SHIP'S LOG:
I spent yesterday putting the winter cover on the boat. I can't begin to tell you just how much fun it is to wrestle a 20' x 16' piece of blue-poly tarp over the Bimini of a cockpit on a boat in a high wind. Just trying to get it situated the right way is a joy beyond expression. Naturally, I got it spread out the wrong way the first time. I had odds of 50% that I would get it right, but I got it wrong. I had to spin it 90 degrees before I could begin to tie it down. Rather than using rope this year, I decided to go with rubber bungee cords so that there would be a little give on the tarp in the wind. Hopefully this will make it less likely to shred during the winter and it will do what it is supposed to do, keep the snow (yes, it will be here soon) out of the cockpit. It went relatively quickly and easily and without any serious hassles. It took a little over an hour and it should do the job if a.) it doesn't shred; b.) it stays in place; c.) all of the bungee ties stay attached and in place. It only has to last until Spring (that time when there is no longer a chance of snow) and it will be $20 well spent.
There have been no nibbles yet on the boat. It is not that I expected any so soon, but it would be nice if someone decided to give themselves a nice (early) Christmas present. The blue-poly tarp create a nice warm feeling in the cabin. No real temperature difference, but make the wood seem warmer in color and even gives the upholstery a nice warmth. The machinery is all prepped for the winter and there really isn't that much to do. I may seal the propane locker, the hatch of which is set in the starboard deck, to keep the water(and snow and ice) out. It has a drain in it but a little ice will block that easily enough. I will have to remove the chain from the chain locker and lay it on the deck. That will allow me to get at the bolts which attach the windlass to the deck. It will also keep the chain from becoming a rusted mass. I'll pull it out and oil it down and let it breathe for the winter. come Spring, I will hit the chain with a rust inhibitor and it should be good for another season. Unbolting the windlass I am afraid will be a chore. Space in the chain locker will be at a premium and unbolting it with any type of wrench or socket will be difficult for lack of room. I haven't looked at the set-up but experience just says that it will be a pain. It is just the way things like this go.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I have lost a lot of enthusiasm for going do to do anything on the boat. It's winter; it's cold and getting colder; the days are overcast and windy; the boat is up for sale. There just doesn't seem to be any upside for being there, especially to do work. It is no fun working on a boat in the cold.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, the "For Sale" ad for ABISHAG finally showed up yesterday. I think I am going to have to re-shot the photos because they are not really good enough. True, I am still in the process of setting her up for the winter, but she looks a bit more disheveled that she should. Not that I would turn down a fair offer, but if she looks too disheveled and in too much disarray, some greedy bastard might try to low-ball the price. I can't have that. Selling her is bad enough but giving her away would be a crime.
I am picking up a tarp and some line and will head down tomorrow to cover the cockpit. I will also take the time to re-shot the photos. The brokers, God bless them, took the "necessary picture but not her best ones. They didn't move anything and just shot what was there and it simply doesn't show her in her best light. , who love her, will do that tomorrow and pass them onto the brokers.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It sound strange but I want hr sold as quickly as possible. If it drags out it will be like a long and lingering death. Since she really has to go, I just want it over and done with. To quote Sidney Greenstreet in The Maltese Falcon, "The quickest Goodbyes are the best." I don't know if it will happen, but now i am hoping that it does, and quickly. "Here's looking at you, kid."
Well, the "For Sale" ad for ABISHAG finally showed up yesterday. I think I am going to have to re-shot the photos because they are not really good enough. True, I am still in the process of setting her up for the winter, but she looks a bit more disheveled that she should. Not that I would turn down a fair offer, but if she looks too disheveled and in too much disarray, some greedy bastard might try to low-ball the price. I can't have that. Selling her is bad enough but giving her away would be a crime.
I am picking up a tarp and some line and will head down tomorrow to cover the cockpit. I will also take the time to re-shot the photos. The brokers, God bless them, took the "necessary picture but not her best ones. They didn't move anything and just shot what was there and it simply doesn't show her in her best light. , who love her, will do that tomorrow and pass them onto the brokers.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It sound strange but I want hr sold as quickly as possible. If it drags out it will be like a long and lingering death. Since she really has to go, I just want it over and done with. To quote Sidney Greenstreet in The Maltese Falcon, "The quickest Goodbyes are the best." I don't know if it will happen, but now i am hoping that it does, and quickly. "Here's looking at you, kid."
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
NOT YET! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
I am not sure why but she ain't up for sale as of yet. well, let's just say that there are no pictures and no add anywhere I can find. This means that i have to contact the broker and find out why the hell not! Hey, if no one knows she for sale she won't sell and as much as i hate the thought of her selling, it has to be done . . . . that is unless the condo sells. It that black hole of a situation, still lots of lookers but no takers . . so far. It really is a crazy situation!
The "iron Genny" - the engine - is already winterized which means that it is off until the spring. No starting until I have somewhere to go or else I will have to go through the whole winterization process again, along with its attendant costs. I also removed several books from the boat. These are mostly books on repairing and maintaining all of the systems on the boat. It is my winter reading - especially those on "the Mystery that is ELECTRICITY." No matter how many times I go through those books and over the explanations of electricity and circuits and all that stuff, the less clear it seems to get. I would more readily take apart of diesel engine with my limited knowledge of diesel engine, than I would try to rewire a power panel. perhaps it is because you can't see electricity, just its effects, that makes it mysterious.
I will haul out the anchor chain and lay it on the deck. I will oil it and "let it breathe" over the winter. This will free the windlass for it eventual removal and repair. I will blow $25 on a blu-poly tarp and some line to cover the cockpit for the winter, to keep the snow out. Though i will be down at least weekly to check her out, I don't want snow, of which much is predicted to fall, building up in the cockpit. The drains are at best "adequate" for handling water so long as it IS water. Snow and ice building up in the cockpit will lead to the risk of water getting into the boat interior unnecessarily. Paranoia yes, but it is a healthy paranoia.
I am not sure why but she ain't up for sale as of yet. well, let's just say that there are no pictures and no add anywhere I can find. This means that i have to contact the broker and find out why the hell not! Hey, if no one knows she for sale she won't sell and as much as i hate the thought of her selling, it has to be done . . . . that is unless the condo sells. It that black hole of a situation, still lots of lookers but no takers . . so far. It really is a crazy situation!
The "iron Genny" - the engine - is already winterized which means that it is off until the spring. No starting until I have somewhere to go or else I will have to go through the whole winterization process again, along with its attendant costs. I also removed several books from the boat. These are mostly books on repairing and maintaining all of the systems on the boat. It is my winter reading - especially those on "the Mystery that is ELECTRICITY." No matter how many times I go through those books and over the explanations of electricity and circuits and all that stuff, the less clear it seems to get. I would more readily take apart of diesel engine with my limited knowledge of diesel engine, than I would try to rewire a power panel. perhaps it is because you can't see electricity, just its effects, that makes it mysterious.
I will haul out the anchor chain and lay it on the deck. I will oil it and "let it breathe" over the winter. This will free the windlass for it eventual removal and repair. I will blow $25 on a blu-poly tarp and some line to cover the cockpit for the winter, to keep the snow out. Though i will be down at least weekly to check her out, I don't want snow, of which much is predicted to fall, building up in the cockpit. The drains are at best "adequate" for handling water so long as it IS water. Snow and ice building up in the cockpit will lead to the risk of water getting into the boat interior unnecessarily. Paranoia yes, but it is a healthy paranoia.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Another Nor'easter Be Coming ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Every time I think that I've got the sailing season put away for the winter, more stuff happens to reawaken it. This time it was an email from the Mark Geer who runs a dive service that sets and maintains the moorings at the club. Nothing major mind you, just a note that my mooring has been check, the mooring ball and pennants removed and set on the beach by the club, and a winter marker set on the chain - meaning that he will be able to find it again come spring.Now I am going to have to go and pick up the mooring ball and hall it to storage.After a season in the water, the lower half will be covered with slim and growth and, since it has been out of the water, it will all have died and will smell "simply wonderful." It will have to haul it in my car which will leave the car smelling equally fragrant.
There is a Nor'easter coming in this weekend. I just about washed away the barrier islands in North Carolina and has put a lot of coastal New Jersey under water,, and I expect it will do equally fine work here in southern New England. When I go down to get the mooring ball and pennants, I will skip over to Mystic and make sure ABISHAG is all safe and secure. The yard people have some responsibility for her care, but the major part of it is still mine, and since I DON'T HAVE ANY INSURANCE, I'll have to check her today and probably again tomorrow.
She is not yet up for sale on the website and if she isn't by this Monday I will call and "gently inquire" why. I need her to be up for sale so whoever it is that is out there that is going to buy her can find her. Secretly, I am sort of glad that she is still safely mine.
I moved and bagged all the exterior cushions for the winter. I had to move the survival life raft off the stern as well. That sucker is over a hundred pounds. I had to use a come-a-long to move it from the stern to the cockpit. i hope I never sink because I am not sure how the hell I would move it and deploy it from a rolling/sinking/heeling deck in any type of weather. Moving it with the boat tied to the dock was a chore. It's another argument not to sink the boat!!!!!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am heading back into my winter mode - seasonal depression. It is not made any better by the fact that I have to sell, or at least try to sell, ABISHAG. Astronomical winter is still a month away but it has already hit in me. The financial situation hasn't improved and personally, I don't see much in the way of improvement anytime soon. I have to sell the boat and/or the condo but there isn't anymore that I can do to achieve that. It is a nasty, uncomfortable feeling when you lack control of things ( or at least the illusion of control).
I got a response from CRUISING WORLD:
Thanks so much for alerting us to a sad trend that we’ve pondered.
It’s no salve to you, I guess, that what one sailor gives up may ultimately supply another with an opportunity.
AT any rate, we don’t have room for this in 2010 but feel free to join our on line community and share your message with other mariners at www.cruisingworld.com
Best to you and hang in there,
ElaineElaine LemboDeputy
EditorCruising World magazine
55 Hammarlund WayMiddletown, Rhode Island 02842401-845-5109401-845-5180 fax
So much for my literary career.
Every time I think that I've got the sailing season put away for the winter, more stuff happens to reawaken it. This time it was an email from the Mark Geer who runs a dive service that sets and maintains the moorings at the club. Nothing major mind you, just a note that my mooring has been check, the mooring ball and pennants removed and set on the beach by the club, and a winter marker set on the chain - meaning that he will be able to find it again come spring.Now I am going to have to go and pick up the mooring ball and hall it to storage.After a season in the water, the lower half will be covered with slim and growth and, since it has been out of the water, it will all have died and will smell "simply wonderful." It will have to haul it in my car which will leave the car smelling equally fragrant.
There is a Nor'easter coming in this weekend. I just about washed away the barrier islands in North Carolina and has put a lot of coastal New Jersey under water,, and I expect it will do equally fine work here in southern New England. When I go down to get the mooring ball and pennants, I will skip over to Mystic and make sure ABISHAG is all safe and secure. The yard people have some responsibility for her care, but the major part of it is still mine, and since I DON'T HAVE ANY INSURANCE, I'll have to check her today and probably again tomorrow.
She is not yet up for sale on the website and if she isn't by this Monday I will call and "gently inquire" why. I need her to be up for sale so whoever it is that is out there that is going to buy her can find her. Secretly, I am sort of glad that she is still safely mine.
I moved and bagged all the exterior cushions for the winter. I had to move the survival life raft off the stern as well. That sucker is over a hundred pounds. I had to use a come-a-long to move it from the stern to the cockpit. i hope I never sink because I am not sure how the hell I would move it and deploy it from a rolling/sinking/heeling deck in any type of weather. Moving it with the boat tied to the dock was a chore. It's another argument not to sink the boat!!!!!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am heading back into my winter mode - seasonal depression. It is not made any better by the fact that I have to sell, or at least try to sell, ABISHAG. Astronomical winter is still a month away but it has already hit in me. The financial situation hasn't improved and personally, I don't see much in the way of improvement anytime soon. I have to sell the boat and/or the condo but there isn't anymore that I can do to achieve that. It is a nasty, uncomfortable feeling when you lack control of things ( or at least the illusion of control).
I got a response from CRUISING WORLD:
Thanks so much for alerting us to a sad trend that we’ve pondered.
It’s no salve to you, I guess, that what one sailor gives up may ultimately supply another with an opportunity.
AT any rate, we don’t have room for this in 2010 but feel free to join our on line community and share your message with other mariners at www.cruisingworld.com
Best to you and hang in there,
ElaineElaine LemboDeputy
EditorCruising World magazine
55 Hammarlund WayMiddletown, Rhode Island 02842401-845-5109401-845-5180 fax
So much for my literary career.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Story Has Been Sent
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I just finished the story/article on ABISHAG and putting her up for sale. I sent it off to Mark Pillsbury at "CRUISING WORLD" and I'll wait to see what comes from it. Truth be told, I expect to get a "form letter" email but that's OK. Like writing this blog, writing that letter/article was very cathartic.
I haven't been able to get down the boat as the "plague" is still ragging. It is limited now to a cough and an occasional chill and fever, but it is going away. Actually, the weather is not yet appropriately cold enough fr me to go down and finish the winterizing. I really feel the need to suffer for some reason.
No word on the condo and no word on ABISHAG. I am afraid that I am going to go 0 for 2!
I just finished the story/article on ABISHAG and putting her up for sale. I sent it off to Mark Pillsbury at "CRUISING WORLD" and I'll wait to see what comes from it. Truth be told, I expect to get a "form letter" email but that's OK. Like writing this blog, writing that letter/article was very cathartic.
I haven't been able to get down the boat as the "plague" is still ragging. It is limited now to a cough and an occasional chill and fever, but it is going away. Actually, the weather is not yet appropriately cold enough fr me to go down and finish the winterizing. I really feel the need to suffer for some reason.
No word on the condo and no word on ABISHAG. I am afraid that I am going to go 0 for 2!
Monday, November 9, 2009
"Q" Flag
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
For those of you not up on your nautical flags and their meaning, the "Q" flag is a quarantine flag. I have the plague, not the swine flu, by a head and chest cold, perhaps a 24 hour tumor, but whatever it is/was, it laid me out for the weekend. I haven't even had the energy to check tio see if ABISHAG is "up for sale" yet. I will later, not that I want to see it. He just typing this out is taking all the energy I got.
Stay healthy.
For those of you not up on your nautical flags and their meaning, the "Q" flag is a quarantine flag. I have the plague, not the swine flu, by a head and chest cold, perhaps a 24 hour tumor, but whatever it is/was, it laid me out for the weekend. I haven't even had the energy to check tio see if ABISHAG is "up for sale" yet. I will later, not that I want to see it. He just typing this out is taking all the energy I got.
Stay healthy.
Friday, November 6, 2009
There Is An Upside
SHIP'S LOG:
Well there is an actual upside with having ABISHAG up for sale, I can now look at catalogues and not plan and scheme and drool over all of the "new toys" that I would like to buy for her for next season. Not having any real money to spend, I know that I can't afford anything, short of maintenance items and not even those right now. So I am free to "spend" outrageously and never fear or worry over paying for them.
I can't get down to the boat today so the rest of the cleanup and decommissioning will have to wait. It is neat enough for the brokers to take their pix, so I would expect that the "For Sale" ad will be up by Monday. It will be interesting to see how long it is before we get a nibble, though considering how long it has been with the condo, it could be a long, long wait.
Sometime over the winter, I will have to pull out the windlass and get it to a electrical motor shop and see if they can re-work the motor, Considering a new windlass is about four(4) Marine Units, a couple of hundred for re-working the motor will be a steal.
I will also have the chance to redo some more of the wiring. Some of it is still pretty ratty and it would be a good thing to neaten it up. Come the spring I will also have to finish the deck. I was able to re-caulk about 1/3 of the decking and it eliminated the leaks that were apparent, and if I don't finish it, it is only a matter of time before the water finds another entrance somewhere. Based upon last spring's effort, it should not take more than a week to get it done. I still have to get that one winch on the mast working. So far though, it has resisted every attempt on my part get it going. The central shaft seems frozen for some reason. A winch repair shop feels that the pawls were put in backwards and that is why the central shaft is stuck. It happened sometime in the past and that is also why it is impossible to completely dismantle it. I will probably have to take it completely off the mast to be able to do it properly.
One rather stinky project will be to empty the fuel tank, clean it out and get all the grunge, sludge and crap that is inside out. I was reading an article about how to do it and it seems a rather simple though messy project. The most difficult part will be removing the fuel. I'll have to get a couple large fuel containers and "polish" the fuel as it comes out of the tank. "Polishing" means cleaning the fuel of all contaminates by running the fuel through a filter as I take it out before wiping the inside of the tank with "diapers" to suck up and remove all the sludge. The putting the fuel back in, "polishing" it again by running it through some finer filters as it goes back in. This should pretty much eliminate any clogging of filters in the future. Luckily, there is already an access panel in the tank which will eliminate the need to put one in before beginning the project. I think I may also add a new fuel gauge with a float to determine the amount of fuel in the tank. There currently is a pneumatic fuel gauge, but I can't quite figure out exactly how it works or if it is actually working. A pneumatic gauge works by pumping air into the tank causing the fuel gauge to register the amount of fuel in the tank. However, it just doesn't seem to work right, or measure accurately or at all. Perhaps there is an air leak somewhere. But emptying the tank anyway will provide the opportunity to add a back up fuel gauge and I might as well do it.
Aside from that, the only work that "needs" to be done is to paint the bottom and put on new zincs and ABISHAG will be ready to go. Of course, there is always the eternal projects list but there will be nothing that absolutely needs to be done. It has only taken me about three (3) years to get her ready to go.
CAPTAIN'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am hoping that she sells quickly. I am hoping she doesn't sell. I am feeling very schizophrenic right now but then it is winter. What do you expect?
Well there is an actual upside with having ABISHAG up for sale, I can now look at catalogues and not plan and scheme and drool over all of the "new toys" that I would like to buy for her for next season. Not having any real money to spend, I know that I can't afford anything, short of maintenance items and not even those right now. So I am free to "spend" outrageously and never fear or worry over paying for them.
I can't get down to the boat today so the rest of the cleanup and decommissioning will have to wait. It is neat enough for the brokers to take their pix, so I would expect that the "For Sale" ad will be up by Monday. It will be interesting to see how long it is before we get a nibble, though considering how long it has been with the condo, it could be a long, long wait.
Sometime over the winter, I will have to pull out the windlass and get it to a electrical motor shop and see if they can re-work the motor, Considering a new windlass is about four(4) Marine Units, a couple of hundred for re-working the motor will be a steal.
I will also have the chance to redo some more of the wiring. Some of it is still pretty ratty and it would be a good thing to neaten it up. Come the spring I will also have to finish the deck. I was able to re-caulk about 1/3 of the decking and it eliminated the leaks that were apparent, and if I don't finish it, it is only a matter of time before the water finds another entrance somewhere. Based upon last spring's effort, it should not take more than a week to get it done. I still have to get that one winch on the mast working. So far though, it has resisted every attempt on my part get it going. The central shaft seems frozen for some reason. A winch repair shop feels that the pawls were put in backwards and that is why the central shaft is stuck. It happened sometime in the past and that is also why it is impossible to completely dismantle it. I will probably have to take it completely off the mast to be able to do it properly.
One rather stinky project will be to empty the fuel tank, clean it out and get all the grunge, sludge and crap that is inside out. I was reading an article about how to do it and it seems a rather simple though messy project. The most difficult part will be removing the fuel. I'll have to get a couple large fuel containers and "polish" the fuel as it comes out of the tank. "Polishing" means cleaning the fuel of all contaminates by running the fuel through a filter as I take it out before wiping the inside of the tank with "diapers" to suck up and remove all the sludge. The putting the fuel back in, "polishing" it again by running it through some finer filters as it goes back in. This should pretty much eliminate any clogging of filters in the future. Luckily, there is already an access panel in the tank which will eliminate the need to put one in before beginning the project. I think I may also add a new fuel gauge with a float to determine the amount of fuel in the tank. There currently is a pneumatic fuel gauge, but I can't quite figure out exactly how it works or if it is actually working. A pneumatic gauge works by pumping air into the tank causing the fuel gauge to register the amount of fuel in the tank. However, it just doesn't seem to work right, or measure accurately or at all. Perhaps there is an air leak somewhere. But emptying the tank anyway will provide the opportunity to add a back up fuel gauge and I might as well do it.
Aside from that, the only work that "needs" to be done is to paint the bottom and put on new zincs and ABISHAG will be ready to go. Of course, there is always the eternal projects list but there will be nothing that absolutely needs to be done. It has only taken me about three (3) years to get her ready to go.
CAPTAIN'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am hoping that she sells quickly. I am hoping she doesn't sell. I am feeling very schizophrenic right now but then it is winter. What do you expect?
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