Friday, April 18, 2008

WELL, IT'S A GOOD DAY . . . . . .

SHIP'S LOG:
Yes, it's a good day for singin' a song,
And it's a good day for movin' a - long;
Yes, it's a good day, how could anything go wrong,
A good day from mornin' till night.

Well, it was a good day, just like yesterday, but even warmer. This Spring type weather does things to one's mind and not many are good. That became clear when I had to rip out the recently installed weather stripping ( put it in yesterday) and replace it. Rather than installing as few pieces as possible, I used about as many as I could . . . unintentionally, of course, but, like I said, that Spring weather will do crazy things to your mind. This time, it took a lot more cutting and trimming of the weather stripping but the job should be a lot more effective. This will keep the water, rain water of seawater, out of the propane locker. Now I will be able to install the solenoid and the two tanks and the stove will be up and running. Huzzah! It's a good day . . . well, except for the rather awkward position I had to get in to do the job. Not the most comfortable position, especially for my right hip, and it let me know about it all night!

I installed the last of the Hypervent - the plastic system that goes under cushions to keep them dry. It is an inch thick plastic wire mess that is a beast to cut but it really does the job. I put it in or under, the cushions in the aft cabin and forepeak and it really works very well. It is just enough to allow the air to circulate under the cushions and keeps the moisture from building up. Thus, no mildew and no mildew smell. Huzzah! It's a good day. . . . . .

I still can't get the mainsail halyard winch to work. It will spin if the halyard is pulled but it will not turn if you use the winch handle . . . . .. which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I have taken it apart as much as I can. I have cleaned it, greased it, cajoled it, threatened it and still can't seem to get it to work. It looks as though I will have to remove it from the mast and take it to a shop. YEAH!!!! It is not that good a day.


When I was leaving the boat, I turned of the battery switch and heard something like someone hitting the hull with a hammer. It caught me by surprise and, to overcome my boating paranoia, I turn the switch on and off to show that the sound had nothing to do with the switch. BANG! It happened again. The sound seemed to come from the aft part of the boat but I couldn't tell for sure. And trying to isolate it from sure, would require turning it on an doff several time and even then, it wouldn't necessarily isolate it. I got a hold of Don the electrician for his help. It only took him a bout five minutes to discover that it was the autopilot jerking the steering gear as it cycled on and off. Evidently one of the yard guys must have accidental flicked the switch for the auto pilot on the "voyage" the other day. Huzzah! It is a good day ! ! ! ! !


MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Actually, it was a good day. Just getting out in the great weather and working on the boat was a great way to spend the day. Someone asked me recently what I was doing with my time and I said "Working on my boat." The response came ," You can't work on your boat all the time." Obviously the guy has a clue about boats. Maybe I can get him to come and help out. Probably do him a world of good. May I can get him to work on installing a new holding tank!

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