Wow what a nice little boat. It is a 1981 model built by the original Lyle Hess company in Ontario, Ca. New Fatty Knees dinghy’s are still being built by Eddy and Duff in Mattapoisett, MA.

The boat had a few chips that need touched up, but overall is in very good shape. The only thing missing was the dagger board and that was easy enough to fabricate.

We got her in the water for Memorial Day weekend. Our son Bill helped me carry her down the ramp at the marina and put her in the water. I rowed her around the marina to our slip and Beth was surprise how fast I got there. With the light winds Saturday and Sunday it was just right for a first trial and I think I can honestly say we were ones of the few actually sailing those days. A few trips around the marina is all it took to get the hang of sailing this fun little Fatty Knees dinghy. Since she didn’t have a name we decide to name her Spice, because we thought a little spice would be good with Cinnamon.

Beth heads out to try her hand in the new(1981) Fatty Knees dinghy.

Dan gets a try with the Fatty Knees dinghy too.

Even with Dan's 250 lbs the little Fatty Knees dinghy handles well in light wind.

The resident geese at the marina came by to show off their new family and check out the new little boat.

We got back Saturday, May 1 form a 10 day trip down to the mouth of the Columbia river to Astoria, Oregon.

Sailing up the channel in the Columbia river.

The end of January we decided to start a major re-do of the cabin. We removed the cushions, bedding and extra cloths we keep at the boat to minimize the clutter while we worked.

The sole was just plywood painted pink and green. Some of the cabinet work left something to be desired.

The next phase was tearing out the old nav table, seat and shelves that the previous owner had built on the port side of the cabin. This consisted of a kludged together collection of fir 1×2 and mismatched plywood like you would buy at Home Depot. It was 2 large dock carts worth of debris that I hauled up to the dumpster. Once the tear out was done it gave us a blank canvas to work with.

I went to Crosscut Hardwoods here in Portland and purchased 3 sheets of marine grade mahogany plywood, a sheet of teak and holly veneer plywood and some teak to use as cabinet faces and trim. My green house at home was transformed into a finishing shop. I cut all the piece and assembled them, then put 4 coats of satin polyurethane on the cabinet faces and 2 coats on the carcasses. On the teak and holly for the sole I put on 2 coats of West System Epoxy and then 4 coats satin polyurethane. We are very happy with the new look of the cabin.

Saturday conditions were the same. We were feeling a little beat so we just took it easy and recuperated.

Predictions for Sunday sounded better and it is always fun to get out with the Sunday race fleet. The winds were still 15 to 20 from the East, but not quite as gusty. After the confidence builder on Friday we went with only a single reef and full head sail and still felt very comfortable. We got out just after the start of the racing so I got some good pictures of the race fleet.

Since we only got out 3 times in January and this was the first opportunity to sail this month we decided to go even though the NOAA weather service was predicting light East winds. We were surprised to find a light but building NW wind, which is the classical afternoon set up in the warmer summer months. We could see the breeze starting to ripple across the water and by the time we got the covers off and out of the marina we had about 7 knots. That is just enough to gently push us up river. The wind slowly built and by the time we got up to around PDX airport we were getting a steady 10 to 12 knots so we had enough to turn into it and have a little close wind sailing on the way back. As the sun started getting low the wind died out and we had a beautiful sunset to enjoy while we put the boat away.

Heading Up River

Nice Wind by the Airport

Since I was very happy with my previous experience buying sails for my Catalina Capri 25 sailboat I called Kerry Poe at North Sails Oregon. He informed me that North Sails was running a sail recycling program where if you turn in an old set of sails you get 25% off new sails. When we bought Cinnamon she came with a spare main and jib that were so old and worn that I considered them worthless as sails and they were now just taking up space in my garage at home. Kerry said that was fine, so with the discount we could get North’s premium NorDac 6.8 oz sails for the less then the price of some of the competitors lower grade Dacron “cruising” sails. Kerry came and spent a couple hours with me measuring the boat. He said it would probably be 5 weeks until delivery. To my surprise three weeks later he called and said our new sails were in.

Wow, what a difference! Where we were reefing the old blown out mainsail in anything much over 10 knots, with the new sails we haven’t reefed yet and have felt comfortable in the 10 to 15 knot range. We can point higher with less heel when sailing hard on the wind. With the lighter weight sails it is much easier to to see when the luff of the sail starts to break. Down wind the loose footed main and lighter head sail, in light winds, are much better.

Since the old mainsail cover was looking worn and soiled we also thought it would be a good time to replace it too. Kerry and his wife Amy also run North Winds Canvas along with the sail loft, doing custom canvas. When the new sail came and we got it on Kerry came back and measured for the cover with the new sail on the boom to make sure it was exactly right. They gave us a great price on the cover and the quality of the work really shows. Once again we are very happy with the service and the sailcover looks great.

Sunsets at Hayden Bay with the new mainsail covered.

We got out of Hayden Bay on the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon about 10:30 AM Saturday morining. There were two other sailboats heading down river as we cast off so we hurried to catch up to them as we approached the Vancouver railroad bridge. Luck was with us and the bridge was opening for a boat already waiting and the operator held the bridge open for us.

The trip down river was smooth as glass. We made a steady 7 knots SOG on the GPS motoring, so it only took a little over two hours to get to St Helens. As we passed Warrior Rock I gave Matt a call to let him know we were entering the Multnomah Channel and would be there soon. Matt and Laura made final preparations to cast off and came out in Shadow to meet us and we raised our sails and headed down river.

The East wind was kicking in at about 10 knots just as we cleared Sand Island. Since the river is running pretty much South to North at this point we took off down river on a fast close to beam reach. It soon became apparent that Shadow, with her tall fractional rig and centerboard was much faster in these wind conditions and point of sail and she pulled away quickly. Matt and Laura were kind enough to turn around and come back to sail side for a while, but it wasn’t long before she was leaving us again. The only time we could hold our own was when the gusts would pick up to around 15 knots and start to bring Cinnamon, with her low aspect rig and full fixed keel, up on heel, to bring the waterline up. At that point Shadow was on her ear and dumping air from that huge mainsail and we could pick up a little ground, but as soon as the gust past and she came back up she would take off again. We had a great sleigh ride down river about 5 miles to Martin Slough and back to up river St. Helens with a single tack both ways.

Matt had arranged a slip for the night for us in their marina, Yachts Landing in St Helens. We had an enjoyable evening visiting with Matt and Laura, seeing Shadow and going out to dinner at the Plantation House restaurant in St. Helens historic waterfront district. It was fascinating to hear the story of Laura’s father building Shadow from scratch, including helping to lay up the hull and spending four years from 1963 to 1967 finishing the boat in their backyard. The care and planning he put into it are still evident and even though the boat went through an extensive restoration in 2001 most of the beautiful woodworking in the boat remains as original.

It was a long day, but we got a good nights sleep. Sunday morning we had coffee and said goodbye to Matt and Laura. We caught the incoming tide and the river current was almost negligeable as we headed back up river. We were making a good 6 knots motoring against it. Again there was very little wind until we rounded the corner at Kelly Point, where the Willamette River joins the Columbia River, for the home stretch and then we could see a dark line in the water where the East wind was breaking through the Columbia River Gorge. We quickly put on our coats and pulled the hood up. The last two miles or so back up to the Vancouver railway bridge we were beating into 15 to 20 knots right on our nose. Once again, luck was with us. As we approached the bridge two boats were waiting for a train that was crossing. Just as we got close the train finished crossing and we got straight through without slowing down. Perfect timing! We motored into Hayden Bay and thanks to the dike at the end of the marina blocking the wind the water in our slip was smooth and we slid right in, glad to be home.

Chinook 34 - Shadow in Multnomah Channel

Chinook 34 Shadow on close reach.

Chinook 34 sailboat Cinnamon following Shadow on close reach down river.

Chinook 34 Cinnamon on close reach

Sailing on the Columbia River Sunday September 20, 2009

Click on the images below for  larger pictures.

Ckick for larger image.

Click for larger image.

We started the week Monday by heading down river in Cinnamon, with our friends Dana and Lori Sewall, in their Cape Dori 30 sailboat. We had hoped to go as far as Walker Island, but after 4 hour beating into 20 knot wind right on our nose and 3 foot chop, with no dodger, we decided to bail out at St Helen’s and run back out Multnomah Channel to Coon Island. Sure glad we did. Later we heard that the gusts increased to 30 to 35 knots at Longview later in the day.

Click for larger image.

Click for larger image.

We spent Tuesday night aboard at Hayden Bay. Wednesday the wind was still blowing from the NW at 10 to 15 knots with gusts to 20. We had a fast run up to Government Island. For the trip back down river, upwind, we set a double reef in the mainsail and six rolls on the furler on the head sail, which brings it down to look like a 100% Yankee. It gave us a nice balance and was plenty of sail to make 9 knots SOG hard to weather, which I’m sure is pushing hull speed.

By Thursday the wind had softened and was down to 5 to 10 knot from the NNW. It was a nice wind to get some lazy spinnaker runs up to Government Island and still enough to make an enjoyable sail back downriver.

I started thinking about the options and the best idea seemed to be an asymmetrical cruising spinnaker. The expense of a new sail was somewhat daunting so I turned to my favorite marketplace on the web, Craig’s List. I put in a Google search for “spinnaker craigslist.org” and along with several other listings, up popped “Spinnaker sail for Endeavour 32 – $750 (Fort Worth)”. The pictures with the ad looked good and the bag was labeled Reachaway Spin, which I knew was an early name for an asymmetrical reaching spinnaker. A quick Google search for “Endeavour 32 sailboat” showed the rig specs of to be very close to the I and J measurements on Cinnamon. A couple of emails and a PayPal transaction and the sail was on it’s way.

Cinnamon sailing upriver on the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon with Mt. Hood in the background.

]]> http://www.chinook34.com/spinnaker-for-cinnamon/feed/ 2 http://www.chinook34.com/down-river-with-ralph/ http://www.chinook34.com/down-river-with-ralph/#comments Sun, 03 May 2009 18:30:30 +0000 Dan Burch http://www.chinook34.com/?p=359 These picture are from a five day trip, April 23 – 28th, down the Columbia River from Portland to Astoria, Oregon and back, for the Astoria Warrenton Crab, Seafood & Wine Festival with Ralph Ahseln on his Catalina 27 sailboat the good ship Oblio.

]]> http://www.chinook34.com/down-river-with-ralph/feed/ 0 http://www.chinook34.com/the-sweet-days-of-spring/ http://www.chinook34.com/the-sweet-days-of-spring/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:55:32 +0000 Dan Burch http://www.chinook34.com/?p=345

The first gosling of the year.

Spring it seems may have come to stay. The resident geese at the marina came by to show off their new baby. It’s the first gosling of the season and sure sign that we have turned the corner from winter and a new sailing season has arrived. Another sure sign is that the Sunday racing fleet has returned in force to the Columbia River in Portland Oregon.

A group of Cal 20 Sailboats round the bouy and set spinnakers for the downwing leg on the Columbia River, with Mt hood in the background.

]]> http://www.chinook34.com/the-sweet-days-of-spring/feed/ 0 http://www.chinook34.com/pandamonium-on-the-columbia-river/ http://www.chinook34.com/pandamonium-on-the-columbia-river/#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:49:29 +0000 Dan Burch http://www.chinook34.com/?p=292 WOW!!! Finally some spring like weather for the first weekend in April. Four days in a row. Quite a welcome change after the first 3 months of the year averaging out to a record low temperature for the period.

Saturday was warm and sunny, but no wind to speak of so I spent the day washing Cinnamon and enjoying soaking up the sun.

Sunday we had a light East wind, but enough to sail. I went out with my friend Ralph on his Catalina 27 sailboat. Ralph is an old timer on the river and the leisurely pace tacking back and forth across the river gave him a chance to fill me in on the history of the area where we were sailing. On the Vancouver Washington side of the river where there are now fancy condos and upscale restaurants at one time was the outfitting docks for the Kaiser Shipyards. A little farther up the river where Christensen Shipyards Ltd. now builds some of the most beautiful cruising yachts in the world was the heart of the Kaiser Shipyards. During World War II Kaiser built the Liberty ships that supplied the troops all over the world. There are still remains along the river bank of the concrete dry docks where the ships were built. The wind started dying and we had just enough to make it back into Hayden Bay in time to meet Beth when she got off work and Dana Sewall at the dock for a 5 o’clock gin and tonic.

Monday was the warmest day of the year so far with the temperature reaching 78 degrees and Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots. Beth met me at the boat after work and we got out for one of the best sails of the season so far Monday evening. The wind direction allowed for making a broad reach upriver and turning close hauled, hard on the wind back for a single tack both ways. On the way back we were getting a few gusts up around 17 to 20 knots and dunking the rail. What fun! We probably would have been a little faster if we had reefed the mainsail and kept the boat flatter, but sometimes it’s fun to be a little overpowered and hot rod a bit. We got back to the dock in time to enjoy a beautiful sunset. Since Beth could take Tuesday off we decided to stay at the boat.

Tuesday morning was sunny and warm with the wind from the West at about 8 to 10 knots. We got out early at the same time with some friends across the way from us in their Coronado 27 sailboat Pandamonium. We got a nice wing-on-wing run going upriver. Dan Dunn, the Captain of Pandamonium, was nice enough to send me a few shots he took to add to the pictures I got. Dan is quite a good photographer and has an extensive online album of sailing pictures on the Columbia at http://www.pbase.com/dan_123/sailing.

]]> http://www.chinook34.com/pandamonium-on-the-columbia-river/feed/ 0 http://www.chinook34.com/the-clearing-winds-of-march/ http://www.chinook34.com/the-clearing-winds-of-march/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:03:49 +0000 Dan Burch http://www.chinook34.com/?p=285 Once again March proved to be wet and cool here in Portland, Oregon and we had to pick our sailing days on the Columbia River in between frontal systems moving in off the Pacific. We watch the weather satellite and radar on the Portland NOAA website for breaks and then make a dash for the boat.

We got out Sunday afternoon just after the last hail storm and it started to break. When we first went out the wind was NW about 4 knots so we had full sail up. The wind slowly built to 15 with gust about 20 and we were moving upriver pretty fast. We had to reef down before we came back against it. This big nice boat, 40 something was just screaming around. They lapped up before we got up to buoy 14 using an asym spinnaker downwind. We had to give way to let them pass upwind so I took a quick snapshot.

]]> http://www.chinook34.com/the-clearing-winds-of-march/feed/ 0