July 2020 – Living Aboard an Old Wooden Boat

We Don’t Have a Schedule

Wednesday, June 13 – Friday, June 15, 2018 Through the Cape Cod Canal to Newport, RI

Up early, and out of the harbor — it takes almost an hour to make it to the Bay. We cruised down the coast to the Cape Cod Canal, a project that was 300 years in the making! — History — This is the Sagamore Bridge, built in 1933. I don’t know why, but this was an exciting transit — perhaps because we have crossed the Sagamore and Bourne bridges by car and looked at the boats below, slowly making their ways north and south. It’s important to time your transit so you can be carried with the current, while maintaining a speed of not more than 10 knots. As we came around a bend, just before the Sagamore Bridge, we gave a wide berth to one HUGE cement barge being pushed by a tug . Depending on the strength of the current, it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to transit the canal — a huge time savings as opposed to going all the way around Cape Cod!

We had hoped to make it to Quisset, a tiny harbor recommended by Tad and Liz, but as we made our way down the channel into Buzzards Bay, the wind vs. current created the infamous “chop” which tossed books and other things around down below. As 3-5′ seas washed over the bow, we made a quick turnaround and headed into Onset Bay. This is the advantage of reading about and scouting out alternative “safe holes” on the charts before we set off: you never know when Plan B will be needed. Onset is a cute little seaside New England Village. The dockmaster at Brewer Marine gave us a slip rather than a mooring, for the same price, because KATIE MACK is such a lovely vessel!

We walked around the village with Annie, and then made dinner aboard. We’ll save a lot of money by not dining out very often, and when we do, it’s usually for lunch rather than dinner. I feel as if I have everything I need in my galley. We are well-provisioned, and the Omnia Stove-top Oven with its silicone liner means we can bake pretty much anything, from bread, to meatballs, to fish, to steaks . . . . We like the feeling of being so self-sufficient — reminds me of my childhood backpacking days with my family and friends in the Sierra Nevada. Dad always likened it to being a turtle, carrying one’s home on one’s back. KATIE Mack is a lot more comfortable and affords much more elaborate menus!

The next morning, the fog burned off early, and just as the Windy app and Eldridge’s Pilot had stated, by 7:30 the current and winds were with us as we made our way back down the channel into Buzzards Bay. What a difference! The next few hours were so pleasant — until around 10 when the seas rose with the wind. Buzzards Bay is deservedly famous for its chop. Quick change of direction to port made the going more comfortable, taking us away from our intended destination of Newport, and into the lovely harbor or “pond” at Cuttyhunk, the last island in the chain of the Elizabeth Islands ($45/night for a mooring). The town is Gosnold, named after the same explorer who “discovered” many ports in Maine (you may remember we stayed at Gosnold House in New Harbor during our sailing adventure back in 2014), as well as the island of Martha’s Vineyard (his wife’s name was Martha). Cuttyhunk has daily ferry service to New Bedford, and while the summer population swells to 200, the year-round population is around 12, depending on the year This early in the season meant it was pretty quiet! Apparently it’s the July 4th celebration that kicks off the summer season, with a parade of bunting bedecked golf carts, music and fun for all.

Looking across Vineyard Sound to the Aquinnah Cliffs

Walking along the southern side of the island, we looked across Vineyard Sound to see the Aquinnah lighthouse’s flashing red and white lights. I admit we both felt a “tug” for our winter home, and are so glad that we will be returning there in the fall.

The next morning dawned foggy and a bit drizzly. Wind and current dictated a noon start, so we walked around Cuttyhunk’s hills. No cars, only golf carts, for the villagers to get up and down the surprisingly steep roads and tracks. There is a school, a library, and a town hall. We kept missing the little store’s hours, as it is open only three hours a day: 9-10, 12-1, and 3-4. Not that we needed anything, but I was curious to see what they stocked.

The beginning of the bi-annual Newport-Bermuda Race

Newport was only a 2 1/2 hour hop across the Bay, but unbeknownst to us, the bi-annual Newport-Bermuda race was just getting underway! (photo) We figured “something was up” when we spotted 3 helicopters circling the harbor.

More than 100 boats were entered in the race itself, but the mayhem caused by press boats, private sail and power boats of all sizes, coast guard vessels, harbormaster coming at us from all directions, plus seeing the thousands of people along the shore was amazing!

Thousands of spectators lined the shore

Boatpix.com took some pics of KATIE MACK while we were coming around the point into the harbor. Good thing we didn’t make it here yesterday as we NEVER would have found a mooring, let along an anchorage. The culture shock of coming from quiet Cuttyhunk to all this chaos is daunting. Hugh said, “Enjoy it while we’re here ’cause we’re never coming back!” We were able to get ashore to walk Annie and we found the local Stop ‘n Shop and hardware store to pick up a few things for the next few days’ meals, and we enjoyed a calm evening.

Next stop: Mystic Seaport, DOTW (depending on the weather).

On Our Way — It’s Really Happening!

Saturday, June 9 – Sunday, June 12, 2018 Yarmouth, ME to Plymouth, MA

After early morning final provisioning, we cast off the lines from the pony dock just after 11:00 and began our passage. Along the way, we adjusted the stuffing box as the temp ranged from 142, to 188, back down to 139, then 123, and 117, with 1 drip/second. Our first stop, 52 nm and 7 1/2 hours later, was York Harbor. There’s a really strong current that rips through there, and a tricky dogleg into the mooring field. We were unable to raise the harbormaster on Ch 68, but the cell phone worked. $30/night for mooring #1. In order to go ashore, we were able to tie up to the town dock to walk Annie that evening, as well as the next morning before we headed towards Marblehead, MA. Along the way we spied a pod of at least 20-30 frolicking dolphins!

Our friends, Tad and Liz, had arranged a mooring and launch service for us at Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with them on their patio overlooking the Atlantic, and took advantage of their offer to do some laundry! Annie enjoyed playing with their 4 y. o. Gordon setter, Willie.

There’s not a lot of space in this engine room.

The next morning, after a delightful breakfast with Tad at the Driftwood, we intended to get under way, but a systems check detected oil leaking into the bilge from the oil filter. Calls to Dion’s Yacht Yard in Salem for advice, and a trip to the local marine store for parts (Permatex Aviation Form-a-Gasket paste to help seal the oil filter gasket, really?), helped Hugh to fix the problem. While Hugh worked on the boat, I walked up to the local market for some extra provisions. The next morning, we got a 6:30 start, and as we rounded Marblehead Neck, heard a loud “Boom!” What a wonderful signal cannon send-off from Tad and Liz, though I’m sure their neighbors thought otherwise.

When we change course at each waypoint, I put the heading into this wooden “routing box”, so we can remember the correct heading. (photo) It was salvaged off of a ship at a boat-wrecking yard in India, and Hugh found it on eBay. Have you seen the videos where they run these huge vessels up on the hard? Google it!

The “lumpy” seas across Boston Harbor did a good job of shaking up the crud that had settled in the bottom of the fuel tank. We ducked into Cohasset Cove for a quick change of both fuel filters. The steward at the yacht club where we tied up, and Laurie, the Harbormaster, were all welcoming, and we were soon on our way to Plymouth Harbor, with winds blowing 15-20 kts. Our Plymouth Yacht Club mooring ($65) was near Plymouth Rock — such a disappointment, that rock– and we were next to a replica of the shallop used by the Pilgrims to come ashore from the MAYFLOWER. A full-scale reconstruction of the original, MAYFLOWER II, is usually berthed here — I remember touring it with our son’s 6th grade class — but it was undergoing a major restoration at Mystic Seaport, where we were headed. Both the shallop and the MAYFLOWER II were built in the UK in 1957 and given to the US as thanks for our military assistance during WWII.

Hugh was finally able to finish the installation of a windshield wiper to make it easier to see when the spray hits. The wind eventually died down from 30 kts to 5-10, so we enjoyed another comfortable bug-free night’s sleep in this historic harbor.

Spring Launch and Preparations

Exciting news: We learned in mid-April that WoodenBoat Magazine’s May/June issue 262 not only has Matt Murphy’s article about the restoration of KATIE MACK in it, but also features her on the cover! All the more reason to make sure we get down to Mystic Seaport for WoodenBoat’s annual boat show in late June.

Friday, June 1 – Friday, June 8, 2018 Preparations

While we thoroughly enjoyed our winter on Martha’s Vineyard, where Hugh had secured a locum tenens job as a family doc at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, and I volunteered my way into a part-time job at Island Alpaca Co., we were ready to head back to Maine on June 1st to resume our Katie Mack Adventure.

Hugh focused on the narrow Royal River channel

KATIE MACK was launched on the 4th, and commissioning, sea trials, provisioning, and errands commenced. The cruises up and down the Royal River were so much fun! The well-marked channel is extremely narrow, with mud flats extending to the river bank at low tide. Lots of herons and osprey. Aboard KATIE MACK, there is a place for everything, and everything in its place, or it doesn’t come aboard. It was fun to have our friend, Beth, along for some of the sea trials as we stayed with her when we flew out to Tacoma, WA to look at KATIE MACK back in May 2013. It’s been a long time coming, but we are finally living aboard! Destination: Mystic CT for the 27th Annual WoodenBoat Show, this time as Exhibitors rather than visitors.

Thanks for your help with the herbs and spices, Beth!

Anyone wishing to follow our progress, can “follow the blue dots” from our Garmin InReach satellite tracker by clicking this link: inr.ch/SN726TR.

Our First Month as Liveaboards

Sunday, October 15 – Saturday, November 17, 2017

KATIE MACK had no working head and no running water, but the marina’s facilities were perfect: head, shower, and laundry. We highly recommend Yankee Marina and Boatyard for all your boating needs! By Monday, Hugh had the filtered water running so I could cook aboard, and Annie let us know when she needed to go ashore. She didn’t want to use the astro turf, even with a “pre-scented” puppy pad — this training will prove to be interesting, I’m sure!

More stuff moved aboard from the cottage and Six River Marine — where will it all go?

What a wonderful surprise to see that KATIE MACK’s relaunch made the front page of Maine Coastal News. This is great advertising and promotion for Six River Marine!

The late October days were unseasonably warm, and nights were cold. We slept better than we had for years! Our alpaca duvet kept us toasty warm despite frosty nights. Chilly mornings were warmed up with the Shipmate woodstove. It took me a few tries before I could start it without setting off the smoke alarm, but at least it worked and I learned how to turn off the alarm. Tim Carolan of Marine Electronics spent several days finishing hooking up various safety alarms and the wifi booster, Mark the diesel mechanic got the engine purring, and Chip and Scott of Six River Marine came by to work on the final punch list. As the seams swelled, the bilge pump slowed from every 5 minutes to 20 minutes, and then several hours.

Sea trials commenced on the 27th, when Hugh, Scott and Chip did some effective troubleshooting on the engine that was slipping from Forward to Reverse and skipping neutral! The next day they noticed a problem with the stuffing box, but at one point it “shimmied” itself into position. Once the drip was adjusted, it behaved perfectly and the bilge pumps hardly went off at all.

When the rains finally came, we placed buckets where the drips were. The big one over my berth, meant we simply taped a tarp overhead. By the 29th, the winds were picking up, so we moved off the Six River Marine pony dock back into our original slip at Yankee, topped up water and batteries, added extra lines, sealed a few more seams with Sikaflex, and poured Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure into as many tiny cracks as possible. It is thinner than water and works by capillary action: once it is drawn into the cracks, it hardens and seals them.

What a storm! While we experienced a few 60 mph gusts, we were just fine. Actually, we fared better than those in town as trees were blown down on homes and cars, blocking roads everywhere, taking power lines with them. When the storm was over, more homes and businesses were without power across Maine than during the Ice Storm of ’98. Luckily the temps were above freezing this time.

Once we got everything dried out (thanks to Ginny and her dryer!), Sea Trial #3, with Scott, Chip, and our friend, Rob aboard, was deemed a success. After dinner, we tested the shower — worked like a charm, and the shower curtains that Janie shortened were just perfect!

What a great day for Sea Trial #4 on Wednesday the 1st, with Matt Murphy, editor of WoodenBoat Magazine. He loved what we’d done with KATIE MACK, and wanted to write an article about the restoration. Of particular interest to Matt was how Chip and Scott decided to install the new oak frames in between the old ones first, then remove the old planks one by one by using the oscillating saw to cut through the old frames, and replace them with new planks. A painstaking job, but it maintained the integrity of the shape of the hull.

The next several days were spent cleaning out the rental cottage, and putting things into final storage in Portland or temporary storage at Six River Marine.

Our final sea trial was with Karen Stimpson, who lives aboard M/V JUNIATA, the 1929 Consolidated Industries commuter “playboat” at Chandler’s Wharf I’ve mentioned before. We made our way down the Royal River, past Chebeague’s west shore, around Clapboard, and back to Yankee Marina on a rising tide.

One thing we have started to do, as recommended by John Harries, who writes the Attainable Adventure blog (MorgansCloud.com), is to use the spring line as a fulcrum for arriving at a dock. It is the first line I secure as I hop onto the dock, and it secures the boat quickly from moving forward or back — this maneuver really surprised and impressed our friend Skip the other day as we came in to the fuel dock between 2 vessels. I think the skippers of the 2 vessels were a little impressed, too. The other thing we do is use Sena “marriage saver” headsets: we can speak to each other in normal tones. No hollering as we come in to entertain the marina’s peanut gallery.

Finally, we were ready to haul KM out and have her wrapped up on the hard for winter, while we headed west, first to Louisville, KY to visit our son, Charlie, and his fiancee, Kyle, and then to spend Thanksgiving with my mom, sisters, cousins, nephews, and our son, Bob, in California.

Here she is after the first snowfall.

Relaunch Day Saturday, October 14, 2017

Thank you, Sandy and Ellen for this wonderful book!

Relaunch Day dawned, and almost 100 family members and friends came to share this special event.

Hugh said a few words: “Four and a half years ago I came home from the Maine Boatbuilders Show and asked Pam if we could sell the alpacas, house and farm, quit our jobs, and go live on a boat.

She said, “I could do that!”

So this is a big day for us. While we didn’t do the heavy lifting, we have worked on our new home almost every day we weren’t at work or on vacation. It has been an absolute delight to have worked with Chip and Scott of Six River Marine.

As you can see their workmanship is extraordinary. They are highly skilled, and easily tackled many challenges to transform a tired old boat into a sturdy and safe work of art.

They replaced every plank and frame, rebuilt the transom, stem, and part of the keel. Almost everything inside was hauled out and reinstalled.

KATIE MACK was built in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1932. She has a fascinating history, from running Canadian whisky during Prohibition, making fishing trips to Alaska, and entertaining Hollywood celebrities. A detailed history can be found on the tables, along with coffee, pastries, and other snacks. Please help yourselves.

Because she is not a new boat and we didn’t change her name, this is not a traditional christening, so there will be no champagne bottle smashing! Seafaring tradition requires some libation to the gods of the sea, so we will be pouring some Harwood Canadian whisky over the bow and into the water over the stern.

Our original plan was to sail off into the sunset to tropical isles, but things change and we will be spending the winter in Martha’s Vineyard, then back to Maine for a summer of exploring!

Thanks again for coming. It means a lot to Pam and me to share this celebration with you all.”

While standing on the bow, I said the blessing: “Bless this ship and all who sail on her. May you have fair winds and following seas.

Almost 40 years ago, Hugh introduced me to Ratty’s belief that, “There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats!”

The four-sling travel lift lowered her into the water, and KM floated off! She was moved over to the dock so guests could climb aboard for a good look. Seams swelled nicely, but water came in around the stuffing box (where the propeller shaft goes from inside to outside the boat), sounding like a babbling brook! Bilge pumps all got a good workout, but she remained afloat.

See the two little wood screws perched on the trim in the photo below? At some point before the transport from Six River Marine, someone left two screws sitting on the shelf in the utility room. They made the whole trip from the boatyard, onto the travel lift, and into the water — a fine testament to the care that went into transporting and relaunching our new home.

We spent much of the rest of the day finding a place for everything, and putting everything in its place. For example, the saloon went from this:

To this:

Soon, the rest of our living space was shaping up.

The galley, with propane and Shipmate stoves, starboard side

Aft passage to utility room, head, and stateroom

KATIE MACK Has Left the Building — October 13, 2017

After nearly four years on the hard at Six River Marine, KATIE MACK was finally ready for transport to Yankee Marina on the Royal River in Yarmouth.

Bucky Wooster and his team from DaytonMarine arrived, backed the trailer into the shed, and set to work loading her.

Bucky drove sloooowly down the middle — or over to either side — of the roads, depending on low-hanging branches or wires. Royal Road to Route 9, through the centers of North Yarmouth and Cumberland, down Tuttle Road to Rt 88. Pam drove ahead to Yankee Marina to watch KATIE MACK, with heart pounding, make her way down the hill. Finally, she was settled onto jackstands.

There was still a lot of work to be done — we were at the yard until 10:30 before spending our last night on the dirt for a while.

Scott and Chip jokingly tell us that KATIE MACK left the building twice: once on Bucky’s trailer, and the rest of her in this dumpster.