George's Neighborhood

Monday, December 10, 2018

Del's slideshow: A must see!

Hi All,

This is later than I wanted, but here is a slideshow that I put together to remember our trip to Sicily. If you have any problems with the link, please let me know and I'll try something else.

Thanks to those who sent the graffe pictures. It was also nice to see the Trapani salt picture.

Have a great holiday and Willy and I hope to see some of you at the Rick Steves party in January, Del

Del's Slide Show of Sicily

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Rick Steve's Tour of Sicily Oct 25- November 6, 2018

This was a great trip with an excellent tour guide.
History, archaeology, contemporary culture, and great food.

On the trip, we make some very nice people and made several new friends.
Some group photos. More on the photo page. Click Here

Thursday, October 11, 2018

Cascaded blocks on the main sheet

Cascaded mainsheet on a Catalina 270

My crew and I were having great difficulty trimming the main sheet (red line)with fresh wind.

It just took too much force. the cam lock on the fiddle block was at a bad angle to lock and unlock the sheet. I added an extra pair of blocks to give it a 5 to 1 advantage; but, that was not enough.

View from the starboard beam

After a suggestion from a smarter-than-average sailing friend and some though, I added a cascaded pair of blocks to the sheet, It has a four to one advantage. So the 4 to 1 pulls on the 5 to 1. The yield is a 20 to 1 advantage.

Purchase on the red sheet gets the main close; but the final trim is made with the cascaded block. This is Easy to do even is strong wind conditions.

For anybody with a Catalina 270, to make this conversion, a block needs to be added to the padeye that secures the boom vang. I then put a mid-line loop to fasten he cascaded double block.

The micro fiddle block with a cam-lock is fastened to the traveler.

The large blocks are Garnauer blocks, The small blocks on the cascade are Harken micro blocks,

The Catalina 270 has a double ended main sheet. the odd end leads back the starboard winch. Since the winch is not available when on a starboard tack, it is not a practical arrangement.

A closer look a the cascaded Harken block with jam cleat

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

S.S. John W. Brown to Visit Cambridge

During the evening, the Calhoon Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA) Training School, will host re-certification classes for marine engineers from across the East Coast. Its visit will coincide with the 39^th Annual Seafood Feast-I-Val, which will be held at Governor’s Hall on August 11 from 1-6 p.m.
“This is such an exciting opportunity to host a piece of living history here in Cambridge, work with one of the city’s showcase events to create a significant attraction for visitors, and to play a role in the continued development of marine engineers from around the country,” said Brandon Hesson, the Associate Director of Economic Development for the City of Cambridge.
The S.S. John W. Brown is maintained and operated in Baltimore by a corps of volunteers through Project Liberty Ship, which preserves the ship as an educational asset. The ship was originally one of 2,700 liberty ships manufactured as part of an emergency WWII shipbuilding program. After its tenure as an active cargo ship, the S.S. John W. Brown served as a maritime high school from 1946-1983. Now, it also acts as a venue for special events and weddings when it isn’t providing a regular slate of educational day cruises and docent-led tours.
For more information about the S.S. John W. Brown or its day cruises, visit www.ssjohnwbrown.org.

The S.S. John W. Brown, one of only two remaining and operational World War II liberty ships, will dock at the port of Cambridge near Governor’s Hall from August 4-12. The ship will arrive with a few hundred visitors from its day cruise, originating in Baltimore, and will remain open to the public the rest of the week from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.