Margeson's Sailboat Adventures

End of this blog

2010-05-28T07:49:00.001-07:00

With the acquisition of another boat, we are ceasing this blog. Check out the new boat and blog at hattiel.blogspot.com. Thanks for visiting

New Hattie L launching today

2010-05-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

Weather and temperature are the worst in a few days and good weather is coming - but today we are scheduled to get Hattie L snatched off the cradle and dropped into the waters of Seneca Lake and tied up to slip 214 at the Harbor Marina in Watkins Glen, NY. Hope to get some photos of the evolution and have them posted later.

2010 - New Year and New (to us) Boat

2010-05-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

The old Hattie L is up for sale and the new Hattie L is getting ready to be launched for the 2010 sealing season on Seneca Lake.

The new Hattie L is a 1984 Hunter 31 sloop. We have been on her (in the cradle on the hard) most weekends for the last month getting her cleaned up and ready for launching. The most evident change is at the stern where the old name (Genesis One) has been removed and the new name (Hattie L) has been added on the newly painted stern.

Just one more significant task, and we are in the water. We need to make sure that the diesel runs and have to flush the anti-freeze from the raw water side of the cooling system and then away we go. We are anxious to have stay overnight on the water in a cabin that gives us room to stand up and a V-Berth roomy enough for the two of us.

There is a two burner and over alcohol stove, a nice sound system, a good inverter, hot & cold running water and an honest-to-God marine toilet (no more porta-potti for us..

Pictures to follow...

For Sale?

2009-10-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Hattie L has been pulled fro the water, placed on her trailer is is sitting on the hard at the Harbor Marina in Watkins Glen. Although we do have a For Sale sign on her, we may not end up selling her. It all depends on whether or not we get a larger boat. We have been bitten by the "two footitis" but and are looking for a bigger boat!

We thought we had a shot at an O'Day 272LE, but the current owners decided that they weren't going to sell since they couldn't find a bigger boat that satisfied them.

We are in the same position, although we have made a tenative offer on a 1983 Hunter 31. The "tenative" nature is based on the availability of a slip in the marina. If we can be guaranteed of a slip with electricity and water, we will purchase the boat.

If so, a new adventure will begin - with a new boat for us. If not, we will be back in the water with the Helms 25 until such time as we can move up in size.

Hattie L is now legal to sail in inclement weather and the dark of night

2009-08-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

With the purchase of a used 100 AH AGM battery (all 75 pounds of it), Hattie L now has a functioning electrical system. It was a most pleasant reaction when I turned on the navigation and running lights and they all worked! This is surprising for a boat that may have been out of the water for up to 10 years.

The next step may be to rewire the cabin lights since they don't seem to work - and I bought four LED light fixtures for the cabin. With the addition of a utility outlet (cigarette lighter fixture) and a small inverter I will be basically done with the functional tasks of the Helms 25.

I obtained the original Bimini from the prior owner but it is a bit inconvenient. Since the boom simply sits on a pin on the mast (for the roller furling main) the boom can easily slip off the mast when the main is not deployed. Opening the Bimini requires lifting the boom and it usually falls off the mast - bummer - but just a pain in the butt is all it means. I don't believe that the Bimini can be up when sailing either. Will do the best we can with what we have.

Underway under sail

2009-06-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

We have finally gotten Hattie L out on Seneca Lake under sail! It was a beautiful Sunday morning but the winds were light and variable (variable is the way of winds on Seneca Lake) so we powered up and left the marina. We figured out how to raise the sails and away we went for an enjoyable four hours.
Coming back into the marina was a breeze and we made a perfect (for us) docking manuver.

We both now need to practice - preactice - practice but there are lots of folks in the Seneca Harbor marina and the Finger Lakes Yacht Club who seem more than willing to give us all the advice we need.

A new Kicker

2009-06-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

Bought a 5HP Honda Four stroke outboard today. So many problems with the 7.5 ancient Honda that it seemed better to buy a new motor and be done with it.

Looks like Friday will find us mounting the motor and taking a short motor trip before berthing at the right berth and then going to the local USPS Seamanship course.

Hattie L is floatng

2009-06-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

Well, Hattie L is afloat - but not without some problems.

When she was lowered into the water, the centerboard would not come down so out she was pulled. After about 20 minutes with crowbar and hammer the crew got that rusty chunk of metal to raise and lower.

Then there was the issue of the lower shrouds. They are connected but there is a possiblity they are backwards which means getting a ladder to reverse them.

Finally, the starter rope on the old Honda 7.5 HP kicker broke on the second pull.

Overall, not the best situation! We soothed our battered souls while sitting in the marina's bar and tomorrow we should get the starter mechanism installed and motor over to our own slip.

There will be more and photos and this saga continues.

She does look nice, to us, afloat though.

Water coming soon...

2009-05-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

We anticipate getting Hattie L launched this week into the cold waters of Seneca Lake. Just a couple of minor maintenance jobs to finish and then call to schedule the mast-stepping and launching. Let's hope that she floats well!

Mary and I are half-way through the US Power Squadron Seamanship class, the next four sessions on on the water. After that is finished we will begin the US Power Squadron Sail course. Our local Seneca Sail and Power Squadron seems to be quite active and we are glad that we have joined them. Looks like they will be a lot of help when I need it with Hattie L. Many of them have their boats docked at the Seneca Harbor Marina - so the community will have this helpless and hapless sailor to help.

Hattie L back home.

2009-04-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Well, we have finally retrieved Hattie L from my sister's farm and it is again parked alongside the house. Don't know where it came from, we had a canvas over the boat (but it did flap around a lot on top of the hill) but tere is alot of water inside and in the bilges. First, get the water out, then try to find out where it came from. I assume that a lot of the topside hardware needs to be rebedded.

My spare time has now disappeared and She Who Must Be Obeyed (henceforth referred to as the First Mate) is going to be on me to do stuff around the house and not give my full attention to Hattie L.

2009 - Where to from now?

2009-01-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

Christmas has passed - a couple of small presents with Hattie L in mind. We will be picking up some accessories/necessities at the closest West Marine (have to go about 90 miles to find one of them) and stop in Ithaca to order new lower shrouds.

Will be picking up the porta-potti (a REAL necessity when you are over 65!), and other little stuff.

Refinishing the interior woodwork continues, much to the dismay of the First Mate who feels time is better spent around the house. Still, the wheel is looking great as is the door between the owners cabin and main salon (lots of room in the Helms 25). Wish I had taken more "before" pictures so I could show off with the "after" ph0tos.

Just a recommendation for others who will rehab a boat - take lots of "before" photos.

2008-11-26T10:02:00.000-08:00

Mary suggested a name for the boat and I concurred. We had this long list of possible names, many related to the Navy but her suggestion was inspired. The new name of our Helms 25 is:
It is named for my mother who passed away this year and we feel it is a tribute to her as she was the last of our parents still living during the past 13 years.

So, now I can refer to the boat with a name and have to work at getting the name on the boat -

Fair winds and following seas to the Hattie L.

Forward Looking Plans for Helms 25

2008-11-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

I have created my to-do list - some of this can be completed during the winter, others must wait until Spring and later. Here is what I have so far (in no particular order but items that I feel must be done prior to launching in the spring are in blue font - those completed in a green font):

Purchase marine battery
Name Boat - "Hattie L"
Purchase boat hook
Pickup renovated outboard motor
Purchase gas tank & fuel line
Install shelves rather than hanger in locker
Dye or replace V-Berth covers
Repair one dinette cushion with open seams
Replace weather stripping on hatches and cockpit access
Standing rigging replacement - ordered
Contact Merrill Sproul - ABC Course (needed to become a member of local Sail and Power Squadron - now need to take the class and exam on 4/18/2009))
Get trailer weighed (currently licensed at 6,000 pounds empty, can't be true!)
Get trailer brakes serviced
Purchase new Porta-Potti
Create mounting for porta-potti
Replace cabin lights with LEDs
Get compass (either bulkhead or pedestal
Anchor chain
Inside/outside carpet for cabin sole with non-skid rug underlayment
Refinish interior woodwork (brightwork) - pulled and in house for winter project
Refinish exterior wood (brightwork)
Shore power - need power line, connection, battery charger, timer (so regulate charging) and inverter as well as wiring and outlets, etc.
Purchase GPS
Get Seneca Lake Charts
Patch little holes on deck and in cabin
Rebed deck hardware
Purchase handheld marine VHF radio
We have a slip at the Village Marina in Watkins Glen - Slip 411
Purchase PFDs - 2 Adult type III and I throwable Type IV
Consider drawer under sink
Insulate icebox
Bed battery box stand
Move centerboard mechanism back to cabin from cockpit

This is definitely an ambitious list, but I have lots of time - sailability is first concern, then the livability items and finally cosmetic items.

Getting ready to layup totally for winter

2008-11-10T05:58:00.000-08:00

Here in New York, cold weather comes soon. So, it is time to take the Helms 25 to my sister's farm where it will languish under tarp until spring brings warmer weather (at least it always has).

I have removed almost all of the wooden trim from inside the cabin and will refinish it over the winter. Had I had more time, I would have removed the topside teak and done the same, but Mother Nature is not to be fooled with up here.

Here is Mary standing beside the boat for the first major attempt to tow with the Jeep - some folks say the Jeep won't tow this approximately 5000 lb. load, but it is rated for that weight and we found out that it does a good job towing to the top of one of the higher hills in the Chemung County, New York.

Just can't wait until next spring.

A 1975 Helms 25, hull number JAH004280275 is reborn

2008-11-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally did it!

Mary had mentioned, in the spring, that we should begin looking for a sailboat in the fall and it was to be my "pre-retirement" present. Not too long after that we saw a 25-foot sailboat with a For Sale sign on it along side the main road from the Elmira area to Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes. We called the owner and we met at the boat on a rainy day and chatted for a while. He was the third owner of the boat, his father the second, so we feel that we know a little about its history.

A couple of months later, we got a call and he had an offer. Well, to make a long story short, we are the proud owners of a 1975 Helms 25, hull number 428!

We have a lot of work to do on the boat and limited time. Since winter comes early and we have no place to keep the boat, we will be taking it to my sister's farm where it will sit under a tarp until the spring. I have pulled the interior wood that will be refinished over the winter. There are hatch seals that need replacing, bilges that should be painted, some standing rigging needs replacing (and I probably should replace all the running rigging lines), the porta-potty may be toast, the battery for interior lighting is missing and it looks like most of the interior lighting needs replacing. Don't know about the running lights, but they will be dealt with also. There are lots of little topside leaks where stuff needs to be rebedded.

There are a couple of modifications from the original design - it has a wheel rather than a tiller and the centerboard mechanism is forward in the cockpit rather than in the cabin. Other than that, it looks like the 33-year old fiberglass hull and topsides have held up extremely well.

But, as Mary says, most of that can be done with the boat in the water next spring. Now we just hope that we can get a slip in Watkins Glen.

We have yet to name the boat, but "She Who Must Be Obeyed" is one of my first choices!

If you want to see a blog on another Helms 25, check out Kevin Walters' blog at:

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/dreambegins/?xjMsgID=34729

This is the first photo I took of the fine craft.

And here it is from the side: