Pontoon Boat Plans | La Paz to Bahia de Concepcion

Pontoon Boat Plans

Ensenada Grande with mainland Baja in the background.

On Saturday, April 13^th we went grocery shopping at the local Mega, took a long swim in the pool and had dinner at Steinbecks. The next morning we checked out of Costa Baja and headed north to Isla Partida. In the Sea of Cortez the wind generally blows up the sea or down the sea. Today it was blowing down the sea so we motor-sailed directly into a 15 knot headwind and lumpy, choppy seas as we passed up the west side of Isla Espiritu Santo toward our destination of Ensenada Grande on the west side of Isla Partida, arriving in the late afternoon. There were a few other boats in the anchorage, but it’s a big enough bay that we were able to anchor in a fairly secluded spot close to some bluffs on the south side of the bay. The water was clear enough that I could see the anchor send up a cloud of sand as it hit the bottom 22 feet below the surface. This made the snorkeling great, and we saw lots of tropical fish and healthy looking coral. Later we took the dinghy around the southern end of the bay, past Punta Tijeretas and into the tiny cove of Las Cuevitas where there is a blue footed booby rookery. It’s not the nesting season now, but there were still a lot of boobies around. That night I set my alarm to wake up at 0200 so we could watch a total eclipse of the moon. There is something awesome about seeing a lunar eclipse from the deck of a sailboat where there is no light pollution from any nearby civilization.

Sunset is a perfect time for a paddle in Ensenada Grande.

I have no idea how these unusual rocks were formed but they are fascinating to explore.

While there, we hiked up the hills behind the bay and explored the strange rock formations that line the north side of the bay. When we got restless we sailed north again toward the fishing village of San Evaristo on the mainland of Baja.

With a nice breeze out of the southeast, we had a pleasant sail for about twenty miles then about six miles from the anchorage, the wind died and we began to motor. We had been trolling all day without a bite, but about four miles out, the reel lit up and we caught a 20 pound dorado.  This was our first fish of this kind and as soon as we got the anchor down in Evaristo I had the BBQ out and we had a fine meal of grilled dorado, wild rice and a fine bottle of pinot grigio, supplied by my friends at C1. Thanks guys!  We spent a couple of days in Evaristo then departed for Puerto Los Gatos, about thirty miles up the Baja coast.

We caught him just in time for dinner.

A dorados beautiful colors quickly fade when they die. After giving him a couple of shots of rum this fellow relaxed and died peacefully.

It was a beautiful starboard tack reach, with about 12 knots of wind out of the east under a hazy, somewhat overcast sky. I like the overcast because it provides some relief from the sun, which can be brutal here in the Sea. We approached Los Gatos from the southeast and saw a boat anchored in the far northern part of the bay, which is about half a mile wide. We anchored in the southern part of the bay, about as far from the other boat as we could get and were looking forward to a beautiful, quiet evening.  But within an hour three other boats came into the bay and anchored close enough that we could hear them talking as they enjoyed their sundowners.  A couple of them left early the next morning so we were able to explore this beautiful bay pretty much in peace and solitude. Different voyages have different flavors. The last time we were here, three years ago, we were delighted to have lots of friends from other boats around. This time, we have been inclined to seek the solitude of empty bays and quiet nights. 

Our dinghy is a speck on the beach at Los Gatos.

On Saturday, April 19^th we got the anchor up early and headed for Bahia Agua Verde, about 13 miles north. With three knots of wind out of the southeast, there was no point in trying to sail, so we fired up the diesel and a couple hours later we anchored about a hundred yards off the beach in Agua Verde. Since it was the day before Easter Sunday, the beaches in the fairly large bay were crowded with Mexican vacationers here to celebrate the holiday. The next morning we hiked into the country behind the little settlement. Aside from fishing, the locals raise goats, pigs and a few cattle. There is a school and church, along with a couple of small tiendas and a restaurant or two, so Agua Verde, though it has no cell phone or internet service is fairly cosmopolitan compared to most other places in this part of Baja California.

Later in the day we raised the anchor and continued north 22 miles to Puerto Escondido.  We arrived around 1700 and passed through the narrow channel into the lagoon that makes this place an excellent all weather port of refuge. The lagoon is over a mile long and half a mile wide and until recently had over a hundred moorings. Now there are only a few moorings left, and they don’t look well maintained. Ashore, things have declined from the last time we were here. There is still a boatyard with a Travelift and a floating dock and a few boats hauled out here, but the place is pretty desolate. The restaurant has closed down and so has the little tienda. Puerto Escondido should be a thriving community, but apparently there has been a lot of disagreement within the local business community and with the government which has had a bad effect on the village. We had hoped to stock up on fresh food and use the Internet here, but instead we spent one night in the lagoon tied to an iffy looking mooring and left the next morning for the town of Loreto, about 14 miles up the coast.

Puerto Escondido sunrise. Regardless of the business situation in the village, the scenery remains awe inspiring. 

There is a tiny harbor at Loreto but it is for the exclusive use of the local fishermen, so we anchored outside and took the dinghy into town where we had a nice meal at the Hotel La Mision, checked email and wandered around the town a bit before heading back out to the boat. While ashore we visited a unique museum of sorts, with the skeletons of whales and dolphins on display.  Back aboard Finisterra, we spent a peaceful night anchored outside the harbor, then left early the next morning for Caleta San Juanico.   

 The distance from Loreto to San Juanico is about 27 miles and with scant wind, we motorsailed the entire distance, arriving in the early afternoon. There were four or five boats anchored in the north end of the bay and a couple more at the south end, so we chose a nice spot just off the beach in the middle part of the bay, anchoring in about 15 feet of water. With a light breeze coming out of the southeast and crystal clear water, the swimming was delightful. Later we grilled the last of the dorado I caught a week ago for dinner. The next morning we were underway early for the 50 mile passage to Bahia de Concepcion.

Caleta San Juanico is dotted with rocky islets.

 The wind blew out of the northwest, exactly the direction we wanted to go, so we motored toward Punta Concepcion until we were a few miles out. Then the wind shifted to northeast and piped up to about 20 knots and we had a fast sail around the point and about six miles down the bay. Then we furled the sails and picked our way through the pass between Punta Piedrita and tiny Isla Pitihaya, toward Playa Santispac. There were several boats already at anchor there, so we bore away toward the little cove at Posada de Conception where we anchored in about 20 feet of water in the lee of some tall bluffs which offered good protection from the strong northerlies that sometimes blow down the Sea of Cortez. Finisterra was to remain at anchor here for the next nine days. 

Do you find information about Pontoon Boat Plans are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Pontoon Boat Plans. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Read More..

Dinghy Boat Plans | Banderas Bay to Mazatlan

Dinghy Boat Plans

Finisterra finally sailed from La Cruz around 0900 on Sunday, March 30th bound for Mantanchen Bay and then Mazatlan. It was a beautiful morning with a light offshore wind early and the promise of a nice beam reach to Mantanchen in the afternoon. We motored out around Punta de Mita and turned northward in almost no wind, but by noon we had enough wind to sail. We hoisted the main and set the jib and settled down on the reach to Mantanchen in about 10 knots of wind. It was looking like a beautiful day-sail all the way.

Mantanchen Bay sunset

Shortly after we got the sails set and trimmed, I heard a strange creaking noise coming from somewhere down below. This was a new noise, not the typical creaks that I was accustomed to. I searched around the boat in all the likely places that creaks might come from, but couldnt find the source of the noise until I opened the starboard lazarette hatch. When I looked down into the compartment I noticed that the bracket for the autopilot ram was moving back and forth in an unusual manner. Then I realized that the bulkhead was flexing and the joint where I assumed Beneteau had spliced or scarfed together two pieces of plywood to make the aft bulkhead was not a joint at all. It was not lapped or scarffed, or even glued together. Nope, Beneteau apparently saw fit to just butt the two pieces of plywood together without the benefit of any adhesive or mechanical fasteners. Then whoever installed the autopilot ram drilled the mounting holes less than a quarter inch of the edge of this imaginary joint. The bracket was mounted with massive 7/16" bolts and a stainless steel backing plate so it looked like a proper job, but looks can be deceiving.

By mid-afternoon we were gliding into Mantanchen Bay and got the anchor down in about eighteen feet of water three quarters of a mile from the beach, which I hoped was well beyond the range of the no-nos that live around here. Then we had a decision to make: We could go back roughly 50 miles to La Cruz or continue on to Mazatlan, another 130 miles north from here. After looking at the weather forecast we decided to press on to Mazatlan. The wind would be on the nose the entire distance but it would be light most of the way. We would be motoring into it and that would put the least stress on the wobbly bulkhead.

Mountains behind Mazatlan at dawn.

To put this little problem into perspective, we were in no danger and the worst that might have happened to us was that we might have to hand steer if the bulkhead failed completely, which was very unlikely. But it certainly annoyed me as a boatbuilder that the boat was built in this manner. And of course the problem needed to be fixed before we ran into any real weather, which is always a possibility in the Sea of Cortez.

View from the aft side of the bulkhead.  When I replaced the autopilot ram back in 2012 I assumed this joint was lapped but its not.

View from the forward side of the bulkhead.

The repair was easy enough. I went over to Marine Services Mazatlan, which is located in the shipyard next to Marina Mazatlan and had them cut out some plywood reinforcements that I bonded to both sides of the bulkhead with WEST epoxy. Once the epoxy cured it was a simple matter to reinstall the bracket and ram.

Both sides of the bulkhead were sanded and prepped.  

Plywood reinforcements bonded in place. The screws were used to clamp everything together while the epoxy cured.

Bracket and ram reinstalled and ready to go.

With the repair completed, we were able to spend some time around the pool at the marina and wander around the beautiful city of Mazatlan. In a few days well head northwest across the Sea of Cortez to La Paz.

Do you find information about Dinghy Boat Plans are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Dinghy Boat Plans. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Read More..

Boat Plans Arch Davis | Great Bay NH

Boat Plans Arch Davis

My sail is back, and apparently, it was cut just fine by Duckworks.  So now I have to figure out how to tension the lug rig right to get rid of some of those wrinkles.  An interesting rig, this lug rig.

Yesterday I did some sailing in Great Bay, a favorite sailing spot of mine.  Coincidentally, I ran into a CLC Jimmy Skiff "Life Goal #9" built in nearby Dover.  Unfortunately I left my camera at home, but "Life Goal #9" had one and took some of the first picture and video of my Goat Island Skiff putting along.

Thanks Ron!

Do you find information about Boat Plans Arch Davis are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans Arch Davis. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Read More..

Boat Plans Canada | Weekend in Casco Bay

Boat Plans Canada

This weekend I shot up to Casco Bay with Al from Brooklyn who has built a stunning Goat Island Skiff in his shop.  He launches it into an East River tributary by unceremoniously dropping it off the sea wall into the water.  The original plan was hopefully for two boats, but Al wasnt able to get the trailer finished in time, so we took mine, which is just as well since Saturday was hot on the heels of a decent sized NorEaster we had up here in New England last week.  We got a late start on Saturday, and in confused seas we set out for Little Cheabeague-- not too far away, but with a beautiful sandy beach.  Far enough.

The ride out was exciting, we shipped a lot of water over the bow in the steep seas, and the last half of the journey was characterized by a fast reach to the island.  The ride was wet, and Al did his fare share of bailing.  One tack, all the way.  In all the excitement I left my trusty camera in the one of the watertight buckets that turned out to be... not so watertight.  My camera took a salt bath...

Thankfully, on the return journey we ran into Talisman, a 24 Ostkust.  You can see pictures and read about Talisman Here and Here.

The skipper of Talisman took some pics of us returning to South Portland that afternoon, and, video!

Goat Island Skiff Homeward Bound

Fort Gorges in the Background

Here is I am Zinea, Pterodactylus in all her youtubes glory!




Another exciting weekend of sailing!

Do you find information about Boat Plans Canada are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans Canada. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Read More..

Boat Plans Stitch And Glue | Cured Meats and Soft Cheeses Around Great Island

Boat Plans Stitch And Glue

It smelled like old Wendys fast food that lay smoldering under a Las Vegas highway overpass, somewhat wicked but rapidly desiccating into something oddly familiar and satisfying. Much like a flatulence that waffles between pride and disownership. The desert dries all things with a hint of sage and concrete, as does the mystery powder in the bottom of the Doodie Bag (but without the sage). 

I was contemplating this and other mysteries from the toilet lid of a 5 gallon bucket amongst pine needles and the quiet lapping of water on a Maine island.  The flies were already moving onto my location and unbeknownst to me and my buzzing friends, so were 10 college women (and some men) intent on preparing a campsite for a Freshman Orientation Week.

This can only mean one thing...

Sea Pearl SCOUT IS BACK OUT ON THE PROWL!

ROAAWWRR

AHOY INTREPID READERS!

I welcome you back to another wonderful and beguiling installment of GISAmateur Style!  This has been a tumultuous year of tribulation, complete with physical ailments, professional shakeups, ponderous tragedy, and mighty little sailing. (We missed the Small Reach Regatta, horrors!).  Last week however, SCOUT and I went cruising, and we did it in company and we did it well and BY POSEIDON and his graciousness and his fury we had a goddamm good time and some great sailing!

-Commodore Hazard! and his lovely sneaky fast Coquina SLIFPER
-GreenMountain John and his one-and-only lug rigged yawl Ilur in the world, WAXWING
-Capn Jon, of Pheonix III fame but in his newly acquired SeaPearl 21, INDIGO
-And me, Captain Callsign, with of course, SCOUT.

Our objective was the circumnavigation of Sebascodegan Island, or Great Island, which I did solo last year.  You can read this account here. We decided to do it again because it is just such a groovy trip, with varied sailing, nice little holes to duck into, and it was in good proximity to the four of us and our schedules.

DAY 1

For better viewing:

http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/13290.shtml

SCOUT and I were the last to arrive at Bethel Point Marine, which has parking and a slimey ramp. Overnight trailer parking can be tough to find, and Bethel Point offers it at $6 a day per vehicle. Dont screw this up! Everyone was already in the water, sprawling around their boats and looking suspiciously content. Commodore Hazard came bouncing up the ramp and greeted me to watch SCOUT while I parked the trailer. We had little sunlight left and in a jumble of camping gear and badly stowed rigging, we set forth for our first anchorage of the night, tucked in just west of Yarmouth Island.

Capn Jon took this picture click for more

Commodore Hazard and SLIFPER
Capn Jon took this picture click for more

We rafted up for dinner, and quickly bonded over a love of literature, food, exciting beverages to go with said food, lantern light and starlight. MAYBE we talked about boats, too! We bedded down in our steeds open to the night sky and we watched the celestial dome spin about our paltry selves.  I lay for a while staring at the Summer Triangle directly overhead musing to myself that this was the first time I was seeing it this season. It was an old friend that meant camping and warm nights, mosquitoes and high adventure.  In that moment I missed the Triangle terribly and was glad to see it against the backdrop of the Milky Way. Palpable relief settled upon me, and as a few stray meteorites streaked into their hot oblivion, I fell deep asleep. We were under the stars again and life was made right.

I awoke way too early in the morning with Commodore Hazard and GreenMountain John shouting at each other across the anchorage about what a "GREAT DAY" it was. It was 6am. Maybe 5. It was early. I dont know. Some people work for a living.

We rafted up for breakfast, and planned to go around Orr before heading up the west coast of Sebascodegan.

DAY 2: THE EPIC RUN

Red arrow lower left: Lunch
Red arrow upper right: 2nd Anchorage
Yellow: Rowing
Tacking is approximate

Commodore Hazard was ready to go about an hour before anyone else.
If this is Retirement, I want some.

No one else is ready.

We tacked out of our anchorage and quickly realized we missed the slack tide.  It was now flooding, we were beating upwind, and our plan to round Orr Island was looking like it was going to take a while.  Having spent the past several months chasing schedules and moving at the speed of modern transportation, I admit my brain was not running at the same time/distance equation as wind, water, and tide. This mental disconnect with the pace was unnerving, full of internal conflict. I seriously contemplated screwing the plan to go around Orr and running down Gun Point Cove like I did last year, but Hazard kept doggedly marching south and so I did too.

We put in at Cedar Beach on the northern tip of Bailey Island to break down the rigs to get under the the bridge between Bailey and Orr Island. Cedar Beach is a touchpoint on public access to water. I have said this before and I will say it again... access to the water is part of our American Birthright, and we let it slip away to private interests at our peril!

HISTORIC first picture of SCOUT and INDIGO together!
Capn Jon celebrates in the background!

SCOUT and I rowing underneath the bridge.
It looks like a bunch of jumbled concrete, right?
Capn Jon took this picture, click for more

NO its lincoln-log stacked blocks of granite! This didnt take any work, Im sure.
More here

 On the other side of the Bailey Island Bridge we rowed up to Cooks Lobster House. This was fortunate because it was lunch time. It was also unfortunate because it was lunch time and the ferry from Portland just regurgitated about 120 people whose sole purpose in life was to eat at that very moment at Cooks. Fortunately, GreenMountain John was able to sweet talk Cooks into giving us take-out and they happily obliged! Cooks is now on the approved Lobster Eating-Place List here at GISAmateur! Congratulations Cooks!

After lunch, we spun out and then began one of the most incredible downwind runs I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy. The tide and the wind were at our backs, the breeze was building, we were four well matched boats, and the sun was out and we were going somewhere!

Small boat friendly beach!

WAXWING

A Rozinante... it was a real treat to watch Commodore Hazard and SLIFPER spin around her.

Hazard plays around with just the Main, and scoots along just fine.

WAXWING, SLIFPER, and INDIGO coming out from under the Mountain Rd. bridge 
and into the Ewin Narrows.

Shipshape, honest.

INDIGO rounding the corner at Doughty Point
with the Long Reach in the background.
GREAT SAILING

INDIGO

Capn Jon doesnt just sail
He slums it. 

Wing and wing down the Ewin Narrows

Capn Jon took this picture

Capn Jon took this picture, too!

Striking the rig down at Gurnet Straight.

In some wild way, we timed the tide exactly as planned and hit the notorious Gurnet Straight at full slack. We struck our rigs and rowed under the bridge which delineates the northern tip of Sebascodegan Island. We convened on the other side and decided to push further west and tuck in on the east side of Merritt Island and anchor for the night. This small section really became a booming reach with fast sailing and a circumnavigation of Merritt itself, which revealed to us that the "bar" connecting Merritt to the mainland is not sand but rocks, and its also not charted. We all bumped boards but escaped any serious damage, and dropped our hooks in a little calm paradise. This is where we all couldnt agree how to best anchor and enjoy the boats and the shoreline.

GreenMountain John decided to rig an outhaul, which as my Intrepid Readers will remember, is usually some sort of exercise in frustration, and this was no exception. I swore at this moment that I am finally going to get around to getting that Anchor Buddy, which would solve a lot (not all) of our shore/tide problems. That being said, theres something humorous about watching two sailors tangle with outhauls.

SLIFPER awash in green

Something is rotten in the state of Outhaul.
Commodore Hazard attempts to rectify the issue.

Now the outhaul is hopelessly wrapped around SLIFPERs rudder.

Still working on it.  That Commodore Hazard is persistent, he is.
Hey...Whos outhaul is this, anyway?

I was forced -against my will- to take this picture of the final successful outhaul attempt.
This success came at a great cost of time, took two people, two boats, and much
editorializing from the Peanut Gallery (me).
I salute GreenMountain John for his fortitude and persistence in seeing this through.
They do work sweet, when they work.

FINALLY we can get down to eating!
Most bad-ass raft up ever.

Chef BoyardJohn just slayed this dinner for us unthankful compatriots:
Spirali and pesto sauce with smoked scallops.
Paired with his home-brewed beers.
Luxury.

Cured meats and soft cheeses.
Commodore Hazard enlightening us on the subject of boom crutches and Other Exciting Subjects.
Capn Jon listens politely to his superiors. (Smart, Capn Jon!)

DAY THREE

So it came to pass that we awoke to a more humid and less sunny day than Day 2. We decided on a humble goal of making it down to the The Basin and tucking in there for the afternoon.  We would have the tide and wind slightly against us, and we just went ahead and enjoyed the sailing it would provide.

Of course this morning after my coffee I headed onto Merritt Island to enjoy my morning constitutional. It was foggy and midweek and who would show up at 8am?, I thought to myself. I dawdled and certainly did not conceal myself, planting my 5 gallon pail right on a major walking thoroughfare from the north end to the south end of the island. I was a king, and this was my land, dammit! I leisurely finished up and turned around just to see a group of college girls (and 2 dudes or so) come walking over the landbridge from the mainland! Forty seconds later, and they would have received what I would imagine is a very unpleasant site of me with my pants bunched around my seaboots cleaning up. My timing was as close as close could be. I walked by the happy group, Doodie Bag in hand, while they cavorted over to the island where moments ago I was most vulnerable.  Im almost regretting my great timing, I feel I robbed them of a good story to tell over the weekend to their classmates. Maybe I would have said something pithy too, just to spice up their story. (probably not)

Sailing wise, at times the wind was fickle coming through the narrows, but it picked up just fine later in the day and we made good time. We stopped for lunch for more cured meats and soft cheeses, of course. INDIGO and SCOUT had an epic tacking battle into The Basin that wowed the locals who motored over later to talk to us champion sailor types. Then we settled in for another evening of eating.  I think at this point we were beginning to feel it.

Waking up on Day 2 was a little more peaceful, less shouting and the like.

"Hey! You kids! Get off my lawn!"

GreenMountain John sculling WAXWING and showing us all how its done.
In the background you can see Commodore Hazard preparing for his morning constitutional,
after the college group had left, of course. He either has better timing, or less sense of adventure. Not sure which is better.

Lunch time! Yeah!
This is where the immortal "Captain F***Head" (as christened by the Commodore)
motored by with a big wake bashing the Coquinas rudder onto the rocks,
forever turning "Slipper" into "Slifper" as the pintle rubbed the paint off the transom.
...And if you think about it,
SLIFPER is just so much cooler, because now theres a story.

Tied up in The Basin in triumph. This is what it looks likes, when one triumphs at life.

This is what not-so triumphant puzzlement looks like.
How do I get off the rock and into the boat
without doing what I did last year to myself?

Making the dinner, again! Tonight, it was Capn Jons turn.
He added a special fiberglass ingredient to his dish after he dumped dinner into his bilges.
This does not bother sailors like us, this only makes us
more resilient! Delicious boaty taste, hmm hmm good.

Do you find information about Boat Plans Stitch And Glue are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans Stitch And Glue. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Read More..