Well, here we go again. My two tanks are 40 years old and 20 years old both fitted with modern OPDs and in excellent condition…unless you are a government regulator in which case I need a supreme court ruling to get my tanks filled.
Camino, I sent you a PM, help with re-identifying your no hassle filler station!
Also , how bout a recap of the Delta Ditch.
I sent you a response on the propane. Recap of the DDR 2025 - 16 boats in Cruising division broken into 2 start groups 5 min apart - I had 3 crew. We had a terrible start as we were late getting out and I forgot, bringing the boat over to Richmond Yacht Club, I had a reef in the main so we took time to untangle that mess and go. We were behind. A number of boats in both groups might not of read or understood the rules as they drove inside the #5 marker and someone lodged a complaint - secondly, most all the boats took what I thought to be a strange line going way out by Red Rock and taking the middle channel on the Richmond bridge, so by the Brothers there was one boat from the first group ahead of us and us with all else behind. Start had 6-8 kts breeze (Cruising had a motor allowance - 4 hrs at no greater than 6 kts through the water - always a point of dispute- we motor- sailed at 6 kts for 2.25 hrs and the breeze came in. Kept steady at 15-25 gusting to 30 We flew the asymmetrical wing on wing (mostly) from before carquinez to port Chicago . Dozens of gybes past the Antioch bridge- one of which almost put us on the rocks. All in all a great race. We had 2nd place. Hard on the boat and me! Funny, Monday I singlehanded bring her back and stopped in Pittsburgh Marina where I saw the 1st place boat - a little Arlleron 28 - he was soaked as he had no dodger and we bucked 25-30 kts head wind all the way there. We both left 5:30 am for the bay. We had same wind but the tide was with us - I was seeing 7-8.5 sog motoring and crashing about. That Arlleron 28 is one good boat. I do not like the trip back - don’t know how you do it!
Great report. Thanks!! I will have to do the race next year. I think I need one crew though I don’t believe you can singlehand the race. Saw several SSSers had sailed but all looked like they had crew. Do folks typically run through False River or are you required to stick to the main channel? I thought I had heard any which way is OK, but that might be a crowded False River!!
Yea the trip downriver has been terrible this year and last. I hit the ebb in 25 knots of northwesterly while coming West through Concord Naval Weapons Station on that long reach from from Pirttsburg. it was nasty with a capital N. I had to get right up against the river bank to get out of the maelstrom in the deep water channel. Same in eastern San Pablo Bay.
If I had any brains I would do it at night when the wind lets up, but getting too old for those zero dark thirty runs unless I am desperate.
You can single hand the DDR! In fact, the Alerion 28 skipper singlehanded the thing! He was as ancient as me! He said his boat could gybe easily. The F 35 with than massive boom is all about timing…. Know what you mean about hugging the bank- o brother.
Can you buy a bigger bottle and decant into your boat bottle
Where did you get the modern OPD’s for your tanks?
There is a fantastic RV focused “everything propane” dealer in the SF Bay Area. I took my tanks in there whenever the new OPDs were required ( can’t remember when that was) and asked them to replace the old with the new. They had it done in a day or two.
So the answer is a good RV place should be able to do it.
One issue may be that so many years have passed since the new OPD requirement that outfits may see so few replacement requests that they have stopped doing them? Don’t know.
Great!! I am doing the ditch next year!!
Thanks for the tank fill. Info.
I have tried decanting and can not get it to work I do have the tank to tank adaptors stashed somewhere. I was using a full “trade in” bbq tank as a source. Just could not get flow going.
That would be the perfect solution. Have you done this? And if so, how?
Decanting I’ve only done it with small tanks
Need to invert the feedtank toget the liquid out
That is what I did while trying to fill the small one pound disposables. I could not get flow. I must be doing something wrong. I tried it with my larger tanks too. Couldn’t get it to work…I have no idea what I am doing wrong.
