Engine Mounts and That Which Goes with 'Em

Back last summer I let a friend use the vessel while I was working away. I came home, all seemed well and I spent the rest of the season sailing and motoring the vessel from Lake Erie up the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers to Lake Huron. In all, I put on around 100hrs including a rough 18hrs motoring in up to 8ft sig waves on Lake Huron. The only thing I thought strange was, motoring from turbid Western Lake Erie into the crystal clear Lake Huron, I could see through the water that there was a rope wrapped around the propeller shaft. I thought this strange and I couldn't recall any incident when it happened but I assumed I must have run over a fish trap or something. The rope didnt appear to be causing any harm, the water was cold and I am soft. With haulout only a week or two away, I opted to leave the rope till I hauled out rather than jump overboard into the cold Lake Huron water to remove the rope.

The engine ran well the whole time with no noticeably excessive vibration.

You can imagine how shocked I was when, during the end of season oil change, I noticed that the two forward engine mounts were cracked and the aft two were severely dislodged. The engine was riding on the engine stringers with nothing but gravity holding it in place. Yipes! How did this happen? When did it happen?

A quick Google later and I learned that wrapping a rope around the prop can cause engine mounts to crack. Huh. You don't say...

Suspiciously, there was on deck a 3/4" dockline with a ragged end. I knew I hadn't had any incident to damage the dockline and so I wondered if perhaps the damage had occurred when my friend was using the boat. I called to ask if he had had any incident.

“Well, there was that one time that the engine stopped”

“Stopped? How did it stop?”

“Well, I was idling along and it stopped”

“Idling? How many revs? 700rpm? 800rpm?”

“Oh, more like about 1700rpm”

“1700rpm is nearly max torque. I think the engine was trying to exit the boat!!”.

“Oh”

                                             …___...

So, I work offshore and, while I was at sea, I had a month to ponder just how I was going to lift the 1400lb Perkins 4-236 the required 6” or so needed in order to remove the old engine mounts and slide in new. There is no convenient overhead place to mount a hoist.  I read at lot of creative ideas including using inflated basketballs and fenders to raise the engine. That may well have worked in principle but my engine pan is just made from sheet steel with no support underneath it and though inflated bags might have lifted the engine, there was no support below the bags.

The Liberty is a center cockpit and, in principle, I could have removed the cockpit floor to gain access to the engine bay but there is so much cabinetry, wiring, plumbing etc that would have had to come out it would have been a multi-week project with untold havoc incurred when it came time to re-instate everything.

Instead, I had to come up with some way to support the engine using the available stringers. I settled on fabricating two screw jacks consisting of a steel U-shaped frame that straddles the shock mounts. Through the center of the “U” runs a 5/8” all-thread rod. A thrust bearing separates a nut from the frame. On the bottom of the all-thread is bolted an eye. Two jacks were built.

I started by lifting the front of the engine. Using ¼” Dyneema rope, I lashed the eye to the engine mount, bolted to the engine. With both jacks in place, I proceeded to tighten the nuts, raising the engine, one inch per side. Going back and forth, with the help of some wooden blocking, I was able to lift the engine high enough to allow me to slide out the old, cracked mounts and slide in the new (being very careful to never allow my hand to get under the engine mount in case it were to let go and crush my hand).

New engine mount slid into place. 

With the forward mounts in place, I repeated the operation in the aft of the engine.

Also damaged was the flexible coupling which I must say, saved my transmission and for which I am very grateful, and the cutless bearing.

Deformed flexible drive which saved the vessel's transmission. 

All in all, the repair probably took me about 5 days from start to finish. I can’t be too annoyed with my friend as he bought all the replacement mounts, flexible coupling and Cutless Bearing. I secretly enjoyed the project.

Heading North: Toledo Beach to Alpena and beyond

Again, it's been too long since I have last blogged about the Australis.  Work commitments and other factors stood in the way of cruising but happily, my situation has changed somewhat and I find myself with much more time to spend aboard the Australis.

My long term goal for the Australis is to cruise her to southern climes which was the inspiration for her name:  Australis is Latin for Southern which is the general direction I ultimately aspire to cruise.

But, I've always said that before I leave the Great Lakes, I want to first visit some of the best cruising grounds in the world, the North Channel of Lake Huron and then Lake Superior.  So, before I finally head south, I must first point the Australis North and so, this September, I departed Lake Erie, possibly for the last time, and headed up the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and the St Clair River in order to break out into Lake Huron with all that she has to offer.


Thursday Sept. 12th:  After a busy few days preparing for the big trip, I set out for Toledo Beach Marina on my motorcycle in order to motor up to Milliken State Park and Harbor in downtown Detroit where Ingrid would meet me in the evening.  The day was cloudy but mostly fine and the trip up was uneventful.  As I came up the Detroit River to the marina the threatening clouds opened up with a sustained drizzle reducing visibility to about 1/4 mile and a steady breeze blowing from the North.  As I was alone and coming into an unknown marina, the poor weather ratcheted up my anxiety as maneuvering a 46ft yacht in tight quarters can be a handful especially with a breeze blowing.  I need not have worried.  As I came into the protected marina, the breeze dropped out and I found a good sized basin to rotate the vessel.  Coming around I was presented with a good open slip which I docked into with an untypical grace and aplomb.  I was disappointed to find that unlike the many times when I have had a cast of thousands standing by to observe my crash landings and call out advice, this one time that everything went right was only observed by a couple of wry seagulls and I don't think they were overly impressed.

Accessed directly downstream of Belle Isle, Milliken State Park is a very pleasant park right in the heart of Detroit.  It boasts a sophisticated engineered storm sewerage treatment using wetlands that are incorporated into the park as a natural space for urbanites to visit.  It's a cleverly conceived and executed idea. I definitely recommend the harbor it to anybody who might be traveling through Detroit looking for an overnight stopover.

Pulling alongside, one thing that I immediately noticed over Lake Erie was the relative clarity of the water.  I was surprised to find that I was able to see the rudder and propeller of the boat quite clearly.  I was even more surprised to find that there appeared to be a rope wrapped around the propeller but more about this in another post.

In the evening, after she finished work, Ingrid came aboard bearing gifts of Sloe's BBQ.  This was demolished in drizzling rain and, having had a busy but successful day, we went to bed early knowing we had a big day tomorrow as we worked our way North.

Downtown Detroit as viewed from the marina.

Model of East Tawas light at entrance to Milliken State Park

Friday Sept. 13th/Saturday 14th:  The Big Days.  We had been planning this day for some time.  It was to be Ingrid's first overnight passage with the final destination planned to be Alpena, MI.  I had been following the weather on Ventusky app and it looked like we would pick up a strong beam reaching breeze as we entered Lake Huron which would result in sleigh ride run up the coast to Alpena.  What transpired was not quite that...

Fresh and chirpy leaving Milliken State Park.        

We were not quite so chipper by the time 

we were to next make landfall.

Getting underway soon after dawn we worked our way up the last stretch of the Detroit River and into Lake St. Clair.  Having grown up in Gross Point, this was Ingrid's childhood stomping grounds and it was fun to have her point out places that she remembered from boating with her family as a girl.

Peche Island where Ingrid's family used to picnic.

The weather was calm as we motored through Lake St. Clair and on into the St. Clair river.  As we got into the river there was a pronounced change in Speed Made Good as we worked our way against the current.  Working under power, we were occasionally able to set the Genoa which gave us an extra 0.5knots but most of the way our SOG was around 4knts while the water slipped by at around 6 knots, the Australis normal cruising speed.  Despite having to motor upriver, it was a relaxing day as we watched the shoreline pass by while staying out of the way of the few freighters that we encountered along the way.  On more than one occasion, our new AIS unit was very helpful in giving us forewarning that a freighter was about to come around a bend and it was a comfort to know that their bridge crew knew that we were there also.  There was very little recreational traffic on the river which was a significant contrast to the last time I was on the river, which was in mid summer, and the river was abuzz with jet skis, ski boats and all manner of other craft.

One of several freighters we encountered on the way up river.

It was like having a load lifted off of us as we passed under the Bluewater Bridge at the entrance to Lake Huron.  Here, we left the counter current of the river's flow and entered into the lake.  The weather was stormy and unsettled.  As we set the sails we were met with a squall gusting to 30+kts which was a harbinger of things to come.

Bluewater bridge at entrance to Lake Huron.

With a full moon to keep us company, we sailed our way up "The Thumb" of Michigan with good speed.  It was looking like my cunning plan was going to come off and I awaited the fresh SW breeze with anticipation.   At around 2:00am the breeze did kick in but it was more Westerly than expected and I had misjudged the boat's ability to carry the 150% genoa in strong wind; it can't.  The fresh 20-23 kt breeze overpowered the Genoa and it had to be furled.  With just the staysail to provide lift, the boat was not able to make the rumbline to Alpena as planned under sail and motoring with the beam on sea was not tenable and so we had to choose whether to return south to Harbor Beach or slog about 35 miles of open water across to East Tawas.  After some consideration we opted for Tawas knowing it would mean an exhausting slog to weather over the shallow water entrance to Sandusky Bay.  

Rainbow showing through after first squall encountered after entering Lake Huron.

This in itself would have not been so bad but I had a niggling concern that the engine was burning oil excessively.  When I checked the engine oil level in Detroit, to my surprise and concern it appeared that over the 8hr run from Toledo Beach to Detroit that I had burned about half the dip-stick measure of oil, or about 2 litres.  In Detroit I had put in the last litre or so of oil that I carried on board thinking that it would be sufficient for an hour or two if motoring if needed but something that required attention once I had a chance.  

Working away hour upon hour into the 8ft sig waves, I was not able to stop the vessel long enough to check the oil and, I reasoned, even if I did and found it was low, being out of oil there was little I could do about it.  So, hour on hour we slogged away into the slop, nursing the engine at comparatively low revs, dreading the low oil pressure alarm that would sound indicating that we had burned all of the oil in the sump.  If this did occur, we had a game plan on how we would wear ship and sail back around The Thumb to Harbor Beach. It would be an exhausting turn of events but not unsafe. To my mind, though it was closer and offered immediate shelter, approaching land from the windward side of the thumb, to go into Port Elliot at the NW tip of The Thumb, now on a lee shore, was not an option.  As it was, we were tired and beat up but essentially safe.  To find ourselves on the lee shore potentially with no engine would have become a dangerous situation to be avoided if at all possible.

While all this was going on, I succumbed to seasickness.  Ingrid held the fort, kept me company and looked out for me as we worked our way into the large seas.  At first, the best we could do was about 2kts with the waves constantly stopping us short.  Over time, as we approached shore, the waves moderated and we were able to get up to about 4kts.  We had been up for about 40hrs straight when we finally pulled into East Tawas State Harbor.  The folks there were excellent and set us up with a perfect slip and were right there to help us come in.  This was very welcome as we were working in against a stiff breeze and it took a team to handle the lines against the wind until we were settled.

When we were safely tied up, the first thing I did was to check the engine oil that had been a constant source of worry during the passage and which had prevented me from applying more throttle which would have shortened our trip by several hours.  Expecting to see the sump about dry I was surprised and much relieved when it showed full.  The low measurement I had in Detroit must have just been a measurement error.  I must not have pushed the dip-stick properly home when I read the oil level.  The engine was not burning oil at all.   My first emotion was "Whew!".  My second emotion was "Dugh!"

Ingrid treated me to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and we slept the sleep of the exhausted.  I was so grateful to Ingrid for her stamina and cool head.  Between seasickness and exhaustion, I was thoroughly burned out and discouraged but Ingrid, though I know she was unnerved by the size of the seas and the movement of the vessel through them, had endured in her calm, purposeful and steady way.  She helped me out in every way she could and stood watch with me. It's in times like this that one gets to know a person for real and I'm proud to tell anybody who will read this that Ingrid is one solid individual and I'm honored to have her as my partner and crew.

East Tawas Marina.

Sunday Sept. 15th:  In the evening of the 13th, my friend Dan Higby came aboard.  Our plan had been for Dan to meet us in Alpena and we were planning to sail to Tobermory and spend a few days around SE Manitoulin Island and the Bruce Peninsula but, after the last two days Lake Huron had shown me that she was in charge and not my charting app on which I had planned a very ambitious cruise.  So, with my ambitions much diminished, I resolved to center our trips around the weather and not around some arbitrary program.  As we ate breakfast, the three of us discussed our future plans and decided that, the wind being from the East and much moderated after the previous day, we would head up to Alpena and make our plans from there on a day-to-day basis.  Tobermory, I decided, can wait for another time.  Instead, for now, we would spend a week pottering up and down the coast of Michigan, do some hiking and generally getting in some relaxation.

Ingrid headed off in Dan's car for Alpena where she would swap out cars and return back to Ann Arbor for work.  Dan and I would sail up to Alpena.  We headed out with a steady 15kt breeze from the east which provided us with some brisk, rail down sailing.

This was the kind of conditions that this boat was built for and we made a stead 7-8 kts most of the way from East Tawas to Alpena.  It was really fun to give the boat her head and watch her surge along in great loping strides.

The breeze moderated over the day but we sailed the whole way and it was after dark before we pulled into Alpena.  We'd had one of the best days sailing that I've ever had on the boat and settled into our comfortable, quiet berth for a day of rest.

Monday Sept. 16th: After almost two weeks where I had been going pretty much flat out, I was happy to take a day off, rest up and deal with minor maintenance items.  Dan and I took a drive around the town to refresh my memory of the town and buy some supplies.  We dealt with small items including getting the RIB's outboard running, taking on fuel and pumping out the holding tanks.  It was nice to be taking it easy.

Entrance to Alpena Marina

Peaceful day in port

Tuesday Sept. 17th: Enough lazing about, the wind was fair for Presque Isle so in the morning, after a civilized breakfast, of coffee, eggs and blueberry pancakes we headed out.  Rounding Thunder Bay lighthouse we were sure to leave plenty of sea-room lest we become yet another of the 200 or so shipwrecks in the Thunder Bay National Marine Shipwreck Sanctuary.  Well clear of the point and with the wind fair, we hoisted the genniker and ran all the way North to Presque Isle.  It was nice to be able to set the one sail and get out of the cockpit and start installing some 40 odd of the 300 screw bungs that need to be replaced on the Australis' newly re-caulked deck.  This, I thought, was the way cruising was meant to be; getting to where you are going while keeping busy with other activities.

The Intrepid Dan Higby

Low maintenance genniker pulling nicely

Ghosting into harbor under staysail alone

                                          

Peacefully at anchor in Presque Isle anchorage

Pulling into Presque Isle was a real treat.  After an idyllic day's sail, the breeze had dropped out and the evening was peaceful as we glided into our protected anchorage.  With only two other boats in the anchorage, we had ample room to find a good spot and set anchor for the evening.

During the day we had been overtaken bu a 70ft custom motor/sailor who had hailed us by VHF and invited us to join them when we got in.  We went aboard for a couple of hours to meet the couple who were working through a Great Circle.  They were full of stories about their adventures working from the Bahamas, to storms off Cape Hatteras, to picking up a power cable with their anchor in New Jersey.  It was a couple of hours jam packed with stories of life aboard a big boat.  The couple reminded me of the type of folks one finds in the Outback back in Australia.  Very independent and living life on their terms.

It was nice to settle back onboard the comfortable and manageable Australis and, as I sat back having enjoyed a simple dinner of anti pasta, cheese, hummus, crackers and other finger food, I was very grateful for the home that Australis has become to me.  With a fine day behind us and anticipation of a day's hiking on the morrow, the crew of the Australis were a pair of happy campers.

Wednesday Sept. 18th: In the morning we packed for a day's hiking and set ashore in the RIB.  We tied up in Presque Isle marina and happened to meet Daryl Write, also from Dexter, who is a long time shipwreck hunter.  Daryl was heading out for a day of testing some of his search equipment.  Presque Isle is exactly the kind of place one would expect to meet Daryl.  He has been at shipwreck hunting since well before I started SeaView Systems and he is still going strong deploying his own, self built search equipment.

Dan and I walked to Thompson's harbor State Park which is a shoreside wilderness park that boasts some very unique plants including a unique iris and pitcher plants.  I don't think it was the right time of year to see these flowers in bloom though it may just be that my layman's eye didn't detect them.

Dan is an a knowledgeable birder and he spent time enjoying the various species present in the park.  One of the very first birds I saw was a bald headed eagle in flight which was a thrill for me.  Dan identified many more species and cataloged them for upload onto a database upon his return home.  All in all, we walked around 6 or 7 miles and covered a broad spectrum of habitats.  It's a beautiful wilderness park which, judging by the partially overgrown trails, is visited by only a small population.

Thursday Sept. 19th:  Satisfied with our trip to Presque Isle we departed in the knowledge that this would become a staple destination for the Australis in the future.  We headed back south to Alpena, under motor, initially in a dead calm growing to a modest southerly breeze similar to that which we had so enjoyed two days earlier.  Today, the breeze was now right in our teeth so we were glad to have gotten an earlyish start to avoid the worst of it.  Even so, by the time we reached Thunder Bay Light, the seas were building and as we rounded the point, we could see the waves breaking upon the reef that has taken so many ships in the past.  It gives one a thrill up the spine to see the breaking water and to know that but for a couple of hundred yards of searoom, we too would be one of that number.

Safely around the point we were able to make sail and sailed on to our new home, Thunder Bay Shores Marina which, true to it's sign at the entrance, is indeed a warm and friendly port.

That evening, Ingrid drove 4-5hrs back up from Ann Arbor to Alpena.  Bearing homemade cornbread and locally harvested honey, she settled back onto the vessel.  It was nice to have her back onboard.

Friday Sept. 20th:  The forecast showed that in the afternoon the southerly breeze would drop out so we decided to spend the morning in port and then head on down to Negwegon State Park and anchor off there for the evening in order to explore the park on the following day.

Waiting for the breeze, we headed out for the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center which is the excellent museum run by NOAA as part of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.  Touring the museum again was a pleasure as was re-acquainting with various NOAA personnel who I have met over the years through SeaView Systems.  In truth, I think I know more people in Alpena than I do in Dexter/Ann Arbor area.

In the afternoon, we set off for the South Point of Thunder Bay where we planned to anchor in readiness of visiting the Negwegon State Park.  Ordinarily, anchoring off the park would be untenable as the South Point presents a series of dangerous shoals but, as the forecast was for very light winds until noon the following day, we took the opportunity to work our way into the shallow waters to anchor out for the night and enjoy the park.

Upon arrival we found our way into a spot which allowed us to get reasonably close to shore while keeping a safe margin of water under our keel.  We went ashore for a shore reconnaissance which amounted to strolling up and down the beach for a half hour until we found the trailhead.  Once we worked out where to go ashore in the morning we returned to the vessel for a peaceful night at anchor.

Negwegon State Park.  Australis at anchor.

Saturday Sept. 21st: Using the calm weather, we set out for the morning to walk a roughly 6 mile loop of the park.  We all set out together but Dan's birder's eye had him stop periodically to spy birds while Ingrid and I marched on, enjoying the varying habitats as we approached the shore and then worked our way inland to the more open and wooded forest.  Early fall is a lovely time in Michigan forests.  The insects are less aggressive than in mid-summer, the temperatures are ideal for walking and the trees and undergrowth are still green and verdant.  Most impressive to me were durable mosses covering wide stretches of forest flaw, ferns and old growth birches with their distinctive trunks of light colored bark with horizontal striations which always remind me of Shepherd's sketches from the Winnie the Pooh stories.

As Ingrid and I came back out onto the beach around noon it was apparent that the wind was picking up and we were again on a lee shore.  Dan was a little behind us as he had been delayed by the birding and so it was around 1pm that we finally all got back onboard.  As it turned out, all was well and we got back out into deep water before the wind picked up too much but I learned a lesson not to dally on a shore with a rising wind.  It is not worth the anxiety!

Heading back to Alpena we strolled about town for an hour or so, passing by a street party with live music on the main street.  We had dinner at the John A Lau Saloon and Restaurant which is my favorite Alpena eating/drinking establishment.  The food there did not disappoint and we all enjoyed the night out.

This about ended the mini cruise.  The following day both Ingrid and Dan had to return to their homes and I stayed on to perform some end-of-year maintenance on the boat.  On the Tuesday, I took my friend and business partner Geoff Cook back down to South Point where we used a BlueROV with a 4K camera that Geoff has developed to capture some sample video of the wreck William H, Stevens.

Click on image to go to SeaView Systems webpage where you can download 4K HD video of this wreck

Geoff Cook operating the BlueROV from the cockpit of the Australis.  Note the ominous case of antifreeze winterizing fluid as his backstop.

We got the video we needed and minutes later, the NOAA vessel who had kindly waited for us to finish came in and picked the mooring for the season.  There was no getting around it.  The season had come to an end.  So, I had to reluctantly prepare her to come out for the year. 

Australis in the Alpena Marina travelift

All in all, it was a most satisfying introduction to Lake Huron and it has whet our appetites for adventures to come next year.

Many thanks to Ingrid Crause and Dan Higby who provided most of the images used in this blog.

Dont Give Up the Ship! Boy Scout sailing camping adventure on Lake Erie.

Hello Cruising Australis friends. It's been way too long since I last posted but I'm going to get back into the saddle and start posting the sail trips, maintenance, cooking and other aspects of life aboard the Australis.

I just came back from a wonderful weekend with Dexter Scout Troop 456 camping on Middle Bass Island on Lake Erie.

Thursday: Jim Rodgers, one of the Scouts dad and very experienced sailor and I sailed the Australis over from her home port at Toledo Beach Marina to the Middle Bass Island State Park Marina. It was a brisk sail, close hauled in building seas with 20+ knots of breeze.
Friday: Traveled to Middle Bass via ferry to meet the Australis who arrived the night before. Set up camp and spent the evening playing games aboard the Australis. A couple of sporting lads tried their hand at scooting my Poohduck Skiff (https://www.woodenboat.com/boat-plans-kits/12-10-pooduck-skiff) about the harbor in the 20knt breeze.
Saturday: We ferried the Scouts from Middle Bass Island to Put-in-Bay in a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) for a day's sightseeing over the island. We visited the Perry's Victory and International Peace Monument and Perry's Caves. The boys rode back to Middle Bass on the 1961 Sonny S ferry.
Sunday: Daytrip on the Australis to Kelly's island. It was an idyllic day for boating in the north bay. The boys enjoyed sailing, kayaking and swimming both off of the boat and off the sandy swimming beach. We visited the Glacial Grooves formation, hiked the North Shore trail and enjoyed an ice-cream and a swim. Quiet breeze and a wonderful sunset wrapped up the day.
Monday: Some scouts decamped via the Miller Ferry to drive home while others enjoyed a brisk run home to Michigan on the Australis. With 25-30knts of breeze and "gunnels in the water" the boys got a taste for big boat sailing at it's best.

These lads operate in the very best traditions of the Boy Scouts. They were uncomplaining in the beginning of the trip when the weather wasn't as nice as hoped and we had to change plans. They were always good natured and supportive of each other even when tired and wet. Everybody pitched in gladly and did their bit. A finer bunch of lads I couldn't hope to know.

Schooling up on Lake Superior

Great Lakes Cruising Club

In preparation for the Australis' big trip to Lake Superior in late June I've been enjoying reading up on what to expect.  I'm a member of the Great Lakes Cruising Club.  This is a wonderful resource in that they have many hundreds of "Harbor Reports" which are reports on all of the many ports, coves and anchorages throughout the Great Lakes.  The reports are prepared by volunteers and there is certainly some variance in the quality of various reports but, generally speaking, they are extreamly helpful and packed with local knowledge.

In addition to the Harbor Reports that members have written and provided to the club are a series of webinars provided by the Great Lakes Cruising Club School. This is all still run by the GLCC.  This year they have held a series of webinars which run for about 1 hour each.  A lecturer walks you through an online PowerPoint presentation of their experiences on the lakes.  The clubs annual gathering is in Duluth, MN, on Lake Superior this year (2016) and so their school focus has been on Lake Superior (happily for me).

The webinars I've viewed today include:

• Introduction to Cruising Lake Superior
• Cruising Lake Superior's Canadian Shores
• Cruising Lake Superior's South Shore
• Wilderness Cruising Lake Superior's Isle Royale

The webinars cost $15 each for members but they did a package deal for all of the Lake Superior series and, while not dead cheap, really do offer some good information that you cant get out of a book.

Superior Way

The next source of information for me has been Bonnie Dahl's excellent book Superior Way.  This book is pretty much legendary with anybody cruising, or planning to cruise, Lake Superior.  It provides a detailed look at just about every one of the hundreds of anchorages and ports all along the 2980 miles of shoreline!  The book is in it's 4th (and last?) edition.  It's full of good information showing just where shoals are and where one can anchor in all weathers.

Navionics

The next planning tool is a charting software program by Navionics.  Navionics uses vector charts that can be accessed over many different platforms.  I have both an app on my Android phone and also an app (Navionics HD) on my Windows 10 PC.  I purchased charts for USA and Canada about a year ago and am able to download detailed charts onto either platform. 

I have used these charts extensively.  It was really useful last year when I went down to the Dry Tortugas.  I was able to view where I was on my smartphone while I was right on the helm.  In this case, I've been having fun working through the various routes and projected itinerary working out how far I can plan to travel each day and where I might like to go.  It's very early days yet and the trip keeps changing day by day but finally, I hope to hone into a trip that will work for the most folks and provide the best experience for the most people.

Richardsons Lake Superior Chartbook and Cruising Guide

Richardsons chartbooks are the bibles of the Great Lakes.  I have them for lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan.  I haven't yet bought this book for Lake Superior but I soon will.  Electronic charts are great but there still isn't anything quite like being able to set a chart on your lap and stab a point and say, that's where we are.  If the power goes down, the GPS breaks,  it's good to know that I'll still have the paper chart as the basis of my navigation.

Google Docs

I've been using Google Docs, both the Calendar function and the spreadsheet function to allow me to work out itineraries and maintenance "To Do" lists which I can readily share with other crewmembers.

In the example shown here, I have color coded the days into three seperate legs of the cruise.  These include the Southern Shore (Orange), Isle Royal (yellow) and NE Shore (green).  I use the spreadsheet to monitor how may miles we will need to travel each day and how many hours, on average, of sailing.

Two Hearted Trail Marathon

For years I've been doing a bit of running.  I'm not really very serious but I like to run in order to try to stay more or less in shape.  In particular, when the weather is nice, I like to trail run.  We have some really nice trails in the Pinckney Recreation Area near Dexter.

For the last couple of years I've been kicking about the idea of running a marathon.  Now, please understand that I don't intend making a habit of this.  For one thing, racing long distances requires that you train long distances which means spending a lot of spare time away from family and the Australis.  Second, it's rough on your body, particularly your joints and, so I read, even your heart muscles. Despite these few detractions, I've felt for some time that running one marathon in my life would be a fun, healthy achievement and I reason that if I'm ever going to do it, at 48 years old, now would probably be a pretty good time.

I don't much care for crowds.  In 2013, I ran in the Dexter Ann Arbor half marathon.  It was a fun run but the crowd at the beginning of the race, before everyone spread out, was not my thing and besides, I prefer trail running over road running.  So, I reasoned that if I was going to run a marathon, I should run a trail marathon.

But where?  Searching about online I came across the Two Hearted Trail Marathon which is billed as follows:

Located in the remote, wild northeastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Two Hearted River captured the imagination of Ernest Hemingway in his novel "The Big Two Hearted River." In addition to world class trout fishing this region features one of the most remarkable stretches of shoreline in the entire Lake Superior basin. Runners in the 50K and Marathon will experience this rugged coastline first hand via single track on high bluffs and more intimate shoreline forests. In addition, the race course winds inland along the shores of Culhane Lake and the Little Two Hearted River. The course is 80% single track and 20% dirt forest road or two track. This course has the capacity to transform the way you see nature and the world. half marathon is a challenging loop that takes runners through old growth white pine forest and along the much loved ridge on the southern shore of Clark Lake. All races finish at the Upper Tahquamenon Falls, second highest east of the Mississippi. Camp 33 Brew Pub is located 200 meters from the finish.

How could I resist?!  Towards the end of last year (2015), I started training for the race which will be held in and around the Tahquamenon Falls State Park on June 25th.

Running in this race has indirectly been the catalyst for an upcoming cruise to Lake Superior. Lake Superior has been high on my list of places I wanted to cruise with the Australis before I take her out of the Great Lakes and start working south but I had mentally kicked the can for a Lake Superior cruise down the road some years ahead.  But, with my marathon race registration comfortably setting in my inbox, I started thinking about where I would stay during the race weekend and the thought occurred to me, "Wouldn't it be nice if I could get the Australis up there and stay on her while I was running the race?".  A quick consultation with my friend and sailing buddy, David Kunitz, resulted in him kindly agreeing to deliver her up to Whitefish Bay for me earlier in June, and have her there on the 24th ready for the race.  Wow!  How cool is that?

After the race, I'm planning to take a 3 week vacation to cruise over to Isle Royal National Park and then sail along the NE Canadian shore.



So, now not only do I get to run a marathon along some beautiful wilderness trails, I then get to cruise some of the most pristine and remote wilderness in North America.  I've got a lot of preparation between now and then but this is shaping up to be quite and adventure.

I've been putting in some descent miles on the treadmill and on the trail when the weather permits.  I've been running into some hip bursitis trouble but my dear friend Ingrid Crause, who is an experienced athlete and certified trainer, has been giving me some good training advice and I'm confident that one way or another I'll get my wombly arse into shape enough to finish the race sometime before the sun goes down on the day of June 25th.