SHIP'S LOG:
It hasn't been what you would a particular good season this years. Few have really had the chance or the opportunity to enjoy their boats. The sole exception is the Barnacle. Considering their adherence to props around the Yacht club, this has been a truly bountiful season for the randy little bastards. Prolific doesn't even begin to describe them this year. Any underwater appendage of metal has, not the odd one or two, but a colony on every surface. In fact, barnacles are adhering to barnacles creating a dense mass in every thru-hull and on the prop. In addition, every unpainted underwater surface, has it's own colony growing. It is amazing as a month ago, there were few or none around, but now! WOW! I am not sure why but they are there in force. And they half to go. Now! The water is somewhere between 65 and 70 degrees (yeah, I know that sounds warm, but it ain't), more on the cold side than on the warm, and going for a dip now, while doable, will be a chore without a wetsuit. And I do not have one. But chilling as it is today, next week, even the end of this week it will be even more so.
And as I said, they have to go. It is not that they will cut your sailing spend that much, unless you are a serious racer looking for that 1/10 of a knot edge, but barnacles on your prop can, if not removed, really cut down on the engine making the boat move. A big colony can actually render the prop useless. An inconvenience when you are sailing can become a serious problem when you need your engine and with the time soon approaching to haul ABISHAG, I am going to need the engine-powered locomotion. Sailing to Mystic, about 6 miles, is a piece of cake but getting up the Mystic River to the marina absolutely demands the engine, and so the prop, be functioning at their best.
So it is that Columbus Day will be celebrated with a dip in the Thames River, scrapper in hand, evict the barnacles, one and all. I am sure that more than one barnacle will get revenge by inflicting a cut or two or more. It will be a cold, non-funny experience. It would have so much better in the Keys!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I haven't even figured out what it will cost to ave ABISHAG hauled for the winter. I have the contract and all I have to do is plug in the numbers, and I will know. But coward that I am, (that should be "financially destitute coward") I haven't done so as though somehow, the final figure will somehow be lower. After the "dip," will will figure it out. Might as well make the whole day a totally awful experience.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
What A Day! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Monday was a "no sailing" day as there were small craft warnings up once again. It has been a strange couple of weeks as the only days when it didn't rain were the wind was blowing so hard that small craft warnings were posted. It is not that I can't sail in such weather, indeed as a boat built for the waters of the North Sea, ABISHAG would be perfectly at home in such conditions. Rather I never saw day sailing as a survival sport. I really enjoy a nice relaxing cruise, enjoying the interplay of wind and water and sun and me. Bashing just doesn't fit in that image. Now if I had a crew or two, pounding through can be a lot of fun but crew tends to be rather thin at this late time of the sailing season.
Yesterday (Tuesday) was perfect. The breeze was out of the south-west at about 12knots and it was crystal clear. There were few boats out nice long tacks were the order of the day. It was fast down the river, out to Seaflower Reef , hardening up to the Silver Eel Bell of fishers Island and then a great close hauled run on port tack to Barlett Reef, then another tack and back into the Thames on a run all the way back to the mooring. It was a perfect spoiled only by the guys in the orange zodiac escorting a sub out as I as coming in. Now a days, you have to stay way far away from all naval vessels and just to make sure you do, they are escorted in and out of the river by armed guys in zodiacs inflatables. I must have been a little too close (or perhaps they were just bored) and the zodiac zipped over. Rather than just call on the radio and telling me to change course and move farther away which is the standard procedure, they pulled up nearly along side while the guy manning the 60 cal. machine gun on the bow yelled, "Move it or loose it!" Very non-professional. Just give a guy a 60 caliber machine gun and they loose all sense of propriety and perspective.
My own inflatable, the dinghy, needed to by inflated a bit as it was loosing air somewhere. A slow leak somewhere, nothing of a worry except for the fact that every once in a while one had to do the "One-Footed- Hoppity-Dance" in order to pump it up. There is no graceful way to do this which is probably why most inflatable dinghy owners invest in an electrical air pump to handle the job. Needles to say, I do not own such a device though I am trying to figure a way to convert my Craftsman Tire Pump so that it can do double duty.
I made the journey over to the West Mystic Shipyard to get a contract for winter storage. I will fill it out today and then try to figure out how I am going to pay for it. Perhaps I will win POWERBALL. Doubtful, as the last year and a half has seen me get not one number right!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
As much as I hate to admit it, the acceptance of wintering again in New England this year came rather easily. While I was really looking forward to going south, undertaking the great journey, I was also hesitant to do so. After last year, that is completely understand able, but it is not really the fear of something going wrong that causes the hesitation. I had the same feeling last year but it slowly disappear as I left New London for the first step south. The joy and excitement of being underway at last slowing superseded the hesitancy and it was completely gone by the time I dropped the hook in New Haven that night. of course, after that little "difficulty," it came back full bore and so there is a little bit of a feeling of relief that I am stuck here. So I will winter here, plan, and get the boat ready for spring launch, and then I will try it again. It will be interesting to see the ways in which God weaves whatever plan is on the drawing board this time. I have got to do this eventually
Monday was a "no sailing" day as there were small craft warnings up once again. It has been a strange couple of weeks as the only days when it didn't rain were the wind was blowing so hard that small craft warnings were posted. It is not that I can't sail in such weather, indeed as a boat built for the waters of the North Sea, ABISHAG would be perfectly at home in such conditions. Rather I never saw day sailing as a survival sport. I really enjoy a nice relaxing cruise, enjoying the interplay of wind and water and sun and me. Bashing just doesn't fit in that image. Now if I had a crew or two, pounding through can be a lot of fun but crew tends to be rather thin at this late time of the sailing season.
Yesterday (Tuesday) was perfect. The breeze was out of the south-west at about 12knots and it was crystal clear. There were few boats out nice long tacks were the order of the day. It was fast down the river, out to Seaflower Reef , hardening up to the Silver Eel Bell of fishers Island and then a great close hauled run on port tack to Barlett Reef, then another tack and back into the Thames on a run all the way back to the mooring. It was a perfect spoiled only by the guys in the orange zodiac escorting a sub out as I as coming in. Now a days, you have to stay way far away from all naval vessels and just to make sure you do, they are escorted in and out of the river by armed guys in zodiacs inflatables. I must have been a little too close (or perhaps they were just bored) and the zodiac zipped over. Rather than just call on the radio and telling me to change course and move farther away which is the standard procedure, they pulled up nearly along side while the guy manning the 60 cal. machine gun on the bow yelled, "Move it or loose it!" Very non-professional. Just give a guy a 60 caliber machine gun and they loose all sense of propriety and perspective.
My own inflatable, the dinghy, needed to by inflated a bit as it was loosing air somewhere. A slow leak somewhere, nothing of a worry except for the fact that every once in a while one had to do the "One-Footed- Hoppity-Dance" in order to pump it up. There is no graceful way to do this which is probably why most inflatable dinghy owners invest in an electrical air pump to handle the job. Needles to say, I do not own such a device though I am trying to figure a way to convert my Craftsman Tire Pump so that it can do double duty.
I made the journey over to the West Mystic Shipyard to get a contract for winter storage. I will fill it out today and then try to figure out how I am going to pay for it. Perhaps I will win POWERBALL. Doubtful, as the last year and a half has seen me get not one number right!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
As much as I hate to admit it, the acceptance of wintering again in New England this year came rather easily. While I was really looking forward to going south, undertaking the great journey, I was also hesitant to do so. After last year, that is completely understand able, but it is not really the fear of something going wrong that causes the hesitation. I had the same feeling last year but it slowly disappear as I left New London for the first step south. The joy and excitement of being underway at last slowing superseded the hesitancy and it was completely gone by the time I dropped the hook in New Haven that night. of course, after that little "difficulty," it came back full bore and so there is a little bit of a feeling of relief that I am stuck here. So I will winter here, plan, and get the boat ready for spring launch, and then I will try it again. It will be interesting to see the ways in which God weaves whatever plan is on the drawing board this time. I have got to do this eventually
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Getting Ready For Winter or this Isn't Quite What I Was expecting To Do!
SHIP'S LOG:
#$%^%^#%^$%$&*%!!!!! Damn! It wasn't supposed to be this way . . . but it is and I am going to have to deal with it.
Step 1.) Get in all the sailing I can in the next few days.
Step 2.) Find a yard to store ABISHAG for the winter. I hate to say it, but I am probably going to go back to West Mystic Shipyard.. Joy of joys. I can't really complain because they really did a fine job on all the work that needed doing when I was last there. It is also the "homeport" for "Don the Electrician Magician."
Step 3.) Put together a plan for winterizing the boat, ie. the water system, the engine, the fuel system, the electrical system; taking off the sails, and hauling all that stuff I just hauled to the boat back from the boat to some place where it can spend the winter and not suffer too much.
Step 4.) Put together a plan for what work can be done during the winter months and what will have to wait from spring. The windlass is definitely going to get pulled and taken to a small electric motor shop to find out why it don't spin . . . electrically that is. Hopefully it will be something stupidly simple like a broken lead wire as oppose to a motor that has been shorted out because of water intrusion. If that is the case, it becomes a case of repair or replace, a tough decision for someone with no money!
If there is anything good in all this, it would be that there is little that "needs" to be done and what little there is will be simply "trace and replace." Perhaps the two biggest projects will be to reupholster the cushions( cockpit & interior) and replacing the "fixed-on-a-pedestal-taking-up-too-much-space" saloon table with something bulkhead mounted folds down for use and up and out of the way when unneeded. Of course, you just know that that list is going to grow exponentially!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Curses on Bernnie Madoff, the housing market, sub-prime mortgages and the bastard who didn't buy my condo! "Blast and Thunder,(to quote Blackbeard), I could have been underway south for almost a week now. I even had a cousin I had forgotten about who is an big boat ocean racer, boat deliverer, with lots of free time on his hands, who considers the downhill run from Montauk to the Chesapeake a yawn-producing walk in the park. But here I am, trying to psyche myself up to get the boat ready for a winter snooze in New England instead of a slow cruise to the sun and the south. What is wrong with picture?
Probably nothing in the grand scheme of things, but this really isn't what I wanted much less expected. I am beginning to feel like "the Pilot" in the book, "SHOGUN," who keeps trying to leave Japan and get back to England, but keeps having the boats he builds destroyed by Toranaga. I keep trying to convince myself that it will all work out but sometimes that's faith, sometimes it's acceptance and sometimes it is just resignation. So I will spend another winter getting ABISHAG ready and getting me ready. But after awhile, getting ready is a drag and you really long for the going!!!!!!
#$%^%^#%^$%$&*%!!!!! Damn! It wasn't supposed to be this way . . . but it is and I am going to have to deal with it.
Step 1.) Get in all the sailing I can in the next few days.
Step 2.) Find a yard to store ABISHAG for the winter. I hate to say it, but I am probably going to go back to West Mystic Shipyard.. Joy of joys. I can't really complain because they really did a fine job on all the work that needed doing when I was last there. It is also the "homeport" for "Don the Electrician Magician."
Step 3.) Put together a plan for winterizing the boat, ie. the water system, the engine, the fuel system, the electrical system; taking off the sails, and hauling all that stuff I just hauled to the boat back from the boat to some place where it can spend the winter and not suffer too much.
Step 4.) Put together a plan for what work can be done during the winter months and what will have to wait from spring. The windlass is definitely going to get pulled and taken to a small electric motor shop to find out why it don't spin . . . electrically that is. Hopefully it will be something stupidly simple like a broken lead wire as oppose to a motor that has been shorted out because of water intrusion. If that is the case, it becomes a case of repair or replace, a tough decision for someone with no money!
If there is anything good in all this, it would be that there is little that "needs" to be done and what little there is will be simply "trace and replace." Perhaps the two biggest projects will be to reupholster the cushions( cockpit & interior) and replacing the "fixed-on-a-pedestal-taking-up-too-much-space" saloon table with something bulkhead mounted folds down for use and up and out of the way when unneeded. Of course, you just know that that list is going to grow exponentially!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Curses on Bernnie Madoff, the housing market, sub-prime mortgages and the bastard who didn't buy my condo! "Blast and Thunder,(to quote Blackbeard), I could have been underway south for almost a week now. I even had a cousin I had forgotten about who is an big boat ocean racer, boat deliverer, with lots of free time on his hands, who considers the downhill run from Montauk to the Chesapeake a yawn-producing walk in the park. But here I am, trying to psyche myself up to get the boat ready for a winter snooze in New England instead of a slow cruise to the sun and the south. What is wrong with picture?
Probably nothing in the grand scheme of things, but this really isn't what I wanted much less expected. I am beginning to feel like "the Pilot" in the book, "SHOGUN," who keeps trying to leave Japan and get back to England, but keeps having the boats he builds destroyed by Toranaga. I keep trying to convince myself that it will all work out but sometimes that's faith, sometimes it's acceptance and sometimes it is just resignation. So I will spend another winter getting ABISHAG ready and getting me ready. But after awhile, getting ready is a drag and you really long for the going!!!!!!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
It Is Not As Simple As You Might Think
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am referring to the blog actually. Many times, especially when there really is nothing going on about ABISHAG, the journey (on the boat), things to fix, etc, it is difficult to write anything. Ah! C'est la vie!
And specking of life, it has taken another one of those weird turns again. Thanks to Bernnie Madof, the effects of the sub-prime mortgage mess, the rotten economy in New England and a whole host of financial black holes, my income has been sliced in half. Now, if I was making a million a year, it wouldn't be that bad a thing, but making as little as I do ( I am so far below the poverty line that I can't see it), things are beyond tight. If I had been unable to unload my condo, I would probably be able to do it, but since that hasn't happened, it doesn't look as if it is part of God's plan that I go south this year either. It is going to be another New England winter and I can't begin to tell you how depressing that is. Not just the cold and snow, which supposedly is going to be rather nasty this time around, nor is it missing the sun and sailing and seeing new places and doing new things, rather it is about the journey that won't happen, at least not in the way I would wish it. In a very real sense, the personal journey goes on, but the sailing part will come to a dead stop sometime in the next few weeks when ABISHAG gets snuggled down for the winter. The personal journey is obviously more important but it would be nice to do the sailing too.
I am referring to the blog actually. Many times, especially when there really is nothing going on about ABISHAG, the journey (on the boat), things to fix, etc, it is difficult to write anything. Ah! C'est la vie!
And specking of life, it has taken another one of those weird turns again. Thanks to Bernnie Madof, the effects of the sub-prime mortgage mess, the rotten economy in New England and a whole host of financial black holes, my income has been sliced in half. Now, if I was making a million a year, it wouldn't be that bad a thing, but making as little as I do ( I am so far below the poverty line that I can't see it), things are beyond tight. If I had been unable to unload my condo, I would probably be able to do it, but since that hasn't happened, it doesn't look as if it is part of God's plan that I go south this year either. It is going to be another New England winter and I can't begin to tell you how depressing that is. Not just the cold and snow, which supposedly is going to be rather nasty this time around, nor is it missing the sun and sailing and seeing new places and doing new things, rather it is about the journey that won't happen, at least not in the way I would wish it. In a very real sense, the personal journey goes on, but the sailing part will come to a dead stop sometime in the next few weeks when ABISHAG gets snuggled down for the winter. The personal journey is obviously more important but it would be nice to do the sailing too.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
It Never Rains, But It Pours! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
As some great philosopher once said, "You can't fix stupid!" And as another said, "Stupid is as Stupid does." Well, stupid is not checking the launch schedule when Labor Day rolls around, or in my case, checking the schedule and forgetting to note that post Labor Day, the launch at the Yacht Club will only be running on weekends! A great week of sailing went by and I spent it on land. C'est la vie.
So it wouldn't be a total loss, I used the time to basically chart every rock, every shoal, every spot of low water from New London, Connecticut to Key West, Florida, and boy, there is a lot of them . . .two of which I know intimately. All things being equal and the good Lord willing, I will be heading South again, or at least making the attempt, the last week in September.
This past week, I have spent taking care of, or at least trying to, a host of little projects that are on the never ending list of projects. The only problem with this is that every time one takes a shot at doing a project, it rarely gets more than 90% done when another project or two rears its ugly head. A couple of the latest: the chain gypsy clutch nut is frozen. The chain gypsy is one side of the anchor windlass that controls the chain anchor rode. The chain gypsy clutch nut tightens (and loosens) the gypsy so that the anchor with the chain rode can be raised and lower. A very helpful thing if one is thinking of using it to anchor the boat. Seawater has "intruded" between the clutch nut and the gypsy and corrosion has set in. It would take hundreds of years to cause any serious damage but there is just enough corrosion so that the clutch nut can't be loosened. So I can bring the chain up but can't lower it. I have hit it with every corrosion bust I know from PB Blaster to Coca Cola and now I am waiting for the mixture to do its magic. The other side of the windlass works fine, so anchoring won't be a problem, but it would be nice to have the all chain rode available in a time of need. Though since the windlass motor dosen''t function and it can only be operate manually, it isn't a priority fix.
The there is the pressurized fresh water. There is no pressure. A couple of hours of bilge crawling with Cliff and a pinhole was finally discovered. Evidently, it was just enough to rob the entire system of pressure. The fresh water system is part copper pipe and part Tygon hose. It runs on the almost inaccessible side of the engine and so rather that try to fix the pipe in the pipe hose system, I am going to replace it with all hose. . . . . easier said than done but it will get done. The pressure water system is more used for washing that for drinking, so while I may stink after a few days, I won't die of thirst. I don't think I would want to drink that stuff anyway as there is grunge in the tank. I don't think it has been radically cleaned in quite a while, so if I can get the pressure system working, I will flush it with chlorine and then just use it for showers and washing up.
I took the time to tune the rig. It didn't need much to get it into shape and after doing this for some 30 years or so, it was a snap . . .one of the few. The propane stove and system are up and running and now I won't starve either. The inverter/charge wouldn't shut off the other day. The control panel just froze up. (Have I ever told you how much I hate electronics!) A call to the manufactures tech line got me into a long conversation with a techie who was worse than useless. Evidently he couldn't picture in his head how to fix the system and relied totally on the "Troubleshoot" chapter in the owners manual, all of whose suggestions I had already tried with no luck. So after that wasted call call, I remembered a trick that Don the Magic Electrician in Mystic always tried as a last resort. I disconnected the panel from the the inverter/charger, counted 30 and reconnected it. It works fine. Sort of like rebooting a computer. VICTORY of the magic of electricity and electronics!!!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am not as excited about taking off for the south as I was last year. I suppose that it has to do with how things turned out last year. If I get to Sandy Hook, NJ, and anchor safely, that should change. But for now, it is just get the boat ready to go. This may change as departure day gets closer, but I'll just have to wait and see. One day, one anchorage at a time.
As some great philosopher once said, "You can't fix stupid!" And as another said, "Stupid is as Stupid does." Well, stupid is not checking the launch schedule when Labor Day rolls around, or in my case, checking the schedule and forgetting to note that post Labor Day, the launch at the Yacht Club will only be running on weekends! A great week of sailing went by and I spent it on land. C'est la vie.
So it wouldn't be a total loss, I used the time to basically chart every rock, every shoal, every spot of low water from New London, Connecticut to Key West, Florida, and boy, there is a lot of them . . .two of which I know intimately. All things being equal and the good Lord willing, I will be heading South again, or at least making the attempt, the last week in September.
This past week, I have spent taking care of, or at least trying to, a host of little projects that are on the never ending list of projects. The only problem with this is that every time one takes a shot at doing a project, it rarely gets more than 90% done when another project or two rears its ugly head. A couple of the latest: the chain gypsy clutch nut is frozen. The chain gypsy is one side of the anchor windlass that controls the chain anchor rode. The chain gypsy clutch nut tightens (and loosens) the gypsy so that the anchor with the chain rode can be raised and lower. A very helpful thing if one is thinking of using it to anchor the boat. Seawater has "intruded" between the clutch nut and the gypsy and corrosion has set in. It would take hundreds of years to cause any serious damage but there is just enough corrosion so that the clutch nut can't be loosened. So I can bring the chain up but can't lower it. I have hit it with every corrosion bust I know from PB Blaster to Coca Cola and now I am waiting for the mixture to do its magic. The other side of the windlass works fine, so anchoring won't be a problem, but it would be nice to have the all chain rode available in a time of need. Though since the windlass motor dosen''t function and it can only be operate manually, it isn't a priority fix.
The there is the pressurized fresh water. There is no pressure. A couple of hours of bilge crawling with Cliff and a pinhole was finally discovered. Evidently, it was just enough to rob the entire system of pressure. The fresh water system is part copper pipe and part Tygon hose. It runs on the almost inaccessible side of the engine and so rather that try to fix the pipe in the pipe hose system, I am going to replace it with all hose. . . . . easier said than done but it will get done. The pressure water system is more used for washing that for drinking, so while I may stink after a few days, I won't die of thirst. I don't think I would want to drink that stuff anyway as there is grunge in the tank. I don't think it has been radically cleaned in quite a while, so if I can get the pressure system working, I will flush it with chlorine and then just use it for showers and washing up.
I took the time to tune the rig. It didn't need much to get it into shape and after doing this for some 30 years or so, it was a snap . . .one of the few. The propane stove and system are up and running and now I won't starve either. The inverter/charge wouldn't shut off the other day. The control panel just froze up. (Have I ever told you how much I hate electronics!) A call to the manufactures tech line got me into a long conversation with a techie who was worse than useless. Evidently he couldn't picture in his head how to fix the system and relied totally on the "Troubleshoot" chapter in the owners manual, all of whose suggestions I had already tried with no luck. So after that wasted call call, I remembered a trick that Don the Magic Electrician in Mystic always tried as a last resort. I disconnected the panel from the the inverter/charger, counted 30 and reconnected it. It works fine. Sort of like rebooting a computer. VICTORY of the magic of electricity and electronics!!!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am not as excited about taking off for the south as I was last year. I suppose that it has to do with how things turned out last year. If I get to Sandy Hook, NJ, and anchor safely, that should change. But for now, it is just get the boat ready to go. This may change as departure day gets closer, but I'll just have to wait and see. One day, one anchorage at a time.
Friday, September 4, 2009
The Oreo, the Head and the Search for Water
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, first there was the OREO, a week of great sailing bounded on either end by crappy weekends. The first was the weekend of the much heralded Hurricane Danny which, thankfully, turned our to be rather a bust. Lots of rain, indeed a true tropical downpour on Saturday, but the much anticipated winds, waves and storm surge never quite materialized . . . unless you happened to be in Maine or Nova Scotia. of Course, you can never tell about these things so it necessitated readying the boat for the "anticipated" storm. Off came the mainsail, down came the Genoa, bagged was the mizzen. cockpit cushions were stored down below. Everything either came off the deck or was tied down so as to be immovable. Everything movable inside was stored in lockers and cubby holes throughout the boat. Goodness only knows when I will find everything again. When Danny fizzled along the coast, staying too far out to sea to have much more than a rain-soaked impact, everything had to be put right again. For some reason I can not fathom, it always takes much more time and effort to put everything back the way it was than to stow it all away. And of course, to use the boat, one has to put everything back the way it was.That blew Sunday.
Ah, but the week was wonderful. Summer really hit all at once, at least August did. It was hot! It was HUMID! And like every August, the wind was "light"! I did a lot of miles without really going anywhere but then, in sailing, it is all about the going. I got am opportunity to practice with sail combination, flying the spinnaker ( scaring myself to death in the process) and generally letting ABISHAG sail herself. And she did a fine job. Balancing the sails just right and she holds a course like she's on rails. It is fun to set a course and then wander around on deck looking at things, coiling lines, arranging stuff and enjoying the fact that I am not "tied" to the wheel. Of course, every now and then I had to adjust the sail trim to keep her on course,, but then using the wind steering system eliminated the need for that. I even did the Leonard De Capario(if that's not spelled right you know who I mean) scene from TITANIC and stood on the bow and proclaimed myself to be "the King of the World." And I was too, 'cause that seagull just miss crowning me! Nothing worse than being anointed by a seagull. Even the engine worked! Yep, it was a good week . . the cream center of the OREO.
The last weekend crapped out again. Cold, rain, little sun, and no wind. It was more like April than August. I did get out on Sunday, and while it was cloudy, there was a little wind. But the then the sun came out!!!!!....and the wind went away, only to re-appear when ABISHAG was all mooring nice and safe and everything was put away and the launch was coming. But I had the week. I'll take it!
Then there is "THE HEAD":It was "my" head, but it wasn't my "head", if you know what I mean. It is mine because I own it but it is on the boat. It is one of two(2), this one in the aft head. Truth be told, it was the "head" in the head, or, for those no cognizant of nautical terminology, it was the toilet in the bathroom at the back of the boat. It was leaking. Now unlike the toilet in your house or anywhere else on land, the toilet on a boat does not empty downward but upward, drawn up by a pump through a hose to a holding tank and/or, when you are outside the three mile limit, overboard. The landlocked toilet is affixed to its discharge pipe by a large wax ring and at least two(2) bolts. The discharge hose attached to the back of a marine head it held in place by a single, sometimes two, hose clamps. The should be stainless steel so they don't rust and corrode and so betray their primary function, clamping the hose tightly to the outflow from the toilet, less any effluents end up on your shoes. There is stainless steel and then there is semi-stainless steel, something of a lesser quality that rusts to beat the band and totally falls apart. Whoever last replace the single hose clamp on the aft head(more nautical talk) use the less than stainless steel, which was now rusted and "evidently" was the source of the leak. It had to be replaced.
Imagine if you will, one of those now hard to find telephone booths with a porcelain throne inside it and your task was to remove a stubborn clamps by embrace the bowl and reaching around behind to where the offending clamp lay. Yo could position your body so you could see what you were working on, but had to lean around, examine the situation, decide where the screwdriver was to go, then move back around to the front and attempt to unscrew the screw on the clamp from the metal imagge you had formed. Imagine all so that the screw was so rusted that the head broke off. Imagine then that you had to try to file the clamp off, being careful not to damage the hose, again more by mental projection than sight. Imagine that you had to do this kneeling down, and that it was in the mid 90's at least, and the sweat was rolling down your glasses and into your eyes. That's about what it was like and it took a good hour to get the old clamp off and the new clamp on.
There was no doubt about it, the clamp absolutely need to be replaced.Actually, I am not quite sure what was holding it together it was so rust. So it was a good and necessary thing that it was replaced. The one small problem in all of this is that it wasn't the source of the leak. The hose was clamped onto a a piece of pipe that was inserted into the back of the toilet. There was a rubber or leather bushing seal around the pipe where it was inserted in the toilet. It was the bushing seal that was leaking. Not being in the frame of mind to remove it, as well as not knowing how to accomplish the task, as well as not having another bushing or seal, I slathered half a tube of marine sealant on it, over it and around it. Leak gone!
Then there was "the Search for Water": ABISHAG is equipped with a 55 gallon water tank. Sounds like a lot but with two showers and three sinks, it goes pretty fast. For some reason, I can't get it to go at all. Flicking on the water pressure pump for the water system, should cause the water to spew out whenever a tap is opened. But they are dry. The pump works, or at least makes noise, but no water flows. There are two choices, or options or answers. Either pump ain't pumping (it's just making noise) or there is a blockage somewhere in the system of hoses that moves the water from the water tank hither and yon.
The first step was to trace the water system. Up came all of the floor boards and I began to trace all of the hoses, one at a time from the water tank to each terminus. One of the nasty surprise you can find on a boat is the the hose, or wire, or cable or whatever, that is one type, color, style, dimensions, at the start often goes through several transformations on it journey to where ever it is going. Often, to keep things "simple?" and in order, one item is often bundled with several similar items as they go through the bilge, through the walls(not a nautical term), through the ceiling (another non-nautical term) to where ever it is that they go. Three hoses leave the water tank so this required that I chose one, mark it, and follow it. The hot water comes from a hot water tank (obviously) that is heated by water that cools the engine when it runs. Tracing this necessitated climbing over then engine as the hot water tank on the other side of the engine from the access hatch. This hose went from clear plastic, to a black metal pipe, into the water tank. Then another black mental pipe, carrying the hot water, exited and connected to another hose of indeterminate color covered with insulation that went around the front of the engine, into the bilge and "Teed" sending water through hose to the forward head ( for the sink and shower), to the galley sink, and to the aft head for the sink and shower there.
Then there was the second of the three hoses that exited the water tank and "Teed", diverting cold water to the same places. And then there was the third hose and I have know idea where it went. I am assuming that it is merely a vent hose for the tank so that the water will flow as it should but fore the life of me, despite all the floor boards I moved, I couldn't trace it. As far as i can tell, it is not connected to anything, but who knows for sure.
And that's where the project stopped. At least fro now. The thought of disconnecting each length of "hose" and making sure it was unblocked seems daunting in the extreme. As the boat was laid over on its side last fall (O the memories!), it is possible that there is one or more air blocks in the system as opposed to some organic mass that is actually causing the problem. It is also possible that the water pressure pump, while making pumping noises, isn't actually pumping. considering how many such items I have replaced all ready, it wouldn't surprise me. Of course, to check out the pump means that I actually have to be able to reach it . . .which is accomplished through a trap door in the floor of the closet in the aft cabin. Remember that mental image of the phone booth in the head repair, make it smaller. I am definitely going to have to get a warm body to help me with this one. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!
Well, first there was the OREO, a week of great sailing bounded on either end by crappy weekends. The first was the weekend of the much heralded Hurricane Danny which, thankfully, turned our to be rather a bust. Lots of rain, indeed a true tropical downpour on Saturday, but the much anticipated winds, waves and storm surge never quite materialized . . . unless you happened to be in Maine or Nova Scotia. of Course, you can never tell about these things so it necessitated readying the boat for the "anticipated" storm. Off came the mainsail, down came the Genoa, bagged was the mizzen. cockpit cushions were stored down below. Everything either came off the deck or was tied down so as to be immovable. Everything movable inside was stored in lockers and cubby holes throughout the boat. Goodness only knows when I will find everything again. When Danny fizzled along the coast, staying too far out to sea to have much more than a rain-soaked impact, everything had to be put right again. For some reason I can not fathom, it always takes much more time and effort to put everything back the way it was than to stow it all away. And of course, to use the boat, one has to put everything back the way it was.That blew Sunday.
Ah, but the week was wonderful. Summer really hit all at once, at least August did. It was hot! It was HUMID! And like every August, the wind was "light"! I did a lot of miles without really going anywhere but then, in sailing, it is all about the going. I got am opportunity to practice with sail combination, flying the spinnaker ( scaring myself to death in the process) and generally letting ABISHAG sail herself. And she did a fine job. Balancing the sails just right and she holds a course like she's on rails. It is fun to set a course and then wander around on deck looking at things, coiling lines, arranging stuff and enjoying the fact that I am not "tied" to the wheel. Of course, every now and then I had to adjust the sail trim to keep her on course,, but then using the wind steering system eliminated the need for that. I even did the Leonard De Capario(if that's not spelled right you know who I mean) scene from TITANIC and stood on the bow and proclaimed myself to be "the King of the World." And I was too, 'cause that seagull just miss crowning me! Nothing worse than being anointed by a seagull. Even the engine worked! Yep, it was a good week . . the cream center of the OREO.
The last weekend crapped out again. Cold, rain, little sun, and no wind. It was more like April than August. I did get out on Sunday, and while it was cloudy, there was a little wind. But the then the sun came out!!!!!....and the wind went away, only to re-appear when ABISHAG was all mooring nice and safe and everything was put away and the launch was coming. But I had the week. I'll take it!
Then there is "THE HEAD":It was "my" head, but it wasn't my "head", if you know what I mean. It is mine because I own it but it is on the boat. It is one of two(2), this one in the aft head. Truth be told, it was the "head" in the head, or, for those no cognizant of nautical terminology, it was the toilet in the bathroom at the back of the boat. It was leaking. Now unlike the toilet in your house or anywhere else on land, the toilet on a boat does not empty downward but upward, drawn up by a pump through a hose to a holding tank and/or, when you are outside the three mile limit, overboard. The landlocked toilet is affixed to its discharge pipe by a large wax ring and at least two(2) bolts. The discharge hose attached to the back of a marine head it held in place by a single, sometimes two, hose clamps. The should be stainless steel so they don't rust and corrode and so betray their primary function, clamping the hose tightly to the outflow from the toilet, less any effluents end up on your shoes. There is stainless steel and then there is semi-stainless steel, something of a lesser quality that rusts to beat the band and totally falls apart. Whoever last replace the single hose clamp on the aft head(more nautical talk) use the less than stainless steel, which was now rusted and "evidently" was the source of the leak. It had to be replaced.
Imagine if you will, one of those now hard to find telephone booths with a porcelain throne inside it and your task was to remove a stubborn clamps by embrace the bowl and reaching around behind to where the offending clamp lay. Yo could position your body so you could see what you were working on, but had to lean around, examine the situation, decide where the screwdriver was to go, then move back around to the front and attempt to unscrew the screw on the clamp from the metal imagge you had formed. Imagine all so that the screw was so rusted that the head broke off. Imagine then that you had to try to file the clamp off, being careful not to damage the hose, again more by mental projection than sight. Imagine that you had to do this kneeling down, and that it was in the mid 90's at least, and the sweat was rolling down your glasses and into your eyes. That's about what it was like and it took a good hour to get the old clamp off and the new clamp on.
There was no doubt about it, the clamp absolutely need to be replaced.Actually, I am not quite sure what was holding it together it was so rust. So it was a good and necessary thing that it was replaced. The one small problem in all of this is that it wasn't the source of the leak. The hose was clamped onto a a piece of pipe that was inserted into the back of the toilet. There was a rubber or leather bushing seal around the pipe where it was inserted in the toilet. It was the bushing seal that was leaking. Not being in the frame of mind to remove it, as well as not knowing how to accomplish the task, as well as not having another bushing or seal, I slathered half a tube of marine sealant on it, over it and around it. Leak gone!
Then there was "the Search for Water": ABISHAG is equipped with a 55 gallon water tank. Sounds like a lot but with two showers and three sinks, it goes pretty fast. For some reason, I can't get it to go at all. Flicking on the water pressure pump for the water system, should cause the water to spew out whenever a tap is opened. But they are dry. The pump works, or at least makes noise, but no water flows. There are two choices, or options or answers. Either pump ain't pumping (it's just making noise) or there is a blockage somewhere in the system of hoses that moves the water from the water tank hither and yon.
The first step was to trace the water system. Up came all of the floor boards and I began to trace all of the hoses, one at a time from the water tank to each terminus. One of the nasty surprise you can find on a boat is the the hose, or wire, or cable or whatever, that is one type, color, style, dimensions, at the start often goes through several transformations on it journey to where ever it is going. Often, to keep things "simple?" and in order, one item is often bundled with several similar items as they go through the bilge, through the walls(not a nautical term), through the ceiling (another non-nautical term) to where ever it is that they go. Three hoses leave the water tank so this required that I chose one, mark it, and follow it. The hot water comes from a hot water tank (obviously) that is heated by water that cools the engine when it runs. Tracing this necessitated climbing over then engine as the hot water tank on the other side of the engine from the access hatch. This hose went from clear plastic, to a black metal pipe, into the water tank. Then another black mental pipe, carrying the hot water, exited and connected to another hose of indeterminate color covered with insulation that went around the front of the engine, into the bilge and "Teed" sending water through hose to the forward head ( for the sink and shower), to the galley sink, and to the aft head for the sink and shower there.
Then there was the second of the three hoses that exited the water tank and "Teed", diverting cold water to the same places. And then there was the third hose and I have know idea where it went. I am assuming that it is merely a vent hose for the tank so that the water will flow as it should but fore the life of me, despite all the floor boards I moved, I couldn't trace it. As far as i can tell, it is not connected to anything, but who knows for sure.
And that's where the project stopped. At least fro now. The thought of disconnecting each length of "hose" and making sure it was unblocked seems daunting in the extreme. As the boat was laid over on its side last fall (O the memories!), it is possible that there is one or more air blocks in the system as opposed to some organic mass that is actually causing the problem. It is also possible that the water pressure pump, while making pumping noises, isn't actually pumping. considering how many such items I have replaced all ready, it wouldn't surprise me. Of course, to check out the pump means that I actually have to be able to reach it . . .which is accomplished through a trap door in the floor of the closet in the aft cabin. Remember that mental image of the phone booth in the head repair, make it smaller. I am definitely going to have to get a warm body to help me with this one. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!
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