SHIP'S LOG:
Yes, it's a good day for singin' a song,
And it's a good day for movin' a - long;
Yes, it's a good day, how could anything go wrong,
A good day from mornin' till night.
Well, it was a good day, just like yesterday, but even warmer. This Spring type weather does things to one's mind and not many are good. That became clear when I had to rip out the recently installed weather stripping ( put it in yesterday) and replace it. Rather than installing as few pieces as possible, I used about as many as I could . . . unintentionally, of course, but, like I said, that Spring weather will do crazy things to your mind. This time, it took a lot more cutting and trimming of the weather stripping but the job should be a lot more effective. This will keep the water, rain water of seawater, out of the propane locker. Now I will be able to install the solenoid and the two tanks and the stove will be up and running. Huzzah! It's a good day . . . well, except for the rather awkward position I had to get in to do the job. Not the most comfortable position, especially for my right hip, and it let me know about it all night!
I installed the last of the Hypervent - the plastic system that goes under cushions to keep them dry. It is an inch thick plastic wire mess that is a beast to cut but it really does the job. I put it in or under, the cushions in the aft cabin and forepeak and it really works very well. It is just enough to allow the air to circulate under the cushions and keeps the moisture from building up. Thus, no mildew and no mildew smell. Huzzah! It's a good day. . . . . .
I still can't get the mainsail halyard winch to work. It will spin if the halyard is pulled but it will not turn if you use the winch handle . . . . .. which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I have taken it apart as much as I can. I have cleaned it, greased it, cajoled it, threatened it and still can't seem to get it to work. It looks as though I will have to remove it from the mast and take it to a shop. YEAH!!!! It is not that good a day.
When I was leaving the boat, I turned of the battery switch and heard something like someone hitting the hull with a hammer. It caught me by surprise and, to overcome my boating paranoia, I turn the switch on and off to show that the sound had nothing to do with the switch. BANG! It happened again. The sound seemed to come from the aft part of the boat but I couldn't tell for sure. And trying to isolate it from sure, would require turning it on an doff several time and even then, it wouldn't necessarily isolate it. I got a hold of Don the electrician for his help. It only took him a bout five minutes to discover that it was the autopilot jerking the steering gear as it cycled on and off. Evidently one of the yard guys must have accidental flicked the switch for the auto pilot on the "voyage" the other day. Huzzah! It is a good day ! ! ! ! !
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Actually, it was a good day. Just getting out in the great weather and working on the boat was a great way to spend the day. Someone asked me recently what I was doing with my time and I said "Working on my boat." The response came ," You can't work on your boat all the time." Obviously the guy has a clue about boats. Maybe I can get him to come and help out. Probably do him a world of good. May I can get him to work on installing a new holding tank!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
THE FIRST VOYAGE OF THE SEASON! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Today I took the first voyage of the season! With 2 yard guys, I backed out of the slip on "C" Dock, turned right into the Mystic River and headed toward the Sound. The wind was blowing and the temp was in the low 60's. We passed "B" Dock and then . . . .turned into slip # 12 and tied up again. A short trip engendered by the fact that the guy whose boat goes into the slip I've been in since November, got his boat splashed and need it. So it was that I had to move again. The good thing was that the engine ran fine and the boat didn't sink, and even though I only "voyaged" about 200 yards, it was great to be underway.
Back on the boat and back to work again. I fabricated a doohickie to hold the aluminum tube in the main mast around which the main sail furls. Seems to work just fine and when the wind dies a bit, I will re-install the mainsail and see if it actually works.
I also took the time to install weather stripping around the inside lip of the propane locker hatch. The water had been getting in to the locker and that is just rain and melting snow. Seawater rushing along the rail might really pour in, though if the boat is heeled that much, water in the propane locker will be the least of my problems.
I also took the time to begin the actual clean up of the boat. Stuff either had to be stowed or removed. It is tough to do for a "packratter" like me. I always save stuff on the off chance that I might need it sometime someday. That's fine when you have a house and a garage, but a little difficult when all you have is a 39' X 12' boat. I now have more than one place to sit in the main cabin which is a good thing.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I can't quite begin to express what is was like to be "underway!" To be able to look out over the bow and see Fisher's Island Sound . . . .well it just sent chills of excitement up and down my spine. It won't be long now, not long at all.
Today I took the first voyage of the season! With 2 yard guys, I backed out of the slip on "C" Dock, turned right into the Mystic River and headed toward the Sound. The wind was blowing and the temp was in the low 60's. We passed "B" Dock and then . . . .turned into slip # 12 and tied up again. A short trip engendered by the fact that the guy whose boat goes into the slip I've been in since November, got his boat splashed and need it. So it was that I had to move again. The good thing was that the engine ran fine and the boat didn't sink, and even though I only "voyaged" about 200 yards, it was great to be underway.
Back on the boat and back to work again. I fabricated a doohickie to hold the aluminum tube in the main mast around which the main sail furls. Seems to work just fine and when the wind dies a bit, I will re-install the mainsail and see if it actually works.
I also took the time to install weather stripping around the inside lip of the propane locker hatch. The water had been getting in to the locker and that is just rain and melting snow. Seawater rushing along the rail might really pour in, though if the boat is heeled that much, water in the propane locker will be the least of my problems.
I also took the time to begin the actual clean up of the boat. Stuff either had to be stowed or removed. It is tough to do for a "packratter" like me. I always save stuff on the off chance that I might need it sometime someday. That's fine when you have a house and a garage, but a little difficult when all you have is a 39' X 12' boat. I now have more than one place to sit in the main cabin which is a good thing.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I can't quite begin to express what is was like to be "underway!" To be able to look out over the bow and see Fisher's Island Sound . . . .well it just sent chills of excitement up and down my spine. It won't be long now, not long at all.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
WORK, WORK, WORK!!!!!!!!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
Here was yesterday's "Things To Do " list:
1.) Trim the flu;[]
2.) Install the bottom reflector plate;[]
3.) Install weather stripping around the deck hatch for the Propane locker;[]
4.) Install the solenoid in the propane locker;[]
5.) Rig the flag halyards on the mizzen mast;[]
6.) Re-rig the mainsail clew;[]
7.) Re-install the boarding ladder on the transom;[]
Here is what actually got done: #1, #7, and some part of #6.
Installing trim around the flu is just to make it look better, more finished. The project itself was also something akin to trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. What I had decided to use to trim this hole for the flu exiting the cabin was a leftover piece of trim from the installation of the ports in the aft head. However, the piece of trim was a 6" X 15" rectangle and the hole was a 5" diameter hole through which exited a 4" octagonal flu. It took a lot of measuring, cutting, fitting, trimming, screwing and cussing before everything was in place. It even came out pretty decent if I do say so myself. . . . and I better for no one else will.
Ken came by to help with the re-installation of the boarding ladder. This ladder on the transom was removed last fall so I could install the wind vane steering system. I do not recall why I did not re-install the ladder at that time but the delay meant that while the ladder was removed while ABISHAG was out of the water, it would be reinstalled when she was in the water, making everything exponentially harder. True, it only require the drilling of 4, count'em 4, holes but there ain't no such thing as a simple, get-it-right-the-first-time, no snafus boat project.
The first two hole along the cap rail on the transom were easy to do. The bracket on the ladder was place on the rail, spots were marked, holes were drilled . . VOILA!!! The last two were just a bit more tricky. The screws were a part of the lower bracket itself and you couldn't simply lay the bracket against the transom, mark it and drill. Nope, you had to lay the bracket "gently) against the hull, mark where the screws touched, and then guestimate how much further to extend the mark so that the bracket would lay flush to the transom. No a particularly difficult task for someone with a good eye and Ken has a good eye. True, he had to hang over the transom in a safety harness two feet above the water, but he has a good eye. I went below to the aft cabin to remove the large upholstered cushion that is set against the transom inside the boat so Ken wouldn't drill into it. And there we ran into our second difficulty. It was not really a difficulty so much as a bit of a challenge.
Originally the the bottom screws of the ladder bracket were drilled through an aluminum bar that was fiberglassed into the transom. This acted like a backing plate spreading the pressure of the ladder loads. Now with the ladder off-set, only on of the screws would penetrate this bar and we either had to hit it square or miss it completely. It took a bit of measuring but we ran the hole for the screw straight through the bar. Both holes were drill and the ladder was lower over the transom to be fitted and screwed in place.
Challenge number three: the bottom screws would not fit through the holes. Swinging the ladder into place meant that the screws came in at an acute angle and they just wouldn't fit through the hole. The ladder had to be swung out of he way and the holes drilled out with the next largest bit. Back went the ladder and it still didn't quite fit. Move the ladder again and work at the hole with the drill bit to enlarge them just a bit more. (You don't want them too big as it will make the ladder wobble.) We had to do this 3 or 4 time before the crews went in as they should.
Challenge four: While enough of one screw came through to fit it with a washer and nut to hold it in place against the transom, the one that passed through the aluminum bar came through flush, with no way to fit washer and nut to it. Remove the ladder again, and grind down the fiberglass covering the aluminum bar. Refit the ladder. Better but no good enough. Remove the ladder and grind down the aluminum bar. It took two or three more shots before there was sufficient threads exposed on the screw to fit it with a washer and nut. Finally the just was finished . . .well, almost. The ladder is has an extension that swings to the level of the ladder to use in getting on and off the boat and which swings up out of the way the rest of the time. The extension is held in place by a little piece of line but now it makes contact with a lifeline stanchion and it bangs! SO I will have to find and fit a little block of wood to fix it in place. A I said, most jobs never quite get 100% finished no matter what you do.
The mainsail furls into a housing behind the mainmast. For some reason it would not furl, retract completely, leaving too much of the clew of the sail exposed. In the heavy wind of a week ago, it unshackled the shackle and I had to tie it too the mast to keep it from destroying itself. It was in trying to reattach it that Ken and I found that the reason the furling system wasn't retracting the sail completely was that the rod, around which the mail wound itself, was detached at the bottom. We had to unfurl the mainsail and take it off completely. It appears that a small doohickey which connects the rod to the thing-a-ma-bob is absent without leave. We are going to have to come up with a brilliant fix and get the system working again.
And that was as far done with the list as I got. It doesn't seem like a great deal but it was about 6 hours work all told. But the weather was beautiful and sailing is getting closer all the time.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Now that it is almost tax day and the weather is getting warmer, the boats are getting unwrapped and some are even getting afloat. It is old a matter of time until I am asked to "vacate " the dock and head off. Un-winterizing the boat is a rather simple thing . It just takes doing. I am getting twitchy about the prospect of getting underway at last. I just want to make sure that the surprise, freaky, unexpected-but-anticipated Spring snow storms it off the books before I do so.
Here was yesterday's "Things To Do " list:
1.) Trim the flu;[]
2.) Install the bottom reflector plate;[]
3.) Install weather stripping around the deck hatch for the Propane locker;[]
4.) Install the solenoid in the propane locker;[]
5.) Rig the flag halyards on the mizzen mast;[]
6.) Re-rig the mainsail clew;[]
7.) Re-install the boarding ladder on the transom;[]
Here is what actually got done: #1, #7, and some part of #6.
Installing trim around the flu is just to make it look better, more finished. The project itself was also something akin to trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. What I had decided to use to trim this hole for the flu exiting the cabin was a leftover piece of trim from the installation of the ports in the aft head. However, the piece of trim was a 6" X 15" rectangle and the hole was a 5" diameter hole through which exited a 4" octagonal flu. It took a lot of measuring, cutting, fitting, trimming, screwing and cussing before everything was in place. It even came out pretty decent if I do say so myself. . . . and I better for no one else will.
Ken came by to help with the re-installation of the boarding ladder. This ladder on the transom was removed last fall so I could install the wind vane steering system. I do not recall why I did not re-install the ladder at that time but the delay meant that while the ladder was removed while ABISHAG was out of the water, it would be reinstalled when she was in the water, making everything exponentially harder. True, it only require the drilling of 4, count'em 4, holes but there ain't no such thing as a simple, get-it-right-the-first-time, no snafus boat project.
The first two hole along the cap rail on the transom were easy to do. The bracket on the ladder was place on the rail, spots were marked, holes were drilled . . VOILA!!! The last two were just a bit more tricky. The screws were a part of the lower bracket itself and you couldn't simply lay the bracket against the transom, mark it and drill. Nope, you had to lay the bracket "gently) against the hull, mark where the screws touched, and then guestimate how much further to extend the mark so that the bracket would lay flush to the transom. No a particularly difficult task for someone with a good eye and Ken has a good eye. True, he had to hang over the transom in a safety harness two feet above the water, but he has a good eye. I went below to the aft cabin to remove the large upholstered cushion that is set against the transom inside the boat so Ken wouldn't drill into it. And there we ran into our second difficulty. It was not really a difficulty so much as a bit of a challenge.
Originally the the bottom screws of the ladder bracket were drilled through an aluminum bar that was fiberglassed into the transom. This acted like a backing plate spreading the pressure of the ladder loads. Now with the ladder off-set, only on of the screws would penetrate this bar and we either had to hit it square or miss it completely. It took a bit of measuring but we ran the hole for the screw straight through the bar. Both holes were drill and the ladder was lower over the transom to be fitted and screwed in place.
Challenge number three: the bottom screws would not fit through the holes. Swinging the ladder into place meant that the screws came in at an acute angle and they just wouldn't fit through the hole. The ladder had to be swung out of he way and the holes drilled out with the next largest bit. Back went the ladder and it still didn't quite fit. Move the ladder again and work at the hole with the drill bit to enlarge them just a bit more. (You don't want them too big as it will make the ladder wobble.) We had to do this 3 or 4 time before the crews went in as they should.
Challenge four: While enough of one screw came through to fit it with a washer and nut to hold it in place against the transom, the one that passed through the aluminum bar came through flush, with no way to fit washer and nut to it. Remove the ladder again, and grind down the fiberglass covering the aluminum bar. Refit the ladder. Better but no good enough. Remove the ladder and grind down the aluminum bar. It took two or three more shots before there was sufficient threads exposed on the screw to fit it with a washer and nut. Finally the just was finished . . .well, almost. The ladder is has an extension that swings to the level of the ladder to use in getting on and off the boat and which swings up out of the way the rest of the time. The extension is held in place by a little piece of line but now it makes contact with a lifeline stanchion and it bangs! SO I will have to find and fit a little block of wood to fix it in place. A I said, most jobs never quite get 100% finished no matter what you do.
The mainsail furls into a housing behind the mainmast. For some reason it would not furl, retract completely, leaving too much of the clew of the sail exposed. In the heavy wind of a week ago, it unshackled the shackle and I had to tie it too the mast to keep it from destroying itself. It was in trying to reattach it that Ken and I found that the reason the furling system wasn't retracting the sail completely was that the rod, around which the mail wound itself, was detached at the bottom. We had to unfurl the mainsail and take it off completely. It appears that a small doohickey which connects the rod to the thing-a-ma-bob is absent without leave. We are going to have to come up with a brilliant fix and get the system working again.
And that was as far done with the list as I got. It doesn't seem like a great deal but it was about 6 hours work all told. But the weather was beautiful and sailing is getting closer all the time.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Now that it is almost tax day and the weather is getting warmer, the boats are getting unwrapped and some are even getting afloat. It is old a matter of time until I am asked to "vacate " the dock and head off. Un-winterizing the boat is a rather simple thing . It just takes doing. I am getting twitchy about the prospect of getting underway at last. I just want to make sure that the surprise, freaky, unexpected-but-anticipated Spring snow storms it off the books before I do so.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
AHOY! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
It has been awhile. Sorry about that but the crappy weather really stripped me of any enthusiasm for working on the boat. But the weather is changing and Spring is definitely coming and it just fills one with all sorts of energy.
The fireplace is in . . . and the weather is now approaching the 60's. Isn't that just always the way!?! We did it in the rain and it actually went rather smoothly, though cutting that hole in the deck was truly a mental struggle. It went well, looks great and hopefully even works. A small trim job on the insulation around the flu, a trim plate around the flu in the salon overhead, the installation of the bottom reflector plate (four screw holes) and it will be perfect.
Today's job list is as follows:
1.) Trim the the flu;[]
2.) Install the bottom reflector plate;[]
3.) Install weather stripping around the deck hatch for the Propane locker;[]
4.) Install the solenoid in the propane locker;[]
5.) Rig the flag halyards on the mizzen mast;[]
6.) Re-rig the mainsail clew;[]
7.) Re-install the boarding ladder on the transom;[]
It should be an interesting day.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It is amazing how the weather changes how I feel. I am really on of those people with SAD - Seasonal Adjustment Syndrome. Now that there is more sun, and the weather is getting warmer, I feel great and can't wait to pull away from the dock. Can't wait! ! ! !! ! !! !
It has been awhile. Sorry about that but the crappy weather really stripped me of any enthusiasm for working on the boat. But the weather is changing and Spring is definitely coming and it just fills one with all sorts of energy.
The fireplace is in . . . and the weather is now approaching the 60's. Isn't that just always the way!?! We did it in the rain and it actually went rather smoothly, though cutting that hole in the deck was truly a mental struggle. It went well, looks great and hopefully even works. A small trim job on the insulation around the flu, a trim plate around the flu in the salon overhead, the installation of the bottom reflector plate (four screw holes) and it will be perfect.
Today's job list is as follows:
1.) Trim the the flu;[]
2.) Install the bottom reflector plate;[]
3.) Install weather stripping around the deck hatch for the Propane locker;[]
4.) Install the solenoid in the propane locker;[]
5.) Rig the flag halyards on the mizzen mast;[]
6.) Re-rig the mainsail clew;[]
7.) Re-install the boarding ladder on the transom;[]
It should be an interesting day.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It is amazing how the weather changes how I feel. I am really on of those people with SAD - Seasonal Adjustment Syndrome. Now that there is more sun, and the weather is getting warmer, I feel great and can't wait to pull away from the dock. Can't wait! ! ! !! ! !! !
Sunday, March 23, 2008
RADAR LOVE!!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
Good News! I am not going to have to shell-out a couple of "Marine Units" to pay for new radar. The old unit, and I mean old (20 years at least), still works just fine. The guy at Dockside Electronics said it was an "entry level radar unit" something they don't make any more worked just fine and when I reinstalled it, he was right. True it can't make "toast" but as a radar unit, it worked just fine, even if in just black and white....or sort of a light blue-grey and a dark blue-grey. It worked which is the important part!!!!!
The wind was cranking so hard the other day that ABISHAG was heeling at the dock. Of course, had she been at a mooring, she would have just turned into the wind and never have really been impacted by it. However, she is tied to the dock and she heeled with the wind and didn't like it at all. She is really straining to get free and move and I can only say that I am thankful that her deck cleats are set as well as they are. They would pulled the deck out before they let go!
I am really hopeful that the weather will warm soon so I can start on the few projects that remain on the outside of the boat that have been put off by the weather. Also there are a few small ones that require the boat be commissioned before they can be tackled. To put it simply, they are projects that can be done only when the weather is sailing weather!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I can sense a change in the weather. It is clear that the weather is warming though slowly. Hopefully the wind will die down as the weather warms and I can get to work on the boat. the best part is that there is little or nothing that can not be done while sailing the boat. ABSIHAG and I need to put some sea miles under out collective keel and get away from the land. I have been ashore too, too long and I just need that freedom and release that sailing brings. I can almost sense that ABISHAG feel the same. She doesn't rest well at the dock and wants to be moving. It is a strange thing to say and no one who doesn't sail would understand, but there comes a time when you need to "get to sea." I won't bother quoting John Masefield but there is an imperative that I feel respond to and the sooner I am able to follow it the better. My sister Sue and her husband Mike just got back from a recent trip to the Abacos and brought me all sorts of info on Green Turtle Cay. I really want to personally check it out to see exactly how accurate it is!!!!
Good News! I am not going to have to shell-out a couple of "Marine Units" to pay for new radar. The old unit, and I mean old (20 years at least), still works just fine. The guy at Dockside Electronics said it was an "entry level radar unit" something they don't make any more worked just fine and when I reinstalled it, he was right. True it can't make "toast" but as a radar unit, it worked just fine, even if in just black and white....or sort of a light blue-grey and a dark blue-grey. It worked which is the important part!!!!!
The wind was cranking so hard the other day that ABISHAG was heeling at the dock. Of course, had she been at a mooring, she would have just turned into the wind and never have really been impacted by it. However, she is tied to the dock and she heeled with the wind and didn't like it at all. She is really straining to get free and move and I can only say that I am thankful that her deck cleats are set as well as they are. They would pulled the deck out before they let go!
I am really hopeful that the weather will warm soon so I can start on the few projects that remain on the outside of the boat that have been put off by the weather. Also there are a few small ones that require the boat be commissioned before they can be tackled. To put it simply, they are projects that can be done only when the weather is sailing weather!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I can sense a change in the weather. It is clear that the weather is warming though slowly. Hopefully the wind will die down as the weather warms and I can get to work on the boat. the best part is that there is little or nothing that can not be done while sailing the boat. ABSIHAG and I need to put some sea miles under out collective keel and get away from the land. I have been ashore too, too long and I just need that freedom and release that sailing brings. I can almost sense that ABISHAG feel the same. She doesn't rest well at the dock and wants to be moving. It is a strange thing to say and no one who doesn't sail would understand, but there comes a time when you need to "get to sea." I won't bother quoting John Masefield but there is an imperative that I feel respond to and the sooner I am able to follow it the better. My sister Sue and her husband Mike just got back from a recent trip to the Abacos and brought me all sorts of info on Green Turtle Cay. I really want to personally check it out to see exactly how accurate it is!!!!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
BACK TO WORK
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, it was back to work. And before you ask, "NO," the fireplace has not been installed. Skip and I just can't seem to get our schedules to jive but they will eventually. By the time they do though, it probably will be time to put it away for the warm weather.
Got the word from Fred at Dockside Electronics that the Radar works just fine . . . for a 20 year old unit. Evidently the problems with the unit ( the lack of contrast and brightness of the image) is the result of a dead battery in the unit. This battery "remembers" the setting on the unit and with it being "dead", once the unit is turned on, I will have to go through all the set-up procedures to set it up as I want. Fred said that taking the unit apart to replace the battery would be a $145 charge so I decided against it. I am perfectly able to manually set the parameters for the unit each time it goes on. This radar unit is referred to as an "entry level" radar unit. Such a things actually existed 20 years ago. Nowadays, you simply buy a radar unit that, as Fred noted, does everything but make toast in the morning. So as long as this unit works, I'll use it and when it breaks for good, I'll buy one of those "toast making" units.
I spent the afternoon looking for leaks in the overhead in the aft cabin. The antenna tuner for the SSB is affixed the to headliner in the aft cabin, as close as possible to the antenna. Such an arrangement supposedly enhances the output and reception of the SSB transceiver. I took the tuner off the headliner and affixed it to the nearby bulk head and in so doing, found the interior of the headliner, it is a type of acoustic tile, covered with mold and mildew. Yuck!!!! Taking the entire headliner down, it became clear that the water was leaking in from the thru-deck fittings for the GPS, SSB and the VHF. Damn those anagrams! I'll have to pop all the thru-deck fittings, re-bed and re-caulk them. The temperature is getting to the level will the "goop" will actually begin to take hold and work as it should. Another week should do it, though there is supposed to be torrential rain today and even some snow possible over the next few days. It will just make it more fun . . .though I am not sure that I can stand any more fun.
I found out that the automatic bilge pump actually does work. A good thing, a very good thing. As I mentioned before, the cockpit drains into the bilge (strange English design) and the rain of the last few days evidently put enough rain into the cockpit and thus into the bilge to activate it. I was getting off yesterday when the pump activated and pump the bilge dry. Outstanding! At least ABISHAG won't sink at the dock!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Doing the little jobs around the boat are getting frustrating. For the most part it is busy work and I am more than eager to finish-off the last few items and get out of Dodge(Mystic). I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait!!!!!!
Well, it was back to work. And before you ask, "NO," the fireplace has not been installed. Skip and I just can't seem to get our schedules to jive but they will eventually. By the time they do though, it probably will be time to put it away for the warm weather.
Got the word from Fred at Dockside Electronics that the Radar works just fine . . . for a 20 year old unit. Evidently the problems with the unit ( the lack of contrast and brightness of the image) is the result of a dead battery in the unit. This battery "remembers" the setting on the unit and with it being "dead", once the unit is turned on, I will have to go through all the set-up procedures to set it up as I want. Fred said that taking the unit apart to replace the battery would be a $145 charge so I decided against it. I am perfectly able to manually set the parameters for the unit each time it goes on. This radar unit is referred to as an "entry level" radar unit. Such a things actually existed 20 years ago. Nowadays, you simply buy a radar unit that, as Fred noted, does everything but make toast in the morning. So as long as this unit works, I'll use it and when it breaks for good, I'll buy one of those "toast making" units.
I spent the afternoon looking for leaks in the overhead in the aft cabin. The antenna tuner for the SSB is affixed the to headliner in the aft cabin, as close as possible to the antenna. Such an arrangement supposedly enhances the output and reception of the SSB transceiver. I took the tuner off the headliner and affixed it to the nearby bulk head and in so doing, found the interior of the headliner, it is a type of acoustic tile, covered with mold and mildew. Yuck!!!! Taking the entire headliner down, it became clear that the water was leaking in from the thru-deck fittings for the GPS, SSB and the VHF. Damn those anagrams! I'll have to pop all the thru-deck fittings, re-bed and re-caulk them. The temperature is getting to the level will the "goop" will actually begin to take hold and work as it should. Another week should do it, though there is supposed to be torrential rain today and even some snow possible over the next few days. It will just make it more fun . . .though I am not sure that I can stand any more fun.
I found out that the automatic bilge pump actually does work. A good thing, a very good thing. As I mentioned before, the cockpit drains into the bilge (strange English design) and the rain of the last few days evidently put enough rain into the cockpit and thus into the bilge to activate it. I was getting off yesterday when the pump activated and pump the bilge dry. Outstanding! At least ABISHAG won't sink at the dock!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Doing the little jobs around the boat are getting frustrating. For the most part it is busy work and I am more than eager to finish-off the last few items and get out of Dodge(Mystic). I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait!!!!!!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
IT'S GOING TO BE A HOT TIME IN THE OLD BOAT SOON!!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
At last, at last, Crown Manufacturing and Metal Fabrication called to say that the heat shield for the fireplace is complete! I will be picking it up on Monday (tomorrow) and as soon as good friend Skip can find the time to help, we will install the whole shebang and ABISHAG will be warm enough (hopefully) to live on. That being the case, all the little things that need to be done can e begun and finished and then we are away. Well, at least for a test sail, shake down cruise type of sailing. But who cares, sailing is sailing and that is what counts. Huzzah!!!!
There was a hell of a blow last night, preceded by several inches of rain. I have to get down to the boat to she how she handled it all. I really have no doubt that it was a piece of cake for ABISHAG but hanging on the dock is not what she likes. I am sure that the leaks are still going on in the aft cabin. I am beginning to think that the water is coming in through the old thru-deck connectors for the old electrical cables for antennas and the like that got cannibalized last fall. I probably didn't plug them as well as I thought I had . Of course it means taking down the overhead panels but what the heck, I haven't had a lot of "fun" over the last few months so this might be the time to do so.
I wish that there was more to report but such is not the case. Of course, there should be a lot more coming up in the days ahead. I am still awaiting to hear from the diesel company that is trying to find out what sort of lubricating filter I need for the 12 year old re-powered English Ford engine that was installed in Bermuda in 1996. It will be another opportunity to practice patience waiting on someone else to do something before I can make a move. Of course, it is always possible to jury - rig a filter system but I would rather have the system in place that was intended. Then again, it is an English system and so far some of the English engineering approaches on this boat have been inventive and entertaining to say the least. So it comes down to waiting to see what will happen.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
And on it goes. The weather, as crazy as it has been, seems to be heading towards being more like spring than winter. I feel as though I can knockout the list of items that need to be done rather quickly which means doubling the time I estimate, but with all the built up energy I have stored, I can't wait to get started. This week, doing the fireplace will be a great thing, getting my psyche geared for the Spring work. I want to get it started. It can't happen soon enough.
At last, at last, Crown Manufacturing and Metal Fabrication called to say that the heat shield for the fireplace is complete! I will be picking it up on Monday (tomorrow) and as soon as good friend Skip can find the time to help, we will install the whole shebang and ABISHAG will be warm enough (hopefully) to live on. That being the case, all the little things that need to be done can e begun and finished and then we are away. Well, at least for a test sail, shake down cruise type of sailing. But who cares, sailing is sailing and that is what counts. Huzzah!!!!
There was a hell of a blow last night, preceded by several inches of rain. I have to get down to the boat to she how she handled it all. I really have no doubt that it was a piece of cake for ABISHAG but hanging on the dock is not what she likes. I am sure that the leaks are still going on in the aft cabin. I am beginning to think that the water is coming in through the old thru-deck connectors for the old electrical cables for antennas and the like that got cannibalized last fall. I probably didn't plug them as well as I thought I had . Of course it means taking down the overhead panels but what the heck, I haven't had a lot of "fun" over the last few months so this might be the time to do so.
I wish that there was more to report but such is not the case. Of course, there should be a lot more coming up in the days ahead. I am still awaiting to hear from the diesel company that is trying to find out what sort of lubricating filter I need for the 12 year old re-powered English Ford engine that was installed in Bermuda in 1996. It will be another opportunity to practice patience waiting on someone else to do something before I can make a move. Of course, it is always possible to jury - rig a filter system but I would rather have the system in place that was intended. Then again, it is an English system and so far some of the English engineering approaches on this boat have been inventive and entertaining to say the least. So it comes down to waiting to see what will happen.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
And on it goes. The weather, as crazy as it has been, seems to be heading towards being more like spring than winter. I feel as though I can knockout the list of items that need to be done rather quickly which means doubling the time I estimate, but with all the built up energy I have stored, I can't wait to get started. This week, doing the fireplace will be a great thing, getting my psyche geared for the Spring work. I want to get it started. It can't happen soon enough.
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