SvOuroboros

04/25/2022

Jennifer Tepper Tommy Tepper

Top before… bottom after. Incomplete but shows changes we are making to get more interior space for family and comfort and better storage and refrigeration solution! Thanks Sean for the help!!

01/30/2022

It’s been a while since an update. We are treading water with our little lovely large boat. It’s often below freezing this winter, at times on the boat temperature is 17 degrees but the wind is gusting making it a bitter cold. The visit today was during the record nor’easter that hit in New England. Our creek was materially drained and the low water can be seen in the pics.

But she’s doing OK and we’re still looking forward to the rehab. We’ve removed a lot of the old lining. An ugly vinyl cushion thinly covered over plywood. And that, as well as removing a significant amount of the extras that were kept on board have raised her waterline at least 3 inches!

We need her ready for a live aboard by September and we are on track to get there. Thanks for all the well wishes. Adventures await!

12/15/2021

I can be long-winded at times, so I’m gonna cut right to the chase. This week I had the pleasure of picking up my main and Genoa sails from a place in Annapolis called Chesapeake Sailmakers , run by Chuck O’Malley. I just can’t recommend Chuck, the work, his team, and his shop more highly. He was able to resurrect an old main sail, removing old batten cars that were corroded and repairing some significant issues with stitching and tears. They also took on a relatively new Genoa, that had unfortunately lost a battle with a lightning storm off the coast of Florida. Among other issues, the leach had been shredded for most of its length, the clew and all its related reinforcement was destroyed.

New cars and better battens on the main with solid replaced stitching and patches. Genoa pulled from the jaws of death with new leach and clew and beautiful red sunbrella protective covering. I just can’t praise this shop enough. They really know what they are doing, are totally fair in their pricing, so what they promise to do and communicate well along the way. Chuck contacted me from Denmark where he had a business trip to give me an update at one point!

I’ll never go anywhere else again and recommend you do so as well!!

Chesapeake Sailmakers is affiliated with Elvstrom Sails. We are a Sailmaker focused on sail repairs, cruising sails and canvas work. We provide new sails, stackpack style sail covers, and other types of canvas projects. We serve the MidAtlantic region.

06/03/2021

Part one of Ouroboros update

06/03/2021

Hatteras - graveyard of the Atlantic or where boats go to die?

Picking up from the last post. Ouroboros resting at Hatteras Landing while we figured out next steps. Timothy there was really great and helpful and made us feel right at home. Immediate concerns were the steering fix and getting the new starter for the port engine. With these we would come back down and head up the ICW to Baltimore and Youngs Boatyard, our destination and her home for a few years likely.

So we got a handful of names and started making calls. And discovered that Hatteras is in fact an island and might as well be in the middle of the Atlantic. Impossible to get anyone to sign on for the fix. We called a half dozen and it was weeks out before they could figure out a way to make the time to come see her.

And then came the text from Timothy. “You need to call ASAP”

He opened shop on Tuesday 5/18 and looked out and could no longer see the waterline on our port hull. “She’s taking on water”

Wow. He gets on with a high flow sump pump and starts to empty her out. Says there’s at least 6 inches over the floorboards.

I get on the phone with all the folks from before begging one of them to go take a look. And one who flat said no before went out of his way to do something they don’t do. Leave their yard the next day and make a service call. He had to get the ok from his bosses the owners to do it. They came down and lessened the flow, finding the prop shaft seal had given out. Not mentioning them as I think they’d rather go nameless. But you know who you are and thanks for the help and the kindness that followed.

But she was still taking on water and needed to now be hauled. Only place with a crane large enough to haul us out and the ability to give assist was Bluewater Boatyard up in Wanchese, North Carolina.

Called TowboatUS - where I have the gold package to talk through a tow. And they won’t. Amazing. Some clause about the boat being at a dock where she can stay. And I’m saying she can’t stay there - she’s trying hard to sink! And they say she has stayed there for a few weeks now so she can. And it went back and forth like this for over an hour from the customer service rep to their supervisor to the manager until I understood that they just weren’t going to help. Huge dent in my support for BoatUS and TowboatUS. (Oh... did I mention how they are affiliated with Geico and how they would simply not insure our boat because she was a 1979 regardless of condition/ seaworthiness?). Starting to think they kind of suck.

So unless she was destined to die in the graveyard, we needed to figure it out ourselves. A common end often when you own a boat. But we weren’t going anywhere without at least steering patched. And again - we were in Hatteras. No mans land. For a week Timothy continued to pump out once or twice a day while I worked to get someone onboard.

In comes Shaun Dunn - expert charter boat captain and certified marine engineer. He finally has a hole in his charter business and is able to come on - Memorial Day weekend. He gets on and find dry rot on hydraulic hoses and some other issues, but bottom like fixes the steering enough so we can get north to Wanchese. Thanks Shaun. Owe you a beer sometime.

And then for one of the craziest 48 hours of my life.

Wake Memorial Day in Pittsburgh on last day of my daughter’s volleyball tournament. Left Pittsburgh 3p to arrive home at 7p. Celebrate my now 3 year olds birthday with a song and cupcakes. Go to do a walkthrough with our tenant and get the keys. Back home at 9p. Settle the boys all down with Jen and throw a bag together w clothes and food and leave at 10p. Get to Hatteras Landing at 430am and get on board. Start starboard engine to make sure (I wouldn’t have been able to sleep unless I knew starboard was still good!). Go to sleep for 2 hours and up at 630am. Prep boat and settle up with Timothy and depart at 745am. If you’ve needed navigated the waters around the outer banks, lots of sand bars and best to stick strictly to the marked channels Hatteras has two - one runs out towards the inlet and the other runs straight out to Pamlico Sound. I took the second and it was a test for the maneuverability of our large cat with patched steering and one engine. But she did great and we were out on the sound and heading north northeast towards Wanchese.

Seven fairly uneventful hours later at an average of just under 6 knots we reached the Old House Channel, part of the ICW I believe and the way to both navigate from Pamlico to Albemarle sound as well as to get to Bluewater Boatyard. Lots more boat traffic in there and narrow cuts that must be obeyed. But a pod of dolphins and beautiful surroundings accompanied.

At 330pm I pulled into the boat basin and into the slip where she’d be hauled out. Bluewater was fast - hauling and blocking her easily in under an hour. I settled up with the main office (thanks Ronda!) and called a taxi (thanks x 2 Robin!!) and left Bluewater at 5p. Got back to Hatteras and my car at 630p, took a quick shower and headed home to Maryland at 7p, arriving at 1am Wednesday after only one stop again.

A few hours sleep then back to work... but at least she’s safe and drying out and soon to be fixed for our final leg in the journey to Baltimore!

Lessons. Know your boat. Learn every inch of her and all of her parts and pieces and functions. And keep it simple. Then, if you can’t fix it yourself, if you are putting in, make sure there are actually facilities and local skills who can help. You’ll end up in many nice places with the nicest people on earth who aren’t able to do anything for your boat and maybe aren’t really inclined to get “that” involved. Our conundrum- she needs to be cared for and maintained so we are getting her to Baltimore but are having a time trying to get her there because she needs to be cared for and maintained!

06/02/2021

Splashed May 7, Friday midday and immediately the port engine was cutting off. Would run for 10 seconds and cut out. Restarted and would do same but each time a little less. Until it would no longer turn. At that point the starter also went - just "clicked" instead of firing to turn the engine. So we were down to one. We were already off and couldn't go back to the marina we had just departed from without going through a full haul. They don't have docks. It's 100% on the hard. So motored on one down to where we were going to fill diesel and water tanks a half hour away and begged them to let us stay for a night. Which they did (and I think for free). And got a fellow to come look at the engine and sure enough it was a shot starter. And the one we ordered from your parts list was the wrong size so we called around to see if anyone magically had the right one in stock. No luck. So we grouped and decided that we were ok going w one engine Left at 6am Saturday morning and headed out Topsail inlet. And on the last turn - literally last turn before straight shot out to the big blue - hit a sandbar and stuck hard. On a falling tide. Called a tow boat which came nearly two hours later. We were now showing about 18 inches of added freeboard I'd guess! But the guy said he could get us off and lead us out and sure enough he did. Was pretty cool to see him do his work. He basically used his massive outboards to blow the sand away from under our hulls. He also advised us how to get the cost reimbursed by our insurance company as he rode besides us out the cut and into the ocean .... so we raised sail and went on our way. And had a great breeze and following sea and were making 8 knots on average. And that lasted all day long. Nice! But honestly the seas grew a little more rough with waves climbing and the period shortening. Was exciting to sail though. But we did leave the autohelm on most of the time. In the late afternoon the rudder alarm started occasionally going off. We refilled a lot of hydraulic fluid and it stopped. For a bit. Topped it off once or twice more and then it wouldn't take anymore which I felt was a good sign of no or low level of any potential leak. Around 1140p the wind died and seas calmed. I had us running under jib alone at about 4 knots with consistent easy wind and easy sea. And figured it was a good time for me to catch some sleep and hand over to one of the crew. At 3am I was shaken awake by the crew who related that the rudder had stopped working. Went topside and the autohelm read that rudder was full to starboard. I turned it off and on to try to reset with no luck. Dropped remaining sail and started to otherwise trouble shoot. But couldn't figure it out and didn't want to go into the rudder compartments at night so we lay to until sunrise. At sunrise I opened them up and saw that the hydraulic ram was in fact fully extended and tie to d also at max so both rudders were hard to. Client unjam the ram. Couldn't get autohelm to reset Couldn't otherwise get the hydraulic pressure to relieve. I even jumped in and tried to kick the rudder out of position from under!

The little rod connecting the autohelm to the starboard rudder had come lose so reaffixed that. And the starboard side seemed lodged on top of the wood block the autohelm is attached to. But it was all pointless to try to get to freed up and loose again. So I knocked the pin that attaches the ram to the port rudder out, opened the little emergency tiller hatch and went with the tiller on starboard. Given this it was time to head for land. I didn't feel comfortable going on on emergency tiller alone so we headed to Hatteras / Ocracoke inlets which id studied before. On tiller and one engine. Made it to Ocracoke and examined the inlet and called a dock master on land for advice on navigating it. But the shore was rough and there was a hell of a rip current and wind was hard to shore from behind. Took two attempts at gaining inlet but on tiller and one engine I just didn't have good maneuverability. I'd get swept aside by waves and then be moved off track by current. And get close to some very evident sandbars - No running aground again! Waited for a charter fishing boat to come by to possibly grab my tow line and give us more headway / pull us through. But seas were turning worse and small craft advisory was out and we were sitting there on the coast of Hatteras - Graveyard of The Atlantic!

So I turned north to head a little off the lee shore and make way to hatteras cut. When he emergency tiller seemed to become non responsive! I think it was the combination of waves and current But really had no steerage at that point. I was able to steer using the engine for a bit. And called the coast guard in hatteras. They were amazing and came out and pulled us through the hatteras cut and all the way in to a marina besides the coast guard station, where she is resting now.

So. Not quite sure yet but right now I think:

1) autopilot is no match for heavy choppy or steep seas. I'm guessing it was working too hard which is what gave us the initial issues
2) The small cable which connects the directional relay for the auto pilot to the rudder starboard has come loose before and came loose again this time. And when that happens the auto pilot believes the rudder is not responsive and most likely over steers which caused it to jam hard to starboard
3) The mounting bracket and wood block that the relay is on also interferes with the rudder starboard and may also cause a jam. It looks like it was hung up on the joint connecting the tie rod to port

And last was the ordeal of getting out of hatteras and back to Maryland when you don't have a car or any transport. My wife figured that out Found a private rental business that had a Ford Focus and would bring it down to hatteras to us. She then drove with one crew member back to Maryland and got our van and turned around and they drove both cars back to return the rental and pick me and rest of crew up and go back to Maryland again. All told she spent about 22 hours straight driving. Amazing.

So that's the story. Since we are "in" now we are staying in and motoring rest of way up the ICW to the Chesapeake bay and on to Baltimore. There really aren't any inlets I'd be happy exiting from morehead city north until Norfolk. So that's settled and fairly / comparatively easy.

08/10/2020

Currently it is 11:45 am on 8/10 and we are on our approach into Masonboro Inlet near Cape Fear after a Saturday, 8/8 start at around 4:40 pm from Savannah, GA.

Been such a relatively beautiful and uneventful trip, thank goodness! But the winds weren’t as strong as we hoped and we had to do a combo of sailing and motorsailing.