Features

Magical meander on the Finger Lakes

Cruising New York’s Finger Lakes and canals

By Rodger Litchfield

Rather than the usual weekend rendezvous at one port, William Herrick, the District 6 commander, planned a four-day, four-port summer rendezvous to take advantage of New York’s wonderful 500-plus-mile network of canals and inland lakes.

We planned to stop at Watkins Glen on the south end of Seneca Lake and then at Geneva on the north end. After transiting the Cayuga-Seneca Canal to Cayuga Lake, we planned to spend the night at Hibiscus Harbor near the lake’s north end and Ithaca at the south end. From start to finish, we would cruise some 80 miles.

River Adventure

The joys—and snags—of a river boat charter

By Dave Davies

In recent years, my wife, Jo, and I have taken several powerboat charters in England, France and Germany—most on French rivers and canals. If your ideal vacation is a slow cruise down a tree-lined river with quaint villages, ancient castles and stunning views, you might consider chartering a river boat, too.

Around the Door

Sailors circumnavigate Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula

By Janelle Peotter

After months of planning, anticipation and a little trepidation, Eric Perlman and I set out on our 21-foot sailboat, Moon Dancer, to circumnavigate Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula in 2015. We dock our boat at Sawyer Harbor and normally simply sail out into Green Bay. Since we’d never gone through the bridges, we planned to begin this trip by going through them and heading up the lake side.

North to Alaska

Using USPS know-how, a couple takes the cruise of a lifetime

By Mike Kondrat

My wife Chris and I had dreamed about cruising north to Alaska, so after retirement, we took the plunge. Our United States Power Squadrons classes and our 35-plus years of boating experience helped us pull off this 3,592 nautical mile cruise without destroying our marriage or Aqua Therapy, our Bayliner 3988.

Giving Back

One woman’s transformation from landlubber to captain

By Gary Brower and Sarah Brower

Patricia Brower had no idea she’d one day be called “Capt. Pat.” Although boating found her early in life, the joy of boating didn’t come until much later.

When she married Chip Brower more than 50 years ago, she didn’t know that her husband, then a radio and television engineer, was destined to become a fisherman and tugboat captain. Boats became a big part of their lives, but the couple didn’t always share a passion for them. In the beginning, Pat saw boats as a tool of the seafaring trade—a costly tool at that.

Thirty-five years and five commercial fishing boats later, the couple tentatively began discussing purchasing a pleasure craft the family could enjoy. After years of dreaming, they selected a 42-foot President suitable for sailing the Salish Sea and with the robust construction required for exploring the Gulf of Alaska. After having worked for many years, they fittingly christened their new vessel Time Out.

What you should know about visual distress signals

By Joan Wenner

As a longtime boater and boating law writer, I know firsthand how important visual distress signals are to have in your onboard emergency equipment arsenal. Particularly for those newer to boating, it’s important to know that the United States Coast Guard sets minimum standards for recreational vessels and associated safety equipment to comply with federal rules.

To meet these standards, safety equipment is labeled Coast Guard “approved” or “certified,” meaning it has met Coast Guard standards and regulations for performance, construction or materials.

Panama Canal Transit

Sailing through the Panama Canal and back

By Patricia H–F Moore

After sailing Hope and Glory, our Island Packet 420, down the Central American Coast, we arrived at the Panama Canal Yacht Club in Colon on a dark night to await transit through the canal. We looked around in dismay to find the harbor crammed full of sailboats.

“Let me have a go,” John, an English crew member used to crowded English and Mediterranean coasts, said as he took the helm.

“There’s no space anywhere,” we chorused, but John sailed slowly ahead.

An Enduring Legacy

USPS Honors the 2015 Charles F. Chapman Award for Excellence in Teaching Winners

By Yvonne Hill

In February, at the 2016 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, USPS honored five top volunteer instructors with the 2015 Charles F. Chapman Award for Excellence in Teaching.

These educators share several traits including a wealth of experience, a love of teaching, a dedication to their students and a desire to make the water a better place.

Each district can nominate one instructor for this award each year. A national committee selects the top five educators from this pool of nominees.

Each winner receives a plaque honoring the achievement, a four-year USPS-certified instructor card and a gold Chapman Award lapel pin. The winners’ squadrons receive a high-quality sextant in a presentation case engraved with the winner’s name and squadron. A permanent log of all winners and nominees resides in the USPS Memorial Library in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Please join us in congratulating these dedicated volunteer educators and honoring their service to USPS and boating education.

Rite of Passage

New boater plugs experience gap

By Michael G. D’Aversa

These days, most people know me as an avid touring motorcyclist. But long before I became a biker, I was a boater. Before I became a boater, I was just a guy who wanted a boat. All that changed on 4 July 1990 when I was thrust into the world of recreational boating by the makers of Royal Crown Cola.

It had been a typical Fourth of July in Bensenville, Illinois, where my wife and I lived at the time. While grilling outside, I’d been drinking copious amounts of Diet RC Cola. I’d been drinking Diet RC for weeks because of a contest the company had been running. Specially marked cases proclaimed, “Win A Boat Instantly!”

While doing dishes in my kitchen, I drained another can of Diet RC and was about to toss it into the trash when I remembered the contest. I stopped mid-toss, brought the empty can to my right eye and peered inside. The winning code was printed across the bottom.

The Mission Continues

USPS member shares boating safety insights with fellow retirees

To some, a boat is just a hole in the water that you throw money into. They say their happiest days were when they bought it and when they sold (or sunk) it.

True boaters call these people landlubbers who never found their sea legs, felt the power of the tides or navigated to the call of a sailing wind. Imagine relaxing in the warm sun, being lulled into serenity by the motion of the waves, charting a course through waterways that display a panorama of nature’s beauty not seen from land or air, and savoring the briny scents and salty drops that spray up with each dip into the sea.

Whether sailing or motoring to lounge, fish, snorkel, or simply watch sea life and birds at sunrise or sunset, the Shell Point marina at Shell Point Retirement Community in Fort Myers, Florida, is home to some avid boaters who choose to cruise their way to tranquility each fine-weather day. Boating represents the freedom to discover new worlds.

Step-by-step fiberglass deck repair

By Chris Leavitt

Houston Sail & Power Squadron/21 member Richard Lipham solved a big problem for Sea Scout Ship 1996. The ship’s main training boat, a 1973 Santana 30, had developed a crack in the outer fiberglass skin under a deck stanchion. The core became soggy, and finally pressure on the stanchion broke a hole through the deck. Here’s a step-by-step look at the repair.

Step 1: Holes are drilled in the outer layer of the deck to determine the extent of wood rot in the deck core. Using an eye dropper, the holes are filled with a compound called RX for Dry, Rotted Wood. The compound binds with the good wood and fills the spaces surrounding rotted wood, reinforcing and strengthening the deck. It’s expensive but necessary.
Step 2: Richard Lipham uses a vibrating sander to sand a bevel into the fiberglass deck surrounding the hole. A bag keeps fiberglass particles from seeping into the cabin. The bevel allows the new fiberglass to have a semi-flat surface to bond with, as opposed to sheer sides of the hole without beveling.
Step 3: For reinforcement, a piece of wood is installed under the hole, creating a base for the fiberglass to bind to as it fills the hole. The wood is covered on its top with a single layer of resin, allowing it to bind with the deck above.
Step 4: The wood reinforcement covers the bottom of the damaged hole. When completed, the wooden base provided a backing plate for the final bolts holding the stanchion in place.
Step 5: The first layer of fiberglass is put in the damaged area. The fiberglass mat should cover the beveled edge, which is a key strength point. The material should be thoroughly dry before another layer of mat and resin are added.
Step 6: Richard finds the process of resin drying fascinating.
Step 7: Once each layer dries, another layer can be added. This process is repeated until the level of the new fiberglass is higher than the original fiberglass. The patch should cure for an hour or so.
Step 8: The completed patch is not pretty, but it’s waterproof. Note that all of the small holes surrounding the main patch have been filled with resin. When the patch is completely dry and not tacky, it is sanded smooth.
Step 9: A gel coat is applied to return the deck to its original white attractiveness.
Step 10: When everything cures and becomes solid, the stanchion is installed to complete the repair.

#soliloquy-container-14808{opacity:1}#soliloquy-container-14808 li > .soliloquy-caption{display:none}#soliloquy-container-14808 li:first-child > .soliloquy-caption{display:block} Deck repair step 1: Holes are drilled in the outer layer of the deck to determine the extent of wood rot in the deck core. Using an eye dropper, the holes are filled with a compound called RX for Dry, Rotted Wood. The compound binds with the good wood and fills the spaces surrounding rotted wood, reinforcing and strengthening the deck. It’s expensive but necessary.

Deck repair step 1: Holes are drilled in the outer layer of the deck to determine the extent of wood rot in the deck core. Using an eye dropper, the holes are filled with a compound called RX for Dry, Rotted Wood. The compound binds with the good wood and fills the spaces surrounding rotted wood, reinforcing and strengthening the deck. It’s expensive but necessary.

Deck repair step 2: Richard Lipham uses a vibrating sander to sand a bevel into the fiberglass deck surrounding the hole. A bag keeps fiberglass particles from seeping into the cabin. The bevel allows the new fiberglass to have a semi-flat surface to bond with, as opposed to sheer sides of the hole without beveling.

Deck repair step 3: For reinforcement, a piece of wood is installed under the hole, creating a base for the fiberglass to bind to as it fills the hole. The wood is covered on its top with a single layer of resin, allowing it to bind with the deck above.

Deck repair step 4: The wood reinforcement covers the bottom of the damaged hole. When completed, the wooden base provided a backing plate for the final bolts holding the stanchion in place.

Deck repair step 5: The first layer of fiberglass is put in the damaged area. The fiberglass mat should cover the beveled edge, which is a key strength point. The material should be thoroughly dry before another layer of mat and resin are added.

Deck repair step 6: Richard finds the process of resin drying fascinating.

Deck repair step 7: Once each layer dries, another layer can be added. This process is repeated until the level of the new fiberglass is higher than the original fiberglass. The patch should cure for an hour or so.

Deck repair step 8: The completed patch is not pretty, but it’s waterproof. Note that all of the small holes surrounding the main patch have been filled with resin. When the patch is completely dry and not tacky, it is sanded smooth.

Deck repair step 9: A gel coat is applied to return the deck to its original white attractiveness.

Deck repair step 10: When everything cures and becomes solid, the stanchion is installed to complete the repair.

Cdr Chris Leavitt, JN, of Houston Sail & Power Squadron/21 has been a Boy Scout leader since 1993, a Sea Scout Leader since 2000 and teaches seamanship, sailing and navigation. He has two sons and a wonderful wife of 37 years.

Chafing gear failure leaves catboat stranded

Chafing gear failure strands catboat

By Lee R. Johnson

How secure is your boat’s chafing gear? All it takes to find out is a good nor’easter—astronomically high tides, storm surge and rain—just days after the year’s biggest, closest and brightest super moon. Wave action chafed the mooring pendant securing Orleans Sea Scout Ship 72’s Herreshoff American 18 catboat in Town Cove at Orleans, Massachusetts.

On 1 Oct. 2015, Ol’ Gaffer broke free and drifted ashore at the Orleans Yacht Club, landing unscathed on sand and seaweed 10 feet from a rock revetment. It would take a week of determined labor to rescue the classic cat and keep it from breaking up on the rocks.

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