http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Boat.htm

We've actually decided to do the unromantic thing and have it trucked.
My new (part time in theory) job as Harbormaster turns out to be a
huge clean up task and time is going to be short in spring and early
summer. It also means having the boat here before school gets out so
I can get the bugs worked out and everything tuned up for more serious
sailing in Maine.

--

Roger Long



"jtc" wrote in message
ink.net...
Roger, before Christmas, I think you posted a address to see your
log about taking the boat from point A to Maine or Vice Versa...I
may be dreaming about the subject matter but would appreciate your
posting that address again.
I have a friend , recently retired, who is "thinking" about
purchasing a sailboat and living on it in the winter months in
Florida or perhaps the Texas coast....Making a short story long I
guess but reading your posts have been very informative and I would
like to pass your info to him.
They do not read newsgroups per se but may be attracted to them
after reading your info.
thanks.

--
jtc

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
I can't believe that "Navigating with grains of salt" thread I
started is still going on. I feel like I'm in a Road Runner cartoon
watching two little dust clouds vanish over the horizon. Do you
think those guys will ever give up?

I was amused to have someone post and email me privately asking if
I would pass on my "special knowledge". I was even more amused when
a second post from the same fellow revealed that he's probably done
more serious piloting and navigating than I have. Duffing around in
Maine is actually pretty easy. There are so many hazards that they
serve as navigation aids and the coast is so complex that you can
almost always find an alternative route out if you misjudge
something.

Meanwhile, the road runner and the coyote, who do appear to have
Ph.D. level knowledge compared to my navigational high school GED,
just keep going and going and going..

It did make me realize though that there are some readers of this
group that are new to all this so I'll pass on a bit of very basic
stuff that I haven't seen well covered in any of the texts I've
read. It was the cause of my closest calls when I first started
sailing and an almost universal problem among my sailing students.
I haven't paid much attention to anything written about piloting in
over 20 years so forgive me if it is now obvious.

The simple process of sailing straight towards an objective is a
lot more error prone than new sailors realize. Tell nine out of ten
new helmsman to, "sail straight towards that buoy", and they will
line the stemhead up with the objective. Since you sit to one side
in a sailboat, the geometry will cause your course to be a curve as
the relative angles change. If you are in a channel or have plotted
a course close by a shoal area, this can get you in trouble.

The first lesson is to have them sight along the centerline and see
how far off their aim point is. The companionway edge on most
sailboats is a very convenient sight. Show them how to pick another
landmark on the bow, such as a lifeline stanchion, that is parallel
with their eye along the centerline.

Next is the concept of maintaining a constant compass bearing
towards the objective. Again, this only works if the boat is
actually pointed where you think it is. To hold a precise course
without the track line in a magic box, you may need a very good
compass bearing. A brief squint along the companionway edge, which
may require a brief heading change in a sailboat or when there is
current, will give you the most precise bearing you can get.

When heading towards buoys, islands, or other marks in coastal
waters, there will usually be something visible beyond. A primary
skill that must be drilled in until it is unshakable habit, is to
look at the land beyond when sailing towards a mark. When you first
establish the course, pick the landmark that lines up with it and
then adjust your heading so that it always remains in line. Then
leeway or current can not be setting you off your intended track.

In 36 years of sailing I've never run hard and unexpectedly aground
but, almost every time I was startled by the sight of a swirl of
water or flash of weed and ledge I didn't expect, it was because I
was still learning these simple concepts.

--

Roger Long