M2 Update for March 2010

It has been a while since there has been a Schooner Maggie B and M2 update. But it has been busy.

Maggie B’s first cousin, M2, is coming along well. She is still more or less on time for launch in June of this year.

M2 is just the “working name” and I confess that I haven’t yet decided on what her launch name will be. Currently trying out “Maia” who was the most beautiful of the Seven Sisters (the Pleiades), and mother to Hermes. Also her sister Alcyone or Halcyon, who was later changed into a Kingfisher, which is not all bad.

There is so much that is so familiar when I go to visit M2 in the new yard in Riverport. And so much is so different. Maggie B was perfect, but a lot has changed, and not for the worse, on M2.

Check out the new photos up on Flickr, or go to the www.SchoonerMaggieB.net website, click on one of the M2 photos on the right, then when that opens, click on Photos, and then Recent Photos.

I had a great visit to Nova Scotia in February. Nigel Irens was able to come over for a visit and we nailed down 10,000 details. First we visited the boat in Riverport and climbed all over her and poked in every nook and cranny. It is so interesting to try to understand both the forest and the trees.

We then had a great meeting with Sandy McMillian of North Sails to discuss all the crucial details of how to get the most out of the rig. Then Nigel and I went on to Concord, MA to meet with Ted Van Dusen of Composite Engineering, who was beginning to braid up our masts. There are photos of mast-making on the web. It is totally incredible.

But back in Riverport the M2 is really coming together. The cockpit will be much like Maggie B. M2 carries her width further aft than MagB. There will be only one powered winch on either side, but there will be jammers to control the lines. In general the windward winch will be for the main and the leeward for the fore. The fore will have to share when the asymmetrical is up.

Main and fore halyards will lead to a powered winch amidships. Hopefully there will still be room for Reepicheep on deck. The foredeck will be unencumbered by the forestay and roller jib, but will be compact because the fore mast is stepped rather far forward.

M2 will have prism deck lights as with MagB, with the important difference that they will be positioned over the foot of the bunks, not the head – so that when they drip, the drops won’t fall in the ear of whoever is sleeping below.

Below, the galley is just like MagB’s, which was perfect. There will be only a few little innovations to help control plates, pots and pans. At the sinks there will be salt water, hot and cold fresh, and a new drinking water faucet that will have sophisticated filtration.

The Crew Mess will be the focus of the cabin. The trick is to have it right for grabbing a meal on the fly, having a fun dinner all together, and for after dinner or off-watch relaxation. Covey Island has come up with innovative sliding seats that should work great (see photos on our site).

Right forward of the Crew Mess is the Ships Office on the starboard side and cabin heater and wet locker on port. It should be easily possible to see all the essential information from anywhere in the main cabin, like “are the bilge pumps running?” “Is another radar looking at us?” “How much water is left in the port tank” “Is that a call on the Sat Phone?” We will also have a multifunction display with all the navigation data available and handy.

Then two cabins with double berths. Lots of storage space, both public and personal. Then the head on starboard, which will have lots of signs of what NOT to throw in the bowl (in many languages!). A sink on the port side with storage for personal kits. The shower is in the passage way, which will be enclosed by shutting the fore and aft doors. More room than on the MagB, but with some disincentive not to hang out there too long.

The fo’c’stle will be better utilized that on the Maggie B. There will be two good, permanent berths. Above the port side berth are two strong, deep shelves sized for large and medium plastic bins to carry all the spares that one collects. Above the starboard will be fittings for all the spare lines. There will be suitable chocks for the ship’s wine, whiskey and rum supplies.

The fore mast foots at the front of the fo’c’stle. In front of the mast is the forepeak, which will have the chain locker and substantial room for other gear. The forepeak will have deck access as well as a hatch from the fo’c’stle. Hmmm – does that make it a fore lazarette? (See John, Chapter 11).

As with the Maggie B, there will be two watertight bulkheads, one between the forepeak and the fo’c’stle and one between the fo’c’stle and the shower.

Electronics on the M2 will be more sophisticated than on the MagB. We will be a mostly all Furuno boat. The new Furuno system is significantly better than what we had. I won’t be sorry never to see the trackball again! Furuno has purchased and integrated MaxSea, so we shouldn’t have any more fights between the French and the Japanese as to who is running the autopilot!

We will also have AIS, which will broadcast our navigation information to all AIS equipped boats. WiFi and cell phone signals will be enhanced. Any computer aboard or nearby will be able to seamlessly interconnect. On “movie night,” we should be able to watch from any screen in the boat.

There is so much to do before she will be ready for the water, but it is exciting to be working on details like stain for the Black Walnut or which computer rather than how many engines.

All is well,
Frank Blair
Captain, Schooner Maggie B and M2