He Called My Boat a Barge

Forgot to post this one:  article from Wavetrain about the venerable Morgan 41 Out Island.  They used an unattributed photo of my Pelican under sail.  Worse not a single mention of Sally Morgan and her influence on the boat.

Article

So I'll give Sally's response, which I blogged on in 2004:

Comments on tacking the Morgan 41 

My usual first sarcastic remarks to someone questioning the sailing characteristics of the Out Islanders is 'how much sailing experience have you had?' If you don't know how to sail a boat to weather anyway, it really doesn't matter does it?

Best we can determine, the idea that the Out Island 41's do not sail well evolved from a story Bill Robinson of Yachting Magazine wrote right after the first boats were out, and his comment was it didn't sail to weather like an ocean racer. It wasn't designed to.

I'll be interested in what comments you get to your note. I love the way they sail - they're fast reaching, extremely stable (don't round up in puffs), and fun to sail. 

Just had to get my 2 cents in. 

Sally Morgan

2013 Projects List

1. Still need an Autohelm
2. New Sails?
3. Install Battery Watering system from Flow-Rite Controls to 4 T-105 house batteries -- provides a single watering point.
4. Build shelves for boat dishes in port locker
5. Turn companionway dish locker into a dehumidifier closet, pipe dehumidifier into cockpit drain system.
6. Repair / maintain engine coolant system.  Replace all old hoses.  Replace all clamps.  Inspect / replace fresh water and salt water pumps.  (sigh)
7. Remove rust from engine using elbow grease and Ospho.  Paint engine.
8. Install LED light above stove
9. Replace old plastic vent covers for engine room blowers with new stainless vent covers
10. Fashion springs onto broken salon hatches.
11. Replace Cape Dory dinghy with a 10.5' RIB and 15 HP motor
12. Bottom Job?

As they say, the list never gets shorter.

How Not to End a Weekend Cruise...

We had a great time with Eric and three of his friends from college spending a weekend on the boat.  Unfortunately on the way home we had a few troubles.  First a clamp failed on the starboard side of the engine and all our freshwater coolant drained out.  Shut the engine down, kept sailing towards home.  New clamp, refilled reservoir.  Started engine again and the belt to the alternator / seawater pump broke.  Went to replace the belt and bolts were missing on the alternator.

One bad (poor) maintenance thing after another.  At least I've kept up with paying my unlimited towing from BOAT/US.

2012 Project Revisited

We did accomplish a lot last year, making the boat a great place to spend weekends on.

JSI built us new cushions for the salon.  We replaced our running lights with new LED lights and added an LED spotlight over the dinghy to make those return trips at night easier when bringing the dog into shore.

We replaced the roll up doors on the port salon lockers with beautiful teak doors.  Same with the galley doors.  We finally installed the microwave in the galley for convenience.  And best of all, we installed a liquor cabinet over the table.

Other projects that are not shown include changing the analog thermostat in the galley fridge to an electronic unit.  The old thermostat would freeze everything over night, now we can comfortably use the fridge for weeks at a time without worrying about the temperature.

The new cockpit cushions (from JSI) were long overdue and look great.  The bimini and dodger are great.  The Eisenglass windows in the dodger are crystal clear and we invested in covers that will hopefully keep them in good shape for years to come.

All of our new electronics are great.  But we still miss having a an autohelm.  It's in the budget for this year.

And the kid's college is still getting paid for and he made the Dean's List his first semester.  Not too bad of a year.