Re:Cal 29 prep

Chris H appealed to the List: > Comments, guidance and or any insights are most appreciated in preparing the boat. You've got lots of good suggestions already. I'll add some comments about the cockpit. The same features that makes it ideal for coastal day sailing - it's enormous - would give me pause when going off-shore. If you get pooped, that's an awful lot of water to drain quickly. And the only exit is the little hole in the stern : less than 2-inch diameter as I recall. I don't think it would be a good idea to just enlarge that hole, however, as water enters through it when motoring fast enough, even in flat water. The water can rise above that little sump in the stern, and flood the cockpit floor. If I were to go offshore in a Cal 29, I'd think about providing some larger drainage holes in the stern that would be maybe six inches higher than the existing drain, with the idea that these would help a full cockpit empty faster, but not provide any additional access for the stern wave to enter the cockpit. This could make things a bit wetter in a following sea, but I still think it would improve safety. I also would consider taking steps to reduce the volume of the cockpit. There is no bridge deck, so filling the space in front of the companionway might be a good idea. And I would make sure that the companionway hatches were firmly in place and secured during off-shore sailing, as a full cockpit will spill down below, increasing the hazards (not to mention the hassles involved in cleaning up). Alfred

the cockpit drain issue is a relatively standard issue with many CAL's. even when sailing or motoring hard, water will flow into cockpit as the hull tries to climb its bow wave and settles the stern lower. We enlarged the drain hole at the stern and added a one way flapper valve. It helps a great deal. drains faster than original and inhibits ingress of water. I recommend doing the same as a minimum. If I was venturing offshore with my T/2, I would consider adding more of similar design only larger, or else adapting a version of the cut out stern found in outboard powered models. Reggie To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com From: ap… [at] bellatlantic.net Date: Thu, 9 Apr 2009 07:38:51 -0400 Subject: [Cal_Boats] Re:Cal 29 prep Chris H appealed to the List: > Comments, guidance and or any insights are most appreciated in preparing the boat. You’ve got lots of good suggestions already. I’ll add some comments about the cockpit. The same features that makes it ideal for coastal day sailing — it’s enormous — would give me pause when going off-shore. If you get pooped, that’s an awful lot of water to drain quickly. And the only exit is the little hole in the stern : less than 2-inch diameter as I recall. I don’t think it would be a good idea to just enlarge that hole, however, as water enters through it when motoring fast enough, even in flat water. The water can rise above that little sump in the stern, and flood the cockpit floor. If I were to go offshore in a Cal 29, I’d think about providing some larger drainage holes in the stern that would be maybe six inches higher than the existing drain, with the idea that these would help a full cockpit empty faster, but not provide any additional access for the stern wave to enter the cockpit. This could make things a bit wetter in a following sea, but I still think it would improve safety. I also would consider taking steps to reduce the volume of the cockpit. There is no bridge deck, so filling the space in front of the companionway might be a good idea. And I would make sure that the companionway hatches were firmly in place and secured during off-shore sailing, as a full cockpit will spill down below, increasing the hazards (not to mention the hassles involved in cleaning up). Alfred

On Thursday 09 April 2009 18:21:22 C. Peter Audet wrote: > From what I've heard, you really don't want to go direct to Cuba from USA, > but maybe it's coming back that is fraught with Border and Homeland > Security "terror"? Peter Its the return trip. You cannot enter the States via Cuba, rather you must enter from an alternate country ie: Mexico or The Bahama's with Mexico being the closest run then to the Dry Tortuga's and finally the Florida Keys. Applies to US citizens and foreigners. -- /ch

On Thursday 09 April 2009 12:19:14 r good wrote: > You’ve got lots of good suggestions already. I’ll add some comments about > the cockpit. Thanks Alfred and Reg. My enthusiasm is running way ahead of schedule at this point. I will dig through the archives and pull up all the good data to refresh my memory on the topic. Having said that, the cockpit will be an issue now that both of you point it out, so will spend some time considering options. Thank you kindly for your recommendations. -- /ch

Sure makes your passport look funny when you come back in, m'thinks. A few years back I was involved in a business trip to Portsmouth UK. Several of the people I was working with were British military officers who belonged to a military sailing club. They chartered a 34' sailboat (a Victoria?), and we took a trip across the channel to a small town in France and then to Cherbourg. The small town was not 20 miles from Omaha Beach. Tides were 15-20 feet so the harbor had a gate that only opened on mid and high tide. Otherwise, there would be no water in the port. There, in this very old rustic town, a fishing village, was a very modern marina with full amenities (well, maybe no pool). Turns out the French subsidize these marinas, and many Brits keep boats there because it is much cheaper. They never checked any passports, much less even approached us about anything. Very interesting. Neat place. Channel crossing was eerie in places due to fog and a lot of ship traffic. Were crossing at night both ways. Every boat there has triple main reef points and all of them are strung and at the ready. Can be incredibly stormy. There was a fisherman's chapel near the harbor entrance in the town. Plaques all over the walls in memory of fisherman and full boats lost at sea. Quite an experience. Even saw the Needles on the west side of the Isle of Wight, and pulled into Cowes in the Solent on the way back . By the by, the boat was very structurally strong, with a fairly small cockpit. Sure looked to be built for possible tough conditions. Also tons of safety gear. Enough Rambling Cheers Charlie From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of chris h Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 7:57 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Re:Cal 29 prep On Thursday 09 April 2009 18:21:22 C. Peter Audet wrote: > From what I've heard, you really don't want to go direct to Cuba from > USA, but maybe it's coming back that is fraught with Border and > Homeland Security "terror"? Peter Its the return trip. You cannot enter the States via Cuba, rather you must enter from an alternate country ie: Mexico or The Bahama's with Mexico being the closest run then to the Dry Tortuga's and finally the Florida Keys. Applies to US citizens and foreigners. -- /ch ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links

On Thursday 09 April 2009 21:52:42 Husar, Charlie [USA] wrote: > Sure makes your passport look funny when you come back in, m'thinks. Two quick point. I'm Canadian ah so we have few entry restriction for nationals...secondly perhaps other countries can take the lead from the Israelis who add a paper insert to the passport and stamp it, as most Arab countries will not let you in if the passport has been stamped with an Israeli stamp. Worked there for two years. Nice place if there was peace but that's a different story that's best left alone. Given that Cuba is still under an embargo wrt to the USA the travel restrictions are quite understandable whether you agree with the embargo or not. Post 9/11 the entry and exit requirements for CDN's traveling in the States has changed dramatically however. I have no issue with it other then they keep changing the rules every year and its getting more and more restrictive and now can take hrs instead of minutes. I guess there are reasons for that that currently escape me. I'm just old fashioned as Ive been the States at least 3-4 times a year since childhood and never really saw the border or its people as significantly different then the folks up here. Biggest difference is less hangups south of the border..pls keep it that way..:) -- /ch