problem with the engine. The fuel line fitting on the end of the hose at the engine was leaking. The engine wouldn't run right. I couldn't take the choke off. I struggled with that going out and coming back. Once we had the sails up, everything was fine and we had a nice sail the entire length of the lake and back.

I went back home, got a bite to eat and then John & Liz and Austin met me at the lake and we went out for a little bit. Not too long. A one year old gets antsy pretty quick, but we had a nice little sail and had a good time.

The sun was scorching hot and I got a nice burn on my arms.

May 28, 2012

This morning my neighbor Bo and my daughter Laura and grandson Carter went out. We sailed pretty quickly to the dam with the wind out of the South.

When we turned around to come back, the wind shifted more to the South West and we had to tack much of the way back up the lake. Bo and I enjoyed the sailing but I think it lasted too long to suit Laura.

I got back home about 2PM and my dad arrived. I got a quick bite to eat and dad & I went back to the lake with the trailer. We took a short cruise - it was Dad's first time on a sail boat. After the sail, he helped me put it back on the trailer, take the mast down and pack it up for home.

May 28, 2012
Check lists needed

On Saturday I pulled the boat to the marina and as I was on the way, I thought, "I wonder if I secured the mast pivot pin or just left it laying on top of the mast pulpit?" When I arrived, I checked the mast pulpit - no pin. I checked the foot of the mast - no pin. Uh oh! I started looking around the deck. On the starboard side laying against the toe rail I found the pin. On the port side, against the toe rail I found the cotter ring. Very lucky.

Today, when I got ready to leave home with the trailer to get the boat, I pulled it part way out of the garage and hooked it onto the truck. I got in a watched the trailer in the mirrors as I started to leave. The left side was going to hit the garage door opening. So I got out, unhooked the trailer and discovered that I had left the trailer jack leg down. If I had been able to drive off, I might well have bent or broken the jack leg.

When we arrived at the marina, my dad picked up the key ring with all of the keys for the five pad locks on the boat and said, "Do you want these?" When I unlocked the trailer lock to adjust the trailer position in the garage at home I had laid the keys on the back bumper of the truck. They were there on the bumper all the way to the marina. Thankfully they never fell off. My dad asked me where the back up set is, and I told him, they are right there on the key ring. The locks that came with two set of keys have both keys right there on the key ring. How stupid.

When I dropped the mast and packed up to bring the boat home, what did I do with the mast pivot pin? I left it laying on the mast pulpit again. Fortunately again, I found it laying against the toe rail.

I really need to make a check list for each step of the rigging and transporting process.

I don't know how many times I've left the topping lift off the boom or left the boom vang on the boom when I'm trying to drop the main sail. I've dropped the boom onto folks in the cockpit more than once. Fortunately no one has been hurt. I'm not sure that I can follow a check list when raising and lowering the sails, but if I make one up, I'll at least have gone through the mental exercise of having a set process for raising and lowering the main.

August 26, 2012

I got out on Sunday PM for only about 45 minutues. It was a lot of work setting up and tearing down for just 45 minutes of sailing, and very little breeze at that. It's a long story how this came about and I'll spare you. But, this gave me a chance to check out my new checklists for trailing and raising and lowering the mast. There were mistakes I made that proved the value of the check lists. If I can get the lists just right and follow them, then I'll be able to rig and un-rig (?) for sailing in the most efficient and quickest amount of time. Here are the checklists that I have so far.

I also got to wondering how other O'Day 192 sailors raised the mast. I got a report from Matt, one of my virtual sailing buddies, then I put this page together to document how we do it.