If It's Not One thing, It's Another!

SHIP'S LOG:

     With total disregard of the nasty weather predicted by NOAA, I went up to the boat today to take care of a few small matters. The first was to set in place the braces for the stanchions that carry the load of the dinghy. Last year, I had one of these stanchions welded because it had been cracked when the dinghy got boarded by a bad wave in the Delaware Bay on the way home. It was clear that the davitts for the dinghy which are incorporated into the stern rails were simply too much weight (when the dinghy was on them) for the stanchions. The new braces provide great support. They stanchions don't move at all so they will carry the davittts and hence the dinghy without a problem.

       The next little project was to secure two padded clamping devices that hold the filtration tube for the water maker. The new home for the water maker, in a starboard aft locker in the rear cabin, has plenty of space, now that the refrigeration is gone,  and this little project consisted of attaching the clamping devices with two screws. I wish all projects were that easy.

      While I was in a clamping mood, I replaced two metal clamps in the forward head that head the hose for the pump-out for the holding tank. The metal clamps were cheap and had rusted and looked terrible, so they had to go. They were replaced by two PVC pipe clamps which again took two screws! Huzzah!

      Next I got to vacuum the entire interior of the boat. And it really needed it. I am just fascinated by how much dirt the boat attracts inside.  However, vacuuming a boat is unlike vacuuming a house. It is basically a "hand-&-knees" procedure. One good thing is that you discover stuff that the gremlins have stolen and scattered around the boat when I wasn't looking.

     I have an issue with the rudder. It is wood sheathed in fiberglass and there is a place where the wood is exposed. Near the bottom of the rudder shaft, there is a metal plate fixed to the rudder and part of the fiberglass is missing. There has been some slight water intrusion into the wood, but exposing it to the air and treating it with a penetrating epoxy will fix that. However, when I was sanding off the paint, exposing the wood, the metal plate and the fiberglass, the sanding pad got jammed and destroyed my drill. The chuck-less working end is made of a hard plastic and whatever held it to the shaft of the drill got stripped. It will turn but won't take any pressure so it is new drill time. Sigh!