500 Pounds Lighter

I have a real dilema...I have removed the very heavy engine from the Vindhler and I'm reluctant to replace it. I can't wait to see how she will sit in the water without all that weight. Of course the performance will be better! When the 50 year old Gray Marine gave out on me last year, I sailed all summer with out it. Sailing on and off the mooring, anchoring...I did have to get towed by a powerboat once when the wind died and I was in the channel, afraid I would get caught crowding the ferry. On this occassion I was not towing my inflatable, so I could not use it and the outboard to get us in. I learned a valuable lesson...don't leave home without it.



Friends, Matt and Joby came by on a very rainy Sunday to help get the engine out of the boat and into the cockpit. We built up blocks on both sides of the cockpit and placed a solid steel bar across with a chain come-a-long device. This coupled with my 2 ton floor jack in the engine compartment helped us remove the motor through the cockpit floor hatch in about 90 minutes.



The engined waited in the cockpit for about two weeks before I figured how to get it off the Vindhler. I really did not want to hire a crane...financially, it was out of the question. Steven Beckett, a friend who has helped me numerous times, thought some tackles hung from the mizzen would have the power and height to raise the 400lb. engine to deck height. I agreed. As we lifted the dead wait of the motor, we placed large pieces of wood under it to take the strain. It is remarkable what you can do with rope and pulley! Once we had the motor sufficiently raised up, we attached lines from the engine to the sheet winches for a controlled descent to the pallet below. Paul Leddy, another man who has helped me many times came with his brother Chris. The four of us gently pushed the motor over the side of the boat which was protected with thick carpet. My father in law Charles lead a guy line that kept the motor away from the side of the boat and the rest of us let gravity do the work while we braked the whole affair against the winches.

Being a do it yourselfer with limited finances means that I have to ask for help. I'm blessed with talented sailors around me who frequently lend a hand. Being able to ask for help has advanced my project greatly. I run into prideful individuals all the time who insist by their stoic silence that they can do it on their own and yet accomplish nothing extraordinary. I love the biblical proverb that states," many advisers guarantee success."

Wooden Spars

I gathered a small band of locals to help me get the spar off of the Vindhler's deck and onto some saw horses in the back yard. I have been hitting it with varnish and making some small repairs. I capped the bottom of the spar with a layer of fiberglass and then coated the base with epoxy. This is to prevent moisture from wicking up into the wood. The masts are beautiful even with all sorts of stains and blemishes. I wooded the mast 5 years ago (remove all the hardware and varnish), and it could probably use it again sometime in the next 2 or 3 years. I have been repairing all defects in the wood with epoxy and varnish. I have become a fan of epoxy as a base coat as long as it is a flexible penetrating variety.

The Sitka Spruce main mast and mizzen have performed well for me, but I can't help wonder if they will make it in a prolonged event of high wind and waves. I have replaced the head stay, cap shrouds and back stay. The rigging that I removed was never put under serious duress by the previous owners. Sailing on the great lakes is different than the salty ocean. It is easier to tuck into a harbor each night, and overnight passages are rare. So a Great Lake sailor rarely sees heavier weather. I suppose the same can be said for most fair weather coastal sailors. I imagine the best I can do is to keep the spars strong and well protected with varnish. I use Epifanes from Holland. I have about six coats now, but will have at least 12 before I step it on the boat again.

I cut my rudder in two!

I cut my rudder into two pieces and welded a flange into the rudder stock. This gives me the ability to remove the rudder to perform maintenance on the rudder tube. The rudder tube is simply a large pipe welded into the bottom of the stern. It passes up into the cockpit. The rudderstock fits in the tube with lubricated (greased) bushings held by set screws. The tiller handle fits on top. It is incredibly strong and simple. My fear is that the rudder tube will rust out and sink the boat from lack of maintenance. Before I welded in the flange, I would have to have a marina use the big lift to raise the boat up 10 feet or so and drop the rudder out. Only then could I inspect the rudder tube. Now I can have the rudder off in 15 minutes, right in my driveway...or even better, in any marina anywhere! I try to avoid the marina when possible. The cost of using the travel lift is very high.

Vindhler Gets A New Shoe!

The bottom of the keel had suffered from a lack of maintenance over the last 50 years; electrolysis and galvanic corrosion had warn the steel thin. My neighbors recommended Doug Uraneck for the welding. Doug is a master welder who works with skill usually consigned for surgeons. Doug was suffering from the beginning stages of ALS. In spite of pain and a wheelchair, his indomitable spirit kept him working until the end. Doug was a servant, and the great number of people who came to his side were a testament on how much he was loved. Thank you Doug! You are missed by many. I ordered a 4'x8' piece of hot rolled steel plate 3/8" thick. This was delivered sheared into two 2'x8' pieces. We joined them together creating a 16 foot piece. I hired John Clay and his truck that transports the boat to come by to lift the boat up. It took six men to lift and slide the steel plate under the Vindhler's keel. The next step was to trim and fasten the plate to the keel of the boat. I hired a great welder named John Doane for this work. I have been very happy with his effort. It was a great relief to get this work completed. I had always felt this was the Achilles heel of the boat.

Not the beginning...more like the middle.

The Vindhler is a 37 foot yawl built in Holland in 1957. Her construction is steel with Sitka spruce spars. I have given up quite a bit to own her, but for some reason, I don't seem to care that much. There is no doubt that I have been blessed in spite of the hardships that I endure.
The Vindhler sits on land, but she represents a way to gain a degree of freedom in this unholy society of workaholic somnambulists.

I don't blame people for succumbing to the American dream. We get all doped up on TV and consumerism. I have eaten the deadly commercial nightshade, and have drank merrily the media's pernicious brew.
Morpheus calls to me..."wake up from your stupor!" I'm Neo and I'm unplugged. I have been awakened by the sea and to the sea I shall go.

Is this the middle of my life, a turning point? One of many glorious turns. I'm not scared...well maybe a little. One always wants to make the right decision when it concerns their family.
This blog is simply a journal as I prepare my boat and family for a two year cruise in the carribean. I have owned the sailboat for over a decade, but have failed to fufill the vision that I started 13 years ago.