Category: Uncategorized

I’m anchored here.  Got in about 3:45 and this is the view as I write at 4:15.  But when I stuck my arm out the pilothouse door to take that pic I got chilled.  Wind WNW 15-20 kts and maybe 5C.  It’s pretty raw outside.

• 

• 

Wow.  I’m well stocked with everything I need, and this is a spectacular anchorage.  I came in at dead low tide and dropped anchor in about ten feet of water.  Nobody around.  Life is good. 

Today was another great travel day.  I napped a couple of hours past my intended departure time, but got underway about 9:00 and cruised down to Portland to get fuel and a replacement for a VHF antenna which I damaged in Lunenburg just before I left. Then followed the coast down to here.

It’s been cool but generally sunny and bright.  I have very good heat, and it’s always pleasant inside.  Waves haven’t been unmanageable.

Tomorrow looks to be another brilliant day, weather wise.  I’m heading over to the Blynman Canal, which I’m now off to learn more about on the interwebs.

There is a group of rocks nearby that had dozens of seals laying about.  Most went in the water but I got pics of a few.  Many have very light pelts.  Cat and I were speculating yesterday than they could be pups, but that doesn’t seem right to me.  Probably a breed I haven’t seen before.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Another couple of days of enjoyable travel.

Yesterday was a fairly straight shot from Rockland to Boothbay Harbor, then up the Sasanoa River to meet the Kennebec River at Bath. I anchored just above the bridge at dusk. I always enjoy exploring rivers.

My cousin Cat arrived bearing pizza and snacks and stayed the night aboard, and this morning we cruised upriver to Bowdoinham, then turned around to go back down the Kennebec to the sea. Then down to Freeport. Nice day, and great to have her aboard for a visit.

I managed to fill the water tank here on arrival, and will get fuel at 0800 then head south. Looks like a couple of days of decent weather, and I hope to be south of Gloucester by late Wednesday.

That was a beautiful travel day. Sunny and calm behind the islands. I threaded my way across to Rockport and anchored here about 4:45. It was almost completely dark by then.

This is a spectacularly beautiful and interesting area. The ten foot tidal range adds to the variety and challenge.

Another little front comes through this evening, then nice again tomorrow. I’m going to head up to Bath.

I thought I’d go ashore here and have a meal out, but that requires getting into the dinghy and it’s cold and dark and getting windy. Think I’m going to stay aboard and have an early night and try to be up for dawn.

I’ve been looking at lobster boats all summer, and I have to say the ones I saw today are my favourites. They all looked good to my eye.

I saw one pleasure boat underway today. I think it’s my first since leaving Chester. Lots of lobster boats out though.

It’s been a while…

I’m anchored in Bar Harbor.  The trip over went pretty much as planned, and I arrived here about 0200 local time.

Clearing customs and getting a US cruising permit was easy using the ROAM app. 

It’s now raining and stormy outside, with 50 knot gusts forecast this evening from the south.

In hindsight I should have left about four hours later, or stopped at Seal Island to wait for the tide to change. I should have known the strong current on my tail was going to turn the seas on my bow into monsters.

Instead, we (the boat and I) suffered a pretty good thrashing for a few hours getting around the tip of NS. Everything that wasn’t securely fastened down ended up on the floor and I was either standing at the wheel or well braced. It was at times pretty violent. Fortunately the best course to get through the waves was also the direction I wanted to travel.

I took a brief video of bashing into the waves. https://youtu.be/vNWMwSbRsSU

It was stupid of me to have not anticipated and avoided those conditions. Once the tide changed things settled down immediately.

The evening was calm and clear, as expected. But about 30 miles out from Bar Harbor I saw a lobster buoy, and from then on in I was focused on the radar trying not to catch gear. I see now why all the lobster boats in NS have big headlights. I don’t think it’s prudent for me to be traveling at night in these waters. There are a lot of traps out there.

I haven’t really looked at the route down the coast. These are unfamiliar waters for me. But I want to tour around a bit. Lots of famous yards around the corner at Southwest Harbor. Tomorrow morning I’ll be on the move.

I’m planning to head across to Bar Harbor tomorrow. Thursday afternoon and evening look good for getting across before a big system comes in Friday.

It’s about 150 miles across, so about 19 hours at my target speed of 8 knots. I’ll leave Barrington Passage around 10 am and arrive in the wee hours.

I activated my Spot device to have satellite based SOS capability and to allow friends and family to keep track of my progress. Hopefully this link works.

https://maps.findmespot.com/s/CW3R

I think I’m ready otherwise. Will try using the ROAM app to clear customs and request a cruising licence on arrival.

Wish me luck!

Nice day on the water today, clear sunny and relatively settled.

I’m now anchored here at the north end of Cape Sable Island. I got in about 10 pm. Apparently I can get in closer to the causeway and get ashore, but I’ll explore tomorrow.

I went into Shelburne and had an unremarkable meal ashore. Then after a walk around headed out. I was thinking of anchoring near Birchtown and going to the museum there in the morning, but it was a nice evening, so I headed out to get to here.

There are grocery stores here. I rushed out of Lunenburg to get fuel and didn’t return to stock up. Tomorrow I’ll provision.

I’ve been looking at weather, and the next few days don’t look great for crossing the Gulf. A nice window just closed. I’ll likely head for Southwest Harbor. It’s not that far from Yarmouth, about 110 miles.

The new drivetrain is transformational. Smooth at all speeds. And I think I like the repropping. I was cruising in the 1400-2000 rpm range. That’s now dropped to 1100-1700.

These pics were taken in Shelburne – entering, stopping, and departing.

• 

• 

• 

I’m happily underway. Launched today at noon. I anchored here at midnight.

I headed to South Shore Marine as soon as we splashed to get fuel. It’s about 20 miles in the wrong direction, but I was running on empty.

It was a beautiful clear evening, so I came down the coast to this anchorage. I spent a couple of nights close by two months ago, and felt comfortable getting in and anchored after dark.

Escapade is running beautifully. Smooth and vibration free. I’m happy with the recut prop. We wanted to be a bit over propped, and this drops the rpm by about 300.

Tomorrow we head for Shelburne. I’ve never been. Weather looks nice.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

All was going well on Tuesday until the shaft met up with motor. Then we discovered the motor was low by about 3/4″ front and back. So there was a couple of days of shimming and adjustment to make things right.

I’m happy to have this done, and I think it’s all been done right.

Eric and Jim were both here Thursday to help out with a few more of my small tasks. I’m almost ready to go.

Looking forward to a launch Monday, and the weather looks decent for a couple of days. I like hanging out in boat yards, but am now a week behind schedule. Itching to get underway, and looking forward to having a more robust, capable and refined drive train.

The damaged prop looks like new. We’ve agreed to depitch and reduce the diameter of the original prop and install it. It’s a nice Nibral 4 blade. They’re machining the new shaft. Planning to launch by the end of the week.

My uncle Eric came yesterday and we tackled the generator and ran around collecting tools and boat bits. He stayed over to help complete the job today. The generator is now installed and (I think) fully operational. We had it running briefly. Will fully test when we hit the water. He enjoys challenges like this, and it gets me off the couch. Glad to have that done. It’s been sitting there for a year.

I had been toying with the idea of going without a generator. There has been some excellent discussion on Trawler Forum, and I was quite excited by my solar panels. I was sort of considering selling the generator and putting the proceeds into bigger better solar. I’m quite confident that I could satisfy my house needs that way, and I’ve got lots of rooftop space.

But the nagging doubt is air conditioning. I had it on Mazurka and didn’t use it that often but appreciated it when I had it. I’m prepared to put A/C on Escapade if I feel the need, and for that I need a generator. And I have one. Now it’s useable, and I suspect I’ll keep it forever.

There isn’t too much left on my list. I’m feeling comfortable with time lines. All good.

I’m quite happy here. Lots going on. I’ve met the owner of Impulse, the Class 40 here that I mentioned earlier. It’s not aluminum, but stitch and glue foam/wood/glass composite. Cool boat. Kyle is launching the boat and trying to get to Portland with the mast on deck. I offered my services as volunteer tow boat. Think it would be fine in favourable weather.

Some pics of Escapade out of the water. She’s passed the one year probation period with flying colours.

The yard crew got the prop and shaft out this morning, and I had a visit with the shop folks later.

They’re banging the damaged prop back into shape. It’s a three blade 24×22. I got a second 4 blade 24×28 prop with the boat, and it looks like we can depitch it to fit. So I’ll have a spare prop.

The guys here convinced me to get a line cutter. I’ve been concerned about the exposed running gear, and this will help against prop entanglements. We settled on a Piranha unit.

The old shaft was in poor condition. I had noted some pitting when I bought the boat, so was not surprised. It was pretty deep and extensive. I’ve opted to have a new shaft made. This is going to likely delay launch by a couple of days and add a few thousand to the bill.

As a side note, I had booked a haul here in early September to have this work done. But I didn’t have any shore side plans, and I was thinking of hauling here for the winter and could do it then, so I deferred the work. If I fall behind on time lines it’s on me.

Heavy rain today, but decent weather coming in a day or two to get the outside stuff done. Bottom paint, topsides cleaning.

I’ll try to remember to take some pictures at the shop. They’ve been making props and custom castings there since the 19th century. I got a tour of the foundry today. Fascinating.