SHIP'S LOG:
It will not go down as the brightest thing I have ever done, beginning to live on ABISHAG on a day when the temperature never exceeded 20 and go down to 2 degrees during the night. Wrapped up in a "plush throw," a polar fleece blanket and a down sleeping and I still froze! The reason was #375: I CAN NEVER QUITE GET WARM ENOUGH IN WINTER FOR EVERY DRAFT ALWAYS FINDS THE HOLE IN MY DEFENSE! I could get all wrapped up and was getting warm when I would move or shift and that would create a little crack somewhere and in would come the freezing cold draft. I would drift off to sleep, move and then get awakened by the draft. And getting up to use the head was even more exciting!
Lying there in the dark, I was listening to all the sounds that ABISHAG made, trying to get use to what is "normal" and what might be a problem creeping up. Definitely, I have to come up with a way to tie off the halyards to keep them from slapping against the masts. It didn't help that the wind was honking at 30knots causing them to really slap around and the whine of the wind through the shrouds kept going even when the halyards quited down. And I have to find out what keeps hitting the shrouds. Something whacks some shroud on the port side and causes it to ring and vibrate throughout the boat. All of these sounds, along with the groans caused by the lines holding the boat to the dock, stretching and contracting, as well as the boat heeling and righting, made for a very long, semi-sleepless night.
And the cold. The heater worked fine. The 3 - 4 feet right around it it were comfortable but the rest of the interior were ice-box like.I used the berth in the salon, closed off the fore-peak and the aft stateroom, but it still got down to a toasty 30. The heater works fine to take the edge off when it is cold but last night was far outside its operative range. And the next few days promise more of the same. I am going to admit defeat and wait for the weather to get just a little bit warmer.
I also discovered the joys of condensation! It was amazing to wake up and discover how the moisture in my breath had, overnight, turned to ice "inside the boat." The sun coming through the ports, where it focused on the ice, began to melt it and I've got water dripping in the boat . . . and you just know that I got one, big, cold drop right down the back of my neck, just the thing to get you up and running in the morning. I hate winter!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It was interesting to spend the "first night" on the boat. Eve with all the things that worked against it, I enjoyed being on ABISHAG. There is just something about the rocking of a boat that is comfortable and relaxing. It was a learning experience, learning to move about the interior of the boat, learning where things were . . .like lights and switches, learning the sounds ABISHAG makes and trying to understand what each sound means. And even being tied to the dock as I was, learning about being alone. As cold as it was, there was little I could do in the way of tackling projects, so I couldn't fill the time doing things. I spent the evening watching a couple of movies I had downloaded to my computer and then trying to get some sleep, wondering all the time what I was doing there.
I did learn that it when there is a problem that it is better to get up and deal with it rather that lay there and suffer. If I don't it just works on my mind and sleep is a stranger, but it took some effort to make and act upon the decision. I also learned that on a boat things look better in the daylight. I really get the feeling of being closed in at night, that there is nothing besides the boat and things are a little more tense for me.The daylight makes things seem much better and anything is possible. I am going to have to work on night time a little bit more.
Several times, I had a conversation with God during the night, well actually it was more of a monologue. Actually, it was one question, "OK Lord, you got me here, now what?" No answer was immediately forth coming, so I guess it's going to take a little more time and reflection.
It will not go down as the brightest thing I have ever done, beginning to live on ABISHAG on a day when the temperature never exceeded 20 and go down to 2 degrees during the night. Wrapped up in a "plush throw," a polar fleece blanket and a down sleeping and I still froze! The reason was #375: I CAN NEVER QUITE GET WARM ENOUGH IN WINTER FOR EVERY DRAFT ALWAYS FINDS THE HOLE IN MY DEFENSE! I could get all wrapped up and was getting warm when I would move or shift and that would create a little crack somewhere and in would come the freezing cold draft. I would drift off to sleep, move and then get awakened by the draft. And getting up to use the head was even more exciting!
Lying there in the dark, I was listening to all the sounds that ABISHAG made, trying to get use to what is "normal" and what might be a problem creeping up. Definitely, I have to come up with a way to tie off the halyards to keep them from slapping against the masts. It didn't help that the wind was honking at 30knots causing them to really slap around and the whine of the wind through the shrouds kept going even when the halyards quited down. And I have to find out what keeps hitting the shrouds. Something whacks some shroud on the port side and causes it to ring and vibrate throughout the boat. All of these sounds, along with the groans caused by the lines holding the boat to the dock, stretching and contracting, as well as the boat heeling and righting, made for a very long, semi-sleepless night.
And the cold. The heater worked fine. The 3 - 4 feet right around it it were comfortable but the rest of the interior were ice-box like.I used the berth in the salon, closed off the fore-peak and the aft stateroom, but it still got down to a toasty 30. The heater works fine to take the edge off when it is cold but last night was far outside its operative range. And the next few days promise more of the same. I am going to admit defeat and wait for the weather to get just a little bit warmer.
I also discovered the joys of condensation! It was amazing to wake up and discover how the moisture in my breath had, overnight, turned to ice "inside the boat." The sun coming through the ports, where it focused on the ice, began to melt it and I've got water dripping in the boat . . . and you just know that I got one, big, cold drop right down the back of my neck, just the thing to get you up and running in the morning. I hate winter!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It was interesting to spend the "first night" on the boat. Eve with all the things that worked against it, I enjoyed being on ABISHAG. There is just something about the rocking of a boat that is comfortable and relaxing. It was a learning experience, learning to move about the interior of the boat, learning where things were . . .like lights and switches, learning the sounds ABISHAG makes and trying to understand what each sound means. And even being tied to the dock as I was, learning about being alone. As cold as it was, there was little I could do in the way of tackling projects, so I couldn't fill the time doing things. I spent the evening watching a couple of movies I had downloaded to my computer and then trying to get some sleep, wondering all the time what I was doing there.
I did learn that it when there is a problem that it is better to get up and deal with it rather that lay there and suffer. If I don't it just works on my mind and sleep is a stranger, but it took some effort to make and act upon the decision. I also learned that on a boat things look better in the daylight. I really get the feeling of being closed in at night, that there is nothing besides the boat and things are a little more tense for me.The daylight makes things seem much better and anything is possible. I am going to have to work on night time a little bit more.
Several times, I had a conversation with God during the night, well actually it was more of a monologue. Actually, it was one question, "OK Lord, you got me here, now what?" No answer was immediately forth coming, so I guess it's going to take a little more time and reflection.
