There is always plenty to do around Charlotte Harbor. While berthed at Fishermen’s Village Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, you are certain to enjoy visiting Western Florida’s beautiful Charlotte Harbor/Peace River.
Fishermen’s Village August Calendars of Entertainment/Events
August 2025 Sunset Beach Club CalendarAugust 2025 Fisherman’s Village Calendar
Cruisers Net publishes Loose Cannon articles with Captain Swanson’s permission in hopes that mariners with salt water in their veins will subscribe. $7 a month or $56 for the year, and you may cancel at any time.
Amokura is well stuck after having gone aground on Johnson’s Reef on July 17, 2023.
Libbie Oliver wants compensation. The British Virgin Island businesswoman was chartering her Pearson 424 to the Boy Scouts of America until July 2023 when a scout ran Amokura onto a prominent reef. The boat would become a total loss.
According to Oliver’s lawsuit, the boat’s captain was “performing other duties” when her boat crashed onto Johnson’s Reef in the Virgin Islands National Park with a scout at the helm.
Oliver filed suit last week in U.S. Virgin Islands Superior Court. Besides the Boy Scouts, defendants are the boat’s captain, Timothy Frances Sales of Pennsylvania; insurance broker Offshore Risk Management, and “John Does 1-10.”
Sales should not have left the kid at the wheel, or as Oliver’s lawyers wrote:
It was reasonably foreseeable that permitting an inexperienced minor to helm the vessel—particularly near shallow or reef-laden waters—without close supervision posed an undue risk of grounding, injury, or damage to the vessel. Sayles breached his duties by allowing a minor youth participant to helm the vessel near Johnson’s Reef while he was engaged in other tasks and not exercising proper vigilance or navigational control.
Amokura struck Johnson’s Reef, a dangerous patch of coral north of Trunk Bay on the northern side of St. John island, ringed with hazard bouys.
At top is the Aqua Maps depiction of the wreck site. Above is NASA’s depiction of Johnson’s Reef using LIDAR remote sensing technology. The reef is primarily composed of elkhorn coral.
The language of the lawsuit suggests that the boat could have been saved:
The grounding caused serious damage to the hull and rendered the vessel unseaworthy. Plaintiff was insured through a policy procured from Offshore Risk Management, who Boy Scouts of America had recommended plaintiff insure through. However, unbeknownst to plaintiff, the policy that ORM placed excluded coverage for reef damage and wreck removal. As a result of that exclusion, no salvage company was willing to attempt removal of the vessel, and the S/V Amokura remained stranded on the reef until she was ultimately destroyed in a storm in early September 2023.
Through her lawyers, Oliver argued that she had only learned that her policy excluded “two of the most foreseeable risks associated with the charter” after the wreck had happened. If she had known beforehand, she would have “procured alternative coverage that included such risks.”
Oliver, who operates an organic coffee company in Tortola, is asking the judge to make the defedants pay for the loss of the boat, salvage costs and lost income from her charter deal with the Scouts. Amokura was part of the Boy Scouts Sea Base program, carrying six to eight scouts at a time over 11 weeks of charters, each at a weekly rate of approximately $3,500.
Libbie Oliver’s Facebook page features this image with Amokura in the slings.
LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Every so often he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid.
This week’s lowest current marina fuel prices as of Jul 30 Diesel Range: $2.86 to $4.98 Lowest @ Port Consolidated in (Eastern Florida) Gas Range: $3.76 to $4.55 Lowest @ Portsmouth Boating Center in (Virginia to North Carolina) Remember to always call the marina to verify the current price since prices may change at any time. Also please let us know if you find a marina’s fuel price has changed via the Submit News link.
Cruisers Net publishes Loose Cannon articles with Captain Swanson’s permission in hopes that mariners with salt water in their veins will subscribe. $7 a month or $56 for the year, and you may cancel at any time.
Just as this story was about to be released on March 12, 2023, Loose Cannon learned that the owner had recovered the lost yacht VivieRae II. According to information originating from the Nordhavn Dreamers forum, the Nordhavn 96 was underway again. One prop had been fouled by the stray tender towline, as expected. Unexpectedly, the other prop was found wrapped in a fishing net. The yacht’s tender was sighted by the Australian Coast Guard 230 nautical miles away. A boat was underway to recover her too.
A swimmer (circled) approaches a Nordhavn 62. His mission, and that of a diving partner, is to cut a line out of her prop in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo by Peter Swanson)
The situation bore similarities to the way VivieRae II was disabled in open ocean north of Australia last week. A big Nordhavn (for her time) lost main propulsion crossing the Atlantic as part of a company-sponsored rally across the Atlantic Ocean.
Both boats had stalled because of lines wrapped around their props.
The VivieRae II story was attracted more than 11,000 readers over the weekend, and some of them (writing on Facebook) blithely suggested that instead of calling the Australian Navy for rescue, a member of the crew should have gone over the side with a sharp knife gripped between his teeth.
The following observations were from the 2003 Nordhavn Atlantic Rally. I was on board the Nordhavn command vessel, Atlantic Escort, during a 1,800-mile leg from Bermuda to the Azores. Escort was sheepherding 17 other vessels across to the Med—mostly Nordhavns.
I was in the pilothouse when the decision was made to put divers in the water, and it was a damn serious moment and just as scary to witness the plan unfold. I can’t compare conditions to those facing the crew of VivieRae II because I wasn’t there, but I would describe the seas in the Atlantic that day as moderately rough.
Jim Leishman of PAE watches as his son and a fellow employee work to clear Autumn Wind’s fouled prop. (Photos by Peter Swanson)
At the time, I estimated the swells were nine-footers, and they were spaced close enough to make us uncomfortable, despite active stabilizers.
When we arrived at the boat with the prop wrap, a Nordhavn 62 named Autumn Wind, she was chugging along at 4.5 knots using her auxiliary or get-home engine. The Azores were about a half day away.
Even so, rally boss Jim Leishman acceeded to a proposition from two of his guys who were pleading to be allowed to swim over and get beneath 77 tons of heaving, pitching, rolling fiberglass and machinery. The stakes were high, not only for the divers involved, but for the company’s reputation; PAE had undertaken the rally as a marketing demonstration.
Leishman is vice-president of PAE, builder of the Nordhavn line. One of the divers was Leishman’s son James. The other was Justin Zumwalt, grandson of the famed admiral who directed U.S. naval operations during the Vietnam War.
Jim Leishman instructed Autumn Wind’s crew to keep the vessel into the seas, using only the bow-thruster to hold her in place. Our guys donned wetsuits and dove off Escort’s swim platform. There was no levity during the operation.
Mission accomplished, James Leishman begins his swim back to Escort.
After the pair was able to ascertain that the culprit was a ½-inch line wrapped several times around the prop, James Leishman timed his move. He waited for a period of relative stability to avoid being whacked on the head by the hull, then dove under the stern with a knife in his hand. He made three cuts before coming back up again.
At this point Jim Leishman asked that Autumn Wind restart her main engine, and, contrary to all conventional wisdom, instructed the crew to give her a blast of reverse. When they shifted into forward gear, the mean vibration that had been caused by the line was gone. Reversing the prop apparently finished the job that James had started with his knife. Autumn Wind had her legs back. We arrived at Horta before the sun had set.
Having witnessed the events of 2003 I can understand why VivieRae’s captain apparently refrained from a similar effort. The tow rope fouling his props was probably more than an inch in diameter, maybe inch-and-a-half. And there were two props fouled, not just one. And there was no escort vessel standing by to assist.
The question I have—and one that was shared by other thoughtful mariners with whom I’ve spoken— was this: Why not spool out some anchor rode, creating an ad-hoc sea anchor, and just hunker down? Sooner or later, seas would subside, and someone could make that dive with a hacksaw.
Stand by. Maybe we’ll get an answer.
James Leishman and Justin Zumwalt swim through 8 to 10 foot seas on the way back to Atlantic Escort after diving under Autumn Wind. (Photo by Peter Swanson)
LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Every so often he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid.
SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE is a diary of the challenges of doing just that combined with the life-changing decision to save a complicated piece of wooden maritime history. We’ve come a long way with a ways to go… Your support is essential. Thank you. J
If you’ve just joined our engaging little community, please read SPARS & SPARRING, my introductory piece.…. ~J
One year ago tomorrow the very accommodating pros at Yacht Maintenance Company in Cambridge, Maryland, USA, hauled STEADFAST out of the water for an estimated three-month repair. Fortunately, they tucked us in an out-of-the-way corner near the Richardson Maritime Museum; some folks think she is on display. Ah, THE BEST LAID PLANS. I’ve already written that; they go awry. In case you want a refresh: it’s a good story. And perhaps pertinent.
We’re not doing what’s ‘best’ for us financially, physically, or practically, but we’re doing what we’re passionate about. We have, out of necessity, settled in, made a lot of sawdust and some great friends. I joined the intriguing and talented Choptank Writer’s Group, found a wonderful yoga class and race on Wednesday nights down at the Yacht Club. Settled, though? Yes, but not completely by choice.
I am honored to tell you that one of my many interesting, far-flung readers sought me out on Thursday; he was crew on a vessel headed north and made sure they stopped on the rather out-of-the-way Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Our intimidating ladder didn’t phase and he peered down the main hatch at my freshly repainted disarray and called my whole name, something only my father used to do. I was thrilled. We had exchanged so many written words that compatability was immediate. “What do you think?” I asked him, gesturing expansively. He raised his lively eyebrows and peered at me, making sure I was interested in the truth. I am always a fan of honesty and smiled at him; knowing what he wanted to say. The energetic, experienced, pirate-type now living in Key West, chose to tactfully redirect and stated that he had worked on plenty of steel vessels but never on wood; his lack of eye contact was hard to control, though, as he took in our complicated construction scene. When he finally looked back at me we both laughed.
I was the one who said it out loud. “I know we’re batshit crazy. Everybody knows.”
My visitor circumnavigated our planet on research vessels and others as captain, engineer and mate. I’m sure I’ve only just begun to hear the tales he has to tell. Over beer, I met his British friend and discovered the people and passages we knew in common from the Caribbean to the UK. He’s logged tens of thousands of remote, beautiful and dangerous miles; anyone who has chosen to spend that much time on the sea is a little (or batshit) crazy, pretty damn salty and remarkably self-sufficient. Thank you, Bob Wallace. You normalized my life, if only in my eyes.
That same evening I sat in my slightly unstable Adirondack rocking chair and contemplated our expansive bottom. It’s big, intimidating and pretty solid but it’s not nearly as sleek and lovely as her new, still-exposed, smooth bow. Forty years soaking in salt water will do that to you.
This photo is the port side, taken almost level with her transom or stern. Now that we have a beautiful reconstructed bow, we have to pull the rest of the picture together, reconnecting the old with the new in a seamless way even though, as you have learned, the seams of a wooden vessel are quite a challenging component. In the photo, low center, you can see the cutout where we are investigating the keel to ensure that it’s as strong as it needs to be. The colors depict an assortment of barrier coats, bottom paint and time.
During STEADFAST’s refit (then SIXPENCE) in the 1980s she was sheathed, below the waterline, with a protective material similar to flexible fiberglass. There are as many opinions on such coatings as their are boat aficionados, so we’re not going into pros and cons, just contemplating the life span. If you’re thinking that’s foreshadowing, well, your instincts may be as well honed as these repurposed planks from a now-defunct factory in Pennsylvania.
The heat index hit 110. Yep, we’re crazy.
Meanwhile, I take time to do projects I’ve wanted to do… celebrating little triumphs is my forté; and can even counterbalance the crazy, or so they say… Our teak helm bench, revitalized.
SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE is honored to have you aboard; we got to the 700 subscriber mark, and that makes my days better but not cooler. The challenge of keeping my readers interested is paramount for me; a writer’s mind is constantly reworking things in order to make them epic. That’s exactly what we’re doing here, taking a vessel that wasn’t designed to last this long and making it work. Thanks for joining us on this landlocked joust and the entire journey. ~J
Is there someone out there who would be entertained by our batshit crazy decisions and unique lifestyle? Pass SPARRING along, please; it makes my writing even more worthwhile.
Unwind from the work week with some classic summer fun: dancing under the stars on the Folly Beach Pier! Show off your dance moves at July 25’s Moonlight Mixer, featuring live tunes by the Dave Landeo Band.
SK8 Break
Send those kids back to class early – and they won’t be mad about it! That’s because our Beginner Skateboarding classes at SK8 Charleston are straight-up FUN for high-energy youngsters who may or may not be getting on their grown-ups’ last nerves right about now.
That’s Pawsome
Too hot to wait for Dog Day Afternoon? Cool off with your BFF (Best Fur Friend) at Splash Paw! This dog-friendly water play area in Wannamaker County Park is the perfect chill-out spot during the dog days of summer.
Reggae Nights Finale
Say it ain’t so! The final Reggae Nights concert of the 2025 summer season is just around the corner, and you don’t want to miss it. Tell all your friends to save the date and get your tickets today!
Houston, We Have a Prom!
Blast off into the galaxy at our Out of This World Inclusive Prom! Join us on August 9 for a space-tacular evening where people of all abilities, alongside their families and friends, are warmly welcomed to dance the night away. We can’t wait to see you there. It’s going to be intergalactic!
An on-the-water retirement home or vacation home for those who love the rich cultural ports-of-call cruising waters of North Carolina, Albemarle Plantation Marina, a port on the Albemarle Loop and a CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is located just off the AICW on the northern shores of Albemarle Sound on Yeopim River/Creek.
Albemarle Plantation Spotlights Elizabeth City’s Vibrant Culinary Scene!
For residents of Albemarle Plantation and visitors to our beautiful region, a delightful culinary journey awaits just a short drive away in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Our latest blog post, “Savor the Flavor: An Exciting Culinary Journey Through Elizabeth City, NC,” dives into the town’s burgeoning dining scene, showcasing everything from charming downtown eateries with waterfront views to establishments serving authentic international cuisine and beloved Southern staples. Discover why Elizabeth City is quickly becoming a go-to destination for food lovers, highlighting its commitment to fresh, local ingredients and the passionate chefs who bring unique flavors to life. Be sure to check out the full story on our website to learn about top spots like Cypress Creek Grill, Paradiso Roma Ristorante, Sagos on the River, and more – perfect for your next delicious outing!
PLAN YOUR DISCOVERY TOUR.
Enjoy a 3-day/2-night stay at the Inner Banks Inn in Edenton’s historic district. Live like a local and sample Albemarle Plantation’s many amenities, natural beauty and incredible water:• Round of Golf for 2 • Boat Ride on the Albemarle Sound (subject to availability) • Golf Cart, Bikes, Kayaks/Canoes • Breakfast Each Day and Lunch or Dinner at one of our onsite restaurants • Full Access to Fitness Facility and Classes and Pool Facilities (subject to availability) • Explore Downtown Edenton by Bike and Discover the Charming Waterfront • Plus, Tour Homes, Neighborhoods, and See Our Latest Home Listings from the $400s!
book your visit now for only $249!
Explore 106 Reddes River Court
3 Bedroom | 3.5 Bath | 3,850 +/- Sq Ft
Don’t miss this opportunity to make this wonderful home yours! This pristine custom-built brick cul-de-sac home is listed for the first time! This stunning home has every comfort–the entrance hallway leads into an open-floor plan living room with stunning exterior views as well as a generous deck. French doors lead to a charming family room and full bath with jetted tub and oversized separate shower. The spacious master bedroom is tucked away with doors leading from both the family room and living room.
This Discovery Package is designed to acquaint you with Albemarle Plantation real estate opportunities. If married, both spouses must attend the property tour. Participants must live outside a 75 mile radius from the property. The $249 is paid to the hotel at time of booking. If customer does not cancel or reschedule within 14 days of arrival, the customer forfeits the $249 as a cancellation fee. Customer is responsible for any incidentals at the hotel. A valid credit card is required to reserve an Albemarle Plantation Discovery Visit. A limited number of packages are available. Subject to availability. Some blackout dates.
The weather during August is a very warm in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico and this is also the month when tropical cyclones become active. Gale force winds are rare, however, but can occur in the vicinity of tropical storms and hurricanes.
NOAA August Pilot Chart
Wind
The prevailing winds across the Caribbean during August tend to be from the east, generally light to moderate (7-16 knots) except in the south-central portion of the Caribbean where moderate to fresh (11-21 knot) winds prevail from the east or northeast and where rough seas of 8 feet or higher can be expected about 20-30% of the time. Over the Gulf of Mexico the wind tends to be light (7-11 knots) and more variable in direction.
Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclone activity is most frequent over the northeastern Caribbean Sea and waters north of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola as well as the Bahamas and east of Florida where there is a 30-40% risk of at least one storm occurring during the month of August. The risk decreases to around 20% over the Gulf of Mexico and to below 10% over the southwestern Caribbean.
August Tropical Cyclone tracks
Temperature
August is very warm with air temperatures averaging 82F to 85F and sea temperatures range between 83F to 86F.
Fred Pickhardt’s Substack is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Fred Pickhardt’s Substack that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won’t be charged unless they enable payments.
This week’s lowest current marina fuel prices as of Jul 23 Diesel Range: $2.86 to $4.80 Lowest @ Port Consolidated in (Eastern Florida) Gas Range: $3.73 to $4.69 Lowest @ Centerville Waterway Marina in (Virginia to North Carolina) Remember to always call the marina to verify the current price since prices may change at any time. Also please let us know if you find a marina’s fuel price has changed via the Submit News link.
Cruisers Net publishes Loose Cannon articles with Captain Swanson’s permission in hopes that mariners with salt water in their veins will subscribe. $7 a month or $56 for the year, and you may cancel at any time.
‘Storm Oil’ Isn’t a Thing Anymore, and Not Just Because It’s Against the Law
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee is a 1633 oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt. It was based a description of the Gospel of Mark about how Christ calmed the water. A rational explanation is that Jesus—the only calm guy on the boat—had applied the old sailors’ trick of using “storm oil,” which helps prevent waves like this one from breaking. One scholar has suggested oil may also have played a role in preserving the vessel that ran into foul weather while carrying St. Paul to Rome.
While writing a story recently about a harbor plagued by petroleum spills, I was reminded of being a kid and reading about mariners using oil to help survive offshore storms. It was the 1960s, so the magazine might have been in Yachting before it transmogrified into the sop to billionaires it is today.
“Storm oil” could be deployed upwind in a container attached, for example, to a sea anchor, from which it slowly released its contents. Like nutmeg on butternut squash, storm oil was effective even when applied in tiny amounts.
And, as the painting above was meant to suggest, the technique has been used since biblical times (the Sea of Galilee is notoriously subject to sudden violent wind-driven waves). As recreational boating was trending upward in the last century, boating magazines were launched to serve the new market, and one service to readers was to pass along wisdom of professional mariners.
One early magazine account of storm oil appeared in this issue of Motor Boating, known for it’s stunning cover art:
This “heavy weather edition” of the June 1912 magazine credited the Phonecians with first use of storm oil: Sailors from the ancient Middle Eastern nation had observed “that after passing through the wake of whales, oil exuding from their bodies left a perfectly calm spot” (presumably referring to the bodies of the whales, not the sailors).
The following bits of wisdom were contributed to Motor Boating by E.A. Crawford of Newark, N.J.:
As soon as the oil spreads on the surface of the water, it places a film over it, which effectually prevents the waves from coaming and breaking. Of course, it has no effect on the swell.
Three bags should be sufficient for a boat as they may be constructed in any manner desired, although the usual shape is cylindrical about six inches in diameter, of two or more thicknesses of heavy canvas. Stuff with oakum and punch full of holes at least a quarter of an inch in diameter to allow the oil to leak out, which is easily done with a marlin spike.
These holes also admit the water, so it can facilitate the oil leakage and make it more uniform. Saturate the oakum with lard oil, if obtainable, as experiments tend to favor it to all others. Still most any oil will serve in an emergency, although mineral oil, having little fatty matter will not produce as good result as vegetable oil, while lard oil being composed entirely of fat is most effective…
If riding to a sea anchor, bend them to the cable, so it will be several fathoms ahead of the boat. Running before the wind, tow one from each bow, using enough line on them so they will always be in the water. At anchor, make one fast to the cable several lengths ahead of the boat, allowing sufficient line so it will float freely.
Cone Can in a Sea Anchor
Lifeboats were required to carry them until 1998. Originally, fish oil was the preferred medium, and it was the cheapest. Wave-quelling oil could also be used when launching or recovering ship’s boats or embarking or disembarking a pilot.
Attached to a Kellet
This illustration is from the June 1943 issue of Motor Boating. “Kellet” in the headline is a somewhat obscure term for a weight attached to an anchor rode.
Storm Oil Bags
The middle one, from an online market site, was labeled “no longer available.” The other two are in museums. (Click on an image to enlarge it.)
The final reference to storm oil that I could find in MotorBoating (the name had become one word) was a 1978 story about a 70-foot sailing vessel lying ahull. She was apparently surfing down massive waves and outrunning the slick until her crew began towing warps to slow the boat down enough to enjoy the effects of the oil.
Benjamin Franklin
There he goes again. Research a topic long enough, and sooner or later Benjamin Franklin is going to pop up. It wasn’t enough that he invented lightning rods, swim fins and bifocals, that he was first to chart the Gulf Stream, but it was Franklin that first confirmed scientifically the efficacy of storm oil.
Sailing to England in the 1860s, Franklin observed that the greasy galley discharge from a nearby ship smoothed its wake. After arriving he conducted experiments at a British lake, which he summarized in a report on “Stilling the waves,” writing:
“Not more than a tea spoonful produced an instant calm, over a space several yards square, which spread amazingly, and extended itself gradually till it reached the lee side, making all that quarter of the pond, perhaps half an acre, as smooth as a looking glass.”
This YouTube guy replicated Franklin’s approach and gives a pretty good explanation of the science involved. He even used olive oil, as likely had the early Phonecian practicioners.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act was enacted in 1948, but rewritten in 1972 and amended twice since. For boaters, one result was the placard below, which we are all required to display on vessels 26 feet and over with an enclosed engine compartment.
But what if a vessel is outside U.S. waters entirely? Todd Lochner, an admiralty lawyer in Annapolis, was asked whether restrictions on releasing oil follow us onto international waters, which is where we are most likely to have to ride out a storm.
The short version is that there are laws which are applicable to both U.S. territorial waters, and generally speaking, there are laws which will follow the flag state of the vessel. Let’s not forget that there are certain treaties like UNCLOS¹ which will apply, particularly if the flag state is a signatory as well. As usual, clear as mud with a lawyer response that I need more information and factual scenario, etc. etc.
As late as 1991, “Chapman Piloting & Seamanship & Small Boat Handling” was still informing readers of the benefits of oil in the storm but with a disclaimer about it’s dubious legality. In 1999, the first edition of “Surviving the Storm: Coastal & Offshore Tactics” by Steve and Linda Dashew only mentions storm oil a few times in passing.
No matter, I think. If given a choice between adding a couple quarts of Rotella T to the Atlantic and death by drowning, most of us would probably choose the former. The law and politically correctness may be why none of our written authorities are touting oil as a solution nowadays, but the real reason for its disuse is this: We now have tools to avoid being caught in storms, which did not exist before the 1990s, let alone 1912.
Better Forecasts
Ocean-crossers like the Dashews are a rare breed. Many of us haven’t done anything riskier than an overnighter. Most offshore passages are limited in duration to four, maybe five or six days. Think “I-65,” the route from New England to the Caribbean via Bermuda.
Weather forecasting for a four-day window is actually pretty damn accurate nowdays, and, since the new Millenium, the electronic means for receiving such forecasts have proliferated, the latest and greatest being Starlink. We’re not getting surprised like we used to.
Think of it this way: The conditions for using storm oil and a sea anchor are pretty much the same, as suggested by one of the illustrations above. Yet the sea anchor has become like a vestigial tail. Many of us still carry one, but most of us who do, have never used it.
If you’ve deployed a sea anchor in actual storm conditions, please share the story with us below. Do you think oil would have helped?
LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Every so often he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid.
It’s not sexy; it’s not the morning-after-let’s-do-that-again thing. Most of us have been between those sheets and if that’s what rebedding in the maritime world was, then I’d say bring it on. But it’s not. Not even close. The only thing that rebedding and this rebedding have in common is that it takes four hands; two inside and two outside. Microsoft denies it’s even a real word but let me tell you it is really quite a task. We’re talking about chainplates and the impressive bolts that keep them in place.
Each chainplate is held by five impressive custom-length bolts.
Google defines chainplate as “a crucial metal fitting on a sailboat that connects the standing rigging (fixed wires and ropes supporting the mast) to the hull. In essence, it acts as a strong anchor point for the shrouds and stays, which are the cables that, attached with turnbuckles, provide lateral and fore-and-aft support to the mast(s).”
Kinda hard to tell what’s going where, isn’t it?
Admittedly, after due consideration, our chainplates are sexy in a classic wooden yacht, old-fashioned, pirate-ship sort of way. They have a notable exterior presence, considerable heft at thirty pounds or so, and you know the seriousness of their purpose. STEADFAST was originally designed by William Hand Jr as a Motorsailer with masts considerably shorter than they are today. Our friend Dmitri, who rebuilt her during the 80s, elongated the original spars by over 35%, changing the dynamics of the vessel tremendously.
Eight forward chainplates, four each side.
We harness the power of the wind to propel forty tons through the seas; the force of those opposing forces is tremendous. STEADFAST has sixteen exterior thirty-inch cast silicon bronze chainplates that are bolted through the hull into the structure of the vessel. Four of those attach two shrouds rather than one, giving us twenty separate opposing forces to keep the masts upright regardless of conditions. In speeds over gale force (35knots or 40mph or 65kph) we drop all but minimal sail because those forces are so extreme. The remaining sail is for stability rather than propulsion. She has proven herself and lived up to her name; we do our best to not encounter such conditions. Too little sail area may be slow, but too much sail area can be deadly. If you’re interested, you can explore the tragic sinking of the Pride of Baltimore through this link.
The maintenance of chainplates is a key component to both integrity and strength; our favorite marine surveyor recommends rebedding every five to ten years. We knew we were overdue and started on those connected directly to the Mizzen, or aft, mast to discover that they had not been removed, cleaned, and re-adhered since their original installation nearly forty years ago. We also discovered why. The aft ones were challenging, with two-inch holes now needing repair were drilled through walls and small-hand dexterity was required. Our chainplates go underneath two sections of wood, the rub rail and the outer toe rail; it’s a feat to remove all the debris.
We put off the eight main mast ones as long as we could as most bolts were hidden behind interior walls. Rebedding hullside chainplates is a precarious, multi-step process that proves the tenacity of both marine adhesives (3M’s 5200) and our determination while depending on undependable weather forecasts not to get soaked to the bone or blown off the scaffold.
The bolts were installed prior to the galley. Yes, that’s new paint.
Remember how interconnected a sailing vessel is and this one, while more complex than most, is far, far simpler than back in the days when it was the only mode of transport. On modern vessels a simple L-shaped piece of stainless steel bolted through the deck and into the interior structure is common. Find simple and detailed discussion here from No Frills Sailor.
On STEADFAST, we don’t have the simple stuff. All that vessel REBEDDING tired us out, frankly, although crossing it off the list was a celebration. We’re hoping that when this project is completed we’ll have time and energy for the fun kind. ~J
Re-securing the last turnbuckle as black clouds loom….
Think my work & project is worth sharing? We’ve been called “The Tally Ho of the Chesapeake Bay” more than once this week! Sampson Boat Co has 555,000 more followers than I do, so let’s get on it! Send me along!! No pressure, really. I’m just damn glad YOU are here. Have a wonderful week!
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