The Floating Tool Tray
By Drew Frye
Need to replace a prop? Pull the lower unit on an outboard without pulling the engine? How about install an external strainer without pulling the boat? Working on most anything below the trampoline or bridge deck of a multihull, or near the waterline of a monohull (replacing the screws on a transom-mounted swim step, or the bolts that attach a transom-mounted swim ladder?) you’re going to be in the water and going to need tools.
Kiltie and I
By John Bailey
I get up and check the calendar. It’s late in the season and only a few days remain before the marina’s deadline for hauling out my boat. I check the weather; 7 to 9 out of the east, sunny with temps 57 to 62, a perfect fall sailing day.
We are going sailing—we meaning Kiltie and I. Kiltie’s my boat, named after the Scottish slang word for soldier. Just the thought of getting out on the water primes my spirit.
News from the Helm
We have the good-news story of the Morgan 32 giveaway contest, and the full text of the winning essay; we say goodbye to Olaf Harken…
Mail Buoy
We offer diesel advice we hope is helpful and we review the responses we received to our LED-VHF radio interference query…
Put it to the Readers
Put it to the Readers
I’ve spent a lot of time on the water, years of cumulative time, in all kinds of places and environments. I’ve seen a lot of cool stuff. Next month, I’ll share what I consider to be the most unusual inanimate object (man-made thing) I’ve seen from a boat, and the most unusual wildlife thing I’ve seen from a boat. But first, I want to hear from you. So, I put it to the readers: what’s the most unusual man-made thing you’ve seen from a boat, and what’s the most unusual wildlife thing you’ve seen from a boat? Note the word “unusual.” Not the coolest thing, but the most unusual thing, the thing others are least likely to also report seeing. And if you have photos, send them too.
As always, I’m at michael_r@goodoldboat.com
Book Review: Compass & Sextant: The Journey of Peregrin Took
This is author Phil Hoysradt’s memoir, covering the span of his life that begins in a Portland, Maine, classroom in 1968, when he dropped out of college to join the Peace Corp, and ends roughly seven years later, when he sailed into the Gloucester, Massachusetts, harbor aboard Peregrine Took, capping a near-circumnavigation.
Sailor of the Month
Mary Jane Young is our Dogwatch Sailor of the Month. Here she’s at the helm of the boat she grew up sailing aboard, her family’s 38.5-foot Alden Challenger, Christmas. She long ago left the nest to build a life in the big city, but still visits home in Maine to go sailing. Over the years, her father, Tom Young, has documented upgrades to Christmas on the pages of Good Old Boat.
Have a favorite sailor you’d like to nominate? Get a good picture of them and send it to me; maybe they’ll be chosen. As always, I’m at Michael_r@goodoldboat.com
–MR
Poem of the Month: Georgian Bay Poem
By David Takahashi
Weigh the Anchor boys, today’s the day
We’ll sail the sweet waters of Georgian Bay
Red skies in the morning, sailors take warning
We’ll log the most knots while the storm jib’s a soaring
Sweat the main up on the morning sun
Set all sails for a fair day’s run
Quickly our wake clears our moorings
Cause out on the bay the Nor Westers are blowing
Gale warnings are out, it’s just started drizzling
Heel her on over till our wake is a sizzling
She kicks up her heels, all fancy and dandy
For that’s all you’ll see is the wake of Carandy
I tell no tales of doom and gloom, but
The wind she dies in the lee of Giants Tomb
On a hot summer’s night, if you care to listen
You can hear the ancient spirits in the lee of Christian
All hands on deck listen with delight
As I hail from the cockpit, she’ll be Henry’s tonight
Sou’West winds is everyone’s wish
We’ll drop anchor in Snug harbor for a taste of smoked fish
Fog horns a blown, the skies lack luster
What’s that I see, but the lights off the Bustards
Set the Anchor boys, our work is all done
We’ll tap the cask for a flagon of rum
David Takahashi has been sailing his Alberg 37, Chikara-Ni, on Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay for the past 30 years. The places he references in this poem are all familiar harbors, anchorages, and islands in and around Georgian Bay. He encourages readers to find a way to visit at least a few of the 30,000 islands in the Georgian Bay.
