Grateful Thanks to Sister Ship 1115, Constellation

Ken Kessler, skipper of Ship 1115, took these photos today. He and his Mate, Bill Horn, went to the marina to clear snow off our Amanda Grace, and found other boats that did not fare well under the snow. The Skipper of S1115 said that the safety netting held the snow aboard A.G., so it piled up.


Amanda Grace with snow piled up, and cleaned off.

Tonight's fall on top of that might have been too much, and she could have ended up like some of the other boats on Dock F.

These boats did not fare so well. (See the mast sticking out of the water in front of the dock on the right hand picture?) The heavy snow made them list, their gunwales went under, they took on water, and, down they went!

We are very lucky to have such a conscientious sister ship!

Amanda Grace Winterization

On November 8th, four scouts and four adults put in 4 hours of work, preparing Amanda Grace for a long winter alone in her slip. The report from our Boatswain's Mate for Administration (a youth officer) included that they:

Aired the cushions and cushion covers, put dry cushions in trash bags.
Added a fuel stabilizer to tanks.
Drained fresh water tank and added antifreeze to it and to head.
Connected shore power so the batteries will charge to help the engine crank and the bilge pump will have power over the winter.
Turned battery off but left shore power and battery charger on.
Ran antifreeze through engine.
Used a tarp to cover the forward hatch as well as the skylights and port lights.
Reattached and tested bilge pump.

The scouts clearly learned a lot about boat maintenance.

Good job, all!

Amanda Grace Comes Home

by Caitlín

Yesterday morning at 4:45 a.m., five dedicated members of Sea Scout Ship 7916 met at the Old Bridge Road/Route 123 commuter lot to drive to Lusby, MD and bring our favorite boat, Amanda Grace, home.

Captain John Ashton (far right) drove the Skipper, Mate Dan, Daniel, and me to Skipper Doug Yeckley's house and dropped off us and our load of gear.

The drive was long, and because of both the early hour and Daniel's famous ability to sleep at any time, anywhere, he fell asleep like a lump in the seat.

We arrived earlier than planned, so we hauled our food and supplies down to the edge of the water so we could ferry it out to Amanda Grace, anchored past the end of the dock.

Skipper Shay called Skipper Yeckley just before 0700 and asked which rowboat we should use, and he came down the hill to help us.

Mate Dan, Daniel, and I launched the boat (hard to do on the slimy, slippery rocks at the edge of the water), and rowed to Amanda Grace to open her hatches and begin the engine checks.

Three our four loads later, the gear, provisions, and crew were aboard, and Skipper Yeckley rowed out to show us the best places to anchor along our route and help us weigh anchor. We needed a fifty pound plow anchor to keep our mischievous Amanda Grace from wandering where she shouldn't.

Mate Dan started the engine and we prepared to haul in our anchor, but the stern line had become caught between Amanda Grace's rudder and hull.

So Daniel tried pushing it out with his feet. When that didn't work, Skipper Yeckley suggested that we try pulling the line from the starboard side, like so:

That didn't work, even with the line around the starboard jib sheet winch.

So Daniel had to almost fully submerge in the chilly water to pull the line free, and after he dried off Skipper Yeckley hauled his anchor up:

Finally we were ready to set off, through the mist rising from the still morning water and under a brilliantly blue sky. The wind didn't seem promising, but we hoped it would pick up--preferably from the East at 15-20 knots--once we were out on the Bay.

Mate Dan (who must, for this trip, be called "captain") was first at the helm, while Daniel and I raised our Ship flag.

Out on the Patuxent we were quickly passed by a lot of boats, which made our progress seem even slower than it was. As we went beneath the Patuxent Beach Road bridge, I snapped this picture of a warning on the bridge pier for Adam, because it reminded us of how he always wants to know if we're going to hit the bridge and what we would do if we did.

The wind speed had improved a lot, but we had to motor for quite a while before rounding Drum Point and putting the sails up.

When we first tried to set it, the Genoa sheet felt too tight, and was really hard to unfurl, even using the winch. Captain Dan went forward and untwisted the halyard from the forestay and then it worked perfectly.

We got a little bit of nice sailing in before the wind died back down and we had to turn on the engine to make good time. About then we were besieged with flies--many of which liked snacking on human flesh. One of the supplies we have yet to buy for Amanda Grace is a flyswatter, and every sailboat out on the Bay should have at least one.
The decks--both above and below--soon became so infested with flies that Daniel and I were both smacking them left and right and still there were too many.
Once, when a particularly large specimen was killed, the Skipper and Daniel had the following exchange:

Daniel: "I got him!"
Skipper Shay: "I see the big bloodstain!"
Daniel: "I see his dead body right there!"

It was really gross, but eventually there weren't as many flies. In the evening we had to wash the "carnage" off the deck so that we could sit without squashing fly bodies.

Daniel and I were employed in making lunch, which was seafood salad wraps, with tuna salad as an option if we ran out of the first. But we didn't know the tuna was not supposed to be in with the rest, so we mixed it all together. Then the tortillas were so torn up that we couldn't use them without salad spilling out, so Daniel had the idea of shredding them up and mixing them in, along with the lettuce.

We ate that with mismatched forks out the funky blue retro bowls my mom picked up at a yard sale. It mostly tasted like tuna, but it was okay.

After lunch I had a turn at the wheel, where I saw a trio of pelicans fly by (the first time I'd ever seen any in the wild) and mistook a tower for the green marker Captain Dan was talking about. So I cut closer to Point Lookout than I was supposed to, which took us through a field of crab pots that I had to carefully avoid because we didn't want the lines caught in our propeller.

We motored up the Potomac a looong way, until the moon rose and the sun set in a wash of oranges, yellows, lavenders and, later on, turquoise.

Eventually we got hungry, and making dinner was an experience because none of us had operated the alcohol stove before and it hadn't been used in at least six years. Earlier Captain Dan and Skipper Shay had tried it out to see if it worked at all, and flames shot up--and out beneath the stove, darkening a bit of the woodwork.

Because the alcohol tank was loosing pressure, cooking dinner took four steps:

1. Follow the directions on the box of Hamburger Helper and stir:

















2. Continuously pump the alcohol tank (beneath the starboard quarter berth) so that there is enough pressure to have fuel:













3. Keep the flames from shooting up too high around the frying pan, although they licked the edges:

















4. Add canned green beans, and it's ready to eat! Surprisingly the noodles were even soft:












Doesn't it look tasty? It actually wasn't too bad, if you like warm salty goop. I think a good word for it is "burgoo," while the Skipper described it as "Hamburger Helper stroganoff flambé."

The latch on the door to the head doesn't quite catch, and would open and close as Amanda Grace rolled, slamming each time. Daniel put his creative engineering skills to use and made this invention out of an extra PFD (Personal Flotation Device). We could open the door just enough to slip the PFD strap off the handle and open it, and do the reverse to close it. The contraption worked very well, and made sleeping much more peaceful.

Captain Dan decided to motor all night, with Skipper Shay to help keep him awake and watch for buoys. Daniel and I, however, fell into our berths fully clothed around 10:00 and didn't get up for several hours.

Monday, October 13th

I was wide awake at 3:30 a.m., when a life vest fell on my hand and woke me. I went up on deck, where Captain Dan was waiting for sunrise so he could be relieved at the helm. The morning light was slow in coming, and by the time it the sun rose Skipper Shay and I were in familiar territory; at Possum Point power plant, just downriver of Leesylvania Park and the Carefree Boat Club, from which we had our training sails.

Around 7:00 Captain Dan went below for an hour and a half of sleep, and the Skipper called COR Sanford to report on our progress. The sky was very pretty, with dramatic coloring.

The route from Leesylvania to Prince William Marina seemed surprisingly short, but we arrived later than our estimated 9:00 a.m.

Ahead, under the I-95 bridge, we saw a group of kayakers that looked familiar. As we got closer, we recognized members of our Ship, who were starting out on their Occoquan to Mason Neck kayak trip.

"Ahoy, Sea Scouts!" the Skipper cried, which raised a cheer from the small fleet. Skipper Shay told them about our galley fires, feasting flies, and sailing all night, and Rebecca called that her mom was taking pictures of us and Amanda Grace.
"And I'm taking pictures of you!" I shouted back.

Adam (M.), Caleb, and Mark came over to investigate more closely. It was, for a few of the kayaking Scouts, their first glimpse of Amanda Grace, and for others their first view since she started to look loved.

The boats continued on their way (Daniel had slept through the whole thing), and we very soon arrived at the Marina, to be met by Mr. Sanford, who was waiting on the dock with hot coffee and fresh doughnuts.

We wanted to pump out the tank for the head, but at first the pump-out station was not working, and when it did, we couldn't get the cap to the waste tank to unscrew, so that will have to wait until later.

We tied Amanda Grace up, and Skipper Shay made completed the first page of Amanda Grace's new logbook (right) before we went to the end of the dock to eat doughnuts.

We sat around chatting with Mr. Sanford for a while, and then we had to pack our gear up and clean up Amanda Grace a bit so that she would look pretty.



Captain Dan suggested that the October Quarterdeck meeting be held aboard her, and that it could double as a welcome home party for our special boat.

"Welcome home," Amanda Grace!

Amanda Grace Sails!

by Rebecca

On Sunday afternoon, Caitlín, Daniel, Rebecca, Stu, Skipper Shay, and Steve Alexander took Amanda Grace for another shakedown sail. This time she actually sailed.

We put our ship flag up and got the cabin organized while we were docked. Then we checked the engine. The first time we tried to start it, nothing happened. Captain Alexander checked the batteries, and found that a bolt was loose. As soon as he tightened that, the engine started and we were able to motor out of the marina, put the sails up, and enjoyed the afternoon on the water.

Everyone got a chance to be at the helm. About halfway through the sail, the flies started to swarm around our legs in the cockpit. Captain Alexander used the new chart to swat the bugs. We decided that we should have one fly swatter for each person on board.

The Amanda Grace is a great sailboat. She responds to the slightest movement of the wheel, and has good balance. We almost had the railings under water, but each time we tried, the wind would change. At one point, a power boat sped up when it got next to us, leaving a big wake. The Amanda Grace rocked from side to side, but held her course fairly well.

We all hope to have many more sails on Amanda Grace. Stay tuned for more updates.

"A Three-Minute Tour"

Steve Alexander, Rebecca, Caitlín and I were set to take Amanda Grace on her first cruise in 6 years. The weather was gorgeous for sailing today, with a nice breeze...but we could not raise sails because the halyards had not been put back and we could not get the line through the pulley at the top of the mast.

We decided to take Amanda Grace out anyway, to put the engine through its paces, but discovered in preparation that the thimble had been cut off the end of the anchor rode and the anchor wouldn't have worked without it. So, thanks to Cap'n Alexander's patient tutelage and skill, Caitlín and Rebecca learned some marlinespike. They also cleaned out the anchor locker, and laid the rode in neatly.

The Volvo Penta diesel engine started and sounded beautiful for a "one-lunger." Cap'n Alexander reviewed proper procedure for helm commands and responses, then we cast off with Rebecca at the wheel.

Out in the main channel, Rebecca gave her half throttle, and in about a minute the engine temperature alarm went off. Even though Mr. Schmoker cleared the clog in the salt water cooling system, there is apparently not enough water coming through. So, the Cap'n shut her down, turned the boat about, and we sailed back under Bimini power. A three-minute tour.
Upon reaching our row in the dock, he turned us deftly, and then we used the boat hook and other boats' bows to crawl back to our slip.

Disappointing? YES!

Frustrating? YES!

Are we quitting? NO!

Breakthrough!

Mate Schmoker generously and dedicatedly used his day off from Prince William Marine to burn precious gasoline and perform vital work on Amanda Grace's engine today. He blew the clog out of the cooling system with the hose, started her up and held his phone at the exhaust so I could hear the "blub, blub, swhoosh, swoosh" of the engine running and expelling water as it should and must. Amanda Grace's engine cooling system is flushed out and working! YAY!

Not that all is finished, though. Dan gave me two things to tend to on the next visit, since he says he has had enough of Amanda Grace for a while:

• Check installation of strainer
  
• Solve mystery of disconnected wire on top of engine

Cap'n Alexander and I are looking at a shakedown cruise this weekend, but won't have that set until tomorrow night after we discuss it during the Chesapeake Flotilla Sea Scout Wardroom meeting in Bethesda. I am inviting the most proven sailors among the scouts, who are also among the hardest working. They have earned special consideration.

This success is the result of uncounted hours of work contributed by Steve Alexander, Joel David, and Dan Schmoker. A round of grateful applause for Steve, Joel and Dan!

Beautiful "Blub, Blub, Blub"!

Another run up to Herrington Harbour, this time to check out two boats in addition to another attempt to start Amanda Grace. After crawling through Sunday evening traffic snarled by an accident on the Wilson Bridge, my first stop was Quandary, a friend's Catalina 30. I'm trying to work out an owner-retained deal with her, so she can keep and use her boat, and we can have access to it on a regular basis. Oh, Quandary is nice! Standing on the carpeted deck below, my eyes roaming the cabin, I noted the accommodations and thought, "I could live on this boat!"

Next, a quick look at South 40, a Catalina 27 that is up for adoption. Friends of Sea Scouts of Maryland is taking her, but I wanted to have a peek, anyway. Not bad.

I met Steve Alexander aboard Amanda Grace at about 6:30 PM. The first order of business was to open the fore hatch, flip the "receptacle" switch and turn on the blower. Steve and I chatted in the cockpit for a few minutes while the fan dispersed the diesel fumes, and then he went to work. He showed me the fuel injector that he had had reconditioned for only $45. This is a great deal, considering that a new one runs about $300. Steve said he asked Arundel Diesel to go ahead and rebuild the other injector--which will cost $75--because we need a spare and that was a good deal, too.

Mr. Alexander crawled into the space next to the engine compartment and I stood by, handing him sockets, Vise Grips, a "great hammer" (say that with a Scottish accent), screwdrivers and such on request. Between tool fetching, I applied copious amounts of lemon oil to the teak in the cabin and around the companion way. The wood is still thirsty, but it is looking very nice.

When Steve had the injector in place, I went above to the cockpit to start the engine. Pull out the "cold start" handle, adjust the throttle to about half, make sure the transmission is in neutral, turn the key to position I for the oil pressure alarm, turn the key to II for start. "Give me about 5 seconds," Steve instructed. Amanda Grace said, "Chuh...chuh...chuh..." but no start. It took several rounds of 5- and 10-second attempted starts to clear the air out of the system.

"Okay, I'm going to give her a squirt of WD-40," Steve announced. We knew Amanda Grace likes it, as she had previously run on it for a few seconds. "Give her about 10 seconds." Amanda Grace said, "Chuh...chuh...bluh, bluh, bluh, bluh..." She ran for a few seconds, then sputtered out. "Was that the WD-40?" I asked. Steve acknowledged. She must be a high-test girl. Another attempt or two, then Amanda Grace said, "Chuh...chuh...bluh, bluh, bluh, bluh...blub, blub, blub, blub, blub, blub, blub, blub, blub, blub!" A single-piston diesel is noisy and coarse, but to us, it was the most beautiful "blub, blub, blub"! Steve said, "YAY!" and I yelled, "WOOHOO!" For the first time in about 6 years, Amanda Grace was running!

From his horizontal spot next to the engine compartment, Mr. Alexander told me to check for water coming out of the exhaust. Amanda Grace's 8 hp Volvo Penta single-cylander engine is water cooled. Sea water is brought in by a pump, run through the transmission and engine where it picks up heat, and expelled by the same through hull as the exhaust. Looking overboard on the starboard aft side, I could see the exhaust, but no water. This was not good. The engine cannot be run long without cooling or it will overheat and be ruined. I shut her down and Steve began to troubleshoot. He took the cover off the impeller--the part of the water pump that does the work--and said it looks good. I wanted to know what it looks like, so he moved out of the way and let me crawl back in there where I could see the rubbery blades that push the water through. Cool.

Next, Steve took the hose off the sea cock and turned it to "open" position, to test whether water is coming in there. It was, so he put the hose back on. By then, it was closing in on 9:00PM, and we had both had enough, so we turned off the "receptacle" switch, closed up the boat, and headed to the Skipper's Pier for a bite and a celebratory beer. The food and drink was pricey for my budget, but very good. Best crab soup ever! And, oh, the A/C felt really nice, too.

Fighting Discouragement

Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there. -Josh Billings

Another Amanda Grace work day--2-hour round trip, plus 3 hours on site--and still the engine only runs on straight WD-40. With a wet slip charge of $150/week, the engine's idleness is racking up considerable expenses.

Steve Alexander came to remove the fuel injector, intending to replace it with one that had supposedly been reconditioned. However, examination showed that the alternate fuel injector was rusty and in worse shape than the original. Mr. Alexander promised to take both to a diesel shop for cleaning and testing. Then he will have to make yet another trip to Herrington Harbour.

At least the cushions and life jackets are no longer filling my living room. I hauled them up in a borrowed truck and Daniel and I stowed them on board, cramming as many as possible into the v-berth, hoping they will stay dry. We also washed the halyards and continued cleaning up below deck.

This photo was taken on my first visit to Amanda Grace, back in September of last year.
It shows the clutter in the belowdecks, but not the dirt and mildew, both of which were considerable. Application of large quantities of elbow grease has made a difference. The boat is starting to look good. When I board her now, I think, "there is hope." Several scouts and adults have put numerous hours into cleaning, organizing, and treating the wood.

The lag in engine operation is disheartening, but we will not give up.

Launching Amanda Grace

by Caitlín

In the early afternoon of Wednesday, June 25th, 2008, the Amanda Grace felt the caress of water on her hull for the first time in five years.
It was a monumental moment. Putting all that work in to make her ready for sailing (painting the hull, cleaning and waxing above the waterline, pumping out the bilge numerous times, etc.) really made it seem special; she's our boat and we earned her.
Unfortunately, although Daniel and his dad came earlier to charge the batteries and install the new bilge pump, only Gus, the Skipper, Mr. Finn, and I were able to be present for the launch.

The boat hauler backs beneath Amanda Grace.

With Amanda Grace fully supported on its arms, the hauler starts off for the launching ramp.

The boat crane (don't you love all these "technical" terms I'm using?) backs over Amanda Grace...

so that she could be lifted from her cradle...

and lowered into the water.

Then she was towed to row O, where she'll remain until Independence Day weekend for the sail down to Woodbridge.

Once we stowed everything away, closed up the hatch, and hooked up a power source for the bilge pump, we took turns blessing her and then had a toast.
(That's sparkling apple cider we're drinking.)
(See more photos.)

Painting Amanda Grace

Yesterday morning six Scouts and two adult leaders from of our Ship drove up to Maryland to paint the hull of our donated boat, the Amanda Grace. At our last meeting, several of us Scouts had been debating what color paint we should use, and joking that it should be purple or even pink. But since Daniel's father could black for free as a donation, that's what we went with.
As most of us had helped to paint der PeLiKan, it wasn't as interesting, but we were more experienced and even with fewer rollers and quite a bit of joking around and teasing each other, the job was finished a lot more quickly. (Although it could have also been that the Amanda Grace is only 27' in length as opposed to the 46' of der PeLiKan.)