SHIP'S LOG:
It is bright and sunny, warm and windy off St. Kitts. The Christmas Winds are up and if one wanted to push it, and it would be a easy push, one could make St. Barts in time for cocktails. But who wants to push it or go anywhere on New Year's Day . . . . .. . especially after last night! WOW!
Well, enough of fantasy. Reality rears its ugly head and ABISHAG is still in Mystic. And it is in the 30's. And the wind is cold. And it is raining/snowing/sleeting. And though it is warm inside the boat, it isn't quite the same. I am sure you can appreciate that!
Sorry about the long time between postings, but then it was Christmas and other things became priorities. True, I hadn't expected to be here (there?) for Christmas but here I was, trapped by the lack of an appropriate weather window. So I had the gift of celebrating with family and it was a great time. It also meant that not a lot was done on ABISHAG. I have discovered that my great propane locker reconstruction was " flawed." Actually it was too good in that I extended it just a little bit too far and as a result, it doesn't drain. This is not a good thing. It is not so much the water, for the water will not bother the tanks or the hoses. It is the fact that since it won't drain, should there be some type of propane leak in the locker that is where the propane will remain. It will not drain harmlessly overboard. The longer it stays in that situation, the greater the risk that it will find some way into the boat and down into the bilge and there await a spark. And should the spark be provided, well lets just say it could ruin my whole day. So, I am in the process of repositioning the drainage system which entails drilling and hole cutting and a "little fiberglass work." and it is even more fun in the snow and cold.
Since I will be living on ABISHAG starting tomorrow, I also have to install a CO2 detector. The re is a propane "sniffer" already in the system, CO2 can be almost as nasty since you can smell it and it can/will kill you. Buttoning up the boat to keep the water out, keeps everything else in and in the middle of winter, it is a little difficult to ventilate the boat and not end up freezing as a result. I am sure you can begin to understand why I wanted to be "South" by this time.
Living on the boat will allow me to finish a couple of big projects and star digging into the never-ending boat maintenance projects. The two biggies are the water maker installation and the SAT phone installation. I have everything I need and now will really have the opportunity to finish them both off. I'll just have to see how long it takes. As you know, any work on a boat takes at least double the time you plan and three times the cost you estimated. By Spring??? God only knows and he ain't saying!
I've downloaded a couple dozen movies off the Internet so I will have some entertainment. After all I can't work all the time. I have also downloaded the manual for the SSB radio (one didn't come with the boat) and if I have connected it correctly, I'll try making contact with cruisers and the various radio nets for cruisers and just try to get into the mind-set.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It is really frustrating to still be stuck here. It was really what I didn't want to happen. Trying to figure out what God has in mind is an exercise that has stumped theologians far greater than I and I don't really expect to do it, but it looks like that I'll sure have the time to try. I suppose that the simplest answer is thatg God is giving me the time to learn how to live in a 39ft boat, not campout but live. I am sure that I could do so where the temperature is over 70, but for some reason God wants me to do it here. So here I'll do it.
It is bright and sunny, warm and windy off St. Kitts. The Christmas Winds are up and if one wanted to push it, and it would be a easy push, one could make St. Barts in time for cocktails. But who wants to push it or go anywhere on New Year's Day . . . . .. . especially after last night! WOW!
Well, enough of fantasy. Reality rears its ugly head and ABISHAG is still in Mystic. And it is in the 30's. And the wind is cold. And it is raining/snowing/sleeting. And though it is warm inside the boat, it isn't quite the same. I am sure you can appreciate that!
Sorry about the long time between postings, but then it was Christmas and other things became priorities. True, I hadn't expected to be here (there?) for Christmas but here I was, trapped by the lack of an appropriate weather window. So I had the gift of celebrating with family and it was a great time. It also meant that not a lot was done on ABISHAG. I have discovered that my great propane locker reconstruction was " flawed." Actually it was too good in that I extended it just a little bit too far and as a result, it doesn't drain. This is not a good thing. It is not so much the water, for the water will not bother the tanks or the hoses. It is the fact that since it won't drain, should there be some type of propane leak in the locker that is where the propane will remain. It will not drain harmlessly overboard. The longer it stays in that situation, the greater the risk that it will find some way into the boat and down into the bilge and there await a spark. And should the spark be provided, well lets just say it could ruin my whole day. So, I am in the process of repositioning the drainage system which entails drilling and hole cutting and a "little fiberglass work." and it is even more fun in the snow and cold.
Since I will be living on ABISHAG starting tomorrow, I also have to install a CO2 detector. The re is a propane "sniffer" already in the system, CO2 can be almost as nasty since you can smell it and it can/will kill you. Buttoning up the boat to keep the water out, keeps everything else in and in the middle of winter, it is a little difficult to ventilate the boat and not end up freezing as a result. I am sure you can begin to understand why I wanted to be "South" by this time.
Living on the boat will allow me to finish a couple of big projects and star digging into the never-ending boat maintenance projects. The two biggies are the water maker installation and the SAT phone installation. I have everything I need and now will really have the opportunity to finish them both off. I'll just have to see how long it takes. As you know, any work on a boat takes at least double the time you plan and three times the cost you estimated. By Spring??? God only knows and he ain't saying!
I've downloaded a couple dozen movies off the Internet so I will have some entertainment. After all I can't work all the time. I have also downloaded the manual for the SSB radio (one didn't come with the boat) and if I have connected it correctly, I'll try making contact with cruisers and the various radio nets for cruisers and just try to get into the mind-set.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It is really frustrating to still be stuck here. It was really what I didn't want to happen. Trying to figure out what God has in mind is an exercise that has stumped theologians far greater than I and I don't really expect to do it, but it looks like that I'll sure have the time to try. I suppose that the simplest answer is thatg God is giving me the time to learn how to live in a 39ft boat, not campout but live. I am sure that I could do so where the temperature is over 70, but for some reason God wants me to do it here. So here I'll do it.
