On-going prognosis

The news is not all bad -- but it's not all good either. Here's what she looked like on her port side.


The next photo shows some earlier patches and, if you enlarge the photo, you can see some dark spots in the bare planking. Some of those are soft spots that will have to be routed out and patched.


They haven't started on the starboard side yet, but you can see the cracking of the paint that was the impetus for stripping her to bare wood in the first place. That white, peeling section was freshly painted in 2006.


And, finally, nobody's even looked to see what causes these rusty spots on the keel.


Nobody can give me an estimate of either the time or the cost yet. I doubt either will be good though. I can fairly confidently predict that I won't be adding any fancy electronics this year, though. Bummer!

My 1st outing on Swirl...

I was trying to remember when the 1st time I went out on Swirl was?! I am not sure what month it was, but it was in the year 2000. I met & fell in love with Dylan & then found out his Mom had a boat. I was terrified of the water & not so impressed by this. There are so many memories of the boat that I am not sure which is the very 1st time I lay eyes on her, but she was a beautiful site out on her mooring in Boston Harbor. Don & Willa were always so welcoming & I simply fell in love with the family, dock, boat & even the water. I had never been on a sail boat & finding out that you had to row out in an even smaller boat to board her was a shock. I was mortified of getting off the dock into a little boat & then back out & onto Swirl. Jo & everyone did this with such skill, I was soon put me at ease. It only took one day out sailing & I was in love. The 1st time bendexing, hanging on for dear life, & then everything was right again was something of an awaking for me. I had the opportunity to go out on Swirl with Don & his love of the boat & water was infectious. I hope that Swirl recovery is quick! I look forward to sailing on her again soon.

Haul-out 2008

Right now Swirl is in Port Townsend at SeaMarine (formerly FleetMarine) being stripped down to bare wood to see what's happening with her planking. A few years ago some of the planks along her aft top quarter started to separate -- to the point that you could actually see daylight between them. And, of course, water could also come in that way. She has been caulked inside and out, and the planks continue to work apart. So now she's being stripped bare so we can figure out what's happening. Here's a picture of her tucked into the shed where she'll be worked on:


And here are a couple of pictures to give you an idea of what this entails:


It breaks my heart to do this to her (not to mention my bank account), but it's the only way to keep her seaworthy (and insurable).

I promise I'll post some happier pictures and memories soon.

Jo and Abi

Finally, Swirl Gets Her Own Blog

Here's your chance to write about your experiences on Swirl, post your pictures, talk about what you learned, reminisce, maybe even connect with folks you sailed with. I will be posting excerpts from Swirl's log books as I get them transcribed as well as pictures that I have taken while I was on board. I invite others to contribute to the site. If you'd like to do more than comment on my occasional postings, send me your email address and I will add you to the author list.

Jo (and Abi)