Velocir

Velocir’s Haul Out Update

Long time no post.  As you know, we’re currently in sunny California.  But, that doesn’t mean Velocir is completely out of the picture.  She needs some love and care back on the East Coast, so we have hauled her out of the water for the winter.  It will give us an opportunity to check-up on her and give her the attention that she needs.

The haul-out was very exciting.  As you can see, she slipped out of the cradle, yikes!  This happened for a few reasons.  Mostly, it’s pretty clear in the photo that the strap almost looks amidships, so we all thought we were good to go, but the rudder is just so far forward on her full keel.  After a moment of terror, we eased back into the process.  She is a strong little boat!

Grant did a thorough survey and assessed the projects.  He cleaned her from top to bottom.  Even though we have taken great measures including painting and solar vents installation (which is super combative to mold) Velocir still tries very hard to become musty.  Without these preventative measures she could have built a nice mold colony, but after many months she is just a bit musty and so we wiped down surfaces, no big deal!

On the bottom, Grant started sanding (yes, he used a mask just not in this photo).  The bottom paint did an amazing job protecting her hull.  This is the same paint from before the trip!  Velocir will get a new bottom job in the spring.  For right now, Grant went to work prepping her.  It took extra time because instead of just quickly roughing it up, the paint was sanding off in clumps and peeling instead of just being easy to rough up.  Eventually it came out after some finesse.

To finish up projects, Grant also repaired our ignition switch.  Since we left the Bahamas it has been freezing up. All of the salt and dirt made it grimy, so Grant took it apart and cleaned it thoroughly.  Luckily a quick fix!  For such a specialized part that is specific to the Vega we didn’t want to need a replacement.    The wiring back together probably took the longer than fixing– the wires we used are green, light green and bright green, makes for a fun combination!

Let’s see, what else?  The battery was dead so we fixed a loose connection on the solar panel charge controller.  We took off the running rigging  and ran cheap line through everything to reduce sun and moisture damage to the good stuff.  She will rest well this winter!

We are still adapting to our transition from cruising.  Many stresses and responsibilities, just the fixation with time and schedules can be a hard adjustment.  I mean, we’ve lived in the modern age, but for some reason after the freedoms and confidences cruising affords, being thrust back into the mix is mildly traumatic.  I know, I know, what problems to have.

Thanks so much for following our journey, we will continue to update as we can.

Sail Care, Interview with an Expert – Article in SpinSheet Magazine

Amelia’s article, Sail Care, Interview with an Expert, appears in the April issue of SpinSheet magazine.  Grant worked as a sail inspector for two years at Bacon Sails and Marine Supplies in Annapolis, MD.  Here are some of his tips on Sail Care!!

Click here to read the entire April 2014 issue of SpinSheet magazine!

And, read our blog post on designing Albin Vega Velocir‘s Sail Design.

Interested in what we’ve been up to?  Stay tuned next week for an exciting update, it’ll be something a little different…

Co-Captaining,Can It Be Done? – Article in SpinSheet Magazine!

Amelia’s article, Co-Captaining – Can It Be Done?, appears in the April issue of SpinSheet magazine.  We co-captain Velocir, which is probably not typical of most boating couples.  Happy to say it worked very well for us during our entire voyage– below is the article giving more insight.

Click here to read the entire April 2013 issue of SpinSheet magazine!

Grant’s Sail Care Advice in SpinSheet Magazine!

We are excited to share that Grant has been featured in SpinSheet’s March 2013 issue, sharing his knowledge of sails and how to care for them. Having inspected thousands of sails as an inspector for Bacon Sails and Marine Supplies in Annapolis, MD, he has always wanted to give a few pointers, hoping it would help others to extend the life of their sails.

Check out our past blog post where Grant talks about the sails he designed for Velocir.

Click here to read the entire March 2013 issue of SpinSheet!

For a clearer view, please click on the article below, thanks!

I’m On A Boat–Interior Paint Preparation

Let’s go back in time, to when Velocir was completely stripped down to a bare hull.  Yes, that glorious moment when the interior was saying “paint me, I have no wood in me and am already a filthy dust pile!”  But no one heard the calls.

Fast forward to cruising Velocir and the paint is porous, crumbly and very susceptible to mold.  If only we had realized!!  Of course, that would have made things easy….

There are two reasons why the interior desperately needs to be painted—mold and flaking paint.  Why is this happening—this is caused mostly by A) porous old paint on a bumpy fiberglass surface B) a gel-coat like filler was used along the outer 1-2 inches of the hull right where the deck meets the hull.  This filler has flex cracks, or in some cases just crumbly texture, causing a mold habitat.  As the cracks held moisture the paint started to flake and fall off.  The paint is not adhering to the filler at all anymore.

To solve this problem Amelia is going to tackle this pain of a project.  It is a pain because A) you have to be a gymnast to work upside down in these cramped conditions B) it is messy, mess everywhere all over our home C) the wood paneling limits access to the far reaches of some areas and gives little to no clearance to paint between wood bulkheads and the fiberglass.  It is a delicate process to do the job well, without focusing on all the imperfections that will inevitably happen.

Beginning with the nice vision of a fresh, bright and clean Velocir in mind, Amelia first took out any hardware that needed to be removed for sanding and duct taped a plastic sheet to keep dust out of the main cabin.  Then, using a rotary sander with 80 grit and a little “mouse” sander with 120 grit, she sanded the surfaces thoroughly.  Around the edges of the hull where the paint was flaking, she used a chisel, and then hand sanded the surface.

About halfway into the project Amelia started to regret the undertaking.  Dust everywhere, sanding in corners, upside down, around windows and other obstacles.  Her arms started to feel weak from pushing the sander against the hull.  What a mess the boat was!  But it was too late to turn back now.

The interior was now sanded and smooth, but very dusty.  Amelia used a shop vac to get most of the grime off every surface.  Then, she used diluted bleach water and wiped down every surface.  Some mold still hid in sanded areas, so this really cleaned things up!

The duct taped plastic shield worked great!  It didn’t stick to the varnished wood or leave any residue.

On outer edges of the hull, an epoxy-like filler was used.  This is where the flex cracks happened.  Using a dremel, Amelia gouged out the cracks until they were smooth.  There were also crumbly areas that were cleaned out.  Most cracks were superficial, but two (by the water tank input, and by the starboard lifeline stanchion) were 1/8” deep.

To fill these cracks we needed something that a latex based paint would adhere to.  It also could not be too rigid or else it would crack again.  Our solution was g-flex, a flexible epoxy that we used to repair our inflatable dinghy’s oar locks in the Bahamas with great success.  It is easy to mix the 1:1 solution and apply.  The application was very simple because it did not want to move around, even when applying upside down.  At times (probably because it was so cold) it got stringy but was manageable.

Once the epoxy cures it will be sanded, wiped down with acetone and the entire forward interior will be ready to paint.  First we will use a primer, then glossy paint.  Hopefully the weather will warm up for that project soon!

I’m On A Boat- Solar Vent Installation

Before leaving on our trip to the Bahamas in 2011, we installed new solar vents on Velocir.  We had seen many older solar vents in boat yards still going strong after many years and much neglect.

The original installation required us to enlarge pre-existing 3 inch vents holes to 4 inches.  We epoxied the cored deck so that it would be water tight, and installed the vent.  It was great except that in heavy weather (crashing waves and spray) it would leak a bit., otherwise we love them!  This summer our starboard vent stopped working, so we replaced it:

After taking the old vent out we waited a few weeks for a new one (free under warranty) to come in the mail.  Then, Amelia installed it by lightly chiseling off the old foam ring and Dolfinite sealing compound.  Mineral Spirits and kerosene also work really well at getting Dolfinite off.

There are three main pieces to install.  The base (top right), the white ring is the interior trim piece, the foam ring is part of the waterproof bedding on deck, and then the cover piece with the solar panel and motor.  Since we already had holes drilled it was super easy to install.  (Note: Before drilling holes, make sure your vents have solar panels aesthetically going the way you like.)

We put fresh bedding compound, Dolfinite, down before installing the base.  Contrary to what you might assume, Amelia doesn’t just use Dolfinite because there is a cute dolphin on the label.  The other advantages are that with age, the bedding compound is still easy to remove and reapply.  It doesn’t easily dry out under basic storage methods.  (It is messy to apply though, comically so, like peanut butter).

The base fit right in.  The white part of the base slides up and down, allowing air in/out or cutting it off.  There is also a handy bug screen.

And, Viola!  A beautiful new and working solar vent.  Aren’t warranties great?

P.S.  They are very quiet.  Every once in a while one will start to make a ticking sound, so we restart and silence again : )

Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

It is hard to imagine that it was an entire year ago that we spent Thanksgiving aboard Velocir in St. Mary’s, GA:  https://velocir.com/2011/11/24/happy-thanksgiving/

How time flies!  We are thankful for family and friends this holiday season.  Grant is thankful for our good health, Amelia is thankful for a life full of joy and Crew is thankful for treats……anything for treats.

Last month Velocir made it through hurricane Sandy’s strong winds unscathed. To prepare, we secured many lines to different connection points on Velocir and the dock. She was protected in her cove from the wind, so we just kept ready in case something happened but it was very mild. Our biggest fear was a tree falling, but luckily they held tight!

This week we winterized Velocir in anticipation of the long cold winter months ahead.  We used environmentally safe anti-freeze and emptied the water tanks.  There was a little fish in our water filter, so we set him free.

We even got out for a weekend sail with friends in mid-November, yay warm weather!  The fall colors are a beautiful time to explore the tree-lined creeks of the Chesapeake Bay.

So much to be thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving!

We were not aboard Bounty– Our thoughts and hearts go out to our fellow crew members.

This past Spring we were crew aboard the tallship HMS Bounty. Many of you saw our blogs and video, as we shared what it is like to sail a traditional ship.  As you may now know, this morning the HMS Bounty sank off Cape Hatteras during hurricane Sandy.

USCG News Release: http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/1591487/

Our hearts go out to the crew members and their families.  Thankfully, many have been rescued and are safe.  We are closely connected to many.  Here is one comment from a rescued friend on Facebook:

The ship sank beneath us, but we swam free and mostly got into two rafts.
I’m at the USCG station Elizabeth City NC. There are two unaccounted for at present.

This is tragic, terrifying news.  With all our hearts we hope that the two remaining crew members are rescued.

We have many memories on this ship.  It is how we met, and where we had our first kiss.  We are sorry she is gone, but angry that any life was risked in this way.

Please fellow sailors, be humbled by the weather.

Welcoming Our New “Crew”

Our trip last year to the Bahamas was a little underwhelming to our social life.  We met some really terrific people, but learned that when surrounded by an older crowd the key is to have a baby around.  Otherwise, as a young couple on a small boat you may as well be invisible.

Well, we’re not ready for a baby so hopefully the cutest puppy imaginable is the next best thing!?!?!  Everyone is planning to invite us over to see their boat, go on a fishing adventure and explore a new beach now, right??!?  Let’s have a long and fascinating conversation about our sailing adventures and the cruising lifestyle that doesn’t end with condescending comments like:  “Do you know what radar is?” or “Do you have charts?”

So, we’ve had our hands full the last couple of weeks with our newest addition!  This has been in the works for many months now, and it was finally decided that the Captains needed their “Crew.”

Crew is a Miniature Australian Shepherd.  Today was his first puppy training day and he is at the top of his class with “sit” and “down.”  He’s gone for his first swim, sailed in the new dinghy and likes to hang out on Velocir!

(All joking aside about babies and puppies, Crew brings joy to our lives that far exceeds any wistful social life….the part about being an invisible young couple on a small boat is not far from the truth.)

VELOCIR- An Albin Vega’s Journey from Graveyard to Blue Water Cruising Sailboat