Additions to the Kit

Gardens needs a lot of gear, accessories, and trinkets. The list is pretty long and seems to grow faster than I can cross items off.

So, here are recent additions to the Kit:
Garmin GPSMAP 78sc West Marine had it on sale for $100 off, so how could I resist?

Anemometer This one was very inexpensive but it works and will help me re-learn to gauge wind speeds.

Michigan’s BEST LAKES Fishing Maps Guide Book Not what one might normally find in a sailboat kit, but it lists 90+ inland lakes over 1000 acres (there are thousands of smaller lakes in Michigan). While the maps are “not to be used for navigation,” they provide depth contours, launch ramp locations, and other information that will be useful for planning day-sails or camp outings.

Another tool I’ve added to the “planning kit” is the Midwestern Region Climate Center’s cli-MATE Database that can be searched for local historic weather data and patterns. Of particular interest and use to sailors is the Wind Rose tool which can create illustrations of wind speed and direction for specific locations. While it is a good tool, it took me a bit of practice to pull out the data I think is useful. You do need to register as a user (no charge). There is a Product Guide to help.

No photo but here is the link to Midwestern Regional Climate Center’s cli-Mate Database

How much is enough?

Discussions on John Welsford Small Craft Designs FB page re battery life and power needs of handheld VHF radios opened the door to what I’ll call “Supplemental Power Supplies.” Small, particularly open, boats do not often, usually, have a ship’s power system - primarily because such small craft do not carry much in the way of electronics. (Yes, I know I am painting with a large brush and that last statement is a sweeping generality. And, yes, given what I am contemplating for Gardens may mean I should consider some elaborate ship’s power…)

What came up in the discussion were portable car jump start batteries. Twelve or fourteen years ago I used one of these to power a GPS, fish finder, and VHF radio on my 24’ Columbia Challenger sailboat in the California Delta. That device was about the size of a shoe box and would provide power for a long weekend of long days on the water. How I managed to forget about that device is a mystery to me…

A comment in the FB discussion stated that jump starters come as small as a couple decks of cards and provide enough power to charge handheld radios, smartphones, cameras and other small electronics. Obviously, the technology has evolved over the last 14 years or so.

Research, beginning with “car jump starters,” has taken me down a rabbit hole - there are so many such devices (car jump starters, booster batteries, battery packs, power banks, and more) ranging in size from toaster-sized jump starters with air compressors to cigarette lighter-size (think Zippo lighters) external batteries for cell phones and other small electronics. Of course, the capacity of these devices covers a wide range as well - as do the prices.

Another complication came about with responses to the question, “How to figure out how much battery capacity is needed?” Do a power budget - listing all the planned electronics and how much current they draw, was one approach. Find the largest battery you’re willing to haul in and out of the boat and plan your electronics around that, was another. A third was, Duration. How long you need power will color all other decision re electronics. So, more than one way to skin a cat…

In short, I am overwhelmed with the choices… On top of which, I don’t know much about electricity, 12V or otherwise. So, back to studying the basics… Maybe then I'll be able to answer, "How much is enough?"

What I don’t know…

I recently asked a “What if…” question on the John Welsford Small Craft Designs FB page:

“What if… I wanted to sail my Pathfinder across Lake Michigan… (70-ish straight-line miles)… sometime in July…?”

That question generated a good discussion, the consensus of which was: uncertainty of the weather will be the biggest issue. But there are many other issues to consider.

Planning an open water crossing involves many elements of small boat sailing that just are not contemplated when setting off for a pleasant day sail. While researching gear, studying weather patterns, talking with veterans of sailing across Lake Michigan and asking lots of questions - particularly on the John Welsford Small Craft Design FB page - I’m realizing I don’t know how much I don’t know…

Almost a week ago I asked for suggestions and comments for handheld VHF radios. That prompted a good discussion with several radios suggested/recommended, some comments re issues with some models. And of course, several models had fans and detractors… Another result was discussion of compact car emergency jump start units as possible solutions to recharging/powering handheld electronic devices.

I spent nearly a week researching 11 handheld VHF radios, creating a spreadsheet comparing the features, and figuring out how to share the spreadsheet. That spreadsheet is now in the Files section of the John Welsford Small Craft Design page on Face Book.

There will be more questions… because I don’t know how much I don’t know.

Turn the Page...

...and it is November.

September and October were spent in physical therapy getting my right knee functional. It is that (functional enough to not need a walker or cane; functional enough to drive; functional enough to get back into my workshop and begin a few simple projects) but there is more to be done - particularly before my next knee replacement in December.

September and October were also spent thinking and preparing lists of improvements, tasks, chores and ideas to get Gardens ready for next summer. That list keeps getting longer - and I thought Gardens was ‘done!’ I’m getting the sense (which I really didn’t appreciate with my GIS) that additions, refinements, and adjustments are just a part of the joy of owning a wooden boat like the Pathfinder. That is not a criticism of the design. It is a reflection of my lack of experience and short-sightedness… Some items on the list are ‘buy’ (GPS, compass, VHF radio, etc.), some are ‘make’ (cook box, birds-mouth mizzen mast, halyard bag, paint, etc.) and some are 'buy & make' (cockpit tent, etc).

My plan is to do what I can before mid-December, update and add to the list through February and begin serious work on Gardens in March - aiming for a mid-April or early May relaunch.

Perishable Skills

English blacksmith Alec Steele used the phrase “perishable skills” in a recent YouTube video to describe the decline of a skill level after not using that skill for a few months. He also applied the concept to patience - as in, rushing a task and having to fix the resulting error. Patience needs to be exercised, just as a muscle needs to be exercised, and practiced to be a useful tool in one's skill set.

So, while it means the same as “use it or lose it,” “perishable skills” is, to me, a more elegant description of the phenomenon.

Now, five weeks out from surgery, I am growing inpatient - I want to get back to Gardens to tidy things up, put some things right that need it, and work on the ‘improvements’ I’ve identified since that one sailing weekend almost two months ago. But, since I am not physically able to get to work in my shop, I must exercise patience while resting soft tissue…

I am also growing inpatient for next year's sailing season. There are a number of events I am looking forward to attending: a planned messabout (including a Scamp Camp, small boat skills training, hand tool demonstrations, and boatbuilding skills) featuring John Welsford designed boats in Sheboygan, WI; a sailing weekend in Les Cheneaux Islands in Michigan's Upper Penninsula; the Sunfish Dinghy Challenge in Virginia; the Mid Atlantic Small Boat Festival in Maryland; the the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival in Washington; day sailing local lakes and other events as they come up!

The knee is improving - just not as quickly as I'd like.

Good News… Bad News…

The good news: Tuesday’s total right knee replacement surgery (scheduled for quite some time) should, in the long run, make me more agile and better suited for small boat sailing and bicycle riding.

The bad news: The rest of the year is lost to all but rehabilitating my new knee and prepping for replacing the left knee in December.

I’ll be making lists and planning the refitting tasks identified during those four, all too short, days of sailing Gardens last month. I’m sure I’ll be asking a few questions over the next six months…

Note: Gardens’ cosmetics were not completed when we took her sailing. Our focus was to get her sailing this summer. Paint and trim are high on the list of next spring’s refitting.

Still in Awe

We've been home for almost a week following our trip to Michigan's UP to launch and sail Gardens of Fenwick.

Sailed three of the four days we were there (the second day was spent rearranging a bit of hardware and adjusting some rigging)... Conditions were just about perfect: Light air on Day 1, progressively stronger winds thru Day 4. Most photos of Gardens were taken on that first day, so there aren't any real action shots - but there are a few 'duffer' shots (slack downhaul, tight outhaul = big crease in the main). (

Gardens at the dock:

Sailing off the dock:

Light air, slack downhaul, tight outhaul:

Friday workday:

Toasting Gardens:

Me throughout the weekend:

My email to another Pathfinder builder best captures, I think, my reactions to Gardens, the Pathfinder design and John Welsford:

The Pathfinder is SO worth it! John Welsford is a genius!

I find it difficult to describe how it feels to sail a boat I have taken so long to get in the water. None of the ‘flaws’ I’ve fretted about matter. No one else saw them. The boat either didn’t notice them or shrugged them off.

Enjoy your build - but don’t dally: sailing a Pathfinder is so much more fun than building one!

I am still in awe!