Dad came one for a week, helped me fix the head and change fuel filters, as well as scrape the prop. Here are the highlights:
Sailing
#TBT Repost of one of my favorite trips from a few years back! “And this is why the work is worth it….”
Memorial Day Weekend
After all the work I have done in the past few months, Santosha is not close to being “Re-fit” I still have plumbing and electrical to replace, however she is very usable so we piled the kids and their friends, and the dog , and Jean and I into the car and set off Friday afternoon.
Shakedown
Once we had Santosha back in the slip, I re-checked all of the fresh water pipes and through hulls. After we refilled the water tank I still could spot any leaks. I did find that my fresh water pump had blown, which kinda sucked.
So assuming that it must have been the stern gland we set out with Pearce and a couple of his friends for a quick overnight trip to the Corrotoman River a three hour sail from Urbanna.
Soft Shackles
“Marlin Spike Seamanship” like electrical systems, has never clicked with me. I can do all of the important knots for sailing, Sheet Bend, Rolling Hitch, Bowline, etc. and have completed a few rough looking three strand eye splices, but the double braid stuff and the decorative wrap never seem to work out.
Putting her back in.
We had a couple of issues after we put her back in, the batteries were completely dead…
I finished up the deck painting at the marina while the batteries charged then came back on Sunday to motor her around to her slip.
Quick Peek at the finished product…
I had an eventful time getting her back to the slip, I will post the full story later this week I hope. But here is a peek at Santosha in her slip, all polished and painted!
Anti-Fouling and Deck Paint
As luck would have it Petit Anti-Fouling was on sale at West Marine a few weeks back, reduced from $179 per gallon to $120! Still very pricey but I was very happy with West Marine Brand water-based that I used last time so I grabbed a gallon.
I moved the waterline up by a couple of inches as well to try to take care of the barnacles on the water line.
Podcasts
I listen to a ton of podcasts, not just sailing related. Whether its in the car, on the plane, or at the Gym I normally have one playing.
I have listened to the “On the Wind” (formally 59 North) podcast for a number of years. I first found it searching for Allied Seawind information on the web, Andy Schell and his wife were ocean cruising in an Allied Mistress and blogging.
Recently he has had three guests from England on his show and they are absolutely fascinating:
Rev. Bob Shepton: Talks about climbing and northern latitude sailing
Robin Knox Johnston: Life and Sailing
Nigel Calder: Alternate Energy Systems
Check them out, he has way more including Don Street, The Pardys, and Webb Chiles. All are excellent!
Cruising the Chesapeake: The Corsair
I was bouncing around the interwebs last weekend and came across this awesome video of a “Middle Bay” cruise. Its unusual to find videos of this quality about an area that we sail. So enjoy and check out his You Tube Channel and Blog!
Deck Leaks…
Sorry for the long delay in posting, Its been a combination of the weather in Virginia (which has sucked) plus my iPhone Camera has been out of commission and I rarely ever remember to bring Jeans good camera with me.


I found out a couple of things from the rainy spring. Firstly my hatches leak more than ever and secondly the hull/deck joint which is supposed to be glassed on the inside of the Seawind II was not glassed completely.