Commodore’s Message What are the best tricks for getting your Sloop ready each Spring without working every weekend, breaking the bank, buying gallons of marine paint, or breathing too much copper paint? How about not re-finishing every surface, hiring a college student to do some of the painting, using left over exterior house paint (above the water line), wearing a cartridge respirator and fitting a vacuum to the orbital sander ? These are a few of the methods I use to get the Rand ready for launch day. But I know each of you have perfected your own methods to the point where Spring fit out is a low cost, fun and healthy experience for the whole family (!). I urge you to send two or three of your best Spring Fit Out Tips to NEWSLETTER@FSS.ORG. Perhaps Old Salt (the author of “Tech Tips”) will cut us some space on the Web Page and we can make annual Sloop Commissioning a breeze for us all ! At the April Executive Committee meeting in Bath, Treasurer Jonathan Leavy reported some great numbers for the Society through March 31, 2004. While the “spend” portion of our fiscal year is still ahead, including some new expenses, the positive income statement was welcome news. Thank you Jon Leavy for your great work, and to all committees and members for helping to pull us up (pump us out ?). I am hoping that we can show an uptick in membership by the annual meeting. As reported in my message in the 2004 Yearbook and Guide, we have completed the membership survey and have some good information that will help us better serve our members and grow our society. The survey results yielded four common themes: 1) Include a non-racing venue at regattas, such as a family sailing day. 2) Welcome and mentor new members. 3) Increase publicity and invite the public to sail with us. 4) Encourage local sailing and other events year round. Coordi- nate these events with other traditional sailing craft organizations. Dave Graham has taken the lead with item #4 by providing a new Wooden Boat Regatta in Marblehead where we will sail and race with other classic vessels. Southwest Harbor and New London are models of successful local events – others are possi- ble. All of us can and should practice # 2. Bob Monk has been actively working on publicity, and the Crew Call every morning is a chance to invite someone on-board for the day. Taking action on #1 will not happen overnight. However, all of us can (Continued to Page 2) It Doesn’t Just Happen By Dave Graham, Race Committee Chairman Anyone who has ever organized an event or a program, will quickly understand that getting it all pulled together so that it runs smoothly is something that does not simply just happen – – – And so it is with our Rockland Homecoming of this coming July 27-29, 2004. Your Executive Committee has worked hard at all the neces- sary preparations so that by the time of your arrival, it will seem as though it did just happen. On the waterfront, your Race Committee has had no less than five off-season meetings, the goal of which has been to plan, organize and publish the 2004 Sailing Instructions for distribu- tion at Rockland. This year, we have changed one location of our racing mark and added another. As a result, you will not be able to refer to any previous instructions to successfully compete in 2004 – – – ’nuff said on that subject. We have also added the requirement that RADAR reflectors must “be worn” while racing in any fog condition. This was brought about by one of last year’s races when the incoming ferry saw only a few returns on its RADAR that represented our fleet and when visual contact was made, the ferry captain was surprised to see the entire fleet near one of the race marks. As always, safety is paramount with any racing we conduct and while we have no intentions of “stepping aboard” your sloop, we must insist that we conduct ourselves on the safest possible manner – – – which only makes good common sense for all of us. Overall, the planning of the Homecoming and the race program is something that proves enjoyable for your Executive Committee and your Race Committee. The only “reward” the members of each committee wish to seek – – – is a good turnout. After all is said and done, the work effort that has been put forth – – – is done solely for you. Marblehead Regatta Overhauled By Dave Graham, Mass Bay Chairman With diminishing participation over the past several years, it was the conclusion of the Race Committee new life had to be pumped into an event if continued involvement by the Society at Marblehead was to be a reality. What has come out of the 2004 planning effort in working with the Corinthian Yacht Club Race Committee at Marblehead was something that could (Continued to Page 2) Volume 16 FSS.ORG Summer 2004 Issue 1 Friendships Newsletter of the Friendship Sloop Society

Commodore’s Message (Continued from Front Page) start thinking about how a cruising day would best fit into the Rockland Regatta week or into other events. We welcome input from any and all on how best to keep our organization moving forward. Finally, anyone interested in helping to distribute the yearbook to marinas, marine stores, libraries, museums, etc. please contact Beth and Rich Langton (resource@clinic.net). Thanks for all your help and dedication, and we look forward to seeing you over the windward rail. Feel free to contact me at jbr@prexar.com or 207-655-4277 if you have any questions or comments. Marblehead Regatta Overhauled (Continued from Front Page) prove to be a “win-win” situation for the Friendship Sloop Society. This year, the program will be blended into the “Annual Classic Boat Regatta” that has been scheduled for the traditional second August weekend. While you could be racing on a course with a Bermuda 40 or a schooner or some other classic beauty, Friendship Sloops will continue to compete for the beautiful Ridgway Trophy that is permanently on display at Corinthian. This year, as Corinthian Yacht Club is dedicating the “Annual Classic Boat Regatta” to the Friendship Sloop Society, the club is hoping for a turnout that will bring many Friendships to Marblehead for the August 14th and 15th gathering of true classics. Look for a mailing in mid-July that will hold all the details. For now, please note and reserve the second August weekend dates on your calendars. 2004 Schedule of Events New London Regatta July 10th & 11th Southwest Harbor Rendezvous July 24th Homecoming Rendezvous & Races at Rockland July 26th to July 30th Friendship Days July 31st Marblehead Regatta August 14th & 15th Gloucester Schooner Festival September 4th Annual Meeting November 13th Martin’s Manor South Portland., ME Southwest Harbor Race The plans this summer for our Southwest Harbor “tune up” race will be largely the same as years previous. A loose circum- navigation of Greenings Island with maximum emphasis on favorable sunny reaches! The notable exception to the plans being that the date has switched from the third Saturday in July to the second-to-last Saturday to keep it more closely aligned with Rockland. The Stanley yard might just have their new boat Tamara in by then. She is a largish vessel and may give the newly painted Phoenix (returning after a one year hiatus) a run for the money. Tradition, as always, will be competitive with Jarvis W. Newman at the helm. And you can always expect the centenarian girls- Gladiator (who won last year) and Blackjack to be fast! Hope to see as many as possible show up. If you could call 207 244 4313 or e-mail us merppl@localnet.com and tell us your coming, that would be great! Handicap Recertification The Race Committee will be happy to equitably handicap any member’s sloop for which a completed handicap is received prior to the 30th of June each year. Handicap rating applications and measurement instructions are available from the Race Committee or the Handicapper upon request. The application can also be printed from the Sloop Society website (FSS.ORG). All sloops with a handicap rating dated prior to 2000 will be considered to have no handicap rating due to expiration of the handicap data. Sloop owners must file an updated handicap application for their vessel every five years, whether or not changes may have been made to either the hull or rig. However, when such changes have been made, it is necessary to immediately re-apply for an updated handicap rating. New owners of previously handicapped sloops are required to submit an application for a handicap rating before entering their first regatta. Begun in 2000, participating skippers / owners who decline to file an updated handicap application in a timely manner (before June 30th), have received a dockside handicap, which includes a penalty. Please do not place this unnecessary burden on your race committee! Member Sloops With Up-to-Date Handicap Data If your sloop is NOT listed here, please renew your handicap application now! Sail No. Sail No. Sail No. Sail No. Sail No. Sail No. Sail No. 5 7 10 23 24 44 52 53 54 66 90 91 96 100 123 147 155 166 167 180 189 196 197 208 214 218 222 225 227 232 250 262 – 2 –

– 3 – The netting needle By Ted Walsh Anyone who has a traditionally rigged boat knows the importance of marline. Once as ubiquitous as the various forms of electrical and water- proof tape that have largely replaced it, it is versatile, simple, and functional in the extreme. It also has the ability to tie itself into elaborate knots and turn into an unruly mess at the bottom of your rigging bag. Still, marline that has been tamed and disciplined can be a delight to work with. I have made and have used, serving boards and serving mallets of various sizes, and when it comes to setting up new rigging or replacing long sections of service, these are invaluable tools. I have found, however, that for most instances when small basic repairs to the service of our rig need to be made, the tool I reach for is a much simpler one: the netting needle. This quarter inch thick piece of oak or ash, wrapped with marline, provides excellent leverage for serving shrouds or applying seizings to lanyards or beckets. It is small enough to fit into tight spaces where no serving board will go and takes up almost no room in a rigging bag. The key to using this tool is the ability to lock and unlock the marline with one hand. This leaves the other hand free to hold the service in place and keep the tension. Once the marline is locked into the needle, you can drop the needle and the marline will not un-spool, allowing you to use both hands for what you are working on. The netting needle also provides leverage and a grip to pull tension on the marline. There are two versions of netting needle that live in my shop and rigging bag. One is the traditional netting needle that I was introduced to by weir fisherman. The other is an adaptation (I can’t remember where I found this version). In the adapted version the line is wrapped around the shank of the tool rather than lengthwise as in the more traditional netting needle. It has a tongue like a spring which pinches the marline and locks it in place. While not as suitable for the actual process of making nets it is singularly well adapted to making repairs to service, making seizings, and even fancy work like that of French hitching or coach-whipping. While still available where commercial fishing supplies are sold, I would encourage you to make your own out of what you have lying around. Make one that fits comfortably in your hand, and experiment. Perhaps I am just an animist, but all the marline that I get, tarred or un-tarred, spool or ball, is alive and just dormant. It is waiting to cause mischief, to leap up and roll away at an improbable speed, and usually to an improbable distance at the one moment I desperately need both my hands and all my concentration for what I am working on. It is kept in a box with a lid so it can not escape and wander, and is only let out when it is wound onto, and restrained by a netting needle.

Bill Danforth Passes Away William S. Danforth, 84, of Southport, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, August 17. Bill was a member of the Race Committee for the Society’s first race held in Friendship in 1961, and was appointed chairman of the Race Committee in 1964, serving in that capacity until 1981. His yacht White Falcon served as the Race Committee boat during the years he was chairman. Bill was an honorary member of the Sloop Society. Born in San Francisco, California, on November 10, 1918, he was the son of Margaret (Smith) and Richard S. Danforth. He grew up in the Bay area and attended local schools there, spend- ing summers in Gardiner and Squirrel Island. In 1941 he gradu- ated from Dartmouth College and joined his father’s business, Danforth Anchors, retiring in 1960. He moved to Southport full- time and bought Brewers Boatyard, now called Boothbay Region Boatyard. He was a very active member of Seaside Masonic Lodge #144 in Boothbay, serving 24 years as Lodge Secretary and past master, Scottish Rite Bodies Valley of Rockland, Maine Consis- tory Valley of Portland and Kora Shrine Temple in Lewiston. He was charter member of Wawenok Power Squadron as well as District Commander of the U.S. Power Squadron. He was the Commodore of the Southport Yacht Club and a 55-year member of the Boothbay Yacht Club. Bill taught and mentored many in the art of seamanship and navigation. Safe boating was his byline. He was also an official ski timer at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid and the trials for the Olympics at Sugarloaf. Survivors include his son, Randy Danforth; his cousin, Thomas Ogg and family; as well as many cousins and lifetime friends. Support Our Supporters Our yearbook is made possible not only through the efforts of our members, but also through the businesses that place ads in our book. When you read the articles in this year’s yearbook, take some time to notice the advertising. Then, when you stop in the store or restaurant, make a point of telling the waitress, manager, or anyone that will listen, that you saw their ad in the Friendship Sloop Society publication. Please help us keep the yearbook afloat by supporting our supporters. Chandlery News The chandlery will be open for business as usual at the Rockland Homecoming. Remember, all proceeds from the sale of FSS articles go into the general fund to support the Society. If you have any questions, or would like to order some items, please contact: Kathy & Bill Whitney 75 Kingsbury Street Needham, MA 02192 781-449-2063 19th Annual New London Windezvous Saturday and Sunday, July 10th and 11th are the dates for the 19th annual Friendship Sloop Society Windezvous to be held on the Thames River in New London, Connecticut. The weekend will feature entertainment and fireworks along the magnificent new waterfront. Information regarding the 2004 Sailfest activi- ties can be found at WWW.SAILFEST.ORG. Arrangements have been made for visiting Friendship sloops to raft up on the south side of the custom house pier right along the downtown waterfront Friday evening July 9th through Sunday, July 11th. Skippers meetings and the end-of-race finale will take place in the nearby Customs House. The Custom House now has a bathhouse where skippers and crew can enjoy a shower. The races will start at 1100 on Saturday and Sunday in the Thames River off New London and Fort Trumbull. The races on Saturday will be adjusted so we can end the days activities before 1700. For further information and / or to register, please contact Greg Roth at 800-845-3156 (please leave a message), 860-442-2747 or e-mail Greg at scuppers-@worldnet.att.net. Schooner Bowdoin The Schooner Bowdoin is going to be at the Rockland Public Landing or MBNA dock on Friday July 23 to take Governor Baldacci and other Maine officials out for a sail. While most of us won’t quite be there on that date, it sure would be great if any sloops in the area could hoist sail that Friday and sail along. Dues Reminder If you haven’t mailed your annual dues in for 2004, please send them to: Caroline Phillips, Society Secretary 164 Sturbridge Road Charlton, MA 01507 Racing Numbers The Race Committee is asking skippers to use sloop numbers for racing. Numbers do not have to be permanently attached to sails, they can be attached to shrouds. Numbers should be large enough to be read from a reasonable distance. Pulpit Harbor Rendezvous Vice Commodore Charlie Burnham and the Resolute will be in Pulpit Harbor the night of Sunday, July 25th. Charlie has suggested that the fleet rendezvous at Pulpit Harbor that day before continuing on to Rockland on Monday. For those not familiar with Pulpit Harbor, it is a snug and comfortable harbor for the fleet to gather, with a large anchorage area. It’s a short sail across Penobscot Bay to Rockland Harbor on Monday. – 4 –

Roger Duncan Letter Roger sent the following letter dated December 16, 2003 from the New England Rehab Hospital in Portland to Commodore John Rand: The day on which you came into the hospital and told me that the Society had made me an honorary member was a red letter day for Mary and me. Since the founding of the Society in 1961 and that first race, it has been a good time all the way. I remem- ber Bill Pendleton in Black Jack approaching a crossing situa- tion on the port tack and shouting in a full gale voice “Hold your course.” He was usually right although there were some close calls. There was a start from anchor with a few bumped topsides and a windward start in a NE breeze with the first mark less than ÂĽ mile to windward of the line. But it was not all racing. There was the night Eastward and Jolly Buccaneer drifted together while we were all celebrating up town and Swanson’s cat came aboard Eastward and was marooned there. Mary saw the cat but no one believed her and not until the next afternoon when the Swanson girl called the cat did the creature emerge. There was the reenactment of the Arnold Expedition to Quebec in 1975 with Eastward, Schoodic, Mary Ann and one other sloop forming the fleet. The best of it has been the people: Betty Roberts, Bill Danforth, Bob Lash and the younger people who have brought the older sloops like Sazerac, and Wings of the Morning and Paul Haley in Tern. I hesitate to try to write a list because I know that in my present super sanitary environment I will omit important people. But I cannot forget Bruce Morang and Phil Nichols. I value the honor and the high opinion that goes with it. I will treasure the plaque that symbolizes it and – I hope – see you at Rockland. With a salute to the Friendship Sloop Society, Roger F. Duncan Do You Charter Your Sloop? A number of our members charter their sloops, either as a skippered charter, a bareboat charter or take out parties for day sailing. We would like to add an item to the Sloop Society website where those interested in chartering a sloop could find a sloop that was available. If you charter your sloop, send a note to Newsletter@FSS.ORG with the name of the sloop, homeport, telephone number, and website address if available. Also, if you own a marine-oriented business, we would like to list your business on the website with links to your website and telephone number. Seasons Greetings The holiday season will indeed start six months early this year – for we have just learned that on June 25th, Governor Baldacci will sign a proclamation naming the day as “Ralph Stanley Day” in the State of Maine! Membership News Audrey Too #142 has recently been sold by Ron Shaw of Peaks Island, ME to John Moran Sr. of Tiverton RI. Our newest member is Mike Dulien of Costa Mesa, CA. Mike has purchased Josie, #143 from Harold Averbuck. Josie’s homeport will be Gloucester MA. Sloop #80, Downeast has been sold to Marshall Chapman of Kentucky but she will “live” in Isle L’Haut, Maine. #264 Margaret F was sold to Dr.Roy McCauley of Mass. #97 Gannet was sold by Tom and Peggy Miller to Brian Wedge of Harpswell, ME. #146 Fiddlehead was purchased by Greg Roth of New London, CT. Greg is also rebuilding #22 Ellie T. Other new members are: LaMonte Krause & Stacey Patterson of La Jolla, CA, owners of #255, Genevieve. Joining as friends of the Sloop Society are Bob & Corinne Szacik of Hampton, NH. Society Officers Bob Monk, Jr. 3 School Hill Lane North Reading, MA 01864 (978)-664-6812 David Graham 7 Batchelder Road Marblehead, MA 01945 (781)-631-6680 Membership Chairman Race Committee Chairman John Wojcik 347 Lincoln Street Norwell. MA 02061 (781)-659-2820 Roger Duncan P.O. Box 66 East Boothbay, ME (207)-633-4780 Newsletter Editor Yearbook Editor Jonathan Leavy 4 Eden Avenue Newton, MA 02465 (617)-527-3226 Caroline Philips 164 Sturbridge Road Charlton, MA 01507 (508)-867-0503 Treasurer Secretary Charlie Burnham 30 Southern Avenue Essex, MA 01929 (978)-768-7146 John Rand 20 Dryad Woods Road Raymond, ME 04071 (207)-655-4277 Vice-Commodore Commodore Ralph Stanley “Tales of a Maine Boatbuilder” Ralph Stanley and FSS member Craig Milner, have collaborated on an autobiography on Ralph’s life. With the help of Craig, who is a veteran boatbulding journalist and professional photog- rapher, Ralph tells the fascinating, colorful story of his family, his neighbors, his boats, and his extraordinary career. The book, titled “Tales of a Maine Boatbuilder”, is to be published in June by Down East Books, and will be 160 pages with black & white photos and drawings. The official launch party will be held at the Southwest Harbor Library on Friday evening, June 25 from 6-8 p.m. A book signing has also been scheduled during the Society Homecoming for Wednesday, July 28, at Archipelago (The Island Institute) in Rockland. There is a possibility, weather permitting, that the book signing could be moved to the waterfront. – 5 –

This column is a forum for sharing the vast range of practical experience accumulated by our membership and not just my favor- ite boat maintenance topics. It is intended to be the place where you, the reader, can ask technical questions and either obtain direct answers in this column or direction to appropriate reference material. Well “popular demand’ struck again I’m happy to say, so we’ll depart from the originally planned series of articles and respond to a request for some maintenance / repair advise. Before proceeding though, I have to admit that what you are about to read is based only on my limited experience. I am not a professional boat builder, nor am I in the boat repair business. But aside from the legal disclaimers, I have been messing around with boats for 35 years and during that time needed to repair a lot of different things myself (due primarily to lack of cash). If any of the pros that read this want to comment, please…please, let’s hear from you! So here it is springtime, a very rainy spring at that, and a reader asked a question about leaks in the cabin top, especially around the companionway hatch. Well as luck has it, two years ago this was my problem as well. It was discovered during a real downpour while sitting at our mooring. It was just a drip. Nothing to get excited about. Just one of those really annoying splat…splat…splat noises that overpowers your concentration when you are trying to read a really great sea story on a dark rainy night. The only good part of this leak was that it wasn’t right over my berth. So putting the book down, troubleshooting started! There wasn’t much wind that night, so the water couldn’t have been blown in past the baffles under the hatch. Further investigation revealed that pressing on the trim piece at the forward side of the hatch opening forced water to squeeze out. The only way the water could get there was to come in under the hatch rail. If that was the case, the water was also getting into the wood cabin top. I don’t know how long it had been going on, but I suddenly saw my biodegradable boat rotting out from under (over?) me as I slept. The construction of the cabin tops on our Friendships is as varied as the boats themselves. Wood (of course), laminated plywood, laminated plywood sheathed in fiberglass, solid fiberglass, and cored fiberglass (usually with balsa) are some of the construction methods that are used. Leaks in any type of construction require at least minimum inspection to see what the total extent of the damage or deterioration might be and locate the source of the leak. My boat’s cabin top is fiberglass-sheathed plywood, but before we get into my story, let’s review a selection of the initial actions that should or could occur. 1. Localize the source of the water intrusion as best you can. This step can be the hardest because water can migrate a consider- able distance before it drips or runs down the headliner. 2. If it’s a small leak get a thumbtack and piece of string. If the leak is larger, get a long towel or even a long section of paper towel. Stick the thumbtack into the wood as close to the leak as possible, and put the end of the string or towel into a bucket. The water will run down the string or towel and quietly deposit itself in the bucket. 3. Now go back to sleep or reading your book. You have done all that you can do until daylight, and you won’t have to listen to…. splat….splat….splat anymore. 4. Oh yes, remember where the bucket is so you don’t step into it in the morning. When daylight comes you have several alternatives. Which one you choose depends on several things; boat construction, size of the leak, size of your wallet, level of patience, etc. Going from complex (expensive but thorough) to easy (quick but hazardous to the long term health of your boat), here are the choices as I see them. A. Complete disassembly of the companionway trim and framing and inspection of the area for deterioration. Radical surgery! B. Localized disassembly of the structure in the leak area and a limited inspection. A measured approach. C. Caulk the area of the leak and hope there is no hidden damage. The ostrich approach. Whatever the case, you should not ignore it. You may choose to have someone else fix it if the alternatives are either “A” or “B”, but I would at least give it a good inspection. The decisions you make are based on what you find during the inspection and many of the factors I joked about above, but I think the basis of the decision is driven by the construction of the cabin top and your basic skills. With a solid fiberglass cabin top you can probably get away with choice “C” since fiberglass has a real high rot resistance. However, if the boat has wooden rails you may want to remove and re-bed them so the rails themselves don’t rot. This repair should be well within anyone’s capability. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the cored fiberglass construction might require very detailed inspection that can only be accomplished if you disassemble all of the companionway trim so you can see what’s behind it. If the folks who made the boat didn’t seal the core completely when they were cutting the cabin top to fit the companionway, you have a problem. The reason for this radical surgery is the fact that any water that leaks into the sandwich is trapped. It soaks into the core material and if the material is wood, such as balsa, it rots. A rotten core significantly reduces the struc- tural strength of sandwich construction. Fixing a large section of damaged cabin top that’s made with cored construction is better left to a pro. It involves cutting out the interior surface and exposing the core so you can rip out the bad core material and laminate new material into the void. Diagnosing the extent of the damage can be accomplished with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Obviously the primary diagnostic tool is your eyes. Visual inspection will usually give (Continued to Page 7) – 6 – Tech Tips #10 Written by “The Old Salt”- Bill Whitney

you many clues on where a leak is and the extent of the damage. Hidden damage requires a different troubleshooting method. I like to use sound, like sonar, to hear the differences in material density of the wood or whatever is under the fiberglass. Good solid wood sounds like …well…good solid wood. When you hit it, it goes thump. No hollowness, no echo, just a deep base tone. Rot eats the lignin in the wood leaving voids in the wood’s structure. When you hit it, it sounds hollow. Its’ one of those things that when you hear it, you’ll know! The best way to familiarize yourself with the sound is to start tapping on good wood and work your way toward a known rotten section. I used a small leather mallet because it won’t damage the surface, but you can use almost anything. Just remem- ber that the hammer may cause more damage than you want, so tap judiciously. Another way you can locate the damage in a non-cored cabin top is to remove the headliner and do a visual inspection. If the damage is extensive, it will be obvious. You’ll probably pull pieces of the wood or plywood off with the headliner. Less extensive damage can be difficult to locate. One of the telltales will be the stain that the water leaves on the surface of the wood. After repeated wet / dry cycles a residue that contains the breakdown byproducts forms on the surface. Probing the area with a small penknife or ice pick will usually show you where the weak / rotten areas are located. Plywood can be a little tricky. Because of its’ layered construction, water and rot can migrate down one layer yet leave the other layers untouched. Tapping will usually work, but you may need to take core samples to really home in on the problem. Since I had fiberglass-sheathed plywood, and very little external evidence of water intrusion, I used two methods to locate the extent of my problem; sounding with the leather mallet and drilled core samples. First I tapped….tapped….tapped on the fiberglass sheath on the outside of the top. Using the differences in the sound I outlined the suspect area which was about the size of an 8 ½ X 11 piece of paper. I marked the area off with a pencil. Then I took a thin-walled plug cutter and cut a hole into the underside of the top near the point where it was leaking. The hole was just deep enough to get a good wood sample but not deep enough the cut through the fiberglass. This first sample showed me that wood was not rotten, so I took three additional samples. One was about 6 in. from the first, and again showed no rot. The last two were taken in the center of the area I mapped and again about 6-in. apart. The conclusion of all this probing was that my problem was delamination, not rot. Evidently there was just enough flexing of the delaminated section so that when I walked on the cabin top the slight movement broke the seal of the bedding compound under the hatch rail allowing it to leak. It hadn’t been leaking for long and there was no indication of moisture in the samples. Now the issue was how to repair it. For this I went to the Gougeon Brothers “West System” epoxy repair book. In it they outline a procedure where you drill a pattern of small holes in the top of the cabin, about an inch or two apart, that will accept the tip of a small syringe. But the first things that had to be fixed were the holes cut with the plug cutter on the inside of the cabin. Luckily the holes took the next plug size up, so armed with a little thickened epoxy they were set home and allowed to dry. Next, a thinned mix of epoxy was injected into each hole of the pattern that covered the area I had mapped while troubleshooting. The trick is to fit the tip of the syringe tightly into the lowest hole and inject enough epoxy so it oozes out of the holes above it or beside it. When it’s full of epoxy, put a match stick or wood plug in the hole so the epoxy doesn’t run out. The epoxy was left over the next week to setup. Finishing the repair was fairly straightforward. The process of sanding, filling, fairing, sanding, filling, and final fairing; followed by priming and painting, and painting took the next two weekends. The job came out pretty good, in spite of my amateur status. The best part is that the leak hasn’t returned. I could have had the boat yard do the job, but I always subscribe to the philosophy that if I pay someone else to do the job, I’ve lost twice; once when I paid them the money, and again because I lost the opportunity to learn something. We Need Your Help A number of possible topics have been raised as possible subjects for future articles / illustrations in upcoming newsletters. But to do so, we need your input as to what your experience and ideas are on the following topics. Please send your input to Newsletter@FSS.ORG. And if you would like to add an item to the list, send that along too.  Lifelines – Options for rigging.  Mainsheet traveller – Preventing lower mainsheet block from getting caught to windward on gybes.  Fairleads arrangements for the roller jib sheets.  Topsail tack.  Topsail sheet whiplash preventer.  Topping lift – how to get mechanical advantage.  Preventing chafe of anchor/mooring line against bobstay and whisker stay.  Sail longevity and sail manufacturers.  Type of line used for running rigging – three strand dacron, braided, colored?  Reefing under way – hints & tips.  Heaving to – hints & tips.  Arrangements for access to the engine compartment.  What is the tacking angle of different sloops / builders / models. – 7 – Tech Tips #10 (Continued from Page 6)

Rockland Hotel Rooms The Sloop Society has arranged with the Tradewinds Hotel to set aside a block of 18 rooms that offer a 15% discount. The rooms range from about $70 with no view, to a couple of rooms with a balcony and view which are about $130. Lisa is the contact (1-800- 834-3130). After July 1st the hotel will let go of the rooms and discount. Friendship Sloop Society 164 Sturbridge Road Charlton, MA 01507 Boston Antique & Classic Boat Festival The 22nd annual Boston Antique & Classic Boat Festival will be held this year at the Hawthorne Cove Marina in Salem, Mass. on August 28th & 29th. This celebration of maritime heritage includes vintage wooden sailboats, powerboats and hand powered craft, a nautical crafts market, classic car concourse, entertainment, food, parade and more. Boats on display range from a 19th century canoe and steam launch to elegant 1920s-30s era mahogany runabouts and cabin cruisers to the sail flotilla of sloops and sharpies to yawls and schooners. For boat entry information, please call (617)-666-8530 or (617)-846-7332. Sloops do not need to be in “show” condition. The spirit of the Festival is to gather together the grand old craft and those who love them. – 8 –