Twin Disc MG 360-New transmission for Aeolus

Note: The post below tells the story of choosing and installing the Twin Disc MG360. I've unfortunately learned the hard way that this transmission will corrode badly if you install it like it is. My Hurth never showed a speck of rust after 20 years, but Twin Disc for some indefensible reason has built this transmission out of metals that corrode aggressively. I've been told after reporting this problem to Twin Disc that they recommend painting the transmission and shifting mechanisms before install. BE WARNED. See my later post for pictures of the corrosion.

Among the more significant decisions any sailor can make is how they propel their boat. Sails and rigging are huge, obviously, and yet the engine/transmission might in fact be higher on the list of anxieties given their importance at key times. Here in the Northwest, we are blessed with the finest cruising grounds in North America, and plenty of winds here and there. And yet, in our summer months we are often calm, and even in winter, we can go days with less than 10 knots. Because we have such a cornucopia of islands, each not far from the other, and because our currents are tremendous, regularly exceeding 5-10 knots, we are unable to rely upon sails alone to travel safely.

Twin Disc MG 360 right out of the box. Note separate oil fill.

Making storage pockets-Gratitude to Don Casey

I've just completed yet another project with the help of Don Casey. When I think back on all the things I have learned from his books, I am left with a tremendous amount of gratitude. Any teacher who helps us learn something interesting or useful has our gratitude and rightfully so. But when it comes to a sailboat, there are just so many, many things to know, and the consequences of error can be so high, that a good teacher is priceless.

That's a fleece hat in the right pocket. There are four pockets total, each 5" wide.

Mr. Casey, I have never met you, and you will never read this, but thank you. Truly thank you. I maintain our boat myself, and I've learned so very, very much from your books that I could not begin to articulate the totality of it. From diesels, to paint, to rigging, to electronics, to sewing, I have learned things from you that have made my boat, and my skills, far better.

This latest Don Casey inspired project was to make new storage pockets for Aeolus. Like on most boats, there are a million little things to store, and some of them you access quite frequently. Also like with most boats, the places to store things are deep, dark and far away. For things like your sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm, your iphone, a warm hat, sailing gloves--for these things, you would like them to be readily identifiable and available.

Enter this project.

Perfect trip to Friday Harbor and Mantus proves itself again

Well we are just back from our trip to Friday Harbor and it went perfectly. Delivering Aeolus back to her home waters was as much a symbolic triumph as an actual accomplishment. I cannot adequately describe how great it felt to pull into the side of Lopez Island on our way into Lopez Pass, and to know we were back in these northern parts of the Salish Sea.

Friday afternoon gave me an opportunity to begin the trip by taking Aeolus north from Blakely Harbor on Bainbridge up to Port Madison, also on Bainbridge. I anchored out, which was somewhat tricky in the congested confines of that harbor, and soon Amy and the boys returned from piano practice to join me aboard for dinner. There is something so wonderful about being at anchor, and to feel the gentle shifts and movements of the hull in the sea. Like a leaf falling, or a cloud swaying, it is melodic in tune with rhythms beyond our reckoning.

The boys in Port Townsend on Saturday. We love river otters! Yes, despite their havoc on boats...

Voyage north to Friday Harbor about to begin

In just a few days we will board Aeolus and begin our journey north from Bainbridge Island to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands. The weather forecast is shaping up to be wonderful, with a high pressure system settling in to create fairly dry and even partly sunny weather. Winds are forecast to be mild from the SE.

In planning for this trip several bits of data become especially important. One is currents and of course the other is wind. Current in Admiralty Inlet can absolutely determine whether a displacement hull boat has any chance of forward progress. Luckily for us on this day, the dominant current this Saturday is ebbing from 8:45 all the way to 4:47. We will ride a river of water all the way from the Seattle area to Port Townsend.



View Sailing Bainbridge to Friday Harbor in a larger map

Mantus passes first test on trip to Blake Island

Our family took advantage of a lovely Sunday with sunshine to jump aboard Aeolus and head over to our nearby park island. Blake Island is a State Park and the only whole island park anywhere near Seattle. It isn't very wild, or especially interesting, but it's here, and has some nice urban views from the shoreline.

Elliott putting his back into it! Anchored at Blake Island.

Weather here has turned cold and clear, and in Seattle we will always take this combination as a break from cold and raining. So off we went to Blake and enjoyed a lively game of family frisbee and walked a few miles on the island trails.

Perhaps the most exciting news for this blog is that we got to try out our new Mantus anchor for the first time. We anchored in about 25 feet of water on a little shelf off the island and I let out 75 feet of chain. When we pulled back on the anchor to set it, we came to a definite stop. We then let ourselves sag forward a bit, and then I pulled back again and once more we came to a sudden halt. Well, I thought, that sure seems like a well dug in anchor!

Sand is evidence of it digging in!

When we were ready to leave we came back and Elliott helped as he does controlling the windlass from inside the pilothouse while I was on the bow handling the anchor. When we pulled up to about 1:1 the windlass actually bogged down a bit and had a moment of struggle to free the Mantus from the seabed. Let me tell you something, that never happened with our CQR. And our windlass is a 1000W Lofrans Tigres. A really beautiful beast.

So the Mantus set right away into a mud/sand bottom, held the boat firm when tugged back, and then was a bit hard to pull out with our windlass until we were really 1:1. I would say that is great news for this anchor and I am excited about giving some more work in the months ahead. 

Ground Tackle Upgrade: Mantus Anchor and less chain

The new Mantus on the right is a great improvement

I've come to see how Aeolus undergoes evolutionary changes befitting a vessel that has been in constant use by one family for over six years now.  Many of her systems were first fixed, updated, or modified back in 2007 when we first brought her into our lives, and some of those first attempts were best efforts but lacking in later wisdom. Isn't that the way life is? Or should be? Some of my early work has stood the test of time because I err on the side of copious research and nothing has changed in that particular field. Other items are amenable to change both because of changes in the field or because of an increase in my own understanding of the topic. The ground tackle on Aeolus is a prime example of the latter.

When we first bought her she had a ground tackle system I cannot quite recall, because I so soon upgraded it to something that has served her pretty well now since that time. She came with a 35lb CQR anchor, and I think they had that on a short amount of 5/16'BBB chain and rope. I replaced that original chain with 200' of 3/8'BBB and 150' of 5/8' 3 strand nylon.

New stern line and bag system

For us NW boaters, a stern line is as necessary as an anchor in many anchorages. You simply cannot stay in many of the prettiest places in the Salish Sea without some way to prevent your stern from swinging. This is caused by some combination of the depth of water, slope of seabed or popularity of the spot. Sometimes all three.

The completed bag playing piano!

On Aeolus, we have always used a simple system that met the criteria of doing the job. But like many simple systems that do jobs, it left a lot to be desired. Or rather, it provided ample opportunity for improvement, which is one of my favorite things to do! We used a plastic 5 gallon bucket to hold about 150' of 3/8 3 strand yellow nylon line. This was enough line to reach shore everywhere, but often not enough to double back to the boat. This means we had to go to shore to release our stern line every time, which was sometimes annoying at O'dark thirty. The bucket was used for nothing else, and took up a fair amount of space in the lazarette. And coiling the 3 strand back into the bucket was a real PIA.

Mesh bottom for drainage and breathing. This mesh is fiber reinforced.