SHIP'S LOG:
It actually got a few degrees above freezing today and the boat was moved. We didn't go all that far, maybe 300ft upriver to "C" Dock. ABISHAG will be there until we start the sailing part of the journey. I have discovered that the "radiator/heater" works very well. I am not quite sure of the amp draw, but it certainly produces more than enough heat to keep the main cabin very comfortable. All the electrics are up and running. There is one strange thing though, when you put on the circuit breaker for the cabin light something turns on with a "beep" signal somewhere in the boat. What it is, I have no idea, but it must be either the Propane System Power Panel or the Refrigeration Power Panel indicating that it is now "On." Unfortunately, neither panel lights up so there is no way to know which one it actually is. The Propane System doesn't yet have the solenoid hooked up yet but the "sniffer" is, still no lights on the panel. The Refrigeration system is now "winterized" and so it won't be any time soon that I will be checking that out. It is bothersome to not know what is what.
One little project I never did get around to finishing was the winch for the main sail out haul. Now I may be paying the price. The Mainsail doesn't completely furl into the mast as it is supposed to. Usually, the last 5-10 inches remains exposed, covered as it is with UV Protection Sail Cloth. There is just a little bit more than that exposed and I want to unfurl and then re-furl the main properly. Just pulling the main out haul doesn't move it. Wrapping in on the winch and pulling doesn't move it either. However, since I didn't fix the winch, I can't crank it, can't use the power of the winch to get the mainsail unfurled so I can re-furl it. looks like that letting this project go because "it really isn't absolutely necessary" turned out to be less than a good decision on my part. The snow and ice and cold will make the project all the more fun to do now!
Friend Kenny got the speakers in and they work just fine, great in fact. Nice to have tunes on ABISHAG. All the radios work now, though there is no manual for the SSB. I am going to have to find and down load one so I can find out whether or not the thing works. If it doesn't work, it will be the tuner according to the people at DOCKSIDE ELECTRONICS. Their suggestion if such is the case is to drop it overboard! It is a dying technology and it is better to go with the SAT Phone. I have the SAT Phone now and will be installing it over the next few days. This will allow access to email and the Net as well as phone calling throughout the world. It will be great . . . . if I ever get out of Mystic.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
The sadness of the day comes from a phone call I received Wednesday afternoon. The call informed me that Dan Grandy had suffered a massive heart attack and died at his farm in Georgia. I met Dan at the Chapman School last March and he became a good friend. He was a delivery captain and was extremely knowledgeable about all things boating. He was very supportive of what I was planning and there was hardly a week when I did not get at least an email from him urging me on. I last talked to him this past Monday when he talked me through an electrical installation. We had plans that when I got to Fort Lauderdale, where the boat he ran was based, we would have venison burgers and beer to celebrate my trip. I last saw him over the summer when he had brought the boat to Newport for some summer cruising with the owner. He would have come with me to bring ABISHAG up from Annapolis but the owner had a trip that he wanted to make and Dan, naturally, had to take him. It was his job after all. I was really looking forward to seeing Dan again and, after the burgers and beer, to go sailing with him for a couple of days. I am really saddened by his death.
It actually got a few degrees above freezing today and the boat was moved. We didn't go all that far, maybe 300ft upriver to "C" Dock. ABISHAG will be there until we start the sailing part of the journey. I have discovered that the "radiator/heater" works very well. I am not quite sure of the amp draw, but it certainly produces more than enough heat to keep the main cabin very comfortable. All the electrics are up and running. There is one strange thing though, when you put on the circuit breaker for the cabin light something turns on with a "beep" signal somewhere in the boat. What it is, I have no idea, but it must be either the Propane System Power Panel or the Refrigeration Power Panel indicating that it is now "On." Unfortunately, neither panel lights up so there is no way to know which one it actually is. The Propane System doesn't yet have the solenoid hooked up yet but the "sniffer" is, still no lights on the panel. The Refrigeration system is now "winterized" and so it won't be any time soon that I will be checking that out. It is bothersome to not know what is what.
One little project I never did get around to finishing was the winch for the main sail out haul. Now I may be paying the price. The Mainsail doesn't completely furl into the mast as it is supposed to. Usually, the last 5-10 inches remains exposed, covered as it is with UV Protection Sail Cloth. There is just a little bit more than that exposed and I want to unfurl and then re-furl the main properly. Just pulling the main out haul doesn't move it. Wrapping in on the winch and pulling doesn't move it either. However, since I didn't fix the winch, I can't crank it, can't use the power of the winch to get the mainsail unfurled so I can re-furl it. looks like that letting this project go because "it really isn't absolutely necessary" turned out to be less than a good decision on my part. The snow and ice and cold will make the project all the more fun to do now!
Friend Kenny got the speakers in and they work just fine, great in fact. Nice to have tunes on ABISHAG. All the radios work now, though there is no manual for the SSB. I am going to have to find and down load one so I can find out whether or not the thing works. If it doesn't work, it will be the tuner according to the people at DOCKSIDE ELECTRONICS. Their suggestion if such is the case is to drop it overboard! It is a dying technology and it is better to go with the SAT Phone. I have the SAT Phone now and will be installing it over the next few days. This will allow access to email and the Net as well as phone calling throughout the world. It will be great . . . . if I ever get out of Mystic.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
The sadness of the day comes from a phone call I received Wednesday afternoon. The call informed me that Dan Grandy had suffered a massive heart attack and died at his farm in Georgia. I met Dan at the Chapman School last March and he became a good friend. He was a delivery captain and was extremely knowledgeable about all things boating. He was very supportive of what I was planning and there was hardly a week when I did not get at least an email from him urging me on. I last talked to him this past Monday when he talked me through an electrical installation. We had plans that when I got to Fort Lauderdale, where the boat he ran was based, we would have venison burgers and beer to celebrate my trip. I last saw him over the summer when he had brought the boat to Newport for some summer cruising with the owner. He would have come with me to bring ABISHAG up from Annapolis but the owner had a trip that he wanted to make and Dan, naturally, had to take him. It was his job after all. I was really looking forward to seeing Dan again and, after the burgers and beer, to go sailing with him for a couple of days. I am really saddened by his death.
