In April 2021 we spent a weekend in Grizzly Bay in the Sacramento Delta as a shakeout cruise in preparation for a larger cruise in May.
Anchorage in Suisin Slough near the Grizzly Island Hunting Preserve
Leaving McAvoy Marina
Montezuma Hills Wind Farm
First Anchorage
We anchored off of Ryer Island, opposite Port Chicago, the site of a famous and devastating munitions explosion during World War II. Ryer Island is still considered dangerous because the Navy dumped unexploded munitions there after the Port Chicago explosion. A sign close to where we anchored informed us that we shouldn't trespass and that use of lethal force was authorized.
We spotted a river otter grazing along the marshes next to our boat.
The wind blew > 10kts all night. In the morning with wind still blowing we double reefed and sailed 10 miles upwind to an anchorage in Suisin Slough.
Anchored in Suisin Slough
We had hoped to be able to walk along the levee at the Grizzly Island Preserve, but the falling tide kept us away from the banks and we had no way to get across 20 yards of deep mud.
We brought plenty of food but I forgot to pack fuel for our stove so we ate our meals cold. We poured the morning coffee at night so it could steep over night.
In August 2020 we made a weekend trip to Tomales Bay. Here are some of our favorite photos.
Our first night at the shallow end of Marshall Beach.
The fog rolled in at about 19:00 and stayed until morning.
Breakfast of curried potatoes and eggs.
We used a fender to level the boat as it dried out on the sand.
There is lots of nice hiking from the anchorage.
I rigged new jiffy reefing lines for the boat based on guidance from B&B (Core Sound 17, Carlita). They were a huge success. One of the best improvements I've done to the boat. I can now singlehandedly reef both sails in under 5 minutes without leaving the cockpit.
Our second night we anchored at Lairds Landing near the abandoned cabin that at one time housed a Native American family and an eccentric artist.
Time to relocate posts from my old website to this blog.
Sea Trials, Feb 21, 2000
It was a beautiful day for sea trials: 70 degrees F, 5 kt breeze, very few boats on the lake.
Trailering: We made a good start at noon, but a few miles down the road I realized I had forgotten the oars. When we got back home I discovered I had forgotten about half of the boat, including oars, mast partner, rudder, tiller and tools. I guess I need to work on packaging the boat.
She trailers wonderfully - very easy motion. I lashed the mast to the deck using fore and aft mooring cleats and some closed-cell packing foam pieces that the kids were playing with.
Rigging: It took a long time to rig the boat for the first time. Lacing the sail was time consuming, so I will try to keep the sail on the mast in the future. I raised the sail and furled it to the mast before departing.
Rowing: I had trouble with my rowing stroke, so next time I will experiment with seat positioning. I also discovered that I made the benches too high - on level with the oarlocks, so my oars can rub on the seats on the back stroke. I am going to add a slot for sculling on the starboard edge of the transom. While rowing, the unattached boom was generally in the way of everything. Next time, I'll stow the boom inside the furled sail.
With kids in the bow compartment, we rowed past the marina, dropped anchor, unfurled the sail, rigged the boom, weighed anchor and were off.
Sailing: Having never sailed a sharpie before, I was a little surprised at her initial stability (even though the all literature discusses this). She's a very stiff boat - as steady in the water as my 21' Drascombe Longboat, which has a very flat bottom for a lapstrake hull (also a shoal draft boat). The kids were very much at home and moved around easily - the toy dinosaurs didn't even get in the way.
I didn't get a chance to check her windward abilities, but it seemed like we were sailing pretty close to the wind. Judging from her performance in light winds, I think she will be really fun! I put in a second row of reef points so I can go out in some of the heavy Chinook winds that we get here in Colorado.
Time to relocate posts from my old website to this blog. This is the building log of Cream Cheese, an AF3 16 foot sharpie designed by Jim Michalak that I built in 1999.
Materials and Costs
The cost: $2713 A note about my costs: I had absolutely nothing in the way of boating stuff beforehand except for some leftover line from my last boat. I used lumber yard materials, but I used clear redwood in places. I wound up buying more epoxy, polyurethane glues, paint and hardware than I needed. I could have probably cut $500 to $1000 out of the cost if I had really tried.
Materials:
Lumber: AC Fir plywood, pine 1x4, A-grade redwood for the mast, seats, hatch
Paint: Homebase brand oil based house paint and primer, Deckworks exterior varnish (I had a hard time getting this varnish to cure)
Sail: I didn't have any sewing supplies at all. I calculated that I could have bought sailcloth and supplies for abound $250 (including things like sailor's palm and a gromet die). So Sailrite was maybe 30% more expensive than doing it all myself. I also bought some extra stuff like a bolt rope that never used.
This was my first boat. I had no problems with Jim's plans or instructions other than my own goofs. The kids and I had fun the whole time, with no major do-overs. Thanks Jim!
1-30-99
buy wood & glue
2 hr
40 degrees
1-31-99
mark up bulkheads
1.5 hr
40 degrees
2-7-99
cut bulkheads, glue #12.8(w/kids)
4 hr
60 degrees
2-20-99
bulkhead 2
2 hr
2-27-99
bulkhead 7.5
3 hr
40 degrees
3-13-99
epoxy fill panel 2, botched transom (w/ kids)
1 hr
40 degrees
4-11-99
2nd transom
1 hr
45 degrees
4-18-99
transom & bulkhead 2 (w/ kids)
1.5 hr
45 degrees
4-24-99
loft & glue sides
2 hr
40 degrees
5-2-99
cut side 1, glue side 2
1.5 hr
55 degrees
5-8-99
patch holes w/ epoxy, assemble sides to bulkheads (w/ kids)
8 hr
60 degrees
5-15-99
cut wales & chine logs (w/kids)
2 hr
70 degrees
5-16-99
glue up first layer of wales
2.5 hr
70 degrees
5-21-99
wales + chine log 1 (w/ kids)
3.5 hr
70 degrees
5-22-99
chine log 2
2 hr
70 degrees
6-5-99
loft & glue bottom, fair chine logs (w/ kids)
4 hr
70 degrees
6-6-99
cut bottom & mount on hull, fill knot holws (w/kids)
6 hr
70 degrees
6-13-99
sand bottom edges (w/ kids)
3 hr
60 degrees
7-5-99
fiberglass bottom w/ epoxy & tape starboard chine
2 hr
80 degrees
7-10-99
glass tape port chine, repairs & putty, second coat of epoxy
