From Commodore Butcher:
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Just a few heads up for club members.
1. The kitchen has been winterized as of a couple days ago. There is no way to wash dishes in the kitchen now, so I left a stack of paper plates and disposable forks on the counter. The microwaves are still available. If you do wash dishes in the bathroom, please try not to leave a greasy mess in the sink and then dry and put the dishes back away in the kitchen.
2. As an experiment this year, the bathrooms/showers will remain in service. Our goal is to keep them in service all winter. The success of this experiment will depend upon how much energy we consume, and trading that off against the avoided cost of renting a porta-potty as in prior years. We will be monitoring energy consumption monthly to see how it’s going. To that end, please do not adjust the wall thermostats. We are heating the bathrooms for freeze protection, not heating them for comfort. We have set the thermostats to about 50-55 degrees. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback about having the bathrooms in service this winter. Please, let’s everyone do our part to keep energy consumption to a minimum so that our experiment is a success.
3. Boats in the harbor with sails still installed. If you still have your boat in the harbor with the sails installed, please check to make sure your headsail is tightly furled and has several safety wraps in place. We had high winds come through from the northwest on Tuesday, and a couple boats’ headsails unfurled. Rich Rockel tended to the boats (thank you Rich), but everyone needs to do their part to minimize the risk. If your boat is in the harbor for the winter (or for that matter, on the hard), best practice would be to go remove and store your sails. It makes them last longer. This would also be a good time to check and make sure your dock lines are properly adjusted and in good shape.
Congrats to our 2026 PYC Board of Governors! *
* to contact a board member, refer to the PYC Directory link at the bottom of every Semaphore email!
Congrats to our 2026 PYC Board of Governors! *
Commodore - Doug Butcher
Vice Commodore - John Coode
Rear Commodore - Chris Ross
Treasurer - Mark Faltermeier
Asst. Treasurer - Cathi Lescher
Secretary - Neal Barkley
Past Commodore - Larry Bigus
Buildings & Grounds - Doug Simons
Dockmaster - Bob Harte
Harbormaster - Brandon Hamilton
Sail Ed - Barry White
Communications - Ruth Bigus
Social Chair - Kathleen Coode
Technology Master - Dave Blair
* to contact a board member, refer to the PYC Directory link at the bottom of every Semaphore email!
From Commodore Doug Butcher:
This is a reminder that it's the time of year when members are putting their boats away for the winter and are installing agitators. Since agitators use a submerged, electric motor, they are notorious for developing ground faults as they get older. Our dock electric system is fully compliant with the latest Code requirements for marinas, in particular with respect to earth (ground) current leakage detectors. This protection system is critical to everyone's safety.
In theory, the multi-tiered system should isolate a ground fault issue at the slip pedestal without interrupting power to the entire dock. In practice, sometimes the protective devices do not coordinate properly and the main breaker trips.
If you are installing and testing your agitator, PLEASE make sure that it does not trip your pedestal breaker and ALSO, please make sure it does not trip the main breaker for your dock (Rodeo East, Rodeo West, Boardwalk, or Sunset). A good way to do this is to make sure an AC device on your boat (for example your battery charger) remains on after you're done installing and testing your agitator. We had a case yesterday where an unknown something tripped Rodeo West, although we could not pinpoint or replicate the problem.
You can easily tell that the main breaker for your dock is tripped if the red light on the associated main panel (at the head of Boardwalk) is illuminated. If this happens, please notify me, Doug Simons, Bob Sharkey, and Gary Templeton as soon as possible and one of us will either restore power or attempt to walk you through the power restoration process.
Fair notice to slip holders. If we determine that your agitator or boat is tripping the main breaker, your power will be unplugged at the pedestal and we will immediately notify you. This is so we can restore power to the remainder of your dock. It is your responsibility to diagnose and remedy the reason why your equipment is tripping power to the docks, although we will assist you as much as practical.
Especially now that the season is winding down due to the lack of members present, we might go several days before we discover power is out on a dock. Please, everyone do your part by being on the lookout for issues, and letting us know as soon as possible.
Northern Lights at PYC!
THE NEW FLOATING CONCRETE BREAKWATER IS IN!
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From Commodore Doug Butcher:
The contractor finished their work and de-mobilized October 9th.
PYC volunteers removed the wave eater breakwater, moved the anchors, and reinstalled the wave eater inside the harbor.
We currently have three navigable exits from our harbor; between the wave eater and concrete floating breakwater, around the northwest end of the wave eater, and if you’re careful between the rock breakwater and new floating breakwater.
That channel may ultimately be blocked with wave eater.
I'd like to extend a A HUGE thank you to Doug Simons, Joe Glasgow, Dave Streiler, John Coode, and everyone else who pitched in the past 3 weeks to accomplish this significant project. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Photos: Brian Pitts
Perry Yacht Club is a sailing marina on Lake Perry, Kansas, which offers dry sail lots, wet slips, sailboat racing, regattas, adult and youth sailing education, ASA certification, social parties, and camping sites for member and guest sailors, since 1971. Perry Yacht Club is located near Kansas City, Lawrence and Topeka, KS. PYC is the premier venue for sailing in the central states region. To visit or join PYC, email members@perryyachtclub.com, or attend one of our open regattas!