SV Luna Moth

We haven’t been writing over the last year plus as we’ve been so deep in project mode that we’ve found it hard to justify working on the blog, but hopefully we’ll have a little more time for it now.

As a quick catch up, we left Aeolian in March of 2024, after the dock broke and we almost lost Luna Moth. We were able to get a slip in Emeryville where we did a few projects, most notable making new solar panel racks and putting the solar panels from our old boat in place of the ancient ones that came with Luna Moth.

With solar done, we cruised the San Francisco Bay for a few weeks, staying at Clipper Cove, Paradise Cove, Richmond Yacht Club, and China Camp.

We then did an extended haul out in Vallejo where we painted the bottom, removed an old generator, fixed a seawater manifold leak, replaced a bilge pump, serviced the propeller, polished and waxed, and put her name on the hull. Though that sounds like a lot, we enjoyed Vallejo, the crew of the boat yard, and our visits to the Vallejo Yacht Club.

Still having a lot to do, we decided to head inland to experience the Sacramento Delta, which friends said was not to be missed. The plan was to find a quiet marina where we could knock out a few projects while still seeing someplace new to us. I must say sailing up a river, through fields and passing a large ship is a very different experience for us.

We ended up at Owl Harbor Marina in Isleton, where we were met by friends and a sweltering 100° F temperature. In the following week it would hit 116 and we would scurry to Lowes in search of a portable air conditioner.

Owl Harbor turned out to be a good base to get things done and we ended up staying there a year to overhaul the electronics (more on this in later entries), replace the autopilot, install the watermaker, and many other smaller projects.

While the heat was challenging in the summer, and the wind fierce in the winter (in excess of 50 knots on several occasions), we thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Delta. We had a little Fiat still and used her to explore Rio Vista, Isleton, Walnut Grove, and Locke. The people we met were great and we enjoyed a part of California that’s said to be 70 miles and 70 years away from the Bay Area.

It’s said that no boat is ever done, just done enough. With Luna Moth in that “Done Enough” category, we sold the car, got rid of the last of our storage, and headed out again.