A Black Dog in North Carolina

First summer in Annapolis, I tied down tarps for shade,

Up until 10 days ago, North Carolina has been HOT and sticky!  Like this is a revelation to anyone.  When we decided on Oriental, North Carolina to keep the boat this summer while we do a little work on it, we knew we were signing up for heat and humidity.  

A hot day in North Carolina

Dogs, as we know, do not cool themselves by perspiring.  They pant, and Jax is really good at that. People we meet while walking Jax will sometimes comment on how hot he must be.  “All that thick black fur.”  Or they’ll ask if we’ve considered shaving him. The answer to that question is “No, his thick coat serves as insulation in heat as well as in cold.”  As my brother has pointed out, “You never saw a sheep with heat exhaustion, have you?”  Well, he’s got me there.  I haven’t seen that.  Frankly, I haven’t spent much time around sheep. But I listen to NPR, and since I’ve never heard news reports of sheep expiring in hot weather, I have to concede that there is probably something to his line of reasoning. 

  Jax greets sunrise with a snooze, snuggled into
narrow space between gate and combing.

We have also discussed this issue of a black dog with thick fur in hot weather with a veterinarian or two. They caution us to think about how tender his poor skin is under all that fur, never having been exposed to the sun’s rays.  We subscribe to the philosophy that dogs will know what they can best do to beat the heat.  

Taking a dip in the Neuse River

Jax looks for shady spots to lie in, plenty of water to drink and an occasional belly dip in the water when he can.  When we have the AC running, he astutely chooses the coolest room of the boat to make his comfy spot.

Prime location to keep both of his humans in sight

When Carl and I are both outside the boat, however, Jax, the herding dog, naturally feels compelled to keep us both in his sights.  When Carl is working in the cockpit, and I am sewing on the covered patio in front of the boat, he positions himself midway between us. That puts him on the bow of the boat, in the sun.  

Original canopy, only 80" wide and 72" long

I felt the need to help him out by adding some additional shade up on deck.  And so, several weeks ago, I designed a canopy that is suspended over the bow by hooking onto one of the *halyards. 

Note dashed line indicating fabric cut away and
reattached to make canopy wider near mast.

My first attempt at a canopy turned out to be a little on the skimpy side. I tried to make it inexpensively and started out with just 2 yards (in other words, a piece of fabric 60” wide and 72” long) of SurLast which is a very durable, water repellant fabric that I ordered from Sailrite. 

Lengths cut from additional 2 yards added to sides
and another 30" toward bow. Additional width
begins 12" down to allow for standing rigging**
 

SurLast is often used for making boat covers. I was thinking that it would be enough to provide Jax with a little spot of shade on the bow and it did, but I decided I could do better and should.  So, I bought another 2 yards of SurLast to enlarge the existing canopy just a little on both the port and starboard sides as well as adding additional length toward the bow. 

Applied white poly webbing to stress points to distribute load on fabric.

My diagrams show how I cut the fabric the first time and how I cut it to make the addition. You’ll notice that the sides are not cut at 90 degree angles. A canopy will hang better if there is a bit of a curve between the corners.  I marked the curves by first laying a piece of gently curved hose out on the fabric.  Actually, a little deeper curves would have been good. I made the hems by simply turning the edges under and sewing. 

Canopy suspended by halyard shackle 

I fastened a stainless steel ring to the top of the canopy by stitching 1” wide UV resistant webbing across the center of the lifting point in a big “X.”  I bought lengths of 1/2” PVC and cut them to provide support for four cross pieces. I made four, but three would have been enough for this size canopy. 

Underside of canopy. 1/2" PVC tubing bends with tight fit.

To hold the ends of the PVC firmly in place against the underside, I cut out pieces of heavy-duty ShelterRite and sewed them on to make a little pocket to hold the end of each tube on the underside of the canopy.  The PVC needs to be cut so it is almost too long to fit between the two pockets.  That will make the PVC bend and give the canopy its concave shape.  

Above: Bungee is hooked through webbing loop and taped

After exploring a few different ways of attaching the canopy to the lifelines, I settled on using 3/8” bungee cord and 3/8” hooks to make my own attachments.  One end of the hook is taped with electrical tape so that it can’t come unhooked. This method allows me to put the canopy up and take it down quickly.  Plus, if I want to walk out onto the bow for some reason, I can unhook a line, walk through and hook it up again behind me easily. 

Used EasyKlips at some attachment points, rather than hooks

I found a product which I really like called EasyKlip. These can be attached anywhere on the canopy that you like. They have a hinge on them and the more tension placed on the Klip, the tighter it grips the fabric.  Really slick.  I have left the canopy up during some pretty serious blows, and it handles the wind really well.  All the bungees stretch and give in concert with one other. 

Bungee hooked onto standing rigging**

As you can see, Jax has found the new shade canopy to be just the ticket to keep track of me when I’m sewing 20 yards away.  

Jax watching me sew from the boat

The canopy has generated a little flurry of excitement with humans too. I have agreed to make one of these for another cruising boat in the marina.

The enlarged canopy

*A halyard is a line that raises and lowers a sail.  We have a few that are not in use when we are not under sail. 

**Standing rigging includes the stainless steel cables alongside the mast. They are secured to the hull with chain plates and extend up to stabilize and support the mast.

Whoever Heard of Sewing a Door?

One of those fancy companion-way doors

Whenever we go to a sailboat show, whether in Annapolis or in Chicago, we drool over those beautifully designed custom-made teak companion-way doors that are on display.  They are hinged and open just like a pair of saloon doors, making it much easier to open and close them. They are also fairly expensive, and as such, we consider them nonessential luxuries for the boat.  

Looking down the companionway steps to the cabin below. Two Lexan doors.

Our companionway is closed by the use of two smokey-gray, heavy Lexan-like panels that slide down into vertical channels.  It’s not accomplished very quickly and the panels are wont to fall over if they’re set off to one side after exiting the cabin.  When they fall, the sound sets off a reaction in me akin to being startled by an attack squirrel.  When I “put away” the panels, they are tucked down into sleeves that are suspended inside the lazarette.  Again, this is not a quick opening and closing of a door, by any means.

Hull #1 zippered door.

Hull #1 door.  Screw snaps up each side.

Once again, meeting other cruisers has provided us a wealth of information.  In an earlier post, I referenced meeting the owners of Hull #1.  Hull #1 also gave us this great idea for making a door.  A door that I could sew!  They allowed me to take photos of their door, and I recently got around to making a similar door for our boat.  

I trimmed our doors in navy stamoid binding.

I used Ivory Stamoid from SailRite for the body of the door.  I had 20 gauge Riviera glass on hand and made two windows for the door with that.  From SailRite I ordered a 36” Vislon zipper for the center zipper, and I used two (12”) lengths of continuous zipper to make horizontal openings at the bottom of the zipper.  

Installed a pair of windows in doors.

Therefore, when all three zippers are opened up completely, the two halves of the door can each be rolled to the outside and secured by leech line.  I used navy Stamoid to encase the outside edge of the door.  

I covered the vertical zipper with a flap and snap.

The thing that really made this slick for us was that, as folks on Hull #1 pointed out, there are two parallel lines of screws that hold the stainless steel frame around the companionway.  Attaching this door to the companionway opening was simply a matter of replacing the outside line of screws with snap screws.  Piece of cake!

Snaps screwed into the stainless door opening. Easy to install.

We’ve been quite happy with this little zippered door.  It makes going in and out of the companionway much quicker.  It’s water-repellant, and when it’s chilly, retains warmth just as well as the Lexan hatch doors.  Even when the two horizontal zippers aren’t opened all the way, Jax can still gracefully maneuver through the door.  More gracefully than either of us humans I might add. 

Note: one vertical zipper.  Two horizontal zippers at bottom.

Sewn doors can be rolled back and secured with ties.

One nice thing about the new door too is that the Lexan hatch doors still fit into those slots if needed.  We need to put those in when we are obligated to leave Jax alone on the boat for a while.  He would prefer coming with us, of course, and if he could, would probably *charge right through the doors.  Additionally, we still need the Lexan hatch doors when we want to lock up the boat.  

A big thank you goes out to Hull #1 for the inspiration on the zippered companionway door.

Lexan doors still slide in channels inside the sewn door.

Addendum:  Sept 2017

We finally decided that we should try leaving Jax alone in the boat with just the sewn doors zipped up.  Ya, it turned out not to be a good idea.  This is what the door looks like now.  

*charge right through the doors— A few years ago we took Jax with us when we went on a camping/fishing trip in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota.  With us was another couple of friends and their huge dog. We decided the dogs would be happier remaining together at our campsite on a little private island we’d claimed, as opposed to sitting in the hot fishing boat with us all morning. (We did not actually consult with the dogs on this point). 

Notice Jax' tooth marks in the window.  Covered the worst with star.

We zipped up the tents against mosquitoes, set the campsite in order and left the dogs on “guard” in front of our tents. When we returned to the island campsite at noon, Jax was lying inside our tent on our comfortable air mattress. We noticed that our friends’ dog had successfully guarded their tent from the outside.

Improving on the Dinghy

Our dinghy after finishing dinghy chaps last fall.

We have a fairly decent dinghy.  I can’t (or at least, shouldn’t) complain. It’s a 10’ AB hypalon dinghy with a hard floor and 15 hp Yamaha.  It has a seat that fits across at midships.  The ends of the seat slide into slots that hold it snugly in place.  Often times, I think a little bigger dinghy would be nice, especially when we’re provisioning, but it’s actually a very serviceable dinghy; our “car” on the water.

Dinghy in Maine 

However, one teensy complaint that I have had is that the seat tends to bend when sat upon. Surely this is a shortcoming of the seat’s design rather than something to be said about my weight, right?  At any rate, I really want to feel comfortable sitting on the middle of the seat rather than on the side tube, where I’m more apt to get wet while underway.  

This handmade wood seat fits perfectly over the original seat.

While in Maine this past summer, we met some folks who had done a really nifty thing with their dinghy.  They had made a very sturdy wide wood seat that fit over the top of the dinghy seat which was then painted nicely.  That image tumbled around in my mind for a couple of months. 

Our handmade seat, made in Memphis in bro-in-law's garage

Before we left our boat in Maryland this fall, and drove off to Memphis to visit Carl’s family, I went out and found 3 pieces of wood that could be fashioned into a seat that would fit over our dinghy seat.  I brought the pieces with us to Memphis where I knew one of the family members would have a garage with just enough power tools to enable me to build a wood seat and to sand it and shape it to remove any sharp edges.  (Thank you Stro.)

Ready to seal and apply "non-skid" to cover the wood surface

It’s not a perfect fit by any means.  It could have been made a little longer, but it does the job.  It makes our dinghy seat a very strong, sturdy seat that will hold my dainty weight as well as that of my husband.  After returning to Maryland, I sealed the wood and then painted the seat with “non-skid” to protect it from the elements.

Our new wider wood seat, covered with "non-skid" finish

One way in which the seat was not perfect was that it is actually a little wider than the width of the dinghy seat below, so that it does want to slide around just a bit.  I finally solved that problem by lining the two long sides underneath with thick weather stripping.  Problem solved.  Then I attached the wood seat to the original dinghy seat by circling the two with nylon webbing and an adjustable buckle.

Thick weather stripping lining both long undersides of the seat

I was fairly happy with our new seat at this point.  Alas, my husband was not.  The non-skid made for a slightly rough surface such that he didn’t want to kneel on the seat as he climbs into the dinghy.  After making this sturdy seat, I was determined that he would like the darn thing.  So, the next project was to make a cushioned seat covering.

Covered cushion that fits over new wood seat.  

It may be no surprise to anyone that I had leftover pieces of Sunbrella, Pfifertex and Shelter-Rite vinyl lying around from previous projects. With those, I was able to put together a cushioned seat cover.  Previously, I had purchased a thick yoga mat at Wal-Mart in order to add external insulation over our freezer. I cut another piece off that yoga mat for the cushion on the dinghy seat.  It’s perfect since it’s a closed cell foam—lots cheaper than the foam designed for that purpose. 

Webbing cinches up the underseat and wood seat.

As you can see from the photograph, I applied snaps to the tails of the seat in order to attach the cushion to the wood seat.  After drilling a starter hole for the screws, I put a small plug of marine grade silicone on the screw to keep the drilled hole from absorbing moisture in this wet environment.  Voila.

A Sunbrella was made to cover gas tank previously.

Next issue—a while back, we moved our gas tank toward the bow in the dinghy, along with the bulk of the security chain we use for securing the dingy to docks.  Having more of the weight farther forward enables us to get the dinghy up on plane more easily.  Now that the area under the seat is occupied with the gas tank, I needed another plan for carrying the life jackets.  I don’t like them just lying on the floor of the dinghy—we step on them and they get hammered by UV rays.  

Back side of the three-sided hammock thingy, holding one life jacket.

Given that development, I made up a little 3-sided hammock thingy that hangs under the new, wider seat to hold one of the life jackets.  

Life jacket inside case makes for a cushion.  Zipper closure.

For the other, I made a zippered case so that it can act like a cushion. With three snaps, I attached it to the side of the dinghy where we sit when operating the motor. Sometimes with a little more chop on the water, we tend to get wet butts while operating the motor.  Now we can flip the cushion up to sit a little higher and perhaps, get a bit less wet. Otherwise, it’s out of the way, beneath our legs as we sit on the hypalon tube.

Flip the case up and sit on higher cushion.

For the final dinghy project; I made a little pouch that slips over one of the dinghy handles.  It will hold two coffee mugs, or a retractable dog leash, some doggy bags and boat cards.  

Small Pfifertex pouch for coffee or small items.

We now have the most color-coordinated dinghy at the dinghy dock in Vero Beach.  Just a few days ago, another dinghy stopped by the boat and asked where I got the dinghy chaps, and said, and I quote, “These are the nicest looking dinghy chaps in the anchorage; they’re really tight.”  Oh, my heart swelled to hear such a compliment!  I am such a SailRite “nerd.”

Storage of Unwieldy Things Onboard

Preparing to install new battery bank below aft berth

As ever, I am on the lookout for ways to maximize our finite space aboard Northern Star and to make that available space easier to access. Over the past year and a half I have caught myself staring at the interior hull of the aft cabin, as if in a trance.  I was fixated on one long expanse of wood paneled wall curving out and up along the hull. Below that wall, on the aft cabin berth lay stacks of bulky and frequently quite long items that have to be stored somewhere on the boat.  

All manner of awkwardly shaped things are in there—the stiff unwieldy rain panel (we lost one in a wind storm) that zips onto the dodger, the helm station canvas, a really long fishing rod and reel, an 8’ long spear for lobster fishing, a long-handled boat brush, clothes washing “plunger,” shade tarp, a beach pop-up tent, wind scoops, covers for the Garmin instruments, a Loos* gauge, a “pigstick”**—all this extraneous stuff!  Stuff that doesn’t really belong anywhere in particular.  Stuff that wouldn’t have to be taking up space on a berth where a guest otherwise could sleep. But what to do with it? And all the while, there above the berth, staring at me, is that long bare wall……

Hanging sling mounted on the aft cabin wall.  A mesh hammock hangs beyond.

Somewhere or other, I must have seen a picture of the concept that popped into my head—a suspended sling.  I cannot take credit for designing it, but perhaps a little credit for adding to the idea with an embellishment or two.  The concept is a style of storage that probably has its’ origins in the use of an apron to hold a bunch of apples or in the the use of a hammock to hold anything that must be kept up off the floor.  A sling is a very simple concept.

Opening one of the PermaLock fasteners

After measuring that bare aft cabin hull wall, I set out to make a wall-mounted sling that would be able to contain the above mentioned items and would not use up the entire wall either.  I decided to make a sling that would measure  42” X 54”.  Because I acquired some large scraps of Sunbrella and Pfiftertex when I was last in Annapolis, I had a lot of the necessary supplies on hand.  What I did not have were the kind of fasteners that would attach the sling to the wood paneling of the hull—fasteners that can be twisted to open one side of the roll as it hangs. SailRite had the answer for that; Permalock Fasteners that are designed to attach cloth to a hard surface.  I had them delivered to us in Florida, when I knew we would be in one spot for a week or so.  These are nifty little pieces of hardware.  

PermaLock fastener

One side of the sling (42” side) is permanently mounted on the wall using the Permalock Fasteners. The 54" sling then falls to the bed below and the opposite end of the sling is then lifted up and reattached to the wall using those same fasteners, making a 27 inch-deep sling.  To make the most of the storage space with this sling, I added some external attachments to hold the very long items such as the fishing rod, the spear, boat brush, clothes washing plunger, etc. on the outside of the sling.  My intention was that I would then be able to access those individual, long items without having to open up the entire sling. 

This has turned out to be a very usable space for us.  The sling takes away very little space from the aft cabin since the wall space was “unused” space anyhow.  Because the sling follows the curve of the hull, it hangs above but also away from the surface of the bed so a person can sleep below.  If my guest is claustrophobic, he or she may not like sleeping with these items stored in such close proximity, however, I suspect that someone who is claustrophobic is not going to want to sleep in the aft cabin anyhow.  

Rings, snaps, loops can be attached on the outside

The materials that I used for this sling were:

• A Pfifertex panel cut to 42” X 54.”  I allowed 1” for folded hems on the two long sides.  
• Sunbrella strips (4) cut 43" long and 3" wide to encase each short side of the sling.  I added an additional layer of sturdy canvas as stiffener between the two pieces of casing.  These encased shorter ends must be very rugged as they will be attached to the wall.  
• 9-10 yards of 1” nylon webbing.  Because I knew this sling would be expected to hold a significant amount of weight, I used nylon webbing to stitch 4 lengths (54”) to match up with the fasteners.  I also used 3-4 yards to sew 4 extra lengths of webbing that lie on the outside of the sling. These are adjusted by 4 side-release buckles to accommodate blankets and things with a circumference of up to 24".
• 4 plastic (1") side-release buckles.  More could have been attached with the nylon webbing if desired.
• 4 Permalock Fasteners.  If the sling were any wider, I’d have wanted to use more Permalock Fasteners. 

• Scraps of clear vinyl (20 gauge) — I used 4 squares of it to make “windows” so that I can see what’s rolled up inside of the sling without taking it down.
• 4 plastic rings, attached across the length of the pack.  Long lightweight items can be attached at those as needed.

Here’s to making the most of boat space…Cheers and Happy New Year.

The sling and aft cabin are loaded with supplies for the Bahamas

*Loos gauge - a tool designed to measure the tension of cables/rigging. 
**pigstick - a homemade stick that can be pulled up the mast to extend above the height of the mast. If the pigstick makes contact with the underside of a bridge, the boat is not going under.  

Sail Lockers and Too Much Stuff

Fenders in the water?  I don't know why.

When we moved aboard Northern Star, we brought with us a couple of our best large fenders that we had used on our previous sailboat.  Our new boat already had several fenders as well.  We didn’t want to get rid of any of them.  You never know when you’re going to need a smaller or larger fender than the ones you used the last time coming into a dock or rafting off another boat.  

Jerry cans atop the deck

So, we had fenders tied to the stainless handholds on deck, and we had them shoved into the large sail locker in the cockpit.  Seemed like there were fenders everywhere. Our biggest problem with the sail locker is simply that there are too many things that we want to keep stored in there……and oddly enough, let me just say that sails are not one of the them.  

Two fenders used  with a board to keep off piling.

Besides the bulky fenders, there are the extra jerry cans for diesel and water, water hoses, power cords, piles of extra lines. our folded shopping cart, two folding chairs. all the dock lines, a bucket or two and a box of spare hardware like shackles and snatch blocks.  

Carl is standing in the sail locker.  Sorting lines.

I wanted the fenders out of there.  And I didn’t want them lashed onto the deck in various places.  Messy looking, I figured.  So, I determined to make fender holders to mount on either side of the cockpit rails.  

Fenders lashed to cabin roof.

I began with taking stock of the fender situation.  We have seven oblong fenders and two large round fenders.  I figured there wasn’t much I could do to contain the big orange round fenders so I ignored those for the time being.  Two of the oblongs we have never used, so I shoved those way into the back of the sail locker.  I would give the remaining five fenders their own custom fit holders and by doing that, I would free up lots of space in the sail locker.  Yea!

The inside of the sail locker.

First I measured the five fenders. Two were 28” long with a circumference of 27”.  Two were 31” long with a circumference of 32”.  And the fifth, the one I tend to use ALL the time was 32” long and had a circumference of 39”.  What I wanted was to have these fenders attached to the outside on each side of the cockpit, much like weather cloths would be. (Lengths above include the shank of the fender where the line is attached).  

Plenty of room on the side to hang fenders.

I calculated that in order for the fenders to fit well, the circumference of the opening should be 4” greater than the circumference of each fender.  For the vertical length of each fender holder, I decided that I would go with a length that was about 8” shorter than the entire length of the fender.  I didn’t want the holders so large that the entire fender would disappear into the holder.  And I planned to leave the bottoms open anyhow, except for about a 6” wide “hammock” that would be sewn to hang across the bottom of the holder.  This would prevent the fender from falling all the way through and help water drain away from the holders.

6" wide "hammock" support the bottom fender

Some folks have weather cloths attached to the stanchions that surround their cockpit which we do not.  Weather cloths are appealing to me not only because they help to prevent getting sprayed by waves hitting the boat on the beam, but also because they add some privacy to the cockpit seating area.  Some people shower in their cockpit and so the weather cloths are helpful for that as well.  

Larger fender in between two smaller fenders

Ideally, I wanted the fender holders to be firmly attached to the boat, but removable, and to be somewhat symmetrical.  If they sort of resemble weather cloths, that would be a plus, I thought. Given there were three different sizes of fenders, I married up the extra large fender with one of the two large ones.  And I put the other large one in between the two medium-sized fenders.  The overall size of the two holders ends up being somewhat similiar

The side of the fender holder that faces into the cockpit.

Thanks to having scavenged yards of Pfifertex while I was in Annapolis, I had a lot of sturdy fabric to work with.  

The mesh is Pfifertex

I’ve talked about Pfifertex in previous posts.  It’s an extremely durable outdoor fabric and because it’s a mesh material, the water drains away and it dries quickly.  The back of each fender holder (that one sees when sitting in the cockpit) is Sunbrella that matches our shade panels and cockpit seating upholstery.  The Pfifertex is what actually surrounds each fender and that faces out, away from the cockpit. 

Fenders stay put, even when heeled.

Each fender slides into it’s custom fit opening and rests on a “hammock” that prevents the fender from falling all the way through.  In order to help the round opening hold its’ shape to make it easier to side the fenders in, I inserted a stay into a hem that encircles the top opening.  Fabric stores sell ready-made stays by the yard.  It’s the same stuff that is used to make a corset stand up on its’ own.  

Stays were placed inside a hem atop each opening.

Here’s an important tip about thread.  In order to make this project withstand constant UV exposure, I used a Lifetime thread called Profilen.  I ordered that from SailRite and it is the same thread that I used when I made chaps for our dinghy.  It’s really expensive ($129 for ___ oz) but it’s amazing stuff.  You can NOT break it.  It doesn’t snag or twist or separate when sewing with it.  And it does not burn!  Astonishing stuff.  It is slippery however, and when threading the machine, I had to wind it twice around the tension knob to prevent skipped stitches.  No wonder it lasts forever, or close to it.  It’s more like fishing line than regular thread in my opinion.

Heeling.  No problem with fenders.

To attach the fender holders to the railing, I sewed three sets of webbing and buckles across the back.  I ordered the white nylon webbing and buckles from SailRite.  

Close-up of webbing and buckle system

The webbing is attached top and bottom and then slides through a loop to keep the webbing cinched up snugly against the railings.  When the boat heels, the fenders stay right in place.  No risk of losing them.  The fender holders can be removed as needed for cleaning.  And I do appreciate the bit of added privacy in the cockpit.

We'll have more room in the sail locker this season.