We went down to the boat this weekend to finally put our cover on. Better late than never, or so we hope. Now that we have it, at least we’ll be able to get it on at a reasonable time next year.
It was relatively uneventful, although it did take us a long time to figure out how it works. We opted for the really nice cover that allows us to cover it with the mast up, but part of what makes it nice is the fact that it’s got about 2000 snaps and toggles on it with little cutouts and things to go around all of the stanchions, shrouds, and pulpit legs. Now all of the detailed measurements that we had to take make sense (and it seems like a much better value now that I know the amount of work that went into it). When it first arrived I spoke to Bob Rowland at The Sailor’s Tailor who made it, just to clarify some of the instructions and to ask for some tips. He was extrememly helpful and mentioned that a lot of people use them as summer covers between trips to the boat. I’m not sure that we’ll be doing that, but I can see how it would greatly reduce the maintenance required to the boat’s teak and things.
In other news, I also picked up a Davis Model 15 sextant. It was on craigslist for a very fair price. When I met the seller, it turned out that he used to keep his Catalina 25 in Cedar Creek Sailing Center. Small world. If/when I figure out how to actually use it maybe I’ll post an entry, but for now it’s just nautical as hell to own one.
