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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

On the road to ... Lake Pleasant AZ

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sterngucker
Navigator

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USA
169 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/20/2005 : 02:15:35

The kids and I will be leaving in the morning for a week in Arizona. If all goes well C Angel should be in the parking lot of Pleasant Harbor Marina tomorrow afternoon, on the ramp rigging, and then on the water. I'm hoping to meet some of the handful of sailors from this forun that reside there. This will actually be her first time fresh water. I just completed installing a shore power system (inlet,panel,outlets, and dual battery charger) and I'm hoping it will work as well in a slip as it does in the driveway. See you on the water.

Charlie
"C Angel" 250WB #799

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Capt. Kurt
Navigator

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185 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2005 : 16:33:17

Hope to see you on the water Charlie. I'll likely take Tortuga out Sat 26th. You may want to check out Rosevelt lake on the east side of Phoenix, they say the water level is the highest its been in 10 years, its much larger than Pleasant.

Kurt
#818 C250Wk 'Tortuga'

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mday
Navigator

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197 Posts

Response Posted - 03/25/2005 : 22:17:22

Charlie,

I came out Friday and you were just pulling out of the marina. I tried hailing you on the radio, but didn't get an answer. You got a windy week here! I'm sure there's numerous scuff marks on your hull from trying to get in and out of the marina .... always a challenge on a windy day.

I was moving my boat from a temporary slip due to a boat show in the marina over to my home on Dock 3, slip 64. I had trouble pulling out of the slip ... wind started blowing me sideways and I ended up backing down the channel. Then the "admiral" had me buffing the resulting scuff marks off the hull.

I had to hustle home then to catch the NCAA hoops -- my alma mater was playing. If you have internet there (the marina has wireless service), check out the new canvas work.

If I don't catch up with you, hope you had a fun time.

Max

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sterngucker
Navigator

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USA
169 Posts

Response Posted - 03/29/2005 : 04:12:11

I am very sorry that I missed you all. I suppose that's what happens when you put in on a Monday morning and pull out on Saturday morning. We did have a wonderful time at Lake Pleasant, or is that "a pleasant time on Lake Wonderful" ?

Anchored for lunch

Around the docks at the ramp

Lookin' for a good spot to fish

Seriously, it was a great week and the weather was good for the most part, although unseasonalbly cool. I was thankful I had just finished my shore power installation (see below). A borrowed electric heater took the chill out of the cabin very nicely. It only rained on Thursday night and that was gone by morning.

BlueSea A/C Distribution Panel

Dual Battery Charger

Shore Power Inlet

I did get to meet some really nice folks. Mike showed me around his really nice Capri 26. There seemed to be a lot of Capri 26's at the marina. The last evening we met Marty and his family on their Mac 26x. It seemed to be the perfect boat for their needs.

Pleasant Harbor Marina

C Angel at her slip

Pleasant Harbor Marina was quite modern and well maintained. At $105 for the week it wasn't too bad a price even after adding the $6 a day parking fee. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I wish someone would have informed me of the underwater bar that connects each slip though... it proved to be quite a surprise when I first tried to back out of the slip and caught my centerboard. I have a slightly bent ladder as a souvenir. (anyone have ideas on bending 1" SS tubing?, pics later.) The wind was almost always blowing across the slip trying to push me into the power boat next to me. I am sure I provided entertainment to anyone watching on a few occasions. I did get ALOT of crosswind docking practice. The very long walk to and from my truck wasn't convenient but these were my only complaints. At night, during the week, the marina was like a ghost town. We practically had the place to ourselves.

The lake was surprisingly deep, 250 feet at the dam. Most of the lake was 100+ and you had to get right up next to the shore to get below 20. I was able to get in a lot of much needed sailing time and learned a lot during that week about sail trim and how C Angel handles. Lake sailing seems more demanding than coastal sailing. The wind direction was always shifting around the hills and canyons. In the afternoon the gusts would catch you by surprise. We tried drowning a few worms and I missed setting my one and only strike, but it seemed like a healthy one.

Towing the boat back and forth from California was thankfully uneventful. The boat towed very nicely under 65 mph. The biggest cost of the entire trip was the gasoline consumed. Travelling a thousand miles at 9-10 mpg was not trivial. With the cost of gas on the rise, my planned summer trip to Wichita is certainly in jeapordy. Bugs were plentiful with a the rain and plant growth. Cleaning off all the road kill was a necessary part of the setup procedure.

Sorry for the long post... hope some find it interesting. I have some sail trim questions for the experts but it will have to wait for tomorrow.

Edited by - on

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 03/29/2005 : 05:34:18

Charlie, great report on a nice sailing vacation... glad you had a good time. Yes, it has been unseasonably cool. Easter here was very cool and rainy with the grandkids locked indoors for the traditional egg hunt.

Great pics of the upgrades that made the cruise enjoyable.

Sorry to hear about the bent ladder... unless its kinked, it should straighten.

btw, a friendly reminder or tip from something noted in your last pic of your boat bundled in the slip, something that could possibly save some grief some day. Over the years, we've had a couple of reports of shredded headsails on 250s. I don't know if this is more typical to a CDI furler, but suspect it's wise for all furling systems.

Take caution to secure the furled headsail to prevent a high wind from working enough slack to jerk it out and damage it. Using a halyard, wrap the sail and tie the halyard off to the bow pulpit, doing so protects the headsail and the halyard has to be led away from the mast so it won't slap anyway, its killing two birds with a single stone.

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Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1768 Posts

Response Posted - 03/29/2005 : 07:50:15

Hi Charlie,

Wow ... what a great trip & pics! Thanks for taking the time to write it up and post the photos ... 'glad you had a great time!

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Al
Captain

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USA
269 Posts

Response Posted - 03/29/2005 : 16:01:34

Charlie,

GREAT post and pictures. And the underwater "bar" sounded great--till I read on! Not the kind I was imagining....!

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Capt. Kurt
Navigator

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185 Posts

Response Posted - 04/11/2005 : 14:45:59

sterngucker
"I wish someone would have informed me of the underwater bar that connects each slip though... it proved to be quite a surprise when I first tried to back out of the slip and caught my centerboard. I have a slightly bent ladder as a souvenir. "

Last friday a 21 yr old kid jumped off a house boat and hit that bar. He never came up, they were looking for his body all weekend :(

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aeckhart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1709 Posts

Response Posted - 04/11/2005 : 17:55:53

Anyone know what the bar is for? Sounds like a real liability hazard for the marina.

Al
GALLIVANT #5801

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 04/11/2005 : 18:33:46

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by aeckhart
 Anyone know what the bar is for? Sounds like a real liability hazard for the marina.

Al
GALLIVANT #5801
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Yes. Depending on the type of construction, some fingers need the cross bracing or the fingers twist dangerously. In deep enough water V shaped bracing can be used and sailors never know it is there. I shallower water the bracing is usually at 4-5 feet and straight across. My slip (which I helped build in the mid 80s) has one at 5 feet so when I am coming in to the club I put 15 cranks on my keel. I still have good steerage and draw about 4'. Solid fingers are worth their weight or bracing in gold.

Edited by - on

mday
Navigator

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197 Posts

Response Posted - 04/12/2005 : 01:49:02

The marina and docks at Lake Pleasant are a huge floating structure that has an underwater frame to hold it all together. It's held in place by steel cables connected to (massive) concrete structures on the bottom of the lake. Since the lake is really a reservoir, the water rises and falls as much as 100 feet, and the marina adjusts the cables on big ratcheting spools. It's quite an operation .... probably why it cost so much to keep my boat there! There's constant work by divers inspecting and repairing the structure and cables.

Anyway, there are a number of "deep water" slips for sailing vessels with a draft over 5 feet. There are a number of Catalina 30s in these slips.

Anyone else visiting should get in touch ..... there's a discount on slip rental for "friends" of a marina member.

Max

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sterngucker
Navigator

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USA
169 Posts

Response Posted - 04/12/2005 : 03:59:11

Wow, really sorry to read about the young man's fatal injury. The lake is incredibly deep right there at the marina, being right next to the dam and all. I know we all see too many warning and caution signs everywhere, but the marina should be informing people about the existance of those underwater structural supports. Maybe they will now.

Edited by - sterngucker on 04/12/2005 04:03:58

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