A day late for a new adventure.

Yesterday, Sunday, April 15... was the day  PDHM (Port Dover Harbour Marina) opened! Currently there are a few power boats in but no sailboats. Saphira will probably spash closer to May when things start to warm up. As of Tempus Fugit..well she will go In this Saturday!!

Just an update..

Thanks,
  

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A Sail Maker In The Family.

My mother is a rather skilled sail maker/ bimini/dodger, mainsail cover type of of gal. She has almost finished a new mainsail, has made at least 3 mainsail covers and interior and exterior cushions!

If anyone is in need of some new fabrics anywhere on their sailboat feel free to fire me an email.



jordan.degruchy@yahoo.ca

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Saphira Finished!

 In the fall last year I decided that Saphira needed new covers on her cockpit benches.... So, I took the 1/4 inch plywood off without any trouble then realized things were in worse shape than I expected. Under the plywood there are ribs and cross sections to support the covers, and inside all the wood is floatation. ALL the wood was rotten on the starboard cockpit bench, inside and out and needed replacement. Luckily for me the port side was okay and seemed as though it had been redone before! So 5 months later with some luck, help and advice this boat was ready to be splashed.

Brand new tiller tamer installed.

Shiny hull with new VC-17

Saphira looking good!

Cockpit  redone.

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Boat Trip 2010

Tempus Fugit before leaving the dock.

I didn't go on this trip but the pictures tell the story!

HR 25 sailing faster than the wind!

HR 25 about to head into some weather.

Grampian 26

Grampian 26 and Hughes 25.

A Change In Colour, A Change In Time!

Saphira the year I got her.

Saphira the year after I got her.

Boat Trip 2011.

 Here are a few pictures of the trip we wen't on with a few of our sailor friends, Saphira is a little small to cross the lake so she didn't go, but luckily I hitched a ride with the rents' on their S2 8m. The trip was from PDHM (Port Dover Harbour Marina) all the way across the lake to Erie, better known to us as state side.

HR 25

Grampian 26 heeled over.

Clipper Marine 30

Tempus fugit working the wind!

Me in my prime!

Nice sunset in Erie.

As always feel

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Fast Forward In Time.

Ok, so last post was about the first sail on Saphira.....2 YEARS AGO. So I'm just going to fast forward Into where we are at now adays. It's April, the weather is still warming up and Saphira just got brand new bottom paint, all new varnish, and interior paint, as well as 1 new cockpit bench and new oak plywood covers on both. YES there were also finishing touches and some new hardware as well. Currently she is at my grandparents house waiting for the Marina to open, so she can be splashed. I will probably wait till May when the weather warms up though. Pictures will be up shortly!!

Saphira and the first sail.

So SAPHIRA got refinished bla bla bla. Then 2 years ago my step father and I took her for the first sail. It was a cool, crisp day in May? I can't remember it was a long time ago, anyway we got her all rigged up and away we went. The waves were only small and the wind was maybe 7 knots? AGAIN I can't remeber, shortly just as we got the sails up the boat begane to heel! I became frantic and let the main out... way, way out! To my surprise this boat was going to take a little getting used to, Saphira is not quite the same as my parents S2 8m. A few minutes later we were half way to Turkey Point and I was getting used to this kind of dinghy! Saphira points up wind surprsingly well and is a great little sailboat for camping etc.

Saphira a flying tern 14

Saphira is a 14 foot long stout and sturdy little day sailor. I acquired Saphira in the winter of 2010, soon after the purchase she was tucked away in the barn and was ready for a restoration! Saphira was white,came with no trailer,two sails, poor wood work and looked kind of dull. I give a special thanks to parents for supplying funding and extra work, towards bringing Saphira back to life. As any boat restoration works a good cleaning was first, I soon  realised underneath all the dirt and grime Saphira was actually turning into a sailboat! The next part was to sand all the horrible old varnish off, this step was very long and boring I might add. Once the varnish was off I washed the wood with acetone, and began varnishing. Soon it was on to the top sides, with a new shiny white deck she looked...well, new! Saphira is always fun to restore even if its sanding. After the wood, deck and rigging was sorted  out, it was onto the hull. With help from parents holes and scrapes were filled and grey primer was slapped on! Then blue.Then blue again, now we needed a decent road trailer to get to the marina and back. That means our utility trailer had be sacrificed. It only required some minor adjustments to turn a flat, piece of crap into a good boat trailer. Once the major restoration was done, of course there was things I wanted to add to make sailing better! Tying up at a near shore slip on dock six I found a new home, met some great people and had a jolly great summer! For my birthday my grandparents bought me a new minn-kota electric for saphira. It pushes her along nicely! Next post will be on the first sail and some great times be sure to check it out!!