Home

Oystering Under Sail -- photo 4

This was a working sail day. That means we dredged under sail power alone. The skipjacks have yawl or push boats, dinghy's that are completely filled by engine, that they use to get in and out of harbor. In recent years, they're allowed to use these engines to push the boat while dredging on a couple days of the week. But not today. We'd "take a lick" over the oyster rock and then Wade would rev the donkey engine, an old six-cylinder gas engine mounted in a box on deck. The crew would activate the clutches that drove the dredge winches, hauling the dredges up to the gunwhales. There, two men would grab the dredge and heave it up, dumping the shell on the deck.


<- Previous ~ Contents ~ Next ->


Offshore Sailing book cover Offshore Sailing by Bill Seifert with Daniel Spurr

We went to a Windjammers lecture to hear Bill Seifert and I was impressed enough to buy the book on the spot. I've heard a lot of people talk about ways to improve a boat, but I've never heard one person suggest so many good ideas that I hadn't considered. Part of the charm is the specificity of the suggestions. Everyone says you should secure your floorboards, hatchboards and batteries. Bill shows good suggestions on how to do so.

The suggestions are very practical for the do-it-yourselfer, too. Many show how to make or adapt inexpensive solutions. Tip #12 on closing the deck blower vents is one that will pay off for me without ever going offshore. I'll implement that one to stop the wintertime storms from finding their way belowdecks.

Besides modifications, the book also includes advice for operating offshore, cooking, boat selection, dealing with bureaucracy, and more.

Bill Seifert has worked at Tartan, TPI, and Alden Yachts. He's a veteran of many Marion-Bermuda races and now runs his own yacht management company. His tips are born of experience--not of book-learning--and it shows. He obviously knows his stuff.

(Note: commissions earned from this link help defray the costs of this website)

A30 Pretty pictures

Amazon Associates logo

Privacy and other policies
Site copyright © 1995-2025 by George Dinwiddie, all rights reserved
Site history
Send inquiries to webmaster@alberg30.org
Page last modified: Friday 03-Feb-2023