Unofficial Minutes of the Hoofer Keelboat Committee, Thursday, July 9, 2009

[Watson]

Unofficial Meeting Minutes/Notes of Meeting
Hoofer Keelboat Committee
July 9, 2009
9:00pm-11:00pm

*These notes are transcribed from handwritten notes of Mr. Watson, who
warrants only they are true and complete to his best knowledge.

Attendees:
Captain Dan Siedlecki (Chairman)
Michael Watson (Reporter)
Jonathan Gapen
Diane Kiesel
Andy Marin
John Jackson
Bruce Gabert
Matthew James Duerst (until 9:30pm)
Mark Gillespie
Chris Hynes
Matt Hemke
JoAnn Long
Dan Jenkins
Nathan Holman
Bill Burns
Wen Jan Tuan
Pete Mooney
David Jeter
Unknown Man (presented group with request to take 150 new graduate
students at UW sailing on August 30, 2009 as public service)
Anne Miller
Laura Grabowski
Jenn Macainag
Paul Shoenherr
Bryan Biehl
Fred Petillo
Tom Kershner

Meet commenced at 9pm on waiting for keelboat lessons to compete.

Duerst mentioned Hoofer Sailing Club Election on August 6, 2009. Brad
Strock and Justin Cherniak mentioned as potential candidates. Duerst
appears unaware of bylaws to Hoofer Sailing Club regulating Election
procedure upon questions.

I. Dan began meeting. Chance to start over midseason. Goal is to
cover end of sailing season, and at least finish the current
Administration. Dan introduced himself. He found Hoofers visiting MU
Terrace. Started instructing Spray and Knotty Rascal, moved on to
racing Hoofer keelboats. Watson said Dan should not be modest, but
mention he is a U.S. Coast Guard Captain, and said it was cool to have
a “real” captain as captain. Laughter. Dan has public-speaking
experience at CUNA Mutual. Position at Hoofers grew out of Dan’s
efforts to bring Decoy to Madison. Goal: Get things fixed,
operational. Dan (mis)quoated Will Rogers. Leads from the front;
coaching style. Will prioritize succession plans. Gave example of
top performer Mike Litzkow, though Dan will encourage more mentorship
of subordinates. Uses Deman-style economics rather than Supplie-side
economics. Will respond promptly to inquiries, though out of town
sailing own boat on Lake Michigan on weekends.

II. Update of Boats

A. Spray
Bruce Gabert presented as first Chief Engineer of Spray in
2003-2004.
i. Engine not useable right now. We need engine controls installed;
we need a kill switch. We have most parts. Just got engine control
last week.
ii. Standing Rigging—forestay too short. Must be fixed before
sailing. Gabert offered preliminary options to extend forestay
length; real fix will be off-season next year. Will be done
correctly.
iii. Swim ladder must be attached for safety reasons.
iv. Strobe lights needed for safety.
a. Dan mentioned new strobe donations.
b. Jackson asked Mooney about online project database.
c. Kiesel mentioned anchor rode problems of length.
d. Gabert doesn’t think oil leak is fatal
1. Petillo said oil pan is black; Hemke ditto.
e. Watson asked if boats have logbooks. Gabert said it is necessary
to record and communicate problems.
f. Dan asked Gabert work time estimate; Gabert estimates 20 hours.
g. Gillespie and Long commented on replacing forestay with original
forestay to make functional.
h. Long has been working with Kiesel on interior brightwork, to
reassemble it from refit. Kiesel mention structural flexing of boat
due to incorrect forestay attachment; Jackson notes cracks inside due
to flexing of boat from mast too tight.

B. Knotty Rascal
Gillespie reported condition.
i. Engine is out. Wicker is on issue of thermostat. Still need to
diagnose the problem. Jenkins said parts are on order.
j. Petillo said temp-gauge is fried. Gauge replacement is job #1.
k. Replaces temp sender with thermostat. Once in hand, we will try
engine. Guessing temperature gauge is malfunctioning.
l. Gillespie and Jeter installed new depth instrument and anometer.
Working now with calibration to keel. Wind instruments work, but not
calibrated.
m. Only one battery working now—cannot be charged without engine. It
is Battery sittint foreward of engine; Battery left onboard over
winter.
n. Mast lights are not connected at base of mast. Not correctly
working.
o. Backstay is wrong size keeps sliding down. Jenkins thinks company
sent Hoofers wrong size. Watson said club is entitled to proper-sized
backstay.
p. Dan ask who has info; somebody mentioned Satula.
q. Fuel gauge no longer works.
r. Throwable life-ring needed for safety.
s. Discussion of new locks. Borkovec was supposed to have ordered
them.
t. Gennaker not seen by anybody; sheets. Gapen found in sail repair
bin.
u. Petillo says 2nd reef must be rigged for safety.

C. Toy Boat
Nathan Holman gave report.
i. Engine still stolen. Dan will inquire to Union tomorrow about
replacing it.
ii. Steve Davis lost jib halyard through mast.
iii. Mooney says 0.75 spinnaker torn; needs replacement. Soma
ditto.
iv. Lighting discussed on mast. Problems. Wiring is inferior;
unsafe.

D. Soma
Bill Burns reported.
i. Leaking hydraulic drive. Burns noticed pump-to-value housing
dripping. Needs inspection.
ii. Hose-clamp only; fitting should be replaced.
iii. Slow oil leak. Oil in bilge.
iv. Belt for water cooling system; Dan brought down tonight.
v. Water leak. Appears old leak solved. But now a new leak near the
prop shaft. Slower leak.
vi. Navigation lights not operating; too much voltage to LED lights.
Needs rewiring and new bulbs.
vii. Jib halyard shackle is fixed by Macainag.
viii. Bilge switch on panel is broken(?). Electical panel needs
labels.
ix. Circuit breaker needed on boat.
x. Spinnakers were ripped this year, both 0.75 and 1.5.
xi. Jib sheets need replacement.
xii. Gapen says Bill covered urgent stuff; but wants to add long term
issues briefly. These include
a. need to refinish interior wood nevered finished during 2006 refit
before it rots; presently soaking up water from boat leaks.
b. Electrical system is a disaster.
c. Engine box is falling apart, but not part Gabert constructed.

E. Decoy—Pete Mooney reported.
i. boat in overall good shape.
ii. Wind indicator does not work.
iii. Depth meter is erratic
iv. Engine run 1500 RPM and above produces black gunk out the
exhaust.
v. 3-4 sails need minor repair.
vi. Few soft spots in deck; can seal stantions this year; GApen
thinks some deck reconstruction will be needed in winter.
vii. Pulpit is rickety.
viii. Watson asked about starboard spreader damage from transporting
boat to Madison from Milwaukee. Mooney explained status presently as
good, but that will need permanent repair off-site at a professional
shop in winter. Transport company struck an overpass bridge driving
from Milwaukee with mast.

III. Education Update—Pete Mooney reported.
A. New ratings issued on Decoy; now has 8 instructors. Soon regular
lessons will be posted.
B. Dan mentioned online sign-up issues. Should do an online sign-out
of all keelboat outings in the boathouse on computer. Need this
statistical data of boat usage.

IV. Safety Update—Dan introduced this as issue we will address more
methodically. Not just talk.
A. Petillo said closed Memorial Union does not permit him to access
safety equipment when teaching early morning lessons. Structural
issues all around for safety.
B. Littany of problems. Up to all to police safety of Hoofer facility
and usages.
C. Ratings; Advanced lessons. Finding a surprising number of crew
and skipper rated members coming to advanced lessons cannot
distinguish points of sail by name, nor simple maneuvers like
tacking. Skipper ratings should be slowed down; crew ratings are
fine, as they are designed to be earned quickly.
D. Kiesel and Petillo are certified to conduct vessel safety
inspections. Will inspect Club keelboats on Sunday, July 12, 2009.
Need help shuttling boats to and from Pier. Inspections will provide
hard data as to current Hoofer vessel safety deficiencies for
correction. Members may sign up online to help. More info on
Keelboat Email List. Questions about paper calendars in tunnel.
E. John Jackson raised issue with unsafe condition of Hoofer Club
Motorboats. He thinks they should be sent to a third-party contractor
to make them safe.

V. Proposed Organizational Chart—Dan presented handwritten
organizational chart of Hoofer Keelboat Fleet.

A. Each boat should have a Chief Engineer. But all must be stewards
of boats.
B. Gabert would like some sort of record-keeping system.
C. Extensive discussion of common characteristics of Chief Engineers
D. Jeter mentioned Facebook as a easy-to-use communications medium for
Chief Engineers to communicate with deputies and other users of
asset. Fred spoke in contrast.
E. Chief Engineer is the boat’s champion, says Dan, but need not be a
diesel mechanic for example.
F. Chief leads weekly work parties, even just to keep boat orderly.
Sees boat through from lift-in to lift-out.
G. Adjunct roles
i. Chief Mechanic of Fleet (or individual boats?)
ii. Chief Electrician of Fleet (or individual boats?)
iii. Ship’s Carpenter/Shipwright of Fleet (or individual boats?)
iv. Chief Transportation Officer—primarily for lift-in/lift-out
v. Safety Officer—maintenance of human safety needs of boats
vi. Racing Director
vii. Director of Keelboat Education—Pete Mooney--selected by Captain
viii. Social Director of Keelboats (Friday Social Cruises, Keelboat
Picnics, Planned Social Activities)
ix. Budget Director of Keelboats—Dan Jenkins
x. Volunteer Coordinator—Nathan Holman
xi. Supply Officer, or delegated authority, as mentioned by Bruce
Gabert
xii. Interested persons may offer to volunteer in these roles by
writing to cruis...@aol.com

VI. Keelboat Budget

A. $5500 operating and maintenance budget only for Decoy, Soma and Toy
Boat.
B. $3350 only for Spray and Knotty Rascal.
i. Moorings are separate line item in Hoofers.
ii. Lift-in / out is different line item.
iii. Fuel is separate line item.
C. Dan said he has asked Club Treasurer Mike Stephenson for a
briefing.
D. Jenkins thinks budget doesn’t include any contingencies built in,
as any good budget would in real world.
E. Watson mentioned Club budget meeting (one of several, oddly) on
February 7, 2009 did not address material needs of equipment in
forming budget. Captains at times were irrationally rejected in their
analyses Watson said. (Budget Meeting Note: Hoofer Employees ran the
budget meeting, moving motions and voting on the budget that pays
their salaries and benefits.)

VII. Attracting New Keelboat Sailors

A. Macainag said lessons are filled immediately upon posting; need
more lessons offered on keelboats (presumptively with more volunteer
teachers).
B. Macainag mentioned Gapen/Watson Friday Night Social Club Cruises in
2008 as model.
C. Macainag presented a lengthy plan of restoring Club Cruises Fridays
again to serve members and guests attending Club Social.
D. Like a beginner lesson, many younger people try social cruises to
get a taste of the big boats.
E. Idea is boats would depart hourly.
F. Guest skippers to run cruises.
G. Watson mentioned cruises should be listed on lessons website to get
word out, and also to conduct as a social lesson, consistent with
Wisconsin Union designation as Division of Social Education of UW-
Madison, thus providing bona-fide indemnity coverage to skippers.
H. Petillo mentioned dearth of instructors and inability of us to fix
lesson offerings due to it. (The Club’s paid staff employees turned
away several volunteers this year for no apparent reason who could
help solve these problems. –Editor’s note, Michael Watson)
I. Watson mentioned Keelboat Picnics as socially constructive to all
involved and mentioned Bill Burns for his recent service.
J. Burns talked up Racing too as a social activity for those involved.
K. Petillo said off-lake cruising would be worth bringing back
socially.

VIII. Commodore Election

A. Election is August 6, 2009 according to Matthew Duerst. No
announced candidates yet. Just rumours of who is considering it.
B. Nathan Holman stood up and announced he is a candidate for Hoofer
Commodore 2009.

IX. Closing Remarks

A. Dan recognized efforts in past year of JoAnn Long as Winter
Education Scheduler and Peter Mooney generally. Each received a $50
gift certificat to West Marine. Dan asked that all persons write him
at cruis...@aol.com with good deeds of others for future
recognition. Meeting adjourned at 11pm. Several attendees continued
to meet socially in Der Stiftskellar.