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Trying to Keep it Simple

First of all, how it is actually almost Labor Day Weekend already is totally  beyond me, but it might just be that not being on the boat for the last 4 weeks has put a damper on our sailing season. A big one. Which has me thinking about the boat, boat projects and cruising even more. Must be a symptom of boat withdrawl right?!? I'm trying to keep my imagination under control.

In an effort to keep things simple, we're trying to keep our project list in check. We fully intend to upgrade and buy items as we cruise and as we find them necessary to have with us, but we're trying hard to not waste money on things we think we need.

Boat Projects To Be Done:
Other Items:
This is by no means a totally complete list of things we'll need or buy before we take off, but most of the others are dependent on the condition of our cruising kitty before leaving. And I'd list all the domestic tasks that need to be done (ie. downsizing our 'stuff', renting out the house, getting a pet health certificate, banking/paying bills from afar) but that just might give me a nervous twitch. Who knew trying to simplify could be so complicated!

Posted by Skelton Crew at 7:47 AM 2 comments: 


You're Taking Your Boat Where?!? How?!?

We get a lot of questions from people about how a boat gets from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic without being hauled out and strapped on a trailer. At first I wasn't really sure either, I knew it could be done but I didn't know exactly where the route would take us. And us trying to explain the route to people only leads to a lot of blank stares, random head nodding and confused smiles.

Most people ask us if we're heading out the St. Lawrence Seaway, I don't think people realize how much of a long, isolated trip that is and just how brief of a seasonal window there is to complete it. Nope, not doing that, but we have other options!

Need a map? Sure, I stole one fair and square from our friend Kevin over at Sail Far Live Free (with a little modification)! If you're interested in the details of these options Kevin does a great job covering them, just follow the link!

Since we'll be in the North Channel before heading for the East Coast we can either continue on via the Trent-Severn Waterway and Oswego Canal then enter the Erie Canal or we can head south and pass by Detroit via the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River and enter the west end of the Erie Canal off Lake Erie.
So what exactly are we going to do? With there being rumors of a seriously depth-challenged Trent-Severn Waterway for a boat with our draft (5'6"), we'll be making the trip around The Mitten (Michigan for you non-michiganders), passing by Detroit, hitting up the Erie Canal, getting dumped into the Hudson River in NY and passing through NYC where we'll start our treck down the East Coast. Due to low, immobile bridges on the Erie Canal we'll also have our mast taken down, tied to the boat and put up again once through the canal.
And that, my friends, is how you get a boat from Lake Michigan to the East Coast and the warm waters of the Caribbean!
Posted by Skelton Crew at 4:00 AM 1 comment: Labels: Cruising, Great Lakes, Navigation


Oh Canada

This past week we headed up to Ron's family's cabin in Canada. Since we're now firmly under the one year mark for our big departure and we won't likely have the chance to come back for at least a few years, this was at the top of our list of must-do's before leaving.

The trip wasn't completely non-cruising related though. Getting to Madawanson Lake takes you along the north shore of the  North Channel, the exact area we plan to spend an extended amount of time cruising exactly one year from now. We passed through quaint towns like Bruce Mines, Blind River and Spanish and caught glimpses of some of the clear waters and rocky shores and daydreamed about seeing this world-renowned cruising area from the comfort of Hullabaloo.
﻿ You can only get to the cabin by boat and don't even think about your phone, internet or being 'connected'; won't happen. In other words, other than the other dozen or so cabins on the massive lake (that may or may not have people at them), you're extremely isolated. And it's fabulous. ﻿﻿

Clearly we did a terrible job getting pictures as this is pretty much all we got...which only means we had a great time! Hey, trying to fit in all your favorite things before leaving is rough work!
The only real downside is not getting to the boat for FOUR weeks!! It's pretty sad, I'm in a bit of a funk about it really. But we're looking forward to spending the last few weeks of summer reminding HB how much we still love her...maybe even squeezing in a trip or two down the lakeshore before the season ends.

Posted by Skelton Crew at 8:20 AM 3 comments: 


The Fisherman and the Businessman

I saw this story posted by Drena on Journey (adopted from Paulo Coelho) a while back and it's stuck with me ever since. Sometimes we get caught up in the game of bigger-better-more-more-more that we forget that we might already have what we're working so hard to get.



Posted by Skelton Crew at 4:00 AM No comments: 


Mantus Anchor: 3 Months In Being able to stay put when you need to stay put is as important as moving when you need to move on a boat. Having the proper ground tackle (anchor and chain/rode) set-up is the difference between safely sitting out a nasty storm and being blown around, possibly hitting shore or other boats. The latter is Not.Good. Not only is a proper anchor vital to the safety of the boat and those on it but, in my case, it's also vital to peace of mind, sleeping at night and not morphing into a walking, paranoid basket case constatnly nagging their spouse about how much scope is out (ie. how much line we have out that is attached to the anchor).

Let me just say that we haven't moved an inch after anchoring all summer. We even decided to really test the anchor when we only had about 75ft of line out in 25 feet of water during some 20-22kt winds. This was during the daytime and we were just hanging out on the boat, had it been over night we would have let more line out to be safe. But guess what? Yup, didn't move. Yes, we know the 'proper' scope is 5:1 minimum but this was for the sake of science!

I've mentioned a few times about being a very light sleeper and having trouble sleeping on the boat before and it turns out that most of my sleeping woes were related to anxiety about dragging anchor. Well, that and thieves trying to steal our stuff...but mostly dragging.

And have you ever tried to pull one of these up by hand? I tried after a night anchored out that had only slight winds and that thing was burried so hard I could never have gotten it dislodged on my own. Point for better sleep at night (and no more bags under my eyes!).

Let's just say that when we drop anchor I no longer sit on deck staring at shore trying to make sure we're not dragging, instead I'm kickin' back enjoying myself. What a concept.

Our 45lb Mantus anchor is worth its weight in gold if you ask me, and having it onboard and knowing that THIS.THING.WORKS. only makes me that much more excited to get out see new places!

Posted by Skelton Crew at 4:00 AM 5 comments: Let's be honest; boats are dirty! You could easily fill an entire cupboard with various cleaning goods to help keep the ever-present gunk, grime and grease off the boat but that's just not practical. Simple Green is though.

This concentrated, biodegradable stuff works. We use it for everything from cleaning counter tops to getting the built up crud out of the bilge to getting those pesky green bug stains off the deck and cockpit...it's the only thing we've found to work on those nasty spots.

The directions indicate that the solution can be diluted with water depending on what needs to be cleaned but we like our Simple Green with full power and don't dilute it.

If it weren't for that awful wintergreen scent that smells like a freshly scrubbed hospital room, I'd probably find even more uses for it. Smell aside, we love this stuff. We should probably buy stock in it with how much we use. Labels: Cleaning, Favorites, Randomness


Sunset Sails

Usually by the time we get the car loaded, make the drive to the boat, load the dinghy and then get everything on the boat we're ready to anchor in our little spot off the State Park, make dinner and relax. On this particular day, after completing a few tasks on the To Do list, I wanted nothing more than that but Ron talked me into heading out for a quick sail. And I'm so glad he did! With clear skies and 12kts of wind it made for a leisurely sunset cruise...and lots of pictures. So here's a little break from our mad run on project posts, just to show you that we still do manage to squeeze in sails! Posted by Skelton Crew at 6:53 AM 4 comments: Labels: Randomness, Sailing
