Our Cape Dory 27: New Tack

Spring Sunset at the Marina

As you can tell, I stopped posting here once Peponi was in the water and we were sailing her. But as you also probably know, the projects didn't stop.

So rather than just neglecting this space I put it back on my to-do list because I am positive there are two or three people out there who care, or at least who get bored enough to search "Cape Dory" in Google and get sent here.

Since we last spoke:

Cap'n Ron, Elton the Mechanical Genius, and I took part in a long, cold, wet delivery slog from Port Townsend to Everett, where Peponi's new slip was waiting. This would be the first test of the new mechanical systems on board, and it didn't take much convincing to get Elton to go with us, tool kit in hand, in case things went wrong.

With the new Beta 14 and prop, Peponi cruises easily at 5.5 knots and will do over 6 if pressed above 3,000 rpm. Not bad for a short, heavy boat.

Motoring Through Puget Sound

We had one of those typical Puget Sound cruises where there was wind the whole time, but at every turn it was right on the nose, leaving us little choice but to just power into it. It was a wet ride.

It took about 6 hours to get from marina to marina, and it was a good chance to work out a few things, mostly ergonomic. The important take away from that shakedown was that the boat is awesome.

I am comparing her to our previous boat, an O'Day 302 that was typical of boats from the late 1980s: roomy inside and full of ideas and features that almost worked. By comparison I already loved Peponi more than the O'Day. Her motion is kinder, she tracks better, and remarkably, she is faster. The O'Day, with its wing keel and barn door rudder wasn't really very good at anything except sitting at the dock.

Working.

After a long cold day, we pulled Peponi into the Everett Marina. It was October. Just in time for winter to hit. Great timing. We did get a few great days over the winter, and any time the sun came out, we tried to take advantage of the dry weather to sail or just work on some of the ongoing projects onboard.

Mostly, though, Peponi sat and floated while we waited for calendar pages to turn. In the Northwest we can sail year round since nothing ever freezes over, but the days are painfully short and the weather is cold and heavy. I ended up tarping up the boat to keep her as dry as I could while I did some final wiring, electronic, and plumbing tasks. By the time spring hit, pretty much everything was working as planned. The new Standard Horizon chartplotter was displaying the AIS information from the VHF radio. The cockpit repeater was wired. The stereo was streaming tunes from my iPhone. The hot and cold running water was, well, running. Also the drink holders were installed in the cockpit. Important.

It didn't take long before the experience of being in Everett started to get me down. This is the marina where we kept our last boat, and it is a little cheaper than other local boat basins. You can read about me finally losing my patience and moving the boat to her current home at my other blog.

Today Peponi lives in Edmonds. And it's now officially sailing season.

I have spent the last two months getting used to how she handles, setting up the rigging, and working on remaining projects. But mostly it has just been pure happiness after 3 years of work to have her on the water.

Coming soon, updates on: