#10  September 1997

The September discussion in the mid-west is always concerning haul out and the best storage location for the winter. Our Yacht Club is unable to store our mast this winter, due to some imminent construction, so we are building a mast support framework (X) for the stern of NO NEWS that will lift the mast above the skipper's head as we motor down the Calumet River to our boat yard. We plan to use a 4x4 at the mast step to support the mast mid section. If anyone has some good ideas, please send a drawing or photos, soon.

A photo arrived from Doug Horton of FREYA #87, showing their haul out process in Alaska. WOW! "Once the tide is out," he writes, " we lift the cradle with jacks and slip some pipes for rollers underneath the logs at the base of the cradle. Then using come-alongs and boat winches, we roll everything 75 feet up the beach to our own little work beach." The photo can be seen on the Northern Calif web page - http://www.vander-bend.com/norsea/

Finding a place to refill our CNG tanks is getting harder each season. A phone call to Gas Systems, Inc 714-891-2411 in CA let us receive their list of CNG dealers throughout the world. The list for the US is dated 1988 and revised in 1991. It does include the authorized refiller in each area who should be able to tell you were the cylinders can be exchanged in that area. We are hoping this will help, as another call to Mario at GSI 800-323-8924, where they make the stoves, gave us the disappointing information that refit kits for propane are not available for our GSI stove #2131.

Many of the owners write and tell great stories of finding their NorSea and bringing it home, but the story from Frank and Carolyn Hooper is hard to top.

"In April of 1984, my wife and I attended a presentation by Wayne Carpenter at San Jose. He shared the films from his voyage on the "Kristina" and spoke about living on a small boat for two years with their family of 5. We purchased his book, had him autograph it and began our search for a Nor'Sea. In August 96, Carolyn and I were looking at used boats in Santa Cruz Harbor and discovered a Nor'Sea 27 for sale, hull #16. She was really down on her luck, teak hatches coming apart, lexan cracked and leaking, port holes caulked closed, the maple bulkhead around the portholes water damaged and delaminated, the engine doubtful, the head disconnected and no holding tank, and the list goes on.

The broker said that the owner wanted $21,500. We then made a list of all the work that had to be done to make her sea worthy. Boy, was that list long! We contacted Bob Eeg at the Nor'Sea factory and asked him to quote the cost to replace or fix the items on the list. His estimate of the repair was $27,000. Most of the cost was labor and we could do most of that, so we decided to submit a bid of $5,000 to the owner along with the list of work and costs. The broker called us and told us to bring our check!!

In August, we started the job of restoring our Nor'Sea before the winter rains came to California. We were able to complete the restoration of all the deck teak, replace the bow sprit, rebuild the hatches and replace the lexan as well by November. We even redid the maple and rebedded the port holes in the main cabin. December found us starting on the cabinets and bulkheads in the main cabin. Installing the new head and holding tank was next. Then new cushions and the main cabin will be done.

The ferryman diesel was usable after we had a local mechanic do some work. When we opened the dock storage box we found half of another ferryman diesel. It appears that the engine had been rebuilt in the previous 2 years.

In February, Frank had a slight delay in finishing the project as he had to have bypass heart surgery. It was May before they could really begin again. By August, the rest of the boat restoration was completed along with new boom gallows, and a mast lowering kit installation.

I've just received a notice from Frank and Carolyn of a sailing party on KALOLINA over the Labor Day weekend. I'm sure they are thrilled to be sailing instead of reconstructing.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA OWNERS MEET

On Labor Day weekend, 1997, three boats gathered on Saturday evening, Carolyn and Frank Hooper, KALOLINA, Mari and Gary Campbell, WINGS, and Greg and Jill Delezynski on GUENEVERE. John and Beth Lewis arrived via land to help scarf down one large amount of great food, great stories and tips and just a wee bit of spirits.

After brunch on Sunday, six of us boarded Guenervere, and sailed for about 2 hours, only to return and board Wings for a similar sail. The final outting was on board KALOLINA for its maiden voyage. Frank and Carolyn had worked on her for almost a year now and it was time to drop the tools and grab the lines. It took two bottles of champagne to christen her as most of it was consumed before hitting the bow of the boat.

The next meeting of this fun group will be October 18-19, 1997 at the San Leandro Marina. Its a nice marina with a park in which we can have a Bar-B-Q. It also has a golf course, restaurants, showers, hiking trails and two yacht clubs. Please let Greg and Jill know if you will be sailing in - 415-261-1391- so they can reserve slips. Even if you can't sail in, plan to stop by for the boat crawl and fun!

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT - Owners Report

CRUISE TO THE BAHAMAS

by Richard Leasure #141, WINGS

Recently on my 2nd annual cruise to the Bahamas I 'discovered' an area that seems to be well suited to the thin water capabilities of our beloved NS 27.

I was a guest on a friends 33' Pearson Vanguard for a two week cruise. We left Miami via Biscayne Channel at 5 pm with enough light to see some daymarks before going off soundings. We were expecting to arrive at Bimini 50 miles due East at sunup. Winds were SSE at 10-15 and NOT opposing the northward flowing stream. Ship traffic was heavy for the first 20 mi. with ships heading S nearer the Florida coast. Motorsailing all night on a course of SE we found ourselves at Gun Cay cut at 8 am. We had covered about 70 mi. of water and were only 50 mi due east of our departure point.

Coming onto the Bahama Banks, the short chop and dark blue of the Atlantic gave way to a clear calm pale powder-blue water over a white sand bottom 15 feet below us. At 9 pm 40 mi onto the banks we anchored 1 mi south of Russell beacon. With a dim loom of Miami to the west the stars covered the night sky, while the spreader lights lit up a sandy circle of the bottom beneath the boat.

The next morning with the high pressure weather system maintaining our beautiful albeit nearly windless weather we proceeded to the Northwest Channel beacon whereupon we passed off the banks around noon onto the 1000 fathom Tongue Of The Ocean . Most of the previous afternoon we had noticed clouds building over the invisible Andros Island to our south. It, being the largest landmass of the islands, was collecting its afternoon moisture.

Andros is a main source of water for Nassau and water ships constantly ply back and forth on their four hour cruises from the terminus at Morgans Bluff, the pirates old hangout. The island is about 140 mi long and has the worlds 2nd longest coral reef running the length of its east coast. We cleared into the country at Chub Cay and spent the night at the Chub Cay Club, a buck a foot with excellent facilities. With high pressure forecast for the next several days we decided to visit Andros. The guide book states that there are not many protected anchorages in which to sit out a cold front so with stable weather it seemed like a viable plan. Morgans Bluff, located on the north end of Andros, is about 20 mi SW of Chub so we had a short windless passage back over the Tongue. The channel into Morgans Bluff is well marked and one of the few places in which to get behind the 140 mi north south running reef. A 15' deep channel runs behind the reef about 50 to 100 ft off the beach.

Dodging the occasional coral head we easily navigated the channel past a beautiful abandoned beach hotel, for sale by the way, and alongside the white sandy beach bordered with coconut palms mixed in with Australian pines. About 4 mi down the beach is Nicholls Town with a good anchorage and a town pier. About 400 ft. off the beach the coral reef begins and continues out about 1/4 mi. The reef drops off on a wall that ultimately falls to 6000 ft.

Nicholls Town is a friendly little place completely devoid of a tourist industry. Their are several public water faucets near the town beach and a grocery, liquor store and a few beach side conch/beer stands. There was only one other sailboat anchored up the beach, so for the two days we were there, we snorkeled and fished the beautiful reef in solitude. We made a short trip south to Bethel channel the next pass through the reef. Its an excellent 15 deep pass with a lighted range 2 mi south of Nicholls Town.

We ended our stay and made a night passage to Nassau as a cold front was on the way and with 5 foot draft there wasn't any safe harbor for us. A copy of the Yachtsman Guide to the Bahamas describes the inside passage down the reef in great detail.

The second longest coral reef with beautiful diving and secluded beaches only two days from Miami, anybody for a flotilla of NorSeas ?

‚Roy Timpe, FRIGGA, also writes of crossing the stream. "When we crossed the stream in the past we put the boat in at Ft. Lauderdale which we felt was a safer place than Miami to leave the van and trailer. We like to go to Key Biscayne via the ocean if possible, due to the draw bridges on the ICW. Once at Key Biscayne, we wait at Hurricane harbor or No Name Harbor for a weather window.

We plan to leave the southern part of Key Biscayne at about midnight to make landfall in Bimini the following morning. I have the vector problem worked in our boat log if you wish details, let me know.

The first time we made the mistake of crossing just after a big norther. The wind was blowing out of the east, but there were still a lot of waves from the north left over from the front. The result was a confused sea that is remembered by our family as the worst we've ever been in. We motored into this with our reefed main sheeted in tight.

Coming back is usually an 8 hour trip and actually a lot of fun. The prevailing easterlies allowed us to sail wing on wing. Going from Bimini to Ft. Lauderdale allows the stream to give you a push.

One strategy that I think makes a more comfortable crossing in the chop generated from an easterly wind, is to forget about the set of the current and steer a course that puts you on the Bahama bank as rapidly and comfortably as possible. Bimini and Cat Cay are just Islands on the western edge of the Bahama Bank. Once you are in the lee of the bank, it is more comfortable to go north or south."

‚Michael Hulett, ARK #155 inquires about electronic autopilots. I have tallied the responses on the databases many (42) of you have returned. The Autohelm is mentioned 21 times, ranging from the Autohelm 800 to the Autohelm ST4000. The Autohelm 2000 is on 6 boats and the Autohelm 1000 on 4. The Navico is on 8 Nor'Seas ranging from the 2500 through the 5500 with remote. Three owners listed "tiller master".

Our experience with the Autohelm 800 was that it was slightly underpowered for the Nor'Sea in heavy weather, but now that we have the Monitor, we find it will do great, handling the motoring and very light air- downwind.

Michael asks about installation on the aft cabin configuration. He is also curious about one that attaches to the Monitor and steers the boat via its mechanical linkage.

‚Tad Michel, #145, writes that his Monitor of 14 years, came with an eye strap which goes under the tiller and holds the release pin for both control lines. "I have chucked this clumsy system and attached, with thin wood screws directly to the tiller, a couple of cam cleats with fairleads facing the control lines.

I have found that the cleats make a world of difference in adjusting the lines in a hurry and releasing them in an emergency" Tad writes.

‚Port Gasket available - We have ordered a 1/4" sq black or white gasket material from Defender Industries - 800-435-7180 (catalog requests) Pg 108 - which seems to work well. Another product we have used for the gasket is the ¼ round gray screen spline by Elgar Products, Cleveland, Ohio. This product is available in many of our local hardware and building supply centers.

DIESEL DIGEST

Cliff & Deanna Peterson MINDS EYE #72, MindsEye77@aol.com, are wending their way back from a 4 month cruise to Alaska and included the following engine saga in their latest E-Mail.

"Arrived at the Dent Rapids going into the last of the ebb tide. We were motoring at 5 knots thru the water, but only going 3 knots over the ground. The maximum current runs at 7 knots and the whirlpools, close to slack, were big enough to spin the boat around.

Continued on here after leaving the rapids behind and were getting close when the engine high water temperature alarm sounded. Talk about unexpected. I looked and there was plenty of water exiting and after running a few minutes at a lower RPM the alarm went off. We had this problem once before about 10 years ago and it turned out to the sensor was bad and I am thinking this could be the same thing. So, we came on in and anchored for the night. Very well protected anchorage with 6-8 other boats here.

The next morning, we had planned to head up into Desolation Sound for a day and then go on to Powell River. However, not long after leaving Von Donlop Inlet, the engine temperature alarm went off again. Again it went off after a few minutes of running the engine at a lower RPM and no load. This was telling me it wasn't the sensor that was bad, because the last time the alarm would sound even when the engine was cold.

So we decided to limp into Squirrel Cove, which was closer, and let me see what I could see. The first thing I did was change the engine oil and filter that needed to be done. Then I pulled the water pump off and checked the impeller...it looked ok, but not as flexible as a new one so I put in a new one. Then I removed the thermostat and was it ever cruddy. I put it and the new spare I carry, in a pan of hot water and watched the cruddy one stay closed while the new one opened very nicely. I installed the new thermostat, put everything back together and then settled back to a well earned gin & tonic. The next day we motored 25 miles without the engine overheating, so I think I can say I took care of that problem."

Cliff & Deanna

OWNERS INQUIRE

Michael Hulett, ARK #155 inquires about electronic autopilots.  I have tallied the responses on the databases many (42) of you have returned.  The Autohelm is mentioned 21 times, ranging from the Autohelm 800 to the Autohelm ST4000.  The Autohelm 2000 is on 6 boats and the Autohelm 1000 on 4.  The Navico is on 8 Nor'Seas ranging from the 2500 through the 5500 with remote.  Three owners listed "tiller master".

Our experience with the Autohelm 800 was that it was slightly underpowered for the Nor'Sea in heavy weather, but now that we have the Monitor, we find it will do great, handling the motoring and very light air-downwind.

Michael asks about installation on the aft cabin configuration.  He is also curious about one that attaches to the Monitor and steers the boat via its mechanical linkage.

OWNERS REPLY

Tad Michel, #145, writed that his Monitor of 14 years, came with an eye strap which goes under the tiller and holds the release pin for both control lines.  "I have chucked this clumsy system and attached, with thin wood screws directly to the tiller, a couple of cam cleats with fairleads facing the control lines.

I have found that the cleats make a world of difference in adjusting the lines in a hurry and releasing them in an emergency" Tad writes.

Port Gasket Available - We have ordered a 1/4" square black or white gasket material from Defender Industries - 800-435-7180(catalog requests) Page 108 - which seems to work well.  Another product we have used for the gasket is the 1/4" round gray screen spline by Elgar Products, Cleveland, Ohio.  This product is available in many of our local hardware and building supply centers.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

‚Custom built Nor'Sea27 Triad Trailers. Take advantage of "End of Season Sale" - call 860-354-1146 or Triadtrls@aol.com