Summer 2015

SV Calypso in early Spring 2015 on its cradle in Milford CT

The Swim Platform finally down

It's in the water

The Galley with the new pulls and all cleaned up

The forward Cabin ready for use

And we sailed SV Calypso to her mooring in Mount Sinai Harbor

Repairs to the Roller Furling System

The roller furling system was difficult to use, whether rolling the jib out or in.  I had tried to repair over the preceding winter with no success.  Part of the reason is the way the furling system is manufactured; way to many components to disassemble before you can get to the bearings, and part because the lower furling assembly is below deck level.  This is good for sailing and racing but bad for maintenance.

By the middle of 2015 it became so hard that I had to use a winch to roll it in.  Finally, the high strength furling line broke.  When the rigger that was supposed to replace the furling line he informed my that the lower bearing of the furler had been replaced with Duct Tape.

The lower system showing the duct tape replacement of the lower bearing

So I had to redo the entire roller furling system.  We pulled up the marina's dock and the rigger went to work.

So up goes the rigger and down came the forestay

Down comes the forestay

Here is the forestay laid out on Ralph's dock

Finally, back up goes the forestay

This is a detail of the "lower bearing" on the roller furling system

After the Storm

At about 5 AM the day before Jim and I were supposed to leave to head up to Martha's Vineyard, a very intense micro-storm came through with winds above 95 MPH reported. Apparently, a powerboat dragged its mooring and hit the bow of Calypso. This smashed Calypso's bow pulpit, broke off the anchor roller as shown in the following pictures.

So we powered over to Milford CT to the yard for help.  After much tugging and pulling, they bent the bow pulpit back into used shape and put on new navigation lights.  The light fixture had been mounted on the bow pulpit and was completely smashed.

The Sail to Martha's Vineyard

We sailed from Milford CT the next day,after getting the bow pulpit unbent enough to feel comfortable going on the foredeck and headed for Martha's Vineyard. We made reasonably good time, having left Milford just after lunch and making Fisher's Island by 10 PM.

On Our Way

Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard

Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard

Back at Oak Bluff

Calypso stands out in the mooring area with her dark hull and black mast

On Our Way Home Off Martha's Vineyard

Captain Jim sailing Calypso

Good bye Martha's Vineyard. On to Block Island

Hello Block Island

And We Leave Block

Up the Connecticut River to Essex Our Last Stop before Home 

At the Mooring in Essex

Sunrise on the Connecticut River with River Fog 

And out toward home

We unfurled the Spinnaker for the first time other than for testing it out.

You can see the retractable bowsprit here

You can see the lack of tension in the luff of the sail here, due flexing of the bowsprit 

Additional work

Added coolant to the refrigeration unit: I'd had problems with the refrigerator cooling since I bought the boat.  I spent a go deal of time on attempting to repair the problem to no avail.

Added a Boom Harness: In addition to the boom being mounted 6 inches low on the boom, a second reason that the boom created holes in the bimini was that when I sailed under the jib alone, the boom would swing and sway back and forth putting stress on the mainsheet and other lines and rubbing on the the bimini.  On Starwood I solved this by tightening the mainsheet, but that didn't work on Calypso.  In fact, all it did was pull the boom closer to the bimini.  So, as my friend Wayne recommended, I added a boom harness.  I tried a very simple design and found that it did not work.  I'm still working on a simple, yet effective and cost efficient design.

Added a Screen for Hatchway: When I purchased Starwood, it came with a screen for the hatchway, Calypso didn't.  Since we like to sleep at the mooring or at anchor and since mosquitoes and other insects come out in the evening and night, we felt that having a screen in the hatchway was a good thing (Calypso came with screens for the top hatches). I have a friend who is an excellent carpenter and he built a hatchway screen for me, shown in the photos following.   

From the outside

From the inside looking out

Repaired the Plexiglas: When I acquired Calypso I notice that all of the side windows were cloudy, not clear like the Plexiglas should be.  So I went to an automotive supply store and purchased a plastic scratch remover kit and tried it on the windows.  I was semi-successful.

Started the repairs of the rot in the cabin walls: When I acquired Calypso it was obvious that the cherry veneered walls were rotting, where they attached to the cabin sole.  Mike and I started to work on the repairs by cutting out the rotting wood.

The Main Cabin at the door of the head before work began

The Aft Cabin Wall with the rot cut out

A detail of the left (port) side of the cut into the wall

We left the cut open because we kept getting water into the area and we wanted find the leak before repairing/restoring the area. The mechanic found it in the winter of 2015 to 2016.