I used to (co-)own a 32′ Hunter sailboat, named Serenity.
Below are three short stories I wrote over 20 years ago about things that happened in relation to that sailboat. We had the sailboat in a lease program, hence the references to lessees. All of these stories are true.
Story 1 - The Spinnaker
Thursday I went out after work (temperature on land was above 90 degrees) with the one and only lessee, Joe, on Serenity (our sailboat). We had stiff winds when we left – highest I saw was 19 knots. The full mainsail and jib were up, and we were hauling ass out there. Got her up above 6 knots. We headed north, tacking upwind. When we got across the little bay (you know – to the other side of the water over by the north end of Bainbridge Island) the wind dropped off to a measly 8 knots.
So, just to see how it would work, we put up the asymmetrical spinnaker (sometimes known as a geniker, or a drifter). That’s a lot of sail! We headed mostly downwind – straight for downtown Seattle, aimed right at the Smith Tower, and she performed beautifully. We were doing 5+ knots. As we got closer to Seattle – sort of back where we came from – the wind started picking up. Once the winds got around 12 knots, Serenity got real squirrelly. If I let her bow come upwind at all, she’d catch the wind and try to turn into the wind. Normally, you’d think that would be good – into the wind spills the wind out of the sails and lets the boat come more upright. However, when you’re heading downwind to begin with… into the wind puts you more broadside to the wind. With that much sail out there, she really heeled over. I was afraid at one point I was going to lose control – the helm didn’t respond and I was just about standing on the side of the cockpit. (Who needs drugs when you’ve got that much adrenalin?) She hit 6.5 knots at one point. That may be the fastest I’ve ever had Serenity moving.
I wore a short sleeved T-shirt, shorts, and boating Tevas the whole evening. In the middle of the sound with a 15+ knot breeze, I considered adding a sweatshirt. Then we’d get close to the shore and the wind felt like a blowtorch coming off the land. It was great!
As we got close to Seattle, the wind tapered a bit. We were almost dead square in front of the incoming Bremerton Ferry, so we moved north so as to not block the dock. We were going to drop the Geniker, but decided to leave it up until the ferry passed us – it is a beautiful rainbow-colored sail – for the enjoyment of the ferry passengers.
Then we headed north again back to the Marina. A very successful evening.
Story 2 - Docking (and other stuff)
Today (Saturday) it wasn’t nearly as warm. It was cloudy all morning and into the afternoon – just like the weatherman said it would be. That’s our air conditioning kicking in. Whenever Seattle gets hot weather for a few days, the flow reverses and we get the cool moist air off Puget Sound, which cuts the sun’s intensity in the morning so we won’t get so hot. As we’re near the summer solstice and the sun is high in the sky for many hours, it almost always burns through in late morning or afternoon so we get a sunny day that’s just comfortable. And, so it was today. We got on the boat at about 2:15 this afternoon. The sun was moderately filtered – you know what I mean, perfect picture taking lighting. Not bright sun, but bright enough that there are definite shadows. In fact, I was thinking I should have a tripod there and take some pictures of the marina. It was a very low tide, so standing at the top of the ramp down to the docks I seemed to be about mid-height on many of the sailboat masts. It would have been perfect angles and lighting for a panoramic shot of the whole marina. I’ll keep that lighting and tide in mind for the future.
But, on to the boat. We headed out, and had full sun by the time we were 5 minutes out of the marina. Light breeze at about 8 knots. Just perfect for a relaxing sail with a 5-year-old on board. Especially one that wants to steer part of the time.
Got the main sail up. Got the jib deployed. Doing fine, moving about 4-5 knots. But, the wind is tapering as we head further out. At 3-4 knots of wind we’re moving along at 2 knots (not bad!). Finally, the wind is just kind of whispering at us from various directions. We’re almost dead in the water. So, drop the jib and start the engine. Plan B is in effect. We’ll motor over to Blake Island (about 5 or 6 miles), and check out the mooring buoy situation on the back side. We’re planning a trip in late July with some of Jenne’s friends to Blake Island, and just in case the dock and mooring buoys on the front are filled up, we want to know what our options are. My, but the island is busy today. All of the mooring buoys on the northwest end are taken, as are the ones on the east side. On the south side, just across the point from the dock, there is an available mooring buoy. Wish we’d come prepared to spend the night. It would be a perfect night to sleep on the boat.
Head back to the marina. Jenne steers the last 15 minutes toward the marina. She’s really getting the hang of this. Last year, she understood about turning the wheel in the direction she wanted to go, but didn’t understand about straightening the wheel (OK, that word picture isn’t right) once you were pointed in the right direction. But, she understood the important things. Once, when her mother was below decks and Jenne was steering (assisted), she asked if she could turn the boat in a circle so she could see Mama’s reaction. Of course I said yes… And we hadn’t made more than a third of a circle when Lynn’s head popped up asking what was going on, much to Jenne’s delight. This year Jenne understands how to steer. Her concentration often lapses and she needs to be reminded where she’s heading, but hey, I know adults that need that!
Again, perfect weather. With the light breezes and sunshine, it’s another T-shirt, shorts, and Tevas day. I did put a sweatshirt on after 6:00 PM out on the water. Took it off when we got in the marina.
Back in the marina, where the tensions normally mount. Gee, I must be getting the hang of this – and I haven’t even been a boat owner for 4 years yet! No stress. Of course, the winds are light at about 6 knots (even less in the marina0, and they’re coming from the right direction. We’ll be heading almost straight into the wind coming into the slip. Lynn agrees to handle the lines and get the fenders out, and I’ll just stay on the helm. Turn at the right channel (I’ve almost screwed that up in the past – quite embarrassing). Head up the channel and spot our boat’s slip (it used to be hard for me to pick that slip out – there are a lot of slips in this marina – we’re slip 63, and just over half way out). Swing the bow toward the slip – hey, it’s looking like I turned at the right time. Ease it around, pop it in reverse. Rev the engine, and the boat slows nicely. Serenity “walks” left when in reverse (normal for single-engine boats – the physics of the prop and all), and we have a bow-in port-tie slip. Wonderful – the stern sucks nicely up against the pier, and I step over the lifeline, hop off the boat (almost tripping over the dock line that’s wrapped around my foot), and secure the stern line while Lynn is handling the bow line. Jenne now gets to shut down the engine (it’s a diesel – you don’t shut off the key until you’ve starved the engine of fuel so the engine dies), which she thinks is a cool job. We’re back. Just pick up all the stuff we brought on board, close up the boat (after taking some measurements – see Story 3), hose off the salt spray (we didn’t do that after our ride Thursday night), and go for Chicken Teriyaki.
Story 3 - I wish you were here...
Serenity has a head with a holding tank. The problem is that when the boat is just used for short trips (e.g., “we’re only going out for a couple hours”), the head gets used, but “we only flushed it once, so we don’t need to pump out the holding tank.” That’s fine once. But, if no one takes the boat on a weekend trip and pumps the tank, pretty soon it’s almost full, but no one admits to having used it. So, I figured it would be smart to pump the tank before the boat went out on charter. It’s an aluminum tank with no gauge, so there’s really no way to tell how full it is. We motored over to the pumpout dock (ohoh, there’s a boat where we need to be) make a U turn (the pumpout fitting is on the starboard side) and park in front of the boat to wait our turn (yech! that was a sloppy U turn, although a nice save). Try to pump the holding tank – hmmm, the pump doesn’t seem to be sucking properly. Can’t get anything out of the tank. Hmmm, Joe (the lessee) had the boat out a couple days ago, maybe he pumped it out already. Hmmm, it doesn’t act right; the pump must not be working today. Oh well, nothing’s coming out of the tank, it must be empty.
(Time passes. The boat is out on charter. It’s back.)
One week ago: Joe takes the boat out for a sail. He likes good winds. He likes to heel. What’s that smell? Yuck! raw sewage on the floor running into the bilge.
It turns out corrosion has made a hole in the fitting on top of the aluminum holding tank that the pumpout hose is attached to. That’s why it seemed to me the pump wasn’t working – it was sucking so much air through this hole it couldn’t develop enough vacuum to suck the gunk out of the tank. So, the tank wasn’t pumped out. And couldn’t be without patching the hole (Joe used duct tape so he could get the tank pumped after the spill).
Now I’m in the midst of replacing a holding tank. I’ve learned a lot – sure wish I could pass on my knowledge to all of you! 🙂 I’ve learned why you don’t want an aluminum holding tank (since Serenity was built, Hunter Marine has switched to plastic holding tanks).
I’ve also learned that Ronco Plastics has a catalog of over 300 plastic holding tanks. (They also make holding tanks for RVs, and water tanks for RVs and marine use, and more.) When you order from them, you specify where you want the holes placed, and they custom drill and tap the tank for you at no additional charge. In fact, the tank that will fit on Serenity lists for $140, and we got a 50% discount by ordering directly from Ronco Plastics. That’s about the best deal on any boat part I’ve encountered. Of course, when you replace your holding tank you should also replace all of the hoses that go to the tank. There appears to be about 16′ of hose – at $8/foot – so the hose will cost 50% more than the tank. And you need the stainless steel clamps – two on each fitting (rule of thumb – two clamps on any fitting below water level) at about $4 per clamp. And you need to custom make some hold-downs for the plastic tank (there are no screw-through flanges on the plastic tank like there were on the aluminum tank). And you have to dismantle the settee to get the old tank out and the new one in. And you then need to take off all of the old smelly, drippy hoses and install the new ones.
Gee, I really wish you all were here!
(The photo below shows the new tank in place, all new hoses connected, ready to complete the reassembly of the settee. You missed the fun!)
Fun times! Thanks for sharing about the “good old days.”
Those stories must bring back such find memories if not just the boat but the people and places. How nice to relive those moments whenever you wish!
Great stories, and more evidence that you need a friend with a boat instead of having your own.