Flicka Cruising
Island Hopping Off Seattle
By Joshua Wheeler · page 4 · Spring 2014
Flying a chute aboard s/y SAMPAGUITA. Photo: Joshua Wheeler © 2014
Dates: Distance: Moving Time: Moving Average:
April 2-3, 2014 30.86 Nautical Miles 8 hours, 29 minutes 3.6 knots
Bainbridge Island to pick up Kim, and back to Ballard Mill Marina. Ballard Mill Marina is in the Washington Ship Canal, so a transit through the locks is necessary to reach Puget Sound. Being that it is before the “season,” traffic was very light and we glided right into the locks behind another sailboat without losing pace. Down, then out Shilshole Channel, as the railroad bridge has plenty of clearance for us.
On Wednesday, April 2, 2014, which is my “Saturday,” I left my berth at Ballard Mill Marina in Seattle at 12:25 pm aboard Sampaguita. I was single-handing now, but my The wind was blowing from the S-SE at about intentions were to sail to Blake Island for an nine knots, so once I cleared Nun “2,” I raised overnight, then head to Winslow on the main and the jib, put her on a port tack 4
pointed as close to south as I could and had an amazing three hour sail to the Blake Island Marina with blue skies and a favorable flood. That port tack lasted seventy minutes without handing the tiller and reminds you of the importance of staying on the boat. As we approached Blake, the wind increased and a gust of fifteen knots that dipped the port rail in the water. The boat dug in, rounded up and charged ahead. It was exciting and over soon enough. We had arrived so I handed the sails and headed into the marina. Flicka Friends F
There were eleven boats, including SAMPAGUITA, for the Wednesday overnight at Blake Island Marina. This was nine more boats than when I was last there in February. So maybe the season has begun? The night was calm and I only recall one uncomfortable ferry wake rolling in. I have not figured out the weather/tidal factors that dictate this, but I choose my spot with them in mind. Usually, as far in as practical. There was a Bristol Channel Cutter, PENGUIN from Olympia, on the other dock. Was that a SSSS burgee flying from the spreader? Under overcast skies, I left Blake the next morning at 8:15 am to catch the ebb back north. A south wind of ten knots pushed us along on a broad reach at four knots. My goal was to reach Bainbridge Island City Dock by 10:00am, as I had made plans to meet Kim there at that time. She would be taking the ferry over from Seattle to meet me and help sail the last leg back to Ballard Mill Marina.
Waves and scrollwork: s/y SAMPAGUITA. Photo: Joshua Wheeler © 2014
I sailed up to the dock at 10:30 am and paused a moment for a stretch of my legs. We were sailing off within fifteen minutes. Before we were even to the ferry landing, we could see that the wind had increased out on the Sound, so we put a reef in and readied ourselves for a beat out the Eagle Harbor channel. After one false start to give an incoming ferry some room, we had a clear opportunity to tack our way out. It was exciting. We had the tide with us running out of the harbor, but against fifteen knots of wind. It was bumpy, but we were able to make it out and around the reef before the returning ferry needed to make the passage. Once around the reef and headed northeast to Shilshole, the ride smoothed out and we broad reached at four to six knots. By 12:35pm we were headed back up Shilshole Channel towards the locks. We cautiously tied to the waiting pier as it was nearing low tide and fended off the barnacles. Our wait was twelve minutes as a tug and barge navigated the large locks. Then we got our turn up the small one. This transit was smooth and Kim, SAMPAGUITA and I were in the berth at Ballard Mill Marina by 1:44pm, April 3, 2014.
Another use for a spinnaker pole: lounging in a hammock aboard s/y SAMPAGUITA. Photo: Joshua Wheeler © 2014
The weather became a bit more unsettled, so we were happy we made good time. It was a great two days sailing with enough wind and favorable tides to keep us headed in the right direction. 5 F
Head & Galley Building s/y RED RASCAl Part Five of Twelve
Photo 1: With more room in the head compartment, RED RASCAL feels like a much larger sailboat. Photo: Bob Collier © 2014
When we last finished we had turned the boat over and installed the bulkheads. Now we’re ready to build the interior. The process began on the port side with the enclosed head and then continued clockwise around the interior, head, galley, V-berth, and ending with the dinette. The walls of the HEAD are formed by the first (main) bulkhead, the opposite wall formed by the second bulkhead (partial), the inside wall of the boat (properly called the “ceiling”) the third wall, and the door to the head the fourth wall. The bulkheads have been bolted and epoxied in place (Photos 4 & 5).
box (upper right), and a two-door cabinet (lower opening). The floor has been given a coat of epoxy.
Also note the garage window in the background-it is level! It is the boat that is at an 82o slant.
This epoxy coating extends 4” up the sides of the walls. This waterproofs the floor for the shower (note drain at the lower right and pipe for the toilet outflow to the holding tank, lower left, in first photo). The cabinet doors are cut from a single piece of Padauk, as are all the trims throughout the boat. Padauk is classified as an “exotic” but not endangered redwood from western Africa.
The interior of the head as it looks now is shown above in Photo 1. There is a removable sink that is not in the picture. This was removed to show the inside better. It is entirely possible for you to convert your Flicka interior to include an enclosed head.
In this next PHOTO, one can see the grain running from one cabinet door to the other. In the adjacent PHOTO the toilet has been installed along with the toilet paper dispenser, the shower box with hot and cold faucets and The bulkhead walls have been paneled with shower head. The toilet seat, which originally poplar tongue-and-groove strips. The was plastic, was used as a model for the openings on the far wall are for a recessed wooden one of Padauk. A lattice grating was toilet paper dispenser (upper left), the shower built for the floor. 6
As to other modifications, I drew many sketches of different ideas I had for the interior. I would sketch during lunch-one such sketch on a paper napkin is shown (not exactly artistic but it nails down one’s thoughts). An enclosed head will compromise other aspects of the interior-the pilot berth would have to go, but this will open up a great deal of space for storage in the cockpit. The galley counter will be less (to help improve this area I built a pullout cutting board and placed the ice box behind the stove and sink). Flicka Friends F
In the PHOTO of the finished head, the shelf pops up to provide access to the plumbing for the shower/sink. A medicine cabinet was recessed into the bulkhead, which can be partially seen in the upper right of the photo. Another thought on the conversion of your boat to include an enclosed head is to place it on the starboard side (as is the case for production Flickas). This would only reduce the saloon seats and still maintain the pilot berth and not reduce the galley counter space. Next, is the GALLEY. The framing was first installed. The surface of the galley was then covered with Formica. In Photo 6, you can see the water heater and the extensive insulation for the ice box. Photo 11 shows is the finished galley with the dovetailed drawers. The dovetailing was something I had wanted to do, although not necessary. This type of joinery for the drawers was picked up while surfing the channels on TV. I came across a German furniture maker who demonstrated cutting dovetails without making any measurements or marks on the wood.
Photo 2: The plan for RED RASCAL’s water systems. Photo: Bob Collier © 2014
One does use a marking gauge to scribe the depth of the tails. Then all the rest of the procedure is done only by “eyeballing” where the cuts will be made. I was dubious at first, but after practicing on scrap wood several times, I found I could do it as well. So, with some trepidation, I cut a piece of Padauk (not a cheap wood either) with dovetails to be the frontispiece of a drawer. I ended up constructing all the drawers this way. The top drawer is only a drop-down for soap and sponges due to the sink blocking any depth to this drawer. Photo 13 shows the pullout trash can behind the right hand cabinet. Just above the trash can is the handle to pull out the cutting board. Alongside the sink is a 2-burner alcohol stove. No propane on board. I really don’t care for loud noises. The DRAINAGE for the sinks (galley and head), ice box, shower, water heater, and T/P valve is into a sump “box” in the bilge. I bought a “Shower Box” (West Marine) for the bilge (Photo 8). This sump box collects all the drain water from these fixtures. When the box is nearly full, the automatic float-switch clicks on and pumps the water overboard via a hose that runs to an outlet just below the port rail.
Photo 3: Change This Text! Photo: Bob Collier © 2014
The outlet hose can be seen running from the box to the upper part of Photo 9. This obviates a below-the-water line through-hull valve. I have inserted check valves into such 7 F
Photo 4: Roughed in head compartment. Photo: Bob Collier © 2014
Photo 5: Head compartment painted and ready for the head. Photo: Bob Collier © 2014
overboard hoses to prevent any back flow or inflow (such as when the rail might be buried on a hard tack). Photo 9 shows that the system works. I poured a bucket of water into the galley sink and the result was an almost immediate outflow of water from the outer drainage opening. We’ve covered a lot in this chapter and the interior is really taking shape. Chapter Six will continue with the interior construction of BUNGS and V-BERTH. Then in Chapter Seven we will discuss the dinette arrangement. This dinette was designed so that one can change the table and seating from two people to four. Also, the setup can be altered to provide two more beds in the form of BUNK BEDS. Ahhh, the magic continues!
Photo 6: Roughed in galley. Photo: Bob Collier © 2014
Photo 7: The head and shower in place. Photo: Bob Collier © 2014
Photo 8: The plumbing system is complete! Photo: Bob Collier © 2014
Photo 9: The bilge system works! Photo: Bob Collier © 2014
Photo 10: Cutting the dovetail joints for the drawers.
Photo 11: Beautiful dovetail joinery in the galley.
Photo 13: A trash can has a place in the galley.
After being hoisted by a crane and lowered back into the Galveston Bay, s/y KITTIWAKE is in her boat slip. Photo: Hal DeVaney © 2014
Reviewing all the pictures I took after Ike is a real wake up call for what can happen in a major storm. The tide in the marina was about 12 feet. No floating docks. Making matters worse was the large outboard boat barn that burned during the height of the storm, toasting 300 boats on their stands. Flicka Friends
I was amazed that s/y KITTIWAKE made it through. Even the outboard and Monitor were essentially unscathed. Having her hoisted back into the water cost me $1800! It was scalp time for the recovery companies. The cabin hatch was open slightly, and I had a few gallons of water inside. When they were lowering her back into the water, the bilge pump came on and pumped what was left
overboard. I fired up the outboard and motored back to my slip. Every thing is rebuilt now, until the "next big one hits" Which is sure to happen. It could have been worse. There was another Flicka a few slips down from me. Luckily, the dock lines about s/y OUTBOUND held. 11 F
Early hurricane Ike’s effects on s/y KITTIWAKE with the beginning of a 12’ surge in Galveston Bay. Photo: Hal DeVaney © 2014
Hurricane Ike stopped by Galveston, Texas to move s/y KITTIWAKE into dry storage from her boat slip. Photo: Hal DeVaney © 2014
A closer inspection of s/y KITTIWAKE after being moved into dry storage by Hurricane Ike on Galveston Bay in 2008. Photo: Hal DeVaney © 2014
Despite the close contact, s/y KITTIWAKE, the engine and Monitor windvane were not damaged. Photo: Tom Davison © 2012
The beginning of the $1,800 hoist for s/y KITTIWAKE. Luckily, there was little damage beyond scratches. Photo: Hal DeVaney © 2014
Once KITTIWAKE was back in the water, the bilge pump kicked in, and the engine worked for motoring to the slip. Photo: Hal DeVaney © 2014