October 24, 2013-raising sails

We have spent the last few days bringing things from our storage unit to the boat.  Clothes are being stored and the galley is partly done.  I am feeling better about our storage space than I was a few days ago.  Today, we took our boat to the fuel dock to pump out our heads.  We have 2 heads (toilets) on board.  They each have a 22 gallon holding tank.  So periodically, you have to pump them out with a large vacuum hose made for that purpose.  Some of my explanations are for non sailors, so bear with me if you are a seasoned sailor.  

After that task was done, we decided to go out for a short sail.  Even though we have owned this boat since July, we have only taken it out sailing a half dozen times.  Today was the first time I raised and lower the main sail and unfurled and furled the jib sail.  Either Dave did this while I was at the helm, or we have had friends aboard and Dave gets them involved with the sails.  The main sails we have had in the past were raised from the boom where it is stacked when not in use.  This boat has a furling main within the mast.  That means that the sail is rolled up inside the mast when not in use.  We were hesitant to buy this type of main because we had not sailed with one, but most of the boats less than 10 years old are equipped with them now.  So far we are happy.

Dave also convinced me to bring the boat into our slip.  Our old boat was 25 feet long and this one is 43 feet.  Plus it weighs much more.  So you have to get used to how it glides in the water.  You can't put on the breaks to stop it.  You can only put it in reverse and wait for it to respond.   If there is a wind or current, that will move the boat, too.  But today it was fairly calm.  So I had no trouble bringing it into the slip bow first.  Then I backed it out and let Dave bring it in stern first.  With the stern first, it is easier to board the boat and to hook the boat up to shore power while we are in the slip. The photo below shows the boat in the slip stern first (stern closest to the dock).

Some of you are probably thinking "she's just doing that for the first time!".  Remember we have been sailing for over 10 years, but every boat is different.  We have the rest of our lives to perfect our skills.