Welcome to Steve and Rudi’s excellent adventure with sailing vessel “Moor Fun,” a 34′ sloop-rigged catamaran manufactured by Performance Cruising, Inc., in Annapolis, MD. Yep, no kidding. Something is actually made in the good old USA.
We purchased our new Gemini 105Mc in June, 2008, while she was still under construction, following a tour of the factory. They bring in barrels of slurpy stuff and bolts of fabric in one end of the building, and about a week later, a new sailboat pops out of the other end of the building. Very cool.
We opted for only a couple of minor modifications from Tony Smith’s outstanding concept — only one coat (vs. the standard 3) of teak oil (more info here), and addition of some DC and AC outlets. We took delivery of “Moor Fun” on 10 July, and then turned her over in situ to Peter Kennedy to install an inverter, a windlass, a DC outlet in the head and some cockpit lights.
This blog serves as an online log of our adventures (and misadventures) with “Moor Fun.” We sincerely hope you enjoy the ride.
A note — I updated the blog on 7/25/2010, and modified the “published on” dates of the posts in order to make it a little more coherent. In the future, it is my intent to publish posts shortly after the event in order to ensure chronological consistency.
/s/Capt Hotdog
July 19th, 2008
Posted by
HotDog |
Cruising |
no comments
2011 should be logged as one of the worst sailing seasons in the history of the Chesapeake. Until this weekend, anyway. Tom, Tim and I went out on Saturday — planning to move the boat to the Anchor Bay East Marina on Bear Creek in Dundalk, MD, for haul-out. We took a right turn out into the Bay for a little diversion, and it turned out to be a gorgeous day — despite the ugly forecast of winds 15-20 with gusts to 35.
Temperature was mid-high 60s. Winds were 5-10 when we left the dock, quickly built to 10-15, with occasional gusts. Building to steady 18 midday. Then dropped back to 5-10 when we pointed toward the yard, and nada when we arrived. How perfect is that?
November 14th, 2011
Posted by
HotDog |
Cruising |
no comments
In June we went out once for an afternoon sail. Can’t recall the date, exactly. The rest of the month was a bust. Mayflies made the boat disgusting. Even on July 4th we had to fight them off. That weekend, Tim and Libby brought “Blue Dog” up for the weekend, and our dock-neighbor “R’Time” graciously lent their still vacant slip next to us. They came up Saturday (2nd July) for the night and departed Sunday. Tim, Lib, Tom and Baerbal came back up to the Bog on Monday the 4th for a swim and we all went over to “Moor Fun” to watch fireworks on the Creek.
That was it — until this weekend! It’s been hot and windless since late May.
Saturday afternoon, with temps in low 80s, winds forecast 5-10, and no rain in sight, we decided to explore Hart-Miller Island and surrounding waters. We departed a little after 1600, steaming out around Sparrows Point and up along the shoreline. We’d steamed/sailed in that vicinity before, but never so close in. We explored Old Road Bay, just east of Sparrows Point, and then continued up to the inlet just at the western end of Hart-Miller Island (between Pleasure Island and Cuckold Point — go figure).
Hart-Miller Island is an artificial island formed by the State as a depository for dredge material from Baltimore Harbor. The southern exposure of the island — what we had always seen when sailing in the Bay — is essentially a rock wall. The place has the appearance of an industrial facility, so we’d never given it much though. But, we noted that the island is a state park and the description in a cruising guide was intriguing. We found the northern side of the island, facing Hawk Cove, a delight — all greenery with sandy beaches. We also found hundreds of boats and some police/USCG activity which we inferred must have indicated an incident of some sort, or perhaps a drug bust. In any case, the anchorage was quite large and easily accommodated the hundreds of boats there. We found a place close in (perhaps 150 yds to shore) in about 4′ of water.
After a beautiful sunset, the day-sailors/runabouts departed, and the place quieted down. The ratio of sail to power boats in the anchorage went up noticeably.
Next morning we departed about 1100 and steamed about 3 miles (half-way) up the Back River to explore the environs. On the way in we noted a state park along the northern end — Rocky Point State Park on the charts. So, on the way back out, we poked into a cove through a marked channel. We found a delightful small anchorage with just enough space for a couple of boats, close in to the state park. We anchored for lunch and went ashore to explore. We found the facility to be well-maintained, and pet friendly. The parking lot was full, but there were many available shaded picnic tables. It was a beautiful site. We’ll be back.
We had planned to sail some on Sunday afternoon, but the winds were 16-18kts from the south, building seas to 3′. Rudi got soaked sitting on the dolphin seats. So, we elected not to sail and instead just motored directly back to home base. The trip back took about 1:45 from the mouth of Back River to secure in our slip motoring at 2500 RPM achieving about 4.5 kts SOG by UPS. We noted that the speedwheel did not register speed, which usually means the hull is fouled with growth despite the high-dollar bottom paint. It’s time to call John Davis at Commander’s Dive Services to come scrape her clean. It might be a little early because the growth will continue until late into August before it tends to slow. But sailing performance is noticeably affected by growth, so it’s time to get it done.
By the time we arrived at the marina (~1630) the temps were in mid-90s, and winds were blowing 12kts at the slip. Docking the boat was a little bit of a challenge, so I aborted the first attempt and came around for a second try. I allowed a little more for the wind speed and direction and we made a relatively uneventful landing. Power and the air conditioning were the first order of business after securing the boat. I noted that the starboard rudder had popped up. I had intentionally not secured the rudders down during this trip because we were gunkholing in shallow waters. The rudders want to float. So if not secured down, they will sometimes come up. This may help explain why backing the boat into the slip was a little more challenging than I had expected in 12kt winds. In any case, it reinforces the lessons learned in other settings — the Gem is a complex boat. Handling qualities are variable depending on configuration. Always check boards and rudders down before maneuvering in close quarters.
We were back at “the Bog” by 1830.
July 18th, 2011
Posted by
HotDog |
Cruising |
no comments
Finally, we’ve had a series of sunny and warm days after a long dreary winter and early spring. We’ve been busy getting new things installed and removing the grunge from a winter of disuse.
The boat has always had little black specks all over it — like the residue that you sometimes see following a fireworks display. This winter a friend noted that there is a coal-fired power plant on the the Patapsco River, just north of our position. It is entirely plausible that these specks are fall-out from that plant when the wind is just right.
In addition, decks and other external surfaces always appeared dirty and discolored. The decks of this boat represent a large expanse of non-skid that traps dirt and is difficult to keep clean. Last year, I waxed the boat with Fleet carnuba wax before splashing. By the end of August, the waxed surfaces appeared almost burned. So, this spring, I cleaned that wax off with Starbrite Yacht Cleaner and a fabric cleaner that worked well on the fiberglass, as well as canvas. CAPT intends to use nothing but Aerospace 303 on the exterior from this point forward to protect from UV. The performance of the Fleet wax was very disappointing. Clearly it is not feasible to clean/wax the boat monthly during the boating season. The appearance of the wax after just a couple of months of very high heat (in the high 90s, occasionally 100s) resembled a burned coating — darkened and splotchy. It is plausible that any natural (carnuba) product would have problems under the severe marine environment. A synthetic UV protection such as Aerospace 303 would appear to be the only real solution to maintaining an acceptable appearance.
This spring, we had Sunbrella window covers installed by Almo Products (they did all canvas for PCI). The intent is to cut down on sunlight in the main saloon to reduce mid-summer’s temperatures in the cabin. It is likely that we will remove the covers for long-term storage. Dirty Sunbrella (from the elements) could easily act like a sandpaper against the relatively soft Lexan glazing.
We also had new simulated CoolTeak decking installed by Overboard Boat Services. The surface of the cockpit is mostly non-skid. That is the area where you spend the most time. It is also the dirtiest appearance due to the fact that non-skid collects dirt and is difficult to keep clean. CoolTeak adds a dressier appearance to the cockpit, and should prove to be easier to keep clean.
Perhaps the most important improvement of this season — CAPT has completed installation of the FX-1 controller and Dometic Smart-Start. Technical data in the Mods page. Suffice to say the goal is to be able to operate the 16.5kBTU Mermaid air conditioner when on the hook using the Honda EU2000i generator (modified to run on propane).
This spring our son Ben installed a new Mermaid 16 with FX-1 and Dometic Smart-Start in his Hunter 37, and reported success running the a/c from the Honda in “eco” mode. This success inspired several of his marina-mates to procure SS devices, and they have all reported success. We decided to convert our Mermaid to the FX-1/Smart-Start configuration. Preliminary data collection during testing indicates that this configuration should work for us. (5/25/2011). We anticipate final operational test today using the Honda. Will report out details after that test.
May 26th, 2011
Posted by
HotDog |
Cruising |
no comments
