"We bought a Bus!"
Actually, we bought an Allegro Bus RV. A few months back, we decided to buy an RV and get on the road. Though we still have Lasata, we will be taking a cross country trip in the RV before returning to the Keys.
Lasata, has been a bit lonely over the past year and a half, but we have been keeping up with her and will be moving her back to the Keys when we return from our road trip.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Friday, September 2, 2016
Our WP Blog:
It's been a while, actually I forgot I had this blog in effect. We've actually been keeping up using another blog (our WordPress page). Although we are in Key West now, we have had many adventures since the last update on this Blogspot. Have a look here for our WordPress page and catch up on our travels.
FYI; we are getting ready to move again, so stay tuned.
Islandwanderings.com
FYI; we are getting ready to move again, so stay tuned.
Islandwanderings.com
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Key West to DR
Here we are; waiting for parts in the Dominican Republic. Nothing major, just a cable and auto pilot motor... But a pain none the less.
So, it took us almost two months of island hopping and waiting for weather to arrive into the Dominican Republic; our first Caribbean stop outside of the US and Bahamas. The "Thorny Path" is definitely "THORNY". We've been struggling against wind and wave every step of the way so far.
This next passage is our next milestone; the Mona Passage. We'll be trying to take on one more crew member, and watch the weather very carefully for the best weather window possible. Stay tuned, we'll update from Puerto Rico!
Puerto Plata was our first stop to check into DR.
Waiting for parts in Samana
So, it took us almost two months of island hopping and waiting for weather to arrive into the Dominican Republic; our first Caribbean stop outside of the US and Bahamas. The "Thorny Path" is definitely "THORNY". We've been struggling against wind and wave every step of the way so far.
This next passage is our next milestone; the Mona Passage. We'll be trying to take on one more crew member, and watch the weather very carefully for the best weather window possible. Stay tuned, we'll update from Puerto Rico!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Anything worth doing once is worth doing; twice,... three times...?
Here we are, a few months since our last major haul out; and we're doing it again. This time at Lauderdale Marine Center, where we'll be getting a new prop shaft, and cutlass bearing. At least that was the plan...
As we hauled the boat so that we could set her down on her keel, and verify the torque as well as fair the keel with a flexible epoxy barrier, we found a TERRIBLE bottom. Full of more barnakles than I've ever seen, we found that we needed to do the bottom as well. This turned a one week $1000 job into a two week $2,000 job.
In the end, it was basically worth it even though we had some issues with the rear portion of the keel "again!"... We're definitely going to become expert at this repair, eventually. The next time we do this, I am deffinitely going to enlist the help of a machinist to fabricate an impressive keel plate; to hell with what Beneteau says, we're going big and we're going thick. Once we torque this puppy down, it will not move!
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Overhauling!
The Joy of a Thirty Year Old Boat
Lasata was purchased nearly 14 years ago, and has been a great boat for me. I've done numerous upgrades and have tried my best at keeping her in the best shape possible. The new Genoa 150 and new standing rigging last year are the simplest examples of what seems to be a regular upgrade routine. After all she is a thirty year old boat, and things are bound to need attention (even on newer boats).
Lasata presented us with a pesky leak shortly after leaving from the SSCA Gam in Maryland this year. I was unsure of where exactly this leak was, however by the time we were two days into an offshore run south of Beaufort, NC I knew we had to address the situation. Thoughts of an episode where the anchor came loose and banged it's way down the boat, and possible leaking exhaust hoses came to mind. However it would need to wait until we were in Fort Lauderdale before any more attention would be given. After all the bilge pump was easily keeping up... mostly.
Best of Intentions, maintenance wise...
After making our way to Loggerhead Marina in Hollywood, we were settled in and began taking stock of what would be needed for the trip to the Bahamas. First on the list; the leak! Followed by other items like "re-Power" , "rebuild" or "nothing", and provisioning ofcourse. So, we promptly set off on pulling the boat into a DIY Yard "Playboy Marine". This is a yard I will not be using anytime in the future; a topic for another time.
Pulling the boat it became instantly obvious the issue was the rear portion of the keel, as it hung 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the hull. This is not good, and is very likely the cause of the leak. Once on jack stands, I went to work to check the torque on the aft set of bolts. As disappointed as I was to find the bolt rotted away below the hull, I was happy that it appeared to be the only bolt affected. Mind you, every one of the fourteen bolts were replaced by a yard in Maryland five years ago. Just goes to show, you need to keep an eye on everything.
I went off to get some expert advice, and very quickly found plenty to go around. Everyone seems to have extravagant ideas on how to fix something as simple as a rotted bolt. The most outrageous idea was to use a plasma torch and cut a section from the aft edge of the keel and run bolts through the cut off section. Beneteau insisted the only way to do it was to drop the keel. The ideas were totally out of the question for me. One was too extreme and the other too time consuming, we needed to get to the Bahamas.
Temporary repair and repaint the bottom.
Sometimes a quick and easy fix is just what is needed to get the job done, while allowing one the time to evaluate possible long-term solutions. Thankfully I was able to get the broken bolt out of the keel without removing it, saving lots of time and heartache. Much to the surprise of the local boatyard contractors, all it took was a steady hand, patience, and a little know how.
The first thing was to clean the jagged remains of the bolt. Using a Dremel and a small cylindrical grinding head, I smoothed the top of the bolt flat. This left a small ring where the outline of the bolt was visible against the outline of the threads cut into the keel. Next I simply drilled a hole, starting from the smallest diameter working my way to a hole large enough to set an "EZ-Out" screw extractor. Lucky for me, the yard I paid to do this job did use a generous amount of Anti-Seize compound and the bolt came out without incident.
The fix lasted
With a new bolt and flexible epoxy patch along the exterior of the keel joint, the fix lasted allowing us to take three months to cruise the Bahamas. It wasn't without incident, and we did have a small leak because the aft section of the keel seems to want to drop away from the hull, no matter how tightly we torque the bolt. But the leak was not so bad that we stopped our trip.
We dropped the keel
Arriving back in Miami, the nuisance of the leaking keel bolt was to be attended to once and for all. We took a quick break, and began looking for a DIY Yard to handle our keel issue. First up was to find a place where asking for a "Keel Cradle" wasn't met with blank stares. We found one a hundred miles north of Miami. Cracker Boy was a much improved DIY experience over Playboy, and we'll make sure everyone we hear talking about Playboy knows the difference going forward.
Unnerving as it were, dropping the keel was an experience worthy of note. There is nothing so reassuring as knowing every inch of your boat, and I'd bet there are not many boat owners who have pulled their boat so far apart as to separate the boat from the keel, the mast from the boat, and the engine from the engine compartment; simultaneously.
Our Facebook page has a set of pictures we took of this experience here.
We are re-powered
Lasata was built in 1984, and was most likely delivered equipped with a 20 HP Volvo Penta diesel engine. At some point the previous owner replaced that beast with a 13 HP 2GM Yanmar; a more civilized looking engine in my opinion. Lasata was mostly under-powered in my opinion. So with a Yanmar showing age, and the evident lack of power, it was time to put a new freshwater cooled 20 HP engine back in the boat. Enter; the Yanmar 3YM20, a nice quiet smooth three cylinder diesel which is sure to provide many years of reliable service.
With all this new stuff, and major maintenance, we have a new Boat Survey! Great news, the boat is worth a couple thousand more than I paid for it fifteen years ago. The only hits on the survey were very minor; one was to install a high-water alarm, and the other was to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Not bad...
Pulling the boat it became instantly obvious the issue was the rear portion of the keel, as it hung 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the hull. This is not good, and is very likely the cause of the leak. Once on jack stands, I went to work to check the torque on the aft set of bolts. As disappointed as I was to find the bolt rotted away below the hull, I was happy that it appeared to be the only bolt affected. Mind you, every one of the fourteen bolts were replaced by a yard in Maryland five years ago. Just goes to show, you need to keep an eye on everything.
I went off to get some expert advice, and very quickly found plenty to go around. Everyone seems to have extravagant ideas on how to fix something as simple as a rotted bolt. The most outrageous idea was to use a plasma torch and cut a section from the aft edge of the keel and run bolts through the cut off section. Beneteau insisted the only way to do it was to drop the keel. The ideas were totally out of the question for me. One was too extreme and the other too time consuming, we needed to get to the Bahamas.
Temporary repair and repaint the bottom.
Sometimes a quick and easy fix is just what is needed to get the job done, while allowing one the time to evaluate possible long-term solutions. Thankfully I was able to get the broken bolt out of the keel without removing it, saving lots of time and heartache. Much to the surprise of the local boatyard contractors, all it took was a steady hand, patience, and a little know how.
The first thing was to clean the jagged remains of the bolt. Using a Dremel and a small cylindrical grinding head, I smoothed the top of the bolt flat. This left a small ring where the outline of the bolt was visible against the outline of the threads cut into the keel. Next I simply drilled a hole, starting from the smallest diameter working my way to a hole large enough to set an "EZ-Out" screw extractor. Lucky for me, the yard I paid to do this job did use a generous amount of Anti-Seize compound and the bolt came out without incident.
The fix lasted
With a new bolt and flexible epoxy patch along the exterior of the keel joint, the fix lasted allowing us to take three months to cruise the Bahamas. It wasn't without incident, and we did have a small leak because the aft section of the keel seems to want to drop away from the hull, no matter how tightly we torque the bolt. But the leak was not so bad that we stopped our trip.
We dropped the keel
Arriving back in Miami, the nuisance of the leaking keel bolt was to be attended to once and for all. We took a quick break, and began looking for a DIY Yard to handle our keel issue. First up was to find a place where asking for a "Keel Cradle" wasn't met with blank stares. We found one a hundred miles north of Miami. Cracker Boy was a much improved DIY experience over Playboy, and we'll make sure everyone we hear talking about Playboy knows the difference going forward.
Unnerving as it were, dropping the keel was an experience worthy of note. There is nothing so reassuring as knowing every inch of your boat, and I'd bet there are not many boat owners who have pulled their boat so far apart as to separate the boat from the keel, the mast from the boat, and the engine from the engine compartment; simultaneously.
Our Facebook page has a set of pictures we took of this experience here.
We are re-powered
Lasata was built in 1984, and was most likely delivered equipped with a 20 HP Volvo Penta diesel engine. At some point the previous owner replaced that beast with a 13 HP 2GM Yanmar; a more civilized looking engine in my opinion. Lasata was mostly under-powered in my opinion. So with a Yanmar showing age, and the evident lack of power, it was time to put a new freshwater cooled 20 HP engine back in the boat. Enter; the Yanmar 3YM20, a nice quiet smooth three cylinder diesel which is sure to provide many years of reliable service.
With all this new stuff, and major maintenance, we have a new Boat Survey! Great news, the boat is worth a couple thousand more than I paid for it fifteen years ago. The only hits on the survey were very minor; one was to install a high-water alarm, and the other was to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Not bad...
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Boat Improvements:
Living and working aboard on a small, older sailboat.
The 1984 Beneteau First 345 is classified as a cruiser/racer and even with the shoal draft of 5 1/2 feet performs well to windward. Though 30 years old, this boat performs very well, is well built, and continues to serve us well. Most recent upgrades, specifically the new 21 HP Yanmar diesel, ensures that we'll very likely keep the boat for years to come.
On a recent sail with some new friends who are potentially interested in "getting into sailing and buying a boat of their own" I was asked how much work is it, really? I tried my best to convey that boat projects are endless, and for those who don't mind working on boats and value craftsmanship, the 1984 Beneteau will not disappoint, as will many older boats.
I've owned Lasata for nearly 15 years and have meticulously maintained, and done many upgrades.Though I haven't always done a good job of chronicling the meriad projects, I do have some online history of the projects. Here are the projects as I remember them;
Keel (2014)
Repower (2014)
Standing Rigging (2013)
Running Rigging (2007)
Air Conditioning (2009)
Interior Overhead (2008)
V-Berth Bulkhead (2008)
New Genoa 150% (2013)
New / Used Main (2012)
New Curtains (2014)
New Cultass (2011)
New Electronics (2011)
At some point, I'll try to find the photographs taken along the way showing some detail of my past projects. I only wish I hadn't done so many projects completely alone so that I might have been able to better provide a photographic accounting.
The 1984 Beneteau First 345 is classified as a cruiser/racer and even with the shoal draft of 5 1/2 feet performs well to windward. Though 30 years old, this boat performs very well, is well built, and continues to serve us well. Most recent upgrades, specifically the new 21 HP Yanmar diesel, ensures that we'll very likely keep the boat for years to come.
On a recent sail with some new friends who are potentially interested in "getting into sailing and buying a boat of their own" I was asked how much work is it, really? I tried my best to convey that boat projects are endless, and for those who don't mind working on boats and value craftsmanship, the 1984 Beneteau will not disappoint, as will many older boats.
I've owned Lasata for nearly 15 years and have meticulously maintained, and done many upgrades.Though I haven't always done a good job of chronicling the meriad projects, I do have some online history of the projects. Here are the projects as I remember them;
Keel (2014)
Repower (2014)
Standing Rigging (2013)
Running Rigging (2007)
Air Conditioning (2009)
Interior Overhead (2008)
V-Berth Bulkhead (2008)
New Genoa 150% (2013)
New / Used Main (2012)
New Curtains (2014)
New Cultass (2011)
New Electronics (2011)
At some point, I'll try to find the photographs taken along the way showing some detail of my past projects. I only wish I hadn't done so many projects completely alone so that I might have been able to better provide a photographic accounting.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Regatta & Round Trip between Biscayne & Key West
Coconut Grove Sailing Club Commodores Cup
New Spinnaker, new'ish crew & a windward-leeward race on Biscayne Bay netted Lasata 6th place. This simple fun club race was a great time on the water and a good learning experience. The crew; John Stein, Kristin Parsons, Stacie, and me handled a fouled Spinnaker and two late starts with a minimum of stress.
Before the race, I had some time to put together our crew shirts,
Awards Ceremony
After the day of racing, we were treated to a keg and some awards back at the club. Tying Lasata to the dock, starting the Air Conditioner, and resting for the evening before we embark on our round trip to Key West. Though sixth place didn't warrant a prize of any kind, we had a good night of meeting some new friends.
Key West Trip
Day one of our trip to Key west, we were able to do some practice Spinnaker sets and had two interesting events. The first event was that a small private Cessna crashed into the water just a few miles behind us. The second was a crazy lightning storm near Duck Key.
At approximately 11pm we were heading to a rush anchor job near Duck Key to batten down and hang on through a fast passing, very exciting lightning storm. Though we dragged anchor a little more than a 100 feet, we dragged in the correct direction. Simply a matter of luck; giving us the opportunity to learn something about weather positioning. We are now well aware that we need a weather eye and constantly updated contingency planning for weather.
Wake up & run to Key West
Waking up at 2:45 am and making the final run to Key West was a joy and though we motor sailed most of the way, John and I were able to spend a few hours sailing at a good speed. Arriving into Key West 12 hours later, we were at Margaritaville having a couple of Loaded Land Shark beers. At one time this was a favorite and traditional way to start the Key West experience. ...Not feeling it so much anymore.
Sleepy Key West evening
As John went out for a walk into town, Stacie and I couldn't help but lying down for a long nap. I'm sure it made for a very atypical Key West visit, but it's how we seem to be doing it this way everywhere we go lately. Sailing just takes it out of us, boaters midnight has become a normal way we spend our evenings.
Oil Change, refuel, and ready to go
After a good breakfast, we headed off to get supplies for our oil change and prep the boat for the 24 hour return to Coconut Grove. I guess I should have drained the Fuel/Oil separator, it would have helped the engine 14 hours later in the trip. It seemed we were starving the engine, and a quick drain-off of the resivouir had the engine running well enough, but I was a little too late for us to regain full power.
Looks like I'll be changing the fuel filters in Coconut Grove.
Can't wait for our next Key's adventure. Maybe we'll have more than a weekend?
New Spinnaker, new'ish crew & a windward-leeward race on Biscayne Bay netted Lasata 6th place. This simple fun club race was a great time on the water and a good learning experience. The crew; John Stein, Kristin Parsons, Stacie, and me handled a fouled Spinnaker and two late starts with a minimum of stress.
Before the race, I had some time to put together our crew shirts,
After the day of racing, we were treated to a keg and some awards back at the club. Tying Lasata to the dock, starting the Air Conditioner, and resting for the evening before we embark on our round trip to Key West. Though sixth place didn't warrant a prize of any kind, we had a good night of meeting some new friends.
Key West Trip
Day one of our trip to Key west, we were able to do some practice Spinnaker sets and had two interesting events. The first event was that a small private Cessna crashed into the water just a few miles behind us. The second was a crazy lightning storm near Duck Key.
At approximately 11pm we were heading to a rush anchor job near Duck Key to batten down and hang on through a fast passing, very exciting lightning storm. Though we dragged anchor a little more than a 100 feet, we dragged in the correct direction. Simply a matter of luck; giving us the opportunity to learn something about weather positioning. We are now well aware that we need a weather eye and constantly updated contingency planning for weather.
Wake up & run to Key West
Waking up at 2:45 am and making the final run to Key West was a joy and though we motor sailed most of the way, John and I were able to spend a few hours sailing at a good speed. Arriving into Key West 12 hours later, we were at Margaritaville having a couple of Loaded Land Shark beers. At one time this was a favorite and traditional way to start the Key West experience. ...Not feeling it so much anymore.
Sleepy Key West evening
As John went out for a walk into town, Stacie and I couldn't help but lying down for a long nap. I'm sure it made for a very atypical Key West visit, but it's how we seem to be doing it this way everywhere we go lately. Sailing just takes it out of us, boaters midnight has become a normal way we spend our evenings.
Oil Change, refuel, and ready to go
After a good breakfast, we headed off to get supplies for our oil change and prep the boat for the 24 hour return to Coconut Grove. I guess I should have drained the Fuel/Oil separator, it would have helped the engine 14 hours later in the trip. It seemed we were starving the engine, and a quick drain-off of the resivouir had the engine running well enough, but I was a little too late for us to regain full power.
Looks like I'll be changing the fuel filters in Coconut Grove.
Can't wait for our next Key's adventure. Maybe we'll have more than a weekend?
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