I finally got the boat ready and hit the water this past Sunday. A more experienced sailor I met recently came to help out. We had some last minute learning curve but nothing major. The funny moment must have been when we circled back several times before going under the 2nd street bridge in Alamitos Bay in Long Beach. The clearance mark read 32 ft, I know my mast is 24 ft plus maybe another 4 ft above waterline, so mathematically, we should be good (yeah, I know Tim, u told me it could clear). but we when looked up from the cockpit as we get close, the mast looked so much taller than bridge and I panicked and yelled "turned around". We must have looked like 2 idiots to the people at the launch ramp. It was a battle between the marking in front of our eyes and our perception of the mast. We got close again and turned around, did that maybe 3, 4 times. Our rational and desire to go out finally overcame our fear and went through it the last time.
We didn't actually sail it though. It was blowing like 20+ knots and very choppy when we got out of the channel and I had a hard time keep her in a luff (the outboard had to be repositioned in the well, its handle was being restricted by the well wall) so my new friend had a hard time raising the sail. we finally gave up the sailing part after about 20 minutes and motored back. Note to self: don't go out in 20+ wind, at least not until I'm more seasoned.
Have some questions.
1. I didn't pin the keel pivot bolt through the keel. I simply lowered the keel. is this okay. that bolt is set really tight at the moment, need to find a way to loosen it.
2. for the next 2 weeks, the boat will be in a slip. how do I flush the outboard after each outing since the water intake is below water.
thx
We didn't actually sail it though. It was blowing like 20+ knots and very choppy when we got out of the channel and I had a hard time keep her in a luff (the outboard had to be repositioned in the well, its handle was being restricted by the well wall) so my new friend had a hard time raising the sail. we finally gave up the sailing part after about 20 minutes and motored back. Note to self: don't go out in 20+ wind, at least not until I'm more seasoned.
Have some questions.
1. I didn't pin the keel pivot bolt through the keel. I simply lowered the keel. is this okay. that bolt is set really tight at the moment, need to find a way to loosen it.
2. for the next 2 weeks, the boat will be in a slip. how do I flush the outboard after each outing since the water intake is below water.
thx