MAX EBB — "T
he secret to successful cruising in a small boat," observed Lee as the boat she was steering bumped up alongside my boat, "is to tie up to a larger boat." I had anchored over an hour ago in my favorite spot in my favorite cove, expecting to have a quiet night on the hook. But now I had company: Lee Helm had sailed into the cove on a small ultralight
"Why use a dish pan when you have a sink?" Lee asked. "That is the very secret," I said. keelboat, and had invited herself to raft up. Well, I had put my fenders out, which she correctly recognized as an invitation for company in the anchorage. I secured her lines, made sure our masts were not lined up in case we took some heavy rolls from fish boat wakes early the next morning, and invited Lee and her crew aboard. Lee's crew, it turned out, was the new owner of this fast little racer-cruiser. A grad student colleague of Lee, new to cruising and new to boat ownership. "Um, does your boat have a bathroom?" she asked. "Yes, there's a head up forward," I said. "But be sure to read the instructions." "Will do," she promised, and lost no time climbing into the cabin.
ALL PHOTOS MAX EBB
On a boat, a small plastic dish pan is worth its weight in gold.
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"If you don't have dinner plans," I said to Lee, "I have a traditional fish chowder on the stove, and I can make enough for three." "Cool!" she answered. "I'll be over right after we furl the main." The new boat owner soon emerged from the head compartment, looking much refreshed, and she hopped back over to her boat to help with the furling. "We'll be leaving in the morning," said Lee, "so no need for the sail cover for sun protection. But let's do a good harbor roll and use the long sail ties. First wrap goes around the boom only, and it's good practice to wrap the ties around the boom first, before lowering the sail, especially on a big boat. Then after the sail is rolled the ties are, like, right there. The ties next go around the rolled-up sail only, then around boom and sail. That way the loose-footed sail is held in a tight roll above the boom, and won't flop down on one side of the boom or the other." I watched them fold the sail in half, roll from the fold toward the foot and head, then truss up the whole affair with the triple-wrapped sail ties, as Lee had instructed. "There's only one crease in the sail when we fold it this way," Lee explained. My fish chowder recipe, as usual, was a big hit. "Awesome meal," Lee allowed. "Can we, like, do the dishes for you?" "Oh no," I said. "I have my methods. It takes longer to explain than to demonstrate, but you can
A standard Navy coffee kettle made of copper and lined with tin. If this kettle looks like it has some age, it does. The metal construction lasts for years.
assist with the drying." "Cool," she said. "I'd like to see how you wash the dishes in a small galley." "There's very little to it," I said. "First I wipe every plate quite thoroughly with paper towels, to get rid of all the heavy grease. Then I put a hand basin or small dish pan in the sink. On a smaller boat like yours, without a sink, I'd put the dish pan on the chart table." "Why," asked Lee's friend, "do you use a dish pan when you have a sink?" "That, young woman, is the very secret of the thing. If we had poured the hot water in the sink, the water at once would have become lukewarm, but where only a little water is to be used, it must be scalding hot and the small, light dish pan allows this. You will notice I carry a large hot-water kettle on the stove all the time, for I like warm or hot water to wash and shave with any time of day or night." "That is, like, a good-looking kettle you have," said Lee. "Where did you get it?" "It's been in the family. I think it originally came from one of the Army-Navy surplus stores. It is one of the standard
