Questions from Old Sam
Hull #42, formerly Old Sam Peabody was officially renamed Old Sam on June 5, 09 with all the appropriate (we hope) invocations, lots of champagne and celebration. We're pretty sure the boat wanted to keep its name- we came up with lots of other ideas for a year and a half but none of them "worked". David and Susan Chase, the previous owners kept Old Sam Peabody for their new trawler but they agreed the boat would be happiest with part of it's old name. And for those of you familiar with Maritime liquor, you will certainly recognize this name as a pretty good rum! We've had 2 amazing summers learning just how great this boat is-making some small changes to things so they work better for us but basically loving the sail plan, living space and performance under every kind of condition we encountered. Thanks SO much to Archelon and Keegunoo for all their advice, help and support!
We have 2 questions that we think have to be answered by you Cabot owners: If you could email us directly at scroan@staff.ednet.ns.ca it would be better-we are pretty new at the blog thing!
1) For winter storage (the boat was always stored inside until it arrived in NS), does everyone have bilge drains? We had big problems last winter with water (freezing) in the bilge but because the bottom of the bilge is so deep, we worry about how we would reach the drain if it failed while in the water. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated since it IS getting colder every day!
2) This is so ridiculous we're embarassed to ask but .....we all know Cabots are built for comfort, not speed but we do participate in a neighborhood race every Labour Day. The organizers have no idea how to handicap us so if anybody has any idea of what our class handicap would be,we'd love to know since (like every racer on the planet) we think we are very unfairly handicapped right now! And if any of you are near the waters of Mahone Bay next year, you'd be most welcome to join the fun.
We have 2 questions that we think have to be answered by you Cabot owners: If you could email us directly at scroan@staff.ednet.ns.ca it would be better-we are pretty new at the blog thing!
1) For winter storage (the boat was always stored inside until it arrived in NS), does everyone have bilge drains? We had big problems last winter with water (freezing) in the bilge but because the bottom of the bilge is so deep, we worry about how we would reach the drain if it failed while in the water. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated since it IS getting colder every day!
2) This is so ridiculous we're embarassed to ask but .....we all know Cabots are built for comfort, not speed but we do participate in a neighborhood race every Labour Day. The organizers have no idea how to handicap us so if anybody has any idea of what our class handicap would be,we'd love to know since (like every racer on the planet) we think we are very unfairly handicapped right now! And if any of you are near the waters of Mahone Bay next year, you'd be most welcome to join the fun.
posted by Don and Susan | 4:06 PM
2 Comments:
Susan. I've been thinking about a bilge plug for our boat as well. But I'm sure you'd want it located where it can be easily reached. If that's not possible, I wouldn't do it. I go down once during the winter with a shop vac and suck out bilge water (I put in some RV plumbing anti-freeze in the Fall.)
Must remember you are in Mahone Bay. I have a sister there, on Welcome street, of all places. Would hope to visit sometime soon, and will try to remember you are in the area.
Ken
Greetings from the USA and glad to hear you're enjoying your Cabot; I've enjoyed mine over the past 20+ years that I've had it. Perhaps I'll post this entry on the blog for the benefit of others who may have similar issues.
On your frozen bilge problem, I've been there -- in fact, I had a nightmare when one of the hoses to a deck drain let go several years ago and I found the bilge frozen up to the floorboards. My mechanic convinced me several years ago to drill a hole in the port side of the hull (not nearly as scary as it sounds) and install a garboard drain plug at the bottom of the bilge. I tapped from the aft end of the bilge area and he stood outside to figure out where the hole should be. We then drilled a hole, sealed around the area with West System epoxy and sealed the drain plug with 5200 compound. It has greatly helped with peace of mind and has the added benefit of getting the nasty stuff out from the bottom of the bilge (I run a cup of laundry detergent through it each year and can truly say I now have a sweet-smelling bilge. I'd be happy to get you measurements of where I put the plug. (One small regret: mine has a square "nut" that sticks out and invites snags ... I'm hoping to find one that mounts flush before I'm done.
As for the handicapping, I suffer an annual racing embarrassment each each year and find myself unfairly handicapped also. But somewhere along the way I stumbled over a PHRF rating of 186 for the boat; this past year I was in a class that included a relatively new Hunter 34 and and older Tartan 30. Both boats rocketed past me at the start and were never seen again, although in heavier winds I've finished reasonably well.
Hope that helps--
Chuck Goodrich, hull #40
Manchester, Mass.
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