Author Archives: lewisblevins

Here are a few short videos that I took years ago. I was on a sailboat cruising up the Nor Cal coast with some friends. We saw a flock of birds hanging out on the water and flying frantically in the sky nearby and figured there must be whales. Now, I don’t think of whalesContinue reading “Whale Watching”

After having seen the Matthew Turner on the SF Bay waters for about five years…we finally sailed on the vessel. The Matthew Turner is a Brigantine two-masted ship built as a replica of a larger vessel originally constructed by Turner, a boatbuilder of ships in the heyday of shipping in the Bay Area. You canContinue reading “Matthew Turner …finally!”

As most would verify, owning and working on one’s sailboat is associated with unusual situations and predicaments oft requiring boat yoga. In other words, putting one’s torso and limbs into unusual positions for extended periods of time to accomplish a job. Work also requires doing things in tight spaces. That part of it is aContinue reading “Boat Yoga”

When we took delivery of the Swan there was a full inventory of headsails including three spinnakers, a storm Jib, regular jib, and three Genoa sails. There were also two mainsails. Every single sail was rotten, had holes and rips, and we deemed them unsafe. I worked with Quantum Sails in Richmond to begin theContinue reading “Sail Inventory”

One of the things I appreciate about classic boats is they are replete with old fashioned ways of doing things relative to some of the newer vessels with the modern electronic conveniences. For example, the diesel tank on the vessel does not have a float or gauge or any sort. One simply removes a boldContinue reading “Fuel measures”

Sometimes, new things fail. Always be cautious. On July 4, we had a great time on the water. After shutting down the vessel at the end of our sail I performed my usual post-sail check before leaving the boat. The lowest part of the bilge, where the two manual bilge pump intake hoses are seated,Continue reading “Dripless Shaft Seal”

Finally! After 9 months of phase 1 of a retrofit, and two new engines, we took delivery of S/V Ruby two days ago. Instead of moving the vessel from the engine shop to the dock we decided to go sailing. It was our first sail as the vessel was not seaworthy when we made theContinue reading “Inaugural Test Sail”