SHIP'S LOG:
The schedule for the day (yesterday) was as follows:
1.) Remove and reposition boarding ladder:
I started this on Monday and got it sort of half-way done. The Boarding Ladder is hung at the transom, 2 bolts through the caprail and 2 through the transom itself. The 2 at the caprail came out rather rather easily but the 2 in the transom were tenacious at not being moved. Persuasion with a hammer was of no help and I was stumped. Even the "Thinking Spot" produced no ideas save one, call somebody for help! I called Captain Dan and he put it into perspective. "You are going to have two holes no matter what you do that you are going to have to patch. It doesn't make any difference if they are 7/16 or 1", they are still going to have to be filled. So drill around the bolt and knock it out. Then patched it."
I ground out the fiberglass around the bolts and found that the backing plate through which the were set was made, not of wood as I expected, but of aluminum. In addition then to the sealant used when they were set in, there was the corrosion caused by the aluminum, stainless steel & seawater that locked them in place. I had to drill a series of holes around each bolt to weaken the aluminum and then break the seal with the sledge and dowel. This worked and out popped the ladder. Thanks goodness it was still tied to the boat or it would have disappeared over the fence into the neighbor's yard. The transom of the boat is set right against the fence of house that abuts the boatyard. And they have a dog, a BIG DOG who doesn't like me for some reason. The thought of going into the yard to retrieve the boarding ladder curdles the blood. I have to admit that I hadn't tied the ladder to the boat so score one for the former owner. Now all that remains is the patch job. Ah, Styrene! Unfortunately, I scored the bolt threads a bit and will have to haul the tap & die set to the boat and see if I can save them. If not, another means of affixing the ladder will have to be devised.
2.) Installing the hull zinc:
I have already install a zinc on the prop shaft and have to install a hull zinc. And it is a big zinc, 11 pounds to be exact. It is held on by four 7/16 bolts in a cut-out in the exterior hull. The zinc comes with no holes (naturally) and I had to drill it out. I never realized that zinc was that tough! It ate two of my all-purpose drill bits before I moved to the cobalt drill bits. These worked better but it required stepping, starting with a small diameter bit and moving up a size at a time until the hole was sufficiently large to take the bolt. One problem was that the cobalt bits seemed to get hot quickly which caused the metal filings to stick to the groves in the bit designed to take them out. This necessitated stopping every few seconds to clean the bit, until I lube the bit which made them slip off easier. Then it was only stopping every few minutes to clean the bit and lube it. It took awhile but it got done....well sort of. I know the bits are 7/16 because I measured them and I measured them when I discovered that the largest bit in the cobalt set was only 1/4. Back to SEARS!
3.) Fuel Line Vent Surge Protector:
Being an English boat, the Camper Nicholson has what you might call European Styling. The fuel filling system is a perfect example of this. The fuel fill port is located on the Starboard side. The fuel tank vent is located on the port side. The fuel gauge(a fairly recent discovery) is located inside a cabinet behind the port settee in the main cabin. It makes filling the fuel tank a two person job. In years past, before everyone became environmentally conscious, most boaters would fill their tanks by pumping in fuel until it started to spurt out the tank vent. The EPA frowns on this as door marina owners who can get hit with a $10,0o00 fine and have to pay for the clean up. Much to my chagrin and deep distress, in bringing the boat from Annapolis, we had to fuel three times and it was then I discovered this fueling problem.
To correct it, I purchased a fuel vent line surge protector. You simply attach it to the fuel vent line. It will let the tank vent during fueling but will close off when fuel enters it, preventing spills. Perfect, simple and easy to install. Well, not quite. First it took an hour to locate the fuel vent line. The end was easy to find, just look for the diesel stains. Unfortunately it ran through the cockpit locker to the fuel tank, as does seemingly every hose and wire on the boat. So into the locker and start tracing. I was looking for a rubber/plastic fuel line and eventually found a copper pipe! Hose I can handle but pipe? No way! But then God intervened. Friend Tony Alves, a boat freak and PLUMBER, stopped by the boat and, before you could say "flux-gate compass," install the device.
4.) The Mizzen Mast:
The Mizzen Mast got dropped today. The new Wind Generator has to be installed and the 30 year old wire in the mast has to go away. The Mizzen Mast, in addition to being home to the Wind Generator, hosts the deck lights, various antennae, the radar randome and the Mizzen standing and running rigging. It was an opportunity to check everything out. The Mizzen Halyard will have to be replaced, along with the halyard of the Mizzen Staysail. The standing rigging looks very go and is over-sized for the boat. It was strange to see the mast out of the boat. It made the boat look even bigger somehow. Since most of the work is invisible, going on inside the boat, it made it clear that work is actually going on and progressing and that makes me feel excited.
5.) Wind Vane Steering System:
Skip Beebe stopped by and we talked about the Wind Vane Steering System I want to install. Along with the auto-pilot, the system will relieve me of a lot of the burden of steering the boat which will make the journey much more relaxing. It is actually the biggest individual expense for the boat and I am antsy about installing it. It will take about 8 bolts but positioning is critical and Skip is the man to help, a real-sit-down-and-think-about-it-first kind of guy. In addition, he is also a skilled craftsman and his involvement will assure that the installation will be done right. And installing the Wind Vane Steering system really changes ABISHAG from a coastal cruiser into an ocean sailing boat. It is a real proclamation of intent as it were.
THE MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
While taking a break from working on the boat today, I sat in the cockpit and watched the yard crew haul a couple of boats. They power-washed them, moved them and set them on stanchions in the yard. It struck me as a little strange that people were hauling their boats. The yard was shifting from summer work to the fall schedule. Their mode was "Boat Hauling and Storage" and here I was trying to get my boat ready to be launched. Actually today, Wednesday September 19th, was the day I had chosen to set sail and I am still at least a month away.
Of course, if everything had gone the way I wanted it to go, I would be posting this over a satellite phone . I would be somewhere between Montauk and the Chesapeake and the journey would have been underway. Actually, the sailing journey would be underway but there is more than one journey going on here. So even though I am high and dry and ABISHAG remains on the hard, one journey is underway, the journey of self-discovery.
As I write this, I am taking a day off from working on the boat. That's not as easy as it sounds. I have a good chunk of my personal financial wealth tied up in ABISHAG and she sits out of the water in no condition for sailing. Indeed, if she were put in the water now, she'd sink as thru-hulls have not been replace. There is wire riped out everywhere, hoses unconnected, equipment not installed and enough work to keep me busy for quite awhile, but I am taking today off. The journey today is to get a handle on why I feel guilty about taking the day off . Who do I think I am letting down by taking a day away from working on the boat? It is the journey that is important not the destination. If I don't learn anything about me, then all of this is actually a waste of time, effort and money. Should be an interesting day.
************************************************************************************
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cKCkbWDGwE
