A little about Reisender and the beginning of this adventure

At the time I met Scott I'd never been on a boat, other than a little john-boat on Moon Lake back in Florida when I was a kid. After a couple of months he suggested we go to the Strictly Sail St Pete show in Florida that November. This was all back in 2004. Side-Bar: Joey and DJ: Have fun it's a great show! OK, back to the story: We drove straight through from Greenville, SC. The show was wonderful, and the first time I stepped aboard a boat and sat down all I could think about was the gentle rocking motion of the boat. Amazing! I was hooked. We spent all day looking over all sorts of boat equipment and asking questions. Who knew that 7 months later we'd be owning our first boat, or that in 11 months we'd start the project that would become Reisender.

Well, we moved to Portland for a change in perspective and find an area where learning to sail was a bit safer. After purchasing a small boat we'd begun playing on weekends with her. Scott learning technical sailing and I being a bit more "off the cuff". It all worked perfectly, than Scott found a real cruising boat, a Newport 41 C&C. She was up in Seattle, we called the owner and drove up one weekend. She was a wreck of a burnt hull, but her lines were beautiful and we both saw amazing potential. It was gonna be a long, dirty job, but she needed us, or at least that's how I felt about her. She was purchased and shipped to Portland in October of 2005. Once she arrived the real work began. Scott and I both looked at her and just thought "What have we done?" A friend came by and started to help get's Scott's mind off all of it. They pressure washed and started hauling off damaged items. It would take us a full 3 years to get the last of the damaged things out of the boat. The immediate task was to come up with a plan. Logic dictated take on the worst first. Repair the cabin top and cockpit. We toyed with the idea of changing to a center cockpit, but it would ruin her lines, so we opted to keep her design very close to original. Over the winter, Scott learned to build the molds and what kind of materials to use. It was a very hard winter on both of us. Neither had lived in such a dark, cold climate for a very long time. With spring, we went to another boat show, and with summer began the actual reconstruction of what would be a total 6 year project (and on going).

Well, it appears I'm very good at laying fiberglass. Scott does well with solid, rigid materials (wood, metal, etc) and I the more fluid objects (clothe, fiberglass, etc). We'd work for 2 weeks straight laying up the coach house and then the dreaded day of fitting it in. IT FIT PERFECTLY!!!! Just a little trimming and she fell right into place. The most amazing part is Scott had to guess at the curve for the companionway. It was almost completely destroyed in the fire and crumbled to the touch. We also decided to add a little more interior space, so we popped that bulk head back by 6 inches. To a non-boater it doesn't sound like much, but on a boat every inch matters. With that done, we set to tackle the cockpit. It went much easier, except fall was approaching, which means rain in Portland. Fiberglass and rain don't really mix. Actually they hate each other. We had to be extremely careful on our timing, but we did it and again the cockpit slide right into place. With that done, it was time for a small break. We took our little boat and hauled it down to Mexico on a trailer. You should have seen us sleeping in here in a Wal-Mart parking lot! Ha!

When we returned it was time to remove and clean the toe-rails. Each one has 75 bolts, washers, and nuts. The auto industry back ground of Scott's really paid off here. Rather than caulking each of the 300 holes, he remembers a self sealing product used for attaching door panels to cars. It worked great. The first rain we found a few leaks, but nothing to serious and all we had to do was tighten them. Just some minor adjusting, and 5 years later coming down the coast we've found only 2 that leaked, again just a little tightening and we are water tight again. We started going to boat shows regularly and it was time to start shopping. The Oakland boat show, which is still our favorite, netted us 8 ports and one 24inch square hatch. All stainless steal and full of shine. It was time to attach the coach house and while I thought fiberglass work in general was a pain (not really the word I wanted to use) over head fiberglass work is the worst. You must paint on the resin on the surface, then paint the clothe, allow it to begin kicking, and press the two together and hope like heck it stay over head. It usually does, but it's not very fun. Oh, and by the way acetone and hair don't like each other. We've cleaned and cleared away, we've re-attached, and began to reshape, Year in... year out.

Then we started looking at the engine. She had a gas engine, in part as we understand the fire that happened aboard her, some of the fire was made worse by a gas can in the cockpit that the heat reached. It actually melted the boom in two. Well, we located a used Westerbeke 42 B engine outside of Seattle. We went up and the owner knew our boat, all boat owners love to talk about their boat. It was no surprise, she'd been racing in the Seattle area for decades. Well, it turns out the owner of the engine also had a Newport 41 and in the early 90's when he was looking at boats it was either the one he got or ours! What a coincidence. After even more talking to him, we found out he put this engine in the other boat because he didn't want a gas engine either.  This engine was meant for Reisender. After hauling her back, we set to finding the parts for a rebuild. The Westerbeke dealing wanted top dollars for parts. Being the frugal people we are, Scott did more research and found our engine is nothing but a Mitsubishi diesel. We started ordering the parts through a supplier and saved probably 30 to 40 percent. Then it was my turn to start thinking about the galley. I knew the stove I wanted, a Force 10 three burner, but at 1400 dollars a bit rich for the budget. Craigslist to the rescue. There happened to be one in Newport, CA for $300 plus shipping. Happy 37th birthday to me! Well, than came lights, and teak. The teak was another great score. We found a man on CL who was selling a bunch of teak trim for next to nothing. It's now ours. Then another friend came walking down the dock with an old teak hatch. "Did we want it?" "YES!!!! It was all weathered and grey, but now it's shinning and our new companionway steps. Three years ago, we decided it was time to move on board. We barely had half the living space ready, so we divided the interior in two, put in a temporary bulk head and moved in September 2008. We'd hoped to work on the boat that winter, but no such luck. That was the worst winter storm in 40 years. No more winters in OR for Scott or I after that. With spring, the boat was in full swing again. More details and the beginning of a galley for me. Scott got his desk back in the form of a nav-station. Then Scott had a detached retina and all came to a screeching halt. No more work that year. It was a 3 month total recovery, and fall set in. Finally, spring and work on the boat. The engine finally running, and painting on the outside and inside. For my birthday in 2010, I got running water (I actually cried) and a complete galley. We decided it was time to Christen our baby. So on June 26, 2010 she officially was re-named Reisender. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 to 60 people came. Friends came all the way from eastern Washington. We had great food, good fun, good memories, and a lot of pride in what we had done. There's a tradition that a female member of the boat builders family Christen the boat, well we'd hadn't any on the west coast and ask our friend Sherry to do it. Scott got soaked in Champagne and we lasted late into the night. Then as seems to be our luck, I broke my foot getting off the boat, and while work didn't stop this time, it did slow down, and we missed another deadline to leave. We watched friends leave and it was all so sad for us. So what did we do, we moved on. October of 2010 we stepped the mast. We took Reisender out of her slip for the first time and motored her to the yard and had the mast put in. Every time we do something we are like proud parents.

But, 2011 was our year. We started with finishing out settee backs and our bunk. Then installing the head, and a new teak cabin sole. Finally, decision time, we left McCuddy's Marina, we just went around the corner, but it was the beginning of the beginning for us. After a few days of running the engine while at anchor we decided to build a hard dodger to mount the solar panels on. With the help of a friend, Jeff, the design came out perfect. We then spent a month on the Columbia checking systems. The steering came next. We'd been using the emergency tiller up to that point, but after a rebuild of the system it all worked perfectly. I'm so proud of Scott. 6 years ago we barely knew anything about boats. We worked on Reisender up until the day to cross The Columbia River Bar. Up until two hours before cast off we were installing the compass and windscreen for the dodger. Well, September 6, 2011 we started our cruising life. It's been almost 3 months and we've learned a lot, and we done a lot of work. Would I do it all again, yes, differently, maybe, but I would do it all again....

Side Note: there is a lot of equipment not mentioned that has been updated, and a lot of equipment found, or donated by good friends, and work that I haven't mentioned. I think this blog is long enough, don't you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, the weather finally held for a few days and Scott and I made it to Catalina Island, after a lovely time with friends in Long Beach. Long Beach was a wonderful break for us. It's where Scott calls home and we spent a lot of time walking and re-visiting some old haunts of his. He is always so happy when we are able to visit there. It's also very expensive in the marina. It was by far the most we've paid for a slip yet, but it's location was nearly perfect for provisioning without a car. The weather looked good on Tuesday and we decided it was time to make our way to Catalina (Avalon to be exact). It looked like good weather everyday but Thanksgiving, and even then the chance of showers is diminishing. It went from 80% at the first of the week down to 20% this morning. It is overcast, but that's kind of perfect pie baking weather! LOL! Well, our trip over was rather uneventful. A few crab pots, but it was clear and sunny, we were able to spot Catalina just a few miles outside the breakwaters of San Pedro Bay. For my non-boaters out there, most of the time we steer by compass, but on this trip we have visual point to steer by most of the trip. Our tradition is 2 hours at the helm, 2 hours off. This trip was so short we decided to do 1 on/ 1 off. We actually had perfect winds to raise our jib, it was the first time since it ripped and we repaired it. Our speed went from 5.5 knots up to 6.7 and our over all average getting here was 5.9. That's our fastest yet. Well, Avalon Bay is for lack of a better word "BEAUTIFUL" We were a little nervous because of reports we'd heard from other visiting friends. It's almost 50/50 of like and don't like Avalon. Definitely, we are in the like. The first thing that happens when you are visiting by boat is the Harbor Patrol comes out to you and takes your money and assigns you a mooring ball. He gave us great directions and we found it with no problem. Then there is the dreaded picking up the ball. We've watched videos and had several friends tell us how to do it. I'm on deck in foul weather gear and rubber gloves, I'd been forewarned about the slimy stern line. Scott drove us up to the ball, I plucked up the pendant and secured it the first try over our bow cleat, then hand over hand the stern line back and Scott fastened it to the cleat. All done in about 2 minutes. I was so proud of us! Not a mistake and there are always people watching when you do it, as well as the Harbor Patrol boat that came out to help us if we needed it. As soon as we were secure he began the normal questions about the holding tank being secure and no discharge over board. I informed him we had a composting toilet, we get a lot of confused looks on that one. He came aboard anyway and dropped the dye tablet in the compost. I have to laugh to myself, there is no way anything from our boat can go over board with this style of toilet. Oh well, it's his job! What a job! Poo Patrol! Yesterday we walked around down town and started meeting some of the people on boats around us. On the dingy ride to shore I was able to really see how clear the water is. We can see all the way to the bottom 40 feet beneath us!

Well, if you want you can see our boat on a live feed they have:
1) www.gotocatalina.com
2) click on "webcam"
3) click on "navigation"
4) click on "casino cam"
5) click on "beach"

We are in the bottom right hand corner, it's the yellow hull with the tall black mast between two power boats.

That's about all for now! Happy Thanksgiving! We've got all the trimmings and are looking forward to a nice lazy day! Hoping the same for all of you!

It's been a busy couple of weeks!

"On the go" is usually just an expression, but it was reality for Scott and I this week. I'll back up a bit. Last you heard, we were in Santa Barbara. After 4 very relaxing days we decided to pull up and head over to Santa Cruz Island where we heard the anchorage was great in a place called Pelican Bay (aptly named). Leaving around noon it was only gonna take us 5 hours to get there. A piece of cake after the trip down the coast. We got in a an hour before sunset, set the hook, and had a glass of wine. There was some roll, but all in all not bad or terrible uncomfortable. The weather forecast was a little windy when we left Santa Barbara, but it should be OK in the cove we were in. The winds were to come out of the north, we were quite protected from that direction. About 1 am we woke to howling winds... OUT OF THE EAST!!!!! The only direction we weren't protected from. It turned out the Santa Ana winds we forecast after we left Santa Barbara and were out of radio contact. It takes about 6 to 8 hours for them to come in, so they were right on time. Scott and I looked around at the waves crashing on the cliffs a few hundred yards from the boat and decided to stand watches. We discussed weather we should move the boat in the dark and it was dark! So, we continued to watch the shore and check the anchor. I think she dug in toward China, because we didn't move until we pulled her up early in the morning. After daylight, we made decided to head back to Santa Barbara. Our normal ritual when raising the anchor is for me to be on the bow and let Scott know when the anchor is up and secure in the bow roller, it didn't quite happen that way. Scott didn't want me on the bow as there was too much swell, even with the tethers he wasn't comfortable with me up there. I watched as the anchor came up and then the chain jumped out of the bow roller. It couldn't come up without someone going on deck. Scott dropped it a few feet below the water and we let it trail until we could get to calmer waters, which was 3 hours later. Finally calm enough, Scott crawled out and helped the chain and anchor back into the roller. The next day, we saw a little damage to the bow. The gel coat is chipped in two places and we have a small gouge on the starboard side from the tip of the anchor. Very minor and easy to fix, thank goodness we plan on repainting in Mexico next spring.

Well, after that we were ready to settle in for some lunch and a nap, but we were woken by the harbor patrol telling us we couldn't anchor where we were and would have to move to the winter anchorage a mile further out and no where near as protected. It was still daylight and we were leaving the next day anyway. We spent the night rather uncomfortable, but after the night before who cared, sleep was sleep at that point. Early the next morning we woke, brushed our teeth and headed toward Ventura. It was a perfect day. Quiet, not a lot of boat traffic, scenic, just a little wind. We've only had two days like this in all our travels to date on Reisender. It's my habit to usually look for a slip before we ever leave from our departure port, but Ventura has thousands of slips and we were planning on stopping at the fuel dock once we got there and I would have plenty of time to call around. Two of the three marinas were full and the 3rd wanted $61.50 a night. Now I know that doesn't sound like a lot to non-boaters, but that is crazy! $1.50 a foot for a parking space for the night! No Way! We went to Oxnard and found the lovely marina, Channel Islands Marina with it's very accommodating staff and much more reasonable rate. As our luck would turn out, the weather was going to be against us for some time and we decided to use this time to go get our truck.

Rental car, over night bags packed, and Linux sedated we were off. I'd never gone the PCH route and it was well worth it. It skirts the coast line and winds around some of the most beautiful country I've seen. After a lovely night with friend in San Francisco, we headed to Portland early on Sunday and made it in 10 hours! Before any of you say anything about a lead foot, remember I drive like an old lady, the cruise control was never set to more that 5 miles over the speed limit. Portland was a blur and a rush to us, but we got all the shopping done, the truck repacked, and all the stuff we were off loading gone. A quick visit with our dear friend, Wayne, and we were off again. Roseburg the first night, San Francisco the next, and Oxnard the night after that! We fell into bed our first night home. Well, we are officially out of Oregon and are looking forward to the next leg of our adventure. We don't know for certain where we are going next, but it looks like Marina Del Rey, or Catalina Island, or...?...????