Maiden Voyage Jitters (Aybody else?)

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manonash's picture
manonash
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Maiden Voyage Jitters (Aybody else?)

Okay - it's time for a psychology talk... I'm just wondering if I'm the only one this happens to?

We just closed on a '96 C36 mkII (#1586) and I'm hoping to go pick her up for the fairly simple cruise [I](albeit, through many bridges and locks)[/I] her new home port this weekend. And, as expected - it happens every darn time - I'm getting the "jitters", going through the list in my head of everything that I don't know about the boat, everything that could go wrong, contingencies, etc...

Seriously - I was less anxious when I took my first solo flight years ago!

I've bought a number of boats over the years, delivering them across Lake Michigan, up the Puget Sound, etc... Every dang time, I get the jitters - no matter how well prepared I am!

Please tell me I'm not alone in this.... Isn't sailing supposed to be fun and relaxing? ;^>

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Steve Ramsey - Puget Sound
S/V Manonash - '96 C36 mkII (#1586) - M35B

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Channel Islander
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Sailing is fun and relaxing for me when I am not under the gun. When you have to be somewhere by some time and you probably took off work to do it, that's hardly sailing! You will be fine; the chances of something going catastrophically wrong on your trip that hasn't already happened are pretty tiny, if you think about it.

When I brought my new-to-me C36 home last week, I just sat on the vast bench in the enormous cockpit and took it all in in awe. Didn't get a sigh of relief until several days later !

Good luck, go slow, enjoy!

-nick

Nick Tonkin
*Former* Website Administrator, C36/375IA
*Former* owner, C36 tr/fk #255, Santa Barbara, CA

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Steve Frost
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I think this is fairly common, I am sure your voyage will go fine and you will be able to relax and enjoy it. You could consider taking an experienced hand with you for some added security, you may even want to knock on the door of our MKII tech advisor, Larry Brandt who lives in your hood. He knows the waters and knows the boat, could allow you to relax more, he could problably be had for a couple beers.

As far as you being more nervous than on your first solo flight, bear in mind if all goes to hell in a hand basket, I bet you can swim better than you can fly.

You should have a great time and you will love the boat.

Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas

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LCBrandt
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Steve, I can be had, but it'll cost you at least a breakfast or lunch at Carl's Jr.

Would be pleased to join you for this trip, a shakedown cruise sort of, but can't this weekend, as I'm teaching an ASA navigation class in Portland. My next available open day is Wednesday next week, or the Fri, Sat or Sunday after T'giving. I love doing this stuff, so let me know. If I can't come along, then at least call me for moral support.

What an exciting prospect for you!

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

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Whispering Eye
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Just make sure your safety gear is current and your insurance is paid up. Everything else will work its self out. Enjoy!!!

s/v Whispering Eye

2004 Catalina 36 Mk II  #2201

SRFM/WK/M35b

St. Petersburg, FL
 

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LCBrandt
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Good point. Perhaps lost in the excitement...make sure the boat is legal:

1) Your temp registration on board,
2) All USCG-required safety gear on board, inc'l fire extinguishers (two minimum for the C36), unexpired flares (for Puget Sound, it's over 2 nm across), horn, personal PFDs and Type 4 throwable, and
3) Macerator thruhull and Y-valve thruhull both closed to sea, with plastic tie-wraps securing their handles in the closed position.

Am I forgetting anything?

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

manonash's picture
manonash
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Ha. Yeah - I'm always about as prepared as any sailor could be. I've got my checklists, paperwork, experience, and such...

The good news is - she's a heck of a "simpler" boat than my last delivery (a '79 Hans Christian). Everything is easy to get to in case of a malfunction, etc... And, a heck of a lot easier to sail into a slip (in case of a full failure) than my full-keeled cutter. ;^>

Larry - thanks for the offer - I'll buy you a beer anytime you are up our direction.

I'm not *really* nervous - just kind of laughing at myself for having the jitters at all. It's just like taking a girl on the first date... ;^>

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Steve Ramsey - Puget Sound
S/V Manonash - '96 C36 mkII (#1586) - M35B

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Steve,

Thanks for your honesty to begin with. If the truth were known, I'll bet every single person on this website felt the same way on the first trip on their boat; it's only natural. It''s a new vessel to you and you don't know for certain how she will handle. Even though you probably were abaord on the sea traill and perhaps you have been on a different Catalina 36, it's still different when you are at the helm.

Other members of this forum have given you some sound advice. I have found the 36 to be a very reliable and stable boat. My boat has nver let me down and has performed to my satisfaction.

Take another good look at your charts, make certain that all of your systems are performing as they should, have extra filters onbard and as others have suggested have all of the safety gear aboard and you will be just fine.

Have a great time and be sure to write and let us know how it went, okay?

Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B

hilbre
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Not unusual its just the anticipation. Once you are underway it all goes away.
John Meyer
Hilbre 2135
In La Paz Mexico

John Meyer
Hilbre
C36 MKll, Hull 2135

Cabrillo Marina, San Pedro, CA

neilroach
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Don't know wherre your coming from or going to but I live in Seattle , moor at Elliot bay Marina and would be glad to help. I'm not a n old salt but have 2 solid years with my Mark I. I have helped through the locks and know the salty side pretty well. Call if I can help out. 505 670 1163.
Oh ya, I was pretty scared but got the former owner to help me bring the boat to Seattle, got some handling lessons from an old captain and then single handed most of the time. Easy boat to move around.

Neil Roach
"Crewless"
1992 36, Mark I
Hull # 1174
Seattle

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manonash
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Thanks for the offer, Neil.

The more I think about it, it's not the actual boat handling that has me flustered, it's the planning and logistics of all the dang bridge openings, etc... We'll be going from Bellevue to Bainbridge - a total of 8 bridges, five that have to be opened, (Montlake, University, Freemont, Ballard, Burlington) and locking through the Ballard Locks...

It'd be one thing if it was just sailing down from the San Juans or something - but this starts to feel a lot more like a test! ;^>

Though - luckily it looks like the weather is breaking up, so we won't have to worry about snow!

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Steve Ramsey - Puget Sound
S/V Manonash - '96 C36 mkII (#1586) - M35B

manonash's picture
manonash
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Stink! Well, I guess that's what the jitters are for... In double checking everything for tomorrow's delivery voyage, I found that the last bridge I had to have opened (Burlington Northern) on my way to the Sound is closed for repairs this weekend.

At mean tide, the clearance is only 42 feet in the middle. And, I know that some folks would shoot for every inch of a minus tide, but - I'd rather keep my windex up there.

Stink... It looks like she'll have to wait until Thanksgiving Day... (Could be worse, I guess... I could be stuck in front of an inoperable bridge at dusk tomorrow...)

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Steve Ramsey - Puget Sound
S/V Manonash - '96 C36 mkII (#1586) - M35B

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Steve, glad to you found that out. I received this email from Tim Brogan of the C350 group, just caught it as I was on the boat repacking the stuffing box and installing a new Rule bilge pump float switch (F Rule - they changed the height and spacing of the mounting holes - idiots!)

[I]Hello Stu - I was browsing the C36 forum this afternoon and see a topic from a new Puget Sound sailor - something about "first voyage jitters" or a related subject.

I'm not registered to post on that website, but that guy needs to know in a pretty timely manner that if he's trying to make his intended voyage (through the locks and over to Bainbridge Island) in the next couple of weeks, that the rail bridge just on the salt water side of the Ship Canal Locks is planned to be in the down position for the next few weeks for planned maintenance. The clearance he'll need for his mast will not be there.

I think this closure wasn't really well communicated to the community, but it would be a particularly rude surprise to an already nervous new owners.

So......If you could use your magical posting powers and get him a message on the C36 website, I bet he would be thankful[/I]

Thanks to Tim, nice community we all have.

Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)

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manonash
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What a small (but great) world! Yeah - I checked the NOTAMS but totally missed it the first time because of how it was listed. Actually, I called to double check with the Lock operators about the closure of the large lock not affecting the small lock, and the guy was nice enough to say, "You probably missed this because apparently nobody knows it, but..."

Whew - dodged the bullet. Thanks, Stu and Tim.

P.S. I called the Burlington Bridge office and they said it *might* be open Sunday (3-4 days ahead of schedule...)

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Steve Ramsey - Puget Sound
S/V Manonash - '96 C36 mkII (#1586) - M35B

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I believe it is an age old thing, jitters. I know I have an anxious feeling on any planned event, just the nature of the beast, I would guess.

Here are a couple of old quotes that confirm you are not alone, and maybe why!

"On the sea there is a tradition older even than the traditions of the country itself and wiser in its age than this new custom.

It is the tradition that with responsibility goes authority and with them accountability.

...for men will not long trust leaders who feel themselves beyond accountability for what they do.

...And when men lose confidence and trust in those who lead, [B][I]order disintegrates into chaos and purposeful ships into uncontrollable derelicts[/I][/B]."

[I][B]"[U]On The Collision of Wasp and Hobson"
Wall Street Journal - Editorial 14 May 1952[/U][/B][/I]

"Victory awaits those who have everything in order?

- People call that luck.

Defeat is certain for those who have forgotten to take the necessary precautions in time ?

- That is called bad luck."

[B][I][U]Ronald Amundson 14 December 1911[/U][/I][/B]

Gary Bain
S/V "Gone With The Wind"
Catalina 36', Hull #: 1056, Year: 1990, Engine: M-35
Standard Rig
Moored: Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Home: Auburn, Maine

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I get "the jitters" every time while getting the boat ready to leave the dock.
Using a departure checklist helps calm the nerves.
Tried to include it as an attachment, but got an "Invalid File" message. Probably courtesy of my ancient version of Excel.
Will "Copy" into the body of this reply and see if that works.

No pride of authorship, and I'm confident others have better ones or things I've forgotten to include. Items not necessarily listed in the order in which they're done. Before taking the key off the shelf and putting it in the cockpit (which I NEVER do before opening the raw water seacock), I read through the list to see what has been forgotten. There's always something.
I nearly always singlehand, and the checklist helps avoid having to deal with something forgotten while underway leaving the harbor.

My only advice regarding the locks is to have crew aboard and some old fenders you don't care about to use against the greasy lock walls. Only been though there twice, both times with tar on the hull from fenders rubbing against the lock walls and transferring to the boat. Other skippers, more skilled than myself, go through there all the time without this happening.

You mentioned your first solo and using checklists. Maybe this mantra rings a bell? "Gear & Flaps, Hook & Harness, Speedbrakes, Spoilers."
Enjoy your boat.
Jack

PS - Also have a "Leaving the Boat" checklist, which has saved countless trips back from the parking lot to do something I'd forgotten. Living eight hours away from Gig Harbor, there are a few things I'd really rather not forget.

C36 Departure Checklist 7/2011

Engine Oil, Belt Tension, Coolant (Trans?)
Raw Water Strainer Clear
Canvas Covers Removed
Battery Voltage & Selection
Boarding Step Aboard
Boarding Ladder Deployed
Jib Halyard Hardened
Jib Sheets and Blocks
Main Halyard Attached
Sail Slides Lubed
S/S Bow Tie?
Fenders on Lifelines
US Flag
Ports and Hatches Closed
Seacocks Closed - Galley Sink?
Autopilot Control Module
Chart Plotter, GPS and Radar Displays
Bin Boards Secured
Webasto Chimney Cover
110 Volt Heater Secured
Dehumidifiers Secured
Shelves, Tables, Counters, Sliders, Bins Secured
PFDs, Cushions, Handheld VHF, Ferry Schedule
Hat, Sunglasses, Horn, Sunscreen, Water
Currents, Winds, Tides Forecast
12 volt - Water OFF, Instruments, Autopilot ON
Refrigerator ON?, Secured
Oven Door and Gimbal Latch, Stove Pads
Winch Handle
Raw Water Open, Strainer, Key to Cockpit
Engine Start, Cooling Water, Oil Pressure, Amps, Temp

Jack Heaston
1987 C36 Mk I #692
Fin Keel, Std Rig, Rocna 15
Silent Passage, M25 XPB Repower

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LCBrandt
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My favorite is, "Mixture, Props, Throttle, Flaps, Gear; Identify, Verify, Feather if Necessary; Fluids; Electrical." That's the memorized checklist in case of an engine failure on a twin-engine aircraft.

I guess we're a little off the topic here, eh? :)

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

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dejavu
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Mine is: remove canvas covers, cockpit cushions out, attach main halyard, secure Otto control head, hang horn on lifeline , unplug A/C, batteries to "both", instrument breaker on, VHF & Plotter on (for DSC), raw water valve open, turn on engine, check for exhaust water, pop a diet coke and GO. I attribute my abbreviated preparations to a well maintained boat and eternal optimism. :D

Mike

Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA

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I'm pretty methodical, and have been pretty successful without a written checklist. However, I've walked back out to the boat from the parking lot dozens of times for dumb stuff I'd left behind, or couldn't be 100% sure I'd done; like closing hatches, through hulls, turning on shore power, etc. A couple weeks ago, on a pretty breezy day, I was going through my usual process to leave the slip, single handed as usual. Someone on the dock said something to me, which interrupted my chain of thought. Released the stern lines, spring line, the last bow line, hurried back to the cockpit; to find that the wheel was still folded..:confused: Nothing like trying to motor out of the slip with the wind trying to push you sideways while trying to unfold and lock the wheel back together. Brilliant, just brilliant.

Time for a couple checklists.

Gary and Cathy Price
1997 C36 Mk II Tall Rig/Wing Keel Imagine...
Hull # 1617
Worton Creek, Md.
Northern Chesapeake Bay

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ProfDruhot
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Gary, we have all done that. This past summer I too as distracted by a fellow boater and I inadvertently left a bow line connected to the dock.

Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B

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manonash
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Larry - yep, I used to use "GUMPS" when landing my single... (Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Prop, and Switches...)

But, going by jackheaston's checklist - that would be one heck of an acronym!

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Steve Ramsey - Puget Sound
S/V Manonash - '96 C36 mkII (#1586) - M35B

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manonash
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Well - we were going to deliver the boat today (bridges are open), but now there is a gale warning in effect across the Puget Sound.

That wouldn't bother me much if I were just sailing from point A-B, but not excited about taking 4-6ft waves on the nose with unknown "old" fuel sloshing around in the tanks...

I guess I'll wait until Saturday... :-(

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Steve Ramsey - Puget Sound
S/V Manonash - '96 C36 mkII (#1586) - M35B

BudStreet
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As they say, discretion is the better part of valor. Wise choice under the circumstances.

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benethridge
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Larry, brings back old times. I remember I used to "identify" by bouncing the relaxed leg up and down a few times. Was a multi-engine instructor in my first career - a long time ago in a galaxy far away, or so it feels. :-)

Ben Ethridge
Miami, FL
1984 MK1 Hull# 263

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