ZZZZZZZZ - Hibernating - ZZZZZZZZZZ

SHIP'S LOG:

Unless one builds a shed over one's boat or one enjoys chilblains and frostbite, there is not a great deal that one can do so long as the temperature stays below say 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Most sealants and chemicals won't set or react the way that they should. Metals lose their flexibility and plastics their pliability. Most of the interior gets coated with moisture condensing from your breath as well as from the seaside atmosphere and seemingly the only things that you can really work on have been winterized, at considerable expense, effort and man-hours, and really can't be touched until spring gets here permanently less the damage you sought too prevent takes place during a sudden "Hey!-It-wasn't- suppose-to-freeze-anymore" surprise last shot of winter. Add to this you have two choices of dress: 1.) like Nanook of the North - bundled up enough to stay warm but so much so that you don't have enough flexibility to actually work on anything; and 2.) wearing so few items that you can move and get into places you need to at the risk of contracting pneumonia when you stop working and your sweat freezes. No, winter is still for boating but virtual boating.

I have already put together a list of this year's Spring Projects - the Necessary, the Nice to have, and the No Way I can afford it. I spend some time on the Net looking at boating sites and looking at pictures of boat similar to ABISHAG. I was able to actually find pictures of other Camper Nicholson 39 Ketches though there are only 4 out there for sale at the present time. I examine the pictures to see how various owners have dealt with issues such as I have on ABISHAG. In some cases, I have found some rather interesting approaches that just may be worth trying this Spring. And examining the other ketches of a similar size, other approaches, from the very simple and inexpensive to the insanely complex and expensive present themselves. I take my time to sort through these projects and incorporate those that seem feasible and worthwhile.

The only downside of this type of web surfing is that so many of the boat you see look " so much better" than what you have at the present time. Actually, in most cases, they are not, for every boat is a compromise and every boat comes with its own unique set of problems, ghosts and gremlins. And if it is a used "lightly pre-owned" boat, odds are that the previous owner(s) have installed(usually poorly) equipment that no longer works or have performed repairs that are ham-handed and badly done. It is why there are SURVEYORS but you can't really survey solely by photographs on a website. Actually this type of boating fantasy usually happens in the winter and continues to the Spring when it becomes the inspiration and driving force behind your own poor installations an badly done repairs.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I hate winter, this one especially, since I didn't plan to be here where there comes snow and ice. It is only 110 days until I "have to be," by contractual obligation, in the water and hopefully will be before that date, but 110 is good enough for counting down.

No indication that any repair work has yet been done . . .and that's a good thing because once it is done, the insurance company will seen a check for the amount - less the $1,600 deductible - to the Yard Repair Shop and they will want that $1,600 ASAP. Right now, I don't have the $1,600 and it will take some time to raise it. So it is that the longer they delay the work, the better I'll be - in a financial sense.

And speaking of sense, making none is electricity. I am going to have to sit down with an electrician and see if he might be able to impart the wisdom of his craft. It is important for marine electrical/electronic items seam to be hyper-sensitive and one small poke or prod in the wrong spot at the right time can induce an expensive catastrophe - read lots of Marine Units wasted.