Newsletter	February 2003

Commodore's Deck
By Dave Peoples, C42, Jammin'

Spring is definitely coming, and along with the great times of sailing in front of us, there are a few things we need to take care of first. "Annual Maintenance" It is probably still too early to completely de-winter our boats, but a few projects could be tackled early. The following link takes you to a list of maintenance items that have been compiled by the Catalina 42 association. I found it to be very complete, including some things I had not thought about. If any of you have other projects to add, drop us a note and we will add them to the list. I am sure that there are some that have been forgotten.

Good Luck and have fun

Past Commodore's Hammock
By Michael Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

A senior fellow donated this bit knowledge to me and asked me to share it with you:

I’m the life of the party…even if it lasts until 8 p.m.

I’m very good at opening childproof caps…with a hammer.

I’m usually interested in going home before I get to where I am going.

I’m awake many hours before my body allows me to get up.

I’m smiling all the time because I can’t hear a thing you’re saying.

I’m very good at telling stories; over and over and over and over…

I’m aware that other people’s grandchildren are not nearly as cute as mine.

I’m so cared for – long-term care, eye care, private care, and dental care.

As a follow-up to last month’s article on river levels and heights of bridges, I have struck the article from last month and provided this update. This turned out to be more work than I thought it would be.

I had an interesting conversation at the Portland Show with a boating neighbor at McCuddy’s Landing that sent me researching. He has a very tall (70 feet) and fat (2 slips) catamaran, wintering here from San Diego, heading North in the spring. He wanted to assure himself that he could get under the Sauvie Island Bridge. It seemed simple enough. According to the U.S. Coast Pilot it is: A fixed highway bridge near the S end had a clearance of 78 feet (at Mean High Water (MHW).

Just watch the tides and go at low to be safe, right? 70 feet, hmmm? I, then, in passing, said watch the river levels especially in the winter and spring.

Wait a minute; I want to think about that.

Again the U.S. Coast Pilot comes to my rescue: Heights—These are in feet (meters) above the tidal datum used for the purpose on the charts, usually mean high water. On the Columbia and Willamette (up to Oregon City) Rivers overhead clearances and depths are at the Columbia River Datum.

Now, Tide Tables 2002—West Coast of North and South America are checked next. They tell me in Table 2, Tidal Differences and Other Constants that the Mean Range is 1.8 feet and the diurnal range is 2.2 feet for the secondary station at St. Johns, Willamette River, Oregon. I needed to check to see what that meant next. Range—The mean range is the difference in height between mean high water (MHW) and mean low water (MLW). The diurnal range is the difference in height between mean higher high water and mean lower low water.

So, I know that NOAA has river forecasts at www.nwrfc.noaa.gov that look like this for the Willamette River at Portland, the closest one to the Sauvie Island Bridge. The plot shows me the level right now, past and forecasted. I see that it is 11,54 feet now, last week it was almost 14 feet and will drop to 4+ feet next week. These levels are based on the Columbia River Datum.

Now what? Don’t confuse me with the facts, especially too many! I need to make some sense out of this soon; he might want to leave the dock someday. The graph above takes into account tides, so I don’t need to calculate the tide level as you would normally in a tidal only zone.

But, I do need to relate the Columbia River Datum to the River Stage. I talked to Andy Bryant, Hydrologist, for the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Portland. His explanation is below in italics. I learned that the River Stage should be adjusted by the mean stage for each river gage For the Portland Area, including the Columbia and Willamette River, it is 5.84 feet. You also need to add one-half of the mean diurnal range.

The net—net was 73.4 feet for the river stage of 11.54 feet in Vancouver. As long as the river stage stays below 7 feet, he would have 78 feet of clearance. I told him to go via St. Helens for a while instead of the Sauvie Island Bridge route.

“The mean stage for the Columbia R at Vancouver gage is 5.84 ft, an average of the monthly mean stages published in a Corps of Engineers document on the Portland - Vancouver Harbor. When I refer to "mean stage" I'm referring to the mean observed river stage at the gauge -- on the same scale as the observed stage. The current observation at the gage is 3.5 ft (2.3 ft below the mean stage of 5.8 ft and approx. 3.5 ft below the MHHW of 7.0 ft), so you would have about 3 extra feet of clearance at the Sauvies Island Bridge, in addition to the 78 ft. Suppose the gage observation was 9.0 ft. Then you would have about 76 ft of clearance at Sauvies Island Bridge.

The mean diurnal range is 2 feet at river mile 100, according to the Port of Portland Guide to Navigation on the Lower Columbia River. Although this is a few river miles downstream of the Vancouver gage is should be a good approximation.

Therefore, I would estimate the Mean Higher High Water as 6.84 ft (or better yet, round it off to 7.0 ft) for the Vancouver gage at the I-5 bridge. The river stage at Sauvies Island Bridge should be within a half a foot of the Vancouver gage. So, if the stage at Vancouver is below 7.0 ft, you have additional clearance added to the 78 ft at Sauvies Island Bridge (i.e. if the stage at Vancouver is 4.0 ft, you have approx. 81 ft clearance). If the stage at Vancouver is above 7 ft, then you have less than 78 ft clearance.

A reading of 0.0 ft at Vancouver refers to the plane of the Mean Lower Low Water on the Columbia River and is commonly referred to as the Columbia River Datum (CRD). The CRD at Vancouver is 1.82 feet above mean sea level at Vancouver. However, I don't believe this information is critical to the particular issue of clearance at the Sauvies Island Bridge. Again, as I stated previously, I believe the Mean Higher High Water stage at Vancouver is approx. 7.0 ft, so you need to look at the observed or forecast stage for the time of interest and see if it's above or below MHHW, and then subtract or add the difference to the known clearance from the bridge down to the MHHW. “ Andy Bryant, Hydrologist, with the National Weather Service in Portland, Oregon.

Here is a table with my final calculations.

PS – NOAA charts measure clearances from Mean High Water but Canadian (CHS) Charts measure clearances from Higher High Water, Large Tides. The same bridge, over the same waterway, would show less vertical clearance on a CHS Chart than a NOAA chart and they are in meters. Go figure!

Notes from the Secretary/Treasurer
By Kathleen Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

After a successful boat show experience, our membership number stands at 69. Please welcome:

Larry and Daniela Brandt of West Linn

Catalina 36, High Flight, is in Bellingham

Dave and Tracy Dudek of Lake Oswego

Dave is the new owner of Sailboats of Oregon

The new burgee supply has arrived. They are available for $20.

Mainsheet magazine should be arriving about the 15th. Forty-three of our members are now receiving the magazine through the association. If you’re not getting it and want to subscribe, contact me. The cost is $2.50 per issue and is published quarterly; in February, May, August and November.

Reminder to send me any information changes so that we can keep our communications information current.

Kathleen Lewis, email sewingmaven@msn.com

Catalina Newsletters of the Northwest
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

Checkout these links to more Northwest All Catalina newsletters:

Catalina Association of Tacoma and South Sound (CATSS)

http://home.earthlink.net/~jimhettinger/CATSS%20Newsletters/

Catalina Association of Puget Sound (CAPS)

http://www.capsfleet1.com/News%20Letters.htm

Sailing Foundation Hosts Gary Jobson March 28

The Sailing Foundation will host an evening with Gary Jobson on March 28 at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle.  The Emmy award willing America's Cup and Olympic sailing commentator brings his highly entertaining presentation fresh from ESPN's cup coverage in New Zealand.

If you love the sport of sailing, be it racing or cruising, you don't want to miss this.  Proceeds support high school sailing in the Northwest.  Tickets are $25, $15 for Sailing Foundation members and $8 for sailor 18 and under.

Reserve your tickets now, contact the Sailing Foundation, P.O. Box 4213, Tumwater, WA 98501, 888-892-SAIL, jan@ussailing.net

Family returns from a year at sea in a Catalina 50
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

There are many reasons to attend the monthly CRACA meeting, not the least of which includes camaraderie, the sharing of sailing experiences, and listening to guest speakers.  The January meeting was particularly noteworthy because CRACA members Joel and Ann Just were our presenters, and they did a great job describing how they prepared for and eventually spent a year cruising the waters of Mexico with their three children, Elizabeth 14, Charlie 12, and Emma 8 aboard their 1991 Catalina 50, Catherine.

Those at the meeting were treated to a variety of multimedia visual aids.  From Ann's incredible 4x6 foot poster with maps, photos, and points of interest, to the computerized slide show  and assortment of publications, the Justs narrated a wonderful story of chasing one's dream, conquering one's fears, and bonding as a family as they shared a very special adventure together.

Here's some of my notes:

Ann and Joel started sailing together on a McGregor 26.  They took classes from Island Sailing Club, and eventually trailered the boat up to the San Juan Islands.  Although the McGregor 26 presented cruising challenges to a family of five, the Justs came back pleased with how the kids and the adults just made it work in spite of the tight confines.

Ann recognized that she had a fear of water, and open water (i.e. being at sea) in particular.  One day Ann approached Joel with "...lets go have a beer", and brought up the idea of a trip to conquer her fear of open water.  At the end of the first year the family would vote to continue or return home.  While there was some concern as the day for the vote approached, about whether one person's desire to return home would end the cruise for everyone else, but in the end everyone voted unanimously to return home. 

The Justs thought the journey to prepare would take two years, but they ended up being ready in one year.  Joel's comment was that everything is a compromise.  They wanted a safe comfortable boat.  They started out looking for a boat with four cabins but quickly learned that such boats are targeted at the charter trade where sacrifices around items like smaller galleys and less storage in order to gained another cabin are acceptable since folks only spend a few days on the boat.  The Justs also found that charter boats can have had a lot of hard use.

At the Seattle Boat Show, Ann and Joel stumbled into a used Catalina 50, with three staterooms, hand-layed glass, a Morgon hull, and Catalina interior.  A fifty-footer was selected because among other things, length translates into speed.

Some of the preparation included:

Taking a navigation class from Island Sailing Club, getting three hours of "parking" lessons (it was quite a change from a McGregor 26 to a Catalina 50, and hiring a Captain for a three-day class where he was requested to figure out what the Justs didn't know.

Friends helped with moving the boat south, while the children stayed at home.  The southern trek also served as a shakedown cruise.  With friend, the Justs took the boat from Tacoma to Newport and then onto San Diego where the children joined the boat.

The Justs home schooled their children while on the cruise.  They interviewed the teachers before leaving, and found the schools very happy to help once they understood the Just's plans.  Because the children would be returning to the school system in a year, the schools provided the Justs with all the material to continue the children's' education while aboard.  The one-on-one nature of the home schooling resulted in the children being ahead of many of their peers in class once they return to the U.S.

A book Joel found useful.  The Cruising Life: A Commonsense Guide for the Would-Be Voyager by Jim Trefethen

One of the many benefits from the cruise that Ann pointed out, is how the social skills of the children, particularly around adults, advanced.  There aren't a lot of kids cruising, so the children development many friendships with adults.

Don't carry a handgun.  Besides being illegal, Joel said he never felt threatened on the trip.  The Mexican people were very friendly and family oriented.  The Justs mentioned that the trip challenged the stereotypes of Mexicans they had grown up with in the states.

Going south for many is limited by insurance.  Many insurance policies won't take you to Mexico, you have to arrange special coverage for the trip.  To take the boat through the Panama Canal they had to get a Lloyds of London policy.  The coverage restricted them to legs of 250 miles or less unless they had a qualified 3rd crew person onboard.

A Couple of Thoughts on Safety

• An EPRIB was aboard
• The boat had a Life Raft
• An oil spill is very easy to see from the air.  Toss a couple of quarts in your ditch bag.
• Toilet bowl wax ring can be molded and used for hole repair.
• Always had two people on deck at night.
• Always used  jacklines at night and in rough weather.  Also used jacklines while in the cockpit.

Food

• Need Air tight containers to protect the food.  Things like bread never last.
• NO GLASS containers.  The few that were brought onboard never survived.
• Don't bring cardboard (corrugated) onboard because it can be infested with cockroach eggs.
• Vegetables eaten fresh were always soaked in iodine water first.

Maintenance

Unlike normal use, the systems on a cruising boat are being used all the time.  Where Joel was rebuilding the head in Tacoma twice a year, on the cruise he was having to rebuild the head every other month.  Joel's advice is to stock rebuild kits for all your systems based on the increased usage.  Chandleries as you know them in the U.S. only exist in a couple places in Mexico, so you need to carry lots of spares.  The list of what didn't break on the trip is much shorter that what did. 

Barnacles were a big problem in the warm waters of Mexico.  Within two weeks of scrapping off barnacles, you'd have quarter-sized barnacles growing again.  Every couple of weeks Joel would hop into the water with an ice scrapper and remove the barnacle growth.

Final Thoughts

Go for a minimum of two years.  After one year you are just starting to get into the groove.

Take more fuel.  You only sail 25% of the time, the rest is motoring.

We'll go back once the kids are grown.

March 15-16.  The destination for the St. Patrick's Day weekend cruise is RiverPlace Marina, in the heart of downtown Portland.

No one has volunteered to lead the cruise, so the Association's Cruising Officer, Jim Elieff, has gone ahead and made arrangements at RiverPlace Marina for about eight boats.  The harbormaster wants to know how many and what lengths are coming  so he can match up the slips to the expected boats.

If you plan to attend the cruise, please let Jim know (elieffmaan@yahoo.com or 503-254-7758).  If you'd like to make your own arrangements, you can contact the harbormaster at 503-241-8283.

Personal Locator Beacons
Approved in U.S.
By Bill Simon, C270, Windswept

It's been an uphill battle against bureaucracies that haven't given a damn about the lives lost by their inaction, but the FCC has finally approved the sale of 406 MHz Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) in the U.S.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Resource for those Considering Going Offshore
By Bill Simon, C270, Windswept

Equipped To Survive is an online resource for independent reviews of survival equipment and outdoors gear, as well as survival and Search and Rescue information.

Seacock Maintenance
By Michael Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

Useful piece of information taken from the Forespar website, worth passing along to the association's membership.

Marelon® - Marine Grade Plumbing Systems
Valve Lubrication

As a follow up to previous Tech Tips; it is important to know that while Marelon®  fixings are corrosion resistant, they do require twice yearly lubrication maintenance. These valves should be activated on a regular schedule. The handle should be moved throughout the open/close path every thirty days. Leaving a valve open or closed without moving the handle can cause freeze-up. This is true of any valve, including bronze. The law of nature is "use it or loose it".

To lubricate ball valves and seacocks while the boat is in the water you must:

1. Close valve.
2. Remove hose from tailpipe.
3. Remove remaining water from valve/tailpipe.
4. Swab waterproof grease (water pump grease, winch grease) or LanoCote™, generously, on ball.
5. Reattach hose, checking for fatigue and rusted hose clamps.
6. Activate valve a few times. When boat is hauled, you can perform steps 4-6 from outside the hull to lubricate opposite side of ball and seals.

March

• 15-16, St. Patrick’s Day Cruise - Riverplace
• 26, General Membership Meeting

See the calendar