SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

2018 Sailing Season on the Chesapeake

127K views 1K replies 57 participants last post by  T37Chef 
#1 ·
To all a happy and safe New Year from Haleakula
Here’s to a great sailing season on the Chessie
Mods please make this a sticky. Thanks
 
#800 ·
Just received a photo from the marina, which is now underwater due to the Susquehanna River flooding situation. Sometime this evening, 25 flood gates will be open at Conowingo Dam, most of Port Deposit will be evacuated, MD Route 222 between US1 and Port Deposit will be underwater and my boat will be well above the height of the bulkhead it is moored to. Fortunately, I run long lines, which should be able to handle the rise of water level. I'll be headed there tomorrow, just to be sure.

Donna, all bets are off for sailing this coming weekend - the current in the river in front of the marina is probably 5 MPH faster than my hull speed. If I were to pull out of the slip, I would be washed downriver into the Amtrac Bridge, which would result in the total destruction of the boat in a matter of seconds.

I just looked at the long range forecast, which is for rain beginning again Sunday and continuing through next Saturday. Looks like I'll be stuck in the marina for at least another two weeks - DAMNED!

Gary :cool:
 
#804 ·
Just received a photo from the marina, which is now underwater due to the Susquehanna River flooding situation. Sometime this evening, 25 flood gates will be open at Conowingo Dam, most of Port Deposit will be evacuated, MD Route 222 between US1 and Port Deposit will be underwater and my boat will be well above the height of the bulkhead it is moored to. Fortunately, I run long lines, which should be able to handle the rise of water level. I'll be headed there tomorrow, just to be sure.

Donna, all bets are off for sailing this coming weekend - the current in the river in front of the marina is probably 5 MPH faster than my hull speed. If I were to pull out of the slip, I would be washed downriver into the Amtrac Bridge, which would result in the total destruction of the boat in a matter of seconds.

I just looked at the long range forecast, which is for rain beginning again Sunday and continuing through next Saturday. Looks like I'll be stuck in the marina for at least another two weeks - DAMNED!

Gary :cool:
One consolation.....no bottom growth with that kind of current speed????
 
#802 · (Edited)
Yes, sent it over!

Got off the boat for first time since Saturday. Walked past the liquor store without stopping, so no wine tonight. After not walking more than 40' for 5 days I was too out of wine shape to carry it back.
 
#806 ·
Went to the marina today to check on the boat after last night's news reports of flooding in Port Deposit and additional flood gates being opened today.

Turns out the additional gates were not opened, so the number is still 19 gates, which put a couple feet of water in Port Deposit in the lower areas of town and closed MD Route 222. The boat was fine, and the water level at the marina has fallen about 4 feet from what it was light night.

Still much too high to even think about moving the boat from the marina. The bridge clearance is down to 45 feet, and the current is incredible. One of the workers at the marina said a large, pontoon boat was seen yesterday afternoon floating down the river, upside down. Today, we saw some huge trees and several 55-gallon drums float past the boat. Kinda scary.

Next week's forecast is just as bad as the past week, rain for at least 5 days in a row, some heavy downpours predicted. YUK!

Gary :cool:
 
#810 ·
I could not have accessed Saturday's Child without using a step ladder today. The gunwale was 6 feet above the finger pier. :)

The debris is still flowing over the spillways in huge volumes, and will eventually make it's way to the shores of the bay in the form of driftwood. It usually remains there until we get an unusually high tide, then it's back in the bay, heading south until it finally reaches the ocean. It's a navigational hazard for the entire bay, not just the upper bay, and I have seen some monster logs the size of telephone polls near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on many occasions. Hit one of those suckers and it could send your boat to the bottom.

Keep a sharp eye out all the time for these things - they don't go away.

Gary
 
#815 · (Edited)
We are out off of Annapolis heading to the Wye. Creek was about 2 feet above normal.
Not seeing one piece of debris from the Coniwingo Dam release, but it’s still early.

Winds light at 6-9 knots nnw
 
#817 ·
We are out off of Annapolis heading to the Wye. Creek was about 2 feet above normal. Not seeing one piece of debris from the Coniwingo Dam release, but it's still early. Winds light at 6-9 knots nnw
You passed me going back around Bloody Point yesterday. Don't know if you noticed, but there was a pod of dolphins feeding right near the green marker.

I anchored in the cove beyond Drum Pt. on the Wye. There was a beautiful full moon and only two other boats. Nobody in Shaw Bay, either.

I had the same experience with the debris - nothing on Saturday heading south, but yesterday on the way back, tons of trash and wooden debris all the way from Bloody Point to Annapolis.
 
#816 ·
Enjoying a beautiful sunset in a cove across from Dividing Creek, East fork of the Wye River
Simple dinner of NY Strip steaks and Southwest chopped salad. App was a ninja frozen drink with blueberries and peaches
Nice weather and sailing today. Perfect temps and humidty.
 
#818 ·
I didn't bother taking my boat out into the trash maelstrom. I helped a friend rig and sail his little gaff rigged yawl around Selby Bay.

I've finally settled on a replacement for the standard marine piston pump toilet- I've bought nearly everything for a Lavac vacuum flush toilet. I looked at several types of composting toilets including making cardboard mockups and none of them would fit without major modifications to ether the boat or the toilet so I gave up on that idea. Everyone I've spoken to who owns a Lavac says that they've never had to rebuild them and the only parts they've ever replaced were the seals on the toilet seat. This will be a winter project along with replacing the water heater.

I performed a general inspection of the boat, cleaning grass out of the raw water strainer, finalizing the lazy jack installation, repairing the engine compartment ventilator ducting and various other sundry post-cruise repairs.
 
#820 ·
I've finally settled on a replacement for the standard marine piston pump toilet- I've bought nearly everything for a Lavac vacuum flush toilet. I looked at several types of composting toilets including making cardboard mockups and none of them would fit without major modifications to ether the boat or the toilet so I gave up on that idea. Everyone I've spoken to who owns a Lavac says that they've never had to rebuild them and the only parts they've ever replaced were the seals on the toilet seat. This will be a winter project along with replacing the water heater.
I've had my 28-yr old Lavac for the past 22 years. Never had a clog or any other loss of function. The only issue has been periodic maintenance to remove lime scale from the joker valve on the Henderson/Whale bilge pump. Of course, lime scale is an issue with any joker valve. If you don't want to dismantle the pump and soak the joker valve in vinegar, you can use a pump rebuild kit, which is around $50 and includes part that didn't need replacement (and you still have to dismantle the pump.)
 
#819 ·
I do remember seeing a Whitby when we rounded Bloddy Point. Blow your horn at us next time.

It was like dodgeball on the way back to WhitehallBay. Like you I was amazed the few PB out there hadn’t really slowed down
 
#822 · (Edited)
I have Jabsco heads on my boat and have never seen why people despise them so much. The maintenance is changing joker valves and occasionally lubing the piston. In 5 years of ownership, I haven't had to rebuild the pump, and if I did, I'd just replace the entire pump assembly since it only sells for about 15 bucks more than a pump rebuild kit. I can't see why people would replace the entire toilet for $160 or so when all the moving parts are in the $80 pump assembly. There's also an appeal to the fact that Jabscos are so common that if you do get in a pinch and need parts, they can be had same day at West Marine or next day with Amazon or Defender. All that said, I can definitely see the appeal to a more elegant solution if we spent a lot more time aboard or entertained a lot of landlubbers aboard, but for weekending and the occasional longer cruise I've found the Jabsco to be satisfactory.
 
#823 ·
It's not just Jabsco's. Several people I know, tell me that they have to rebuild their entire pump assembly at least every 2 years, one person claims he has to do it annually. Some of these people own Jabsco's, one owns a Raritan. I and my buddy who owns a sistership both have Wilcox-Crittenden "Headmate" toilets. We bought our boats within a year of each other, rebuilt our toilets at the same time, and they both failed this month! (About 2 seasons of service). You seem to get better life from your toilet than the rest of us.

The other significant advantage to the Lavac is that it uses much less water. Most people report getting nearly double the amount of days before having to pump out. I'm looking forward to that!
 
#825 ·
I clean my entire system each fall when I winterize the boat by flushing about 5 gallons of hot, soapy water through the system. I use a mixture of Dawn dish detergent with a cup of chlorox bleach added. I allow the warm water to sit in the lines and pump for several minutes, then repeat the process until the entire 5 gallons has been flushed through the system. Then I winterize with about a half-gallon of pink stuff. This really does a fantastic job of cleaning the entire system, including the holding tank, which is pumped out until dry.

In 5 years, I have only had to replace a single Joker Valve and never had to rebuild the pump.

Gary :cool:
 
#826 ·
Btw you guys Straighten out your weather and driftwood issue. I may have to travel back through in a few months on way south.
 
#829 ·
I’m interested in hearing others’ comments on adding oils into the toilet water. I had read that anything that’s immiscible and less dense than water could form a layer on top the black water that prevents aeration and leads to anerobic bacteria. This film can be almost impossible to pump out since the waste port (or mascerator, if offshore) pulls from the bottom and loses its prime before the oil is removed.

Comments?
 
  • Like
Reactions: chef2sail
#831 ·
I'm interested in hearing others' comments on adding oils into the toilet water. I had read that anything that's immiscible and less dense than water could form a layer on top the black water that prevents aeration and leads to anerobic bacteria. This film can be almost impossible to pump out since the waste port (or mascerator, if offshore) pulls from the bottom and loses its prime before the oil is removed.

Comments?
This recommendation came from none other than Don Casey in one of the Annapolis Boat Show Seminars I attended.

We have done this for 12 years or so with good results. That's good enough practice evidence for me.

We don't douse our 24 gallon holding tank frequently with oil so I doubt there is any film on top preventing aerobic organisms. We only use a capful ( 1oz ) when we notice the piton or gasket is sticky. Actual evidence is no boat smell . We do flush in the spring with cider vinegar as well and have two vents to encourage aeration to promote the bacterial growth.

I have seen other recommendations from PS and others, but this does work for us so we will stick with the progrs
 
#832 ·
I never had a clog with a Jabsco or Wilcox-Crittenden, but I've never had a joker valve last as long as you guys have and the piston seals seem to fail rapidly. I guess if I'd known about the mineral oil trick, I could have tried it. That's pretty interesting. I really should get some of Casey's books.

Ah well, I've got the parts and I'm moving forward with the project.

Even if I was having better luck with piston style pumps, I still want the extra mileage that I'll get from my holding tank by using much less flushing water.
 
#834 ·
I like lava s don't get me wrong

Assuming the hose from the bottom of the toilet to the holding tank is the same length , and you want to flush it clean no matter which toilet....it holds the same amount of water. So where does the large water savings come from?
 
#833 ·
Well you could, you know, pump less to use less water! It’s free!

But I know you are really looking for support to justify what you want to do. Which isn’t isn’t needed on your boat with your money.
 
#837 ·
You know, I tried, really tried to figure out a way to install a dessicating toilet. The thought of zero plumbing was very enticing. I wanted to recover the holding tank space for an additional 20 gallon potable water tank. My head layout simply won't support it without me performing major fiberglass surgery or sacrificing access to the wet locker behind the toilet.

I got measurements for all the popular brands. The closest toilet that *might* fit, was the C-head "shorty" and even then, I'd have to trim the bottom of the wet locker door so that it would open. I decided that boat surgery for a reduced capacity toilet wasn't worth it.

The rain is mostly over, it's the traffic jam of garbage out there that's keeping me in port. I hate to say it, but this has been a terrible year for sailing. Extended winter, 3rd extremely wet spring in a row, a brief dry spell from end of June to middle July and back to epic rain fall. I'm hoping fervently hoping for drier, better weather from August through October.

I was very lucky to have my sailing vacation land during the only decent spot on the calendar.
 
#838 ·
Bleach is a big No-No for Joker valves and other gaskets in a head system... it's also not good for the holding tank.

Regardless of who might take responsibility for all the debris in the bay... it's really disappointing cuz I will not venture out there until it settles down and that's going to be a while. The trees tree trunks tree limbs etc... but the tractor tires refrigerators propane tanks and like, that really really is sad.

I am surprised about the comments regarding this being a poor sailing season when in fact I think it's been pretty wonderful. I did get a great window in the beginning of July with absolutely no rain and decent wind most days. I guess I'll count myself lucky.
 
#839 ·
Bleach is a big No-No for Joker valves and other gaskets in a head system... it's also not good for the holding tank.

Regardless of who might take responsibility for all the debris in the bay... it's really disappointing cuz I will not venture out there until it settles down and that's going to be a while. The trees tree trunks tree limbs etc... but the tractor tires refrigerators propane tanks and like, that really really is sad.

I am surprised about the comments regarding this being a poor sailing season when in fact I think it's been pretty wonderful. I did get a great window in the beginning of July with absolutely no rain and decent wind most days. I guess I'll count myself lucky.
That's what I'm sayin'. That period was the best window. I was out there, too. Before and after have been mostly crap.
 
#840 ·
We have had some really great sailing days here in the southern bay.I even got out this past Monday before the monsoons set in. There has been good winds and the only bad heat w as around the fourth. And no nettles on top of all that.

I'm planning a short cruise in a week and may do some night sailing so I hope the debris clears out by then.
 
#843 ·
Do you guys think that the debris will be mostly cleared out by this Saturday-Sunday? That's a possible sailing window for me before flying back to Milwaukee.
 
#844 ·
No. With the organizers of the Governor's Cup taking the drastic (and perhaps unprecedented?) step of completely canceling the race that had been scheduled for this weekend, I assume they did so on good intelligence that there's still a lot of debris out there and that it's not likely to be gone for the weekend.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top