The Fifty-Dollar Sailboat
December 9, 2000
Winter has set in. We've already had our first snow of the year, 3 1/2 inches last Sunday morning. So this is the time of year to prepare for the continuation of the journey next spring and summer.
I have been busy with work, of course. There are always people to visit, sermons to prepare, Bible studies to lead, and the burying of the dead - all of which I have been doing quite a bit of lately. But on the side, I have continued to obsess about my venture down the river.
In fact, I study the Bible a lot. Our Disciple Bible Study is a 34-week adventure through the Bible - one that may be more difficult that sailing across Kentucky. We are now on week 13, and have just finished studying through Isaiah. Hebrew poetry is not my favorite kind of reading (narrative is), but I did find this gem in Isaiah 43:2:
"When you pass through the
waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they
shall not overwhelm you."
See, even the Lord is interested in sailing down the rivers of life. And I take some comfort that God promises to be with those who "pass through the waters." That's me.
My first obsession of the Fall was foul-weather gear. I've been coveting an excellent set from the West Marine catalog.
Foul-weather gear is important for, well, foul weather. And although I was able to pick two beautiful September days for my previous journeys, I know that will not always be the case. Sailing in bad weather in an open boat is not fun and potentially dangerous. But good foul-weather gear is expensive.
I had decided that I would use Christmas as my excuse to splurge on a nice set of breathable gear. That "breathable" is an important word in foul-weather gear. Normal rain gear is waterproof, but makes you clammy and becomes uncomfortable if you have to wear it very long.
I figured that with the right clothing, I would be less restricted on the days that I could sail. My work allows very few free days, especially several days together. If I didn't have to worry so much about the weather being just right, I would have lots more days to pick from. And I think I will need lots of days to complete this trip.
Then Thanksgiving came, and I found a whole new obsession. My brother-in-law Ralph, from Buffalo, Kentucky, is also interested in sailing. Actually, I got him interested in it, I think. But Ralph is a boat-buyer and a boat-builder. He has built four or five plywood boats, and he has bought four or five boats ranging in size from 12 feet to 22 feet. I don't know just how many he currently owns. He sells them about as quickly as he buys them.
Well, Ralph found a boat on Ebay going for $50, and he got bit by the bidding bug. He couldn't stand the thought of someone buying a 20-foot sailboat for only $50, so he bid. Next thing he knew, he had bought a $50 sailboat! The problem was that the boat was in Maryland. So Ralph took a long weekend, borrowed a trailer and headed for Maryland.
When we arrived for Thanksgiving, there was this 20-foot boat in his front yard. I couldn't wait for a tour of the fifty-dollar sailboat, which Ralph was eager to supply. I took several digital pictures of the boat. All weekend, I coveted the boat and his deal. And Ralph repeatedly hinted that he needed another boat like a hole in the head. I said I ought to buy the boat off him, and he said he'd be glad to sell it. But I wasn't sure.
I don't like to make snap decisions, especially about money - however small it may be. And I didn't want to rob Ralph of his great deal if he wasn't really interested in selling it. So I left Buffalo sans sailboat.
But I've been obsessing about it ever since. I kept looking at my digital photographs, and the sweet lines of the boat captivated me. Ralph said the boat was a Jensen 20. I'd never heard of that kind of boat. And it's in rough shape, as you can imagine for $50. The inside is a mess - needs a major cleaning and rebuilding of bulkheads and berths. The outside is dirty, and the bottom needs painting. Ralph has the mast and rigging, but there is no boom and no sails. Fortunately, Ralph has managed to purchase a trailer, which he is willing to include in the deal.
I ransacked the Internet trying to find information about a Jensen boat. Most of my searches came up with Jensen/Cal. After further investigation, I found that Jensen is the maker of the well-respected Cal boats. I found a Cal 21 site and discovered that all the pictures and drawings matched this "Jensen" perfectly. It is a Cal 21!
The web sites were very helpful. Many showed specific steps for restoring this boat. Others included the original owner's manuals and other photographs. After studying these sites carefully, I decided that restoring this old boat was something I could actually do. (http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/caledonia/230/brochure.html)
So I e-mailed Ralph and made an offer, one which would cover the cost of the boat, trailer, and his expenses in delivering the boat. Ralph jumped at the chance to unload it on his brother-in-law.
Now this boat is attractive for many reasons. The most important one is that it has a cabin - an out-of-the-weather place to sleep! In fact, this boat has four berths, and plenty of room to store gear. That would take away the great concern that I have about finding tent camping sites along the bank of the river. So far I have not had to spend the night on the river. I had figured out a way to actually stretch out on my little Flying Junior, but it wouldn't be comfortable, and I would not be out of the weather. So the thought of a 20-footer with cabin symbolized the epitome of luxury to me.
The second attraction comes from being a bigger boat. My little Flying Junior is a wet boat. The freeboard is what? Six inches? And the Ohio is noted for lots of barge traffic, kicking up those big waves.
I don’t worry about sinking since I hold to the small-cork-on-the-big ocean theory. Little boats can ride the waves, and mine does not sink thanks to built-in flotation. But it is wet. Even sailing fast can result in a wet ride.
But this Cal 21 is a dry boat! Nice high sides. Nice high bow. It would have no problems with the biggest river waves.
And the boat has sweet lines. I just couldn't sail an ugly boat. My friend Ron had a big MacGregor back in Arkansas. I envied the bigger boat, but I wouldn't be caught dead in that ugly box. Your boat needs to be so beautiful that it makes your heart skip when you see it. Mine has been skipping ever since Thanksgiving. I think I'm in love.
Of course, this boat has some major drawbacks - mainly the restoration. It needs lots of work, but it's all work that I can do. A couple of years ago I bought a great book entitled, This Old Boat by Don Casey. It's a great book that tells everything about restoring an old fiberglass boat. Hey, if I've got a book on it, I can do anything!
And the web sites were very helpful with specific drawings and information about restoring this particular boat.
One of the critical issues is the swing keel. The Cal 21 has a swing down keel that is very convenient for trailering. Just wench that baby up and the draft is only 9 inches! With the keel down the draft is 4 foot 3 inches.
The problem with this swing keel arrangement is that this particular keel weighs 360 pounds! That's a bugger! This boat's keel is in need of major repair and is separated from the boat right now. One of the web sites shows exactly how to repair it. I don't worry about the repairing; I worry about the lifting.
How do you manage a 360-pound keel? I don't even know if I can roll over something that heavy. And how many strong men would it take to lift it? How will I get it lifted into place under the boat when it is repaired? Those are the questions that have been keeping me awake at night.
I want to take the keel with me to Arkansas over Christmas so that my Dad can do some welding on it, but can I carry a 360-pound keel in the car? I guess I would have plenty of room if I threw out my wife and son, but I don't think that is a real option.
Well, I have a third obsession. You can tell I've not been sleeping well, can't you? I needed charts of the Ohio River. Road maps just don't cut it. There's no way of really telling much about a river from the road maps. So I logged on the Internet to find a place to order navigation charts from the Corps of Engineers.
Hey! The Internet is wonderful! The first thing I found was Ohio River Navigation Charts actually posted on the Internet (http://www.lrd-wc.usace.army.mil/navcharts.html). Government publications are not copyrighted. So I set myself to downloading all 150 charts showing the river from Catlettsburg to Cairo. Turns out this little adventure is 667 miles across Kentucky, not counting the 100 or so miles down the Big Sandy.
I've yet to give the charts an adequate study, but from my first looks, I can tell that I won't have trouble finding boat ramps. And with the Cal 21 (assuming I get it restored by Spring) I won't have to worry about campsites. I can pull into any nearby bay or stream, throw out the anchor (The Cal 21 doesn't have an anchor either), and spend the night.
So you can see that I have my work cut out for me, studying the charts, getting the Cal 21 home, repainting, rebuilding the inside woodwork, finding a boom, buying sails and an anchor, and planning the vacation days. The winter will be busy.