BUSY,BUSY, BUSY, WORK,WORK,WORK!!!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

It has been a busy time of late. Lots of little stuff got done and part of one big job. The Big job was the LPG Locker extension. It got cut, it got extended to the proper amount (4 inches) using paint stirrers screwed into both halves to hold them in place, and the space was filled with Formula 27( a Marine version of Bondo). All that remains to be don e is to 1.) Sand the inside and outside of the fill; 2.) Score the fill and the gelcoat: 3.) Fiberglass it in place and voila! c'est fini! I expect any number of things to go wrong just because they can.The whole three step process will take longer than expect for each step will take longer than expected, but, and this is a big but, it will get done!

Found, filled and stain a bunch more screw holes in the wood work. It is getting done and is serviceable but it is nowhere near what you would call "Bristol."There is not a great deal of interior wood work in the boat and most of what there is is in pretty decent shape, finish wise. However, under the leaky ports ( two of them) and fronting the fridge the woods needs sanding, staining and varnishing. This will probably have to await the upcoming trip. It will give me something to put on the ongoing maintenance list. Right now I am concentrating on what is necessary to get the boat back in the water.

Like those leaky ports. Two of them leak, well more weep than leak. The leaks come from the screw holes made by the screws that hold the interior and exterior port trim in place. One of the previous owners, in a fit of maintenance, removed the trim, rebedded the lexan ports, and refasten the trim using screws that were just a tad too long. The screws went through the topsides and made contact with the opposing trim piece. as a result, you couldn't screw them down tight enough to make a water tight seal and naturally, after awhile, with the shrinking of the bedding, water worked its way in and did its damage. It was a long boring process of taking out the screws, removing the lexan, cleaning off the caulking, rebedding the lexan, recaulking the trim and the screw holes and screwing in the proper length screws. It literally took hours but was a simple job and, best of all, it worked and the ports are sealed again.

I also did a total lube job on all the hatches, hinges and dogs. I still haven't quite figured a way to loosen up the genoa cars or the dogs on the aft hatch but I do have some people working on it. But so far they still remain frozen in place.

The arrival of the watermaker has placed its installation on the front burner. It has to as it takes up far too much room sitting on the deck in the salon. I was actually hoping that it would be in by today but the fellow who was to help me do it was unable to make it Saturday but hopefully it will get tackled this week. It is not a terribly complex job, just a couple of simple connections once everything is in position, but it is a case of know what to do when and in what order so that the thing works in the end that makes it a bit nerve racking.

The thru-hull for the exhaust is in place, leaving only the two for the heads to be done...when they get here. Those along with the wind vane steering should just about do it. Then it is bottom paint, a coat of wax, the new name and a way we go. True, I still haven't gotten the outboard for the dingy done, but then I don't have a dingy yet either. There is a kind of symmetry in that. Then too, the wiring isn't quite done yet either and I am foolishly hoping that the refrigeration is perfect though I haven't even looked at it yet. The SAT phone, radios, GPS also have to be installed and then there is a major clean-up that has to be done after all the work in complete, but I love a challenge!

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I was thinking the other day that I actually might make the end of the month for departure. It would be great but if I don't, I'll go when I am ready. when I realize that I am trying to squeeze a summer of work into such a short time, I am a little less hard on myself. When ABISHAG and I are ready, we will go. It may not be the way I had hoped and envisioned, but then it is not a question of going or not but simply how the journey is to happen.