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CLIPPER

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Everything posted by CLIPPER

  1. Here's one of mine. (IMAGE) It was taken 30 years ago. Wonder where that boat is now ?
  2. My present boat is 18'sprit rigged open day sailer. I use a cam cleat P & S to sheet off the main and jib sheets. The main is 100 sq ft. I devised a turning block on the cleat made from scrap brass tubeing and copper wire as bearings on a brass tube race. It is all mounted on a "pin" that goes into a thole pin hole as shown. This whole arrangement is easy to dump wind and sheet in again as needed. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]
  3. Obtaining a boat gives one the pleasant problem of naming her . 8) What did you name your boat and why :?: I named mine after my granddaughter. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]
  4. Capt. Jake, Did you mean the Whale boat image ? :?:
  5. My first significant sail and learning experience was noteable so I penned a story about it. I call it "The Mid Watch" It was 02:00 Definitely slowing down. Forty strokes at midnight. Twenty eight strokes now, and the pump is sucking air. What a day. I'm still excited. Did it really happen to me, a thrilling rail down beat through the azure blue Mediterranean with the sun hovering over the green hills of Sardina ?. Just like in the boating magazine- only minus the feminine pulchritude. Overhead the steady hum of ships machinery and water oozing back into the bilge brings me back to reality- clearing the pump of debris. While waiting for a sizeable amount of water to bail, I thought back to how it started on board the USS Coral Sea fitting out for a Mediterranean cruise. Curiosity was aroused amongst my shipmates and I as to why in hanger bay 4, lashed down amongst lethal jet air craft was a humble wooden sailboat. Our questions went unanswered until a week at sea. In the "Plan of the day"was a small note. "All those interested in forming a boat club meet in the ships library at 19:30". That's all I needed . A group of men were at the table reading and writing letters when I arrived at the library. In the corner were two expectant face. They, I deduced to be, my fellow " yachtsmen." On inquiring, I found them to be Don & Chuck and just as puzzled as I. Prelude to Fun In a few minutes an officer arrived and introduced himself as "Commander Stanley", our new supply officer. He outlined his plans. The 32' ketch rigged whale boat was to be the nucleus of our club with the addition of 11' penguin class cat boats in kit form when our membership grew. He was to be the officer representative. With other members we were to elect Commodore and vice commodore. He also pointed out that the boat needed a great deal of work. That was my first prelude to the "fun of boating". Don and I did a survey on the condition of the boat and all the materials necessary to make her "Bristol Fashion" again. The hull appeared sound but needed the usual re-caulking, sanding and painting to a boat long out of her element. Being young, enthusiastic and persevering we somehow managed to turn out a reasonable shipshape job for a group of amateurs. The varnished gunwales gleamed over the smooth business like grey topsides. The sails were mended and new sheets rove through reconditioned blocks. On September 19th, 1950 we passed through the straits of Gibraltar and three days later dropped the hook in Aranci Bay Sardinia. The bay was surrounded by rolling green hills that rose abruptly from the indigo sea. The water was so clear you could see fish playing around the ships anchor chain. At 16:00 members of the boat club were to put the ketch over via. the flight deck crane. Uniform of the day was undress whites. Suddenly the club doubled its membership with four new recruits. With an audience With the skipper at the tiller and all six oars manned, we blundered about a quarter mile to leeward of the ship to commence the comedy for the ship company manning the rails. After fumbling with the oars at Commander Stanley's order, "boat oars!" we managed to bring them in with no more to do than knocking off the skippers cap, which was met with a great roar from the ship. Now the muddle called the rig in the center of our craft was to be tackled. The theory was to place the mast fore and aft across the thwarts and position a hinged device on top of its opposite member on the thwart. When this lined up, a pin was to be inserted in the hinge effectively connecting them mast to the seat at which time two crew members were to raise the stick. This went surprisingly smooth considering some of us were frantically bailing not caring which way the water flew. Amid our own confusion the Commander stood calmly by, patient, and paternal over-seeing this uniformed chaos, knowing full well that Navy tradition would prevail in the end. The excitement continued but we were more serious now seeing that we were making progress and the long worked for sail was soon to begin. Feverishly the main was bent on with not too much profanity. Somehow we were functioning as a team. At last the sails climbed the mast. Glorious moment The evening breeze held steady at about ten knots sending crackling ripples through our luffing canvas. The ship was far off now but we could still hear our cheering section. Commander Stanley lowered the centerboard, ordered the jib backed, put the helm up, trimmed the sheets and slid off on the port tack. Those first glorious moments under sail one never forgets. That lovely ketch anxious to go, to prove herself after such a long exile in some forgotten naval boat yard. Like new life breathed into her she came alive and leaned down to her business sailing. Giving her greenhorn crew their first rail down breeze. Bubbling water 5" away passing at 6 knots, spray gently hitting you in the face gives a sailor a sense of intimacy with the sea that a 45' high flight deck steaming at 30 plus knots can never do. Her gleaming gunwale inched closer to the hissing foaming Mediterranean as our freeboard diminished. The added strain of our wind stressed hull accelerated the leak. Only momentary glimpses of the passing scene could we afford to take as all hands bailed with white hats. Soon the mighty bulk of the Coral Sea loomed above us. Passing close by the deck edge elevator, cheers rang out from the chow line. We now were about to learn another lesson
  6. Thanks Tom & Oyster for the up date as to what is happening. I guess this will put some slow down at the hospitality activities at Elizabeth city NC :cry:
  7. You're right Stump. You won the satisfaction of knowing that you were the first to come up with the right answer. 8)
  8. This design seems to be popular here. For starters you can build a paper model of one All ya got to do is down load , start cutting and glueing. :wink: http://byyb.org/byyb/model/index.html
  9. Well you guys have the right state . The wreck is in Oregon. Now can ya name the wreck :?:
  10. Heard recently that this canal may be closed. Bad news to boaters going south on the ICW if it is true. :cry: Any one know :?: Anchored overnight off the ICW at Black Water creek saw this beautiful dawn.
  11. Time to pop this thread up again. Any body care to ID the subject and where ? Clipper
  12. Sounds interesting Frank. Do submissions have to be "your boat" only ? :roll: I have take many photo's of other boats but sailing aboard my own I can't take full views of mine. :wink:
  13. Greg, It looks to me that you have a beautiful crew. What is a non crew ? :roll: I used to have an engraved sign on previous sailboats I've had that read " THERE ARE NO PASSENGERS ON SAIL BOATS" I like that conscience bit :wink:
  14. Forgot to add. I guess I really like to see those fenders over the side while underway. It means somebody sooner or later is going to get a free fender, maybe me. :wink:
  15. Lubberly might be the best term for fenders hanging over the side. Most of us like to think of our boats as beautiful. I've had lots of people take photo's of mine. Would you like to have a picture of your boat sailing along with a bone in her teeth and the fenders trailing along on either side ? :wink: Besides I still think that for most people, (except those who have posted here :wink: ) that it's a sign of a careless skipper. Not paying attention to details. Soorner or later in attention catches up with you. :oops:
  16. Being retired , I'm out on the water often. I see lots of sloppy seamanship. :cry: My favorite or rather most noticeable is people ( I won't dare call then sailors or boatmen) still have their fenders dangling over the side when under way in both power and sail boats. Any body else see other examples of "sloppy seamanship" ?
  17. I agree with what Frank said. Sometimes the old fashion way of doing things is far better then some of the new fangled gadgets on the market. :wink: I see so many fender clips to hold fenders on boats . :roll: What is wrong with a simple knot. Insidently I find a lot of fenders floating around usualy in marshes where I canoe with the new fangled fender clip dangling in the water. I get all my fenders that way and pass the extras out to friends minus the clip
  18. This shot was taken with a digitl camera. I didn't plan for the gull to be in it but it just luckly happened. :wink: Image taken off Pt Judith RI USA.
  19. Thanks for the tip John. It seems to work The "Pride" fires one gun :wink:
  20. Another thought regarding naming a misc. section might be the "GAM" Whaling ships during the hey day of that infamous occupation "hove to" and exchanged mates and captains to discuss their prey and just where they were. Of course other chatter was bandied about. :wink: The below is excerpted from Melvile's "Moby Dick" in which he describes the "Gam" far better then I. Nevertheless, this same expressive word has now for many years been in constant use among some fifteen thousand true born Yankees. Certainly it needs a definition, and should be incorporated into the Lexicon. With that view, let me learnedly define it. Gam. Noun --A social meeting of two (or more) Whale-ships, generally on a cruising-ground; when, after exchanging hails, they exchange visits by boats' crews: the two captains remaining, for the time, on board of one ship, and the two chief mates on the other. There is another little item about Gamming which must not be forgotten here. All professions have their own little peculiarities of detail; so has the whale fishery. In a pirate, man-of-war, or slave ship, when the captain is rowed anywhere in his boat, he always sits in the stern sheets on a comfortable, sometimes cushioned seat there, and often steers himself with a pretty little milliner's tiller decorated with gay cords and ribbons. But the whale-boat has no seat astern, no sofa of that sort whatever, and no tiller at all. High times indeed, if whaling captains were wheeled about the water on castors like gouty old aldermen in patent chairs. And as for a tiller, the whale-boat never admits of any such effeminacy; and therefore as in gamming a complete boat's crew must leave the ship, and hence as the boat steerer or harpooneer is of the number, that subordinate is the steersman upon the occasion, and the captain, having no ( page 240 ) place to sit in, is pulled off to his visit all standing like a pine tree. And often you will notice that being conscious of the eyes of the whole visible world resting on him from the sides of the two ships, this standing captain is all alive to the importance of sustaining his dignity by maintaining his legs. nor is this any very easy matter; for in his rear is the immense projecting steering oar hitting him now and then in the small of his back, the after-oar reciprocating by rapping his knees in front. He is thus completely wedged before and behind, and can only expand himself sideways by settling down on his stretched legs; but a sudden, violent pitch of the boat will often go far to topple him, because length of foundation is nothing without corresponding breadth. Merely make a spread angle of two poles, and you cannot stand them up. Then, again, it would never do in plain sight of the world's riveted eyes, it would never do, I say, for this straddling captain to be seen steadying himself the slightest particle by catching hold of anything with his hands; indeed, as token of his entire, buoyant self-command, he generally carries his hands in his trowsers' pockets; but perhaps being generally very large, heavy hands, he carries them there for ballast. Nevertheless there have occurred instances, well authenticated ones too, where the captain has been known for an uncommonly critical moment or two, in a sudden squall say --to seize hold of the nearest oarsman's hair, and hold on there like grim death. Please read the terms under which this book is provided to you --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  21. Nice pix. Do ya have any sun up there ? Made a trip up through the inland passage years ago, didn't see much of the sun the whole time. :!:
  22. Need to catch up here but does this forum and magazine have a logo :?: I mean something simple and easily recognizable. When you see the Wooden boat logo, people into building or using wooden boats recognize it right away. Any ideas out there? :idea:
  23. You guys sure post some nice pix. In 11 months you'll have enough for a calender. 8) Thinking of doing that with some of mine. :wink: Here's one taken on the Nile river. Clipper
  24. My thoughts concerning this new section is to echo what Frank said. NO POLITICS, RELIGION, or personal problems. The first two sem to bring out the worst in people. ( as well as the best) Also If you want your leaking pipes fixed I'm sure there are plenty of sites on the internet to educate your self or call a plumber. Same for personal problems, talk to a caring friend eyeball to eyeball or get professional help. Self educated ametuer advice is usually wrong. I'd like to see any thing nauitical posted , art, history as long as it stays maritime. I'ts too easy for things to get out of control and being "nice"isn't listened to on the "other" forum. I've lurked here just a bit so I don't really know if harsh words have been exchanged but some sort of enforceable action should be available to get rid of nasty posters. I think there are plenty of Forums on the internet to home in on any interest this one should remain nauitical in content. Time is precious and wading through junk wastes it. Clipper
  25. Made by International Nauitical. Good condition, micrometer drum. In box. This is the smaller "Yachtsman" version Horizion mirror needs resilvering $200.00 plus shipping. Clipper@rcn.com [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]
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