She Was In, Then Out, And Now She's In Again! ! ! !

SHIP'S LOG:

It was, I hate to say, two(2) weeks ago that ABISHAG was lifted from the water and setup on the hard. I hate to say it for I have been rather lax in getting out the word. While on the hard I was able to paint eh bottom which was remarkably clean considering that the "last scrubbing" was back in August sometime. It took two days to paint the bottom. She got one coat this year as the ablative paint( it wears away) was in good shape, I probably could have gotten away with just painting spots but gave her a whole coating from stem to stern. I painted the transducers with a special transducer paint that which protects against marine growth (well sort of) and still allows the transducers to function. The copper in the regular bottom paint would prevent the sending and receiving of signals rendering the transducers ( for the depth sounders) from working properly.

I cleaned out the thru-hulls removing the colonies of now dead marine critters insuring the water will go in and out as it should, especially through the engine cooling system and removed the built up marine growth from the prop and the shaft. The exterior zinc, which has been on the boat for 5 years now is in sound shape and didn't need to be replaced, which surprised the heck out of me! Evidently the galvanic isolator is doing one heck of a job!

There was a significant amount of mold inside on the walls and flat surfaces, especially in the fore-peak and the forward head. It must have come in through the vent that is in front of the mast and which I stupidly forgot to remove and cover for the winter. We had lots of rain and snow and wind this past winter and with the boat closed up during those bizarre hot days of March and April, produced some serious mold issues. However, a little scrubbing with "Simple Green" removed it all and made the interior smell wonderful too.

I removed the covering from the cockpit. The blu-poly tarp survived the winter but it has now seen better days. I doubt that it will be of much used other than as a drop cloth in the future.

One of the zippers that attach the bimini(the sun-covering over the cockpit) to its frame had torn away from the bimini. I had to remove the bimini and take it below and restitch it. A two minute job on a sewing machine was a one hour task by hand, though it should now outlast the rest of the bimini.

The stuffing box was re-stuffed and, considering it hadn't been touched for several years probably has an equal number of years to go for the future. working on the stuffing box (where the shaft goes from the transmission through the hull to the prop) requires that one be in two places at once. You can access it( partially) from the side of the engine through the doors of the engine compartment in the galley passageway and (partially) from a hatch in the floor of the closet in the aft cabin. It is a seemingly endless series of a partial adjustment from the aft cabin, followed by a further adjustment from the galley side, follwed by another from the after cabin, and another from the galley, etc., etc., etc, ad infinitum! You get the picture I am sure. Fun! Fun! Fun! ! ! !

I was able to free up the clutch for the chain gypsy on the windlass. Corrosion had locked it solid but a little, actually a lot of PT BLASTER, and some gentle persuasion with a hammer made everything hunky-dory. Unfortunately, the electric motor is still non-functioning and will have to be rewired or replaced, and who knows what that will cost!

My battle with the winch on the starboard side of the mast continues. I can only partially disassemble it so I can't get to what is probably the cause of its current non-function status. I talk with a rigger a couple of years ago and told him that the outer drum would rotate but that the winch handle would not grind the winch. He felt that the reason for this was the last time, whoever serviced the winch, put the pawls in backwards. Pawls are little pieces of metal that allow the winch to turn in only one direction. I can't fathom how someone could get them in backwards but it must be the case. I tried to disassemble the winch and remove the central shaft but it is stuck fast. I tried leveraging it out. No go! I tried wedging it out. Nada! I have got to find some type of "puller" to use on it. The shaft only has to move out about 1 inch and the pawls will be disengaged from the ratchet gearing but I can't get it to move move that a few centimeters. I would take the whole thing of the mast but corrosion has welded the base to the mast and it ain't going anywhere.

I found that a cable from the auto-pilot is rubbing ever so slightly on a metal tube where it connects to the quadrant, a triangular piece of metal attached to the top of the rudder shaft so that it can do its thing. It is imparting just enough resistance to make the wheel a little bit hard to turn. If I can come up with a solution, I will fix it but right now there seems to be no real necessity to do anything other than to grease the hell out of the cable.

The Single Sideband Radio won't go on but does make a sound that sound something like an alarm. I will have to remove it and get it tested. It may have reach the end of its life. I hope not as its replacement is 4 Marine Units!

I wasn't planning to go back into the water until next week, but space constraints in the yard forced me in on Wednesday past. I won't get the sails back until next week and anyway, there is an issue with the "oil temperature'" that needs looking at and friend Ray is coming to paint the And the mooring hasn't been set. The ball will go in over the weekend so I will have someplace to go when I can go. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Strangely, I never expected that I would be launching ABISHAG this year. I thought for sure that she would have been bought (Curses on the horrid economy and Bernie Madoff) and i would have spend the summer on the beach or something. I would have been comforted by the fact that my financial house would have thus been in sound order but it didn't happen. Now, with the yard bill paid, unless I want an even large bill or am just willing to walk away from the boat, I will be sailing. I spent so much time convincing myself that she would sell and accepting the fact that I would be boat-less for the first time in 30 years that it is somewhat hard to grasp the fact that such is not the case. It is all very strange! What happens next, I have no idea!

ALLS WELL THAT ENDS WELL . . . .

SHIP'S LOG:

And winter has ended. Spring is here. I "hobbled" down to the shipyard for my annual scare. I went to the dock to see how ABISHAG had fared over the long winter and SHE WASN'T THERE!!!!! Of course not. They have been putting boats in the water since April 1st and the guy renting the slip I was in went into the water early and so they moved me to another slip. You would think that after all the times this has happened to me that I would be ready "not to find the boat where I left it," but no, every year I just about have a heart attack when I don't see the boat where I expect to see it. But I found her eventually, at the dock and in the slip the farthest away possible of a hobbling man.

Once On board, I took of the tarp that had been covering the cockpit over the winter. It kept the snow out but is now only useful as a drop cloth. Those blue poly tarps have a very short life span! I get her hauled as soon as I can , will paint the bottom, do the zincs, grease the seacocks, slap on the registration stickers and off we will go. I have got to be quick getting out of the yard because they charge for everything, even the air and I gots no coins.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I am glad she didn't sell. I don't know exactly how we are going to swing it but sailing is better than selling.

Fast Sin't Fast Enough!!!!

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Even though everyone from the surgeon to the physical therapist says that I am doing remarkably well with my recovery, it somehow just doesn't seem fast enough. I am down to "part-time" crutch use and can move around without much if any "waddle," still it seems it should be faster. I would hate to think what I would be like if I hadn't had all of these months of "patience training"! I have got to learn how to get down on all fours and back up again without dislocating the new hip, something easier said than done. The sadist of a physical therapist, with whom I am blessed, assures me that when we've strengthened the muscles and tendons, it will be easy as pie . . . sort of.

I would presume that I'll dump the crutch by the weekend which means a serious trip to see ABISHAG! Tied as she is to a "non-floating" dock, depending on the tide, she could b even with the finger pier along her side or 2-3 feet below it. Obviously, if the deck and pier are level, getting on and off is a piece of cake. However, swinging down to the deck or crawling back up 2-3 feet is best accomplished when one is spry and nimble. And while I have never been particularly spry and nimble, I am even less so now. I would sure hate to pop the new hip while trying to get on or off the boat. The level of pain is said to be extreme and it is nothing I wish to experience ever, but I do have to get started on "das boot."

No bites, not even a nibble since the February inquiry. SO it looks like we re going to have to figure out some way to come up with the coins to sail her for the summer. "A terrible tragedy, but it looks like it will have to be done!" It is either sell or sail it and it looks like now it will be the latter.

The forecast for the summer looks good but the hurricane season looks bad. Well, everything can't be perfect!

And On It Goes ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

There must be someone to whom I can report my Physical Therapist! Vicious! Heartless! Unyielding! Without pity or remorse! I find it hard to believe that such workouts as I am forced to undergo can possibly be within the bound of proper medicine or even the law! When one of the little old blue-haired ladies with whom I share this therapist keep muttering "bastard" and "son-of-a-bitch" under their breath, you know something must be wrong!

Ah yes, but then, I am getting better and by the end of the week (next) should be crutchless. That's a good thing as I need to get down to start work on ABISHAG. I am acting on the assumption ( yes, I know all about not to "assume") but with only one, count 'em one(1), nibble, I dare say she won't be sold this year, which means that she will be sailed though exactly how I am going to swing this financially is still a bit of a mystery. But I love a good mystery.

Water! Water Everywhere!

SHIP'S LOG:

It is still raining! Most of southeastern Connecticut and seemingly all of Rhode Island are being washed away. I am wondering about ABISHAG as she is all but cut-off to access by car. Route 1 is your basic small(sometimes not so small) stream over-flowing its banks and of course is the demarcation line between the coast (and the marinas where be the boats) and the rest of the North American continent. And as they say all over New England, "You can't get there from here!"

One good thing: ABISHAG was stored in the water. This means that she rises and falls with the level of the water. Though I have seen no news with this regard, it is possible, and it has happened before, that boats stored ashore have had their blocks and support stands washed away causing the boats to fall over. It is also a very rare event for only one boat to fall. If one goes, packed as tightly together as they are, others usually follow. The downside of being in the water is the potential for damage from the flotsam and jetsam that gets washed into the river and down stream by the flooding. One thing in ABISHAG's favor is that she is moored on the downstream side of the dock so the dock, as well as those boats moored on the upstream side of the dock, provide her with considerable protection from damage by floating debris.

Of course, with fixed docks - that is docks that don't rise and fall with the tide or increased water levels - she is fixed by docklines that are set for the normal range of rise and fall. Hopefully, the yard people have been diligent about monitoring the conditions and have made the adjustments necessary. Of course, with the brokers who are trying to sell her having their office right in the same yard as ABISHAG is moored, and not 200 yards away, there are an extra set or two of eyes and helping hands. If, for whatever reason she or another craft breaks loose, she could suffer a lot of damage and cause a lot as well. And with no insurance . . . . . AH, the fun of boat ownership!

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I can't begin to express how sick I am of the current weather. The gray skies and rain and cold and wind are incredibly depressing to me. And they make my new hip ache! Well, not necessarily the hip but all of the stuff around it that got cut and stitched. It is not real pain, just achiness which only adds to the nastiness of the present climatic situation. Crutching around on but one crutch is encouraging but it will still be a couple of weeks before the mobility is sufficient for me to really get out and moving. Then it will be down to the boatyard to do the spring work and get ABISHAG launched. If it is sunny, I won't care. As long as there is no rain and at least some sun, I won't care. It will probably seem enjoyable to get to work at last.

So This IS Spring? ?? ? ??

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Well I am back at the "Hermitage" and now I have to deal with stairs on a full time basis. Truth be told, they are not all that difficult, especially going up, though going down is still a little on the hinkey side. I have got to remind myself over and over again not to rush and to be careful of crutch placement as momentum and gravity are powerful forces, especially when working together!!!! I would really hate to take a tumble and ruin all young Doctor Sean's handiwork!

I am off of all of the pain medication now, except for the "as needed" meds which I haven't needed . . . as of yet. There was no pain whatever before but now there is! Nothing much, but I can tell where every cut, slash & stitch was and is. I am down to one crutch which is a 50% improvement. My new PT thinks I am ready for out patient Physical Therapy. Rather than her coming here, I will venture to the out-patient physical therapy facility at the local hospital. Perhaps I go back the the private PT facility where I re-habbed my wrist when I shattered it a couple of years ago.

One of the things I have to be careful of is how I move the right leg and hip. I can't cross my legs, I can't allow the knee to be higher than the hip. I can't inward or outward turn the high by more than 45 degrees and certainly I can't do all three at once. Doing so will result in a dislocation of the hip. With the intensity and sincerity and earnestness with which the medical people talk about not wanting this to happen, I get the rather distinct impression that it really is something to be avoided at all cost. The surgery was described as rather violent, with lots of pounding and sawing and leveraging and drilling and grinding, something akin to changing the rings on an engine. I gather from the description and the cautions, "re-locating" a dislocated hip prosthesis is something akin to replacing a transmission, lots of leveraging and pounding and the like. I have been cautioned again and again, ad nausem, not to do anything that would risk it. It should make for a fun post-Easter time as I get the boat ready for the season.

Poor ABISHAG! She has tickled no one's fancy this winter, except for that one guy, but nothing came of that. It looks like if she is not going to sell, she is going to sail. I am not sure just how that will work out, but I leave such things up to God these days. God will work it all out in some way and I am just going along for the ride. It makes it feel a whole lot better not having to carry that weight. But in any event, I have to get her ready so that she can be splashed come May or else it will be more money for the ever hungry boatyard. Anybody out there have any POWERBALL Winnings they would like to share? Just asking.

March Is Back! Damn! ! !

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I am not a winter person, but if you have to have cold weather, let's have snow. Somehow, it seems appropriate and you can always curl up with a good book by the fire . . . . and you have to admit that a lot of times, snow storms are pretty to watch.

Early spring has no such redeeming quality . . . perhaps with the sole exception that eventually it gives way to actually "Spring" and then to Summer and then to sailing. Last week, when temperatures actually hit the 70's a couple of times and I could actually laze about on the patio and watch the clouds rolls by, has become a mere "cruel" dream. After two days of cold rain, i am beginning to wonder if it was all not just a illusion. I still need sunshine as my vitamin "D", or is it "A" supplies are low and I get mopey. Even with the Red Sox on TV, I can barely "survive."

Tomorrow the staples go away. Huzzah! For those of you who might have escaped "stapling" so far in your surgical history, you are out when they go in and very much with it when they get taken out. It is something akin to a "long root canal!" Perhaps there will be something to dull the pain?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!

No new inquiries about ABISHAG, which is both good and bad. Good because I don't want to sell her and bad because, unless something changes, I have to sell. Things are not much better on the condo front. I just had a meeting with my realtor to sign a renewal contract. In the past , there have been 21,000 hits specific to my condo. Evidently, the hold up is that because of the market, you need 20% down for a variable and that is the sticking point. We talked about seeing if we can do a deal with HSBC the current mortgage holder(fixed) to see if we can work something out. Perhaps something may come of it. Then again, pigs may fly . . . but not anytime soon!