# Three Years From Cruising



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Gary here. Currently in Iowa. Will likely have a cruising capable boat before next spring on Lake Michigan. Two years will be spent preparing the boat for cruising and myself as a sailor. After that, I plan to see places that I have only been able to dream about since elementary school. I am currently a kiteboarder (my sailing experience) and I love playing acoustic fingerstyle guitar. I have spent quite a bit of time surfing over the years. I plan to see/experience world class surf spots around the globe. My boat will be my ticket to fullfil my dreams.


----------



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

Welcome aboard! It sounds like an interesting plan. I hope it turns out even better than you imagine.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

My new boat....


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

It is a 1984 Beneteau First...35 foot. I'm not an expert, but I believe it is quite a good find. Single owner with light usage. More than a little excited.


----------



## Delezynski (Sep 27, 2013)

It ALL starts with that dream! 

Welcome aboard, from another dreamer who fulfilled many of those dreams!
I grew up looking out over lake Michigan and dreaming myself.

Greg


----------



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

NICE! Best of luck with her!

I do have one complaint...we need MORE pics!!!


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Falling in love causes temporary brain damage. I was hugging her so much, the camera didn't make it out. 

Status so far: Made an offer, offer accepted. Next step is the survey. Should be my set of problems by mid Dec.

Wow, I can't believe I just did this.


----------



## 34crealock (Dec 30, 2012)

Welcome. There are most likely half a dozen folks here who have refitted just that boat. Enjoy the ride.


----------



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

gbgreen59 said:


> Wow, I can't believe I just did this.


I hope the survey goes well! I also hope, after the survey and when she's yours, you won't be saying that with a slightly different tone.


----------



## Ishtime Sailor (Nov 19, 2013)

Sounds like a great plan. We are leaving November 2016 for the Bahamas. Where are you heading or are you staying around the Great Lakes?


----------



## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

Welcome Gary. Always nice to see another Great Lakes sailor on board. We're up on the north shore of Lake Superior. Come on up once you get comfortable with your boat and your skills. You won't regret it.

BTW, our plans have us starting the journey south as of next spring/summer. We're planning to meander around the Lakes, with the aim of wintering in Lake Ontario. We may duck into Michigan if the mood strikes. In 2015 we're planning to make our way out the St. Lawrence, and from there, who knows... south eventually, but we'll probably spend time in NFLD and the Maritimes. Perhaps we'll cross wakes with each other.

In the meantime, enjoy the Great Lakes. If the water didn't turn cold and hard 1/2 the year I might never leave. There's easily many lifetimes worth of cruising to be had up here.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Thanks for the welcoming. The survey came back today and it looks really good. I have a list of things to do before spring though. I'm ready to get started with real experience on the water. You can only do so much reading, watching videos, and listening to you guys talk about your adventures. Repairs and upgrades will keep me busy for the winter.

I plan to sail out of Waukegan, IL for now. The next two years will be spent sailing in Lake Michigan and learning how not to kill myself and passengers. Then some time in the summer of 2016 I head down the Chicago River to the Illinois to the Mississippi and to Galveston where my brother lives. I'll sail around Galveston through 2016, then its off to the west after passing through the panama canal. I don't plan to be anywhere at any time...just head west. Maybe in 10 to 15 years, if my health holds, I'll be hanging out in the Maldives, Maritius, etc.

It is really good to have a life plan, but gotta be open for the "curve balls" that get thrown at you.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Closed on the 1984 Beneteau First 35' on Saturday, 7 December. I now officially own a sailboat. The excitement now is all about getting her ready to cruise. Gonna start by replacing all through hull fittings and seacocks. Then start designing the electrical system and updated electronics.

It has been a real joy to get to know the owner(s). The husband of the couple died recently and the wife is selling the boat. She and I briefly crossed paths when she was dropping off a few items brought from her house. These were the oringal owners from almost 30 years ago. Can you imagine the memories they must have had? I'm guessing that they bought it somewhere between the 40 and 50 year old mark. Now, I'm picking a very big piece of their lives together as husband and wife along with their family. Everything is in imacualte order. They were very maticulous about everything. The boat is a real treasure.

Now I need to get a list of things to do and then prioritise. Really good life plan...water/places, water/places, and more water/places. Nothing better.


----------



## Delezynski (Sep 27, 2013)

Gary,

As you are going to re-do the electrical system, you might want to watch our short Youtube video on our energy monitor. Just a little info to keep in mind. It's at; 





ENJOY getting to know your new boat!! It sounds sweet.

Greg


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Yes Greg I am planning to upgrade the electrical. Thanks for the video and the link. I am familiar with home electrical/wiring. A boat seems to be just a bit different with electrical panels, switches for each piece of electronics, running off batteries and charging batteries, etc, etc. I want to bring everything up to date. Also, there were minimal electronics onboard, and I plan to add quite a bit. So, I need to get the electrical system taken care of in preparation for adding the electronics.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Great video Greg with very clear explanations. Electrical monitor is definitely a "must have" for me. Fortunately, I have an electrical background and understand volts, amps, etc. You obviously understand this stuff very well.


----------



## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

Congrats on the new (old) boat Gary. Now the fun really begins . Perhaps we'll cross wakes this season. Our plans have us heading south this summer, eventually getting to Lake Ontario. We might dip into Lake Michigan for a bit.

And nice little video Greg. I agree, a battery monitor is a great tool. I installed a Victron model. We charge with wind and solar when under way, so it's great to have a constant measure of amps (either going out, or going in) and the overall amp-hr used.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Mike, I would love to hook up if it works out. The new guy provides the treats. I should be sailing her by mid summer. Will be on a steep learning curve until then.

I feel like I'm becoming one of the boyz (intended to be genderless) in the sail community. At least I now own a boat. Now I need to learn to sail her.


----------



## Shredrick McGnarlson (Jul 29, 2013)

Awesome plan! Don't let the naysayers get you down. Its all apart of the journey. It always amazes me the way some people tend to focus on all that can go wrong rather than whats possible. 

If you ever need some crew to get to those world class surf spots be sure to hit me up! I love shredding me some gnar when possible.


----------



## Shredrick McGnarlson (Jul 29, 2013)

Although before a cruise it probably is prudent to think about everthing that could possibly go wrong


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

You are welcome aboard any time Schredder. If the plan stays on course, I'll be in Central America on the Pacific side by 2018. Would love to share some empty peelers.


----------



## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

Going down the rivers, most choose to go up the Ohio to the Tennessee River and the Tenn Tom waterway to Mobile. The lower Mississippi is rather hostile to pleasure boats. A great trip!

Good luck with the adventure


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Here is a short video of my 1984 Beneteau First 35'. The commentary is for friends who don't sail, so you sailors might see it as a little elementary and sometimes flat wrong. Hope you enjoy. You should enjoy the little snippets of comedy.


----------



## Delezynski (Sep 27, 2013)

You go guy! 

Nice video. You will pick it all up quickly.

I was raised in Wheeling Ill. I sure do remember going over to lake Michigan and just looking out over the water and dreaming, even if it wasn't salt water! 

Greg


----------



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

Very nice! I'm sure your friends will love going for rides!


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Been working every weekend on Cheers:

1. Got all thru-hulls removed. Still need to clean up the old caulk...probably silicon. Got new thru-hulls picked out and figured out the install (thanks SailNet). 

2. Removed headliners in rear berths. Scraped old material off the inside. What a dirty, messy, dusty....job. Still need to remove the old glue. Got new headliner picked out at SailRite. May drive there one day to pick it out/up.

3. Sanded the keel down to the primer coat and grinded the rust spots. Want to remove the primer so a barrier coat can be put on. Removed old keel joint caulk. Thanks SailNet for the tips. Dirty, messy, filthy, dusty....

4. Sanded the old anti-fouling paint off the null. Was told the old anti-fouling paint might be Pettit Vivid. My arms hurt so bad after that...did the whole hull in an 8 hour day. Holding the sander upside down, moving the ladder, light vacuum, cords....dirty, filthy, messy, dusty.....I'm just say'n. Plan to use the ablative/self polishing type anti-fouling paint.

5. I want to do some fun jobs!!!!! Got most of the really bad stuff done. Just need to do some touch up sanding and some clean up. Then can start coating and caulking. Temperature needs to come up though.

6. I plan to leave the headliner down until electronics are installed. It will make installation easier I think, since wiring is under the headliner.

PS....still love my boat and hate leaving her. 

Dirty, messy, filthy, dusty...OK by me.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

This first picture shows the tarp that surrounds the boat so as to contain dust from sanding. Trying to be a good neighbor. Also, I use a random orbital sander with a shop vac attached. The shop vac needs to be emptied and filter cleaned about every 1/2 hours. It is a pretty cheap shop vac. Maybe a better one would not need to be attended to so often.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

The keel looks pretty good. There is pitting from rust that is mostly on one side. Looks pretty normal to me as far as rust pitting goes. Then there is this one pit that is pretty large....roughly an inch (2.5 cm) in diameter and about 1/2 to 3/4 (1 cm) inch deep. It looks more like a casting issue than something resulting from rust. It was not visible through the coatings. I found it when grinding rust near it with an angle grinder (wire brush attachment).

I plan to fill the large one with Pettit EZ Fair. Depending on how much time I have, I will fill the other pitting with the same product. Filling the shallow pitting is low on the list of things to do though.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Bigger picture of keel.


----------



## mike95910 (Mar 6, 2014)

Welcome and good plan. Also I like the pic.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Took the ASA 101 (Basic Sailing) and the docking classes this weekend on a Hunter 33. One day of docking in winds 10 to 15 mph. Two days of basic sailing...first day variable winds averaging around 8-10 mph with gusts to 20 mph and lulls to ~0 mph...second day was solid 10 - 15 mph.

The courses were taken through Sailtime in the Chicago area (Burnham Harbor). Instruction was really good in my opinion. I studied the book pretty hard and had the terms down pretty well prior to being on the water. That was definitely an advantage. 

I will be pretty nervous docking in very much side wind. It is amazing how much the boat can be moved laterally by the wind when docking. There were many tricks to learn using spring lines, prop walk, and many other things. It is pretty amazing to see how a 10k lb vessel can be maneuvered when you know what you are doing. 

As for sailing....I feel much more comfortable sailing in winds less that 15 mph than I thought I would. All of us students were identifying "stand-on" vs "give way" situations with relative ease. Also, we sailed through all points of sail calling out how to adjust sails and then skippering tacks and jibes. It was sooooo amazing. Can't believe I waited this late in life to start sailing.

The dream keeps slowly turning into experiences.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

After class, the students helped hoist Capt Ryan of Sailtime to the top of the mast to fix the wind vane. The first shot below is the crew with skipper keith.

Sipper Keith and crew Kevin did some heavy grinding on the winch to get Ryan up there. Kevin ground that winch and would not give it up...he must be made of iron!!!


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

This shot is yours truly hugging the forestay. The best part about being the oldest crew member is that you can say you are tired and people feel sorry for you.


----------



## dixiedawg (Sep 22, 2013)

gbgreen59 said:


> Can't believe I waited this late in life to start sailing.
> .


Man. That's what I've been saying a lot lately. Better late than never, but if I'd been a young(er) guy, this would have been my LIFE.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Well, I have logged about 100 miles now. Most days have been very light wind, 0 to 5 knots. Moving at 1-4 knots is slow going, but any day on the water is a good day. Last weekend, the wind was blowing 10 to 15 knots. Sails were full and Cheers was moving at about 6.5 knots most of the time. She really likes that speed. I reefed the jib as the heeling was a bit un-nerving at first. I shook out the reef in the jib for the last hour or so. Heeling was between 10 and 20 degrees. What fun!!! Sailing is such a joy. Here is a short video of the adventure. I'm still wondering why I never started sailing a bunch of years ago...






It is interesting to note, novice sailors learn to secure belongings when heeling is involved. Things were crashing onto the floor during the whole trip. We were laughing like crazing. Good that nothing broke...especially my laptop. Fortunately, it was in the backpack which probably saved it.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

I plan to have HF radio (AKA SSB radio) on board in the not too distant future. A friend of mind became very interested in using the standing rigging as an antenna. He plowed around the sailing forums and scanned other information about HF antennas on sailboats. He has begun putting in parameters for my boat into an antenna modeling program that he uses. We have talked several times over the last several months about various details for this. His goal is to make the antenna simple by using as much of the existing rigging as possible without adding much. He and his wife joined us last weekend for a day of sailing. We sailed in steady 20+ knot wind (first for me, yee haw!!) and had a great time. 

Once back at the dock, he began setting up the HF radio equipment. His plan was to use the lifelines as a make-shift counterpoise. He fed the backstay in hopes of getting a loop antenna out through the backstay and forestay in the future. For this round, the loop was not complete as the antenna feed was at the base of the backstay with lifelines used as the couterpoise. All of this was set up with alligator clips and a bit of wire (very kludged up). On the first try we were talking with his friend about 220 miles away in Cedar Rapids, IA. While they were talking, a person from Minneapolis (320 miles from our location) joined in. Everybody was clearly heard. This was so much fun. Really cool stuff. 

For those who care, we were using 40 meters (7.0 to 7.3 MHz). Also, the plan was to talk with Cedar Rapids. The band was chosen for this purpose. We didn't try longer distances....yet.


----------



## Livia (Jul 20, 2006)

gbgreen59 said:


> I am currently a kiteboarder (my sailing experience).


From two cruiser-kiters in the S Pacific, here is something to feed the dream:






Enjoy and good luck!


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Very nice video Livia...really nice and can't wait to get started. Fair winds to you also.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

The first year of owning a sailboat is complete (shy 2 months). The boat was bought in December of 2013. Worked on her almost every weekend until May when she was launched. Took ASA 101 in early May (or so); had an experience sailor with me for a few days. Then, spent the rest of the season sailing with my wife and various friends.

The video below was a day where the apparent wind hit 30 kts quite a bit. Only my wife and I were on board. I would say that we were terrified for about the first hour and then it was white knuckles for the next 4 hours. We were praying that the wind would die off around 5pm so we could dock without dealing with the high wind. Sure enough, the wind died down to <10kts and we motored right into the dock. It was the best day of the whole year. It was the first time I reefed the main...so, got that one behind me. We were boarded by the Coast Guard after we docked. Everything was in order except for the garbage placard that I forgot to get. We ate sandwiches and crashed...too tired for words.






We slept on her nearly every weekend and started cooking about mid summer. We have yet to go out without something crashing to the floor from heeling. There were no insurance claims, which is good for a first time boat owner. We have learned so much and have enjoyed every second of this experience.

Now we have a list of 100 things to complete before leaving the US in 1.5 years. Some things are big and many little...some are expensive and some cost sweat. The list is broken down in three phases...projects over this winter, projects over the 2015 sailing season, and projects before leaving the US.

My wife is a real trooper. She is active in the sailing experience. She can tie the basic knots, knows names of most items on the boat (ASA 101 stuff). She has sailed the boat in 20 kts without a wind gauge by watching the sails and listening to the rig. We are on the mission together, and it is a great experience.

The boat is back on the hard. This weekend I get to see how my bottom paint and keel/hull caulk held up.

Looking forward to next year. I didn't really miss kiteboarding, but next year the kites come out. I plan to launch the kite from the stern and do a jump off the back...with GoPro running...standby....

I can't say enough good about the slip mates in my area. It quickly got through the grapevine that I was a new sailor. Everyone was very helpful. When docking, one or more people were there with boat hooks all summer until I started getting a feel for it. They were always encouraging about my progression. The guy in the slip next to me was always available with good information to help keep me learning...thanks Andy.


----------



## ianjoub (Aug 3, 2014)

gbgreen59 said:


> Closed on the 1984 Beneteau First 35' on Saturday, 7 December.


Closed on a boat on Pearl Harbor Day. You obviously aren't superstitious.


----------



## killarney_sailor (May 4, 2006)

ianjoub said:


> Closed on a boat on Pearl Harbor Day. You obviously aren't superstitious.


Probably better than closing on the date that the Titanic was launched or sunk. I wonder if you went through the calendar if you would find a particularly good and particularly bad event that happened on every day of the year.

In a slightly different direction, I was born on the day that Babe Ruth died. For a brief time until it was clearly proven not to be case, I thought I might have been his reincarnation.


----------



## gbgreen59 (Aug 20, 2013)

Frankly, I never thought about it being Pearl Harbor Day...BUT NOW I WILL....


----------

