Our New Storm Trysail - Lucky Find

We took advantage of being in Southern CA to visit Minny's Yacht Surplus in Costa Mesa. Dave especially wanted to look at a "NEW" Storm Trysail listed on their website. We made a harrowing two hour round trip ride on the 405. Minny's Yacht Surplus was easy to find and the place was amazing! We could have spent days wandering through the cluttered isles just looking at all the fabulous gear, much of it vintage!

http://www.minneysyachtsurplus.com/

The shop stores sails in great bins that run from the ceiling to the floor, left to right along two walls. Our sail was in bin number 56 which just happened to be in a top bin some 15 feet up. Once we got it down, we were able to unroll it in the back lot to take a good look. It was perfect! Brand new and just the right size. Dave will have to replace the sail slugs to match the track he purchased but boy did we get a good deal paying $240.00 for a sail that retails for $500 - $1000! We wandered around the store for an hour, just taking everything in, trying to remember all the little things on our list. We picked up two new safety harness lines, at $5.99 each, to add to the extra safety harnesses we inherited from a friend. Dave also bought a head shackle for the new trysail. Like any thrift shopper, we were thrilled with our lucky find. We were in the right place at the right time!

Storm Trysail all wrapped up and easy to store.

Getting Things Done

The longest day of the year is right around the corner. The weather has been summerlike in Stillwater and cooler in Knife River. We made our way up north on Friday, June 10th in 90 degree temps. By the time we got to Knife River it was 49 F. Our Alberg 35, Mystic, is on the hard at the edge of the Marina alongside a dirt road. Each evening, we watched deer sneak behind our row of boats, cross the street then make their way through the woods, popping out further up the road. They crossed again to access a big field and the lake. We were lucky to see and photograph a mama with her newborn. Amazing moment in time!

We are feverishly working on projects for the boat. This weekend we were able to knock off several items. I spent the week making covers for our mattress toppers. Moisture on a sailboat is always a problem so I decided I would cover the toppers with removable fabric which can be washed. They fit like a glove.

Dave made hatch doors to cover the forward anchor chain locker months ago. He finally installed them. They make the v-birth look neatly finished.

Anchor Chain Locker

  

V-Birth New Doors

Dave installing doors

Mattress Topper

We purchased the new mainsail halyard winch to replace the original which was unpredictable and had been slipping at inopportune times. The bolt pattern on the new winch was not the same as the old. Dave re-drilled holes to fit the new winch. The wire halyard will be changed out.

I took inventory on the bright work. It is overwhelming to realize how much work goes into keeping the teak looking nice. I've sanded and varnished much of the teak with the exception of the cockpit combings. I made a very small dent in this task. It sure is going to look nice when it's done!

So much teak, so little time...

The biggest accomplishment of the weekend is painting the bottom of the boat. Since we'd put a coat on 2 years ago, there wasn't a lot of work involved, but the difference is dramatic. We washed the hull with buckets of water gathered from the lake, then taped off the water line. It took about an hour to cover the bottom with a fresh coat.

Each task that we are able to cross off the list brings us joy and excitement. There is still work to be done. We'll get there, one step at a time!