A Win at Wickford.

Silent Maid was as ready to race as we could make her. The bottom was smooth, the rig perfected, all extraneous weight was removed from the boat, the propeller aperture was closed and the crew aboard. Kathleen was also ready but only her crew knows what the preparations were. I will say her bottom looked smooth and when she tacked around Wickford Harbor she looked fast indeed, executing short tacks in the light air with little loss of speed. Everywhere we went we had heard of the famous Kathleen and the skill of her skipper, Tim Fallon. I expected she would have an advantage if the wind stayed light but in a breeze Silent Maid should do all right.
It was a day of changeable weather, starting out hot, turning to rain with a threat of some fog and later offering a little line squall. But the wind blew enough to suit us throughout the race. At the start Kathleen showed the skill of her people, closing Maid off from a port tack pin end start, Kathleen crossed the line clear ahead and both boats set out on the beat with crews on the rail and some tension in the air. Peter Kellogg did a great job salvaging his start, pinching up right at the pin and climbing  out above Kathleen, forcing her to look for another way to win.
We had the tide against us on the weather leg and Kathleen decided to see what could be done with this. She would not mind a slightly lighter breeze than Silent Maid so she favored the shoreline no doubt hoping for less current and more favorable lifts in the breeze. This strategy did help her and she appeared to close some distance but not enough as Silent Maid rounded the old cast iron lighthouse that served as a top mark with a comfortable lead.
On the downwind leg Kathleen tried heating things up with a series of jibes but Maid continued to sail her own race  On this leg a line squall passed over the boats, the north end of this cloud bank was dark and ominous enough but the two boats continued to sail as hard as they could towards it. Rain was in those clouds and some wind too but how much and from what direction?
Just as Silent Maid reached the mark the wind shifted 180 degrees and blew with more force. The downwind leg had become a beat giving Maid a huge advantage. She reached off towards the finish in Wickford Harbor on a reach as Kathleen was forced to tack to the mark. Once in the harbor Maid had to short tack up a narrow channel to the finish, running aground was not an option. Boat and crew handled the tight maneuvering easily and the race was won. There was one last challenge though. As Silent Maid sailed back out of the harbor to join up with her anchored tender she had  to be sure to keep clear of Kathleen now tacking up the narrow channel. Once Kathleen was safely past Maid's crew could reflect on the days events and look forward to the next match.
The shenanigans involving racy flags will be discussed at some other time.

Maid Service

Maid Service is a flat bottom skiff built by David Beaton and Sons two winters ago. She is an older design of flattie, traditionally built with a cross planked bottom and lapstrake sides.Even when building simpler forms Beaton's pays close attention to fit and finish. She is my favorite mode of transportation around the various harbors we have visited. In Maid Service one is free of engines and the human decision making processes that come with boats capable of carrying more than two people. I generally get ashore faster under oars simply because I could move about when it suited me.  Of course rowing is great exercise and it is the perfect way to view the boats of interest in any harbor offering a pace suited to the admiring or critical eye. Outside the harbor the skiff is small enough to hoist onto Barnegat's cabin top and tows well enough to pull behind Silent Maid even with a bit of sea running. In the pictures to the left she is surfing along in 5 to 7 foot seas as Maid reaches along at 6.5 knots.

Showtime

The run from Portsmouth, RI to Mystic was under power punching into the waves and watching thunderheads form over the land. We had a brief skirmish with a little squall; a little rain, a little noise, but not much wind. By then we had taken the deep reefed sail and even had our foul weather gear on. The sail was up to steady our motion, the sea was very lumpy coming out of the Narraganset but had settled some. Only after we were drying out in Mystic did we find out about the severe squalls experienced to the North and South of us.
When we arrived in Mystic the boat certainly needed a cleaning,the sail needed refurling, and the cabin needed to be emptied into Barnegat waiting just up the pier from us. Darkness was upon us by the time we had her squeezed into a very snug berth and secured. After dealing with the sail the decision was made to relax over some dinner and deal with all the rest in the early morning hours.
The boat has certainly been popular here. We've gotten a steady stream of compliments both from the beard and sheath knife crowd and the blue blazer set. She is truly a grand cat and it is very gratifying to see all of the care that went into the boat being appreciated. Hopefully this will all get translated into more visitors to the shop and even boats to build.

It is good to visit Mystic Seaport on the boat show weekend. All the varnish and brass distracts from the sad state of the Mystic Seaport Museum's own vessels. This place was a source of inspiration to many like myself and now it is suffering like so many other maritime museums. It is true all maritime museums have to reinvent themselves, personally I believe the boats have to get underway, they have to be alive, someone has to truly own them, they need jobs. It is truly sad to see the Dutton with waves in her sheer and no oil on her spars. It is killing those charged with her care and given no resources. It is clear a new mission has to be found and it is especially glaring when there are so many boats getting all the time and skill money can buy right next door. It was the museums that got all this started and they must see to it they are not left behind.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

The original Silent Maid is now in the shop. While the new version gads about the Northeast, showing off, the original will get what she needs to begin the next phase of her life. The 1924 Silent Maid contains the stories of 79 years of sailing. The last registration sticker on her bow is dated July, 2003. Over the years she has developed the patina of her many years. She contains a wealth of stories, some great some appalling. She is tired and showing her years but the stories are there and well worth saving..

Silent Maid's  designer, Francis Sweisguth, had an excellent eye for form. he pushed the limits on freeboard, cabin height and rig proportions while creating a very handsome boat. For whatever reason Silent Maid's original structure has suffered over time. Her builder, Morton Johnson of Bay Head, did an excellent job fitting her together. She has been altered and repaired repaired many times however. These are part of the story. She was built with steel fasteners and it is a source of amazement that she has lasted so long. That early economy may well prove to be her ultimate end but the shop crew will do what they can.
The original drawings exist and the lines have been recorded of the boat as she now is. The changes she has undergone have been documented in photographs and some have surfaced in stories told by earlier owners. The work will be an effort to preserve her just as she is, there will be no effort to restore, but there will be one to preserve.

The first step will be to remove all the paint from her hull. This will give an honest look at the condition of her planking and fasteners. Once this is done a plan will be formulated  regarding how the planking is fastened to the framing. The deterioration of the steel fasteners may slow now that the boat is under shelter but the oxidation will not stop after so many years of exposure to salt water. New fasteners of bronze will be put in to stabilize the planking. The fewest possible will be used, the planks need to stay on but will not be subject  to extreme stress. A cradle will be built to counter the effects of gravity and to absorb the stresses and strains of moving the boat. As we move through this phase of the work determinations will be made about what is to follow. Much of this will involve paint and varnish, the first line of defense on any wooden structure. None of this is original so protecting the wood will be the first concern.

So while the new Silent Maid continues her cruise we'll have an occasional look back at what is happening to preserve the original and maybe tell a few of those stories. 


.

Details Without Deadlines

Wherever she goes Silent Maid attracts attention and draws comment. It is a very positive experience. Even in places with a very strong classic yachting scene she stands out. Part of this is because she is a cat boat by Sweisguth decidedly not a Herreshoff or Sparkman and Stephens. Maid comes from a whole different tradition than that, one with working roots. yet she has that acre of varnish, and a full share of mahogany. She is a unique boat designed for comfortable sailing in shoal water and because of this she appeals to those on the estuaries; most of us.
Because she is unique she poses problems as well. Getting all of her details just right has been quite a process. This has been an iterative process like so much else in boats. We are proceeding through a series of refinements. We are also at a place in the job where we are deciding where to stop. Do we really need a radar unit? As we head north there will be times when it will be nice but we also also traveling in company with two boats that have it and in her home waters on the back bays of New Jersey there is little need for it. Then there is the matter of getting all the stuff we already have working really well, making it all truly reliable. This is accomplished by  learning the equipment and by refining the installation process, getting the wiring really buttoned down so to speak. I just spent the better part of the day with the refrigerator for example, getting to know its components and workings and making refinements to our installation. This is a process that must be gone through with each piece of equipment we have and we have a lot of them. My day with the refrigerator was gratifying, I learned a few things and made the system a little better. It was a no pressure patient sort of exercise that will be keeping food and drink cold for a while to come. It was not the beginning of a great and passionate carer in HVAC however. Next up are the cell phone extender and the Okham wiring. 

Racing

We did what we could to optimize the boat, new sail, some new running rig, all extraneous gear taken off  and the crew size carefully chosen to suit the wind conditions. That last part was tough as the weather liars seemed determined to keep their options open. We had our techy stuff up and running with a young respected navaguesser monitoring them. We had expertise out the whazoo but even better we had a crew that formed itself in a team very readilly. Molly got the starts and she was brilliant, Silent Maid took on the role of brave little rabbit as Molly pushed some large boats up to the committee forcing one to peel off and the other to foul. By large I mean 70'. Molly also gets credited with the term navaguesser. There was no one helmsman but a round robin of people seeing what they could get out of the boat. Most had deep experience with A cats and Maid has much in common with those boats. The wind seemd to hover around ten and better for most of the races, meaning full canvas. We did reef for one leg, which was succesful.

The hard thing to get used to is the handicapping thing. In one design racing the competion is very straight forward, this was more like a track event against the clock. We did find one boat to compete with though.

Fidelio is a sister to Finisterre, a well known Sparkman and Stephens racer of the 50's and 60's. When the wind was up Silent Maid could move on her but when it dropped Fidelio had the edge. Why this was I could not say as Fidelio represented 30 significant years of development over the Maid.

Now the parties and the prizes are behind us and it is back to work. Maid is at a yard where a haulout will happen. It is time to shine her up for the boat show and also time for a short break.

Another Deadline

When the first race of the season is nigh the real race is always having the boat ready. There are stories and legends describing this flurry of semi frantic activity. There are those who say it doesn't have to be that way and such occurrences are the product of a dysfunctional childhood, or something, and there are those who maintain the world of human affairs would grind to a halt without deadlines. Who knows?  For us boat workers the real race is always just before the race.

Last winter Silent Maid's rig was studied closely and changes were made to optimize it. The big change in terms of sail shape was to exchange the gaff jaws for a bridle and peak the sail much higher. Mark Beaton built the new sail and chose a lighter cloth than the earlier one as well. This sail was also designed to fit the spars a little more closely. The sail arrived in the morning on race day and work began immediately bending it on. There was a moment of dread when the fabric appeared longer than the gaff but we pushed ahead, finished bending it and hoisted. It turned out the fit could be made perfect by moving the throat grommet. In the meantime a line around the mast at the throat would serve and the sail set beautifully. It is a magnificent piece of work.
Henry Colie had spent much of the previous evening going over the running rig, replacing lines, tightening the gaff bridle and throat halyard strops among other things. We now sent him up the mast as the boat drifted along in light air. He got the throat adjusted perfectly and we were as race ready as we could be.
We had a young crew aboard. Peter, the owner had flown in and was aboard. The electronics that tell more than you can digest about wind and current were up and running. There was a glitch with the radio. The start was postponed several times as the fleet bobbled waiting for wind. No one seemed to know how the rating rule worked, the tactical guys would just mumble about speed and distance but it seemed clear that boats from thirty years later were being deemed fair competition for the Maid. The end result is we had a great time racing, we even passed a couple boats downwind but we have no idea how we really did. The ability to go to weather has steadily improved over the years, that much was apparent. Today we go do it again, hopefully without the first race deadline drill though.