Fall Planning

SHIP'S LOG:

      With the onset of "winter," I have got to get to work winterizing ABISHAG.  Some of it will be done by the Boatyard crews, but there is still plenty I have to do. The biggest job, though in one sense the easiest, is emptying the boat. I will be taking everything out of ABISHAG and store it at Russ' for the winter. And when I say everything, I mean everything, from cushions to spare parts to galley items to electronics to sails to cordage . . . I mean everything. And I will be most careful as to what gets hauled back aboard come the spring.

       The Main & Genoa are already at the sail-makers as they have had the most use and need the most work. The Cruising Spinnaker, Mizzen and  Storm Jib will winter in Russ' basement as they had only easy use. Time and energy permitting, I may wash them but then again, maybe not!
     
      I've got loads of spare parts that I took on for the ICW trip. I was certainly glad that I did so as there were several times when i made use of them, especially in jury rigging to correct problems. Unfortunately, they add a lot of weight to the boat. You would not think that stainless steel screws and bolts would weigh that much, but when you have lots of them they do! And if you multiply that by fittings and other spare parts, it really adds up. It has gotten to the point when I am not sure exactly what I have available. There is nothing I hate more than going out to buy something I need for the boat only to find I already have it on-board, a fact I find usually after the purchase. What I really need now for coastal cruising is a lot different than what I needed for making the ICW trip. Removing these items and putting back aboard only what I might realistically need will create more storage space.

      I have a locker filled with topside paint, caulkings of various kinds, solvents, all sorts of adhesives, fiberglass and resin and hardeners, tools for using fiberglass to make repairs, paintbrushes(bristles and foam) and paint sticks, etc. all of which have been useful but most of the time they just sit there, taking up room. Doing the spring commissioning hopefully will use up most if not all of these times and so free up another locker.

     Of course there are also items that can go away permanently. I have a "GALE-RIDER" Drogue which is really great if you are running downwind in a gale (40 knots or better) but won't get a lot of use on the coastal cruising. It is a likely candidate for the "Consignment" Shop in Mystic, or perhaps the one in Wickford in RI which is owned by the same people but is bigger and seems to have a larger turnover.

     I also have a portable generator which I haven't used since I got back . . 2 years ago. In fact the only time I needed it was once during this summer, when there was no electrical power on the TYC dock, and it wouldn't start! Chuck the launch driver had the same one and his stopped working as well. He took it off to a HONDA dealer and they charged him over $400 to get it working again. It might be worth getting it going again, though I have no idea why it is not running. Doesn't seem to be any spark so that it would seem to be an electrical problem and you know how I feel about electricity. Perhaps it would be a good thing to get running as the memories of Sandy and Irene and the power outages would make it a useful item to have. Then again, during both Irene and Sandy, the generator rested safe and sound aboard and never got use, so maybe it would be another item for the Consignment Shop. Or perhaps I could give it to TYC in lieu of dues.

     Of course there are also plates and pot and cutlery and linens of all types, and while most f them get used regularly when I am "living aboard," I seem to have more than I need. As a reuslt, some deteriorate and have to be tossed. So perhaps it would be better just to keep what I use and "consign" the rest.

     Then there are all the cushions, inside and outside.  The cockpit cushions are really falling apart. They are low density foam and as a result, unless I remove them from the cockpit when they are not in use, they soak up moister like a sponge which is basically what they  are. The vinyl coverings are split  along most of the seams and have become so fragile that they rip if you look at them the wrong way. This summer, I got a roll of "Shrink-wrap tape," what they use to hold the shrink wrap on boats before they shrink the wrap on the boat as a winter cover, and re-did the seems ad cover most of the holes. It was not as easy task afloat, but it seemed to work quite well. However, I need to re-do them for two reason: 1.) the finished job wasn't the neatest; and 2.) there is still moisture in the foam. A winter in a nice warm and dry basement will dry them out completely and will allow me to seal them completely for the upcoming season. To replace them would be about 4 Marine Units, none of which I have. And the inside cushions, well at the least, they need cleaning. They have at least seven years of interior dirt and diesel odor to be removed. They covers on all are all in need of being "de-mildewed" and in the case of the cushions in the fore-peak, they need new covers. New covers will not be coming unless I an find a really generous seamstress or tailor. Otherwise, it is a matter of "match-&-patch" by me to cover the really bad holes and then waiting for Publishers Clearing House to find me.

     The real reason for the "stripping out" of ABISHAG is the fact that there are several spring projects that require it. I am going to have to create access panels to allow me to get at the bolts and machine screws securing the stanchions. A couple are leaking and the rest, if not, are surely over do from removal and re-bedding. Cutting wood and fiberglass create a lot of dust and detritus and clean-up is easier if the boat interior is bare. The overheads have to come down as well so that I can get at the wiring they conceal. Too many fixtures throughout the boat don't function and the wiring needs replace. At the very least, all of the connection have to be check and the bad ones re-done. The overheads also have to come down because all of the deck hatches have to be removed and re-bedded as they all leak. The overheads are some type of fiberboard and are as old as the boat and really showing their age. They are not simple to remove, held in by dozens of screws, and the wood into which the fasteners are screw are falling apart as well.  In addition, the back of the main cockpit hatch leaks and the wood of its framing is bad and it has to be ripped out and replace. Before I can do that job, I have to find the leak so the problem just doesn't continue. I would like to be able to install a new overhead of some type of type so that I can have ease of access, but that will depend on (naturally) the cost. It is all just one fun thing after another