90 DegsF at 9am in Downeast Maine USA oh and I moved the mast off Phoenix:)

For Christ-sake please you southerners take your weather back! I decided to move the mast to ground level to improve movement around deck and to better evaluate what is needed to make the mast ready for sea. After some test lifts of the mast in place and getting a feel for the weight I decided it would be simple enough to lower it over the side using some 2"x4"x8ft studs and a 4:1 block and tackle. The 2x4 across the rear pushpit (the safety rail around the rear) was supporting the mast head and only stuck out about 3ft. This one was fine just laying on it's side. The forward 2x4 was counter levered much farther, maybe 5ft and the mast foot was much heavier so I ended up making a T with another 2x4. It may have been strong enough but I was a little worried by the bend and these are just cheap construction grade pine 2x4s. And once the T was built there was zero bend. 

The mast foot was much heavier, but I used the same procedure.  However, I should have left the mast head on the ground as the old sawhorse collapsed and dropped it to the ground.  I really should have seen this coming:( As soon as I lifted the mast foot at the bow, the mast wanted to slide downward to the rear. Then when I reset the mast, the saw horse tipped. I've really got to get "THINK IT THROUGH" tattooed on my forearm or something. Luckily the ground is soft and no harm done.

After some quick measurements to determine if this "new" mast matches the original mast/boom dimensions I cleared up the area and retreated to the basement for other projects and the coolness.  

Home at last

I didn't like having Phoenix at the bottom of the hill, it was going to make logistics to difficult and caused a tight squeeze on the driveway. So today I hooked up the trusty old F250, put it in 4 wheel drive low range and motored on up the hill. No slippage but the turn at the top is too tight. I'll need to get some landscape work done before Phoenix ever leaves her hill top perch.

A very sharp turn just past the tree on the left.

 The only problem is dual trailer wheels tear up turf when in sharp turns.

60mph to windward!

A 6am departure from Rock Hall MD on Memorial weekend Sunday was a good call, and I think the cool NE weather helped keep traffic light. Once Phoenix was hooked up I drove to Rt 301 and before getting on the hwy made my first of several routine equipment checks. They go somewhat like this..

1. grab the non-contact infrared thermometer
2. measure inner, middle, outer tread temperature on each truck and trailer tire
3. measure the center, wheel bearing temperature.
4. check the hitch and safety chains 
5. check tension on boat straps 
6. check mast position and supports, from ground level.
7. reload on coffee
8. done!

It was on about the third stop, IIRC we were at a Connecticut rest stop when the excitement, red angry moment came and found something else that needed checking. The rear two and middle two side supports were loose and Phoenix had a slight but noticeable lean to port! WHAT THE F! The marina guys had not tightened the supports and only the fact that I had two straps over the top and the forward supports were already in the full down position kept a disaster from happening. I didn't have a wrench large enough to tighten things up but I had a bar type clamp the did the job. After several minutes things were all straight and snug again.

My Ford F250 long bed crew cab did a fantastic job as a tow vehicle. And the 7.3L diesel had plenty of power and by keeping the speed in the 50-60mph range and not charging up hills it managed 12mpg! Not too shabby I think when towing about 10k lbs and have the bed and interior full.  I wouldn't hesitate to pull Phoenix short or long distance should the need arise.

Rest stop on the Mass Turnpike.

Her new home, until things dry out and she moves to the top of the hill. 

D-Day minus one...

Finally after a couple weeks delay Phoenix is on her trailer ready to roll!!! I drove over to Rock Hall at the crack of dawn this morning to beat any Memorial Day beach traffic. The Bay bridge can back up something nasty on Saturday mornings but this early it was a breeze. I did need to secure the rigging and retie the mast back. Looks like the yard workers got tired yesterday evening and a bit sloppy. Then check/filled the trailer tires, check adjust the truck airbags, check fill truck engine and transmission etc and I think I'm ready for the 700+miles to come tomorrow. 

Composting Toiler It Is!

Another couple hours at Phoenix today cleaning out junk which included removing the old toilet. This thing really looks vintage, aka old and tired and the ancient seacocks were frozen in place. I just decided I really didn't want to mess with putting in a new nonsensical marine toilet installation, especially since the entire system would need to be bought. So today out it came and straight to the dumpster. I'm not sure of the material of the thru-hull but a swing of the small mallet sheered them off.

The old simple toilet, the way it should be!

I was also pulling off the running rigging to clean and hopefully reuse. While studying the lines to write down which goes where I came up short on one function. Can somebody help? This block mounted at the spreaders is meant to lift something but what? I've never used a spinnaker and it looks like the boat was rigged for one, is this block part of a spin rig? There is no deck fitting to lift an inner sail with a wire luff.  I'm pretty much a main and jib kinda guy, nothing fancy, help:)

Mysterious block

And to reference to my last post about fin keel boats here is an example that is near Phoenix. So how much performance penalty does that three bladed prop/anchor, strut and shaft impose, especially in light air?

Probably could be a fast boat, except for that prop!

Also I counted the boats that I think need to move before I can retrieve Phoenix, 7 maybe 8. Luckily they all look like cared for boats so my fingers are crossed that they move out fast:) Unlike a poor old Southern Cross even further back than Phoenix. That SC has a 1996 registration sticker!

Phoenix in deep storage.

Could a cutaway full keel be faster than an fin?

I suppose the short answer is no, but its fun to think about a Triton that has nearly all extraneous drag components removed that lines up against a fin keel boat dragging a propeller, multiple thru-hulls, speed sensors and who knows what else. I just started thinking down theses lines after admiring the keel on Phoenix. When viewed from behind the keel looks no wider than the rudder. Well maybe a little:)

This is a result of the the external ballast and I've read somewhere that later, after #383 IIRC, Tritons with encapsulated keels are a few inches wider. Now on Phoenix I plan to remove all the below the water line thru-hulls, remove and fill the aperture for the prop. She should have pretty good light are performance for a cutaway full keel boat. But I suppose any modern clorox bottle boat will still take her.  I hope to get her in the water and racing with the Northport Yacht Club on the Penobscote Bay this summer so maybe I'll get to surprise a few of those bottle boats:)

Triton Toilet, what to do???

What American and international rule makers have done to the small pleasure boat toilet is nothing short of ludicrous. The rules for dealing with human waste aboard has made the average head look like the plumbing for a nuclear reactor. Here are a couple examples of the plumbing aboard Triton #503 that James Baldwin rebuilt and Triton #381 that Tim Lackey rebuilt.

Triton#503 built by James Baldwin

Triton#381 built by Tim Lackey

Triton#381 built by Tim Lackey

My own experience with the typical marine toilet installations have been less then pleasant. I was so disgusted that I finally installed an ‘Air Head’ composting toilet in the Head compartment of Rubicon our Heavenly Twins 26ft that we lived aboard of a few years. Overall I was very pleased with the installation and would recommend the ‘Air Head’. My only real issue was the cost! That simple piece of roto molded plastic cost nearly $1000.

Heavenly Twins "Rubicon" Air Head composting toilet

Now to be fair when compared to the full cost of a standard marine head with all the valves,pumps,seacocks,holding tanks,deck fittings and toilet represent a fairly large chunk of change! Granted depending on your boat some or all the parts may be in place, but “Phoenix” has a simple pre-holding tank era toilet so basically I'd need a complete installation like #503 and #381 to make it legal.

So whats a frugal guy to do? I seriously thinking about just building a simple bucket composting toilet. The problem is the urine is not separated as in the Air Head so much more sawdust, peat moss, etc must be carried. I'll need to ponder this topic topic for awhile.