Boat Archives • Don't Panic and Sail

17Aug

By Don't Panic2 Comments

Boat, Maintenance, Storms

Leaks found

Florida afternoon thunder storms have been rolling through pretty regularly this year. It has helped me discover a few leaks and provided a nice spray down for the boat. It has also reminded me that you always need to be prepared when at anchor. The winds that have come through with these afternoon storms hit over 35kn and hit quickly. Best be prepared with a well-set anchor or ready to pick up and move quickly if things go bad. This has been something I prepared for early in my refit, my 85lb Mantus Anchor is good, in theory, for up to hurricane force winds for my boat size and weight...I just hope I never really have to test how hot holds in a hurricane. Easily, one port leaked, needs to be re-bedded. Two chain plates, already known, leaked. I had already suspected the leaks so wa...

16Jun

By Don't PanicNo Comments

Boat, It Broke, Maintenance

….and Wait to Repair

Well it looks like the boat will not be moving for a while now. This past weekend I replaced the transmission fluid, hoping that might help resolve the shifting issue, as it was a bit low. Plus it needed to be changed as part of the break-in period maintenance. It did not fix the issue, the transmission shifts fine into reverse, but will no longer go into forward at all. It is still under warranty. So for this and some other issues I contacted the installer to repair the issues. They are booked out til the 3rd week in July already, so it will be some time before the boat moves again. In the mean time I work on some interior projects. On a better note, the outboard did not get any damage from the quick dunk it took. It needed routine maintenance anyways and a small oil leak was ...

1Jun

By Don't PanicNo Comments

Boat, It Broke, Journies

It’s a boat…Care and Repair

This past weekend I went up to St Augustine, Florida for the weekend with my Dad to do some sailing in and out of the inlet. The first day I motored north on the ICW to get to St. Augustine and picked up a mooring at the St Augustine municipal marina. The mooring was on the north side of the Bridge of Lions, near the bridge. Next time, and I would recommend anyone that requests a mooring, not have it near the bridge, it was a bit noisy on the weekend, not too bad to make me want to request a move, but in the future I will request something a bit farther away. This being my first cruise on DON’T PANiC some issues came to light. First it was discovered that the engine alternator is not charging the batteries while running. Lucky, I had brought my portable generator to run the AC at night...

18May

By Don't PanicNo Comments

Boat, Solvents

DON’T PANiC finally shows off her name

I finally finished putting the name one the boat. The old vinyl name was a pain to get off at first. Goo Gone does not work on Vinyl adhesive, so forget about tying to use it. A neighbor boat recommended two options, Kleen Strip and Interlux 202. Both did work, but the Interlux worked better. The Kleen Strip worked almost as well, but took more effort to scrub. Interlux cleaned the adhesive off with a bit less effort. I ended up using the Interlux more, but if I had to do it again I would use Kleen Strip, it's a bit less toxic and is dual use, if you have an alcohol stove. Getting the new name on the boat was pretty simple, I could have done without the boats on the ICW making all the waves. That probably doubled the time it took. But in the end I got it done and there is room left ove...

27Mar

By Don't Panic1 Comment

Boat

My new Boat

It has finally happened. The money, the boat, and the desire all came together this past February. And on March 27th, 2020 I became the next owner of a Kelly Peterson 46. The sale took a while for a few reasons, but mainly was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which complicated getting certain things done to complete the sale. In the end the wait was worth it. Now for the next adventure in my life, turning my new sailboat into my new home. In the sling and showing off my dirty bottomGetting a spray down after haul out As sailors are known to be a superstitious bunch, I sort of fall into that group. That is why you may notice the previous name of the boat masked. Sadly, due to the current conditions of the world these days, the renaming ceremony will be a private affair.

8Feb

By Don't PanicNo Comments

Boat

Looking for my Boat

So what am I looking for a in a sailboat. Bluewater lineage Encapsulated keel Keel stepped mast Center Cockpit, aft cabin Cutter Rig There are a few other things I would like too, but the above I won’t compromise on. Originally, I wasn’t looking for a center cockpit, that changed after I decided to move on the boat full time after I find one. This increased the size of the boat too. So that then increased the price, but now I was buying a home.