This past weekend, the Tall Ship Festival came to our home port of Philadelphia – the ships were lined up right outside our marina! While we (sadly) still do not have sails on, we did motor out to see the ships from the water (a good choice, since the riverfront itself was absolutely packed!). Views 4142Likes 0
One of the “nice to have” projects on our list when we bought Elara was to replace the Salon cushions. The V-berth cushions were actually in pretty good shape, but the Salon cushions had seen better days. The foam was worn and crumbly, and the fabric had rust stains from the tufting buttons… After gettingRead more…
When the Catalina 30 moved to the open/walk through transom design starting in 1994 with the MK III, it was necessary to have a new way of accessing the rudder post/emergency tiller fitting (which was previously accessed by way of the now nonexistent aft lazarette). Views 6707Likes 0
Sanding, scraping, sealing, sewing, cleaning, bedding, rigging… Still deep in it… lot to do and only a few months to do it! Still, it’ll be worth it in the end, right? Views 3906Likes 0
On a 30′ boat, space is always at a premium. Once you account for all the “necessities” (safety gear, tools, spare parts etc…) You find yourself with about a small closet’s worth of space to pack your entire life into. Thus, anything that saves space is precious and worth shelling out for. Views 4778Likes 0
When we bought Elara, we had no intentions of doing any kind of long term cruising on her… the plan was to use her for daysailing and trips down the Chesapeake, while saving up for a bigger boat to cruise on. But you know what they say about sailors plans and all – written in the sandRead more…
So there’s an old adage that boat projects always cost 10 time more and take 10 times longer than estimated. True enough. But why is it that the littlest projects seem to be the most annoying? Views 3163Likes 0
Elara is a very “wired” boat. Being that I’ll be working aboard, I need power for my laptop/ phone/tablet/chargers etc… Since all these devices are ultimately DC powered, it didn’t make sense to install an inverter (DC->AC) just to be able to plug in an adaptor (AC->DC) to charge my electronics. Instead, I figured theRead more…
As winter finally releases it’s icy grip on the city, we are ramping up to kick the springtime projects into high gear! Rebedding deck hardware, re-gasketing the portlights, engine maintenance, replacing all the old light fixtures with LEDs, wiring in new 12v & USB outlets, and lots of cleaning, sanding and varnishing! Big projects areRead more…
After 2 years of chartering the in the BVIs we were up for something a little different. Don’t get me wrong, the BVIs are amazing and we’re planning on going back many more times, but we wanted a little change of pace. Belize seemed to fit the bill. We knew it would be much lessRead more…