Monday, November 19, 2007

Pass the gravy!


11-17/18-07 Alamitos Bay, CA Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. Turkey Day Regatta. While driving home from this event I had a large smile on my face. I had seen everybody from “Back in the day” through the upcoming stars. I had seen families with two boats on their cars. The parents sailing their lido 14 and they’re kids sailing sabots. YES! I had a lot to be thankful for. 1. I had sailed well. 2. I did not hit any sabot’s 3. I was leaving a true sailing club with young and not as young sailors attending. 4. The best of all, I had found a good parking place. Yes, I have a lot to be thankful for.

Well now that you got your serving of mashed potatoes let me pass you the gravy and tell you about what you missed on the inside course in the Lido 14 fleet. You really did miss a good event with over cast sky’s, although not cold yet, shifty southwest breeze of 5-8 knots. Twenty-Four Lido 14 teams attended split into A’s & B’s almost equally with separate starts and windward/leeward courses. Jerry Montgomery was the inside PRO and he did an outstanding job keeping the 60 Sabots, 24 Lido and 10 coach boats from killing themselves.



Dina and I sailed well; I would have to say WAY over my head, and were hitting the shifts like they were pop up squirrels at an arcade. Although I missed the skippers meeting, I was drooling over the Pogo 40 sailboat that is berthed in the ABYC marina, my first quote was a classic, two rows from the starting line “Yep, three minute starts”. Also fun to watch was Bob Little with his two kids sailing with him. I am not sure but I think Bob and Lisa changed the name of their boat to “1xtra child dinner”. At the pre start Bobs son liked the sound of the starting horn, so the little guy (no pun intended) kept duplicating the sound with his voice and was doing a good job. The Little family hung in there all day with a 4th place the last race and it was a three times around. I wish I could have filmed them on the runs with Bob comely asking them to quite up as we approached the leeward mark. He did good Lisa and good for our sport. Meanwhile there was a good battle going on for first place between Team Weise and Team Yates/Kincaid. Unfortunately, for Team Yates/Kincaid on the third race of the day he and Dina & I sailed through the restricted start finish line. Teams Kent a Weise quickly pointed out our mistake and we returned to the line and unwound our self. After the race I was told by a number of people that once you go through the line you’re done. The chief judge and PRO felt I could unwind myself still not sure about that one? There was another great quote on the water this weekend from Team Kent. While sailing next to son Gregg “ Hey Dad, looks like we are both last place” Steve reply was even better “ That’s not that funny on this boat Gregg”.

On Sunday Team Yates/Kincaid came out of the blokes on fire. Hitting a big right shift and sailing away from the fleet to an easy win. The next race the team was back with a second. After finishing forth in the fifth race Kurt Weise was seen rubbing his chin and wondering what to do better in the next race. Well he found it, with a good start, at the upper end on the line, and finding the first shift Team Weise secured their Turkey dinner.
Lessons leaned from this event. Go to the skippers meeting, read the SI and the board and leave the fin sailors a lot of room in the parking lot.
Next Sunkist is Dec 1 come on down. Get your Lido Membership dues before all your bill's come in from the holidays

Sea Ya!

Len Bose

All photo were taken by Rich Roberts

Friday, November 09, 2007

The Concept Trawler/Tug



While in Catalina Island over the Labor Day weekend I noticed the number of restored commercial fishing boats with wide stern section’s and europa sedan styling to them. Most of these owners have put a lot of time and effort in restoring and maintaining their yachts. When approaching these boats you can see the pride of ownership from across the bay. This style trawler was built mostly from wood or steal and the interior is broken up into many different compartments.
Now take this stern and place it on the Grand Banks Europa 46 or the Mainship 35 and you are only starting to put this puzzle together with me



WHAT ARE YOUR YACHTING NEEDS?

Do you want to go weekend cruising for under $ 300.00 in fuel or do you want an expedition long-range yacht? If you answered YES keep reading.
If you’re yachting needs call for an affordable boat with a single diesel for long range and low fuel costs, kept simple and quite, low exterior maintenance and something with classic type line. A yacht that is easily handled by one person and something that makes you smile each time you see her then give me a call and lets talk more about this concept of yachting.



WHAT IS A CONCEPT YACHT?
It means that I do not have the money to draw the design, build the mold and build a spec boat. It’s a niche in the market place that has not yet been taped and is ripe on the tree. I feel strongly that this style trawler will lead to the next Nordhavn expedition type yacht. I see a smaller line of yacht from 32-40 feet similar to the Mainship Trawler line.




WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Just call or email me, tell me what you think? If you have the money and want to build a spec boat and see were it leads? If you have seen this type of boat and agree or disagree with me, drop me a line. LETS TALK!



As a Yacht Broker who understands the only new boat we want to sell is something we truly believe in and can stand behind and be proud of. This is one of the few type’s of boats I want to sell.


Thursday, November 08, 2007

Why do we own boats?

You may wonder why we go to such great time and expense to own these things. I'll let the photos do the talking on this one!






They say a picture is worth a thousand words?













These are photos of my family growing up on our boat in Catalina. Now go back and find your photo album. Funny how easy it is to get started on those spring boat projects now?



WHAT! You don’t own your own boat? I honestly do not understand how you can afford to miss out on this part of life? I will find you the right boat!






CALL LEN BOSE YACHTS AT (714) 751-6121 TODAY!





SEA YA AT CATALINA?

Yachting Winter Maintenance Schedule

WINTER TIME

Yep! It’s pay me now or pay me later time. The prime objective of the true yachtsman is staying two moves ahead of your maintenance schedule.





MAKE A CHECK LIST
The most import tool on your boat is the almighty pen. Like any good pilot you have a checklist and you follow it. WHAT no checklist? Spend some time now cutting and pasting and tailor a checklist for your boat. I promise this will save you time and money.

Check your lines and cleats.
If you’re on a mooring make sure the ball shackles are clean and seized with wire. Check your splicing and thimble’s for any chafe and rust. Also check your cleats on your boat, make sure that the backing plates are tight and in place. Your biggest concern is chafe, so redo all your chafe gear. Go up your rig and inspect your bird emplacements. While your up there you might consider taking your wind instruments wand down until the racing season starts back up in four months. Spray and cap connectors with a moisture displacing lubricant. “ I lost the wind cups and mast head fly to the tune of $ 300 last winter” Consider bringing a can of silicon lube and spraying your chives and if your furling system requires lubrication, this is the time to do it. On the way back down wipe down your mast and standing rigging. If you have the time, a coat of wax on the rig is a good idea. When you’re back on deck take a long look at your mast boot. I keep two lines on my bow and two on my stern and I tie them off on separate cleats. If your one of those lucky and rich guys who have a slip make sure your crew checks for all chafe on your dock line and your chafe gear is in place. Take a look at your cleats on the dock and make sure they are secure. Inspect your electric cord for any chafe or shows sign of sparking. Nothing like plugging in a bad cord when it’s raining. The surge is stronger with the south swells rolling through so check your fenders.

Empty Lockers.
All the perishables food should be taken off the boat. Take a look at your Med kit and take home anything that will expire over the next season. Did you know that your sunscreen has an expiration date on it? Open all the lockers and drawer’s good circulation will keep mildew down along with a dehumidifier or small heater will do wonders in the battle to come in February

The Head.
It goes without saying to pump out your holding tank. Flush a couple of gallons of fresh water thought it. Disconnect the intake hose from a closed through hole. Place it in a bucket and run some bleach and fresh water thought it to keep the smell down. Place some head lubricate in the bowl and give it a couple of pumps. Check and open and leave close all the seacocks in the head area. Run the macerator pump for a second or two, just to keep it from freezing up over the winter. Run a little bleach and water through your shower sump pumps.

Freshwater Tanks.
Drain the tanks of any water and remember that the pickup is above the bottom, so you will have to open the clean out port and sponge out the tank. This is the perfect time to wipe down the inside of the tank with a little chlorine and water. In Southern California we are fortunate not to have to deal with freezing conditions. Our hot water tanks, other pumps and hoses will be fine, Should you have a water maker you will need to refer o the manual and check all the seacock. Also take note of your refrigeration and air conditioning condensers.
Interior Cushions.
I remove all my cushions and steam clean them and place them in my office in the house. I need to find a better place for them in the house somewhere? If you don’t want them taking your living space make sure your prop them up. Air circulation to all sides of the cushions is best. Take all your blankets, linens, house flags, blankets and life jackets off the boat. Prop up your cabin sole and clean the cabinet surfaces, bilge, scrub the interior and make sure to get to the ice box or refrigeration area and use bleach and water to clean them out. A good trick is to leave an open box of backing soda in the box.

Batteries.

Each couple of weeks you will have to make a note of your battery condition. Check your water level and make sure you keep a full charge.

Engine.

Your engine manual will have a checklist. In October I have my transmission fluids and oil changed. Dave Beek at Island Marine fuel at (949) 673-1103 can complete this task with little effort on your part. I go through my spar parts and replace everything I have used this past season. Check you packing gland and coupler for any changes. I run my hand over all hoses, belts looking for chaff and inspect my motor mounts. I normally replace my raw water intake hose at this time. I spend an hour just looking at the engine for any warning signs and spot clean the bilge and engine compartment.

Exterior.

It’s always good to wash her down and give her a coat of wax. The best to people in town to clean and wax your boat is Brian Marshall at (949) 322-4452 or Arturo Villegas at (714) 465-7513. I take all my halyards down with lead lines and stow my halyards and all lines out of the sun. Go over all your bright work and repair any bad spots. All your covers should be padded to prevent chafe, and secured for the up coming Santa Ana winds. I recommend taking down your furling genoa
And taking down my dodger, awnings for next four months. This is a lot of work but it does keep every thing working such as zippers and rust off the stainless and keeps the birds away. Go through your winches and windless and clean and replace your extra parts.

Closing Remarks.

Being the True Yachtsman you are now two moves ahead on your maintenance schedule and one step closer to being ready for Opening Day at the yacht club next season. Keep a look out for my notes on Opening Day this coming February.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

42 BENETEAU The Perfect Live a board!



All the performance and luxury of a much larger yacht is scaled down into this model without compromise. Groupe Finot designed her for the best combination of speed and ease of handling while down below, her two cabins and salon are spacious and exceptionally well-appointed. She has many great features such as Beneteau’s patented folding boarding platform that hides under the aft deck when not needed, preserving her clean lines while underway and saving deck space, yet provides ease of entry to the dinghy and for swimming. Roller furling for both genoa and mainsail, a Raymarine suite of navigation gear and a dinghy are just a few items from her equipment list. She would be a superb choice for sailors looking for extraordinary style, performance and comfort. Please go to my listing for full spec sheet at www.yacht world.com/lenboseyachts or hit my link button on the right side of this page.



Thursday, November 01, 2007

J -109, Performance Cruiser and Racer



OK, You have read the JBoats web site, reviews and articles, and now have all the manufactures propaganda. If you are reading this you want a J Boat, that’s simple, you are happy to pay the extra money for the quality of the boat, I call that value.
Other than the J 105 most of the successful J Boats designs have been the racer cruiser. If you want to one design race and that’s it, nothing else, buy the J 105, used, great class sailing and it’s hard to beat. NOW, It you want to one design, sail offshore, cruise to your local islands and determine your use of your boat the J 109 is the perfect boat.



I have a client, who is now a very good friend, come to me and said “I have been watching your ads over the years and I want to meet you before I buy a boat” I could tell, before I even meet this guy, I like him already. My client said “ I want a J Boat and I am thinking of the new 124 what do you think”? Simple, what is your use of the boat going to be? He did not know! Do want to race? “Yes, One design” Have you raced before? “ No, I have been working” This is the normal answer because these baby’s are not cheep. What type of racing do you want to-do? Buoy or offshore? “ Not sure yet” Do you want to take your family sailing and cruising, “YES” “ I want my family on the boat”. I said, than lets get the J 109.

My client has joined our yacht club and has done everything from the club cruisers to the Big Boat Series in San Francisco. He has placed 2nd in the J 109 overall highpoint series and will be one of the boats to beat in this years Class Championship. We are also headed out today on this long 4th of July weekend to just anchor and swim and sit on the boat all day. NOW THAT'S VALUE!

IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT? Can you picture all the good times and the continued use by crew and family? Well I have a J 109 for Sale in California! Go to my listing page for the spec sheet and give me a call and I will have you and your family on the water in know time!! (714) 751-6121