'Free State' Fitting Out

[smacksman]

Hi Jay, Yes. My wife thinks that 'roughing it' is a three star hotel! ;0)
No, really shes a great girl putting up with me for 45 years but this sort of life is not her scene.
I like people but I'm happy with my own company too.
Another pair of hands on occasions would be really useful but you get by on your own. No big deal.
My avatar is my 1885 sailing Colchester oyster smack Alberta CK318. 65 feet bowsprit to counter, no engine; no winches and I sail her single handed sometimes so a 27 foot Albin is handy by comparison.

[Vic K]

I'd like to see a photo of that jewel.
Vic

[Nancy]

My avatar is my 1885 sailing Colchester oyster smack Alberta CK318. 65 feet bowsprit to counter, no engine; no winches and I sail her single handed sometimes so a 27 foot Albin is handy by comparison.

That explains a lot! No wonder the Albin challenges are child's play for you. I'd love to learn more about your smack, too. Ah, a little googling may have set me on the right track.

[smacksman]

I have several jewels including my 'family jewels' haha but my wife and I are shy!
If it is the smack you refer to (hence my nom de plume) then my old smack site is at
smackdock dot co dot uk where there are lots of pics and info. If you really want to be bored then google a youtube video called Sailing the ICW in 2012 - v2.0 and about 2.4 minutes in is a clip of me helming my old girl before I sold her. Had 14 + 2 dogs as crew that race. Fun days. Her new owner spent six figures having her re-built and she is good for another hundred years.
Sorry, bit off topic , but it is a side of sailing I love.

Still at Carrabella while it blows outside. Lots of little jobs done including a photo shoot for my sales pitch. Takes ages to move clobber from A to B to clear the decks for a photo. Forecast is better for St. Georges Sound tomorrow - Memorial Day.

[don123]

Any chance you can extend your visa for a month or two? Seems a shame to have to rush through this adventure. I could (and likely will) spend a month enjoying many of my favorite spots between Biloxi and Apalach when we leave to begin our loop adventure this October. Moving 25 to 50 miles between one great anchorage to another and then spending a day or two enjoying the local area will be the normal routine for all of the 5500 or so miles we plan to do in the coming year

Are you planning to sell Free State in New Orleans? Post the details here when you get things sorted out - I *might* know of an interested party or two

Don

[smacksman]

Don, I plan to leave my options open, much the same as I did in 2012/13 with my old sail boat.
Lay up for the hurricane season and put her up for sale. If she sells for a sensible price then ok. It is not a 'fire sale'. If not, then she is ready in Nov/Dec to continue the adventure.

Do you know of a place in Biloxi to lay her up ashore for 5/6 months at a cheap price? I would go to New Orleans and then sail back to Biloxi area. Mind you, if the weather stays like it is I might not make it to Biloxi!

My flight is booked back to the UK on 9th June and I have commitments there so, sadly, cannot extend this visit.

After two nights 'on the hook' I have moved into the C Quarters Marina. Went to re-fuel and as the guy moved the hose to me a split in the pipe sprayed diesel all over my boat! Not a drop went into the water and with rags and detergent we managed clean her up. First time that has happened to me.
Lovely people here and a delight to sit in a rocking chair under the porch with a friendly dog at your side, listening to the locals yarn away.

[don123]

We used to have 8 or 10 haul out facilities scattered along the MS Gulf Coast . . . . and then along came the casinos - 'Dockside Gaming'. Now there are a grand total of just two and 'cheap' storage on the hard is a thing of the past. I think it would run you at least $300 per month to keep it ashore anywhere near here

If you come back in November and are headed the other direction, maybe we'll meet up. Our plans are to begin the loop this October

Don

[smacksman]

Free State's bad points still to be fixed. Or should I say known bad points.

A couple of the light switches don't work. The bulb is ok and there is 12v supply. Removed the deckhouse light to see if it can be fixed and amazed to see a hornets maternity unit!



The light still doesn't work but the light is fitted better now and it would have to be a very slim hornet to get in again.

In three places the joint between side lining and head lining has opened to show steel staples. Steel! I mean really, in a marine environment to use steel staples is criminal. And this is not a home-boy job - this is the factory. Ok - easily solved with a bit of mahogany beading to cover it.


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The Bowmar deck light is crazed with age. I have never been concerned with this. I mean it lets in light and keeps rain out. The fact I can't study clouds in detail is not a problem. However, some call it a bad point.



Varnish brightwork yes, but why varnish teak? The natural oils of teak give it durability and positively reject coatings. Why not just use teak oil if it goes a bit grey. Personally I like the grey. But now all the teak needs to be scraped back and easiest done if the wood is removed. Also, an example of what I call 'detailing' - where care is needed between paint and deck. The use of masking tape is an aid and a also a problem on a textured deck as paint will get under the tape and you don't see it. And get that tape off quickly or is leaves a deposit to mark the deck as seen on the left.



The wiper blade was lost at some stage but the skipper must have kept going for a hell of a long time to scratch this deep. I can still see through ok but a new bit of laminated glass would be perfect.



CaptVic and others have said their windows leak but Free State's don't. They just need some scraping and a bit of loving.





The engine runs sweet as a nut and never missed a beat. But again, 32 year old fuel lines and hoses might give trouble. At the moment I tackle them on an as and when basis. The main fuel tank needs to be cleaned but filling the day tank when calm and all the crud has settled works fine. The broken dipstick tube is a standard engine part which I will get if I'm in one place long enough to wait for shipping but I can still check oil level. Some of the wiring is a bit ad hoc and could be neatened. There is no mains power reverse polarity light and the 120v installation is a bit 'domestic' but works fine.

The locker under the V berth takes on a bit of water at sea but I think that might be the chain hawse letting a bit in when she ships it green. Dry as a bone when the going is smooth. Otherwise no leaks anywhere. Some lockers had water in them when I bought her but blocked cockpit drains were the cause. Once cleared - no problem - dry lockers. Same with the opening ports - once maintained, not a drip.

No doubt a surveyor will find other faults as they do on any 32 year old boat - even new boats - but the hull seemed sound to me and nothing has fallen off after a thousand miles so I'm confident she would look after a new owner.

[Vic K]

Smack,

You need a Waterway Guide as it lists all the marinas along your way to and including New Orleans. Look up facilities at Manderville and Madisonville on the other side of the lake from NO. There were some places in Sildell before you get to NO. You should be able to find a place to haul out.
Good Luck,

Vic

[smacksman]

Thanks for the advice Vic. I use ActiveCaptain.com which gives masses of information on marinas and anchorages but I do like to have things on paper. Electricity and salt water are notorious for having a hissy fit and stopping just when you need them.

At last the weather abated and I left Carrabella and crossed St. Georges Sound without pain. I realised that in stead of waiting for daylight outside Carrabella I could have used those two hours and come in through Government Cut and holed up in Apalatchicola. Hindsight is wonderful.
Went through a massive thunderstorm today. Quite impressive lightening. Anchored in Wateppo Creek in complete calm. Lovely. An easy 65 miles covered today from a relaxed 9am start.

I've put Free State up for sale in the For Sale section of this forum with full details of her on my website at
http://www.simetric.co.uk/albin27pics/a ... orsale.htm if any one is interested.

As you can read here, I have been totally open about her and my experiences. She is 32 years old after all is said and done. Even I wasn't perfect at 32!

[smacksman]

Up anchor at 6.45 with the sun about to rise over calm water with wraiths of mist swirling for three feet. Quite stunning.
Then a day of trundling along at 2400 revs eating the miles. Sunny at first then clouding over to end with a regular thunderstorm.
Coastguard announcing Pan Pan again and again of a boat capsized in St. Andrews channel. Again and again boaters called the coastguard to say they have found it. Again and again the coastguard replied they know all about it and are investigating. 10 seconds later coastguard Alabama gives a Pan Pan 'boat capsized St Andrews Sound - please help - blah blah' Is there no communication between coastguards?
Also, the coastguard radio operators seem to have a competition as to who can talk the quickest. The result is that the message is intelligable and a waste of Ch16 air space. If they could just repeat the message they are trying to put across slowly, clearly and three times then they might get a response.
About 90 miles covered today in 11.5 hours. Wind behind and a lot of favourable tide helped though we had to stop at one point when the rain reduced visibility to maybe 50 yards. Anchored up a bayou off Choctawhatchee Bay. The new high level bridge was not on my month old GPS Map. They surely couldn't have built it in a month? Oh yes! Major event today. We passed our first boat. Yes, actually caught up with and passed a 30 odd foot cruiser. Way to go girl Free State!

[eseyoung]

Oh yes! Major event today. We passed our first boat. Yes, actually caught up with and passed a 30 odd foot cruiser. Way to go girl Free State!

Are you sure it wasn't anchored? The only thing i ever was able to catch up to in mine was a kayak, oh ya and a 2.5HP dink.

[smacksman]

Haha! Honest, we did catch and pass her. It was a bit lumpy so I expect she slowed to keep the pot plants in place.
In Biloxi now in the shadow of the Golden Nugget Casino. Made good time from Choctawhatchee Bay to Biloxi with a 95 mile run the first day then 65 miles today arriving at 3pm. Not pushing her - just 2400 rpm that is her sweet spot. Cycled about 4 miles x2 to get supplies which showed I needed the exercise. Lovely weather and a very friendly lot here. It took me an hour to check in with all the yarning.
They are holding a Poker Race tomorrow. Cigarettes race from casino to casino getting a card at each. The best poker hand wins. The marina throbs to the sound of twin blown V8's and V12's with straight through exhausts. Sounds like a fun race. Maybe I should enter 'Free State'?

[smacksman]

Met up with Don123 in Biloxi. His Albin27FC is going to be a stunner!
Many thanks for the hospitality Don.
The Mississippi Sound like a mill pond when we continued our journey but the biting yellow flies were very bad. How do these little flies make it across vast areas of water? I suppose the answer is billions don't and feed fishes.
Anchored in Bayou Bienvenue just 15 miles and within sight of the high rise buildings of New Orleans. Infestation of crab pots four rows deep had me parking in 12 feet of water in the middle of the channel but the locals were very polite and eased throttles to pass me with plenty of room for them.

Massive and impressive engineering works protecting New Orleans.

Next day motored to the lock into the Mississippi River. Didn't bother to go through but turned and passed the scrap iron yard again to tie up in Seabrook Marina. Nice people. Took the shuttle bus from next door marina and explored New Orleans.
The end of my adventure. Objective achieved. Result memorable.

Some stats:-
Engine hours from Charleston SC to New Orleans - 214.3 hrs. (includes battery charging)
Gals filled - 206gals at a cost of $658.00 ( I estimate another 30 gals to make a 'full tank to full tank comparison')
Distance - 1732 miles ( with side trips) in 35 days total including rest/tourist/weather waiting days.
Had to wait for one rail bridge to open in New Orleans. Went under every other road bridge (9ft. lowest bridge)

[don123]

Memorable indeed, Roger - Keep us posted on the eventual disposition of Free State. For anyone interested, Roger's boat is a clean, low hours example of a 27FC. It's one of the first few built and looks to have been well cared for

Thanks for the travel log, the hours to miles and the fuel burned

Here's hoping we cross paths again - If you don't sell her, we can travel together the other direction this fall . . . . if your kitchen pass doesn't fall through

Don