By Rich

This weekend we had 3/4 of Team Rover aboard for a quick one-day trip to Miami to see the University of Pittsburgh play Miami in men’s basketball. Just like the last time Lisa and I did a Lauderdale to Miami cruise aboard our Sabre 42, the forecast was for 15 knot easterlies, and just like the last time the forecast was way off (we had 25 knots with higher gusts again this weekend)! These were some of the liveliest conditions we’ve had the Hylas in, and the boat was fantastic. She really comes alive in these conditions, yet she somehow also exudes a confidence that makes everyone aboard feel completely at ease. Plus she makes seriously good time! Here’s a short video clip of the trip down with a reefed main and jib:

By Rich

We are planning a couple of short cruises this winter, but we plan to keep fairly close to Lauderdale to focus on getting the boat ready for the “big cruise.” First up: our main engine is burning a ton of oil (one quart per 50 hours of run time). Since it was compression tested in Charleston before we bought the boat, we don’t think it’s generally a tired engine. Rather, I suspect the turbo seals may have been leaking since I noticed a film of oil on the rubber portions of the induction pipes just upstream of the turbo compressor. So we decided to have the turbocharger and oil cooler removed to be serviced and checked for leaks. As things came apart we did see quite a bit of oil in the induction pipes where it shouldn’t be:

Continue reading What We’re Working On Now →

By Rich

And….we’re off! Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale was the first significant passage for Team Rover since bringing her home from Charleston. We left Saturday, November 23rd dressed in full ski gear hiding inside the enclosure while listening to college football on satellite radio.  Light head winds meant motoring all day and night.  Around dusk the rain started and it poured through much of the night. We could not have been happier to have the full enclosure; in fact, we never ran the heat for the entire passage, which meant we only needed to run the generator once to charge batteries. Continue reading Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale 2019! →

By Rich

Today we skipped what would have been great sailing weather to focus on getting the starboard forward tank cleaned out and its fuel lines replaced. Not ideal to give up a day of sailing but we need to get through our P1 projects before time runs out to get south! This tank had some of the worst debris and as it happens was the tank we were running off of when we killed the generator lift pump coming up from Charleston. Before and after photos:

By Rich

One of our mandates for the fall before we head south to Lauderdale is to test the boat in any challenging conditions we can to find any leaks or other weaknesses. Last Saturday we had around 20 knots from the south, so Brian and I went out for some double handing. We found a leak or two and confirmed we need to tune the rig. Plus we had a blast!

Photo Credits: Wilbur Keyworth

By Rich

We knew when we bought Rover that her bottom paint was toast and that her keel epoxy was flaking off the lead, so we weren’t too surprised to see what a couple of additional months had done with no effective bottom paint left.

Continue reading Our Bottom Was a Train Wreck So We Got a New One →

Continue reading We Just Discovered a Scary Fire Hazard On Our Boat →

By Rich

(Photos under sail credit to Lex B on s/v Acadia!)

We’ve been having a ball staying local for some daysailing and three weekends aboard. Two of those we enjoyed just picking up a mooring right in our own home town harbor! We enjoyed dingy rides in for takeout and then peaceful nights sleeping aboard during unseasonably cool and lovely nights.

Continue reading Cruising Our Hometown and St. Michaels →