I am not a good BMP (Boat Maintenance Person). Guys who build their own boats have a great advantage over me. When I have gear failure at a regatta "I'm out". Builders might miss a race when their winch swallows the main sheet. I'm done. Winch dies? Shroud breaks, Sail Tears? All the same.

I went to practice sail for the White Rose regatta, thought everything was "ship shape". My sparring partner noticed the screw in the ball of the vang was completely backed out. How long had it been that way? Why wasn't the screw lost? Who knows?

Today I super cleaned the boat (something I don't do often enough). I noticed that the amount of foreign DNA on the port side was about 10 times more than on the starboard side. Lots of red and blue marks (so we know they weren't all put there by just one port tacker).

By the way, I used "Mr. Clean Magic Eraser - Original". It looks like a white sponge. Just wet it, wring it out and wipe/rub. It did a great job. I now have a clean white slate for the red and blue boats.

I have often wondered if my deck leaves white marks on red and blue boat's keels?


Winston Mathews

Whew!!! I thought yellow marks were coming!!!

Port Tackers...umph! I just lost another .0005 off my molar.

...94

Hi Winston,

I guess I could be considered someone at the other end of the spectrum from you. I did not build my boat but have learned the in's and outs of taking care of her. The longer you sail the same boat, the more familiar you get with what she should look like.

I tend to spend more time that most going over things to make sure there is nothing loose or missing.

It really is not all that much fun to go to a regatta and when you launch your boat, you discover something is wrong that keeps you out of the racing. Seems like a lost effort to me. Especially if it is something simple that could have been corrected the night before.

My boat is sea foam green and I did not hear you mention that color so I guess I am OK for now....

Good luck,

Chuck
#1684

I've sailed "Whalebone", a light beige lately...so I guess I'm exonerated for now.


R.C.Greer