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February
02/15/03 - Saturday
1100 - Great Bay Marine, Newington, NH on winter jack-stands
Just A Visit!
It has been bitterly cold for the last couple of weeks. Each week we go over to visit Linnet's Wings. Colin wants to work inside, but it is just too cold. But we visit.
Today it is 3 below 0 and windy, although the sun is out. I took Colin out for a driving lesson/experience and so we stopped by Great Bay Marine and visited Linnet's Wings.
Colin also climbed through most of the snow drifts in one of the lots looking for the new 29' power boat of some friends. He finally found it so we could then leave; it was pretty cold driving around the lots looking for the boat, but it was even colder for Colin because he was leaping over (sometimes unsuccessfully) 4' snow drifts to get back to the boats.
I am pleased to report that Linnet's Wings remaines snug in her jack-stands with winter tarps still holding up just fine.
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March
03/16/03 - Sunday
1000 - Great Bay Marine, Newington, NH on winter jack-stands
Colin combined
some driving practice with work on Linnet's Wings. Though a lot of snow has melted over the last couple of weeks, it was still stacked up pretty high along the access roads at the marina's storage yard. We have been over to the boat numerous times over the last few weeks. Whenever I have Colin out practicing his driving skills we always drop by to pay our respects! And many times, Colin will hop out and do some work and I'll return a few hours later to collect him - though he insists on driving home. He starts drivers ed at school next week.
Having a lot of work below deck to do as well as wanting to start some upper hull sanding in preparation for a new paint job for Linnet's Wings, Colin decided to pull off the winter tarps.
I guess that puts us in serious Spring mode!
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April
May
June
06/21/03 - Saturday
1000 - Great Bay Marine, Newington, NH on winter jack-stands
A sunny day at last!
We just can't believe that we are this far into the season and have not had more than a couple of days in a row of sun or warm weather. It has been miserable. Hardly anyone has moved their boat out of storage in the yard - Linnet's Wings included!
But Colin and I got up early with bright sun and headed over to Great Bay Marine to finish the sanding and hopefully paint Linnet's Wings sides. It was a great day, and we worked like mad. But we got her done; all painted and ready to go. All that is left is to add the waterline, the trim line, and put her name back onto the transom.
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06/27/03 - Friday
20:30 - Pomeroy Cove, Dover, NH
On the hook finally!
Linnet's Wings is in the water! Only 2 and a half months late. Colin and I were going to get her Friday around 3pm but the weather blocked us once again. A US Weather Advisory Warning was braodcast over the tv around 2:45 for severe thunderstorms for the afternoon.
We almost made a run for it, but I recalled last year where a similar event occurred and the storms were really bad. So, we waited. But we didn't have to wait long. Though not much wind, the rain was really heavy. Getting the boat and bringing her back over from the marina in that would have been dangerous. Glad we waited.
Unfortunately, the tide was on the way out and I really wanted Colin in Snow Day to shadow me on the way back in case something happened to the engine - something always happens to engines at the worst possible time (it knocked out on me twice on the trip over last year and Colin ended up towing me through the boat moorage). So, we were on hold for the time being.
Finally, after dinner around 8pm the sky cleared and the tide was in just enough to make a run for it. Marissa joined in with us in her new boat, Rascal - a '91 16' Carolina Skiff. Linnet's Wings engine fired up right away and it was a smooth half hour ride over. We pulled up at the mooring with about a half hour of light to spare.
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06/29/03 - Sunday
03:30 - Pomeroy Cove, Dover, NH
Problems Already!
Pat yelled down at me that another boat in the moorage had swung around in the cross wind and current and was about to hit Linnet's Wings. I jumped into Colin's boat and with Marissa in pursuit in Rascal, we dashed out. Good thing as the boats had kissed each other a few times lightly. I jumped onto the other boat - a 38 footer - and shortened her mooring rode. Then back over to Linnet's Wings to shorten hers. But the other boat was still too close and I had to fend them off. Colin got onto the VHF and the Coast Guard sent a boat down to investigate.
I eventually had Colin tow Linnet's Wings over to his mooring. After getting back in the house, we noticed an inflatable with a man and woman pulling up to the 38 footer - Sea Rose. We jumped into Colin's boat and headed back out, though the tide was running out fast. Turns out that Colin knew them from years ago when they had a 22' Tanzer. They had just tied up on their old mooring for the night as they had let a friend use their slip up in Portsmouth. They had no idea that under the right wind and current conditions that their boat was too big for the old mooring. They were heading back up to Portsmouth anyway and so all was resolved. Colin was so happy to have met up again with them that he rowed himself out in the dingy to talk with them. Turns out that another sailing friend of ours works for this guy and they talk about Colin all the time! What a small world the sailing community is!
Later that night, Colin came downstairs and said, "Hey, come on out to Linnet's Wings and you can see the new interior lights I put in." So, off we went.
The tide was just starting back in so there was only enough water for the dingy. Colin made short work of it, and soon we were inside Linnet's Wings. This past winter, Colin had rewired much of the interior of the boat and had given me 4 low wattage cabin lights - of which he had installed 3 so far. "Ready?", he asked. I nodded my head and he threw the breaker. Pleanty of light! It was great! Someday, someone is going to pay Colin a lot of money to do this type of thing. He loves it, and is getting pretty good at it. He is fearless about diving right in. I'm that way with writing software, but not mechanical things. I just see a heap of parts that I have no idea if I will be able to get back together or not.
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July
07/02/03 - Wednesday
03:00 - Pomeroy Cove, Dover, NH
A wonderful day!
Pat and I were just getting ready to head out to Manchester, NH to see James Taylor in concert at the Verison center when Colin headed out to bring Linnet's Wings to the dock to do some cleaning.
I took the following pictures of the moorage with her still on the hook and then as Colin brought her up to the dock.
Check out Colin's new paint job on the upper hull! We were running so late in final preparation work, we still have to put her name back onto the transom.
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07/13/03 - Sunday
01:30 - Piscataqua River, Dover, NH
First Sail!
The weather was just so spectecular that I decided to head out to Linnet's Wings to varnish some of the exterior wood. Marissa drove me out to the mooring in her new Carolina Skiff - Rascal, towing the dingy out so I could get back.
But no sooner was I aboard than my friend Neal from Ming - a 32' catamaran he moores in the cove in the summer and sails South for the Winter - rowed over. "Hey!", he shouted. "Was that a sail I saw you bring aboard?" So, he climbed aboard and I discussed my plan to varnish the woodwork.
Neal is a traditionlist and flatly stated that the wood should be left to age naturally. "Just let the sun peel off all that old varnish and see how she looks. Nice breeze blowing..." Well, that's all I needed to hear and so it didn't take any time at all to get the jib hanked on and throw off the mooring line. It was a glorious sail up and down the river!
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August
08/06/03 - Wensday
01:30 - Piscataqua River, Dover, NH
Another Sail!
The weather has been just miserable around here again for the last week or so. But Wed was beautiful with a nice brisk breeze. I was working downstairs and Colin came down and said, "Hey, let's go sailing." That's all I needed to hear and so we were off.
I had started teaching Colin how to sail last year and he wants to become better so he took the tiller and jib lines for the whole time and did fine. Linnet's Wings does pretty good under just a jib, though coming about is tricky as she just keeps falling off unless you are really careful about how you crank in. Colin was getting pretty good at it by the end of the the trip as we were beating up the channel and had to tack a lot. The tide was just starting to come in so you didn't want to wander outside of the markers or you'd end up in the mud - which we could see coming up to surface a few too many times; Colin seems to enjoy pushing his luck. "Tide's coming in so we'd float off pretty soon...". Ah, the wisdom of youth.
Anyway, a fine sail and done just in time as it did rain again that night and most of the next 2 days! This summer has just been awful as far as outside activity weather has been. And now they say that it will be an above average hurricane season which just means the end of the summer and early fall will be wet as well. Maybe next year...
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08/18/03 - Monday
03:30 - Piscataqua River, Dover, NH
Bird Poop!
I can't believe it! I go out and vist my friend Neal on Ming and the wind is up with no rain and I ask him if he wants to go for a sail on Linnet's Wings. So off we go in his dingy over to her. Not only has Colin not put back the gas tank so we would have no engine, but a really bad storm this past weekend ripped all of my flapping plastic bags off the shrouds and boom and the birds have turned my entire deck into a huge poop stand! Grrrrrrrrrrr! We went back to Neal's 32' cat and did a light sail up river and back and called it a day. How's THAT for a bummer!
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September
09/02/03 - Tuesday
03:00 - Piscataqua River, Dover, NH
Bird Poop Gone!
It took over an hour, but I got all that damn bird poop pretty much cleaned up. I pulled Linnet's Wings up to our dock, got the hose out, and with a bucket of soap and white vineger mix, I went at it with spounge mop and wire brush. There are some stains, but this stuff is brutal! I hung a bunch of plastic bags up all around the spars and stays to flap to keep the birds off. That will fix them! Screw you birds!
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09/03/03 - Wensday
03:00 - Piscataqua River, Dover, NH
Even a bad sail is better than no sail!
So I come upstairs mid afternoon. The sun is out, the breeze is up a little, and the tide is in! I couldn't resist! I jumped into the row boat and headed out with some trepidation about those damn birds... But, for the most part the decks were clean when I got out. Amazing. But good!
So I had the jib up in short order and threw off the hook and away I went. Unfortunately, the wind was not as strong as I need it with just the jib and the tide was just about max so the current was really strong. I was unable to make much headway tacking against it. And when I do tack with just the jib, she lays off about 90 degrees and pulling her back against the current is really problematic. I was actually losing ground after about 5 tacks back and forth across the river.
So I fired up the 15hp and zipped back to the mooring. I buttoned her up for the night and then just sat in the cockpit for about a half hour enjoying being on board. This has been a pretty dismal sailing season... but better than sitting on land watching someone else sitting on their boat! So: screw you weather!
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October
10/08/03 - Wensday
03:00 - Piscataqua River, Dover, NH
That's it for the season!
Colin tagged me in his 18' 110hp Tearin II as I navigated Linnet's Wings from the moorage over to Great Bay Marine for a winter haul out on Friday. Almost made it, too. Problems arose, however, when my engine gave out against a strong outgoing tide just as I was about to clear under the General Sullivan bridge. I spun the boat around and drifted with what appeared to be about a 6 to 7 knot tide. Colin pulled up next to me and grabbed the bowline and towed me the rest of the way. What a way to end the summer...
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10/13/03 - Monday
05:00 - Great Bay Marine, Newington, NH
Sitting proud on the jack stands!
Well, it's not the place I would like to see her, but Linnet's Wings is sitting pretty on her winter jack stands in the back lot of Great Bay Marine. I drove over to check out her Winter berth; all the way in the back this year with a huge mud flat instead of a road in front of her. I hope they fill that in before the frost comes or that will be a mess getting to her in any kind of a thaw. I tidied her up as best I could; Colin still has a bunch of gear to get out. I want to get everything out this year and hopefully finish the interior work that I had wanted to do last year. Just clean her up, some paint, and general fix-em-upper stuff.
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November
December
12/20/03 - Saturday
09:30 - Great Bay Marine, Newington, NH
Wrapping up for the winter!
2 quick major back to back Nor'easter snow storms caught us without covering Linnet's Wings. We had a break in the weather this last week: the temp went up and it rained hard enough to wash away most of the accumulated snow - up to 14" in some spots! Colin and I jumped into his truck and headed over to Great Bay Marine to take care of business.
Colin plowed over the top of what used to be a fairly substantial snow drift in front of Linnet's Wings almost wiping out my carry mug of coffee. We were a little short on line, but managed to sung the two tarps down pretty good. Colin said he could come back and tidy things up a little later. At least we have the mid deck and cockpit covered so we can get in later this winter to clean the boat up and get some work done that never got done this year. Hopefully...
She looks good sitting in the yard, but will look a lot better in April back swinging to the mooring line! Colin's paint job on the hull held up really well, though there are a lot of scuff marks from the mooring ball. Don't know how to prevent that, but makes it tough when you have that deep dark navy blue on the hull.
Well, this will probably be the last trip over to Linnet's Wings this year. The holidays are on us and time is scarce. So, we'll wish you all a happy holiday season now and see you on the other side soon!
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12/27/03 - Sunday
09:30 - Great Bay Marine, Newington, NH
Cleaning up for the winter!
The weather was so nice today that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to run over to Linnet's Wings and clean up the inside cabin. There was stuff all over the place: tools, parts, trash. Just everything.
I started in the quarter berths and worked my way forward. I didn't wash her down; the idea was to just get the trash out and everything else placed neatly so that she didn't appear to be a Gypsy skow.
If there is time in the Spring, I'd like to scrape and paint the interior. Colin was able to scrape some of the peeling paint off while he worked on some of the interior lights, but it really has to be gone over in depth. And before I paint, I need to spread some caulking around some of the through deck fittings as there are a few places where water has seeped through and left stain streaks down the bulkhead walls. And the infamous home brew air scoop of the previous owner has long needed replacing.
I could spend a lifetime puttering around that boat. But that sort of "puttering" is really not my thing. I have some stuff that really does need to be done to sharpen Linnet's Wings up. Much more than that I will probably not have the time or ambition for. Maybe I can enlist Colin's aid in a few other projects on board before he launches his boat, but after that his time will be short as well between working and projects and trips of his own.
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