IS IT SUMMER YET????

SHIP'S LOG:

It actually got into the 60's today. Gee, maybe I should just take off now? Well, unfortunately, like I've tried to explain to some many people, weather on land is not always, or even often, the weather offshore. So it is that the waters I would have to transverse have small craft warnings posted. It made for a nice day to work on ABISHAG but not a particularly good days to go sailing. Strangely, it wasn't until late afternoon that the winds picked up on shore, and so it was almost like a Spring day today, a fine day to .......work.

I was able to install the water maker ( the high pressure pump and the membrane filter unit) It fits nicely in place and gives me back my limited counter top space. I have yet to connect any of the hoses yet though the electrics simply await the connection as the power is all run to the pump. Once the system is plumbed, I'll have all the water I need and more besides . . . that is once I get far south enough for the temperature to be above freezing all the time and I can "un-winterize" the fresh water system. We're technically only two weeks into winter and I just know that the 60 degree temperature of today and tomorrow are not long for this local.

Once the watermaker was installed, I spent a good part of the day doing a whole host of little jobs that needed doing. The electrical panel and the cockpit instrument panel where held in place by a minimal number of screws so I found and replaced them all, making things less likely to rattle and, in the case of the cockpit, more watertight. It was in doing that that I was able to discover why the main hatch leaks so. A previous owner had installed a plexiglass hatch and had sealed it with some type of rubber weather stripping. Resetting the screws today made it clear that the weather stripping is shot and needs to be replace. As is typical in boating, one completed job reveals another unexpected one that needs doing. It should be a simple fix which probably means it will be a task and a half.

Tomorrow will see the finishing of the propane system . . .for the second time. Not that there is any rush as I can't use it while I am here, but again the parts are taking up valuable space int eh cabin and I am trying to get a handle on get the place, dare I say it, "ship-shape." The floor has been reinstalled in the cockpit locker so a lot of the stuff that currently occupies that forepeak cabin can be moved into that space, making the boat seem more roomy. It may have to wait as I am having a problem with the inverter/charger. This wonderful apparatus converts the electricity coming from the dock into usable power for the boat, keeping the batteries charged and running the heavier electrical equipment (heaters, tools, microwave) which would seriously deplete the house batteries. For some reason it keeps tripping the circuit breaker and i am not sure why. I'll have to see if I can quiz the yard electrician for an answer and, failing that, get him to fix it as he installed it.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I slept the sleep of the just last nice. Rather than using the salon berth, I slept in the aft cabin. I found that since it was smaller, it was easier to heat and it made for a more comfortable nights sleep. I haven't established much of a routine though it has only really be a day. The work part of the day takes care of itself , it is the "free time" which may prove a little more difficult. This afternoon, as I was taking a quick nap, one of the yard workers came on board. Actually just on board would be more accurate. With the falling tide, the deck is a good two feet below that level of the dock and there is no graceful way to get from there to here. When he hit the deck, the noise woke me out of a sound sleep. I thought the boat had broken loose and had drifted into something. There was an instant of panic and then a feeling of "O crap, now what?" I was very relieved that it was nothing to be concerned about and I want to say that it taught me something profound, but I can't think of a thing at the moment.