Back Cruising

Ok. I did not have much success with earlier Blogger apps on the phone. Probably me. Anyway thought I would reinstall and try again.

January 26 to April 19, 2020

Our InReach track from January 26th to April 19th, 2020. Chaguramas Trinidad & Tobago to Pocomoke City, MD.

We were very fortunate with the weather this year.

Heading North

Well after 6 seasons in the South East Caribbean we decide it is time to move back north. We purchased a property in Maryland on the Pocomoke River. Riverbend Cottage is just that, a nice little cottage with a great garage/workshop, and a freshwater dock! So, we were planning a nice leisurely cruise up the islands, hanging out, cruising with friends. Everything started out fine, met up with MiVia and CrackerJack. Had great weather, some of the mildest conditions we have seen in a long while. We visited Carriacou, The Grenadines, Bequia, Dominica (wonderful!!!). On to Les Saintes, Guadeloupe, Antigua without any issues. But things were going to change and quickly.

By the time we got to St. Kitts & Nevis the Covid-19 Pandemic was getting serious, on clearing in we were required to fill in a health declaration form and list our five previous ports with arrival and departure dates. We spent about a week there, really having a good time along with CrackerJack and their guests. We did  island tours, a trip to Nevis, Killer Bee rum punch, you know all the usual "island" stuff.

Towards the end of our stay in St. Kitts things really started changing, around the world the outbreak had spread rapidly, border restrictions were beginning to be put in place. We made a unplanned quick run to Puerto Rico, CrackerJack traveled with us until St. Thomas, USVI. We carried on as we were hoping we could clear in at Culebra and get a US cruising License (Sylken Sea is Canadian flagged). Once we were on a mooring in Culebra we used the ROAM app to clear in and at the same time requested  "verified traveler numbers". A short time later we got a phone call from CBP in Fajardo. The had received our application and directed us to appear at the CBP office at the airport in Culebra.

The officer in Culebra was very helpful, after reviewing our documents and submitting our paperwork to Fajardo we were issued both a US cruising license and verified traveler numbers. "That should help expedite your arrival in the US" he tells us.

We had lunch at the Dingy Dock and the next day everything shut down. On to the south coast of Puerto Rico, all the marinas are closed to any boat movement but in Salinas we were able to take on fuel so we filled her up not knowing what challenges lay ahead. We were well provisioned had full tanks so that was our last time ashore for a while. It was March 19th, we decided to go into isolation and beat it to the US.

We anchored in Boqueron waiting for a window. We got one, our friend Rita on Calypso in Martinique has been helping with weather when we are out of cell coverage. She sends us updates based on Weather 4D over our InReach. She can also follow us so the weather is very useful and appropriate. THANKS Rita!

Direct to Acklins where we wait out a blow then on up the island chain. Bahamas at that time was closed to new boats arriving but would allow you to transit, just anchor and DO NOT GO TO SHORE.

We anchored on the bank near North Rocks April 3rd then to Lake Worth April 4th. Again we used the ROAM app. Shortly after filing we received a text message clearing us into the US, no need to appear in pearson. Whew! Big sigh of relief!

We begin our trip north. Pam & John Loving graciously did a grocery & liqour store run for us so once again we were well provisioned. The rest of our trip north was uneventful, when we needed good weather we got it, when it blew like stink we hunkered down. April 19th we arrive at our dock in Pocomoke City, MD. Another sigh of relief!

Hadtop Project Part 9

The top is nearing completion, just need to remove it, fair it, prime, paint and do the final install.

Above: attaching and fairing the supports to the top.

Below: Kirby prepping for paint. He will put down 2 coats of Epoxy Primer and 2 coats of Awlcraft 2000.

 Painting all done! Install is next.

 Installation Day!

Paul Ammon, owner of Caribbean Carbon Works checks the final installation. Great guy to work with. Very talented, he can build you anything. Our entire hardtop including supports weighed in at 310 pounds!


Paul is located at Peake Yacht Services, Chaguramas, Trinidad & Tobago. We had some great work done in this yard over the three seasons we spent there. If you are down that way and want to get some work done check them out, Say Hi to Greg, Lincoln and Susan in the Service office for us.

Hard Top Project, Part 8

Moving along nicely, I think Paul has nailed it! The top comes out of the mold.

Below: Paul says "if you own a Henderson 30 and break that nice carbon mast, don't throw it out, one day it may come in handy" This is our Steelhead Davit with a Henderson mast extension, worked beautifully.

Final fitting 

Hardtop Project, Part 7

Lay Up Begins!

While the previous post the work happened over 4-5 days in this post the work was done in about 5-6 hours. Even with the extra slow hardener (West Systems) the team has to work very quickly.

The technique is referred to as "Wet Preg". All the cloth is precut, wetted in a bath then run between two rollers saturating the fabric and squeezing out the excess resin. The cloth is then layed out between 2 thin sheets of plastic, this allows the cloth to be handled, cut and trimmed as needed. To apply the cloth the plastic is removed from one side then the cloth is laid by hand and formed into place. Once in position the top layer of plastic is removed. Once the lay up including coring is completed the entire structure is vacuum bagged which squeezes all the layers together and pulls out any air and excess resin. The technique was first developed in New Zealand and is now a fairly common technique.


Below: Paul laying down a strip of  Wet Preg carbon cloth into one of the ribs. The plastic film has been removed from the underside of the cloth but not the topside......yet.

The center "beam". This channel is hollow for solar and light wiring.

 Wetting out the Corcell® coring.

Below: A layer of core mat which adds stiffness and prevents "bleed through" meaning the top structure when laminated on top will not show through to the underside.

Below: Bagging the entire structure.

Under vacuum!

Below: You can see the excess epoxy being pulled up into the bleed cloth. Pauls says the pressure is approximately 9 pounds per square inch, over a ton of pressure on this structure.

Hardtop Project, Part 6

The support structure is mostly carbon/epoxy/foam core construction but the "flange" that will be bonded to the flybridge coaming is solid glass/epoxy. In the previous post you can see the planning and mock up of the design. This way Paul uses the boat as a  "pattern" to accurately transfer dimensions to the workshop.  I should mention, Sylken sea is on the hard, 5 meters from Paul's shop. Convenient and efficient.




Below: This is solid glass/epoxy and will become the flange that is bonded to the boat. I thought using the boat as the "mold" was a clever idea. Once the support is bonded to this flange the entire piece will be released from the "mold" and taken to the shop for finishing.

Below: The carbon/foam/epoxy support leg bonded to the flange.

Below: Supports and flange remove and "rough" finished in the shop. Each of these weigh only 11 kg!

Below: Detail of flange/support temporarily in position. As expected the fit is perfect.

It's starting to come together now!

The top will have an opening that these supports fit into, fairly snug fit, the openings are molded into the top.  The plan is to bond the top to the supports on the boat then remove the entire structure as one single piece for painting before the final installation.

Hard Top Project, Part 5

The guys are waiting on some material to finish up the mold so they start on the support structure. Spent a whole day building a mock up, measuring and making patterns.

Above: Cutting out patterns.

Below: "OK it will go like this, right?" Discussing details and finalizing the design. The supports will not just be straight up and down nor will they be parallel to the boat centre line. They will be  angled to match the angles of the fly bridge coaming, tapered to look like part of the original boat.

Below: Mock up of the support in place, starboard side.

Happiness is a new Exhaust Elbow

Ten years, 4540 hours and four exhaust elbows, the genny is just fine!  Northern Lights has changed the design a bit, new part number. Still a casting so not sure if they have improved the life expectancy. I use a mirror and flashlight and inspect at least once a year, usually twice, 'cause if she drips nasty salty water guess where it goes? Yep, bye, bye Genny.

Hard Top Project, Part 4

Things are moving along nicely, I knew molds take time to build but I had no idea how much time. The sanding, faring, sealing is endless. Now we are in the late stages, Paul and his team are applying Teflon® release tape to the mold, almost ready to do the layup!

Below: The brown material you see is a very cool Teflon® release tape. It is called "tape" but actually comes in a large roll. Paul tells me "nothing sticks to it". I am very impressed with Paul Ammon and his team, Caribbean Carbon Works Ltd. Paul understands what we want, appreciates nice lines and understands functionality. So fun to work with someone who is passionate about their art.